Fire in the Sky Read Free Page A

went through her fur.
    “Don’t worry about them,” said her mother’s gentle voice. Ashia pressed up next to Lusa, sniffing her from ears to paws. “You’re still not eating enough, little one. Look how thin you are!”
    “We’re eating better in the Last Great Wilderness, though,” Lusa pointed out. She bumped her mother under her chin. “I am a wild bear, after all. I had goose tonight!”
    “Really? I’ve never had that,” her mother said. “I know you have traveled far, far away, but sometimes I wish you were still here, playing with Yogi, listening to Stella’s stories, sleeping in the curl of my belly.” Sadness filled Ashia’s brown eyes. “The wild needs you, I know that, but you will always be my precious cub, and I will never forget it.”
    “I know,” Lusa whispered. “I miss you, too.” She looked over to the rocks where King was sunning himself while Yogi toyed with a dead leaf. Yogi looked much bigger than she remembered, and his coat was turning sleek and long instead of tufty and fuzzy around his ears.
    “We’ll see each other in our dreams,” Ashia went on. “I’m very proud of you, little blackberry. I know you’re going to save the wild.”
    Lusa stretched her paws out in front of her, feeling sleepy again. “We will try,” she promised. She started circling in the grass, digging up a comfortable nest. “I’d better get some more sleep,” she grunted. “I don’t know why I’m so tired.”
    “Wait,” Ashia yelped, looking concerned. She nudged Lusa’s side as Lusa lay down. “Stay awake. Lusa, don’t fallasleep. You can’t go to sleep yet.”
    Lusa blinked at her. “But I’m so tired,” she protested, feeling like a tiny cub again, too weak to play outside the den for long. She snuggled up to her mother’s strong, furry legs. “Just let me sleep for a little while.”
    The Bear Bowl started to fade around her. “Lusa!” her mother’s voice called again, sounding farther and farther away. “Lusa, you must stay awake. It’s very important. Lusa!”

CHAPTER TWO
Kallik
    The clear, crisp smell of ice wove its way into Kallik’s dreams. Her legs churned as she raced across a skylength of snow, as fast and strong as her mother, Nisa, had once been. Her brother, Taqqiq, bounded along beside her, barking at her to keep up, to race him to the seal hole where food waited, warm and salty smelling, pulsing with juicy fat….
    When Kallik woke up, the scent was still in her nose, calling her toward the ocean. It smelled closer than ever. She pushed herself to her paws, shaking off the cold morning dew. Toklo was already awake, splashing quietly through the river with his eyes fixed on the ripples, watching for fish. Ujurak was stirring as if he was about to wake up, while Lusa looked so fast asleep that Kallik bent down to make sure she was still breathing. In her sleep, Lusa muttered, “Hrrmmmrrrgerroff,” and rolled away from Kallik.
    Shaking her head in amusement, Kallik padded toward the shore. Her paws sped up as she scrambled across the shingle, running to the water and the ice she could smell in the distance.The scent of it was so strong that she almost expected to see a sheet of pure white ice reaching all the way to the shore, but the sea closest to them was still not yet frozen. Foam-dappled waves brushed against the sand with a murmuring sound like spirits whispering.
    Kallik peered out to the horizon, squinting in the grayish morning light. The rising sun was partly hidden by a thin veil of mist, with streaks of golden light peeking through in pale glimmers on the water. The mist hung low over the ocean as well, but Kallik padded along the shore until she found the spot where the ice smelled strongest. It couldn’t be far to get to the ice from here. Just a short swim away…and then she’d have ice under her paws again!
    “You are way too excited about this,” Toklo grunted as he stalked up behind her and dropped a large fish on the sand. “We’re