Part 4 (2/2)
”Yes, let's try,” Faolan replied.
They were silent for a while. Then Faolan piped up again. ”Edme, are you asleep yet?” He waited. ”Edme? Are you sleeping?”
”Well, I was until you asked me.” She yawned.
”Oh, sorry.”
”It's all right,” Edme replied. ”What is it?”
”I think what you did back there in the Fengo's den, what you said a” you know, the truth about yourself. It was very brave of you.”
”Thank you, Faolan.” You woke me up to tell me I was brave?
They both nestled deeper into their caribou pelts.
”They smell so good, don't they? No pup pee,” Faolan said.
”Yep, no pup pee.”
Just as Edme was drifting off once again, Faolan said, ”You're not asleep yet, are you, Edme?”
”Almost,” she huffed.
”I just want to say one more thing.”
”Yes, what's that?”
”You really do deserve to be here a” much more than I do. I mean, you made the kill rush.”
Edme's hackles raised. ”Faolan, that is just plain stupid. I have never heard anything more cag mag in my life. You have proven yourself time and time again. Now, kindly let me sleep.”
But still he could not sleep. So he turned to the Bone of Bones. It was not easy to read in the darkness of the cave, but he soon found that certain sections had been carved deeper, and if he ran his tongue over them he could feel the inscription. One section in particular had been carved very deeply as if for extra emphasis. His marrow trembled as he began to read a pa.s.sage.
There has been a bond between the wolves and the grizzlies in the region of the sacred volcanoes that is vitally important. It is the reason why two species of animals a” the top meat eaters of the region a” can live peacefully together. Nowhere else in the Beyond do wolves and bears live in such close harmony. But let it be known that there are certain customs that are practiced between ourselves and the bears of the Beyond to ensure that we will always live harmoniously with one another in this small realm within the larger one of the Beyond. One of the most important rules of behavior is that a wolf must never touch the cub of a grizzly, for there is no telling what b.l.o.o.d.y havoc might ensue, the least of which would be the death of that single wolf.
There are other practices followed that also ensure that the grizzlies and the wolves of the Watch will continue. Good relations between ourselves and the bears is essential because our range for hunting is limited; therefore we must live together peaceably.
”Urskadamus,” Faolan muttered the bear curse he had heard Thunderheart use was she was deeply irritated. His curse had awakened Edme.
”What are you doing?”
”Reading the Bone of Bones.”
”In this light?”
”The bone is carved deeply. I can feel it with my tongue.” There was utter anguish in Faolan's voice.
”Faolan, what is it?”
He looked up at Edme. Does she know how close she came to being killed?
”Did you touch the cub?” Faolan whispered.
”I don't think so.” Her voice was taut with fear.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
DUNBAR MACHEATH CONSIDERS.
”I FOLLOWED THEM FOR A DAY and a night, until they came to rest on a cliff just above the river. There was a moose carca.s.s on the sandbar in the shallow part of the river. A grizzly and a byrrgis from the Watch were sharing the kill.”
”What!” The wolves who had gathered in the MacHeath gadderheal gasped. There was a flurry of exclamations.
”Shut up!” the chieftain ordered. ”They do that sort of thing a” the wolves of the Watch and the bears have a close bond. Go on, Fretta, this is getting interesting, very interesting!”
”The grizzly's cubs were on the banks and she was bringing the meat back to them. When they had all had their fill and the wolves had left, the mother bear napped. The cubs were not a bit tired.”
”Of course, the mother did all the work.” Katria, a she-wolf with a pelt black as a moonless night, spoke softly. But not softly enough. The chieftain leaped upon her and sank his fangs into her haunch. Blood spritzed out of his muzzle from a small cut made by the Litha thorns, which made him even angrier. So he swatted Katria and she skidded across the floor of the gadderheal. ”No more from you!” Katria slunk off to a corner. Lying as flat as she could, with her muzzle buried in her paws, she wished herself invisible. How much more could she take of this clan? Kyran had been her daughter a” her foolish, foolish daughter. Katria's mate had not even been that disturbed when Dunbar MacHeath dispatched the slink melf to kill Kyran and Ingliss. All that mattered to her mate, Donaidh, was rising in the ranks of the lords.
In Old Wolf, the word donaidh meant ”ruler of the world,” and Katria's mate seemed to feel that this alone gave him the right to succeed the chieftain Dunbar, who was growing older and meaner by the day.
Katria returned her attention to the scout's report on the wolves and the bears.
”Edme and Faolan had been watching from on top of a bluff. It was the hot, lazy time of the day and soon Faolan was sleeping soundly. But not Edme. She got up and went over to play with the cubs, until Faolan awakened, darted out, and shooed her away.”
The chieftain chuckled. ”If the bear had awakened, she would have made short work of the two.”
”Too bad,” Blyden said.
”No, not at all,” Dunbar countered. ”I want more out of this than the death of a stupid little she-wolf like Edme. There is more to be gained than you might suspect.”
”He's a wily one, our chief,” someone murmured.
”There is one more thing, sir,” Fretta said.
”And what is that?”
Fretta appeared suddenly very nervous. She s.h.i.+fted her eyes away from the chieftain and took a step backward. ”There is a rumor a just a rumor, mind you.”
”What kind of a rumor?” Dunbar MacHeath's voice dropped.
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