Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm (28 page)

It was then that the three saloli reached the Darkcover border. “Blaze, you take the Cyclone border. Smallthorn and I’ll take the Groundsky border.” Blaze nodded his agreement, and began the journey down the Cyclone border. Barely ten minutes later, a voice sounded out from across the scent wall.

“
Hail, Icefire! Let us come together peacefully for an exchange of events!”

Surprised, Blaze snapped his head towards the voice so fast that his neck hurt. He had become so distracted, thinking about Smallthorn’s child, that he hadn’t smelled the Cyclone patrol approaching. Not knowing what else to do, he made his way over to the scent wall.

“
I don’t believe I’ve seen you before,” the saloli in charge said. He was a gray saloli with black flecks on his face which resembled freckles, “My name is Freckle. What are you called?”

“
I’m Blaze.”

“
Pleased to meet you, Blaze. May we never meet in battle. Now tell me, what has been going on in Icefire?”

“
Um, I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell you,” Blaze replied, “I’ve only seen one of these happen before. I really don’t know what it is I should or shouldn’t say.”

“
Very well,” Freckle agreed, “I will go first, and you follow my example. Cyclone is doing very well this summer. We have plenty of food, enough that we have been able to begin stocking up on it for the winter. There has been a slight decrease in the number of young being born, but that may be a good thing. We can hardly handle as many as we’ve got now. Two of our tribe members have been wedded. Their names are now Branch and Racer. That’s all that’s worth reporting, now it’s your turn.”

Blaze began to think fast, trying to come up with all the things worthy of being spoken of while not revealing his tribe’s troubles. “Well, food is running well in Icefire, though we do not have enough to begin stocking for winter yet. Two of our saloli have been wedded. Their names are Smallthorn and Newthorn. They are already expecting a child. As for the birthing rates, I don’t know.” He decided to leave out the parts about Razor and Goliath.

“
Is that all?” Freckle inquired, “very well, you did good for your first time. Until we meet again, Blaze.” With that, the Cyclone saloli turned and led his patrol away.

Blaze breathed a sigh of relief. He had done his first exchange of events without messing up. As he continued his patrol, though, his good mood suddenly soured. There, in the exact same spot as before, was a saloli scent crossing the border between Icefire and Cyclone.

The scent of an Icefire saloli.

The temptation was too much. If an Icefire saloli was crossing the Cyclone border, it could easily mean that another betrayal was on the way. Blaze knew that he couldn’t rest with that knowledge in his head. He would have to find out the truth. Reaching a paw out, he slowly placed it over the scent wall. Blaze didn’t know what he was expecting, but was surprised when nothing happened.

Of course not!
He thought.
They’re saloli. It’s not like they have alarm systems or something.
He quickly looked right and left for oncoming patrols, and, seeing none, sprinted over the border and into Cyclone territory, not stopping until he was safely hidden inside a bush.
Safe?
I’m on another tribe’s ground. There’s nothing safe for me here!

Going slowly, Blaze poked his head out of the bush and looked around, but saw nothing. He inhaled through his nose, but all the saloli scents were stale, meaning there was nobody around. Seeking out the Icefire scent again, Blaze crept out of the bush and began to follow it. The course took him farther and farther into Cyclone territory, and soon he could not even smell the border. Blaze was surrounded by unfamiliar Cyclone scents. All his animal instincts told him to run, get away before someone caught him, but he knew what he had to do.

Cyclone’s territory was very peaceful, Blaze realized. It was a lot like Icefire territory, with one big difference, which he found a few minutes later. He heard it before he saw it: the sound of falling water. Coming into a break in the foliage, Blaze found himself standing on the edge of a river. A short distance away, the ground rose up sharply, creating a waterfall. He remembered, from his human life, that it was called Whitetail River, because of all the whitetail deer that were spotted drinking from it. It flowed through Icefire territory as well, but had nothing as interesting as a waterfall in it. Blaze was about to turn and continue following the scent, which turned right at the riverbank, when one of the most amazing things he had ever seen happened. The river began to gurgle loudly, and the water in the middle began to churn. Before his eyes, the water opened up! It spun around, going downwards in a perfect spiral. It was a whirlpool.

Well,
Blaze thought,
now I know where Cyclone gets its name from.
Turning away from the vortex, he continued to follow the scent trail.

Almost a half hour later, Blaze came to the Cyclone camp. He could smell it long before he could see it. The smell of Cyclone was almost overpowering. He found the camp surrounded by bushes. Finding a gap between two of them, Blaze poked his head through to look inside. What he saw made him gasp audibly. All of Cyclone was gathered around a single saloli.

“
Please, listen to me!” Rust begged, “I can help you! I have intelligence that could benefit you in this war!”

“
There is no war here.” one saloli said. Blaze recognized him as Freckle.

“
But there will be soon.” Rust insisted.

“
If war does come here, it will be on Icefire’s shoulders, not ours.”

“
I can help you.” Rust repeated.

“
Tell me something,” Freckle said, going off topic, “why should we not take you captive and execute you for trespassing on our territory?”

“
Because I’m Icefire’s chief! Doing that would leave them leaderless.”

Freckle leered at him, “Maybe it would teach the future chief to stay in his own territory.”

“
I mean you no harm, Freckle. I only want to help.”

“
Why are you so eager to help us? Why not prepare your own tribe?”

“
I have my reasons.”

“
Maybe the same reasons that kept Goliath alive?”

A flash of regret appeared in Rust’s eye, “Don’t speak of that. You have no idea what happened that day!”

“
I know that Goliath is still alive today. That’s all I need to know.”

“
Freckle, please!” Rust begged, “I need help. Please don’t send me away.”

“
Cyclone does not rush to the assistance of other tribes. Now, be gone! If I ever see you trespassing here again, you will be executed.”

Knowing that there was nothing else he could do, Rust turned and left, ears drooped and tail dragging on the ground. Blaze moved further back into his bush to keep from being seen. Rust wasn’t paying the least bit of attention, though, and walked right past him. What had he been doing? Rust obviously wanted help from Cyclone, but why? Only one reason seemed possible in Blaze’s mind, but it was the one he didn’t want to believe.

Rust’s allegiances had been turned.

Blaze was too stunned to move for over a minute. Then, remembering where he was, he poked his head out of the bush to make sure nobody was around, then quickly took off in the direction he had come. He briefly worried that he would become lost in the unfamiliar territory, but soon found that he could follow Rust’s scent. It took the most direct way out. It was obvious that this was not Rust’s first time here. Within minutes, Blaze was back in Icefire territory. He stopped to catch his breath just as he crossed the border.

“
Hello there.” Someone said behind him.

Startled, Blaze spun around to find a thin, gray saloli standing there. He was obviously even older than Faith, and had a malicious grin on his face.

“
Who are you?” Blaze demanded.

“
That is not important,” the old saloli answered, “Not yet. I am here to give you a warning.”

“
Why should I listen to you?” Blaze asked, realizing that he sounded just like Freckle.

“
In all actuality, you shouldn’t.” the gray saloli replied, “but I believe in giving my enemies a fair chance when I fight them.”

Blaze’s eyes widened as he realized just what this saloli was insinuating, “You’re from Darkcover!”

“
Not originally, but yes, I am now in Darkcover.”

“
If you think I’m going to let you leave without a fight, you’ve got another thing coming!” Blaze declared, putting himself into a fighting stance. The saloli simply smiled.

“
I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He said. Before Blaze could ask why, an electric tingle ran across his body, making his fur stand up. Startled, he let his defense drop. “That’s better,” the old saloli continued, “Now, are you going to listen to me or not?”

“
Say what you want, then leave,” Blaze ordered, more than a little intimidated now.

“
Very well. There is a storm coming. Icefire needs to prepare.”

“
We already are.”

“
Not nearly enough. This war will have more at stake than who rules a meager forest. Far more.”

“
What do you mean? How much more?”

“
More than you could ever imagine. That’s all I will say. Now, as you requested, I will leave.” With that, the old saloli turned and began to shamble off in the direction of Darkcover’s territory. Before he had gone far, though, he turned back to look at Blaze.

“
There’s something different about you.” he said.

“
What?” Blaze asked, taken off guard.

“
From the other saloli. You’re different than they are.”

“
I’m just an ordinary saloli!” Blaze shot back.

“
No, no you’re not. There’s something special about you. Something I’ve never felt before. How about an offer, then? I will allow you to join Darkcover. There are plenty of places a saloli with your. . . aura could be useful in.”

“
Never!” Blaze yelled, insulted that this saloli even think he would betray his tribe.

“
Think about it. If you ever want to speak with me again, I will find you.” The old saloli looked thoughtful for a second, then asked, “By the way? Would you happen to know anything about a sword?”

This question shocked Blaze even more than the last statement. What did this saloli know about the sword?

“
You know something, apparently,” the saloli said in response to Blaze’s reaction, “Information like that would definitely get you a position of power in Darkcover.”

“
Get out!” Blaze shouted, rage bubbling up inside of him. The old saloli turned to leave once more, but this time it was Blaze who stopped him, “Wait!”

“
Yes?” the old saloli asked.

“
The next time you see Razor, tell him that if I ever see him again, I’ll kill him.”

The saloli chuckled. “You can tell him that yourself. You will be seeing him again very soon.” Having said that, the old saloli ran for the Darkcover border.

Chapter Eighteen

“
Describe him to me one more time,” Faith requested.

“
He was thin, very thin,” Blaze obliged, “light gray, and extremely old.”

Faith’s eyes clouded with worry. “Did you see his eyes?”

“
What?” Blaze asked, confused.

“
His eyes- were they pure white, with no pupils?”

“
I- I don’t know. I didn’t look.”