“Goodbye, Outsider!” he shouted.
The strike never came, though. After almost a minute, Blaze worked up the strength to open his eyes again. Goliath was still standing over him, but was no longer looking at him. To Blaze’s right stood Mordred, Darkcover’s prophet, speaking to Goliath in a hushed tone. Nodding slowly, Goliath placed his paws back on the ground, and stepped back. All around them, the fight raged on.
“Can you hear me, Outsider?” Mordred asked. Not knowing what else to do, Blaze managed to give a weak nod. “Good. Stand up.” Using all of his willpower, Blaze managed to put his paws beneath him and raise his body up, though his wounds screamed for mercy. “We’ve decided to give you a little test. If you pass, we will go home and leave Icefire in peace. If you fail, it will cost you the life of someone you hold very dear.”
“W-what are you talking about?” Blaze sputtered, a bit of blood running down his lip.
“Go home to your mother,” Mordred commanded. “If you can make it there within five minutes, I will spare her life and leave as promised. I take it you already know the other outcome?”
Blaze’s view of Mordred was suddenly blocked as his chief ran to stand in front of him, Faith was behind him. “Blaze, whatever he’s said to you, don’t listen to him!” Rust commanded.
Mordred laughed, a cruel sound that his throat was obviously unused to. “You mean you really haven’t told them?” he asked in a taunting voice, “You haven’t told them what it is you really are?”
An uneasy look came into Rust’s eyes, “Blaze, what is he talking about?”
“You haven’t told them that you are not a saloli at all? They aren’t aware that you are, in fact, a human?”
A shout came from Icefire’s chief. “You’re lying!” he shouted.
“Am I?” Mordred smiled. “Why don’t you ask your prophet, Faith?”
Rust turned to look at Faith, who had a shameful look on her face, “Faith, is it true? What have you done?”
A tear trickled out of Faith’s eye, and she said, “I had hoped that it wouldn’t be revealed to you in this way, Rust, but yes. Blaze is a human.” Another shocked gasp rang out.
“But- but why?” Rust asked.
“Because Valde Abbas told me that we needed him. I turned him into a saloli and brought him here. I’m sorry Rust, but I had to do it.”
Mordred spat in disgust, “Valde Abbas is a fool! Those who take his words as truth are fools, as well as puppets. I will show you how loyal Icefire’s hero truly is.” He turned back to Blaze, “Go! Go and save your mother! Your time begins now.”
Panic flooded into Blaze’s mind, making him fully alert again. Despite the pain that racked his body, Blaze began a slow jog out of Icefire’s camp. He didn’t know what would happen between him and Icefire now, and at the moment he didn’t care. All his brain could comprehend was that his mother was in danger. He couldn’t allow her to be hurt. This wasn’t her war!
Blaze began to see his house, still small in the distance. Unable to keep up the jog, he slowed to a limping walk. Pain flared in his right paw, and he realized that a thorn had gotten stuck in the pad. Incapable of walking with it, he managed to pull it out with his teeth. Doing so took over a minute.
“I’d hurry if I were you,” Mordred’s voice echoed through the trees. “She only has three minutes left.”
Blaze began walking again, leaving a trail of fresh blood behind him. His house gradually drew nearer, and, finally, he stood on the grassy front lawn. Both to his horror and relief, he saw his mother sitting on the porch swing, staring out into the forest.
“Mom!” he yelled, knowing that she wouldn’t understand him, limping up to the house as quickly as he could.
His mother heard what Blaze had said, but only as a saloli’s bark. Looking down, she saw him making his way to her. Her eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment, and then widened in astonishment. More than two months ago, Blaze had transformed from a saloli to a boy and back right before her eyes. She recognized, now, that it was her son walking up to her.
She immediately stood up and ran towards him, intending to pick him up and hold him like a mother would a newborn child. She never got the chance.
FLASH!
BOOOOOOM!
Dirt and grass flew in all directions, propelled by the force that only a bolt of lightning could create, and Blaze felt a wave of heat envelope him. When the dust settled, to his dismay, he saw his mother lying on her back, staring up at the sky. Pain filled his heart, far more than his body felt.
“No!” he shouted, and ran to her. While running, Blaze felt his body shift and grow, and by the time he was beside her, he knelt next to her as Jeremy Lander, human once more. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, but received no response. “Mom?” He called to her, “Mom, please don’t do this! You weren’t supposed to be a part of this! Mom, please, wake up!” He grabbed her wrist and frantically searched for a pulse. There was none.
It felt as if his heart would burst from the pain. Reaching out, he gently used his fingers to close his mother’s eyes. Now it looked as if she were sleeping. Unable to contain the emotion any longer, Jeremy leaned his head back and screamed his sorrow to the heavens.
Why? Why? Why? The question ran through his head. This wasn’t her war! She had nothing to do with it! Why did she have to die? He leaned down, resting his head on her chest, and began to cry. He did not know for how long he cried, but when he finally stopped, he became aware of laughter behind him.
Turning around, he passively noticed that he had returned, once again, to saloli form. Behind him, just behind the cover of the trees, stood Mordred, cackling as if he had done something incredibly amusing.
“I’m so glad that you decided to show me where your mother lived, boy.” He said, a wicked smile played across his face, “For a moment, I thought you would call my bluff, and not believe me. If you hadn’t fallen for it, I never would have found out where your mother was.” He snickered, “I hope you realize that her death is your fault. You led her to me! You killed her! You killed your own mother!”
Suddenly, Blaze was filled with an uncontrollable rage. Leaving his mother’s side, he ran as fast as he could at Mordred, intending to rip him limb from limb.
“I don’t think so.” Mordred said.
FLASH!
BOOOOOOOM!
Blaze felt himself be thrown back, just as his mother had been, and struck his head. The last thing he could remember after that was seeing Mordred turn and walk away, an ecstatic smile on his face.
It’s my fault.
Chapter Nineteen
It- It can’t be, Rust thought, completely dumfounded, the hero of Icefire is a human?
Rust, Faith, Sunbeam, and Smallthorn all stood in front of Jeremy’s house, staring at the crater that had once been Blaze. These four, being the closest to him, had felt compelled to go after him when he had raced away. After Mordred had driven Blaze out of Icefire’s camp, Goliath had smiled cruelly at his brother.
“Isn’t it terrible, Rust? You can’t trust anyone in this worthless tribe. Not me, not Razor, not even your favorite pawn. What good is a tribe where trust does not exist?” Goliath had then moved in closer to him, whispering, “This will break your tribe, Rust. The saloli that you and your entire tribe were looking up to for deliverance is not even one of you. Just watch, fear will now spread through Icefire like a wildfire, and it will belong to me within the month! And you have nobody to blame but yourself for this. After all, you were the one who invited that human into your tribe in the first place.”
With a laugh full of wicked glee, Goliath had then ordered a full retreat. He didn’t need to take Icefire today; he had broken its trust instead. Besides, he had already overthrown Cyclone. That was enough for one day. As the Darkcover saloli ran from his camp, though, Rust could only hear one thought within his head.
What have I done?
It seemed that Blaze had not only lied to his entire tribe, but was now dead as well. No
body could have survived a lightning bolt that close. His mother obviously hadn’t. Rust could only shake his head in bewilderment.
Faith was standing to the right of Rust, her cheek fur drenched with tears. After everything that had happened lately, she had begun to hope that everything would turn out all right. Blaze had been accepted so easily into Icefire, and quickly became known as a champion among them. In an ideal situation, Icefire would never have had to find out his true past. It was too late now, though. Blaze would be lucky if Rust only drove him out of Icefire. That is, if he was still alive, which she highly doubted.
It’s all my fault. I brought him into this situation, and he has lost his life for it. Blaze, Valde Abbas, forgive me!
Sunbeam, standing on Faith’s right, was also weeping, but much harder than the prophet. Her eyes were so bloodshot that they nearly glowed, and anguished sobs frequently escaped her throat. Blaze had been the one she had felt attraction to since the day they met. She had looked up to him for both his strength and his gentleness. Slowly, she had come to realize that she felt more than a slight attraction to the fiery red saloli. She loved him. His indication that he had no feelings for her in return tore Sunbeam apart, but in the end her love for him only grew. Even though it seemed they would have no future together, Sunbeam did not know what she would do without him being there. His presence had comforted her, even if he did not realize it. Unable to look any longer at the scorch mark where her love had stood only moments before, she closed her eyes and howled her grief to the heavens.
Smallthorn, standing at the end of the line, to Sunbeam’s right, was likewise in shock. His best friend was dead? It seemed so impossible. Still, he had just watched Blaze be struck by the bolt of lightning. Pangs of sorrow began to stab Smallthorn’s heart, but quickly disappeared when he spotted something lying in the grass ten feet away from where the lightning had struck the ground. Something red.
“Look!” he said, racing forward. The others followed him. Drawing nearer, Smallthorn’s suspicions were confirmed. There lay Blaze, eyes closed and body beaten almost beyond recognition. His skin had been flayed open, his fur ripped out in places, and severe burn marks blackened his hide.
“Oh my,” Faith said, her words strained from holding back her sorrowfulness.
Rust’s head bowed in regret. Despite the lies Blaze had told, he could not stand to see him in this state. “I know, Faith. Get the materials for his funeral. We’ll hold it right here.”
Sunbeam fell to the ground and covered her head with her paws and screamed. It hurt Rust’s heart just as much as his ears to see her so wretched. It reminded him of Ginger. No, this was no place to think about that. Smallthorn stood over his friend, biting his lip, obviously trying to keep from breaking down like Sunbeam.
“No,” Faith said, “look closer!”
Rust looked once again at his fallen comrade. Was that… No, it couldn’t be… It was! Almost beyond belief, Blaze’s chest was slowly rising and falling in extremely shallow breaths.
“I don’t believe it.” Smallthorn said, eyes open wide in awe, “How is it possible?”
A smile had returned to Faith’s face, and tears of joy had replaced her ones of loss, “There is more strength in that saloli than any of us can understand.”
“Will he make it?” Sunbeam asked, desperate for good news.
Faith stepped forward and placed her paw on Blaze’s body. Almost inaudibly, he groaned from the contact.
“He’s in terrible condition. If he doesn’t receive intensive care immediately, he will die. I need to pray over him and not be bothered. That is his only hope.” She paused, “I’m not sure that I’ll even be able to save him that way.”
“Please!” Sunbeam begged her, “Save him! Do anything!”
“I will, but you must all leave me with him. I will return to camp when I have news. Tell the tribe that under no circumstances am I to be bothered. Understand?”
“Yes, Faith. Thank you.” Rust said, turning and running back into the comforting cover of the trees, Smallthorn following him. Sunbeam took one last look at Blaze.
“I’ll be waiting when you wake up.” She whispered, and then followed her chief.
Turning towards Icefire’s fallen hero, Faith lay down on the cool grass and prepared the words for the longest prayer she would ever pray.
Chapter Twenty
The first thing Blaze realized was that he was standing, once again, in the black wasteland. The same feeling of safety as before swept over him, and he was tempted to simply lie down and sleep. Something was not right, though. Try as he might, he could not remember where he had been before coming here, or what he had been doing. The slightest trace of a memory tickled the back of his brain, but he could not take hold of it and bring it forward. It confused him. It was not a place or an action, it was a feeling.
Pain.
Whether it was physical or emotional pain, he could not tell. Finally giving up, he allowed the memory to slide further back into his mind and soon forgot all about it. Blaze eased himself to the ground, and curled into a fetal position on his side, wrapping his tail around himself. It felt so perfect here. So safe. He would happily stay here forever.
Wake up.
Blaze’s ears perked up. Who was that?
Wake up, young one.
This time, Blaze raised his head up and looked around. Nobody was there. He shook his head and dismissed it as a dream, preparing to curl up once more.
Now is not the time to sleep. There is work to be done.
Blaze raised his head once more and called out, “What do you want?”
It is time for your true destiny to begin.
Blaze was not the least bit interested in what the voice was saying, but was preoccupied with finding out where the speaker was hiding.
You are slipping away, young one. You must stop yourself from giving in.
“What are you talking about?”
You are dying. Your life is leaving your body. That is why you can not remember anything.
Dying? What did that mean?
You must call yourself back. You can not allow yourself to die now, nor can I. There is too much that depends on you.
Blaze felt as though the voice was saying something important, but he couldn’t piece together why. The voice itself was important, he realized that, but whose was it?
Are you able to do it?
“Do what?” Blaze called out.
Can you bring yourself back from the edge of death?
Blaze doubted he would know what to do even if he could remember what the word “death” meant.
Then I will give you aid in this, young one, just as I aid every creature who does my will.
Suddenly, it was as if the floodgates of Blaze’s mind had been opened. Almost instantly, he could remember who he was, what had happened, and, most importantly, who he was now speaking to.
“Valde Abbas!” he gasped, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me!” How could he ever have forgotten his own creator?
Be at peace, young one. There are other things we must discuss.
“My mother…” Blaze said, quietly, “She’s dead, isn’t she?”
Yes, she has come to live with me in my castle. Do not despair, you will see her again once all is finished.
“But why?” Blaze shouted, “Why did she have to die? This wasn’t her war! She had nothing to with any of this!”
It was to give you a taste of true pain. You will survive, and you will grow stronger from it. This strength will benefit you in the times to come.
“But…”
I will take the memory of what happened this day from you, so that you may focus on the task at hand. When you remember, you will be someone different. Our time is at an end now. We will speak again soon.
Before Blaze could say anything more, the scenery around him began to fade.
Chapter Twenty one
Rain pelted Rusts’ body as he ran through the forest, and thunder rumbled t
hrough the overcast sky. The wind whipped the trees back and forth like grass, which was why Rust had stayed on the ground. The downpour was nearly a wall of water on every side of him, making it difficult to see. Luckily, Icefire’s chief knew his territory like the back of his paw.
Three days had passed since Darkcover’s attack on Icefire, and they had been a tense three days. Icefire was agitated, knowing that if their defenses had been breached once, they could be again. Even more patrols had been sent out than normal, but not a single Darkcover saloli had been spotted. Meanwhile, Faith had spent every minute of those three days at Blaze’s side, praying over him with all her strength, not even stopping to eat or sleep. Rust was going now to check up on her.
Legends of the Saloli: Vengeance and Mercy Page 8
