Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm (41 page)

At that moment, seemingly out of nowhere, a revelation hit Blaze: if he couldn’t trust the saloli he had looked up to ever since he had joined this tribe, was his life worth living?

Blaze raised his head.

“
Good,” Rust said, looking up again, “Now, let’s get back to camp.” His trust renewed, Blaze walked beside him, confident that his chief was the best he could ever hope for.

<><><><><>

Three days had passed since Blaze’s fight with Rust. The weather had gotten dark and cloudy, meaning rain was on the way. Nothing of significance had happened, but Blaze was just glad that he could trust his chief again. It was around five in the afternoon, which meant it was his turn to go on patrol. He joined Gnaw’s group, and they headed out. Blaze made no attempt at conversation, having nothing to talk about. When they reached the Darkcover border, though, they found Faith there waiting for them.

“
What are you doing here?” Gnaw asked, though not unkindly.

“
I need to speak with Blaze.” She answered.

“
Well, he’s doing a patrol right now. Can it wait?”

“
No, he needs to hear this now. Would it be all right if I took him across the Groundsky border, while the rest of you took the Cyclone one?”

“
Um, okay, I guess.” Gnaw said, reluctantly, so the group split up, Blaze and Faith going one way while the rest went the other.

“
What do you want to talk to me about?” Blaze asked once they were out of earshot of the others.

“
Remember when you asked me how I knew what a sword was, even though saloli do not use them?” Faith asked, “Well, I think it’s time you knew. Long ago, back when the Black Legion was in power, Valde Abbas decided that he would create something that could battle the Dragon’s forces single handedly. He made a man, and gave him life. But this was no ordinary man. This man was meant to be an unstoppable force, one that could take on any threat and come out victorious.”

“
How could he do that?”

“
Because,” Faith explained, “he was given a small amount of Valde Abbas’ power, the smallest amount that he could give him. He was taught in the ways of combat, and became an excellent fighter. When he was ready, the Lord of the Forest gave him a name and title. He was named Rascom, the Sword.”

“
So, the Sword wasn’t a weapon, it was a person.” Blaze mused.

“
Exactly. Rascom was, indeed, an unstoppable force. He fought entire armies and came out victorious. It seemed that he was the perfect weapon against the Dragon, but there was one thing Valde Abbas had overlooked. With the free will he had gifted all creatures with, there was nothing to stop Rascom from changing sides if he ever saw fit.

“
It was to have been the final battle between good and evil. Rascom was fighting Sol himself. As the Sword, Rascom easily defeated the evil saloli, but, just as he was about to strike him down, Sol began to speak. His quick tongue and evil mind convinced Rascom that he was being used by Valde Abbas, and that only the Dragon could offer him true freedom.”

“
Kind of like what Mordred said?” Blaze asked.

“
Yes. In the end, Rascom spared Sol’s life, and joined him. This enraged Valde Abbas, and the Sword vanished. Nobody knows what happened to him. Valde Abbas made a vow, then, that there would be no more Swords. They were far too dangerous. And he has kept his promise.

“
Why did you think I needed to know this?”

“
Well, first of all, because you asked. Secondly, I think it may have some relevance to what we are experiencing now.”

“
You think Valde Abbas broke his pact?”

“
I’m not entirely sure, but I believe it may be possible.”

“
So, that means that the Sword isn’t an actual sword, it could be a living thing?”

“
That is what I’m saying. It is possible.”

“
So, what do we do?”

“
The only thing we can do: wait for the Sword to make himself known.”

Blaze thought back to the dream he had had after being chased out of Cyclone territory.

“
Within.
” He still didn’t know what that meant.

“
Become.
”

Chapter
Twenty Six

Two days after Blaze had spoken with Faith, the sun was still blotted out with dark clouds, though it had not yet rained. Blaze had spent every spare moment he had trying to decipher the dream message he had received, but to no avail. Having come to his wit’s end for the third time that day, he decided to take a break and visit Smallthorn, Newthorn, and Springthorn. Climbing up the nursery tree, he hopped onto the branch his friends were sitting on.

“
Hi, Blaze!” Smallthorn greeted him, cheerfully.

“
Baze! Baze! Baze!” Springthorn shrieked with joy, running over to him.

“
Hi, Springthorn!” Blaze said. No matter how poor a mood he was in, Springthorn never failed to raise it.

“
He’s just learned a new word.” Smallthorn announced, proudly, “Springthorn, what’s your name?”

“
Spingtorn!” The young saloli yelled, happily.

Blaze noticed that Newthorn hadn’t said anything for the entire time he had been there, “How are you, Newthorn?” He asked.

She remained silent, glaring at him.

“
She’s not having a good day.” Smallthorn said, a worried tone in his voice.

“
Maybe she should go see Faith.” Blaze suggested.

“
No, I think she’ll be fine. Do you want to take Springthorn out of the tree?”

“
Sure.”

Springthorn had grown enough so that he didn’t have to be carried in his parent’s teeth anymore. Now he simply climbed onto their backs and rode them. Soon, the three of them were on the ground, and Springthorn had managed to get into Rust’s way.

“
Spingtorn!” he said to his chief, “Spingtorn! Baze! Spingtorn!” Rust chuckled at the little one’s antics.

“
Springthorn, stop bothering Rust!” Smallthorn called.

“
I’ll get him.” Blaze said, getting up to grab the newborn. He didn’t get to him, though, before a brown blur, seemingly out of nowhere, slammed into his side, knocking him off his paws! Skidding to a stop, Blaze looked back to see who had attacked him. His eyes went wide with horror.

Newthorn!

She clearly wasn’t in her right mind. Her eyes bugged out, no longer with simple anger, but with maniacal rage. Blaze got back to his feet, and was about to say something when she opened her mouth, letting out a screech that should never have come from of a saloli’s voice. This got the entire tribe’s attention, and they all turned to look. Newthorn charged at Blaze, claws and teeth bared. She leapt into the air, claws held out, aiming straight for him. Blaze jumped to the side, causing her to barely miss him. Undaunted, she spun around, claws catching Blaze in the side. He felt blood soak his fur, but knew that it wasn’t a deep wound. Seeing this, the rest of Icefire raced up into the trees, knowing that this was not an ordinary fight.

“
Newthorn, what are you doing?” He demanded. He looked her in the eye, searching for a trace of sanity. There was none. There wasn’t even a trace of Newthorn left in those eyes. Smallthorn snagged Springthorn and brought him back up into the nursery tree. He found Faith there, waiting for him.

“
Faith, what’s going on?” He demanded, “What is Newthorn doing?”

Sadness shined in the prophet’s eyes, “I’m so sorry, Smallthorn.” She said, “I never thought it would come to this.”

“
What are you talking about?”

“
The poison. Oh, I’m so sorry, Smallthorn, but it’s completely taken her over!”

Smallthorn gasped in horror, looking down at his mate, doing battle with his best friend, “Is there anything we can do to help her?” He asked.

“
No. It’s too late for her.”

“
There must be something we can do!”

“
The only thing we can do for her is to end her suffering.”

Smallthorn glared at his prophet, hardly able to comprehend what she had just said, “You mean kill her?” he demanded.

“
It is the only choice.”

“
No, I won’t let you!”

“
I’m sorry, Smallthorn, I know that isn’t what you want to hear, but think about it. Is this the way Newthorn would want to exist?”

Smallthorn looked down at the fight again. Blaze was getting roughed up pretty badly, but Newthorn didn’t have a single scratch on her. Faith was right. He knew what he had to do. He began the climb back down the tree. Reaching the ground, he immediately leapt into the fight, pushing Newthorn away from Blaze. She turned to face him, then.

“
Smallthorn, no!” Blaze yelled, “She’s too strong!”

“
She’s my mate, I’m the one who has to do this,” Smallthorn insisted, “If I don’t make it, take care of Springthorn!” Knowing that there was nothing he could do, Blaze climbed up to be with Faith and Springthorn. Smallthorn stared into Newthorn’s eyes, searching for any of the love she used to look at him with. There was none. He wasn’t killing Newthorn, he realized, Newthorn was already dead.

The thing that used to be Newthorn charged at him, her monstrous roar coming out once again. Smallthorn threw himself forward, knocking her off balance, and then scratched her on the face. Newthorn spun around, slicing a deep gash into Smallthorn’s front, right leg, making it buckle under him. She then slammed her side into him, pushing him onto his back. Wasting no time, she jumped on top of him, and dove forward with the intention of biting his throat. Smallthorn raised paws and caught her before she could, and tried to hold her up. His diminutive runt strength, though, was no match for her’s.

“
Smallthorn!” He heard Faith yell, “don’t let her bite you! Her saliva will transfer the poison to you!”

Smallthorn caught Newthorn off guard, then, by rolling to the right, throwing her off of him. Before she could recuperate, he leapt on top of her, and lashed out with his claws. They sliced clean and true, straight through the veins in Newthorn’s throat. She ceased thrashing around, and lay still, her breathing becoming more and more ragged, then stopped altogether. Looking into her eyes, Smallthorn let out a wail of utter despair. Newthorn was dead.

The entire tribe was silent with shock. Smallthorn did nothing. He simply stood there, looking at his fallen mate. The clouds finally relented, pouring their rain down upon the forest. Suddenly, a tiny voice interrupted the silence.

“
Mommy?” Springthorn asked. Blaze felt his heart go out to the little one. His mother had just been killed, by his own father, no less, and he didn’t have any idea what was going on. Walking over to him, Blaze used his tail to cover his eyes. Springthorn just giggled, thinking it was a game. Rust made his way over to where Smallthorn stood.

“
I’m sorry.” he said, in a quiet voice.

“
It’s not your fault.” Smallthorn replied. It was obvious that he was holding back tears.

“
If you want, we could. . .”

“
I need to be alone.” Smallthorn whimpered, before running off into the forest. Rust stood there, his head hung in shame. Faith climbed down to stand beside her chief.

“
We need to quarantine this body,” she said, “so that nobody else will get sick from it.”

“
Yes,” Rust said, “we need to hold the funeral immediately. Go get the supplies.”