Legends of the Saloli: Vengeance and Mercy (18 page)

Outrage flooded Goliath’s face, but there was a trace of fear in there as well. It occurred to Vengeance just in time that the Darkcover chief had been overwhelmed and had lost his rational thought. The giant raised his paw and lashed out at Vengeance. Vengeance ducked, narrowly avoiding having his ears taken off, and rammed into Goliath with his full weight, knocking him to the ground.

“Run!” he ordered, racing through the stunned crowd of Darkcover saloli. He could hear the others taking advantage of their momentary indecision as well, and they were soon clear of the battalion.

Goliath picked himself up from the forest floor and glared at his subjects, “What are you standing there for, you idiots? Stop them, or it will cost all of you your lives!” Without waiting for another threat, the saloli began to chase after Vengeance and his friends.

Vengeance could hear their pursuers approaching them from behind, Goliath in the lead, shouting threats and curses both at Vengeance’s party and his own. How far were they from the border? Too far he realized. At the rate the Darkcover saloli were gaining on them, they wouldn’t reach the border before they were overtaken. What could he do? The only solution he could think of would be for him to turn back and hold off the Darkcover saloli so that his friends could make it back to the Border. Otherwise they would all die. Yes, that was what would have to happen. He began to steel his heart for what he knew he had to do. He could hardly believe it. He was going to die today. And on the same day that he had been mated to Mercy.

In the back, Ink kept pace with her brother. She could sense what was going on in Vengeance’s head. It confused her at first, since she had never been able to read anyone but her brother before, but what she saw startled her. He was going to sacrifice himself to save them all! But why? Didn’t he know how much Icefire depended on him? If he were to die here, all would be lost. A shiver of fear washed over her, followed by a wave of determination, and she knew what she had to do.

“Scratch!” she yelled to her brother. He didn’t answer, saving his breath for running, but looked at her. “Keep running! No matter what you hear, keep running!”

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Promise me!” she demanded.

“What are you going to do?”

“Promise me! You have to! Icefire has more riding on you and Vengeance than it does me. I can’t let either of you be killed here. Promise me!”

She didn’t even wait for a response this time, but skidded to a halt, turned around, and charged straight at her enemies. Leaping into the air, she tackled Goliath before he could process what was happening.

Despite his urge to do otherwise, Scratch did, indeed, keep running. Vengeance glanced backwards, as if he were thinking of doing exactly what Ink had done, but then turned around and kept running. Their pursuers began to lag behind, and soon could not be seen at all. Tears welled in Scratch’s eyes, but he kept running.

Five minutes later, they all crossed the Icefire border. Knowing they were safe now, they all stopped to catch their breath. Suddenly, a scream rent the air from within Darkcover’s territory.

“Ink!” Scratch shouted into the black woods with despair.

Chapter Twenty Eight

“Icefire,” Rust called from atop the Speaking Stone, “Tonight we are gathered here to mourn the loss of a valuable tribe member. Ink, sister to the HeartTribe saloli Scratch, and daughter to the traitor Razor, was killed saving her friends while they rescued her brother from the clutches of Darkcover.” He paused and looked at his tribe, “Because she was killed on Darkcover territory, we were not able to retrieve her body. Still, I believe that for what she has done, Valde Abbas will welcome her into his castle, even without the traditional ritual.” He bowed his head in respect.

“Valde Abbas!” Faith called out in prayer, “Please protect and watch over our friend Ink. She gave her life so that we may live. Please allow her into your presence, and forgive us for not giving her a proper funeral.”

Icefire was silent, unsure of what they should do now. Normally they would all lay paws on the fallen saloli, and then send them off to Valde Abbas, both of which were impossible without the body. Rust raised his head, “This is a sad day, my friends, but we can not allow ourselves to be hindered by it. There is still evil within these woods, and we must not become distracted until after it has been destroyed. The time will come for us to mourn for Ink, but for now we must make a plan. How can we defeat Darkcover? Their force is over three times the size of ours, and they control almost all of the forest. Still, we fight on the side of Valde Abbas! He will not let us fall! We will defeat this darkness that has come over us, and we will live to tell of it. Does anyone have any ideas as to how we can do this? If you know something, anything, that may help us, come forth. There are no bad ideas except the ones that are not spoken.”

Silence. The Icefire saloli were glancing at each other, each of them expecting the other to speak up. Rust spoke up again, “Nobody? Nobody has even the beginning of an idea that may help us?”

“I have an idea.” A low, gravelly voice shouted from the far end of the camp. Almost as one, Icefire spun around to see who it was.

It was Mordred.

Anger and fear flashed in Rust’s eyes, “What do you want, sorcerer? Explain yourself, or I will have you killed for trespassing!”

Mordred chuckled and drew nearer, “If anyone else had said that to me, I would have burned them to a cinder with a lightning bolt. You, however, belong to Goliath. Only he can kill you.”

“I am running out of patience!” Rust yelled.

“Very well, I’ll say what I have to say, and then I’ll leave you to stew in your self pity.” Mordred now spoke to all of Icefire, “King Goliath has decreed that this must all come to an end.” He paused and let his words sink in. “He demands that Icefire meet Darkcover on the battlefield in two days time, and the final victor shall be decided there.”

Frightened mutterings broke out within Icefire’s ranks. Mordred grinned at them in satisfaction, happy with the fear he had caused. Instead of fear, Vengeance felt rage rise up inside of him, and he approached the blind saloli.

“You have delivered your message, now leave!” he demanded.

Mordred’s grin only widened, “Ooh, it’s the Sword!” he taunted him, “The mighty warrior who needed a little trainee to save him yesterday.” He cackled, “Why is that, I wonder? Perhaps you’re not nearly as powerful as you make yourself out to be? Maybe you’re not the Sword at all! If I had my sight, I’d probably see more of a Stick before me than a Sword!”

“Do you want to test me, Mordred? Leave now, or I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

Outrage distorted Mordred’s face, “You think you can threaten me you little…”

“He won’t be alone either, Mordred.” Faith asserted, coming to stand beside Vengeance. “I suggest you do as he says and leave.”

A wicked gleam came into Mordred’s blind eyes, “Oh come now, Faith. Is that any way to speak to your own brother?”

A collective gasp rang out among Icefire’s ranks. Vengeance, momentarily distracted from his enemy, looked at Faith in confusion, “Faith, what’s he talking about?”

“It’s true, Vengeance.” Faith replied, her voice bitter with regret, “Mordred is my brother. He used to be in Icefire, and I alone knew his secret, that he could call down lightning. It wasn’t until he lost control of his power and blinded himself with a lightning bolt that I took him away from camp and gave him to HeartTribe. What happened after that is beyond my knowledge.”

Mordred cackled, “Then let me tell you! After you gave me to that band of freaks, I was happy for awhile, despite my lack of sight. ‘It’s all a part of the Creator’s plan,’ they told me, and I swallowed it up. Then, one day, I went exploring past the Icefire borders. I went farther then I realized, and ended up south of Darkcover’s territory. It was there that I discovered my true destiny.” He paused, dramatically, “A tree, taller than any other in the forest, with its top opened up to the sky, like a tunnel to Helm itself! I knew what it was immediately. I had found the Dragon Tree! And now I have completed my role in this game. I have shown it to the heir of Sol, even though he doesn’t know what it is just yet. He will, though, and then this territory war of yours will seem like a quarrel between two siblings.” He leaned his head back, and his demonic laugh was raised to the heavens.

Faith’s fur bristled with rage, “Be gone, you traitor!” she shouted, “I would kill you myself right now, but I want you to take a message back to Goliath. Tell him that he has chosen the losing side in this war, and that will become obvious when we meet him on the battlefield in two days!”

“Will it?” Mordred asked, and turned his attention to Vengeance, “And what, pray, will you do without your precious Sword?”

Mordred flicked his tail in Vengeance’s direction, and a lightning bolt shot from the tip, straight at the red saloli. Blaze moved to dodge it, but realized he would be too late. Could he survive a direct hit from a lightning bolt? Probably not.

And then his view was blocked as Faith threw herself in front of him.

The lightning bolt struck her square in the chest, and rocketed her backwards, into Vengeance, with enough force to knock him to the ground. Faith flew past him, skidding to a stop on the ground in front of a crowd of shocked saloli.

Vengeance picked himself up and turned to look at Mordred, but the sorcerer was already gone. Dismissing it from his mind, he turned his attention to Faith. She was lying on her side, only inches away from where the rest of the tribe was gathered, yet they were all too stunned to move. Vengeance ran to her side, fearing the worst. Her eyes were open, but they were clouded and unseeing. Desperate, he placed his paw on her throat. No pulse. She was gone.

Vengeance wanted to cry, to scream to Valde Abbas to bring her back, the only saloli he could remember who had ever felt like a mother to him couldn’t be dead! Instead, his heart felt hollow and without remorse, but this was worse than it breaking in half with grief. What kind of a monster was he that he couldn’t even feel heartache in this wonderful saloli’s passing?

You must remain focused. You must not allow yourself to be hindered by emotion. You must fight.

Vengeance nodded to the voice of Valde Abbas, which only he could hear. He stood tall and turned to Rust, who looked just as shocked as his subjects, if not more so.

“We must perform the funeral immediately,” Vengeance told him, “and then we must appoint a new prophet. We cannot let ourselves be waylaid by tragedy. We can mourn for Faith after we defeat our enemies.

Rust felt utterly numb after what he had just witnessed, but he managed to nod in agreement, “You’re right. We need a new prophet.”

He turned to face his tribe, and remembered a critical detail that had been ignored. The chief was not allowed to choose the tribe prophet. Only the prophet was authorized to choose their successor, and Faith had died before she had the chance. What could he do now? He was at a complete loss. Rust looked at Vengeance, and then at the rest of his tribe. They were all expecting him to take charge in this situation. Even Vengeance, the Sword, was looking up to him. But what could he do? This was out of his control.

Then put it into mine
.

The thought spoke itself into his mind as if it were thinking itself. For a brief moment, Rust was confused. Then it struck him. He had just heard from Valde Abbas. The Creator wanted him to let go of the situation, and put it into his hands. Yes. Yes, that sounded good. It was the only reasonable thing to do now. If anyone could straighten out this mess, it was Valde Abbas.

Rust bowed his head, “Valde Abbas, I come to you today not as chief of Icefire, but as your humble servant. I have tried to serve you all my life, but now I realize that it was never enough.”

A strange silence swept over the camp.

“I know now that I have made a grave mistake. I have forgotten that you are in control of everything. I have tried to fight this war with my own might, when any strength I have was only given to me by you. I can’t do it anymore. I just can’t. Not on my own. I’m giving up. I’m placing my life, and the lives of my tribe, into your hands. I know that whatever happens now will be your will. Please, protect my tribe. Protect my family. Protect my friends. Whatever you choose, may not my will be done, but yours. Amen.”

When Rust opened his eyes once more, he saw that his prayer had been answered. A shaft of light fell through the trees, even though the sun was setting in the opposite direction. It alighted on Scratch. Rust stared in amazement at the young HeartTribe saloli.