Legends of the Saloli: Vengeance and Mercy

by Adam Bolander

  “Nothing.” Blaze muttered in reply, trying to avoid Thunder’s glare. The failure would not be ignored, though, and moved so that he filled Blaze’s vision.

  “I hate you!” He spat, his eyes showing just how true his words were.

  “I’m sorry,” Blaze apologized, “but I can’t undo what I did to you.”

  “Idiot! You think I’m talking about the Challenge? I couldn’t care less about that anymore. No, I hate you for killing my sister!”

  Shocked, Blaze tried to retreat, but Thunder followed him, “What are you talking about?” He asked, “Smallthorn killed Newthorn, but if you’re going to be angry at anyone, then make it Razor. He started the whole thing.”

  “No,” Thunder accused him, “you started it. If you had just died when Razor attacked you, Newthorn wouldn’t have interfered, and none of this would have happened.”

  A chill ran through Blaze’s heart. The poor saloli was desperate for someone to blame, and had pinned Blaze as the one. The problem wasn’t that he was afraid of Thunder, but that he understood his logic. But it couldn’t be right, could it?

  “It’s not my fault.” Blaze said, guilt causing his voice to be lowered to a whisper.

  “It is your fault.” Thunder insisted, “And I’m going to be keeping a very close eye on you. The minute I see you step out of line, I’ll report it straight to Rust. Then you’ll get what you deserve.” With that said, the angry saloli turned and stormed back to the trainee’s tree. The shock did not leave with its instigator, though. Blaze was surprised to find himself shivering, slightly.

  It’s not my fault, he thought, It’s not!

  Though he was still bothered, Blaze managed to push it to the back of his mind. For now, he needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Today he planned to speak to Rust about Ginger. Making his way over to his chief’s tree, he found Rust standing beside it, issuing orders to a patrol that was preparing to depart. Blaze hung back until he sent them off.

  “Good morning, Blaze,” Rust greeted him, “What can I do for you?”

  “Good morning,” Blaze responded, “I just have a question I’d like to ask you. Who, exactly, was it that told you that Ginger was dead?”

  Blaze knew he was taking a huge risk jumping straight to the point like this. Sure enough, Rust’s eyes widened in surprise, and then furrowed in anger, “Who told you about that?” He demanded.

  Putting on an innocent face, Blaze said, “I heard it from another saloli.” Rust narrowed his eyes in suspicion, “I don’t remember his name.”

  Rust glared at Blaze for a moment longer, but then his gaze fell to the ground, “I loved her Blaze. Far more than you could ever understand. You have no idea what it’s like to lose somebody you love so much so quickly.”

  Blaze averted his eyes. It didn’t seem right to look at his chief in this state, “I’m sorry. If there was anything I could do, I would.”

  “But why do you need to know?”

  “The saloli who told me was about to say who found her, but stopped. I just wanted to know.”

  Rust hesitated, unsure whether he should confide in his tribemate like this, then sighed, “It was Goliath.” He said.

  This revelation nearly knocked Blaze off his paws. Goliath? The same Goliath that was chief of Darkcover? It couldn’t be! Why would he be on Icefire territory in the first place? Blaze voiced this question.

  “It was a very bad time, Blaze.” Rust replied, “That’s all you need to know for now. No, don’t ask again. There may come a time when you need to know this, but right now I think there is a patrol that could use your assistance.”

  Blaze resisted the urge to persist, and nodded respectfully. He would get no more information from his chief at the moment. The best option would be to wait until Rust felt confident enough to reveal more without prompting. In the meantime, he would continue his search for Smallthorn. Going to his normal place to begin his rounds, he began the now instinctive routine once again. Walking, stopping, sniffing, walking again. Almost an hour later, he heard the sound of approaching paws, and his nose scented Gnaw. Gnaw was Icefire’s head trainer, named for his abnormally sized teeth.

  “Hello, Blaze!” He called, “How goes the hunt?”

  “No better than before.” Blaze replied, “It’s like Smallthorn just vanished off the face of the earth. His scent isn’t anywhere on Icefire’s territory. Would you happen to know where he could have gone?”

  Gnaw bowed his head in thought, and then shook it, “Nothing other than that old fox cave. Have you checked there?”

  Blaze instantly felt his inspiration return. The cave! Why hadn’t he thought of that before? He knew the place well; it was where he had first fought Flame, a fox that had later attacked Icefire’s camp. Thanking Gnaw, he turned and raced in the direction that would take him there.

  Five minutes later, Blaze stood in front of the cave. It was small, a fox likely being the largest animal that could comfortably live in it. Sniffing the air, he ensured that a fox had not been in the area for a long time. Thinking back, he wasn’t surprised. His former trainee, Scratch, had once used his power over plant life to make a tree reach down and crush two of them. Walking to the cave mouth, he sniffed again, and was rewarded, at last, with Smallthorn’s scent. He had been here, and if the strength of the scent was anything to go by, he may be here now.

  Stepping inside, he called out, “Smallthorn, are you in here?” There was no answer.

  Walking a few steps further inside, Blaze cast his gaze across the small space. It was barely a foot and a half tall, and two feet wide. He spotted a strange marking on the wall. Temporarily distracted, he moved over to see it better. Upon closer inspection, he found that it looked like a cross, painted black upon the gray stone. No, it wasn’t a cross. The very bottom did not flatten out into a smooth edge, but narrowed until it formed a sharp point.

  It was a sword.

  Looking a bit further left, he saw something else painted upon the cave wall. This one was bright red. Before he could get a better look, though, something hit him from behind, propelling him forward, and he struck his head on the stone wall. Through dimming vision, he saw Razor standing above him, a look of triumph on his face.

  Chapter Six

  Blaze was lying on a rough surface. This was the first thought that passed through his mind as his senses slowly began to return to him. It felt like stone. Was he still in the cave? No, he could smell other saloli around him, far too many to fit in that little cave. Besides, Razor would never have left him there after attacking him, especially not on Icefire’s territory. Forcing his eyes open, he quickly shut them again when the bright daylight burned him. When they had adjusted to the light, he opened them again.

  All around him he saw dozens of saloli. There must have been at least eighty, perhaps even a hundred. They were all abnormally thin, and smelled of despair. Looking further revealed where he was. He was no longer in the cave, as he had surmised, but in a canyon. It was around twenty feet from side to side, and the walls rose seven feet on all sides. Around the edge, more saloli were positioned, keeping watch on the ones below them.

  Getting to his paws, Blaze walked to the closest saloli, “Where are we?” He asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Shhh!” The saloli shushed him, a look of fear crossing his face, “If they hear us talking, they’ll punish us!” With that, the saloli turned and made his way into the crowd, leaving a very confused Blaze.

  “Hey,” someone whispered behind him, “Blaze!”

  Turning, Blaze saw Smallthorn standing a few feet away, motioning for him to come over. Hurrying over, he asked, “Where are we? What is this place?”

  “Quiet!” Smallthorn whispered, looking around fearfully, “Talking isn’t allowed here. They’ll punish us if they catch us doing it.”

  “What is this place?” Blaze asked again, lowering his voice to a whisper like his friend’s.

  “It’s Darkcover’s war prison. They’ve been kidnapping saloli from t
he other tribes and putting them in here.”

  “How long have you been here?”

  “Since the day Newthorn died. Razor ambushed me, and knocked me unconscious. When I came to, I was here.”

  “Did he get you in the fox cave?”

  “Yes, I was hiding there to be alone. That’s not important right now, though. Blaze, Darkcover has taken over Groundsky’s territory. That’s where we are right now!”

  At this revelation, Blaze felt his heart sink into his stomach. If Darkcover was, indeed, expanding their dominion over the forest, then that meant that their forces had to have grown as well. But by how much?

  “Smallthorn,” he whispered, urgently, “we need to get out of here. If Darkcover’s plans are coming to fruition, then we have to warn Icefire, perhaps Cyclone as well.”

  Astoundingly, the light drained out of Smallthorn’s eyes at these words, and he hung his head in dejection, “We can’t,” he said, “They’ve got it too well guarded. The last saloli who tried was stopped by three Darkcover saloli, and killed.”

  Blaze was shocked to hear his friend say this. Smallthorn had never been one to give up without a fight. Whatever Darkcover was doing here, it wasn’t having a good effect on him. Blaze opened his mouth to encourage his friend to help him, but was interrupted when a saloli shouted from the top of the cliff.

  “All bow in reverence to King Goliath, ruler of the forest!”

  Blaze spat in disgust. King Goliath? He was becoming arrogant. Still, if he was confident enough to call himself king now, then it may be a cause for worry. After all, he now ruled half of the forest. If two of the tribes now called him king, how long would it be before he turned his gaze onto the rest of the forest?

  To his horror, Blaze saw that the saloli within the pit were obeying! They bowed their heads and closed their eyes, as if praying to Valde Abbas. Even Smallthorn was showing respect. Before he could reprimand his friend, Goliath came into view on the edge of the canyon. Just as his name implied, he was more than twice the size of any other saloli in the forest. He had dark gray fur, and a black spot that covered his left eye. His brute strength could be estimated just by looking at him, and his eyes burned with hatred and arrogance. He looked down at his prisoners as if he were gazing at a bowl of earthworms.

  “Where is the outsider that was adopted into Icefire?” he roared into the crowd.

  Blaze knew, of course, that the giant was referring to him, but kept his mouth shut. Scowling, Goliath turned back and spoke to someone out of view. Razor, then, came forward and looked into the pit. He pointed at Blaze with his paw. Grinning wickedly, Goliath leapt into the prison and muscled his way through the crowd to where Blaze was standing.

  “So, we finally meet face to face, outsider.” He said, raising his head so that he could look down at him. Blaze knew that he should be intimidated by the massive saloli, but could not bring himself to show fear to his enemy. He stood his ground and looked Goliath in the eye.

  “My name is Blaze.” He shot back. Goliath chuckled darkly, apparently amused by Blaze’s bravery.

  “Well, Blaze, I hope you enjoyed causing me so much trouble, because from now on you are going to be right here, where Razor and I can keep a close eye on you.”

  “I won’t be staying anywhere.” Blaze retorted, “I’m leaving, and I plan on taking everyone here with me.”

  Without warning, Goliath lashed out, striking Blaze’s face with his paw, knocking him to the ground. The humor in his eyes was gone, “Fool!” He hissed, “You do not realize the situation that you’re in. Nobody will be leaving this canyon unless it is death that takes them.”

  “I’ll take you up on that.” Blaze said as he got back to his paws, “Show me your throat, and I’ll happily let death take you.”

  An angry growl rose from Goliath’s throat, “If I were you, outsider, I would worry about your runt friend. He may not make it very long if I were to become displeased.”

  Without another word, Goliath turned and stormed away. Reaching the canyon wall, he leapt up and snagged the stone with his claws, climbing out of the pit with ease. This, more than anything, showed Goliath’s strength, as saloli claws are made for climbing trees, not stone. Watching him go, fury ignited within Blaze’s heart.

  “If you even touch him, I will kill you!” He shouted after the retreating giant. Goliath took no notice. Once he was gone, Razor leapt down into the prison, also making his way to Blaze.

  “So sorry.” He sneered, “Looks like everything you did for that stupid tribe was for nothing.”

  “I think I’ll do one more thing for them before this is over,” Blaze shot back, “by killing you.”

  Razor grinned wickedly before turning to walk away, but Blaze had still seen a glimmer of fear pass through his eyes at the threat. Blaze realized, then, that, no matter what predicament he was in, he had become a force to be reckoned with.

  Chapter Seven

  “Everyone get up!” Razor shouted, “You’ve had enough sleep! Everyone on their paws!”

  Blaze blinked drowsily, but hastened to get up. The sky was still dark, the sun not even peeking over the horizon yet. It was his third day in Darkcover’s war prison, and he still had not attempted an escape. He was fairly sure he could, but only if he left the other prisoners here, which he was not willing to do. Not when Goliath had threatened to punish Smallthorn for any trouble Blaze caused. Because of this, he had found it best to obey Razor’s orders, even though it hurt his pride.

  There was a set schedule in the prison. Every morning, Razor would wake the prisoners before sunrise, and a meager amount of food would be thrown in. If they were lucky, there may be enough acorns to feed half of them. Then, around noon, Goliath would make an appearance to further discourage the already downhearted saloli. Then, sometime later in the evening, more food would be thrown in. Sleep during the day was forbidden, and the prisoners would be required to stay awake past midnight. Speaking was likewise forbidden, and anyone who broke this rule would feel Razor’s claws.

  Although he would not leave without his friend, Blaze was continually looking for flaws in Goliath’s plan. A larger gap than was normal between the guards ringing the prison, a section of the canyon wall that would be easier to climb then the others, his eye missed nothing. Still, it seemed that the giant had planned for everything, because there seemed to be no major mistakes. If he were to escape, he decided, he would have to rely on his own strength and fighting skills, not in lucky flukes.

  Smallthorn was the only saloli who still seemed to not have his fighting spirits dampened. If a Darkcover saloli shoved him, he would restrain himself, but still give the offending saloli a venomous glare. Although it was a sorry way to react to his enemies, it was still more than the other prisoners were willing to do. Frightened out of their wits by the vicious prison guards, they seldom even raised their heads, and never looked them in the eye. On his second day, Blaze had been brutally clawed by the guards when he’d sent a spiteful remark their way.

  Blaze sighed, his heart heavy with exhaustion and anxiety. This was unnatural. No saloli was meant to be trapped like this. For once, he understood what Slicer had meant when he’d said that a caged saloli could go mad. Blaze wanted to run, to climb, to kill these arrogant, evil saloli for making him endure this. Still, he forced himself to wait. If he were to escape without helping the other prisoners, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. Kneading the ground restlessly with his claws, Blaze tried to calm his roiling blood. Gazing around at the Darkcover saloli, he kept one thought in his head to keep his spirits up.

  Their time will come.

  <><><><><>

  Goliath stalked back and forth in the middle of the Darkcover camp, obviously troubled by something. His eyes were bloodshot, and his teeth were clenched. He jumped at the slightest noise. Mordred stood back a ways, a look that may have been mild amusement on his face. Goliath ignored him.

  “What has you so ill at ease, my chief?” the blind prophet asked.
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  Goliath sighed, clenching his eyes shut in frustration, “It’s the outsider from Icefire. There’s something about him, something that bothers me.”

  “What do you think it is?”

  Goliath shook his head, “I don’t know, but I can barely look at him.” He turned to look at his prophet, “Mordred, there is something wrong with that saloli!”

  “What do you plan to do about it?”

  “Kill him.” Goliath answered, simply.

  He turned as he heard paws approaching him, and saw Razor enter the camp. He immediately forced himself to remain still, so as not to show his unease to his servant.