Bear Heart

by K. J. Colt

  I put my hand to my head. I could try to kill another bear, but my injuries were serious, and another attack would see me dead, especially given that my skinning knife was nowhere near as piercing as my killing dagger. I’d never take a bear down with that. My eyes watered, and I swatted at them angrily. I lifted my face to the sky. The sun had not yet risen over the mountains. Clouds crawled through the valley.

  ‘He planned this the whole time, didn’t he?’ I asked.

  Thixal regarded me for a moment and put her finger to her lips, signalling she could no longer discuss the matter.

  I pounded the snow with my fist, stood, and hobbled weakly to the gully. I checked for footprints. Many sets led in and out, but his were the largest. One of his sets was deeper than the others; they were fresh. They led downriver, and as I followed them, I spotted drops of blood. I leaned down and pushed my finger into the red ice. A fresh layer of snow had fallen overnight, and the blood seemed fresh. Skelkra wasn’t injured, and so I concluded the blood must be from the severed bear head. Why would he travel in the opposite direction of Vilseek?

  I followed the prints and occasional droplets of red. I tried to crouch as I moved up the mountain, but the pressure on my wound became too great, and I was forced to straighten my leg. I moved the bandage slightly, seeing the sticky pink flesh. Yellow tinted the edges. The wound festered, but I didn’t care. I would gladly lose my leg if it ensured I won the challenge.

  The prints continued. I heard a splash in the distance and took note of the tracks leading into the tree line and moving downriver. Around a bend, I found Lild. He’d broken a section of the ice and ducked underneath it. Nearby, his fire had grown larger. Lild pulled himself from the river and immediately huddled by the flames. I heard the faint cry of a hawgrald in the distance.

  Jeykal! Then I wondered if it was possible that he’d venture so far away from the hawgrald’s nesting grounds to hunt here where the birds were scarcer. Then came another screech, and when I neared the commotion, instead of Jeykal, I saw Skelkra. He had a hawgrald pinned to the ground; his legs pushed down on the bird’s wings, his arm on its neck. He raised my dagger and slashed at the beast. One of its talons caught him across the chest and pushed him to the snow. Feathers and blood scattered. The predator’s wings fell back, its eyes half closed. Skelkra seemed unaffected by the gash on his torso and crouched low to the ground, ready to strike again.

  While he was distracted, I searched for his belongings. I slinked to the right, keeping my eyes on the battle. I followed some footprints, but they led over the side of a nearby cliff. Finding no supplies, I moved behind dense bushes and waited for the fight to finish. Skelkra delivered the last blow, and when the hawgrald slumped to the ground, Skelkra dragged the bird into the open and cut it to pieces. He slashed this way and that, allowing entrails to spill onto the ground. He’s setting a trap.

  Skelkra moved into the woods about ten steps away. I ducked behind the bush and held my breath. His feet crunched loudly and then softly as he moved away. I followed, skirting around to the side to make sure he wouldn’t see me. I took out my hunting knife, gripped it, and moved closer. Then it dawned on me that Abel, Skelkra’s Watcher, was nowhere to be seen, but I continued to follow Skelkra through the trees. We arrived at his new camp. Judging by how well established it was, I knew it had been there for some time. I saw my bow leaning against a tree, and I trembled with anger. When I spotted the bear head, I almost attacked him.

  I scanned the trees to see if Thixal watched. She did, and I marvelled at how she could always see me yet stay silent and hidden.

  Skelkra struck at his own body, his chest, his legs, his face. He slapped and punched and growled at the trees; he jumped and flung his arms around. He was maddening himself for the fight. The Wolves often did this to prepare themselves for battle. A wolf howled in the distance, and Skelkra focused his gaze to the woods. He gripped two trees with his hands and waited. At a second howl, his shoulders swelled and flexed.

  My knife still in hand, I cautiously moved around behind him. With his attention absorbed by the howling of the wolves, I might have a chance. My heart thumped in my chest; the sounds of the forest crisped. I focused on my knife, the snow underfoot, and the smell of the leaves, anything to ignore the pain in my body. I crouched down and cringed. It didn’t matter that I was injured; I had to win. I took one step forward, silencing my breath, silencing my movements. I took another. The wolf howled again, closer.

  Yes, I said in my head to the animal. Distract him.

  Skelkra moved to my stolen items, and I noticed he’d bloodied a sack. I remembered the fight with the bear. It was five times larger than Skelkra. I had won, and I could win again. I lowered myself and then sprang from the ground, raised my hand, and brought the handle of the knife across Skelkra’s head. His body went limp, and he slumped to the ground.

  Yes!

  A sob escaped my lips, and I dropped to my knees with relief. I heard snarling and the ripping of hawgrald flesh. Skelkra had let down his guard, distracted by what he loved most: hunting. Quickly, I took his wrists and dragged my ex-lover to a tree. I tied his hands with a combination of ripped cloth and vine. That would keep him there for a while. I hoped Abel would find him.

  I picked up my bow and four more arrows he’d made. ‘Thank you,’ I said to the unconscious Skelkra. I noticed his large collection of tools, including an axe, flint, boots, and a shirt. He’d lied to me about that, too. I put on the shoes, took off the scratchy canvas, and pulled on the shirt. I surveyed the three bags on the ground. I rolled the bear head into one of them and lifted. Blood seeped down my leg, and I tightened the cloth over my wound. I needed Gevilka, the medicine woman.

  After gathering the items, I climbed down the mountainside, keeping to the tree line that ended several paces before the river where the bears had been playing in the water. As I continued north, I heard Lild splashing about. When he got out, he crept along the fragile ice. He looked tired, his fire dwindled, and he jumped into the river, coming up empty-handed. He growled and punched the sky.

  Impulsively, he ventured to the most dangerous parts of the ice. Before I could call out to him to stop, the ice cracked beneath him, and he sank beneath the water. The river swept him away, and he came up for air in a small gap in the ice downstream. He struggled against the current, spluttering and coughing. I dropped my bag and half-ran, half-limped towards him. I searched for his Watcher and saw that Sanket, the Wolf elder, watched him from the north. He was on the same side of the river as Lild.

  I waved him down. ‘Save your challenger!’

  The Wolf elder regarded me, not even blinking at my request.

  I yelled to Lild, ‘Pull yourself up!’

  I searched for a place to cross, but the ice was weak, and I feared falling in as well.

  ‘Help!’ Lild cried. Panicked blue eyes fixed on me. His face was pale, his hair matted against his face.

  ‘Sanket, save him!’ I screamed at the Watcher again, but the elder chose not to interfere. They had always been hard. They accepted death however Mother Nature chose to take it.

  ‘Move across!’ I shouted at Lild.

  If he could move more to the right, he could avoid the most forceful rushing waters. He managed to shuffle closer to the bank, moving one hand and then the other, but his hands slipped, and he disappeared under the surface. Two beige hands pressed against the ice underneath. I searched farther downstream, but the ice didn’t break before the river disappeared around a bend.

  I covered my mouth with my hand and looked to Sanket for help. The old man lowered his head in acceptance and moved away. I noticed Lild’s things across the river and made the long trek upstream. Sanket walked far ahead but stopped when Thixal moved from the treeline to join him. I glared at them both as I crossed the river, taking care in the middle. My injury slowed me down, and when I looked into the water, I saw one of the snakes, long and blue, slicing and cutting against the current.

  A single tear
slid down my face. I hadn’t known Lild very well, but I felt responsible for his death since I was the reason this competition was happening in the first place. I picked up Lild’s bag, hoisted it over my shoulder, and found it too heavy given that I already carried the bear head and the other items I’d taken from Skelkra. I rummaged through Lild’s bag, taking only what I needed: clothes, flint, and of course, the instructions showing a snake being captured by bare hands as proof that he’d died. Why hadn’t they set him an easier task? The snakes were poisonous and quick, and the water deathly cold. Lild was a skilled snake-catcher, but his death spoke of the dangers involved in the Bestial Passage.

  I dressed myself in Lild’s thick leather pants and a wool-lined coat. I almost cried at the luck of being fully dressed. I hugged myself, basking in the pleasure of it. I rolled up the extra knapsack, stored it away, and made my way back upstream with the intention of confronting Lild’s Watcher. Thixal and Sankat were talking as I approached. Thixal’s body language was tense, and I knew she disliked the other elder’s lack of action.

  I drew my dagger. ‘Why didn’t you intervene?’

  Sanket looked at me, his mouth set in a hard line.

  I’ll give you a challenge! I put my blade to his neck and drew a little blood. ‘Why?’ I shouted in his face. Blood rushed to my head, and my legs wobbled. I wanted to slice the blade along the man’s neck. Heartless Wolf.

  ‘Do you want to forfeit your chance to win?’ The man kept his tone even as he spoke. ‘Jeykal scales the cliffs, and Ketnal has found a lion’s lair. You must get back if you wish to win.’

  I spat in his face, trembling harder. Thixal placed a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off, glared at her, and stalked away. The rules of the Bestial Passage disgusted me. However, Sankat had said one thing that pleased me. Jeykal was still alive.

  Snow fell again, and winds swept it horizontally across the valley. Some of the gusts snapped twigs from trees, and the snow stung my back and face. My red hair tangled and caught on my cracked lips. I stopped to drink from my water skin; only a half portion remained. The walk back proved difficult while my wound festered; soon I would have a fever.

  I walked for many hours until I emerged from the valley and saw the snowy landscape stretching out in front of me. In the distance, the woodlands called to me. The sun lingered in the sky, but I knew darkness drew near. My stomach growled, so I set out for the trees and promised myself food and fire once I was within their safety. That night, I would rest and then rise early in the morning to travel by the stars.

  By the time I reached the trees, I was dragging the sack containing the bear head behind me. I collapsed to the ground and lay there for a while. Eventually, the snow grew heavier. I needed to make a fire before it grew worse. I took the flint from my bag and scraped my blade against it. Sparks flew from the rock, and I unwound thread from one of the knapsacks and rolled it into a ball. With the last of my energy, I chopped down a dead tree with the axe. I collected twigs and branches and noticed the right leg of my pants was wet. My wound was bleeding again; I must have knocked it. Slowly, I pushed the material aside, and my skin tore a little. The cold air stung the raw flesh.

  ‘That’s festered,’ someone said.

  I flicked my head to see Jeykal emerge from the woods, and I was overcome with relief. His slim body was bare except for a small loincloth. He moved towards me and grabbed my shoulder. He had his knapsack with him.

  ‘Did you..?’ I asked him, staring at his bag.

  He frowned, all happiness gone from his expression. He hadn’t managed to kill a harwgrald.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I said, throwing my arms around his neck. He stiffened for a moment, and when I pulled away, I saw that his cheeks had reddened. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘I’ll live.’ He grinned, but then his eyebrows dipped as he looked at my wound. ‘Besides, I can hunt again tomorrow.’

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I was at the top of a mountain and saw you stumbling across the snow plains.’

  ‘I’m glad you’re here.’ I stared at my failed attempt to start a fire and straightened my injured leg, cringing as I fell onto a snowy patch.

  He reached out to help but stopped. Jeykal’s expression darkened. ‘It needs maggots now.’

  ‘I know.’

  He indicated to the bear head. ‘That looks heavy.’

  ‘I’ll survive.’

  ‘I’ll help you get home.’

  Still, what would happen then? If he arrived empty-handed, he would shame his people, they would not respect him as a leader. No, he needed to prove his worth.

  ‘No, you won’t. I’ll wait for you to be done,’ I countered.

  He picked up the axe and split a large log. ‘You deserve to rule. The only reason any of us are here is because you’re female. The whole thing is unfair to begin with.’ His eyes narrowed, and his upper lip twitched.

  ‘But I am weak.’ I didn’t want to tell Jeykal how I’d stupidly fallen for Skelkra’s act, how Skelkra and Thixal had helped me to survive and how I’d been too injured to save Lild. ‘Do I really deserve to become the next chieftain?’

  ‘Of course you do.’ He snorted with astonishment. ‘You’ve the heart of a bear. I see that you achieved your goal despite your wounds. How did you survive?’

  I frowned. ‘I met the Wolf boy.’

  ‘Skelkra? He helped you? But that’s a disqualification. How could—’

  I cut him off. ‘I killed the bear without him. He stopped the bleeding.’

  Jeykal paused. ‘I’m glad he was there. And now? Where is he?’

  ‘Tied up. The Snake boy drowned.’

  Jeykal looked at me with astonishment. ‘Huh? Lild drowned? But he was a nice lad. How?’

  ‘Fell beneath the ice. I tried to save him, but as you can see…’ I looked down at my leg.

  ‘Wait, you said Skelkra is tied up. Did you tie him up?’

  I knew what he was hinting at. He wanted to know if I’d betrayed Skelkra because I had my prize.

  ‘Yes. I tied him up. But this morning, I awoke to nothing. He’d taken it all, pretended to help when he’d only tricked me. I hunted him down and knocked him unconscious.’

  Jeykal beamed at me. ‘Good. He got what he deserved. I never liked the boy.’

  At that moment, I felt foolish. I couldn’t believe I’d had such strong feelings for Skelkra. He was the first man I’d ever allowed to touch me. I’d trusted him and given him my body, only to have him betray me. I knew then that I never wanted to be bonded to another. If I had been fooled once, I could be fooled again.

  ‘You liked him, though. I could tell by the way you looked at him.’ Jeykal dragged half the log beside me, and we both moved up to sit.

  ‘Not anymore.’ I scraped my skinning knife against the flint, trying to make a spark. A small fire caught alight, and I loaded on kindling. We piled on more sticks, leaves, and branches, and I burned the bandage on my leg. The wound needed exposure to the air and flies.

  The fire grew, our stomachs rumbled, and we made plans to hunt. We were disturbed by the thwack of an arrow hitting a tree beside us.

  ‘Good evening,’ said Ketnal, the Lion boy.

  Chapter Five

  He aimed another arrow at Jeykal. I eyed my knife lying a few feet away on the snow. Why had I put it down?

  ‘What do you want?’ I asked Ketnal.

  Jeykal didn’t move except to say, ‘Have you…?’

  ‘Nope. I’m jesting.’ Ketnal lowered his bow and laughed hard, leaning over and grabbing at his belly.

  I snatched my knife and pretended to throw it.

  Ketnal ducked and then laughed some more. ‘You won’t kill me. I know you, Klawdia.’ He snorted.

  My heart thrummed because I had truly thought Ketnal would shoot Jeykal. ‘That wasn’t funny,’ I said.

  ‘Oh? I thought it was.’ He sat down and warmed his hands near the flames, stealing a glance at my bear’s head. ‘Well done. Although I see it c
ame with a price.’ He nodded towards my leg.

  I became aware of the exposed flesh again and felt the pain. ‘Yes.’

  ‘So, you two travelling back together then?’

  Jeykal and I looked at each other. Without his prize, Ketnal couldn’t kill us, but he could find other ways to sabotage our efforts. I noticed the four Watchers convening in the distance. Thixal, Tasz of the Hawgralds—who I knew was Ketnal’s Watcher because Jeykal wouldn’t have a Watcher from the same tribe as him—and Emarkasa of the Bears.

  I smiled at Emarkasa, and she gave me a big grin and waved at me. Some time ago, Emarkasa had instructed Father in herbalism. Sankat joined the group last, and I observed that Thixal stood farther away from him than the others. She definitely didn’t like him. Then Sankat’s eyes met mine, and I glared at him. I would never forgive him for just allowing Lild to die.

  ‘Did Skelkra or Lild die?’ Ketnal asked, nodding towards the group of Watchers. Given that four of them convened in one place, but only three of us were here, it seemed obvious someone had.

  ‘Lild fell into the river. He’s dead,’ I admitted.

  ‘And I suppose you pushed him?’ Ketnal said. ‘Now that you have the bear head, you could kill me, too. And Jeykal.’

  ‘She wouldn’t,’ Jeykal said. ‘I’m surprised you don’t have your prize yet.’

  The Lion boy grimaced. ‘I’m to kill it with an axe, but someone stole mine. In fact, that axe there looks familiar.’

  I’d taken the axe from Skelkra. ‘This was given to me,’ I said.

  Ketnal narrowed his eyes. ‘Yet it has the mark of a Lion metalsmith.’

  I frowned at Jeykal. I didn’t want to tell Ketnal about Skelkra, too. Tasz and the others came to warm themselves at the fire. They threw each other glances, and I tried to decipher their silent conversation.

  Ketnal tapped the edge of his bow against my wounded leg. ‘When did this happen?’

  ‘When I captured my prize.’

  ‘Surprised you survived that one. Have you seen Skelkra?’