Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm (32 page)

“
You think Smallthorn would do that to you?” Blaze asked, shocked that such a thing would even enter her mind about her own mate.

“
And that attack from Razor! You arranged that to try and get rid of me. Then you’d have Smallthorn all to yourself!”

“
Newthorn, listen to what you’re saying!”

“
But,” she said slowly, her eyes turning thoughtful, “if
I
were to get rid of
you
, then
I’d
have Smallthorn, and
you
wouldn’t be here to take him away from me.”

“
Newthorn, I think you need to lie down for a minute,” Blaze advised her, worried about what might be going through her head.

“
No,” she snapped back, “I think you need to lie down
forever
!” With that, she lunged at him, teeth bared and aiming straight for his throat. Blaze leapt back, avoiding the bite.

“
Newthorn!” he shouted, “Get ahold of yourself!”

Just as quickly as it had come, the hatred left Newthorn’s eyes, leaving behind confusion, which quickly turned to shame, “Oh my gosh,” she whispered, “What am I doing?”

“
What was that?” Blaze demanded.

“
I. . . I don’t know!” she whimpered fearfully, “I just got so angry all of a sudden, and I couldn’t hold myself back!”

“
But you’re okay now?”

“
Yes, I think so.”

“
Blaze, are you all right?” Faith asked, climbing up to the branch the two saloli were standing on.

“
I’m fine.” Blaze answered, “How much did you see?”

“
All of it.” The prophet replied.

“
Do you know what happened to me?” Newthorn asked.

“
I do, and it’s nothing to worry about.” Faith assured her, “It was simply a pregnant mood swing. You should be experiencing them this close to your due date. It’s completely natural.”

“
What a relief.” Newthorn said, exhaling as if she had been holding her breath, “Thank you.”

“
Blaze, I need to speak with you.” Faith said.

“
About what?” Blaze asked.

“
On the ground.” Sensing that this was important, he began to follow her down the tree without another word, but was stopped by Newthorn.

“
Blaze?” she asked, “Please don’t tell Smallthorn about what just happened. It would only make him worry.”

“
Don’t worry, I won’t,” Blaze promised, before hurrying to the ground, where he found Faith, a solemn look in her eyes, “That wasn’t a natural mood swing, was it?” He asked.

“
No,” she answered, “a natural mood swing may sour a saloli’s temper, but it would never entice them to attack one of their closest friends. There was nothing natural about that.”

“
What do you think it was?”

Faith closed her eyes to think, “I’m tempted to say it was the poison Razor left on her, but I can’t be sure.”

“
So it
was
poison.”

“
Oh yes, it was definitely poison. What I don’t know is what kind, where it came from, or what it will do. I told Smallthorn and Newthorn what I did to keep them from worrying. After all, I had thought that it might not have any effect on her after being dormant for so long. It seems I may have been wrong.”

“
But what kind of poison could warp her mind like that?”

“
I don’t know, Blaze.”

“
Is there anything we can do?”

“
All we can do now is keep an eye on her, see if she continues to act strangely. Can you do that?”

“
Of course. I’ll watch her as much as I possibly can.”

“
Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other things I must attend to.” Faith turned to walk away, but Blaze called after her.

“
Faith, will Newthorn be all right?” he asked.

“
I don’t know, Blaze. All we can do is pray.”

<><><><><>

“
Goliath!” Ratty squeaked in his high, whiny voice, “I need to speak with you.”

Goliath growled in frustration, “What do you want, Ratty?” he demanded.

“
I’ve noticed that you have been listening to that other saloli more than you have to me,” the gray saloli said, “I want to know why.”

Goliath rolled his eyes. Maybe he could get through this without more trouble than was necessary.

“
And which saloli would that be?” he asked.

“
The one that you adopted into the tribe.” Ratty explained, “The blind one. It’s obvious you hold him in higher esteem than you do me, and I demand to know why!”

Goliath glared at his prophet, letting all of the contempt he felt for him show in it. He was a bit surprised. Ratty had no spine, so he shouldn’t be acting like this. The prophet’s anger must have been enough to change his character, at least for the moment. Goliath regained his composure before Ratty even noticed he had lost it.

“
Maybe,” he said, “it’s because Mordred isn’t a coward. Maybe it’s because, when I give him an order, he doesn’t waste half an hour complaining about it. Maybe it’s because he is
everything
you are not for this tribe!”

Ratty’s eyes widened in indignation, “According to the laws of the forest, there should be no other saloli in the entire tribe that the chief trusts more than the prophet!” He yelled.

“
Well, you’ve certainly failed at making
that
happen, haven’t you?” Goliath sneered.

At that moment, Mordred himself came to stand beside the two saloli, “I have just finished conversing with the. . .” he paused and glanced at Ratty, even though he couldn’t see him, “higher powers.”

Ratty’s eyes bugged out so much that it looked as if they would pop out of his head, “What?” he screeched, “You’ve been speaking to Valde Abbas? Only I’m allowed to do that!”

“
Oh, I don’t think Goliath minds.” Mordred crooned.

“
I have given him my special permission to do just that,” Goliath confirmed.

“
No! I’ve had it! I demand that the privileges that go to the prophet be bestowed upon the prophet, and him alone!”

Goliath had grown tired of this, and decided to hit Ratty where it would hurt the most, “Very well then,” he agreed, “Mordred is now the new tribe prophet.”

It looked as if Ratty would faint from shock, “But... but… you can’t do that!” he wailed.

“
And why not?” Goliath challenged him, “I
am
the chief of this tribe, aren’t I?”

“
Yes, but the laws of the forest say that a new prophet can only be named when the old one dies!” Goliath smiled. The idiot had fallen right into his trap.

“
All right, Ratty,” he said, smugly, “we’ll do it your way.”

Before Ratty could comprehend what his chief was insinuating, Goliath had lashed out, claws bared, and ripped a chunk of the poor saloli’s throat free. Ratty slumped to the ground, blood pooling on the dirt in front of him, and looked up at the giant saloli, a look of utter despair in his eyes, “But I. . . I,” he choked, “I
worshipped
you!” With that, the light faded from his eyes, and Ratty lived no more. Goliath turned to face Mordred.

“
Congratulations on your promotion, Mordred,” he said, “Use this new position to serve your tribe well.” He turned to leave.

“
I am honored, Goliath,” Mordred said, smiling wickedly, “I just wish Ratty could be here to see this. He would be so proud.”

Goliath turned back to look at his new prophet.

“
Who’s Ratty?” he asked.

<><><><><>

For the rest of the day, and the following night, Blaze kept his eye on Newthorn. She showed no more signs of strange behavior, though, and, as Faith promised, was allowed to rejoin Icefire the next morning. Blaze continued to watch her, but continually found himself being drawn away to do his tribe duties. It was sometime around noon, and he had just returned from a patrol. As he settled down in the shade of the common’s tree to rest, he heard his name being called. Looking around, he saw Rust standing at the edge of camp, motioning for Blaze to join him. Getting back up, Blaze quickly made his way over, “Yes?” he asked when he reached him.

“
Walk with me.” Rust ordered, turning and leaving the camp. Blaze followed. They walked for almost five minutes before Rust finally stopped and turned to face his tribemate.

“
Is something wrong?” Blaze asked.

“
That depends on what you mean by wrong.” Rust answered, “If by wrong you mean that the tribe is in more danger than it already was, then no, there is nothing wrong. However, if by wrong you meant something wrong with you, personally, then yes, something may be wrong.”

“
What do you mean?” Blaze asked, confused.

“
I’ve been watching you, Blaze,” Rust went on, “I’ve seen the way you look at Sunbeam. I’ve also seen the way she looks at you. It’s obvious that you have feelings for her, and it is also obvious that she feels the same way about you. Yet, you have not asked her to be your mate. Why?”

Great
, thought Blaze,
Is everyone going to get involved in my love life?

“
I understand that, having been an outsider, you may not be comfortable expressing your feelings like that,” Rust said, “but trust me, it’s worth it.”

Blaze blinked in surprise. It had been a long time since anyone had mentioned his “past” as an outsider. He had almost forgotten it, “It’s not that.” he said, running his words through his mind before he said them to keep from revealing too much, as he had with Gnaw, “It’s just that. . .”

“
Blaze,” Rust interrupted, “denying yourself true love is not only stupid, it could also be dangerous. If you put off asking her to be your mate for too long, the chance will pass. You will have to live the rest of your life with the knowledge that she could have been yours, but isn’t. This can lead to severe depression, enough to make a saloli kill himself.”

Blaze was disturbed that Rust would actually think that he would commit suicide, but didn’t say anything.

“
Trust me, Blaze, I know what it feels like to be in love. I also know what its like to lose it. So trust me when I say I know what I’m talking about.” Blaze couldn’t think of anything to say. “I don’t know if this is what you’re waiting for, or if it will even help, but you have my permission to ask Sunbeam for marriage.”

Blaze hung his head in shame. All these saloli wanted was for him to be happy, but he wasn’t taking any of their advice.

“
Think about it.” Rust advised, “I have to go.” With that, he turned and ran into the woods.

Blaze stood there for a few minutes, wondering what he should do. He couldn’t ask Sunbeam to be his mate. Or could he? Maybe he could bring her back to the human world with him. No, he shut that thought down immediately. There was no way he could take her away from her own kind just to be with him. In the midst of all these thoughts, a single question rose to the top of his mind: where was Rust going? Blaze looked in the direction his chief had taken, and gasped.