Part 5 (2/2)

”Lava flows are rare,” Twist continued, ”but you will learn the difference between flows from Stormfast or from Kiel on the opposite side of the Ring.”

In the eastern sky, the first bright shadow of the moon clawed its way over the horizon and began to climb. It was then that Faolan spotted the owls. Their broad wings printed against the dark, their tip feathers silvered by the moon's light, the owls of Ga'Hoole came silently through the night a” ghostly and majestic.

”They usually arrive when the moon is rising. And from the cairns of Stormfast and Morgan, you have the best view of them. On the Bone of Bones, you will learn about the truly great owls, beginning with the first more than a thousand years ago.” Faolan felt something in his marrow. His eyes widened and he shoved his ears forward. He, as all wolves in the Beyond, knew of the ember that lay buried in the volcanoes and how it often traveled through the lava tunnels from one crater to another. He had been told the legends of the Ring and was aware that the first King Hoole had known about the ember's strange power before he retrieved it. The King named it the Ember of Hoole and warned the first collier that this ember was not for any Rogue smith's fires.

”I know,” Faolan said quietly.

”You know.” Twist c.o.c.ked his head and looked at Faolan with curiosity. ”You've already read that part of the Bone.”

”No. Not yet.”

”Then how do you know?”

Faolan looked at Twist. There was confusion in his eyes. ”I'm not sure. I just know.”

Something stirred in Twist. It wasn't a feeling so much in his marrow as in his heart. He continued, ”As I said, you'll learn about the Fengos as well as the great colliers a” like Grank, the first collier.”

Faolan gave a start as he heard the name.

”Are you all right?” Twist asked.

”I'm fine. Please go on.” When Twist had said that name a” Grank a” there was a s.h.i.+ver deep in Faolan's marrow. The kind of s.h.i.+ver that wolves felt when another wolf walked over the place where they would take their last breath.

”Let's begin with the scanning leaps.”

”Scanning leaps?”

To answer the question, Twist shot up as fast as any burning ember and spun around at the highest point of his leap. He did a forward somersault and landed neatly back on the cairn. Faolan blinked in astonishment.

”That was a full gainer with a double spiral and a little something of my own devising at the end. But the real point is not how fancy you can get but how much you can see while you're up there. How much you can scan in the shortest amount of time. We can't fly like owls, but a” Twist chuckled a bit. ”Well, we try!

”Right now, your job is to learn about the good owls, not the graymalkins yet a” how to recognize them, who they are.

”And now,” Twist said. ”Time for your first jump. The trick is to spring from your back legs and immediately tuck your front legs under. Don't try anything fancy on this first one. Just up and down and land on your hind legs.”

On the count of three, Faolan sprang. Burning embers whizzed by him and he could feel the heat of the flames from the volcano and smell the lava thick and boiling in the crater. Hot gusts brushed his pelt, and for a few seconds, he felt as if he were one with the sky a” the stars, the moon, the racing clouds a” until he saw an owl high above him. What a world they live in! he thought. Before he knew it, he was back on top of the cairn.

”Your jump was very high and that is good. But for now, I would sacrifice a bit of height so you can better master the flips and twists.”

Meanwhile, atop the cairn on Morgan, Edme was also concentrating hard on her jumps. She did not attain the height she desired, but her form was good, even excellent, until she caught sight of Banja below, sneering at her. She came down hard on her rump.

”Ouch!”

”Ah, you were distracted!” Winks said. ”Can't let that happen. What pulled your attention away?”

Edme was reluctant to say that it was Banja. She didn't want to sound as if she were complaining, blaming someone else for her mistakes. But inside her head, she was cursing the wolf who had lodged like a burr inside her brain ever since the meeting with the Fengo. I am not going to let her do this to me, Edme silently vowed. She wants to get at me and she won't!

Edme squared up for her next jump. She took off beautifully, tucked her legs just as instructed to reduce the wind, soared as high as she had yet, then rounded down for what would have been a perfect landing, until a loud cackling burst out below her. Once more, she landed on her rump.

”Hey, quiet down there!” Winks shouted.

”Oh, we didn't realize we were so loud,” Banja said. ”Sorry, Winks. I was just telling Paddy that joke you told me the other night about the caribou who tried to play biliboo.”

”First of all, it was a limerick, not a joke. And secondly, with the wind in this direction, your words carry and I am trying to do some serious instruction up here.”

”Yes, I see she does need it. So sorry. My apologies to both of you,” Banja answered. Winks looked at Edme, a perplexed expression s.h.i.+ning in the taiga's single eye.

”Hmmm” was all she said.

Did that apology sound as phony to Winks as it did to me? Edme wondered.

Back atop Stormfast, Faolan worked hard on his jumps until the very end of the watch. Twist led him on a much longer trail back to the den so Faolan could see the changing of the Watch s.h.i.+fts at the other volcanoes.

”We're coming up on Kiel now. That's Leitha just going up to the cairn.”

Faolan saw a black wolf with a glossy pelt and three legs nimbly make her way up the cairn. When she reached the top, she sprang into the air, executing a dazzling backward somersault. Faolan gasped. ”She did that on only three legs!”

”Yes, indeed,” Twist replied. ”Some think that Leitha is the best jumper of the Watch.”

Faolan could not help being ashamed that he'd once felt so special because of his jumps.

They had almost completed the circle and were approaching the volcano Dunmore when Twist stopped. Directly ahead was a cairn, but no wolf stood atop it. It was not as tall as the other cairns, but as Faolan looked at it, he felt a shudder pa.s.s through him. His hackles rose.

”The cairn of the Fengos,” Twist said quietly. ”This is where their bones rest and many of the bones they carved. When their time is near, when cleave hwlyn is approaching, they begin to carve their final bone, their Bone of Pa.s.sage. It's their last thoughts before they leave this world and begin their climb up the star ladder to the Cave of Souls. That bone is buried with them deep in the cairn. The Fengos carve in a code understood only by them.”

Faolan c.o.c.ked his head to one side and stared at the cairn. The voice of Twist ebbed away, the baying of the wolves faded as well, and it was as if he had been transported to a moment outside of time. He felt as though he were standing next to his own pelt, looking at himself. I know the code.

”Faolan! Are you all right?” Twist asked.

Instantly, Faolan was back in his own skin. ”Fine, good!” And he did feel good, as if he'd had a long, restful sleep.

”Look, Dunmore is awakening.” The two wolves turned their heads toward the volcano, which had suddenly begun to spew geysers of hot coals into the black folds of the night. The sky was spangled with burning embers. For the first time since Thunderheart had died, Faolan felt at peace, content. I am happy, Faolan thought. I am truly happy.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

ESCAPE OF THE SHE-WOLVES.

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