The Fengo"s green eyes slitted as he looked at the two young wolves. "Now the time has come for you to think in a new way. You must learn to think like a wolf of the Watch."
Edme shifted nervously on her feet and looked down. But am I truly a wolf of the Watch if I was not born a malcadh? She had felt so brave when she told the MacHeaths she would join the Watch as a free runner. Now she was too frightened to say anything.
The Fengo continued, "In protecting the ember from your posts on the drumlyns, it is important to realize that it"s not how high you jump that matters, but what you learn when you are jumping. What you see. What you feel. What you smell. Our focus is the five volcanoes. You shall learn their natural history a" their temperaments." He took a step closer to the two wolves. "We exist in a close relationship with the owls of Ga"Hoole. The connection goes back to the very beginnings of our time here in the Beyond. When the good King Hoole first discovered the ember, he made a pact with the wolves that we guard it until an appointed king appeared to retrieve it." He paused again. "There is much to learn, is there not?"
Faolan and Edme both nodded.
"Our late Fengo, Hamish, has set much of our history down on the Bone of Bones. I now present you with it." He turned to another Watch wolf, a silver wolf with no ears who brought out the bone tucked under her chin and dropped it at their feet.
"Here, young"uns," she said softly. The bone gleamed with Hamish"s careful incising, exquisitely elegant yet bold.
"B-b-but a b-but," Edme stammered. "How do we know a graymalkin? Does it tell on the Bone of Bones?"
The Fengo and the silver wolf, who was named Colleen, both shook their heads. "There is much you can learn from the Bone of Bones, but mostly you"ll learn through experience," the Fengo said. "The Bone does not tell you how to recognize a graymalkin. It is an instinct that you will develop, a sense that an owl is not merely looking for coals. Graymalkins spend a lot of their time flying low around the edges of the craters, making false pa.s.ses over the ember beds that spill down the slopes."
"But how can you tell the difference between a false pa.s.s and a true one?" Faolan asked.
"Your taigas will school you in this. They are your greatest resource." He nodded at Twist and Winks.
But do I deserve a taiga? thought Edme. How will they treat me if they know the truth? I have to tell them. I have to!
The Fengo continued, "Twist and Winks here are ready to answer your questions. You shall begin your service at the cairns of their present a.s.signments. You will be shown to your den now. A busy time is coming. Do you have any questions?"
Edme gave Faolan a nervous glance. He nodded just slightly. She knew that the time had come for her to tell the Fengo the truth a" how she was not a true malcadh but was made one by the depravity of the MacHeath clan. She took a step forward, holding her head high and squinting with her single eye so she could better keep the Fengo in focus. She did not want to appear to be cowering in fear or shame. She would be honest and dignified as she told the horrible truth.
"Honorable Fengo, I learned much on my Slaan Leat. As you told us when we set out, it was a journey toward truth. In the course of my journey, I discovered a terrible secret."
The Fengo c.o.c.ked his head; his eyes remained unblinking. Edme felt their penetrating gaze. "Go on," he said. A new severity had crept into his voice.
"I am not a true malcadh."
There was a sharp inhalation of breath. "What are you saying?" the Fengo asked.
"I was born normal and then was disfigured. My eye was torn out." She wanted to tell the Fengo so much more. She wanted to tell him that the scar Dunbar MacHeath bore, that ragged line raking across his face, was caused by her mother, Akira. She wanted to tell him about Ingliss and Kyran. But she knew she must get to the point. "I come here not as a representative of the MacHeath clan, but as a free runner. I represent no one except myself." Edme looked down at her front paws. She could not bear to meet the Fengo"s eyes.
"Look at me, Edme," he said sharply. And when she finally looked up, she did not see anger on Finbar"s face, only sadness. "It was the MacHeaths who did this to you?"
"It was Dunbar," Edme answered.
The Fengo sighed deeply before speaking. "There have been rumors of this in the past. Now you have confirmed our worst suspicions. These MacHeaths are not true clan wolves. They deserve no place in the Beyond. As Fengo of the Watch, I invoke the privilege accorded only to myself as chieftain of the Supreme Raghnaid to call together a Court of Crait."
There was a gasp from the wolves. Never in living memory had such a court been called. If the MacHeaths were judged crait, the entire clan would be cast out of the Beyond. From that moment, they would be outclanners.
It felt as if all the air had suddenly been sucked out of the den. Edme staggered slightly, then dropped her tail, tucked it flat between her legs, and began to turn away.
"Where are you going?" the Fengo asked. But she hardly heard him. "Edme, halt! I asked, where are you going?"
She stopped and turned. An immense tear began to shimmer in her single eye. "The clan I came from is to be judged. I"m not welcome here."
"What absolute nonsense, my dear," the Fengo said.
Then another wolf stepped forward. She was a red wolf also missing one eye. Edme had seen her at the gaddergnaw and then again as they entered the Fengo"s den.
"Pardon me, honorable Fengo."
"Yes, Banja. You have something to say?"
"I only want to suggest that we not be hasty in our decisions. By her own confession, Edme is a malcadh made. So perhaps it is not quite appropriate that a that a"
"That what?" The Fengo"s voice had taken on a frightening edge.
"That she serve in the same capacity as the rest of us. Perhaps it would be advisable that she continue in her gnaw wolf status for a while, at least."
The Fengo stalked forward on stiff legs, his tail high, his teeth bared. "Banja, you have become as p.r.i.c.kly as a burr. There is no purpose to be served in this youngster continuing as a gnaw wolf. She must train to become a wolf of the Watch. Do I have to invoke the privilege of the Sayer to discipline a Watch wolf? I have never used it before a" please do not tempt me now!"
Faolan and Edme watched as Banja seemed to shrink in her own pelt. She backed away, her single eye that only a second before glittered now seemed dull as a dry stone.
The Fengo turned his back to Banja, who was slinking into the shadows at the rear of the gadderheal. "Edme, you are not crait. You did not do this to yourself. It was the clan, led by its chieftain, that did this to you. By calling them for a Court of Crait, we ensure that they will never again maim a wolf to make a malcadh. If they are found guilty, they will have no say in any councils held in the gadderheals of the Beyond. Let them destroy themselves. But you, Edme, represent no one except yourself. You have an amazing ability to carve bones. You performed beyond expectation in the byrrgis at the gaddergnaw when you plunged in for the kill rush." He glanced briefly at Faolan, who cringed at the memory of his lapse of attention at that crucial moment.
Edme, he thought, deserves to serve in the Watch more than I. She made no mistakes during the entire compet.i.tion. Faolan had simply excelled in carving, which seemed to have made up for his errors on the byrrgis.
"So I say to you, Edme, you are a true Watch wolf despite the deceit of the MacHeath clan. You are a loyal wolf despite their faithless desecration of our most sacred laws. You shall serve with honor and dignity despite having been raised in a clan marked by dishonor and disgrace. We welcome you as a free runner." Edme felt her marrow trembling. The huge tear that had welled in her eye now ran down her face.
The Fengo paused and looked at Faolan. "We welcome you as a free runner, Edme, and you, Faolan, as the best of your clan. Now Twist and Winks will lead you to your den. At the first phase of the newing, your training will begin."
"Newing?" Edme whispered as they followed Twist and Winks. "What"s that?"
"It"s an owl word for the new moon. They call it dwenking when it begins to fade," Faolan replied.
"Where did you learn so much Hoolian?" Edme asked.
"From Gwynneth a" she"s a Rogue smith." Rogue smiths were owls who worked metal but lived apart from other owls.
Twist overheard them. "Ah! Gwynneth. She"ll be coming soon. It is getting to be the season of Morgan and Stormfast. The Rogue smiths particularly love the embers from these two volcanoes. And when the She-Winds blow, both volcanoes begin their most violent eruptions at the same time. It seems like every Rogue smith and Rogue collier throughout the Hoolian kingdoms descends upon us. Oh, what a time it is! But now here is your den. Your training begins shortly, so get some rest."
"Look at this," Faolan marveled as they slid down a steep pa.s.sage into the den. "They"ve even given us pelts. I"ve never slept on a pelt of my own. I only got the discarded ones from my pack after pups had wet them so often they stank."
"Me never!" Edme said. "Even ones soiled by pups were too good for me."
They each circled their pelts three times as was the custom with most wolves before settling down for a sleep. The pelts were caribou a" winter caribou, so they were all the thicker.
"Edme," Faolan said. "I think I"m too excited to sleep."
"Me, too, but we should try."
"Yes, let"s try," Faolan replied.
They were silent for a while. Then Faolan piped up again. "Edme, are you asleep yet?" He waited. "Edme? Are you sleeping?"
"Well, I was until you asked me." She yawned.
"Oh, sorry."
"It"s all right," Edme replied. "What is it?"
"I think what you did back there in the Fengo"s den, what you said a" you know, the truth about yourself. It was very brave of you."
"Thank you, Faolan." You woke me up to tell me I was brave?
They both nestled deeper into their caribou pelts.
"They smell so good, don"t they? No pup pee," Faolan said.
"Yep, no pup pee."
Just as Edme was drifting off once again, Faolan said, "You"re not asleep yet, are you, Edme?"
"Almost," she huffed.
"I just want to say one more thing."
"Yes, what"s that?"
"You really do deserve to be here a" much more than I do. I mean, you made the kill rush."
Edme"s hackles raised. "Faolan, that is just plain stupid. I have never heard anything more cag mag in my life. You have proven yourself time and time again. Now, kindly let me sleep."
But still he could not sleep. So he turned to the Bone of Bones. It was not easy to read in the darkness of the cave, but he soon found that certain sections had been carved deeper, and if he ran his tongue over them he could feel the inscription. One section in particular had been carved very deeply as if for extra emphasis. His marrow trembled as he began to read a pa.s.sage.
There has been a bond between the wolves and the grizzlies in the region of the sacred volcanoes that is vitally important. It is the reason why two species of animals a" the top meat eaters of the region a" can live peacefully together. Nowhere else in the Beyond do wolves and bears live in such close harmony. But let it be known that there are certain customs that are practiced between ourselves and the bears of the Beyond to ensure that we will always live harmoniously with one another in this small realm within the larger one of the Beyond. One of the most important rules of behavior is that a wolf must never touch the cub of a grizzly, for there is no telling what b.l.o.o.d.y havoc might ensue, the least of which would be the death of that single wolf.
There are other practices followed that also ensure that the grizzlies and the wolves of the Watch will continue. Good relations between ourselves and the bears is essential because our range for hunting is limited; therefore we must live together peaceably.
"Urskadamus," Faolan muttered the bear curse he had heard Thunderheart use was she was deeply irritated. His curse had awakened Edme.
"What are you doing?"
"Reading the Bone of Bones."
"In this light?"
"The bone is carved deeply. I can feel it with my tongue." There was utter anguish in Faolan"s voice.
"Faolan, what is it?"
He looked up at Edme. Does she know how close she came to being killed?
"Did you touch the cub?" Faolan whispered.
"I don"t think so." Her voice was taut with fear.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
DUNBAR MACHEATH CONSIDERS.
"I FOLLOWED THEM FOR A DAY and a night, until they came to rest on a cliff just above the river. There was a moose carca.s.s on the sandbar in the shallow part of the river. A grizzly and a byrrgis from the Watch were sharing the kill."
"What!" The wolves who had gathered in the MacHeath gadderheal gasped. There was a flurry of exclamations.
"Shut up!" the chieftain ordered. "They do that sort of thing a" the wolves of the Watch and the bears have a close bond. Go on, Fretta, this is getting interesting, very interesting!"
"The grizzly"s cubs were on the banks and she was bringing the meat back to them. When they had all had their fill and the wolves had left, the mother bear napped. The cubs were not a bit tired."
"Of course, the mother did all the work." Katria, a she-wolf with a pelt black as a moonless night, spoke softly. But not softly enough. The chieftain leaped upon her and sank his fangs into her haunch. Blood spritzed out of his muzzle from a small cut made by the Litha thorns, which made him even angrier. So he swatted Katria and she skidded across the floor of the gadderheal. "No more from you!" Katria slunk off to a corner. Lying as flat as she could, with her muzzle buried in her paws, she wished herself invisible. How much more could she take of this clan? Kyran had been her daughter a" her foolish, foolish daughter. Katria"s mate had not even been that disturbed when Dunbar MacHeath dispatched the slink melf to kill Kyran and Ingliss. All that mattered to her mate, Donaidh, was rising in the ranks of the lords.
In Old Wolf, the word donaidh meant "ruler of the world," and Katria"s mate seemed to feel that this alone gave him the right to succeed the chieftain Dunbar, who was growing older and meaner by the day.
Katria returned her attention to the scout"s report on the wolves and the bears.
"Edme and Faolan had been watching from on top of a bluff. It was the hot, lazy time of the day and soon Faolan was sleeping soundly. But not Edme. She got up and went over to play with the cubs, until Faolan awakened, darted out, and shooed her away."
The chieftain chuckled. "If the bear had awakened, she would have made short work of the two."
"Too bad," Blyden said.
"No, not at all," Dunbar countered. "I want more out of this than the death of a stupid little she-wolf like Edme. There is more to be gained than you might suspect."
"He"s a wily one, our chief," someone murmured.
"There is one more thing, sir," Fretta said.
"And what is that?"
Fretta appeared suddenly very nervous. She shifted her eyes away from the chieftain and took a step backward. "There is a rumor a just a rumor, mind you."
"What kind of a rumor?" Dunbar MacHeath"s voice dropped.