Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm

by Adam Bolander

  Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm

  Title Page

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Epilogue

  Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm

  By Adam Bolander

  Copyright 2011 Adam Bolander

  Smashwords Edition

  Prologue

  The wind blew softly through the night, as if the earth itself was asleep and breathing peacefully. The black sky was dotted all over with glittering stars. There was no sound of owl wings flapping, or raccoons scurrying anywhere. It was one of those rare nights that a creature could sleep soundly, knowing that there was no danger. All this was lost, though, on a single saloli who was racing across the upper branches of a tall beech tree. Coming to the end of the branch, he flexed his powerful back legs and leapt across the open air to the closest branch of the next tree, which he landed on top of, and continued sprinting, all without a single pause.

  What could Faith want to tell me that would have to be so far away from camp? He wondered, And so late at night? He trusted the old saloli, though, and didn’t question her reasoning.

  This was Rust, chief of the tribe named Icefire, named for the dark red of his pelt. He was a young saloli, but ruled his tribe well. Faith was their prophet. Coming at last to his destination, the five hundred year old oak tree named Bleachwood, Rust spotted the old prophet who was the reason he was out this late. Springing onto the branch on which she sat, he quietly made his way over to her.

  “Faith,” he said. Faith turned her head to look at Rust, and then slowly moved her body to match. Even after knowing her his whole life, Rust was still amazed by the wisdom that shined through those old eyes.

  “Hello Rust,” she said in greeting, “I’m glad you decided to come. There is something I feel I must share with you.”

  “You can tell me anything, Faith,” Rust assured her, his heart already beginning to race. He could tell from the look on his prophet’s face that this was going to be big news. “What is it?”

  The prophet bowed her head, closed her eyes, and began to pray. Rust wondered what she was saying. It was common knowledge that the prophets had a special connection to Valde Abbas, the deity that the saloli worshipped. Each of the four tribes had one prophet.

  “Valde Abbas has shown me what will soon come to pass.” She said at last, raising her head to look at her chief once more. “And it is a dark future, indeed.”

  “What has he shown you?”

  “I saw the forest spread out in front of me, as a bird in flight would see it. From the south, there came a great shadow. It quickly covered the southern tribe’s territory. It then moved and took the tribe in the west land as well. The east was soon to follow. Soon, the only part of the forest that still saw the light of day was the north. Icefire’s territory.”

  “Then what happened?” Rust encouraged her.

  “The shadow moved to take our land, and seemed to succeed. Icefire fought valiantly, but the shadow now had the strength of the other three tribes to aid it. Our defeat was imminent, but just as all hope seemed lost, a bright flash of white light erupted, and the shadow was gone. The tribes resumed their lives as if nothing had happened. Then, in the south, from land beyond the tribe’s territory, there came a flash of green light, and I saw no more.”

  Rust cast his gaze downwards. “What does it mean?” He asked.

  “I am not entirely sure myself, but I am certain that the shadow represents a great evil. It will originate in the south, and then spread to the east and the west. After that, it will come for us.”

  “What must we do?”

  A shade of grief clouded Faith’s eyes. “There is only one thing we can do.” She answered. “We must prepare for war.”

  Unbidden, images of bloody, gruesome battles appeared before Rust’s eyes. Saloli corpses littering the battlefield, the rivers running red with blood. A terrible thing to behold, even in one’s own mind. He nodded gravely. “I will alert Icefire in the morning.”

  “No,” the old saloli reprimanded him, “we need not worry them. Not yet.”

  A spark of anger ignited inside Rust’s heart. “What would you have me do then? Keep them ignorant until the day we are attacked?”

  “It may seem wrong, Rust, but trust me. Valde Abbas has assured me that things will work out just as they need to. We need only to let it happen.”

  As his anger drifted away, like ice being washed down a river, it was soon replaced by worry. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “Leave the first bit to me. All I can tell you is that in two days time, I will bring a new saloli into our camp. You must accept him into our ranks.” Faith’s eyes glared at her chief now, knowing how important this was, yet unable to say why.

  This struck Rust as a very strange request. Outsiders were looked down upon by all the tribes, and even executed if found on tribe territory. They weren’t even civilized enough to have names. Why would Faith ask him to accept one of them into Icefire? He voiced this question.

  “I can not say,” Faith replied, “All I know is that this is what must be done, or we will perish.” Though she could not explain her reasoning, she still stood with the conviction that it was right.

  Rust contemplated this new turn of events. He despised outsiders, but was he willing to condemn his tribe because of that hatred? “Very well,” he answered, “I trust you more than any other saloli in Icefire, Faith. You know this. Whatever needs to happen, I will leave it in your paws.”

  Chapter One

  “Jeremy, dinner is almost ready!”

  Jeremy Lander poked his head out of the bedroom door, brown hair mussed from the nap he had been taking. “Okay,” he responded, slurring his words from sleepiness.

  Going first into the bathroom, Jeremy splashed cold water onto his face to wake himself up. Whipping his head from side to side, he looked at himself in the mirror until he felt his brain become fully active again. Leaving the bathroom, he galloped down the stairs to find his mother laying a baked potato onto his plate, alongside a grilled chicken breast. He sat down at his spot, and his mother soon joined him. While unwrapping his potato, his mother began the usual dinner table conversation.

  “So, how are you enjoying your last real summer vacation?” Although it seemed impossible, next year would be Jeremy’s senior year in high school, which meant that this, truly, was his final summer vacation.

  “It’s okay,” he responded, not feeling any of the excitement that he put into his words.

  “I still think you should get a job,” she reminded him, as if he could forget. She was always nagging him to go out and find a job so that he could begin saving money up for college.

  “Mom, you know how unlikely that is.”

  “You don’t know that.” She reprimanded him, waving her fork in the air in front of him for emphasis. “Why, I’d think that there would be a
ton of places willing to hire a healthy, active young man like you!”

  “I was talking about my lack of a way to get there.”

  She shrugged. “I could always drive you on my way into work.”

  “What if it’s nowhere near where you work? What if my hours don’t match yours? And did you say healthy and active? Mom, I haven’t been out of the house for three days except to take out the trash. I may only be sixteen, but I’ve got the same beer belly that my dad probably has.”

  Jeremy immediately regretted this last statement as his mother averted her eyes. His father had abandoned them to live by himself before Jeremy could even speak, let alone remember his face. He had never particularly minded, as his mother did a great job of taking care of him by herself, but the thought was still enough to bring her to tears. Jeremy had convinced himself that his father was living somewhere out in the forest, in an old hobo shack, spending his life drinking beer and shooting at anything stupid enough to come within eyesight of him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean it.”

  “Don’t worry,” she reassured him, “I knew that man wouldn’t be happy settling down like I wanted to. I should have seen it coming.” She wiped her eyes dry and smiled at her son. “So, how about we make a deal? If you will apply at all the places within ten minutes of where I work, I’ll buy you that video game you’ve been wanting so badly.”

  This got Jeremy’s attention. Final Fatalities 7? No way, she hated that game!

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Really,” she agreed, waving her fork again, “but, if you’re hired, then your new job will be your first priority, not that game, got it?”

  “Yeah, sure!” he agreed, whole heartedly.

  “Shake on it,” she ordered, putting the fork down and holding her hand out. Anyone else would have tried to simply shake her hand, but she and Jeremy had a special way of doing it, known only to them. Instead of holding her hand, he grabbed her by the wrist, and she did the same. They slowly turned their hands to the right, then the left. It was symbolic of how much they cared for each other, by showing the bond they shared.

  “Good,” she said, smiling, “I think you should try that burger place that you like so much first.”

  Smiling back, Jeremy took a bite of his dinner. This, he thought, is how it’s meant to be. Nothing can ever tear us apart.

  <><><><><>

  It was night again, though the peace from the previous evening had all but disappeared. Now the wind blew furiously, shaking trees and branches alike. Thunder bellowed, and lightning flashed through the stormy skies, but no rain fell. Inside a ring of tall trees, a small fire burned. Dozens of saloli danced frenetically around it while hundreds more sat in the trees, chanting an old war song. One saloli observed quietly from a high branch. He was larger than all the other saloli, and was thusly given the name Goliath. He was the chief of the tribe named Darkcover. As he watched, his tribe mates grew more and more hysterical.

  This, he thought, eyes glowing almost demonically in the firelight, is how it is meant to be. I will tear the forest apart with my claws, and nothing will be able to stand in my way. Thanks to the Blood Way, and the Tree, I will finally have what I deserve.

  The thought of where Mordred might be came to him, but he quickly pushed it away. That old saloli had enough power to take care of himself. When he was satisfied that they were bloodthirsty enough, he raised his front paws for silence. Even in their frenzied state, the near insane saloli were wise enough to quiet themselves and look at their leader.

  “For too long we have been known as the weakest of the four tribes!” Goliath’s voice boomed down, so loud that it was almost able to be felt. He paused so that Darkcover could shout back their agreement. “The plans have already been put in motion! Soon we will have what we deserve!” more cheers. “Soon, very soon, we will go to war! Then the entire woods will belong to us! Then will begin the days of Darkcover!” The saloli went ballistic.

  <><><><><>

  Jeremy woke up, gasping for air. His head and pillow were both stained with his nervous sweat. A clap of thunder came from outside, but he barely noticed. He had just had the most incredible dream! He could remember every detail. He had been flying through the air. No, not in the air, he had been running across the treetops. It had felt amazing, more freedom than he had ever experienced in his life! He imagined that he had been small, and running on four feet, with a long tail behind him. Taking a deep breath, Jeremy forced himself to calm down. It was just a dream, nothing more. Nothing to get so excited about. Lying back down, he rolled onto his side and fell back asleep. What he never noticed, however, was that a single gray squirrel was standing just outside his bedroom window, watching him.

  Chapter Two

  Waking up at seven o’clock sharp, something he never did on summer break, Jeremy found that he felt more rested today than he had in a long time. Almost leaping out of bed, he basked in the warm, morning rays of the summer sun coming in through his bedroom window. Today was going to be a good day!

  Jeremy nearly leapt down all the stairs at once, but reminded himself that doing so would not be a good idea at the last minute. Running down them instead, he sock-slid over the hardwood floor, into the kitchen, where his mother was making breakfast.

  “So, what’s got you in such a good mood today?” she asked, pouring a spot of pancake batter onto her skillet.

  “I don’t know,” Jeremy responded, “today just feels, I don’t know, different.”

  “It should. You won’t be cooped up in the house all day this time. So, before we head out today, I want you to shower, shave, and put on your nicest t-shirt. Nothing fancy, just enough to make you look like you’re not a bum.”

  “Okay,” he replied, casting his gaze outside, on a whim, to see if last night’s storm clouds were still present.

  Five minutes later, just as his mother was putting a pancake onto Jeremy’s plate, the phone began to ring.

  “Now, who could that be?” she wondered as she picked it up. Jeremy tried to hear what the person on the other line was saying, but the voice was too garbled. The face his mother made as she listened, though, told him that it wasn’t anything good. “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She hung up the phone.

  “Who was that?” Jeremy asked.

  “Your uncle Steve. Aunt Janice has been in a car accident, and is in the hospital. I’m going up to Oklahoma to be with them.”

  “Am I going?”

  “No, honey, I need you to stay here. I don’t have enough money to fly us both up there. I’ll be back within the week, though, I promise. Think you can handle that much time alone?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” Jeremy replied. He’d spent longer than that by himself on multiple occasions.

  “Good, thank you,” she walked quickly out of the room to pack.

  Within ten minutes, Mrs. Lander was packed and on her way to the airport. Jeremy felt strange about it, almost guilty, but he didn’t mind his mother leaving. It just didn’t bother him like it usually did. Buttering his pancake, he tried to figure out why that was. For some reason, he just felt perfect, as if his life were about to take a sudden turn for the better. Shrugging it off, he poured the syrup onto his breakfast, and began to eat.

  Two hours later, Jeremy had completed yet another level on Final Fatalities 6, a game he had beaten seven times to date. Throwing the game controller to the floor, he turned off the TV and went downstairs. The good feeling was still there, but that didn’t stop him from being bored out of his mind. Whatever he was feeling, he wasn’t content to simply sit in front of the television and press buttons on a chunk of plastic. He looked around for something that might hold his interest. His eyes landed on the picture window looking into the back yard. It was a beautiful sight, looking out into the forest, especially at this time of summer. The trees were covered with rich, green leaves, and the birds and squirrels were always out, going about their little lives. Once in a while, a deer would ev
en make its way up to graze on their yard. Jeremy swore he had even seen a bobcat before.

  Maybe I should go outside for a while, he thought. What surprised him was that the idea appealed to him. He may have enjoyed looking at the outdoors, but when it came to venturing into them he would hesitate. All he could ever remember doing outside was being bit by bugs, certainly not enjoying himself. Today, however, the thought of doing just that made his heart leap with happiness! He had no idea what he would do out there, he just knew that he had to get out of the house.

  Putting his tennis shoes on, Jeremy practically ran outside, into his back yard. The sun’s rays beat down on him, and he found himself enjoying the pleasant burn it produced. The birds sang in the trees, and the sound entranced him. Looking into the trees, he saw a single, gray squirrel wandering around, probably looking for its buried nuts.

  Man, he thought, it must be nice being a squirrel, always getting to be out here.