He glanced at his paws. “Thanks.”
Shila was climbing from the lake. She raced toward them, her eyes shining. “Did you win? I couldn’t see! Illa was making more spray than a spouting whale.”
Behind her, Illa emerged coughing and spluttering from the water.
“Did everyone finish?” Kallik scanned the bears. They were all back on shore. The first trial was over. She shook out her pelt, excited about the next one; then she remembered Yakone.
Her heart sank. She scanned the shore, hoping to see him ambling toward her. Didn’t he care how she’d done? But he was nowhere to be seen. Anxiety tightened Kallik’s belly. What was with wrong with him?
Leaving the others, she climbed up the shore and over the ridge. Beyond, the forest stretched steeply uphill and she slipped into its shadow, sniffing for a trace of Yakone. She picked up his scent at once and followed it along the winding trail he’d left through snapped brambles and flattened ferns. He must have been in a foul temper as he’d come this way.
Kallik caught sight of his white pelt among the lichen-covered trunks. He was pulling at the moss on a tree stump, peeling away great flaps and flinging them onto a heap beside him.
“What are you doing?” Kallik kept her growl soft as she approached him.
He glanced at her, then returned to moss gathering. “I thought if I gathered moss now, it could dry in the sun and be ready to line our nest by tonight.”
“That’s kind of you.” Kallik searched his face, but he was intent on his task and she saw nothing but concentration. “Taqqiq won the race,” she told him. He didn’t reply.
“I came in second.”
“You did?” He looked at her, surprise and happiness in his eyes, before looking back at the moss sternly, as though he’d remembered he was being annoyed. “I knew you’d do well. You’re a strong bear.”
“So are you.” Kallik caught sight of his injured paw. He was using it to loosen another patch of moss. It looked swollen. “Stop.” She pressed her paw gently over it. “You’re hurting yourself.”
Yakone grunted and snatched his paw away. “I told you. I’m useless. This paw is no good, even for picking moss.”
“You’ll adjust,” Kallik soothed. “It will feel normal one day, and you’ll be able to do everything the other bears can do.”
“And until then?” He faced her, anger in his eyes again. “Why don’t you go back to the others? They’ll be planning their next trial. You wouldn’t want to miss it.”
Heat spread through Kallik’s fur. “Perhaps I will. That’s more fun than listening to you feeling sorry for yourself.”
He met her fury with his own. “Does that mean you don’t want to come to Star Island with me anymore?”
She felt as though he’d raked his claws across her cheek. “What?”
“You heard.” His gaze bored into her. “Perhaps it’s best if you don’t. I’m no use to you now. I’m just a lame bear. You’d be better off among bears who can protect you and provide for you.”
Kallik stared at him in disbelief. Was that what he thought? That she wanted him to protect her? Before she could speak, Yakone pushed past her and marched away through the forest. Kallik sat down, panic spiraling though her thoughts. She had thought Yakone wanted to be with her. Didn’t he know how much she loved him? Had she been wrong about their relationship all along?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Lusa
Lusa dug her paws into the pebbly shore. Miki and Ossi shifted beside her. She could see the white bears splashing through the water as they raced back from the pile of rocks.
“Come on, Kallik!” Lusa knew her friend couldn’t hear her, but she barked anyway, willing Kallik to beat the others. Water frothed as the white bears stormed toward the shore. Then, like a distant whale surfacing, Taqqiq emerged from the lake. Lusa’s heart leaped as Kallik followed her brother out. “Look! Kallik came in second!”
Miki squinted. “How can you tell from here?”
“Can’t you see?” She jerked her muzzle toward him. “Is your vision blurred again?” The swelling on his head was smaller, and his headaches fewer, but he was still having dizzy spells.
“No,” he chuffed. “It’s just such a long way away!”
Ossi was squinting, too. “Are you sure it’s Kallik?”
The white bears’ shore was far away, but Lusa would recognize Kallik’s outline anywhere. And Taqqiq was easy to spot—his great white flank as broad as Yakone’s, his shoulders narrower.
Lusa frowned. Where was Yakone? Perhaps he was lagging behind because of his injured paw.
Ossi’s voice broke through her thoughts. “I wonder if Dustu and the others have decided what trials we’ll have? I’m so pleased you suggested this, Lusa.”
Lusa thought back to the moment before dawn when she’d woken up. She’d quickly checked on Chula, Sheena, and Tibik, then headed for Dustu’s nest.
“It’s too soon!” Dustu had objected when she’d woken him and told him what Toklo and Aiyanna had said. “Hashi’s only just died.”
Leaves had swished around them as the other bears stirred, their faces still bleary with sleep.
“What’s going on?” Ossi had ambled toward them, yawning, with Dena and Leotie behind him.
“The brown bears and white bears are holding trials to find new leaders,” Dustu grunted. “Lusa thinks we should do the same.”
“What sort of trials?” asked Dena.
“Races,” Lusa explained. “Like who can pick the most berries or climb a tree fastest. It could help us decide who will lead the Longest Day ceremony.”
Dena’s eyes brightened. “It sounds like fun.”
“What about a race to see who can build a den quickest?” suggested a bear behind her.
“Or a race to the top of the ridge and back?” another called.
A cub popped its head up. “Can I join in?”
“How can a cub lead the Longest Day ceremony?” growled Dustu.
Dena tipped her head on one side. “They can still take part, surely?”
Rudi put down the piece of bark he’d been chewing. “It seems disrespectful after all that’s happened.”
Lusa saw grief in his sharp black eyes. “The accident was terrible,” she agreed. “We have lost bears we love, but—”
“Some of them are still injured,” Sheena interrupted her. “Do you think Chula is fit to take part in these trials?”
“Of course not.” Lusa shifted her paws. “But the Longest Day is about honoring the spirits. Is it right that we should only share sadness while we’re together? Surely we should share joy, too? We don’t even have to use the trials to choose a new leader. They will remind us what we’re good at.”
An old bear grunted stubbornly, “Do you want us to forget what happened?”
Miki pushed his way to the front. “Lusa would never want that! She was there when Hashi died.”
Lusa watched Dustu’s gaze narrow. “What would Hashi have wanted?”
Rudi rolled his bark beneath his paw. “He would want us to celebrate the Longest Day, not to mourn it.”
“Does that mean we can do it?” Leotie chuffed.
Lusa glanced around the gathered bears, her heart lifting as she saw heads begin to nod.
“Very well.” Dustu lifted his head. “We will hold trials like the other bears.”
“What will they be?” Leotie demanded.
It was then that Lusa had noticed the dawn light breaking through the trees and remembered that the white bears would be starting their first trial. Slipping away, she hurried to the shore. Miki and Ossi had followed her.
Now that the white bears’ race was over, Lusa wanted to know what trials the black bears would face. She turned to Ossi and Miki. “Come on! Let’s go back to the others.”
Ossi twitched his ears. “I hope we won’t have swimming races!”
Lusa snorted with amusement as she headed up the beach. “Can’t you swim, Ossi?”
“Like a
stone,” Miki teased.
Ossi sniffed. “I could swim if I wanted. I just don’t want to.”
Lusa’s heart quickened as she thought about the trials. It would be fun to compete against bears who were just like her. Traveling with Kallik and Toklo had sometimes made her feel so small that she’d had to remind herself there were things they couldn’t do, like steal honey from bees’ nests or squeeze into hollow trees and search for tasty insects.
She felt a pang as she realized that Miki wouldn’t be able to take part because of his injury. As they neared the black bear camp, she slowed until she was walking beside him. “I need someone to keep an eye on Chula and Tibik while we hold the trials.”
“You mean you want to keep me busy while you’re taking part.” He shot her a teasing look.
Guilt pricked in her belly. “You know you’re not well enough to compete yet, don’t you?”
“Of course.” Miki shrugged. “But I don’t want to spend the whole time watching Chula and the others. I want to watch the trials.” He twitched his ears. “I want to see how you do.”
“And me!” Ossi barged between them. “I’m going to win!”
Lusa nudged him. “If I don’t beat you.”
Dena’s voice echoed through the trees. “Lusa! Miki! Ossi!”
“We’re here!” Lusa trotted toward her.
“Quick!” Dena urged. “We’re about to start the first trial.”
Already? “What is it?” Lusa asked.
“Tree climbing.” Dena led them to a patch of cedars. Bears circled each one, looking up into the branches. “Choose a tree.”
“Hurry!” Dustu barked as he caught sight of Lusa and Ossi.
Lusa scanned the trees, looking for one with widely spaced branches that she’d be able to climb easily. She spotted one and headed for it. Ossi stopped at the tree beside hers.
Miki studied Lusa’s tree. “I think you’ve picked a good one.”
Dustu looked around the bears. “Ready? Go!”
Lusa stretched up and hooked her claws into the cedar wood. The sweet scent of its sap filled her nose as she hauled herself up to the first branch. Swinging her hind legs onto it, she reached up the trunk again. The next branch was some way above, but the bark was soft and easy to grip. Squeezing the trunk between her hind legs, she half pulled, half pushed her way upward.
She could see Ossi in the next tree. His stoutness hid impressive climbing skills; he raced up the tree, dodging between the branches, hardly stopping to plan his route.
Lusa pushed harder, pleased that the long moons of traveling had strengthened her paws. Tipping her head back, she saw a route clear to the top and zigzagged easily between the branches.
“Hurry, Lusa!” Miki called from below.
A branch cracked a few trees away, and Lusa caught sight of black fur tumbling. She paused, tensing as she heard a thump.
“Be careful!” Leotie’s anxious cry rang through the trees.
“I’m okay!” Dena called. “I just slipped down a few branches.”
Lusa pushed up again, suddenly remembering the tree in the Bear Bowl that she had climbed with Yogi. The memory swamped her, as powerful as a wave. How frightened she’d been. How high she’d climbed. For a moment the trees surrounding her seemed to fade, replaced by rows of watching flat-faces murmuring like the wind.
“Quick, Lusa! Ossi’s nearly at the top.” Miki’s bark broke through her thoughts. Snapping back to the present, she scrambled past the next branch.
A moment later, her head popped through the spiky canopy and she found herself clinging to the top of the trunk and staring across the forest. Beyond the treetops, the lake sparkled in the sun. The narrow trunk swayed, and Lusa’s belly tightened as it bent under her weight.
Quickly, she slid down, relieved as she felt the trunk thicken against her belly. Scooting between branches, she scrabbled backward down the tree. Halfway down she saw Ossi. Tangled branches surrounded him, and he was twisting around with a frown of determination as he tried to find a route down.
Lusa slithered down a few more branches. A black bear paced below. It must be Miki, waiting for her. She dropped down more quickly, feeling confident as the ground neared. “I’m almost there!” she called as she reached the bottom branch. Preparing to lower herself onto the leafy forest floor, she glanced down.
The black bear wasn’t Miki. Her heart lurched as she recognized the broad shoulders and square brow. This was a bear who she hadn’t seen in a long time—not since they had started their journey along the river from the Melting Sea. And it was not a bear she had hoped to see again. Lusa froze, clinging to the trunk. Hakan!
“I’ve won!” Ossi’s voice rang out as he thumped onto the ground.
Lusa tried to find him, but the trunk blocked her view. She couldn’t see Miki, either. Where had he gone?
Hakan scowled up at her. “Where’s my sister?”
Lusa stared at him, her belly churning. Hakan had shared his territory on the Big River with his sister Chenoa, who had chosen to travel with Lusa and the other bears to escape her brother’s bullying. Lusa felt sadness well inside her as she remembered Chenoa’s death at a vast waterfall, not long after her journey began.
“Are you scared to come down?” There was menace in Hakan’s growl.
Lusa clung harder to the trunk. How was she going to tell this angry bear that Chenoa had died?
“Where’s my sister?” Hakan snarled again.
Miki’s voice sounded from the other side of the trunk. “Sorry, Lusa. Ossi was faster than you.” He blinked up at her. “Are you stuck?”
Lusa watched him notice Hakan. “Hello!” Miki greeted the black bear amiably. “Have you just arrived? I’m Miki.” He followed Hakan’s stare. “And that’s Lusa.”
“I know.” Hakan’s growl was cold. “Where’s Chenoa?” he demanded.
“Chenoa?” Miki looked confused. “I haven’t met a bear called Chenoa. Is she a friend of yours?”
Lusa clung tighter to the trunk, its sweet scent so strong now that she felt queasy. “Don’t worry, Miki. I know where she is.” Her voice was hoarse. She wanted Miki to stay, but she didn’t want him to hear the awful news she had to break to Hakan. Such a young bear might be horrified, especially to learn exactly how Chenoa died. “Miki, go tell Ossi I’m pleased for him.” Miki padded away, and Lusa lowered herself down the trunk.
Hakan thrust his face close as she touched the ground. “Where is she?”
Lusa backed away, her throat tightening. “She’s dead, Hakan.”
Hakan stared at her in horror. “What?”
“On the journey.” Lusa could hardly make herself say the words. “She was washed over a waterfall. There was nothing we could do to save her.”
Rage flared in Hakan’s eyes. “She died on the river? She’d hardly left our home! You persuaded her to go with you and then you let her die?”
Lusa screwed her eyes shut as Hakan reared over her. Bracing herself for a blow, she backed against the tree.
Pawsteps thumped the ground and fur brushed in front of her. “Leave Lusa alone!”
Opening her eyes, Lusa saw Ossi shoving Hakan away.
“Don’t hurt him!” she cried. She ran forward and pushed Ossi aside. “I can handle this.”
“It doesn’t look like it!” Ossi growled.
“Really,” Lusa pleaded. “It’s fine.”
“You can’t let some strange bear walk up to you and attack you! What’s going on?”
Hakan curled his lip. “She killed my sister.”
“What?” Ossi jerked his muzzle toward Hakan. “How?”
“It was an accident!” Lusa wailed. “A terrible accident.”
Miki moved out from the trees. Dustu and Dena followed with Issa and Leotie, all of them looking worried. Lusa shifted uncomfortably as she saw even more bears heading toward her.
“Who is this?” Dustu asked.
“I’m Hakan. I came here to meet my sister.” Hakan scored a line i
n the dirt with his claw. “But Lusa killed her.”
“Don’t be silly!” Issa scoffed. “Lusa wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“She killed Chenoa,” Hakan insisted.
“It was an accident,” Lusa blurted out. “She fell into the river, and the current swept her over the falls. We couldn’t have saved her.”
“Murderer!” Hakan hissed.
“Hush!” Rudi pushed his way to the front and faced Hakan. “Lusa has done nothing but save lives here. She wouldn’t harm another bear.”
Dustu nodded. “Lusa is a healer, not a murderer.”
“Try telling that to my dead sister,” Hakan snarled.
Dustu met the angry bear’s gaze. “We come here in peace, to celebrate the Longest Day and honor the spirits.”
“Peace!” Hakan spat. “I will never know peace now I know that she”—he shot Lusa a poisonous glance—“took my sister from her home and killed her.”
Paws shifted uncomfortably around Lusa. Did these bears believe Hakan? Most of them had known her only a few days. “I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked.
Rudi straightened up. “You have nothing to apologize for, Lusa.” He narrowed his eyes at Hakan. “Lusa has never shown anything but courage, kindness, and loyalty. If you cannot accept that your sister’s death was an accident, then you cannot stay here.”
Lusa saw heads nodding around her. She felt limp with relief. Yet guilt swirled through her belly. Were these bears going to drive Hakan away? Was that fair? Surely every bear was welcome at the Longest Day? And Hakan was grieving. He needed the spirits more than she did.
Should I leave? Lusa’s paws started to shake. A shoulder pressed against hers. Ossi. Gratefully, she leaned against him.
Hakan curled his lip. “I wouldn’t breathe the same air as that murderer anyway! But don’t think I’ll ever forgive this, or forget it.” His gaze burned into Lusa’s. “You’ll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life—you and your friends!” Growling, he barged his way through the crowd and stalked into the forest.
Miki stepped forward, his eyes dark. “Let’s go foraging.” He tried to sound bright. “Come on, everyone. There will still be dew on the berries if we hurry.” He began to shoo them away, pacing one way, then the other until they began to leave. Encouraging the last stragglers, he guided them between the trees. “You must be hungry after the trial.”