Kallik and the others looked upward to see if his challenge would be answered. But the stars went on twinkling silently as before. There was no response from the spirits, no sign to tell them whether Ujurak was right.

Toklo slumped down on the shingle. Lusa padded over to him and touched her snout to his shoulder, but he jerked away from her. ‘I think we should just go to the mountains,’ he muttered. ‘Leave the plains and the sea for the flat-faces to poison as much as they want.’

‘I don’t think you mean that,’ Lusa murmured.

‘Look!’ Ujurak whispered.

Kallik glanced up, following the brown bear’s gaze. Something was happening in the sky. At first it looked like a plume of smoke swirling above the ice, but it was the colour of forest berries. It billowed upward, sweeping across the sky, the colours changing from red to the deep green of pine trees, then to gold and icy blue.

‘So beautiful . . .’ Lusa murmured.

Kallik’s heart pounded. The whole sky was pulsing with light, as if rivers of colour were cascading towards her, like the wings of vast birds drawing the air around them into fantastic shapes. The spirits of her ancestors were dancing above the endless ice, beckoning her towards them. Are you with them, Nisa? she asked. Are you looking down at me now?

‘Kallik, you must lead us now.’ Ujurak’s voice broke into her thoughts.

Kallik stared at him. ‘Me?’

‘Yes. The spirits are telling us to go on to the ice. You must show us the way.’

Kallik looked up at the fires in the sky, felt the salt breeze tugging at her fur, and breathed in the scent of the ice that lay ahead.

‘Oh, yes,’ she whispered. ‘I will lead you on to the ice. I will show you my home. And the spirits of the bears who have lived before – the spirit of my mother – will be watching over us with every step.’

One journey – to find the Endless Ice – had ended. The journey to save the wild had begun.

About the Author

Erin Hunter is inspired by a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behaviour, shaped by her interest in astrology and standing stones. She is also the author of the Warriors series.

About the Publisher

EGMONT PRESS: ETHICAL PUBLISHING

Egmont Press is about turning writers into successful authors and children into passionate readers – producing books that enrich and entertain. As a responsible children’s publisher, we go even further, considering the world in which our consumers are growing up.

Safety First

Naturally, all of our books meet legal safety requirements. But we go further than this; every book with play value is tested to the highest standards – if it fails, it’s back to the drawing-board.

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