“He was your great grandsire,” said Arcove as he jumped over a pool. “His foal, Lirsy, was your mother’s mother.”
Storm was astonished. “How do you know that?”
“Charder,” said Arcove. He was all-but-running now, and Storm saved his breath. When they reached the final stream, all three ferryshaft were panting. Storm explained that they would need to walk upstream for a distance and then climb. Arcove considered this. Before stepping into the water, he hesitated. “Am I—” He licked his lips and did not look at Storm. “Am I still repeating myself?”
Storm felt sorry for him. “Not since you woke up.”
Arcove splashed into the stream.
Chapter 10. Decisions to Be Made
Here it comes, thought Lyndi, after Storm had disappeared into the cave. Roup and Halvery, decisions to be made…and no Arcove.
“Go to Arcove’s den and see what kind of support we have there,” Roup said in a tight voice. “I’ll wait here.”
“Don’t you even want to see how badly Sharmel is injured, sir?” snapped Halvery.
Lyndi couldn’t remember ever hearing Halvery call Roup “sir,” before, and it didn’t sound like deference now.
Roup rounded on him. “If you’ve got something to say, say it, Halvery.”
Storm’s cub, Teek, looked between them, wide-eyed. Lyndi considered how to get him out of the way if they leapt at each other. She growled to remind Halvery of her presence. If you engage now, Halvery, it’ll be two against one. Don’t think for a moment that I won’t help my alpha.
Halvery hissed at her to show his disdain for her gesture. He was making a low, sustained rumble. Fine, thought Lyndi. Let’s do this.
“Halvery.” Sharmel’s voice.
Roup, Halvery, and Lyndi did not take their eyes off each other, but Lyndi saw Sharmel limping towards them out of her peripheral vision. The two ferryshaft—Charder and Kelsy—were with him. “Halvery, a word,” said Sharmel, his voice weak but persistent.
Halvery did not stop growling, but he cut his eyes sideways at Sharmel. Lyndi risked a glance at him as well. Sharmel looked wobbly, and he had dark stains around his mouth and chest. He would not be much use for fights in the near future…or perhaps ever again. He’s old, thought Lyndi. Cats have been whispering for years that Arcove should replace him. Perhaps they were right.
“Halvery, please,” Sharmel’s voice was even. “A moment.”
Halvery turned away from Roup and Lyndi, walking stiff-legged, and still bristling. He and Sharmel retreated a little distance and began muttering. Roup turned his back on all of them and returned to the mouth of the cave. He’d already stopped bristling. He doesn’t care, thought Lyndi. He never cared about rank. But he could win that fight with Halvery…even without me…if he wanted to.
The two ferryshaft appeared to be having their own argument off to her right. Lyndi inched towards Halvery and Sharmel, straining to hear what they were saying. She caught Sharmel’s strident whisper. “If you kill Roup, Arcove will grieve himself to death. Do you think we’ll survive if he doesn’t? Don’t you dare, Halvery!”
“I can kill Treace if Arcove doesn’t come back,” snapped Halvery.
“And if it comes to that, do you really think Roup will fight you for the leadership? Do you think he wants it?”
Halvery said nothing.
“Wait and see,” muttered Sharmel.
Halvery’s answer was too soft for Lyndi to hear, but she could tell by his posture that he’d calmed down. She glanced back towards Roup and saw that Teek had gone to sit next to him. When she looked back around, Halvery was almost beside her. Lyndi took a swift step back. Halvery snorted as he passed. “Do we need to recap that for you, Lyndi? Did you hear enough?”
Lyndi growled. “You don’t want a fight.”
“I do want a fight,” said Halvery. “But not right now.”
Roup didn’t even turn around when Halvery and Sharmel approached him in the mouth of the cave. “We’ll go to Arcove’s den,” said Halvery. “We’ll rest if we can, and if we have reasonable support, we’ll go to the Great Clearing this evening. If you and Arcove don’t join me, I’ll fight Treace.”
He waited, as though he expected Roup to say something, but Roup didn’t even look at him.
“And that will make me king if Arcove is gone,” persisted Halvery. “Unless you would like to fight me for Leeshwood. Roup, are you listening?”
“I’m listening. I wish you joy of your fight,” said Roup. “I do not think you will survive it.”
Lyndi could tell that Halvery was trying not to grind his teeth. He swallowed whatever he wanted to say and turned away. Sharmel followed him wordlessly through the boulders, heading south towards Arcove’s territory. A moment later, the two ferryshaft trotted after them. “Teek,” said Lyndi gently, “you should go with them.”
“No,” said Teek. “I’m waiting for Storm.”
Roup didn’t argue, so Lyndi didn’t, either. The sun was climbing up the sky, and she felt as though she hadn’t slept in days. Roup seemed to sense her exhaustion. He looked away from the cave mouth for the first time since the argument with Halvery. “Sleep. I’ll watch.”
“I can watch,” said Teek softly. “I sleep at nighttime.”
Roup glanced at him and gave a crooked smile.
Are we going to trust this cub from the ferryshaft herd? wondered Lyndi.
“Alright,” said Roup to Teek.
I guess we are. Lyndi stretched out beside Roup, facing the opposite direction. The sun was shining warm on their backs, and the wind sighed through the fir trees. In spite of everything, Lyndi felt a sense of peace. She put her head on her paws, shut her eyes, and was asleep in moments.
* * * *
It was late afternoon by the time Storm saw daylight. The climb had been difficult. Storm suspected that Arcove was still not quite as coordinated as usual, although it was impossible to tell for sure in the darkness. When they reached the tunnel, Arcove started running again.
Storm caught sight of the entrance a moment later and a pair of creasia silhouettes, getting to their feet. Roup’s voice called, “Arcove?”
“Here.”
Then they were in the sunshine. Teek ran to Storm, beaming. “I knew you’d get him back.”
Storm smiled uncertainly. Don’t thank me yet.
Arcove paused long enough to sniff noses with Roup, but then he started off immediately, going south and angling into the trees. “Storm says we’re expected in the Great Clearing at evening.”
“Yes.” Roup kept pace with him. “Arcove—” Storm could hear the relief in Roup’s voice, but then Roup seemed to collect himself, and when he spoke again, his voice was level. “You smell like telshees and sea water. What happened?”
Arcove, Storm, Sauny, and Valla were all wet from the river and gritty from the climb. Sauny and Valla jogged along beside Storm, blinking and looking around. Storm suspected they had not seen this much sunlight in quite a while. Roup’s beta—Storm could not remember her name—eyed them all suspiciously.
“No time now,” said Arcove.
“You’ve acquired more ferryshaft,” said Roup. His eyes slid over Valla and then flicked back. He blinked. “And the Shable.”
“Yes,” said Arcove. “They were just leaving.”
Sauny sputtered. “You need our help.”
Arcove glanced at her. “I was under the impression that you needed mine.” He’d slowed his pace a little, and in that moment of divided attention, he stumbled on a root. It was a tiny mistake, instantly corrected, but Roup noticed. Storm could tell by his look of surprise.
“Keesha—” began Storm, but Arcove talked over him.
“Roup, this is Sauny Ela-ferry, Storm’s sister. Coden was their great grand-sire. That other one is her beta.”
“My name is Valla,” piped up Valla.
Roup looked at Sauny with an expression that Storm could not read.
“They are hoping to hide their herd o
n Kuwee Island while we all kill each other,” continued Arcove.
“Not an unreasonable plan,” said Roup mildly.
“However, they are sufficiently worried about Treace that they would like him dead by this evening, which is where I come in…I think. Did I get that all right, Storm?”
Storm let out an exasperated breath. “Well, you’re mixing up things I said with things Shaw said, but—”
“But that’s the gist of it,” said Arcove. “Now, we have to run if we’re going to reach the Great Clearing before this fight. I assume Halvery is going to fight him if I don’t turn up?”
“Yes,” said Roup. “He and Sharmel went to your den to see what kind of support we’ve got. They’ll meet us at the clearing.” He was watching Arcove minutely. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“I look wet,” said Arcove. “I’ll dry.”
Sauny trotted up beside Storm. “What are you going to do?” she whispered.
“Stay and see how the fight turns out,” muttered Storm. “Decide after that. Are you going after the herd right now?”
Sauny thought for a moment. “No. I’ll stay, too. See how the fight turns out. How did you end up with the creasia, anyway?”
Storm sighed. He dropped back a bit and watched Teek to make sure he was keeping up. Arcove was moving quickly, but, in spite of his words, he wasn’t running with the speed that Storm remembered. Because he’s conserving his strength? Or because of whatever Keesha did to him?
Storm looked at Sauny and Valla. “Here’s what happened,” he began. He talked quickly, trying to tell them only the parts of the story that really mattered. However, as the tale unfolded, he had to keep going back to fill in details that he’d left out. In the end, nearly everything seemed important. By the time he’d finished, they’d reached the Great Clearing.
Chapter 11. Cheat
Storm understood instantly why the creasia called the clearing “Great.” This had to be the largest open grassland in the forest, and it was presently surrounded by cats. They were lying or sitting in the shadows just under the trees, their eyes winking in the dusk like eerie fireflies, tails twitching, waiting.
Halvery came to meet Arcove within moments of his arrival. Storm gathered that all the cats on the eastern end of the clearing were Arcove’s supporters.
“Well, at least we’re not alone,” Storm heard Roup mutter.
Storm couldn’t tell whether Halvery was relieved or disappointed not to be fighting Treace himself. He greeted Arcove warmly, although, like Roup, he got a puzzled expression after they sniffed noses. We probably all smell like telshees, thought Storm.
Arcove barely stopped for long enough to exchange a few words with Halvery. Then he moved beyond the last of the waiting creasia, into the open clearing. Arcove stopped there in the last rays of the setting sun. His fur had dried completely, and he looked formidable. The sunset painted the fall grass red around him, and his shadow stretched out towards his enemies, dark and immense. “Treace Ela-creasia!” he bellowed. “You have challenged me, and I am here.”
A murmur went up from the waiting cats. On the far side of the clearing, a fawn-colored shape detached itself from the rest and moved across the grass towards Arcove, head and tail held high. Storm remembered the way Treace’s clutter had mauled the herd when Treace had come to hunt him. He remembered the way Treace had tried to trick him with lies when he’d cornered Storm on the trail. I’ve done the right thing, Storm assured himself. Arcove is dangerous, and we’ll have to deal with him after Treace is gone, but at least we can trust what he says.
“Storm, come here.” Storm looked to his right and saw Roup standing beside Halvery on the very edge of the clearing. Roup jerked his head and tail impatiently. “Come.”
Storm looked uncertainly at Sauny, Valla, and Teek. All three of them were glancing nervously at the cats. However, Arcove’s creasia seemed wholly focused on what was happening in the clearing. Roup’s beta spoke up. “They’ll be fine,” she said. “Go talk to Roup.”
Storm walked past the last rows of cats to the very front of the group. No one so much as glanced at him. “What happened?” hissed Roup when Storm stopped beside him.
In the clearing, Arcove and Treace were circling each other. Arcove made several swift lunges, but Treace dodged nimbly out of the way. “Well, he learned from the last fight,” muttered Halvery. “This one won’t be over so quickly.”
“Storm…” repeated Roup.
Storm licked his lips. “Keesha caught him,” he whispered. “Keesha…called him…somehow. And did something to him; I don’t know what.”
“Did something?” repeated Roup, his voice and eyes probing.
Storm looked away. “He held Arcove under the water. Arcove passed out. I got there; I talked Keesha into letting him go.” That’s not all that happened, but that’s all I know how to explain.
Now Halvery was listening, too. He shot Storm a dark look around Roup. “Did Keesha break ribs?” He looked back out at the field. “That would explain the way Arcove is moving.”
“Maybe.” Arcove hadn’t complained of anything like that. But would Arcove complain to me? Probably not.
Arcove was trying and failing to close with Treace. The smaller cat kept striking and dancing away. He wasn’t really causing any damage, but neither was Arcove. The creasia along the edge of the trees were beginning to murmur.
“He wasn’t quite himself on the way here,” whispered Roup to Halvery.
“He was running into walls right after it happened,” muttered Storm.
Roup looked horrified. His eyes darted to the field and back to Storm. “Why did Keesha let him go?”
“Because Keesha promised me a favor,” said Storm.
Roup looked as though he didn’t believe it. Storm couldn’t blame him. He hardly believed it himself. What really happened back there?
“Something’s wrong,” whispered Roup. “Something more than broken ribs. I should have made him tell me on the way here.”
“Well, there’s nothing you can do about it now,” said Halvery.
Roup was on his feet, tail twitching.
Halvery looked alarmed. “Roup,” he whispered in a near-snarl, “if you go out there, if you help him, it’s cheating. You can’t interfere in a king’s fight with a challenger! The assembly will kill you and Arcove, too. Then we’ll have a bloodbath. Sit—down.”
But Roup did not sit down. The creasia were talking softly all around them now. Even Storm, who’d never seen Arcove fight with another cat, could tell that Arcove did not possess his usual devastating speed. Arcove was huge and powerful, but not as quick as Treace, who had begun to take real advantage of the fact. He dashed around Arcove and closed suddenly, hitting his opponent in the flank and knocking him over.
Roup was picking up his feet one at a time and setting them down again in a state of great agitation. “Treace will think Arcove was injured in the avalanche,” he said, apparently to himself, “but would Treace take that kind of risk? He wouldn’t know about the telshees. I don’t think so. Treace is a planner, not a risk-taker. There’s something else. Something we haven’t seen.”
“Shut up,” muttered Halvery. “Just shut up and watch. It’s all you can do.”
Treace and Arcove were flipping over in a blur of black and tan. Arcove came up on top, and, for a moment, Storm thought he would rip out Treace’s throat. However, he’d pinned Treace directly underneath him, and Treace kicked up with his back legs. Arcove jumped to the side to avoid being disemboweled, and Treace wriggled away.
Roup and Halvery were both pacing now. Many of the cats around Storm were doing the same. “Almost,” muttered Halvery. “Arcove is definitely not himself, but if Treace will close with him one more time, I think it’ll be over.”
Arcove seemed to think so, too. He pursued Treace aggressively across the clearing, nearly catching him twice, while Treace dodged and danced away. Storm
suspected that Arcove was nearing the end of the strength provided by his nap in Syriot. Whatever was wrong was getting worse, and Arcove needed to finish the fight quickly. “Did you want to fight me, or play hide-and-hunt?” snarled Arcove as Treace dipped and weaved almost into the trees on the southern end of the clearing.
Roup had stopped pacing. He was standing perfectly still, neck craning high to see. “The deer,” he whispered. “Oh, ghosts and little fishes! It wasn’t the pit we should have looked at. It was the deer.”
Treace and Arcove were weaving in and out of the trees now. Roup set off at a dead run across the clearing towards them. Halvery’s teeth snapped on empty air as he made a grab for Roup’s tail. “Blood and gristle!” he bellowed. Then, to Storm’s surprise, he tore off after Roup.
Shouting broke out on all sides. Some cats started forward. Others began backing away. Storm wondered, later, whether Halvery had intended to kill Roup to prevent him from interfering in the fight. Or perhaps Halvery just wanted a better look at what was about to happen.
At any rate, the two creasia were about halfway across the clearing, and the crowd hadn’t yet decided how to respond, when Arcove disappeared in a shower of leaves and then shot straight into the air, thrashing. Something thick and green curled around his head and upper body. Storm gasped. “A curb trap?”
He heard a moan beside him, and looked down to see Teek, pressing against his flank. “The snakes,” he whispered. “The snakes…the black cat…”
Sauny and Valla had come up beside him as well. All around them, cats were surging forward, snarling. “Storm,” whispered Valla. “Storm, I think we should leave.”
“Not yet,” muttered Storm. He couldn’t take his eyes off the field. Treace’s cats had moved to surround the trap. It was difficult to see, properly, but Storm thought that a pit had opened beneath it, preventing Arcove from touching the ground in spite of his weight.
If Roup had started running a moment later, he would never have been able to fight his way through. However, he reached the spot just a little ahead of all but a couple of Treace’s cats. One of them jumped at him, but he dodged, and leapt over their heads. He scrambled up Arcove’s body to tear desperately at the vines with his teeth, while the whole trap swayed wildly. Then Roup and Arcove both fell into the pit. Halvery barreled into one of Treace’s cats an instant later, and they flipped over in a cloud of leaves. Storm saw a spray of blood, and then Halvery was up again, jaws crimson, lunging at the next cat.
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