Legends of the Saloli: Vengeance and Mercy

by Adam Bolander

  “Is everything going well, Razor?” he asked.

  “As well as can be expected.” the traitor answered, “The prisoners are slowly losing hope, just like we expected. They don’t fight back, they don’t try to escape, they won’t even look us in the eye.”

  Goliath growled in approval. This, at least, was going as expected.

  “Except,” Razor spoke up again, “for the outsider and his runt friend. They seem to be resisting. It’s like they’re impervious to what we’re doing. Blaze. . . I think he’s planning something.”

  Goliath quickly turned away to keep Razor from seeing the spark of fear in his eyes. He shouldn’t be this afraid of that saloli, there was nothing special about him. Why did simply thinking about him strike such fear into his heart? Well, it wouldn’t last much longer.

  “Razor,” he said, “I have orders I want you to carry out immediately tomorrow morning.” He turned towards Mordred, “I am going to make an example of that blasted outsider. I will show everyone in that prison what happens when you cross me. Then I will place his body where Rust will find it.” An amused smirk crossed Mordred’s face. Goliath ignored him and continued speaking, “Razor, tomorrow morning, you are to go straight to the prison and kill him.”

  An eager grin crossed Razor’s face, “Should I use the poison?”

  “No,” Goliath decided, “That death is too slow. Spare me the details, just make sure that he is dead before noon. I want to see his corpse waiting for me when I arrive.”

  “Yes, sir,” Razor obliged, “And what of the runt?”

  Goliath hesitated, then said, “Do what you will, I don’t care.”

  With that, Darkcover’s chief turned and walked back to his personal tree. Mordred, then, came forward to speak, “Razor, the last time I saw you, you were perfectly happy in Icefire. I do not mean to pry, but what happened? Why did you decide to abandon them?”

  A flash of anger lit Razor’s eyes, then faded. A trace of regret appeared, though Mordred could not see it, “It was because of Mist. She was my mate. I loved her. I think she was the only saloli I’ve ever really loved.”

  “Love is a fool’s emotion.” Mordred spat, derisively.

  For a moment, it seemed as if Razor was insulted. He glared at Mordred, then nodded, “She was pregnant with twins. I remember being happier than I’d ever felt because of this. I was to have a son and a daughter. I just knew they would do great things someday. Then, the day they were born, she died. Something went wrong while she was giving birth.” Anger grew within his eyes, and Razor’s claws ground into the earthen floor, “It was Faith. She could have saved her, but didn’t! She told me that she was sorry, but there had been nothing she could do. I saw through that lie. She wanted Mist to die! I don’t know why, but she got her wish. It was at that moment that I understood what Icefire truly was: a gang of murdering liars!”

  A chuckle escaped Mordred’s throat, “And what of your children?”

  “Oh, they lived. They were raised by some goody-good Valde Abbas worshippers. I don’t even think they knew who their real mother was.” Razor looked away, “They’re dead to me now.”

  Mordred smiled behind Razor’s back, “Well, thank you for telling me, Razor. I’m sorry for your loss, but I’m glad that you saw the true path after it. Now, I need to get some sleep. Good night.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Hey!” Blaze felt someone prod his side, “Wake up!” Blaze grumbled, forgetting for the moment where he was, but didn’t move,

  “Wake up!” whoever it was repeated.

  Blaze finally opened his eyes and immediately remembered his situation. Jumping to his paws, he was surprised to see that nobody else was up yet. The one who had awoken him was a dark brown saloli, somewhere close to the same age as him. He had a haunted expression on his face, as if he were doing something that he was afraid of being caught at.

  “What’s going on?” Blaze asked, confused and more than a little suspicious.

  “I can’t stay long, so, please, just listen.” The saloli whispered, “I just overheard a conversation between Goliath and Razor. Goliath has ordered him to kill you first thing tomorrow morning!”

  Blaze was startled, not because of this revelation, but because of who was revealing it to him. This saloli’s scent was Darkcover, no doubt about it, so why was he telling him this?

  “Why should I listen to you?” he asked.

  “Because I’m telling you the truth. Goliath plans to make an example of you to all the other prisoners, and then show you to Icefire. You need to get out of here!”

  Blaze wanted to brush the warning off and send the saloli away, but he couldn’t. The saloli’s eyes were scared and desperate, but this wasn’t because he was lying, he realized, it was because he was going against his entire tribe by telling him this.

  “Why are you doing this?” Blaze asked, “We’re enemies!”

  “Because,” the saloli answered, “not everyone in Darkcover believes in what Goliath is trying to do. Many of us only follow him out of loyalty to the tribe. I’ve seen him for what he is, an evil monster! He killed our old chief, Bramble, and now I’ll do whatever it takes to bring him down as well. He’s taken more innocent lives than I’d ever thought possible! He even kills his own tribemates if they fail him.”

  “But why come to me?” Blaze asked.

  “Because he’s afraid of you. I heard him say it. He didn’t say it straight out, but he believes that there is something different about you, and that scares him. I believe that you can be the one to deliver us from his tyranny.”

  Blaze nodded. He was surprised that the giant was so afraid of him, but he didn’t have time to dwell on that right now. If this saloli was to be believed, Razor was coming to execute him in a matter of hours. This couldn’t end well, he knew it. If he defeated Razor, he still had the rest of Darkcover to deal with afterwards. What could he do?

  Sensing his question, the saloli spoke up again, “I’ve got a plan. I’m going to cause a distraction when an opportunity comes. What I have planned should provide the time for everyone in the prison to escape, but I’m going to need your help. I need you to spread the word, tell everyone to run when you hear me yell ‘Valde Abbas.’ Can you do that?”

  Blaze nodded his confirmation. Satisfied, the saloli was about to turn and leave, but hesitated, “Blaze, if this works, would you mind doing one more thing for me? I’m betraying all of Darkcover by doing this, and Goliath will execute me for sure. I believe that what I’m doing is right, but I don’t want to die for it, not yet. If we all manage to escape alive, would you please bring me back to Icefire with you?”

  Blaze considered this. It would be a risky thing to do, but he owed this saloli something for what he was doing, didn’t he? “I can’t promise you there will be a place for you in Icefire, but I’ll talk to Rust about it when we get back.”

  Relief shined in the saloli’s eyes, though the fear was still there, “Thank you, Blaze! Thank you so much!”

  “What’s your name?” Blaze asked.

  “Dust,” the saloli replied, “Dust of. . . Well, I can’t say Dust of Darkcover anymore, can I? I need to get out of here now, or they’ll notice I’m gone. Remember, tell everyone you can about the breakout, and the signal is ‘Valde Abbas.’” With that, Dust turned and made his way back to the edge of the canyon and climbed out.

  Blaze immediately went to where Smallthorn was sleeping, and prodded him in the side as Dust had done. The runt immediately leapt to his paws, claws extended, ready to fight, “Oh, it’s just you, Blaze.” He whispered, relaxing, “What are you doing up so early?”

  Blaze quickly explained everything that Dust had told him. Smallthorn was hesitant to believe the word of a Darkcover saloli, but Blaze reminded him that they didn’t really have much choice. If they wanted to escape, Dust was their best hope. Finally, he nodded his agreement.

  “Good,” said Blaze, “Now start telling as many saloli as you can, but keep your voice down. We do
n’t want Darkcover getting wind of this.”

  Turning away, Blaze quickly walked to the closest saloli and prodded him awake, “Prepare yourself,” he said, “we’re breaking out today. The signal is ‘Valde Abbas.’ Listen for it.” Without stopping to see his reaction, Blaze continued to the next saloli, and repeated the message.

  For over two hours, Blaze and Smallthorn spread the word of the breakout. When the sun finally began to peek over the horizon, they both felt as if they had spoken to the vast majority of the prisoners. Those that hadn’t heard from them would, hopefully, see what was happening when the time came and respond accordingly. As expected, Razor appeared at the top of the canyon just as the first rays of dawn appeared. Leaning over the pit, he called out to the prisoners.

  “King Goliath has given me the order to execute two among you this morning. If any of you protect these two, you will die as well. Blaze and Smallthorn of Icefire, come forth now!”

  Blaze shot an encouraging glance at his friend, “Don’t be afraid.” He whispered.

  “I’m not.” Smallthorn replied.

  Slowly, the two of them came to the front of the prison, directly below Razor. The traitor wore a grin of victory on his face, and his eyes gleamed with the thought of killing the two friends.

  “Here we are, Razor,” Blaze called up, “But do you really think we’re going to let you kill us without a fight?”

  “Fight all you want.” Razor shot back, “Even if you kill me, you’ll still have the entire tribe of Darkcover to deal with afterwards.”

  The traitor tensed to leap down on them, but never got the chance. At that moment, a single saloli ran out of the forest, shouting at the top of his lungs.

  “We’re being attacked! We’re being attacked! Icefire has invaded our territory! They’ve come in the name of Valde Abbas!”

  With a jolt, Blaze recognized Dust’s voice. So, the Darkcover saloli had been true to his word. Razor did not think twice before turning and running in the direction that Dust had come from, followed closely by almost the entire prison guard. Less than twenty remained behind to watch the prisoners.

  “That’s the signal!” Blaze said.

  “I know, let’s get out of here!” Smallthorn agreed.

  The two of them leapt onto the canyon wall, using the crevices and cracks in the stone to climb out. All around them, they could hear the ecstatic prisoners following their lead. Blaze was soon on the surface, followed immediately by Smallthorn, and then half a dozen other saloli.

  “Stop them!” A guard shouted, leaping at Blaze, claws bared. Blaze reacted like a seasoned warrior, dodging to the right and darting forward to cut the saloli’s throat open. He fell down, dead. Seeing Blaze’s brutality seemed to unnerve the other Darkcover saloli, and, knowing they were outnumbered, turned and retreated.

  “Come on!” Smallthorn encouraged him, “Let’s go!”

  Blaze and his friend took off into the woods, away from the accursed prison. Blaze quickly noticed that the landscape on Groundsky territory was far rockier than Icefire’s, with bluffs and large stones rising up from the ground all around them, and the trees were less abundant. Blaze turned to look at his friend, about to ask if he knew where he was going, when he was knocked off of his paws, onto Smallthorn, from behind. Leaping back up, Blaze was startled to see Razor himself standing there, raising his claws for a fatal strike. Blaze leapt forward, and their heads collided. Blaze saw stars, but managed to keep his wits and claw Razor’s face one time before turning and racing off again, Smallthorn right behind him. He could hear Razor pursuing them, his breath coming out of his nose in angry snorts. He could also hear something in the distance, a dull roar that was quickly building in intensity. He realized what it was just as it came into view.

  A gulley stretched before them, blocking their path, and they slid to a halt just in time to avoid plummeting over the edge. The stone walls reached down about three feet, and then disappeared beneath a torrent of raging rapids. They had reached the river. Blaze looked back just in time to see Razor leap at him, teeth bared in blind fury. Reacting without a thought, Smallthorn moved in front of his friend just in time to take the force of Razor’s attack head on. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop him, and Smallthorn was knocked back into Blaze, and all three fell over the ledge, into the vicious waters below.

  Blaze felt his neck pop with the force that the current grabbed him with, and almost immediately slammed into a rock. The river quickly pulled him around the rock, and he hit another. Stars danced in front of his eyes, and the air was forced out of his lungs. Paddling with his paws, he managed to pull his head above the surface for a split second, but was not able to take a breath. The raging current slammed him into yet another boulder, and darkness crept into his vision. He fought it, though, and felt his head clear once more. Fighting the pull of the river, he managed to get his head above the surface once more, and gulped down the life giving air before he was swept under again. Terror seized him. In the second he had been up there, he had seen what lay ahead, only fifty feet in the distance. The river disappeared, and mist rose up in a thick fog. The river’s roar grew deafening. He was approaching a waterfall.

  Struggling to get back to the surface once more, Blaze managed to lift his front right paw out of the water, but nothing more. Despair choked him, and panic tried to take him, but Blaze did not let his mind lose itself to fear. Still, there seemed to be nothing he could do as the waterfall dragged him closer and closer to his doom.

  Valde Abbas, help me! He thought desperately. He couldn’t do this on his own.

  His paw, still above the surface, suddenly flared with pain, and he felt himself be jerked upwards. His head broke the surface, and he gasped, breathing once more, and looked up. He was underneath a low hanging branch from a tree growing near the gully’s edge. Standing on top of it, his claws sinking into Blaze’s paw, preventing him from being swept away, was Dust.

  “I’ve got you!” he yelled over the river’s roar, “Put your other claws into the branch!”

  Blaze did as he was instructed, and struck the branch with all his might, embedding his claws deep within it. Dust pulled with all his strength and Blaze slowly felt himself rise out of the speeding water. Soon he was able to dig his back claws into the branch as well, and he hauled himself to safety. Collapsing on the branch, Blaze breathed deeply, catching his breath at last. He looked at Dust.

  “Where is Smallthorn?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, I haven’t seen him!” Dust answered, and then looked back upstream. “There!” he said.

  Blaze followed his gaze, and he, too, saw the unmistakable sight of his friend following his earlier course down the river. Blaze scrambled to his paws, and waited until he was within reach, the reached down and snagged Smallthorn’s back with his claws. Pulling back, he slowly brought the runt out of the water, and he, too, instinctively sank his claws into the wood. Blaze loosened his grip so that Smallthorn could pull himself the rest of the way up.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Smallthorn coughed, and nodded, struggling to get out of danger. Just as he was about to pull himself to safety, though, he suddenly jerked backwards, and nearly lost his grip. A black claw rose to the surface, and dug itself into the base of Smallthorn’s tail, and Razor’s face broke through the foam. His eyes showed no sense of sanity as he reached out with his other paw, planting the claws firmly into Smallthorn’s back.

  “Icefire scum!” he howled in rage, “I’ll kill you both!”

  He took his claws out of Smallthorn’s tail, and tried to pull himself further up, but the current caught him again, and he would have been swept away if he hadn’t had a paw on Smallthorn’s back. Though the runt nearly screamed in pain, he looked back at the struggling traitor. The image of Newthorn driven mad by the poison flashed through his mind, but it was buried by a sudden, unexpected wave of sympathy for him. Taking one paw from the branch, he reached down towards Razor.

  “Razor, you�
�ll die if you try to do this yourself!” he called down, “Take my paw!”

  “Gladly!” the traitor snarled, and lashed out at it. Smallthorn jerked it away just in time, though, and Razor’s balance was thrown off. He struggled wildly, trying to catch ahold of the runt again, but Blaze could see that it was futile. He could only watch as Razor’s claws were wrenched free of Smallthorn’s skin, sending the traitor hurtling back down the river, over the waterfall, to the jagged rocks below.

  Blaze pulled back once again, and, this time, managed to free his friend of the murderous water’s grasp, “Are you okay?” he asked again.

  “I’m fine.” Smallthorn gasped, catching his breath. He looked down the river, at the waterfall, “Good riddance!”

  “We can’t stay here.” Blaze advised him, “We need to get out of here.”

  “With me, right?” Dust asked, hope shining in his eyes.