The Longest Day (19 page)

Iqaluk stood beside Kallik. “You have to leave the water completely,” he told Salik.

Manik nodded, panting. “If you want to win, then win fairly.”

Frustration flickered in Salik's gaze. He cast a look at Taqqiq, already forging toward the shore, then bounded up the beach until his paws were clear.

Kotori was already splashing back into the lake. Salik chased after him, leaping with outstretched paws so that his belly hit the water first, sending up great splashes.

Illa chuckled as she pulled herself onto the shore. “He might be strong, but he's not elegant.”

Shila shook the water from her eyes as she stumbled out after Illa. “Who's winning?” she puffed.

“Taqqiq!” Kallik told her proudly. Then she plunged back
into the water. Shila, Illa, Iqaluk, and Manik were on her heels.

The short break on land had let Kallik catch her breath. She pushed forward, cutting through the water as smoothly as an orca. Only Kotori, Salik, and Taqqiq were ahead of her. Kotori and Salik struck out at each other with massive forepaws as they fought over second place. As they splashed and rocked in the water, Kallik slid past them, diving beneath the surface and hoping they hadn't seen her.

Holding her breath, she swam until she thought her lungs would burst. Then she felt pebbles scrape her belly. She was nearly at the shore. She pushed up, exploding from the water, and gulped in deep drafts of air. Kunik's rock was only a few bearlengths away. Taqqiq was just ahead of her, and by the sound of the angry barks behind, Kotori and Salik were close on her tail.

Kallik's heart soared as Taqqiq reached the shore first. Kunik leaped down from his rock to greet him. Kallik's paws hit stones and she fought to find her balance, scrambling out after her brother.

“How did you pass us?” Kotori's surprised growl sounded behind her.

She turned, panting, as the large bear stumbled from the lake with Salik beside him. “I swam under you,” she puffed.

Kotori dipped his head. ‘Well done.”

Salik snorted. “If I'd seen you, I'd have swum harder.”

“Does that mean you weren't really trying?” Kallik asked innocently. Salik curled his lip at her and stomped up the
beach. Kallik trotted to her brother's side and gazed at him proudly. “Taqqiq! Well done!”

He glanced at his paws. “Thanks.”

Shila was climbing from the lake. She raced toward them, her eyes shining. “Did you win? I couldn't see! Illa was making more spray than a spouting whale.”

Behind her, Illa emerged coughing and spluttering from the water.

“Did everyone finish?” Kallik scanned the bears. They were all back on shore. The first trial was over. She shook out her pelt, excited about the next one; then she remembered Yakone.

Her heart sank. She scanned the shore, hoping to see him ambling toward her. Didn't he care how she'd done? But he was nowhere to be seen. Anxiety tightened Kallik's belly. What was with wrong with him?

Leaving the others, she climbed up the shore and over the ridge. Beyond, the forest stretched steeply uphill and she slipped into its shadow, sniffing for a trace of Yakone. She picked up his scent at once and followed it along the winding trail he'd left through snapped brambles and flattened ferns. He must have been in a foul temper as he'd come this way.

Kallik caught sight of his white pelt among the lichen-covered trunks. He was pulling at the moss on a tree stump, peeling away great flaps and flinging them onto a heap beside him.

“What are you doing?” Kallik kept her growl soft as she approached him.

He glanced at her, then returned to moss gathering. “I thought if I gathered moss now, it could dry in the sun and be ready to line our nest by tonight.”

“That's kind of you.” Kallik searched his face, but he was intent on his task and she saw nothing but concentration. “Taqqiq won the race,” she told him. He didn't reply.

“I came in second.”

“You did?” He looked at her, surprise and happiness in his eyes, before looking back at the moss sternly, as though he'd remembered he was being annoyed. “I knew you'd do well. You're a strong bear.”

“So are you.” Kallik caught sight of his injured paw. He was using it to loosen another patch of moss. It looked swollen. “Stop.” She pressed her paw gently over it. “You're hurting yourself.”

Yakone grunted and snatched his paw away. “I told you. I'm useless. This paw is no good, even for picking moss.”

“You'll adjust,” Kallik soothed. “It will feel normal one day, and you'll be able to do everything the other bears can do.”

“And until then?” He faced her, anger in his eyes again. “Why don't you go back to the others? They'll be planning their next trial. You wouldn't want to miss it.”

Heat spread through Kallik's fur. “Perhaps I will. That's more fun than listening to you feeling sorry for yourself.”

He met her fury with his own. “Does that mean you don't want to come to Star Island with me anymore?”

She felt as though he'd raked his claws across her cheek.
“What?”

“You heard.” His gaze bored into her. “Perhaps it's best if you don't. I'm no use to you now. I'm just a lame bear. You'd be better off among bears who can protect you and provide for you.”

Kallik stared at him in disbelief. Was that what he thought? That she wanted him to
protect
her? Before she could speak, Yakone pushed past her and marched away through the forest. Kallik sat down, panic spiraling though her thoughts. She had thought Yakone wanted to be with her. Didn't he know how much she loved him? Had she been wrong about their relationship all along?

Lusa dug her paws into the
pebbly shore. Miki and Ossi shifted beside her. She could see the white bears splashing through the water as they raced back from the pile of rocks.

“Come on, Kallik!” Lusa knew her friend couldn't hear her, but she barked anyway, willing Kallik to beat the others. Water frothed as the white bears stormed toward the shore. Then, like a distant whale surfacing, Taqqiq emerged from the lake. Lusa's heart leaped as Kallik followed her brother out. “Look! Kallik came in second!”

Miki squinted. “How can you tell from here?”

“Can't you see?” She jerked her muzzle toward him. “Is your vision blurred again?” The swelling on his head was smaller, and his headaches fewer, but he was still having dizzy spells.

“No,” he chuffed. “It's just such a long way away!”

Ossi was squinting, too. “Are you sure it's Kallik?”

The white bears' shore was far away, but Lusa would
recognize Kallik's outline anywhere. And Taqqiq was easy to spot—his great white flank as broad as Yakone's, his shoulders narrower.

Lusa frowned. Where was Yakone? Perhaps he was lagging behind because of his injured paw.

Ossi's voice broke through her thoughts. “I wonder if Dustu and the others have decided what trials we'll have? I'm so pleased you suggested this, Lusa.”

Lusa thought back to the moment before dawn when she'd woken up. She'd quickly checked on Chula, Sheena, and Tibik, then headed for Dustu's nest.

“It's too soon!” Dustu had objected when she'd woken him and told him what Toklo and Aiyanna had said. “Hashi's only just died.”

Leaves had swished around them as the other bears stirred, their faces still bleary with sleep.

“What's going on?” Ossi had ambled toward them, yawning, with Dena and Leotie behind him.

“The brown bears and white bears are holding trials to find new leaders,” Dustu grunted. “Lusa thinks we should do the same.”

“What sort of trials?” asked Dena.

“Races,” Lusa explained. “Like who can pick the most berries or climb a tree fastest. It could help us decide who will lead the Longest Day ceremony.”

Dena's eyes brightened. “It sounds like fun.”

“What about a race to see who can build a den quickest?” suggested a bear behind her.

“Or a race to the top of the ridge and back?” another called.

A cub popped its head up. “Can I join in?”

“How can a cub lead the Longest Day ceremony?” growled Dustu.

Dena tipped her head on one side. “They can still take part, surely?”

Rudi put down the piece of bark he'd been chewing. “It seems disrespectful after all that's happened.”

Lusa saw grief in his sharp black eyes. “The accident was terrible,” she agreed. “We have lost bears we love, but—”

“Some of them are still injured,” Sheena interrupted her. “Do you think Chula is fit to take part in these trials?”

“Of course not.” Lusa shifted her paws. “But the Longest Day is about honoring the spirits. Is it right that we should only share sadness while we're together? Surely we should share joy, too? We don't even have to use the trials to choose a new leader. They will remind us what we're good at.”

An old bear grunted stubbornly, “Do you want us to forget what happened?”

Miki pushed his way to the front. “Lusa would never want that! She was there when Hashi died.”

Lusa watched Dustu's gaze narrow. “What would Hashi have wanted?”

Rudi rolled his bark beneath his paw. “He would want us to celebrate the Longest Day, not to mourn it.”

“Does that mean we can do it?” Leotie chuffed.

Lusa glanced around the gathered bears, her heart lifting as she saw heads begin to nod.

“Very well.” Dustu lifted his head. “We will hold trials like the other bears.”

“What will they be?” Leotie demanded.

It was then that Lusa had noticed the dawn light breaking through the trees and remembered that the white bears would be starting their first trial. Slipping away, she hurried to the shore. Miki and Ossi had followed her.

Now that the white bears' race was over, Lusa wanted to know what trials the black bears would face. She turned to Ossi and Miki. “Come on! Let's go back to the others.”

Ossi twitched his ears. “I hope we won't have swimming races!”

Lusa snorted with amusement as she headed up the beach. “Can't you swim, Ossi?”

“Like a stone,” Miki teased.

Ossi sniffed. “I could swim if I wanted. I just don't want to.”

Lusa's heart quickened as she thought about the trials. It would be fun to compete against bears who were just like her. Traveling with Kallik and Toklo had sometimes made her feel so small that she'd had to remind herself there were things they couldn't do, like steal honey from bees' nests or squeeze into hollow trees and search for tasty insects.

She felt a pang as she realized that Miki wouldn't be able to take part because of his injury. As they neared the black bear camp, she slowed until she was walking beside him. “I need someone to keep an eye on Chula and Tibik while we hold the trials.”

“You mean you want to keep me busy while you're taking
part.” He shot her a teasing look.

Guilt pricked in her belly. “You know you're not well enough to compete yet, don't you?”

“Of course.” Miki shrugged. “But I don't want to spend the whole time watching Chula and the others. I want to watch the trials.” He twitched his ears. “I want to see how you do.”

“And me!” Ossi barged between them. “I'm going to win!”

Lusa nudged him. “If I don't beat you.”

Dena's voice echoed through the trees. “Lusa! Miki! Ossi!”

“We're here!” Lusa trotted toward her.

“Quick!” Dena urged. “We're about to start the first trial.”

Already?
“What is it?” Lusa asked.

“Tree climbing.” Dena led them to a patch of cedars. Bears circled each one, looking up into the branches. “Choose a tree.”

“Hurry!” Dustu barked as he caught sight of Lusa and Ossi.

Lusa scanned the trees, looking for one with widely spaced branches that she'd be able to climb easily. She spotted one and headed for it. Ossi stopped at the tree beside hers.

Miki studied Lusa's tree. “I think you've picked a good one.”

Dustu looked around the bears. “Ready? Go!”

Lusa stretched up and hooked her claws into the cedar wood. The sweet scent of its sap filled her nose as she hauled herself up to the first branch. Swinging her hind legs onto it, she reached up the trunk again. The next branch was some way above, but the bark was soft and easy to grip. Squeezing the trunk between her hind legs, she half pulled, half pushed her way upward.

She could see Ossi in the next tree. His stoutness hid impressive climbing skills; he raced up the tree, dodging between the branches, hardly stopping to plan his route.

Lusa pushed harder, pleased that the long moons of traveling had strengthened her paws. Tipping her head back, she saw a route clear to the top and zigzagged easily between the branches.

“Hurry, Lusa!” Miki called from below.