Farther along the shore, the brown bears were watching the fire, too. Barking with alarm, they backed toward the water. Suddenly Kallik saw Toklo and Aiyanna burst from the trees near the edge of the white bears’ territory. Terror shone in their eyes.
“Get the others into the water!” Kallik ordered Yakone. Smoke was starting to gust over the shore. It stung her eyes as she swung her muzzle toward the nearest island. “Tell everyone to head there!”
“Quick! Everyone! We have to swim!”
As Yakone began to bark at the others, Kallik raced toward Toklo.
“It was Nanulak!” Toklo snarled. “He’s here! We fought in a flat-face den. It caught fire.”
“Nanulak?” Kallik could hear the flames now. They were swallowing the forest, as hungry as wolves. She stared at Toklo in panic. “Have you seen Lusa?”
“No!”
Aiyanna was staring at the trees. The fire was roaring closer and closer to the shore.
“The black bears will be heading for the lake.” Toklo blinked against the smoke billowing from the trees. “I’ll go see if they need help.”
“Wait!” Aiyanna jerked her muzzle toward the brown bears. Panicked, they were crashing into one another as they backed into the shallows. “Can you see Wapi and Yas? Where’s Flo? I can’t see Flo!”
“Kissimi!” Illa’s terrified wail sounded from the white bears’ shore.
Kallik turned and saw Illa darting back and forth at the edge of the lake. Clouds of smoke rolled over the rocks. Through the choking darkness, Kallik glimpsed a small white shape charging for the tower. Kissimi!
Flames raced down the hillside toward the great stone den. Kallik pelted toward it, barking at Kissimi. “Get away! Go back to Illa!” As a gust of wind cleared the smoke for a moment, she glimpsed his terrified face. He was bolting, panic-stricken, his gaze fixed on the tower.
Kallik ran harder as Kissimi scrambled up the rocks toward the opening at the bottom of the tower. As he disappeared inside, her heart lurched. “Kissimi! No!”
The roar of the flames drowned Kallik’s cry. She leaped the rocks and climbed over the scrubby grass surrounding the tower. Her eyes streamed as smoke engulfed her, but she blundered her way to the opening. Stone walls scraped her sides as she heaved herself in. Steep steps curved upward in front of her. Kissimi was vanishing around the first bend.
“Come down!” Kallik’s voice echoed up the tower. But the cub kept running. Kallik charged after him, her heart bursting with fear each time she passed a gap in the wall and saw the fire rolling down the hillside toward them. Her chest roared as she climbed. “Kissimi! Stop!” She stumbled on a step. Pain shot through her paw, but she ignored it and kept climbing.
Looking up, she saw Kissimi disappear through an opening at the very top of the tower. He’ll fall! Terror pulsed in her paws as she followed him out through the square gap at the end of the steps. “Stop!”
Kissimi turned and stared at her, smoke billowing over him. Behind him a short wall stood between him and the long, long drop to the ground.
“We can’t stay here!” Kallik barked. The flames were so close she could feel their heat, driven by the wind. She glanced over her shoulder at the brown bears down on the shore. Toklo and Aiyanna were herding cubs toward their mothers. The others crowded in the shallows. Some were swimming toward a cluster of rocks a little way out.
In the white bears’ part of the water, bears were plunging into the lake and striking out for deeper water. Near the shore, Yakone stood belly-deep, barking encouragement as the others streamed past him. Anarteq and Kunik hung back, circling anxiously. Taqqiq and Shila paced behind them, their pelts spiked in fear, while Illa was staring toward the tower. Kallik wondered if Illa could see her and Kissimi through the smoke.
Where are the black bears? She searched the forest where the pines gave way to birch and spruce. The flames were closing in on every side, but there was no sign of the black bears on the shore.
“We can’t stay here!” Kallik repeated, leaning forward and snatching Kissimi’s scruff between her jaws. Swinging him toward the opening, she began to carry him down the steps. He was heavy, no longer the tiny cub she’d carried on the Endless Ice, and Kallik’s neck pulsed with the strain.
“Don’t take me down! There’s fire outside!” Kissimi whimpered.
It’ll be inside before long. As Kallik’s flanks scraped the walls, she could feel heat through the stone. Kissimi howled as she bumped him against a step. I’m sorry! But we have to get away!
Stumbling to the bottom, she saw flames licking the entrance. Smoke billowed beyond, hiding the lake and the trees. Kallik took a deep breath around her mouthful of Kissimi’s fur and closed her eyes. Then she put her head down and charged through the fire, stumbling over the rocks, feeling thorns scrape her pelt. Kissimi swung and jerked in her jaws. Kallik fought to keep her balance and kept going. The acrid stench of burnt fur touched her nose.
The rocks and bushes under her paws gave way to pebbles. Kallik opened her eyes. She had made it to the shore. Behind her, the tower filled with flame, bright-orange tongues leaping from the gaps in the wall. Kallik dropped Kissimi with a grunt. Blinking away tears from the smoke, she checked him for burns. Soot smeared his white fur, but she couldn’t see any singed pelt. She glanced along her own flank and saw patches of her fur blackened at the tips. But it didn’t hurt. She was okay.
“Where’s Illa?” Kissimi wailed.
“Waiting by the water.”
The cub jumped up and tore across the stones. “Illa!” he howled.
Kallik followed him, reaching the edge of the lake as Kissimi buried his snout in Illa’s flank. Hardly hearing Illa’s bark of gratitude, Kallik raced toward Yakone. She stopped beside him, her flanks heaving. Most of the bears were swimming now, heading for the island. Aside from her and Yakone, only Anarteq, Kunik, Taqqiq, Shila, Illa, and Kissimi remained on land.
“They’re too old to swim that far.” Yakone nodded toward Anarteq and Kunik. “Not in this smoke.” He coughed as another cloud billowed over them. Embers sparked in it, hissing as they hit the water.
Kallik looked at the bears. Kissimi trembled beside Illa. He was too shaken to risk the long swim, and she knew Illa wouldn’t leave without him. “Let’s take them to the brown bears’ territory,” Kallik suggested. “We might be able to get them to those rocks near the shore.” Most of the brown bears were swimming for the rocks now, but a few lingered on the beach. Aiyanna was among them, huddling close to a group of cubs.
Kallik nodded to Shila and Taqqiq. “Head for the island!”
Taqqiq shook his head. “I’m not leaving without you.”
Kallik blinked at him. “But you need to get away—”
Shila stepped forward. “We’ll swim to the island when everyone is safe.”
There was no time to tell Taqqiq and Shila how much this meant to her. “Come on, then.” Kallik headed for the group of brown bears. Toklo was emerging from the trees.
“There’s no sign of the black bears!” he called.
Yakone scowled. “Where are they?”
Kallik didn’t want to imagine. She herded Anarteq, Kunik, Illa, and Kissimi toward the brown bears. Aiyanna and another female hurried to meet them.
“Some of the bears are too weak to swim,” Aiyanna barked.
Like the white bears, it was the oldest and youngest brown bears who were trapped on the shore. But at least they were out of the forest. Kallik’s heart lurched as she thought about Lusa. “Get them as far into the water as you can.” She nosed Anarteq, Kunik, Illa, and Kissimi toward Aiyanna. “Take these bears, too. Toklo and I have to find Lusa and the other black bears.”
Aiyanna shook her head. “I’m coming with you.” She turned to the female beside her. “Izusa, you heard what she said. Take them as deep as you can.”
Izusa stared at her. “Where are you going?”
“We have to help the black bears.” Without waiting for a response, Aiyanna started ru
nning up the shore toward Toklo.
Kallik turned to follow Aiyanna. She felt Yakone’s flank brush hers and leaned against it for a moment. Ahead of them, smoke rolled in thick black waves from the trees. Kallik could see fire illuminating the shadows inside. Somewhere in there, Lusa was fighting for her life.
If she was still alive.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Lusa
Lusa stared in terror at the flames licking at the edge of the clearing. The fire had come so fast. They hadn’t known which way to run. And now it was too late. She spun around, searching for a way out, but the fire was on every side. “We’re trapped!” she whispered to Miki. Another cloud of smoke drifted through the trees before the wind swirled down between the burning branches. The fire roared louder. The trees screeched, hissing steam. Lusa shuddered. Was that the shrieking of spirits as the fire clawed at them?
“We’re going to die!” Dena pelted past her, racing toward a patch of brambles, then veering away as flames crackled behind it. On the far side of the clearing, Hakan grabbed a cub by its scruff and carried it to its mother, his eyes wild with panic. Leotie cowered in the middle of the camp, whimpering, while Dustu stared around, wide-eyed.
“This is how it ends,” he murmured.
“No!” Miki nosed him backward, away from the wall of heat. “There has to be a way out.”
“Hashi’s tree!” Lusa gasped. “He’ll protect us!” She raced to Tibik’s nest, but Sheena had already hauled the weak cub onto her back.
“I’ve got him,” Sheena grunted.
“Take him to Hashi’s tree!” Lusa ordered. “Chula, you must come with us.”
Chula stared up at her with terrified eyes. “I can’t run!” She flinched as a burning tree creaked behind her.
Ossi raced past Lusa and leaped into Chula’s nest. Shoving his shoulder beneath Chula’s, he started to boost her to her paws. Behind them, the tree began to lurch.
“Look out!” Miki roared.
Ossi lunged forward, pushing Chula ahead of him. The tree snapped and crashed down into the nest where Chula had been lying one heartbeat earlier. A few flaming branches broke off and rolled across the clearing.
“All of you, head for Hashi’s tree!” Lusa barked. She began to herd the frightened black bears downslope. There was a stretch of unburned forest ahead. The bears streamed through it.
Lusa felt Miki’s pelt brush hers as she raced after the others. “We might be able to get to the lake from Hashi’s tree.” She looked hopefully at the strong pine, which towered into the smoke-gray sky. Her heart sank as orange flames leaped up behind it.
“We’ll find a way out,” Miki growled.
The bears clustered beneath Hashi’s tree, hiding their faces from the heat. Lusa pushed between them and reared up, pressing her forepaws against the bark. “Protect us, Hashi! Hala, save us!” Perhaps the two spirits could keep the flames at bay.
Lifting her snout, Lusa stared in horror as she saw the tips of the branches catch light. A moment later, fire flashed through the tree as the needles flared like dry grass. There was a deafening roar as though Hashi’s spirit was raging against the destruction.
“Get away from here!” Lusa shrieked.
Dena stared at her. “We’ll be safe here! It’s Hashi’s tree!”
Panic surged in Lusa’s chest. “The tree is going to fall!” She began to shove the bears away, nosing at them fiercely and rearing up with her paws to push them clear. The bark whined and crackled above them.
“Hurry!” Miki began to push, too, steering the bears toward the small clearing beside the tree.
Dustu pressed against the trunk of the pine as flames roared above his head. “Hashi will protect us,” he insisted.
“Not from this!” Pokkoli grabbed the old bear’s scruff between his teeth and began to haul him away.
Surprise flashed in Dustu’s gaze as his paws slithered over the earth. “But Hashi won’t let us die.”
The pine creaked ominously.
Pokkoli grunted with effort as he dragged Dustu toward the clearing and shoved him toward the bears already crowding into the small space. Then he stumbled. The tree cracked behind him. The top snapped and hurtled down.
Chula shrieked as it smashed, flaming, onto Pokkoli.
No! Lusa rushed forward. Teeth snagged her haunches.
Miki dragged her back. “You can’t save him.”
Lusa stared in horror at the burning pine. Pokkoli was hidden by the fiery branches. There was nothing she could do. Lusa turned her head away, burying her muzzle in Miki’s neck. Were they all going to die?
Miki jerked away. “Look!”
Lusa followed his gaze. Shapes moved beyond the burning trees between the clearing and the lake, looming brown and sharp white through the smoke. “Toklo! Kallik!” Yakone was with them, and Aiyanna. They’d come to save the black bears.
“Lusa!” Kallik’s roar sounded above the fire. “Are you there?”
“I’m here!” she called back. “We’re all here!” She could see the white bear racing back and forth beyond the flames.
Toklo reared up, peering over the burning brambles. “There’s no way through!”
As he spoke, a mighty bellow sounded through the trees. Lusa spun around. A massive creature was striding through the flames toward them, unflinching as burning branches tumbled around it. As it drew nearer, Lusa made out vast antlers trailing fronds of fire.
“What is an elk doing here?” Miki rasped.
Lusa felt a pool of calm spread through her. She looked into the eyes of the elk, past the flames reflected in the dark-brown depths. “Ujurak?” she whispered.
The elk turned away and strode toward a burning spruce. It lowered its head and braced its mighty antlers against the trunk. Lusa could see the elk’s muscles straining beneath its skin. The spruce creaked, then slowly tipped over, its roots lifting as it toppled.
Flames licked around the elk, but it didn’t seem to feel them. No fire caught its fur, no soot colored its pelt. Lifting its head, it moved to the next tree, then braced its antlers against the trunk and pushed until, groaning, the flaming birch crashed down.
“He’s clearing a path!” Ossi gasped.
Lusa watched, her heart swelling with joy. Thank you, Ujurak!
A third tree fell. Toklo bounded into the space it created. Behind him, the lake gleamed.
“Quick!” Lusa turned to the bears around her. “Run through the gap!”
The fire bellowed as the wind rose. Lusa’s throat burned as heat and smoke swirled around her. She felt a shoulder press against her and let herself be guided forward. “Are the others coming?” she coughed.
“Everyone’s running for the shore.” Miki’s voice sounded close to her ear.
Her eyes streaming, Lusa stumbled forward until she felt the earth turn to pebbles beneath her paws. As the air cooled around her, she turned. Toklo, Kallik, and Yakone were guiding the black bears through the gap. Behind them, framed against the flaming forest, stood the mighty elk.
“Thank you!” Lusa called as Ujurak turned and galloped into the inferno.
“Lusa!” Kallik raced to her side, pressing close. “Are you hurt?”
Lusa was aware of her flanks stinging beneath scorched fur. “I’m fine.” She met Kallik’s gaze. “Did Chula escape? And Tibik?”
Kallik nodded toward the water. The black bears were plunging into the shallows. Only Pokkoli was missing.
At the top of the beach, the forest erupted in flame. Smoke billowed onto the shore. Lusa coughed, feeling a sharp pain in her chest. They couldn’t stay here while the forest burned. The smoke would choke them. She looked at the islands dotted in the lake. White bears and brown bears stood on the island shores, staring back across the water. Could we swim that far?
Toklo lifted his head. “I think I know where we’ll be safe,” he growled. Turning, he began to trek along the shore. “Follow me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Toklo
r /> Toklo headed for the white and brown bears still gathered in the shallows. Through the smoke billowing from the forest, he spotted Shesh, Izusa, and Makya with Flo, Fala, Wapi, and Yas. Tayanita was there, too, with Akocha. They watched him approach, their eyes round with fear.
Along the tree line, flame crackled through great swathes of dark smoke. Flecks of fire whirled in the wind, hissing as they touched the water. Toklo fought down the panic that swirled inside him. He had to get these bears to safety.
Aiyanna’s voice broke into his thoughts. “I’ll go help Izusa and Makya with their cubs. They’ll be frightened.”
As she ran ahead, she passed Tayanita, who bounded over to Toklo with Akocha at her heels. “What are we going to do?”
“Can we stand in the water until the fire stops?” Akocha asked.
Toklo shook his head. “The smoke will choke us.” He leaned closer to the young bear. “Do you remember our secret place?”
Akocha’s gaze flashed toward the far side of the lake. The fire hadn’t reached there yet but was roaring toward it. He nodded. “The waterfall?”
“That’s right. I think we should go there. We’ll have to walk through the forest, but if we hurry, we can beat the flames.”
Tayanita stared at him. “Walk through the forest?” Disbelief glittered in her eyes.
“I know a place we’ll be safe until the fire passes,” Toklo told her.
The black bears were streaming past him now. The others shifted to make room for them in the shallows.
Tayanita watched them gather around her. “There are cubs and elders here. Do you really think we can outrun a fire?”
“If we start now, we can make it,” Toklo urged. He hoped he was right. Padding past Tayanita, he stopped in front of the throng of frightened bears. “We can’t ask you all to swim to safety,” he called. “But I know somewhere we can hide!”