Aiyanna nodded. “One of the ways. Anyway, I have to be going,” she added. “Good luck on your journey.” She veered away into the undergrowth with a farewell flick of her ears.

Toklo watched her go, feeling vaguely dissatisfied. Aiyanna seemed to assume that he wouldn’t stay here in the forest, and he didn’t want to argue with her. This place doesn’t feel like home, he thought. It’s just somewhere I once passed through, like so many other places. Yet where else would I go? And he wondered how he and Lusa would even be able to carry on, now that Kallik and Yakone had gone.

Both Toklo and Lusa were sore and stiff after the battle and took the rest of the day slowly. They didn’t venture far from their new den and hunted only long enough to catch a couple of small birds. The sunlight had not entirely gone when they squeezed back into their makeshift den and settled down to sleep.

Toklo felt troubled, and still uncertain about what he should do next, as he curled up and tucked his nose into his pelt. Drifting toward sleep, he could smell the wolves again, dried blood, and the scent of the old bear, Chogan. Again the fugitive memory flickered, the one that had stirred when he crossed Chogan’s scent marks. This time, bright images flashed into his drowsy mind.

Toklo was standing beside his brother Tobi at the edge of a rocky river. Their mother, Oka, was facing a huge grizzly, who was forcing them to leave his territory. Toklo felt scared and angry at the same time. He drew back his lips and snarled at the huge bear. “Don’t you be nasty to my mother!” he growled.

Oka pulled him back and placed herself between Toklo and the grizzly. “Hush, little one,” she said. “Now run!”

Pushing Tobi ahead of him, Toklo prepared to flee across the stepping-stones that would take them to the other side of the river.

The huge grizzly loomed over them. “Get off my land!” he roared. His scent drifted over the young Toklo.

In his dream, Toklo flinched. The memory was so strong: the chattering sound that the river made as it flowed around the stepping-stones; the hard, cold feeling of the stones on his pads; the scent of the bear who was driving them out.

Toklo sat upright, his eyes wide, staring into the darkness. It’s the same scent! Chogan is the bear who chased us out of his territory!

Chapter Sixteen - Kallik

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Kallik