Scrambling up from the river’s edge, Ujurak stood at the top of the bank and looked out across the oil field. He realised that he was a pregnant female, feeling the weight of her calf heavy in her belly. He began to trudge forward, head down, instinct leading him towards the ancient calving grounds of his kin. But instead of the windswept marshes and forested hills, all he could see were BlackPaths, long silver tubes running alongside them, and the tall structures that the flat-faces had built. He lifted his head and gave a long, lamenting cry, letting out the grief of a mother with nowhere to raise her young.

No . . . no . . . With the last of his strength Ujurak fought against the transformation.

Owl . . . owl so that I can go back to my friends and lead them out of this place. Wings . . . white feathers . . . beak and claws . . .

To Ujurak’s relief he felt himself shrinking again, as at last he managed to control the change and return into the body of the snowy white owl. He soared upward on silent wings, though his muscles were shrieking with exhaustion and his tiny bird heart fluttered like a leaf in a gale.

Blinking, he focused his owl-sight on the place below until he spotted the tall building where he had first transformed. He could even make out the sheet of wood beneath which his friends crouched in hiding.

From his vantage point, Ujurak could see that the building was close to the edge of the flat-face structures, just as Maria had said. If we follow that BlackPath . . . then that one . . . we can leave this place behind.

His heart heavy, Ujurak let himself drift downward and landed on the ground a couple of bearlengths away from the sheet of wood. With a sigh of relief, he let his feathers melt away; brown fur flowed over his limbs as his wings changed into forelegs and his claws sprouted; his beak became a snout and he dropped to all fours in the shape of a brown bear cub.

For a moment he couldn’t move; he just crouched, trembling, on the dusty ground. His limbs ached and he felt so tired he didn’t think he would be able to move his paws. But the sound of a firebeast reminded him that flat-faces were still searching for him and his friends. There was no time to rest.

Stifling a groan, Ujurak forced himself to his paws. ‘I’m back!’ he called. ‘I know what we have to do now.’

Chapter Thirty-Four: Kallik

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:

Kallik

Kallik emerged from her hiding place behind the wood and stretched her legs one by one. Ujurak was standing a couple of bearlengths away; he was a brown bear again, but his pelt was bedraggled and filthy and his eyes were dark with exhaustion.

‘Ujurak, what happened to you?’ she whimpered.

‘I’m fine,’ Ujurak replied, his voice hoarse. ‘I’ll tell you later.’