Secrets of the Wolves

by Dorothy Hearst

  She looked anxiously over her shoulder and began to speak more quickly. “They’re waiting for some kind of traveler, who can see into the past. They say he will help them figure out how they can continue to survive and lead wolfkind. Until they find him, they look for guidance in memories of the ancestors.”

  “Where do they go?” I demanded. I could almost feel Tlitoo’s beady gaze piercing the back of my head. The traveler could only be him, and Lydda had said the gift of the Nejakilakin could find the truth the Greatwolves guarded. I wanted to see those memories of the ancestors.

  I thought Borlla might not answer, but she did so, grudgingly. “I don’t know exactly. But they always come back smelling of dream-sage and of Swift River lands.” Her ears and tail drooped. “They come back smelling of home.”

  “Did you hear anything else?” I demanded.

  “They kept me there for five moons. What do you think?” she snarled.

  “So what else can you tell us?” Ázzuen asked.

  “Nothing. They could come back here any minute.”

  Again, the urge to pin her down and force her to talk overwhelmed me. But the Greatwolves could be upon us at any moment, and Borlla had as much right to do what was best for her as we did.

  “Thank you for telling me,” I said, controlling my anger. She didn’t acknowledge my thanks, just turned to go.

  “Borlla,” I said, “Unnan is with the Wind Lake pack. He left Swift River and joined them. Because of what happened to you.”

  She hesitated for an instant, then turned back and touched her nose to my face.

  “Good luck, Bear Food,” she said, and bolted into the woods.

  Tlitoo dropped from his oak, landing with a thump on the stream bank. He still had the tuft of fur in his mouth. He spat it out.

  “The Stone Peak wolf is fine,” he said before I could ask. “He returns to his pack to tell them of the hiding place. The two Greatworms have gone back to their hill and are very angry. We can go look for the other Gruntwolf place.”

  “Did Nlitsa say anything about my mother?” I asked.

  “No, wolf. We must go now.” He blinked at me and opened his beak to breathe in sharp, quick pants. His heart beat quickly under the smooth feathers of his chest.

  I wanted to go just as much as he did. I had no idea how much time we had before the Greatwolves finished their ritual, and we couldn’t wait another half moon.

  “We don’t have to be at Fallen Tree until darkfall,” Marra said. “We still have time.”

  “Not much time,” Ázzuen said. “As soon as Galindra and Sundru tell the other Greatwolves about Borlla, they’ll want to talk to us.”

  “At least,” I said. The Greatwolves wouldn’t know we’d learned of their ritual, but they would know we had helped Borlla escape, and they wouldn’t be happy about it. If we were going to find the Greatwolf ritual, we would have to start looking soon. I didn’t want Ázzuen and Marra with me, though. I didn’t want them seeing what Tlitoo and I did. I was about to suggest we split the territory to save time, when I saw Jlela flying fast above the stream. She landed in a skid and tumbled into Tlitoo.

  “You need to come, Moonwolf,” she said to me. “There is trouble.”

  “What trouble?” I asked impatiently. I needed to find the Greatwolf sleeping place, and ravens often had strange ideas about what was important.

  “Trouble with your girl, wolf. You should come.”

  I didn’t ask any more questions. I took off at a run toward the auroch plain. The Greatwolves would have to wait.

  17

  I took one look at the humans on the plain and saw what Jlela meant. Even from the top of the poplar hill I could tell that there was trouble. The humans weren’t fighting or yelling, but there was something in the way HuLin was standing, in the set of TaLi’s shoulders, that told me even from far away that something was wrong. The rest of the humans were standing around sleds already piled high with auroch, or cutting the remaining meat from the carcasses, as they would after any hunt, but they moved stiffly and did not take their eyes from HuLin and TaLi.

  We ran down the hill, staying under the cover of the poplars and scrubby bushes as much as we could. When we reached our watching spot at the edge of the plain, I was surprised to find the Vole Eater youngwolf, Prannan, waiting for us at a spot where the woods met the plain.

  “The ravens came for me,” he said. “They said to guard the humans until you got here, and I did. One of the humans gave me firemeat!”

  Still startled that he was there, I nosed his muzzle in thanks and looked more closely at the humans. I couldn’t find KiLi or her mate, and all the other humans seemed to be doing their best to avoid HuLin and TaLi.

  “What’s happening?” I asked Prannan.

  “The one called HuLin wants to take the tribe into a place called Aln territory tomorrow,” he answered. “There’s a small herd of elkryn there, and he wants to kill them all before the Aln tribe does. Then he wants to get all the forest pigs, walking birds, and smallprey in another tribe’s forests—I can’t remember their names—before the other humans realize the other prey is leaving. He wants to kill as much prey as he can before the other humans do. And he wants to use you to do it. Your girl is trying to stop him.” He stopped to gulp a breath. “She says it goes against the teachings of the krianans. That it would upset the Balance.”

  Left to their own will, the humans would kill everything in the valley. TaLi’s task would not be easy.

  “They were called the Wen tribe!” Prannan said. “The ones with the smallprey. I have to go now, Kaala,” he said. “I have to get back to my pack.”

  I just blinked at him, still not quite believing that he’d come to help us.

  “Thanks,” Marra said when I didn’t answer Prannan.

  Prannan ducked his head and loped into the woods. As his tail disappeared in the thick shrubs, I saw that Frandra and Jandru were back, lying with their heads in their paws, watching the humans. I wondered how long they’d been there, if they’d seen us running down the poplar hill. TaLi’s voice drew my attention back to the plain.

  “We can’t kill all the prey,” TaLi was saying, her voice even. Her back was to me, but the tension in her shoulders told me how difficult it was for her to keep her voice calm.

  HuLin scowled. Unlike TaLi, he made no attempt to hide his displeasure.

  “There is no time for this nonsense. We’ve followed the will of the krianans”—he spat the word—“for too long. TonLin said he spoke directly to the Ancients, and they told him we could hunt wherever we wanted. DavRian says the same. The old woman wouldn’t let us, but she’s too old to stop us from it now.”

  “I will be taking on my grandmother’s role,” TaLi said. “You know you must follow the wisdom of the krianans. You know you must preserve the Balance.”

  “Not anymore!” he said. “Prey is scarce, and if we don’t hunt as much as we can now, we’ll starve.”

  “We’ll have enough,” TaLi said. “I will see to that with the help of the wolves.” She looked over her shoulder at us. I didn’t know when she’d noticed us. I walked over to her and pressed against her thigh. HuLin ignored me.

  “If we kill everything in the valley it will upset the Balance for years to come,” TaLi said. “If you kill so much now, there will be no young prey born. And it’s wrong.”

  HuLin slammed the blunt end of his sharpstick into the ground. It broke off at the base. He swore and threw it aside.

  “Rian tribe no longer follows the old krianans. Nor does Wen. They take what they want, and so will we. Tomorrow we take the elkryn. You will bring your wolves, TaLi, and they will help us.”

  “I won’t,” she said softly. “I can’t.”

  “You will,” HuLin said, losing patience with the girl. He leaned close to her and hissed in her ear, “If you do so, then you can call yourself krianan and choose your own mate. But you will help this tribe get the food that we need. You will bring the wolves to hunt with us in t
he morning, or I will bind you, carry you to Rian, and leave you there.”

  He turned and stalked back to the auroch-filled sleds, certain he would be obeyed.

  “Come on, Silvermoon,” TaLi said, backing quietly toward the woods where Ázzuen and Marra waited. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked down the plain to see that Frandra and Jandru had stood. I went with TaLi. When she was hidden from the rest of the tribe by the trees, she sank onto her knees. Ázzuen, Marra, and I all pressed up against her to comfort her.

  “I have to go back to Grandmother’s,” she whispered. “Come with me, Silvermoon.”

  She stood and took off at a run.

  “We must go to the Greatwolf dreaming place, wolf,” Tlitoo quorked, stalking over to me. “Before the Gruntwolves there awaken.”

  I knew we did. NiaLi’s new shelter was more than an hour’s lope, even for a wolf, from where we were, and it would take TaLi even longer. I needed to go find the Greatwolf ritual and to bring more meat to the pack. I needed to find Nlitsa and find out what she knew of my mother.

  “Not until TaLi is safe,” I told him.

  I heard a rustling down the plain and saw Frandra and Jandru retreating into the woods. I thought about going to them to find out if they’d seen us on the poplar hill, but there was no time. If they wanted to talk to us, they’d find us.

  “Hide the rest of the meat to bring back to the pack,” I said to Marra, “then catch up with us.”

  Ázzuen and I loped after TaLi. The three of us ran as quickly as TaLi could until we were well away from the Western Plains and TaLi’s tribe. Then TaLi slowed to a jog and spoke again.

  “The Rian tribe and the Wens want to get rid of krianans,” she said, “but Lan and Aln believe in the old ways. The other tribes are undecided.”

  She stopped and cocked her head as we all heard a rustling in the bushes.

  “It’s just Marra,” I said, even though I knew she wouldn’t understand me.

  “It’s not just me,” Marra said, leaping over a juniper bush to join us. The scent of Rian male floated on the wind.

  “DavRian’s following us,” TaLi hissed. “I know he is. He must have been hiding in the bushes like the snake he is. I don’t want him knowing where my grandmother’s new shelter is, Silvermoon.”

  I licked her hand to let her know I understood her.

  Tlitoo landed on a low branch. “The clumsy human will be here soon, wolves,” he said.

  “Come on,” I said to Ázzuen and Marra.

  I pelted off in the direction of DavRian’s scent, of his ungainly crashing through the woods. He was making a lot of noise, avoiding the path and trying to surprise TaLi. It only made it easier for us to find him.

  We reached him just as he clambered over two trees that had fallen near the edge of a gentle slope that led into a lush ravine. He scaled both trees and leapt down, jumping higher than he needed to, as if showing himself he could. He was as strong and agile as any youngwolf, but he was clumsy. He landed off balance.

  “Don’t hurt him,” I ordered. “Just stop him for a little while.”

  “I can do that.” Ázzuen grinned. He leapt at DavRian’s chest as Marra tangled herself in the young human’s legs. DavRian toppled and landed hard on his rump as Ázzuen jumped clear of him. DavRian scrambled quickly to his feet. I prodded him in his back, and Tlitoo cawed loudly and flapped his wings just above DavRian’s head. The human staggered, then slipped in the pine needles on the soft ground and slid almost gracefully down the slope. Marra leapt onto a pile of fallen wood and shoved it down on the boy. They were relatively small pieces of wood. They wouldn’t hurt him much. Tlitoo stood atop the slope, tossing twigs and pinecones down at DavRian.

  With a yip of triumph, I pelted after TaLi. The girl was running as quickly as she could when we overtook her. If she could maintain her speed, we would be out of DavRian’s range by the time he freed himself. I worried that TaLi would not be fast enough, that she couldn’t keep the fast pace, but her long legs took her flying through the woods. Even when she slowed to a trot, we made good progress until she stopped, panting, in front of NiaLi’s shelter.

  TaLi caught her breath, then lifted the deerskin flap and allowed us to precede her into the shelter. NiaLi looked up in surprise when we came in, but Trevegg had heard us coming. He was waiting right next to the entrance.

  “What happened?” he demanded as TaLi flopped down next to the old woman and her fire. He began to sniff us all over. “You smell of Borlla!” he said, incredulous.

  We told him—about the humans wanting to kill all the prey and about Borlla—as TaLi spilled out her own story to NiaLi. I could tell that the old woman was trying to listen to all of us at once. Trevegg was ecstatic to hear that Borlla was alive, and I could tell he had questions for us, but we all listened to NiaLi as she spoke.

  “I am not pleased,” she was saying to TaLi, “but I’m not surprised. HuLin was always thickheaded, even when he was a boy.”

  Tlitoo poked his head in through the smoke hole. “The Gruntwolves have followed. They are almost within hearing range. And we must go find the Greatworm sleeping place, wolf!” He cocked his head right, then left. “I will be right back.” He pulled his head out of the shelter, and I heard the whoosh of wings.

  “Frandra and Jandru said they would come to me tonight,” NiaLi said. “They said they had something to tell me.”

  “They already know about HuLin wanting to kill all the prey,” I said, “but not that we know about Borlla or the Greatwolf ritual.” My throat clenched as I remembered them watching from the edge of the plain. “I hope they don’t, anyway.”

  NiaLi tapped her fingers on the skins that covered her legs. “We’ll know soon enough. You think this ritual of the krianan wolves is important, Silvermoon?”

  “Yes,” I said. “If they’re so careful to hide it, then it must be important.”

  “And Borlla said that they never miss it,” Marra added. “They go every half moon. We need to find out what it is.”

  “I agree,” Trevegg said. “If they’re hiding it, I want to know about it.”

  “As do I,” NiaLi said. “Once you find what it is, come back to me. Whatever is happening, the krianans outside the valley must know.”

  She turned back to TaLi. The girl was looking back and forth between us and the old woman. She knew NiaLi could communicate with us in ways she couldn’t. The old woman smiled at her.

  “I need to teach you how to understand your friends,” she said. “I should have done so before but didn’t realize how little time we had.” The old krianan turned back to us.

  “If you’re going to sneak up on the krianan wolves you will need to hide your scent. Get me the uijin, please, TaLi.”

  Raven feet scraped the top of the shelter. Tlitoo had returned. He dropped down from the smoke hole to land beside NiaLi.

  “They are near,” he quorked, and flew back out the smoke hole.

  NiaLi dipped her head at TaLi. The girl stood silently and crossed to one of the shelter’s mud walls. She stretched to her full height to get a dried gourd from a high wooden shelf. I recognized the scent of uijin, a salve made from chokeberries, herbs, and sap that could disguise a wolf’s or a human’s scent from others. TaLi had used it on me once before when we had spied on the Greatwolves.

  I wanted to talk to Trevegg, to tell him that the Greatwolf ritual was somewhere in our territory, to get his advice on how to talk to the pack, but I couldn’t if the Greatwolves were close enough to hear us. It was probably my imagination, but I could swear I could hear them breathing outside the shelter.

  TaLi scooped some of the uijin out of the gourd and sat down next to me. NiaLi took the rest and called Ázzuen and Marra to her side. I stood still as TaLi rubbed the uijin into my fur, enjoying the feel of her hands stroking me. When all three of us were coated with the sticky stuff, TaLi set the gourd back up on the high shelf and sat beside me again.

  “TaLi, I want you to stay here w
ith me for a few nights,” NiaLi said. “It will give HuLin time to calm himself. And time to realize that without you and the wolves he may go hungry. Then you will return and offer to help him—as krianan and in your own way. Don’t be so foolish as to confront him directly again. It only makes him angry and defensive.” She grinned. “I should know. If he still doesn’t accept you, you will go to Lan and become their krianan.”

  I whuffed concern. That could take half a moon. We didn’t have time.

  “I know you’re impatient, Silvermoon,” the old woman chided, “but you have a promise to keep. If we can succeed in the challenge the Greatwolves have set you, we can leave the valley when we choose.”

  She didn’t bother to talk about what would happen if we didn’t succeed. We all knew. We’d be killed. I dipped my head.

  “But I failed,” TaLi said in a soft, shame-filled voice. “HuLin wouldn’t listen to me, even after we hunted aurochs with the wolves. He says he won’t follow the old ways anymore.”

  NiaLi held out her arms to the girl, and TaLi went to her. I followed, and Marra and Ázzuen made way for me, allowing me to push in between TaLi and her grandmother. NiaLi reached past me to stroke TaLi’s hair. “You misunderstand the role of the krianan,” the old woman said. “It is not about what rituals you perform or your status in your tribe. It is about doing what you must to ensure that those who follow you do not forget that they are part of the world around them. The krianans of the Wide Valley have long done so by listening to the krianan wolves and taking their messages back to our people. You and Silvermoon are finding a new way, and none of us knows what that will be yet.” She pushed me gently out of the way so that she could take TaLi’s face in her hands. “I do know this: being krianan has nothing to do with the title given by a tribe leader and everything to do with the choices that you make. You refused to go against the Balance, even when HuLin said he would make you krianan if you did so. That is not failure, it is the mark of a true krianan, and I am proud of you.”