The Longest Day (31 page)

Toklo slid down the slope, brambles tearing his belly fur. As he found his paws, mottled fur flashed ahead of him. Pain seared his cheek as Nanulak ripped into him with a swiping blow. Toklo lashed out with a forepaw, swinging it hard against Nanulak's muzzle. Nanulak staggered but regained his footing and leaped at Toklo. Rearing, they clashed together, their chests thumping. Smoke swirled around them, stinging Toklo's eyes. Barely able to see, he grappled desperately with Nanulak, his hindpaws slipping on the muddy bank.

Teeth sank into his shoulder. He swung his head, knocking his skull against Nanulak's with such force that Nanulak let go. Flames flashed at the edge of his vision as a burning branch crashed down beside them. “Get into the water, Aiyanna!” Toklo roared. He could see her hanging back, her eyes streaming as smoke swirled around her.
“Now!”

As she plunged in, Nanulak swiped at Toklo again. Toklo ducked, pain searing through his paw as he trod on the smoldering branch. Nanulak's claws dug into his back. He whipped around, shaking the brown-and-white bear off, and dove beneath his belly. Pushing up with all his might, he flung Nanulak backward. Nanulak staggered. His hindpaw slid off the bank. Flailing wildly, he fell into the water.

A crack rang through the hot air. Toklo raced to the edge and leaned over. Nanulak lay still, his body limp in the ash-speckled water, his head bleeding where he had hit a jagged rock.

Toklo froze.

“Watch out!” Aiyanna barked from the pool.

He glanced over his shoulder. Fire was swarming down the slope. Its heat seared his muzzle. Heart lurching, Toklo hurled himself into the water beside Nanulak.

“Leave him, Toklo!” Aiyanna's teeth sank into his scruff, and she tried to haul him away.

“But he'll burn!”

Aiyanna let go and stared at Toklo. “So what?”

“He was my friend once!”

“He's your enemy now!”

As Aiyanna stared at him in disbelief, another burning tree rolled down the bank. It hit the water with a crash. Fire spat from the trunk and stung Toklo's muzzle. Bristling with shock, Toklo pushed Aiyanna backward as flaming twigs showered around them. The tree had cut across the pool between him and Nanulak.

How could he reach the brown-and-white bear now?

Aiyanna splashed the water in terror. “If we stay here, we'll die!”

Toklo stared at the burning tree, grief scorching his heart as he pictured Nanulak behind it.
I can't save you.
Determination charged through his pelt.
But I can save Aiyanna.

“Hurry!” He hurled himself toward the falls and dragged Aiyanna with him as he ducked beneath the crashing water. Hugging her tight, he let the current tumble them to safety as behind them the fire surrounded the river in a wall of flame.

Kallik huddled closer to Yakone. “Will
the rain stop the fire?”

Yakone gazed through the shimmering wall of water as thunder rumbled outside. “I think so,” he murmured.

The storm had begun in the night, lightning outshining the flame beyond the hazy falls. The bears had huddled at the back of the cave when the rain started, and it wasn't until the sun had begun to sink that the hiss of embers finally died and the bears were able to emerge from behind the waterfall and swim back across the pool to the forest.

Now, Kallik walked among the others in silence. Like them, she had no words as she crunched over the charred debris of what had once been a forest.
Their
forest. This land had belonged to the bears. And fire had destroyed it.

A fine drizzle still darkened the far side of the lake, but here late sunshine was breaking through the clouds. Blackened tree stumps stretched along the hillsides. Ash covered the beach. The acrid smell of charred wood filled Kallik's nose. The only glimpse of green was in the distance.

As they neared the shore, Lusa brushed Kallik's flank. “We'll be leaving after the ceremony.”

Of course! Today is the Longest Day!
“Then these are our last moments together.” Kallik scanned the mass of pelts for Toklo's. He had reached the spot where brown bears were wading from the shore. They'd begun swimming as soon as the others had emerged from the blackened remains of the forest. The white bears who'd found refuge on the islands were already out of the water and trekking toward the brown bears' shore.

Kallik walked closer to Lusa, wanting to feel her soft pelt for a little longer. She could hardly believe that in the coming moons, she would wake up every day without her friends.
At least I have Yakone.
Who would Lusa have? “Will you be okay?” she asked. “By yourself, I mean.”

“I won't be by myself,” Lusa promised. “I've made friends here.”

Kallik touched her nose to Lusa's head, hoping that the little black bear would always be as loved as she had been on her journey.

Toklo and Shesh had climbed onto a wide, flat rock. They were talking quietly with Kunik and Anarteq as the others caught up.

“Come on.” Izusa shooed Wapi and Yas toward the water. “Let's wash the soot from our fur.” She waded in behind them.

Kallik saw tension ease from the brown bear's shoulders as water washed around her paws. Before long, she was splashing Yas and Wapi playfully. As the cubs barked with delight, the
others began to join them. Illa waded in with Kissimi, and soon most of the bears from the cave were rolling in the water, rinsing the ash from their pelts.

Kallik leaned against Yakone. “We survived.” The forest behind her had been destroyed, but the lake rippled toward the horizon, darkened by ash and dotted with burnt branches and splintered wood. The forest would grow back. In seasons to come, the fire would become no more than a story.

Yakone rubbed his muzzle along her cheek. “We survived
together.
We all did.”

Kallik saw his gaze flit toward Toklo. Aiyanna had joined him on the rock. Warmth filled Kallik's heart as she watched the pair lean closer. “Do you think she's a good match for him, Yakone?”

“Yes.” Yakone pressed against her. “Like you are for me.”

Shesh lifted his head and barked to the crowd. “It is time for the Longest Day ceremony.”

“Who will lead us?” Izusa called.

Hattack pushed his way to the front. “The trials didn't decide a winner.”

“Do we need bears to lead us?” asked Illa, raising her damp white head.

Taqqiq stepped to the edge of the rock. “We survived because we joined together and helped each other. We should perform the ceremony together.”

Several bears murmured in agreement.

“No!” Salik shouldered his way from the crowd. “It's never been done that way.”

Hattack was nodding. “We should celebrate separately as we've always done.”

“Black bears have never celebrated with white bears and brown bears,” Rudi grunted.

Yakone's muzzle brushed Kallik's ear fur. “At least they agree on something,” he murmured.

“No.” Toklo was standing beside Shesh, his shoulders braced as if he was ready for battle. “We must celebrate together.”

Hattack frowned and dropped his gaze. Salik stomped from the lake, scowling.

As Rudi looked away, Dena stepped forward. “This Longest Day is different from the others,” she rasped.

“We should give thanks together,” Illa called from the water.

Barks of agreement rose from the groups, and the bears shuffled into a wide arc around the stretch of rock where Shesh and Toklo stood beside Aiyanna, Anarteq, Kunik, and Dustu.

Toklo beckoned Hattack to join them. “Will you help say the words for our ceremony?”

Hattack narrowed his eyes for a moment, then padded forward. Taking his place beside Toklo, he began. “This lake has been here since the time before bears. It was a cold and barren place. The wind swept over it, snow and rain and sunlight fell onto the ground, but no creatures dared live here.”

“Then the Great Bear Arcturus came this way.” As Shesh took up the next part of the story, Kallik noticed Lusa leaning against a black bear. She recognized Miki, the young male who
had dozed beside Lusa in the cave while they waited for the fire and the storm to leave. Miki was whispering into Lusa's ear. Lusa blinked at him, her eyes lighting up. Kallik's heart pricked with hope. Had Lusa found more than just friendship among the black bears?

Toklo was speaking now. “And ever since then, we bears have taken this lake for our own, and every suncircle, on the Longest Day, we return and give thanks to his spirit.”

Kallik felt a nudge from Yakone. Anarteq was staring at her. “Join us, Kallik,” he called.

She glanced at Yakone. Pride warmed his gaze. “Go,” he urged.

Her pelt spiked self-consciously as she climbed onto the rock. Toklo caught her eye as she took her place beside him. “This is quite an ending to our journey,” he whispered.

Anarteq began the white bears' ceremony. “Sun, we welcome you on this, the Longest Day. Hear my words. Your reign is ending. From now on, the dark will return at the end of each day, bringing with it snow and ice, and striking stillness into the melted ice.”

Kunik went on. “White bears will be able to return to their feeding grounds once more. Bear spirits, bring back the dark, so that you may shine again in your tiny fragments of ice.” He nodded to Kallik.

Raising her eyes to the darkening sky, she sought out the first glimmering star. “Drive the sun lower in the sky, so that we can honor you from our ancient home on the ice.” She looked at Yakone.
Our home on the ice.
Was he thinking of Star
Island, too, their home for the rest of their moons together?

Dustu nodded to Lusa. “I think you should lead our ceremony.” His gaze flicked around the others. “Without Lusa, many would have not survived the accident with the firebeast. She and her white and brown friends saved us from the fire. The power to heal, the power to trust, the power to make friends—all these are mightier than the greatest strength.”

Surprise flickered in Lusa's eyes. She stared around, until Miki nosed her forward.

Lusa climbed onto the rock beside Dustu and looked across the lake. “Thank you, spirits of the trees, for the long days of sun that have brought us berries and leaves and warmed the earth so that grubs could grow.” She kept her gaze on the water, avoiding the charred stumps encircling the lake.

Suddenly a fresh breeze whisked in from the lake, sweeping away the stench of the burnt forest, bringing instead the scent of distant pines.

Dustu lifted his muzzle, the wind rippling through his fur. “The spirits have heard us and replied.”

Lusa peered at the old black bear. “Does that mean they are safe in new homes?”

“I think it does.”

The black bears chuffed happily to one another.

“I wonder where Hashi is?” Ossi's voice rose above the others.

Sheena stared hopefully into the distance. “He's found a new place with Hala, where they can watch over the lake forever.”

Anarteq stepped to the water's edge and faced the bears. “At the last Longest Day, we were all hungry, all fighting to survive. We survived the last suncircle, and now the fire. And we will keep on surviving, because we have no other choice. But perhaps survival is not enough on its own. Perhaps we should remember the power of friendship. We cannot live our lives separate from all the other living things—either prey or bears.” Anarteq dipped his head. “Go in peace, friends.”

Kallik watched the bears shift, drifting apart like clouds blown by the wind.

Lusa jumped down onto the pebbles. “I'll be back in a moment!” she promised Kallik.

Only Toklo and Aiyanna remained beside her.

“I guess we're all going home now,” Toklo grunted.

Kallik jerked her gaze toward him. This couldn't be the end. Not now! She wasn't ready. Anger flared beneath her pelt. “How can you sound so calm about it?”

Toklo met her gaze, and she saw grief in his eyes, so sharp that she felt guilty at her outburst. He would feel their parting as sharply as she did.

“Toklo!” Akocha bounded toward the rock. “I want to come home with you!”

Aiyanna blinked at the cub. “What about your poor mother? What will she do without you?”

Akocha looked at her gravely. “She makes too many rules. I can never remember them all, and I'm always breaking them.”

Toklo nuzzled the young bear's ear. “You need to listen to her rules and learn as much as you can. She's teaching you how
to grow up into a strong, brave bear.”

“Like you?”

“Just like Toklo,” Aiyanna agreed.

“Akocha!” Tayanita was calling from farther up the shore, where the brown bears were gathering, ready to leave.

Akocha jumped down. “See you next suncircle!” he called over his shoulder. Aiyanna followed him, shooing him toward Tayanita.

Yakone joined them on the rock. He nodded toward Lusa, who was standing beside Miki. Kallik could hear their soft growls.