“Nobody knows for sure, I think, but Gol… I mean, the saloli who found her, told us that she had been killed by a human. Both Rust and Slicer were scarred for life. From that day on, they both shared a mutual hatred for mankind.”
Blaze knew that he ought to feel bad for his chief, but could only feel curiosity. Something Faith said had caught his attention. “Who did you say was the one that found her?”
Faith quickly averted her eyes, “Another Icefire saloli.” She responded.
“Do you know his name?” Faith shook her head.
“You will have to speak with Rust if you wish to know more,” She said, “though I doubt he will tell you.” With that, Faith turned to look down at the rest of Icefire, and sighed. Blaze saw a gleam of sadness in her eyes, as if she were holding back tears.
“Is something wrong?” He asked, concerned. What did she know that he didn’t?
“I… I don’t know how to say it.” She answered.
“Go ahead,” Blaze encouraged her, “I’ll listen.”
Faith turned to look at him, and Blaze saw in her eyes just how deep her sorrow went. She wasn’t just upset, she was genuinely heartbroken! “Blaze,” she said, “my time here is coming to an end.”
“What do you mean?” Blaze asked, confused, “You mean you’ll have to leave Icefire?” Faith shook her head, and a single tear ran down her cheek. Blaze’s eyes widened as he suddenly realized exactly what his old friend meant. “No!” He said, almost shouting, “You can’t!”
“Neither of us can stop it,” Faith assured him, “it is meant to happen, and will happen according to Valde Abbas’ will.”
“But we need you!” Now tears were brimming in Blaze’s eyes as well.
“Don’t worry, Icefire’s new prophet will be more than capable of taking my place.”
“How do you even know this?”
Faith turned to look at the sun, beyond which Blaze knew Valde Abbas’ castle was located. Every creature was said to go there when they died, to be with Valde Abbas forever. “It is a prophet’s gift and curse to know when their destined time is. It is so that they can prepare their tribe to select a new one.”
“But… But…” Blaze stammered, wanting to ask the question that was in his mind, but afraid of sounding selfish.
“It’s all right,” Faith promised him, almost reading his mind, “Icefire’s new prophet will be the one to turn you human again.”
“You can’t leave! Icefire couldn’t ask for a better prophet.” Blaze insisted, “What will we do without you?”
“It is not me who this tribe depends on,” Faith corrected him, “it is the Sword.”
“But… But…” Not able to think of anything else to say to her, Blaze simply dropped his head and let his tears run free. He sensed Faith walking up to him, and felt her paw on his shoulder.
“Fear not,” she said, “for all that you require has been provided for you. You have the Sword to protect Icefire, and Valde Abbas to guide you through life. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
“But you…”
“I am going to where I will be happier for eternity than I ever was here.” She managed to give Blaze a weak smile, “In all honesty, I would not change what is about to happen for the world.”
Hearing this broke Blaze’s heart, and he did something that was not considered normal for a full grown saloli. He moved in close to his old friend and nuzzled his head under her chin, like a newborn trying to get closer to its mother. At first, Faith seemed surprised at this, but soon accepted it. Blaze could barely see for the tears in his eyes, but was not ashamed. Faith was the first saloli he had actually known, she had been the one who taught him to behave in this world, and she had comforted him when things looked dark. She was one of his dearest friends, not only in Icefire, but in the entire world, and he had just learned that she was going to die. There was no shame in crying for that.
“Faith,” he whimpered, “I don’t want you to go, but if it’s really what you want, then I’ll let you.” Faith smiled, touched by Blaze’s tenderness. “It won’t be easy, you’ve been like my mother here. Still, I want you to be happy.”
“I am happy, Blaze.” Faith reassured him, “I couldn’t ask for a more loyal friend than you, or a better tribe than Icefire. I admit, you’ve become like the son I’ve always wished to have. I will miss you when I’m gone, but I will still be happy knowing that, someday, I will see you again.” Blaze finally pulled away from Faith and sniffed. “Now, put it out of your mind. It isn’t my time quite yet, and we still have work to do.” Blaze nodded. “Good, now dry your eyes and go back to work. You’ll feel better by the end of the day.”
Nodding one more time, Blaze rubbed his eyes with his paws and scampered down the tree.
Chapter Three
The sun set over Groundsky’s territory, casting long, crimson rays over the rugged landscape. Goliath stood on the edge of a small canyon, seven feet above the rocky bottom. The hole was about twenty feet from side to side at its widest point, and the walls rose straight up from the ground. More saloli than could easily be counted were inside it, unable to get out. Goliath had placed Darkcover saloli all around the edge, preventing the ones inside from escaping. This was his war prison, and those saloli were his prisoners. Nearly every saloli that had been a thorn in his side over the past two years now resided in there. Many Groundsky saloli had been thrown in there. They had not accepted the change in authority when Goliath had committed the Blood Way on Patch, their former chief. A few of the Cyclone saloli who had attempted to chase him away when he entered their territory were in there as well. There were, of course, no Darkcover saloli, as they were all loyal to him.
Looking down, he wished that there could have been more than one Icefire saloli in captivity. Still, the one he had was a good catch. The runt had been the outsider’s best friend. The outsider had caused no end of trouble for Goliath, and it pleased him to have taken away someone who mattered so much to him. He looked forward to the day that the outsider, himself, would be confined to this canyon as well. No, perhaps not. Maybe he should kill the outsider as an example to any other saloli who had ideas about rebelling against him. Yes, that idea sounded very good.
Goliath saw Razor, the Icefire traitor, swipe his claws at a Groundsky saloli’s face, cutting him and knocking him over. It had been the simplest thing to persuade Razor to join. The promise of power had immediately lit up the black saloli’s eyes. He had been ordered to assassinate Rust three different times, but the blasted outsider had managed to expose him for what he was. As an act of revenge, Razor later returned to murder the outsider, attempting to poison him with sap from the Evil Tree. He failed at that as well, but still managed to poison the mate of the outsider’s best friend. In the end, the runt had been forced to kill her himself, breaking his own heart in the process. It was then that Razor had caught him and brought him to the prison.
“I can smell despair.” An old gray saloli mused, coming to stand beside Goliath. His eyes were white, signifying his lack of sight.
“Mordred,” Goliath greeted him, “I wish you could see it. It is a beautiful sight to see. All these worthless fools being stripped of their hope!”
“It is a vile thing to take a creature’s hope away.” Mordred said, a smile stretching across his face.
“My plans are finally coming to fruition! Half the forest belongs to me, and the rest is soon to follow!”
Mordred turned away, contemplating something. “But the forest is so small compared to the entire world.” He said, at last, “Why stop there?”
Goliath glared at his prophet, “Do not mock me, even I do not have the might to conquer the earth.”
“Oh, but you do!” Mordred cackled, “You have more power at your claws than you could ever imagine.”
“What do you mean?” Now Goliath’s interest had been sparked.
The sound of flapping leather filled the air, and a great shadow loomed over the prison, causing the prisoners to co
wer in fear. An ear splitting screech rang out, making even Goliath cringe in pain, though Mordred did not react. “Phantom is only the beginning, Goliath.” He said, “There are many, many more where he came from.”
“What are you talking about?”
Mordred smiled, “Try to remember everything that you’ve ever heard about our histories, and come to your own conclusion.”
Chapter Four
As the sun sank below the trees, leaving the forest lit only by the waning moon, Blaze ventured back to the nursery tree, where the mothers and fathers slept in order to take care of their young ones. He had been around Icefire’s territory more than six times on his search for Smallthorn, but, like always, had found no trace of his friend, and was looking forward to a good sleep before he did it again the next morning. To get to the tree, though, Blaze had to pass Newthorn’s corpse. It lay at the very edge of camp, where no saloli would have to be near it. The funeral had yet to take place, because Rust felt it would be wrong to send Smallthorn’s mate off without him being there to see it. Icefire’s chief believed that he was hiding his emotions, but Blaze could easily tell that Rust felt guilty about what had happened. Neither Razor’s attack nor Newthorn’s interference had been his fault, but, as Icefire’s chief, he still felt responsible for it happening. Blaze sympathized with him, knowing that it was for his own sake that Newthorn had intervened in the first place.
“It’s sad, isn’t it?” Someone behind him asked. Blaze turned around to see Sunbeam standing behind him. Sunbeam was, in his opinion, the kindest, most beautiful saloli in Icefire. He had long since thrown away any misconceptions that he was anything but head over heels in love with her, and had reason to suspect that she felt the same for him. Still, he could not bring himself to do the one thing that he most desired; he could not ask her to be his mate. There were, he had told himself, two outcomes to this war. The first was that he would return to his human life, leaving Icefire behind forever. The other was that he would die. Both of these would break Sunbeam’s heart if he were to allow her to become that close to him. No, painful as it was, that was how it had to be.
“Hi, Sunbeam.” He said.
“I still can’t believe it came to that,” She continued, looking at Newthorn’s corpse “I don’t blame Smallthorn for wanting to be alone after that. It must have driven him half mad.”
“He’ll be back.” Blaze assured her.
“I know, he’s stronger than that. This may have hurt him, but he would never just give up. How is Springthorn?”
“He’s learning new words faster than I’d have ever thought possible. He’s definitely growing up. It won’t be long before he’s ready to become a trainee.”
“Has he. . .” Sunbeam began.
“No, he hasn’t started calling me father yet, and I don’t think he ever will. He knows that Smallthorn is his father, not me. That’s one thing I’m happy for.”
“He loves you enough to be his father.”
“I know.” Blaze sighed, “I wish Smallthorn would come back. He’s missing his son do so much. Soon, his childhood will be gone, and there will be no getting it back. If he doesn’t come home soon, Springthorn might not even remember him.”
Sunbeam suddenly seemed nervous, and she averted her eyes, “Blaze,” she said, obviously choosing her words carefully, “I believe that, given the chance, you would be a wonderful father.”
If Blaze had still been human, he would have blushed brighter red than his own fur upon hearing this. “W-what are you talking about?” He asked. His heart began to beat faster in panic. Why was she bringing this up? This conversation could not end well.
“Well,” Sunbeam continued, “I’ve seen you with Springthorn, and you’re a natural with children. I was beginning to wonder if you’d given any thought to having children of your own someday.”
Blaze kneaded the dirt below him with his claws, trying to think of a good answer. “I. . .” Blaze sighed in defeat, “I don’t think so.”
Disappointment filled Sunbeam’s eyes, “Why not? You would be a perfect father to them, and surely you don’t want your bloodline to end with you?”
“It just can’t happen, Sunbeam.” Blaze told her, his voice barely a whisper, still not able to meet her eye, “It would end badly for everyone involved.”
“I’m sure whoever you chose could make it work.” Sunbeam persisted.
“Sunbeam, please don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.”
Tears filled Sunbeam’s eyes, “Blaze, if you’re afraid of what might happen, then don’t let it be your decision. Let the one who loves you decide what being with you is worth. I. . . I. . . I don’t know if you love anyone, or if you’re even willing to try, but trust me when I tell you that true love does not recognize danger. The one who loves you is willing to stand beside you, no matter what the cost is.”
Her last sentence caught Blaze’s attention, and he finally looked at her, “Who is it that loves me?” He asked, “Tell me her name.” It was her, he could tell. Even if he could not do what she wished, it would make his heart soar with happiness to hear her say the words “I love you” to him.
Sunbeam’s eyes widened a bit in hope, but then cast themselves downward, away from Blaze, “I will tell you her name if you promise not to break her heart.” She said, “Promise me that you will accept her as your mate, and love her just as she loves you, then I will tell you her name.”
Blaze’s heart sank into his stomach, and tears crept into his own eyes, but he forced himself to look at her, “I’m sorry Sunbeam, but my love isn’t worth the pain that she would be put through. She may not be able to understand that, but I do. It would be better if she were to just find another saloli to care for her. It may hurt at first, but I hope she will come to realize that, in the long run, it was the better choice.”
Without waiting for her to respond again, Blaze turned and raced across the camp to the nursery tree, which he climbed to the third branch, leaving Sunbeam alone. As she watched him go, Blaze could not hear what she whispered to herself.
“No, Blaze. I love you, no one else, even if you despise me. If I can not have you, then I, too, will never take a mate.” Turning to the common’s tree, she slowly made her way there, trying to hold back the anguished sobs that tore at her throat. From his perch in the nursery tree, Blaze could only watch as the one he loved walked away. Sighing, he turned away to find Springthorn waiting for him.
“Blaze!” The child squeaked, his eyes bright with happiness. Even after the exchange he’d just had, Blaze couldn’t help but feel his heart warm up again at the sight. This creature’s love was so pure, so innocent, that it tore Blaze apart just to think about the little tyke’s predicament. Mother dead, father missing, yet a frown never once crossed his face.
“Hi, Springthorn.” He said, “Did you have a good day?”
Without another word, Springthorn ran up and pounced on his godfather. Playing along, Blaze rolled with the less than significant impact, and let the child pin him, “Blaze dead!” Springthorn giggled.
“It sounds like you’re getting better at talking.” Blaze mused, though his godchild took no notice. Rolling over, sending Springthorn sliding back onto the branch with a happy squeak, he got back to his paws. “Come on, little guy. You need to get some sleep.”
“Not tired.” Springthorn argued, and then yawned.
“I think you are.” Blaze insisted, leading the way back to where the branch met the trunk, and nestled down into it. Clearly not happy about it, Springthorn followed obediently, his eyelids drooping further with every step. Pressing against his godfather’s side, he curled up, wrapping his tail, which was now almost as bushy as a trainee’s, around himself, and fell asleep within the minute.
Chapter Five
The bright morning rays shined down on Icefire’s camp, stirring its inhabitants from their peaceful slumbers. Yawning, Blaze stood up slowly, careful not to wake his still dozing godchild. It almost hurt to leave Springthorn alone
like this, but Blaze knew he had to continue his duties. Climbing out of the nursery tree, he casually made his way over to the food pile, where he picked out a healthy looking acorn. Opening his mouth, he prepared to crack the shell open to get at the tasty nut inside, when he was suddenly shoved out of the way by another saloli. Irritated, Blaze turned around to rebuke him, but the words died in his throat when he saw who it was.
“What are you looking at?” Thunder demanded, the purple scar tissue crisscrossing his face contrasting sharply with his dark brown fur. Thunder had been Newthorn’s sister, and Razor’s trainee. On the day Blaze was to be promoted, Razor had initiated an old saloli trial called the Challenge of Determination. This forced Blaze and Thunder to fight each other for the honor of being promoted. In an unexpected act of savagery, Blaze himself had given Thunder the many hideous scars that now deformed his face. What hurt Thunder even worse than losing, though, was the consequence of failing the Challenge. Though he was now a full grown saloli, he was forever condemned to remain a trainee, denied the right of adulthood in his own tribe. Blaze still felt guilt for that.
Legends of the Saloli: Vengeance and Mercy Page 2