Legends of the Saloli: Vengeance and Mercy (2 page)

Ink’s eyes opened with an angry glare, “Who told you about that?” She demanded.

“Scratch did,” Blaze soothed her, “I’m sorry that he had to be your father, but I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Scratch. You are not bound by the path Razor forged just because you are his child. Make your own. Become what Razor never was to this tribe, and nobody will hold your lineage against you.”

Tears were running down Ink’s face again as she nodded, “You’re right. I need to forget about him. He’s nothing to me.”

“Good idea, I can’t think of a better thing for you to do.”

“But why can’t you tell me where Scratch is?”

“Because where Scratch has gone is a secret. If I told you, you might accidentally tell somebody else, or they might follow you if you tried to visit him. Trust me, he’s much safer without you knowing.” Blaze almost cringed, hoping that Ink wouldn’t think he didn’t trust her. She nodded again.

“Okay, I understand. Thank you for telling me goodbye for him.”

“Good, now dry your eyes and let’s get back to camp before somebody notices we’re missing.”

Chapter Two

The sun shown down on a brand new day, warming everything with its graceful touch. Blaze climbed out of the common’s tree, preparing to begin his search for Smallthorn once more. Just as he was about to leave the camp, though, he heard his name being called. Turning, he saw Rust quickly making his way over.

“Yes?” Blaze asked.

“I would like to come with you on your search today, if that’s all right.” Rust offered.

“Of course, I’d appreciate the help.” The two saloli left the camp together, making their way to the northern border.

“Let’s go right from here.” Rust suggested as they reached the scent wall. As they walked, they passed several human houses. Two children were playing in one of their front yards throwing a big rubber ball back and forth. They were both obviously not even five years old. Seeing them, Blaze was forcibly reminded of his past. Before he had joined Icefire, Blaze had been a human named Jeremy Lander. Faith had transformed him into a saloli and forced him to lend his aid to Icefire. At first he had been hesitant, helping them only in order to become human again, but over time he had found himself becoming more and more loyal to his tribe. He had eventually come to embrace being a saloli, and became what every member of Icefire strove to be. Even when faced with the opportunity to change back, he had declined in order to continue fighting with Icefire in their war.

Blaze turned away from the children to cast a glance at his chief, and was startled to see that a drastic change had come over him. A look of utter hatred was on his face, and fury radiated from his eyes.

“Rust, are you all right? Blaze asked.

Rust shook his head, clearing it of whatever he had been thinking about, and turned away. “I’m fine.” He answered.

“Why were you looking at those humans like that?” Blaze persisted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You were looking at them as if they had killed your father.”

This was obviously the wrong thing to say. Rust spun around, glaring at Blaze, eyes alight with hatred. “They didn’t take my father, Blaze,” He growled, “They took something even closer to me.”

With that, Rust turned and ran away, back in the direction of camp, leaving Blaze to finish the search by himself. After making his rounds with no luck, he too returned to camp. Upon arrival, he immediately began to look for Faith. Something was very wrong with Icefire’s chief, and Blaze felt he needed to know what it was. If Rust himself wouldn’t tell him, perhaps Faith would. He saw her sitting in her personal tree, and quickly climbed up to be with her.

“Faith.” He hailed her.

She turned around to look at him, “Hello, Blaze,” She responded, her voice frail and hollow.

“Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“If you must.” The prophet sighed.

“What does Rust have against humans?”

This question seemed to catch Faith off guard, “What do you mean?” She asked.

“Today, Rust decided to join me on my search for Smallthorn. When we reached the northern border, we came across two human children, and Rust started glaring at them as if he wanted to claw their faces off. He told me that they had stolen something very important to him.”

A look of understanding crossed Faith’s face, “Blaze, did Slicer ever tell you why he despised humans like he did?”

“No, he said that he would, but then he died.” Blaze answered.

“Well, did you know that Slicer was a father?” This revelation startled Blaze. He had always respected Slicer, but had never taken him to be the fatherly type. “Oh, yes,” Faith went on, reading Blaze’s expression, “her name was Ginger, and he loved her more than life itself, and he was not the only one. Before he became chief, Rust also had a special place for her in his heart. She felt the same way for him, and they were arranged to be married. The day of the marriage, however, she died.”

“How?” Blaze asked, eyes wide with anticipation.

“Nobody knows for sure, I think, but Gol… I mean, the saloli who found her, told us that she had been killed by a human. Both Rust and Slicer were scarred for life. From that day on, they both shared a mutual hatred for mankind.”

Blaze knew that he ought to feel bad for his chief, but could only feel curiosity. Something Faith said had caught his attention. “Who did you say was the one that found her?”

Faith quickly averted her eyes, “Another Icefire saloli.” She responded.

“Do you know his name?” Faith shook her head.

“You will have to speak with Rust if you wish to know more,” She said, “though I doubt he will tell you.” With that, Faith turned to look down at the rest of Icefire, and sighed. Blaze saw a gleam of sadness in her eyes, as if she were holding back tears.

“Is something wrong?” He asked, concerned. What did she know that he didn’t?

“I… I don’t know how to say it.” She answered.

“Go ahead,” Blaze encouraged her, “I’ll listen.”

Faith turned to look at him, and Blaze saw in her eyes just how deep her sorrow went. She wasn’t just upset, she was genuinely heartbroken! “Blaze,” she said, “my time here is coming to an end.”

“What do you mean?” Blaze asked, confused, “You mean you’ll have to leave Icefire?” Faith shook her head, and a single tear ran down her cheek. Blaze’s eyes widened as he suddenly realized exactly what his old friend meant. “No!” He said, almost shouting, “You can’t!”

“Neither of us can stop it,” Faith assured him, “it is meant to happen, and will happen according to Valde Abbas’ will.”

“But we need you!” Now tears were brimming in Blaze’s eyes as well.

“Don’t worry, Icefire’s new prophet will be more than capable of taking my place.”

“How do you even know this?”

Faith turned to look at the sun, beyond which Blaze knew Valde Abbas’ castle was located. Every creature was said to go there when they died, to be with Valde Abbas forever. “It is a prophet’s gift and curse to know when their destined time is. It is so that they can prepare their tribe to select a new one.”

“But… But…” Blaze stammered, wanting to ask the question that was in his mind, but afraid of sounding selfish.

“It’s all right,” Faith promised him, almost reading his mind, “Icefire’s new prophet will be the one to turn you human again.”

“You can’t leave! Icefire couldn’t ask for a better prophet.” Blaze insisted, “What will we do without you?”

“It is not me who this tribe depends on,” Faith corrected him, “it is the Sword.”

“But… But…” Not able to think of anything else to say to her, Blaze simply dropped his head and let his tears run free. He sensed Faith walking up to him, and felt her paw on his shoulder.

“Fear not,” she said, “for all that you require has been provided for you. You have the Sword to protect Icefire, and Valde Abbas to guide you through life. You have nothing to be afraid of.”

“But you…”

“I am going to where I will be happier for eternity than I ever was here.” She managed to give Blaze a weak smile, “In all honesty, I would not change what is about to happen for the world.”

Hearing this broke Blaze’s heart, and he did something that was not considered normal for a full grown saloli. He moved in close to his old friend and nuzzled his head under her chin, like a newborn trying to get closer to its mother. At first, Faith seemed surprised at this, but soon accepted it. Blaze could barely see for the tears in his eyes, but was not ashamed. Faith was the first saloli he had actually known, she had been the one who taught him to behave in this world, and she had comforted him when things looked dark. She was one of his dearest friends, not only in Icefire, but in the entire world, and he had just learned that she was going to die. There was no shame in crying for that.

“Faith,” he whimpered, “I don’t want you to go, but if it’s really what you want, then I’ll let you.” Faith smiled, touched by Blaze’s tenderness. “It won’t be easy, you’ve been like my mother here. Still, I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy, Blaze.” Faith reassured him, “I couldn’t ask for a more loyal friend than you, or a better tribe than Icefire. I admit, you’ve become like the son I’ve always wished to have. I will miss you when I’m gone, but I will still be happy knowing that, someday, I will see you again.” Blaze finally pulled away from Faith and sniffed. “Now, put it out of your mind. It isn’t my time quite yet, and we still have work to do.” Blaze nodded. “Good, now dry your eyes and go back to work. You’ll feel better by the end of the day.”

Nodding one more time, Blaze rubbed his eyes with his paws and scampered down the tree.

Chapter Three

The sun set over Groundsky’s territory, casting long, crimson rays over the rugged landscape. Goliath stood on the edge of a small canyon, seven feet above the rocky bottom. The hole was about twenty feet from side to side at its widest point, and the walls rose straight up from the ground. More saloli than could easily be counted were inside it, unable to get out. Goliath had placed Darkcover saloli all around the edge, preventing the ones inside from escaping. This was his war prison, and those saloli were his prisoners. Nearly every saloli that had been a thorn in his side over the past two years now resided in there. Many Groundsky saloli had been thrown in there. They had not accepted the change in authority when Goliath had committed the Blood Way on Patch, their former chief. A few of the Cyclone saloli who had attempted to chase him away when he entered their territory were in there as well. There were, of course, no Darkcover saloli, as they were all loyal to him.

Looking down, he wished that there could have been more than one Icefire saloli in captivity. Still, the one he had was a good catch. The runt had been the outsider’s best friend. The outsider had caused no end of trouble for Goliath, and it pleased him to have taken away someone who mattered so much to him. He looked forward to the day that the outsider, himself, would be confined to this canyon as well. No, perhaps not. Maybe he should kill the outsider as an example to any other saloli who had ideas about rebelling against him. Yes, that idea sounded very good.

Goliath saw Razor, the Icefire traitor, swipe his claws at a Groundsky saloli’s face, cutting him and knocking him over. It had been the simplest thing to persuade Razor to join. The promise of power had immediately lit up the black saloli’s eyes. He had been ordered to assassinate Rust three different times, but the blasted outsider had managed to expose him for what he was. As an act of revenge, Razor later returned to murder the outsider, attempting to poison him with sap from the Evil Tree. He failed at that as well, but still managed to poison the mate of the outsider’s best friend. In the end, the runt had been forced to kill her himself, breaking his own heart in the process. It was then that Razor had caught him and brought him to the prison.

“I can smell despair.” An old gray saloli mused, coming to stand beside Goliath. His eyes were white, signifying his lack of sight.

“Mordred,” Goliath greeted him, “I wish you could see it. It is a beautiful sight to see. All these worthless fools being stripped of their hope!”

“It is a vile thing to take a creature’s hope away.” Mordred said, a smile stretching across his face.