The Wildcat's Claw Page 11

  Once on the other side, they quickly scampered up the bank. “This isn’t a forest,” Rollan said. “It’s more like a graveyard. A place where trees go to die.”

  Meilin didn’t want to agree with Rollan, but he was right. Wilcoskov was very creepy. The fog covering the ground was so thick it looked like they were stepping through rain clouds. Ahead of them, the naked trees stretched to the sky, with snow capping each of the bare branches. The wind blew through the skeletal trees, making a howling, almost unnatural sound.

  Before entering the forest, they called forth their spirit animals, including Jhi. Meilin knew they’d need as much help as possible to get through the tangled maze. Essix flew ahead in search of the waterfall, while the others followed Briggan, Uraza, and Jhi.

  They traveled for what seemed like hours. Meilin was sure that they were just walking in circles—each tree looked the same—though the animals never appeared to be confused. Dead, stiff moss covered all the trees, creating silver curtains cascading from the sky. Gnarled roots and thick, twisted branches blocked them from all sides, making the journey that much slower. They couldn’t make it ten paces without someone tripping on something, or being sideswiped by thorns or huge burrs. Somehow, the wind seemed to blow from all sides all at the same time, never giving them a break from the frigid chill.

  Finally, Essix returned, landing on a tree in front of the other animals. After squawking a few times, she took flight again. The other animals continued moving forward.

  “I think that means we’re going in the right direction,” Rollan said, his teeth chattering.

  They kept moving, walking through lunchtime. The wet, cold air had somehow made it through Meilin’s leather boots and wool socks, the chill digging deeper with every step. She walked beside Jhi, in the hopes that the animal would keep her warm. Rollan had mocked her at first … before finally huddling against the giant panda as well.

  Sometime later, Meilin jolted to a stop as a foul stench hit her nose.

  “That is dis-gust-ing,” Rollan said, covering his mouth. “And I thought this place couldn’t get any worse.”

  “Over here,” Conor said. Using his ax blade, he jutted toward an animal carcass. “I think this is what’s causing the smell.” He turned it over, and a new wave of foulness hit them. “Yep, this is it.”

  “What type of animal is that?” Meilin asked, stepping closer. The huge creature had been ripped open, with half its flank already devoured. She could still see the claw and teeth marks in its skin. As she circled it, trying to get a better look, she noticed another gaping hole in the animal. It looked as if it had been ripped apart. Two broken tusks protruded from its snout. What remained of its gray, coarse fur was matted with dried blood.

  “There are two more carcasses over here,” Worthy said. “They smell like Rollan’s feet.”

  “Ha-ha,” Rollan said dryly.

  “Is it native to Eura?” Anka asked Conor.

  He shrugged. “I’ve never seen it before.”

  “Me neither,” Worthy said. “It looks like some type of huge hog. Or perhaps a boar.”

  “I think we should leave,” Abeke said. She had drawn her bow and nocked an arrow, and was cautiously spinning around in place. Uraza stood beside her, crouched low to the ground, almost hidden by the fog. “Those carcasses were killed recently.”

  Meilin took a step backward, and stumbled. Waving the fog away, she saw a line of deep, massive paw tracks.

  “We’re in some animal’s lair,” Abeke continued. “We need to leave before it returns.”

  Then Briggan growled. “Too late,” Conor said, his gloved hands tightly gripping the handle of his ax. “Briggan senses something. I do, too.”

  Then they heard a branch snap. And then another after that.

  “This way,” Anka said, moving toward a group of trees. “I’ll hide us.”

  As quietly as they could, they made their way to Anka. After a second, they turned silver and brown, blending into the dying trees and moss behind them.

  All the while, the sounds of crunching leaves and tree limbs grew closer. Something howled. Something close.

  “Don’t even breathe,” Abeke whispered.

  Slowly, five brown bears appeared out of the fog. As they growled at one another, Meilin could feel Rollan flinch beside her. The bears were gigantic—at least as large as Jhi—with thick coarse fur covering their hulking bodies.

  The bears lumbered farther into their lair. The largest of them sniffed at one of the carcasses, then let out a wailing roar. Frothy drool dripped from its jaw and onto the ground. On the other side of her, Meilin could hear Worthy’s ragged breaths, and she knew it wasn’t from the cold.

  A second, smaller bear approached the largest one, sniffing the air. The animals turned toward Meilin and the others. They growled, spewing more drool across the frozen ground.

  “I think they can see us,” Worthy whispered.

  The three other bears joined the first two. They all began to paw at the ground, letting off a succession of grunts.

  “Maybe they’re just pawing at the ground to stay warm,” Rollan offered.

  Then, letting off a deafening roar, the bears charged toward the trees. Their trees.

  “Run!” Abeke screamed.

  They took off, thrashing through the woods. The bears followed close behind. The entire forest seemed to shake thanks to the bears thundering paws. At first, Meilin had been worried that Jhi would be too slow, but the great panda was easily outpacing her, only pausing to make sure she was keeping up.

  “We can’t run like this forever,” Rollan said. “Let’s take to the trees.”

  “The branches are too low,” Conor said. “They might be able to climb after us.”

  “No, over there!” Worthy said, pointing to a large tall evergreen to their right. Its lower branches had already been stripped by something, leaving nothing but exposed, clawed bark until halfway up the tree.

  “Aren’t you worried about what made those marks on that tree?” Rollan asked.

  “I’ll worry about that later,” Worthy replied as he extracted his claws and began climbing the tree. Anka quickly climbed up behind him.

  “Jhi, can you help the rest of them up?” Meilin asked. She glanced behind her. The bears were still charging, their wails ringing through the forest. “Abeke first. Then she can give us cover.”

  Jhi lumbered to the base of the tree, then held out her paws. Abeke nodded, called Uraza back in passive, then took off toward the panda. She leaped into the panda’s outstretched paws. Jhi flung her high into the air, past Worthy and Anka. Abeke grabbed on to a branch and pulled herself up. As soon as she was sitting, she whipped an arrow from her quiver and began firing at the bears. The arrows found their mark but did not puncture the bears’ thick hides. However, they at least slowed down.

  Meilin was the last into the tree. As soon as she grabbed a branch, she called Jhi back to her. The black-and-white mark appeared on the back of her hand just as the bears reached the base of the tree.

  The animals raked their claws over the tree trunk, but were too large to climb it. Then they rammed the tree, over and over, causing snow and small branches to rain down from above. Abeke almost fell after one attack, but Conor was able to catch her and pull her back onto the branch at the last second.

  “Thanks,” Abeke said. She slipped her bow back over her shoulder. “No point in wasting any more arrows.”

  “So now what are we supposed to do?” Anka asked.

  Meilin shrugged. “We wait. And hope that the tree outlasts the bears.”

  THE BEARS RAMMED THE TREE FOR ALMOST AN HOUR. The trunk bent and sighed with each attack, but didn’t break. Eventually, the bears tired of this, and their attacks slowly dwindled. But instead of leaving, they curled up around the tree, content to wait the humans out. It seemed the bears knew Conor and the others couldn’t remain in there forever.

  Conor wasn’t sure how long they ultimately stayed in the tree. Day had
turned to night before the bears finally disappeared back into the fog. But even then, they waited a full two hours before venturing down, just to be safe.

  Conor decided to go down first. Once he reached the ground, he released Briggan. The wolf stepped forward and sniffed the air. After a few seconds, he seemed satisfied that the threat had disappeared and returned to Conor’s side.

  “Come on down,” Conor said. “I think it’s safe.”

  “Hopefully the Oathbound will run into those bears as well,” Rollan said, sliding down the tree.

  “Has Essix seen them?” Conor asked.

  Rollan shook his head. “That’s what worries me. They’re no longer on the road to the forest. So either they turned around, or they’re already here and hidden from Essix’s view.”

  “Keep your eyes open, Uraza,” Abeke said. “We need to be on the lookout for both animals and Oathbound.”

  “And ghosts,” Worthy mumbled.

  Following their spirit animals, they continued on in what they hoped was the direction of the waterfall. They didn’t dare light a torch—they didn’t want to draw any unwelcome attention. Using Briggan’s senses, Conor took the lead, trying to help navigate them past any unseen obstacles. Worthy only tripped twice. Conor took this as a positive.

  “We should stop for the night,” Anka finally said. “It’s getting too difficult to see. Plus, I don’t want to stumble into another den of those wild bears by accident.”

  They all agreed. Finding a large outcropping of boulders, the team hastily made camp. Conor offered to keep first watch. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.

  Conor had heard stories about the great Euran wildcat all his life. She was second only to Briggan in fame. Many towns and villages had flown her likeness on their official banners and flags, in the hopes that she would bring good luck—such as protection from wild animals or a good harvest. Conor couldn’t believe he was actually close to seeing the grave of the real beast. He didn’t like all the fighting and politics associated with being a Greencloak, but he loved the adventure and the thrill of discovering new things. Even with everything that had happened, he didn’t want to go back to his old life as a shepherd and servant boy.

  Once morning came, the group packed up and continued through the forest. As the day wore on, the roar of falling water grew louder. The sound seemed to propel them forward, encouraging them to scamper through the forest at a quicker pace.

  Finally, the forest opened up, revealing that they were standing at the top of a huge valley. They gasped at the sight. Sunlight reflected brilliantly off the water below, forcing them to shield their eyes. To their left, a large thundering waterfall cascaded down a fragmented cliff face, creating a thick, white mist where it joined with a swirling pool. The rushing waters churned within the cove; Conor could make out huge, jagged rocks and massive boulders poking through the surface. The water seemed to thrash around the small bay before continuing downstream along a twisting path to deeper parts of the forest.

  Conor cupped his hands over his eyes to get a better look at the valley. There, at the banks of the river, were blooming red and yellow flowers. He rubbed his eyes, just to be sure they were working properly, then looked again. There even appeared to be fruit trees down at the bottom of the falls, lush with green leaves. How could that be? How could anything grow in this environment, with all that snow and ice?

  Then he realized that the valley had no snow and ice. The landscape of ice and dead trees faded away about a quarter of the way from the base of the valley, replaced with wide trees and other wildlife.

  “Guys, it’s not snowing down there,” he said. “See the plants and flowers?”

  They all leaned forward to take a closer look. “That’s impossible,” Abeke said. She shook a small, ice-covered branch beside her, dumping freshly fallen snow to the ground. “How can it be freezing up here, and a paradise down below?”

  “Some rumors say that the black wildcat breathed fire when she was really mad,” Worthy said. “When she hissed and spat, she’d be liable start forest fires. Maybe some of that heat is still around.”

  Meilin rolled her eyes. “Or more than likely, we’re close to a geyser or fault line that keeps that area warm.”

  “Maybe that’s why they called it an enchanted forest,” Anka said. “It would have certainly appeared magical to people not used to sights such as this.”

  “I don’t care what they called it, and I don’t care why it’s warm,” Rollan said. “I just want to get down there so I can feel my fingers and toes again.”

  They slowly made their way down into the valley, traversing roots and outcroppings of boulders. As they continued down, Conor began removing layers of his warm clothes. By the time they reached the bottom, they had all shed their heavy fur coats. The rumble of the waterfall was so loud that they had to yell in order to hear one another.

  “I’m betting there’s a cave somewhere behind the falls!” Meilin bellowed. “But what’s the best way to get to it?”

  Abeke picked up a small piece of wood and tossed it into the water. It bobbed up and down in a frenzy as it was quickly swept downstream. “We won’t be able to swim to it. There’s no way we could fight against that current.”

  Conor was relieved to hear her say that. While he could make do in the water, he wasn’t the best swimmer. Worthy seemed to be just as relieved by Abeke’s observation.

  “Maybe there’s another way around,” Rollan said. “Here comes Essix now, to save the day.” Then Rollan grew still, and Conor knew he was slipping into the falcon’s mind.

  Conor looked up to see Essix’s brown wings stretched wide. She slowly spiraled down into the valley, soaring over the team’s heads. Tucking her wings into herself, she dove into the waterfall. For a moment, Conor was worried that the strong, pummeling water would send her crashing into the rocks below. But then Essix emerged from the other side, not a feather out of place.

  “Yeah, it looks like there’s an entrance back there,” Rollan said, shaking his head. “There’s a small ledge that leads to a cave behind the waterfall. It’s narrow, but I think we can make it.” He pointed to a rocky land ramp leading to the cliff wall. “That’s the way up.”

  They followed Rollan as he shrugged off his pack. “Be careful,” he said, reaching the face of the cliff a few moments later. “The ledge is covered with moss and lichen, and slick from all the water.”

  The rest of them removed their packs, only taking what was essential. Meilin hesitated after removing her pack, almost as if she was going to pull something from it, but left it on the ground with the others. Conor offered Briggan a leftover piece of jerky from that morning’s breakfast, then called the wolf into passive state. He didn’t want to take the chance of Briggan loosing his footing and falling into the river. Briggan was strong, but that current would have been too much for even him to swim against.

  One by one, they climbed onto the narrow ledge, their backs pressed against the rough, uneven cliff face. Conor’s toes hung over the edge. Now was not a great time to have large feet.

  “I wish we had some rope to tie ourselves together with,” Meilin said. “Maybe we could use some of the vines from the forest.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Rollan said, slowly edging along. “Just don’t look down.”

  Of course, Conor chose right then to glance below him. His stomach twisted and churned just as much as the river beneath them.

  Conor was halfway across when they heard a rumbling sound.

  “What is that?” Anka asked. “More bears?”

  “No, it’s much closer,” Meilin said. “It almost sounds like it’s coming from the—duck!”

  Conor covered his face as a wave of bats streamed from behind the waterfall. They were small, but loud—their shrieks even blocked out the roaring water.

  “Keep moving forward,” Abeke yelled, shielding her face with her arm. “We have to make it to the cave.”

  Just then, another sharp scream pierced th
e sky. But this wasn’t an animal. It was a distinctly human voice.

  “Rollan!” Meilin yelled.

  Conor opened his eyes to see Rollan flailing below them, his arms outstretched as he plummeted toward the bubbling water. Rollan was heading right for one of the largest—and sharpest—of the boulders.

  Maybe Rollan sensed what was ahead. Ceasing his flailing, he pulled himself into a ball. Then, when the time was right, he kicked out against the cliff and dove cleanly into the water. By pushing himself away from the wall, he was able to avoid the largest of the rocks.

  “Yay!” Conor cheered. “I thought he was a goner.”

  “It’s not over yet,” Anka yelled. “Look!”

  To their horror, Rollan was thrashing around the water, fighting against the current, but he was losing steam.

  “Hold on to something, Rollan!” Abeke yelled.

  Rollan turned, trying to grab a boulder, but he slipped past it and continued down the river. He pivoted again, trying to grasp another rock, but instead smashed into it. Rollan was visibly shaken by the impact, his head rolling around on his neck.

  “I’m going in,” Meilin said. She pressed her hands against the rock wall, preparing to launch herself off.

  “No, you can’t,” Abeke said. “You’re not strong enough!”

  Meilin was furiously shaking her head. “He’ll drown if I don’t go.”

  “No, you’ll both drown,” Worthy said. “But I won’t.” And with that, Worthy let off a ferocious howl and leaped off the cliff. With his red cloak billowing behind him, he almost looked like he was flying as he dove into the water.

  Worthy disappeared into the frothy haze, and for a second, no one saw him. Then he emerged, spitting water as he did.

  “Hold on, Rollan!” Conor yelled. “Keep fighting! Worthy’s coming for you!”

  Worthy paused for long enough to get his bearings, then sped toward Rollan, his arms and legs propelling him through the water. He caught the boy just before he was about to get pulled into the twisting current and dragged farther into the forest. Worthy handed Rollan something. It looked like a black vine. And then, very slowly, Worthy turned his body and powered through the white-capped current. Conor realized he was holding his breath as he watched his friends battle back to dry land.