Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm

by Adam Bolander

  Faith breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good. We are blessed that things went that smoothly. Thank Valde Abbas for that.”

  “You’re glad that he threatened to kill me?”

  “Only if you betray Icefire,” Faith reminded him, “And you won’t do that, will you?”

  “Of course not!” he glanced around to make sure no one was listening before saying, “I may not have always been a saloli, but I’m still just as loyal to Icefire as everyone else. Besides Razor.”

  Faith leaned in close, “Speaking of which, how goes the hunt for evidence?”

  “Still nothing, but I’m trying.” Blaze reported.

  “Well, no sense wasting time here. You may as well go out and look some more.”

  Blaze nodded and climbed back down the tree, where he immediately ran out into the forest. Smallthorn and Newthorn still hadn’t come back from their patrol, and he was becoming worried. As he trekked through the woods, he tried to catch their scent. Nothing. Wait. There was something. It smelled familiar, but it wasn’t one he was around a lot, so he couldn’t quite place it. If he just gave it a moment. . .

  Razor!

  Blaze hurried after the scent, hoping he might finally find the proof he needed. He slowed as the scent grew stronger, signaling that Razor was close. Just like last time, he heard voices in the distance. Peering around a tree, he saw the traitor facing the same dark grey saloli as last time.

  “You have failed again, Razor,” the grey saloli growled.

  “I swear, Goliath, it isn’t my fault!” Razor pleaded, “That blasted outsider and his runt friend got in the way again! I did my job, leading the hunter into their camp, but that was all I could do. After that, it was out of my hands. What we need to do is kill those two, and then we’ll attack again.”

  “You will kill no one without reason,” Goliath ordered, “The last thing we need is a murder that points towards you. You need to keep as unnoticeable as possible.”

  “But…”

  “Do not disobey me, Razor. You’re in deep enough trouble already. Now, I’ll give you one last chance. You will kill Rust yourself.”

  “But, Goliath!”

  “Do as I say, or I will kill you and do it myself!” The giant roared.

  Razor cringed in fright. “Yes, my chief,” He said meekly. With that, Goliath turned and ran out of the clearing, leaving Razor alone.

  Just as Blaze was about to race back to the camp to tell Rust about this, another saloli appeared in the clearing. This time it was Seedpicker, Smallthorn’s old mentor. Blaze gasped. Could there be two traitors in Icefire? His fears were soothed, however, when he saw the shocked expression on Seedpicker’s face. Razor still had his back turned.

  “Razor, what’s going on here?” Seedpicker asked, “Who was that?” Razor still didn’t turn around. “What were you telling him? I heard something about killing Rust! What’s going on?”

  It was then that Razor spun around and lashed out at Seedpicker, claws fully bared. They caught him in the throat, ripping the flesh free. Blood came rushing out, spilling on the ground.

  “No!” Blaze shouted, jumping out from his hiding place to confront the murderer. Razor simply glanced at him, then turned and ran into the forest. Blaze briefly considered chasing him, but decided against it in favor of helping his tribemate. He hurried to his side, “Seedpicker? Are you all right?” he asked desperately. The saloli didn’t move. Blaze poked him, but received no response. Hesitantly, he reached out and hooked a claw over his eyelid and pulled it open. Seedpicker’s eye rolled back into his head. He was dead.

  “No!” Blaze said again. This time Razor had gone too far! He had to tell Rust about this, and he would make him believe him if he had to! He turned and sprinted back in the direction of the camp. As he ran the only thoughts filling his head were save the tribe!, and your friends are in danger!, spurring him to run even faster. Blaze burst through the underbrush, into the Icefire camp. “Rust!” he shouted, looking around for his chief.

  “There he is!” someone shouted to his right, “He’s the one!” Blaze spun around to face the one speaking, and saw Razor pointing a paw at him. Rust was by his side, a shocked look on his face. “He killed Seedpicker!” Razor accused him.

  “What?” Blaze asked, startled at the accusation, “No, no, you did!”

  “Liar!” the traitor shot back, “Look, he’s got the poor saloli’s blood all over his paws!”

  Blaze looked in horror at his paws. Indeed, they were wet with Seedpicker’s blood, from checking on him.

  “No!” Blaze insisted, “I swear, it was him! I would never kill another Icefire saloli!”

  “Murderer!” Rust accused, leaping at him. He bowled Blaze over and stood on his stomach, claws extended, preparing to execute him.

  “Rust, stop!” Someone shouted. Faith came running out of the crowd of saloli to stand beside them.

  “Stay out of this, Faith!” Rust ordered, “I’m going to take care of this traitor like I should have the moment you brought him here!”

  “Rust, use your head!” Faith admonished him, “By the laws of Icefire, you can’t execute him for three days!”

  “That would put it on the day of the Lord’s Feast,” Rust argued.

  “Which means you’ll have to wait four days. Do not violate the law, Rust.”

  Rust glared down at Blaze for a moment before saying “Very well, you have four days left to live, Blaze. I’d spend them praying to Valde Abbas for forgiveness.”

  “But I didn’t. . .”

  “Silence!” Rust roared at him, “During that time you will be guarded by five saloli. If you so much as twitch your tail at them, they will kill you. Understand?”

  “But…”

  “Blaze, this is no time to be arguing!” Faith interrupted, “Just agree with him for now.”

  “Fine, I’ll be guarded by five saloli who will kill me if I move.” Blaze relented.

  Rust slowly got off of him, but still kept his claws bared. Without taking his eyes off him, he motioned with his tail for five saloli to join him. They formed a circle around Blaze, surrounding him. Among them was Slicer. They moved as one, forcing Blaze to the far side of the camp, and then they all turned to face him, making sure he didn’t run. Faith walked up to them.

  “Faith!” Blaze said desperately, “You don’t think I did it, do you?”

  “No, Blaze, I believe you, but this is out of my paws now. I’ll do what I can, but I don’t know how much that is. I’m sorry.” With that she turned and walked away.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The days went slowly after Razor framed Blaze, and Blaze was still surrounded by an ever changing assortment of guards. Smallthorn, Newthorn, and Sunbeam were all chosen to guard him at different times, but both females wouldn’t speak to him, and Smallthorn would only glare. Blaze sympathized with him, knowing that he thought his best friend was a traitor, but it did nothing to help prove his innocence. The one thing Smallthorn said to him was “You killed my mentor, you tailless murderer!” Tailless was the worst insult a saloli could give. Slicer had done nothing but look at him, pure hatred radiating fro his eyes the entire time. Razor, too, had been assigned to guard him, which he spent every moment of giving him smug looks.

  When the sun rose on the third day, the day of the Lord’s Feast, Blaze awoke with a pit in his stomach. If he couldn’t prove Razor guilty today, he would be out of time. But no one was allowed to work today, so it was almost pointless to even try. Blaze felt himself begin to give up, falling into a spiral of self pity, when the image of Sunbeam, lying dead and bleeding on the forest floor, just as Seedpicker had, flashed into his mind. Anger flooded into his veins, and his will to persevere returned. He couldn’t and wouldn’t give up! He was the only one who knew the truth, and he had to convince them, whether they were willing to listen or not. Rust was taking his turn at guarding him, so Blaze decided to try his luck again.

  “Rust,” he said, “You have to listen to me! You’ve got
this all wrong. Razor murdered Seedpicker, not me!”

  “Shut up,” Rust ordered.

  “No! You have to believe me! I even remember the name of the saloli he was speaking to this time. It was. . .”

  “Rust, it’s time to bless the feast,” Faith said, interrupting him.

  “Very well,” Rust said, “Get Smallthorn to take my place.”

  As he walked off, Blaze saw, for the first time, the size of the food pile. It was taller than the Speaking Stone now, with hundreds of acorns and other nuts stacked almost two feet high. Rust climbed on top of it, and looked down at his tribe.

  “Icefire!” he called, “Today is a day of celebration! A day of relaxation! A day of socialization! But above all, it is a day of thankfulness! Today we thank Valde Abbas for everything he has given us. For the food we eat. For the land we live in. For the friends we spend our lives with. Everyone bow your heads in reverence as I give thanks.” All of Icefire bowed their heads, except for Blaze. He kept his eyes on Rust. “Thank you, Valde Abbas, for everything,” Rust began, “For the food we eat.” That was when Blaze saw him. Razor was making his way to the front of the crowd. “For the land in which we live.” He had reached the food pile now, and was silently making his way up it. “And for the friends we have to love us and protect us.” He was almost to the top. “We take today to be thankful for all that you have given us.” He had reached the top of the food pile, and was standing on his back paws, claws extended. “Let us not forget everything you have done for us.” His arm stretched backwards, preparing to strike. “Please protect us from evil, and…”

  “Rust, look out!” Blaze yelled as loud as he could. Rust’s eyes shot open in surprise, just in time to see Razor’s claws coming at him. He ducked instinctively, and the paw swept over him, missing him by less than an inch.

  “Razor, what are you doing?” he asked, shocked. For an answer, Razor lifted his paw and lashed out again, this time catching Rust on the side of the face, knocking him off the food pile. He quickly jumped back to his feet and turned to face his attacker. Razor crouched to leap at him, but was suddenly bowled over from the side, knocking him off of the food pile as well. Slicer stood on top of him, claws digging into his shoulders.

  “Get off of me you geezer!” Razor snarled, kicking his back legs up and running the claws down Slicer’s belly. The old fighter leapt back, giving Razor time to get to his feet, and then sprung forward again. His front paw lashed out, giving Razor a nasty cut along his cheek. Filled with rage, Razor pounced on Slicer, knocking him off his feet. Before he could get back up, Razor leaned in and sunk his teeth into Slicer’s throat.

  “No!” Blaze shouted. Without thinking, he leapt over his guards and sprinted across the camp towards the two fighting saloli. He jumped onto Razor’s back and dug all of his claws into the traitor’s body. Razor snarled in bloodlust and threw himself to the ground, belly up, squashing Blaze below him. Crushed under the traitor’s superior weight, Blaze felt the breath fly out of him. Razor got up and turned towards him, preparing to make the final strike. Just as he raised his paw, though, Slicer, once again, slammed into him, sending him skidding almost two feet before coming to a stop. Slicer leapt at him, claws and teeth bared, ready to kill him. Razor scrambled to his feet, and lashed out at the approaching saloli. His claws caught Slicer in the throat, tearing out even more flesh than he had to kill Seedpicker. A sickening sound filled the air, and Slicer crashed to the ground, bleeding profusely.

  “No!” Blaze shouted again, and charged towards his enemy. He head butted him at full speed, forcing the wind out of Razor and knocking him to the ground. Blaze leapt on top of him and began wildly scratching at his face, just as he had to Thunder. He didn’t care if the traitor died or not, he just wanted to make him suffer as much as possible. Just as he was about to make the final blow and end Razor’s life, Blaze felt himself rise up into the air! He rose almost three feet, and then stopped. Looking down, he saw a bony saloli, pointing a hairless tail at him. Behind him was the giant, Goliath. Behind Goliath was, seemingly, an entire tribe.

  “Goliath!” Rust shouted, shocked even more by this than Razor’s betrayal.

  “Hello, Rust,” Goliath said, contempt dripping from his voice.

  “What are you doing here? You know that you’re not allowed here!”

  “I just thought I’d show off my new tribe,” Goliath boasted, “The tribe of Darkcover!”

  “You’re supposed to be dead!” a saloli in the crowd shouted.

  “Silence!” Goliath shouted back.

  “Why have you come?” Rust repeated.

  “I came to watch you die, Rust. Unfortunately, my assassin was incapable of that task. Three times he has proved that. Get over here, Razor!”

  The traitor scrambled to his feet and scurried across the camp to stand behind his real chief. Faith gave a derisive sniff.

  “How in the world did you become Darkcover’s new prophet, Ratty?” she asked.

  “Through good connections!” the hairless-tailed saloli answered, his voice high and annoying.

  “I don’t care if you’re a chief now or not!” Rust said, “Get out of my territory before we force you out!”

  It was apparent that Goliath thought little of this threat, as he looked down his nose at Rust, “Oh, I’ll leave. I no longer have the element of surprise, so I’ll have to go back and come up with a new plan. But know this, I will have Icefire, you can be sure of that!” With that, Goliath turned and ran out of the camp, followed by Razor and Ratty, then the rest of Darkcover. Blaze felt whatever was holding him up let him go, and he fell back to the ground. He immediately got to his feet and raced over to where Slicer lay bleeding, “Are you alright?” He asked, though he already knew the answer.

  Slicer gave a ragged gasp, and turned to look at him, “Blaze. . .” he said, his voice strained, “I’m sorry. I should have trusted you.”

  “It’s fine, I forgive you!” Blaze insisted, tears running down his face.

  “I see it now,” Slicer continued, eyes clouding, “I see the whole thing. You have much hardship ahead of you, Blaze, but you must not give up. Blaze, the Sword will win the war!” With that, his breath escaped from his lungs, and the old saloli spoke no more. Slicer, mentor to Blaze and Rust, and the best fighter in Icefire, was dead.

  <><><><><>

  Blaze placed his paw on top of Slicer’s corpse for a few moments before moving on. An entire day had passed since Razor’s betrayal, and they were now holding the funeral for both him and Seedpicker. He stood by Smallthorn and felt another tear run down his cheek. He knew he felt his friend’s pain. They both had lost the saloli who had been their mentors. It wasn’t a good feeling.

  “I’m sorry,” said Smallthorn, his voice hollow with dejection.

  “It’s not your fault,” Blaze comforted him.

  “No, I mean about thinking you killed Seedpicker. You’re my best friend, and I called you a murderer. I feel like fox dung.” He turned away, unable to look his friend in the eye.

  “It’s all right. You were only trusting what your chief told you. Any Icefire saloli worth his fur would do that.”

  “It was still wrong. I wish I could make it up to you.”

  A grim determination rose up inside of Blaze, “You want to make it up to me? Help me find Razor. Then we can kill him together.”

  Smallthorn nodded, “If any two saloli have the right to kill him, it’s us.”

  It was then that Faith placed the smoldering stick on the flower petals, igniting them and beginning the miracle. The tribe was silent as they watched the fire do its hypnotic dance. Once it was over, they slowly departed.

  “Blaze, may I speak to you?” Blaze turned around to find Rust standing behind him, looking timid. Blaze nodded. “Come with me,” Rust led him away from the rest of the tribe before speaking again. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for not believing you. I should have listened from the beginning, but I didn’t, and now look: two of our most loyal s
aloli are dead. Well, Blaze, from this moment on you have my trust. My complete trust. Assuming you still want to have anything to do with a fool like me?”

  “Of course I do” Blaze insisted, “I’ll always be loyal to Icefire.”

  Rust nodded, comforted, “Thank you, Blaze. You are going to do great things here, of that I’m sure.” With that Icefire’s chief walked off, leaving Blaze to think about what he had said, and how similar it was to what Slicer had said just before he died.

  “Blaze?” he looked up to see Faith standing before him.

  “Yes?” he asked, wondering what the prophet could want with him now.

  “Come with me,” was all she would say. He followed her into the forest until they came to a clearing. A clearing surrounded by white flower petals.