jump was very high and that is good. But for now, I would sacrifice a bit of height so you can better master the flips and twists.”
Meanwhile, atop the cairn on Morgan, Edme was also concentrating hard on her jumps. She did not attain the height she desired, but her form was good, even excellent,until she caught sight of Banja below, sneering at her. She came down hard on her rump.
“Ouch!”
“Ah, you were distracted!” Winks said. “Can’t let that happen. What pulled your attention away?”
Edme was reluctant to say that it was Banja. She didn’t want to sound as if she were complaining, blaming someone else for her mistakes. But inside her head, she was cursing the wolf who had lodged like a burr inside her brain ever since the meeting with the Fengo.
I am not going to let her do this to me,
Edme silently vowed.
She wants to get at me and she won’t!
Edme squared up for her next jump. She took off beautifully, tucked her legs just as instructed to reduce the wind, soared as high as she had yet, then rounded down for what would have been a perfect landing, until a loud cackling burst out below her. Once more, she landed on her rump.
“Hey, quiet down there!” Winks shouted.
“Oh, we didn’t realize we were so loud,” Banja said. “Sorry, Winks. I was just telling Paddy that joke you told me the other night about the caribou who tried to play
biliboo.”
“First of all, it was a limerick, not a joke. Andsecondly, with the wind in this direction, your words carry and I am trying to do some serious instruction up here.”
“Yes, I see she does need it. So sorry. My apologies to both of you,” Banja answered. Winks looked at Edme, a perplexed expression shining in the
taiga’s
single eye.
“Hmmm” was all she said.
Did that apology sound as phony to Winks as it did to me?
Edme wondered.
Back atop Stormfast, Faolan worked hard onhis jumps until the very end of the watch. Twist led him on a much longer trail back to the den so Faolan could see the changing of the Watch shifts at the other volcanoes.
“We’re coming up on Kiel now. That’s Leitha just going up to the cairn.”
Faolan saw a black wolf with a glossy pelt and three legs nimbly make her way up the cairn. When she reached the top, she sprang into the air, executing a dazzling backward somersault. Faolan gasped. “She did that on only three legs!”
“Yes, indeed,” Twist replied. “Some think that Leitha is the best jumper of the Watch.”
Faolan could not help being ashamed that he’d once felt so special because of his jumps.
They had almost completed the circle and were approaching the volcano Dunmore when Twist stopped. Directly ahead was a cairn, but no wolf stood atop it. It was not as tall as the other cairns, but as Faolan looked at it, he felt a shudder pass through him. His hackles rose.
“The cairn of the Fengos,” Twist said quietly. “This is where their bones rest and many of the bones they carved. When their time is near, when
cleave hwlyn
is approaching, they begin to carve their final bone, their Bone of Passage. It’s their last thoughts before they leave this world and begin their climb up the star ladder to the Cave of Souls. That bone is buried with them deep in the cairn. The Fengos carve in a code understood only by them.”
Faolan cocked his head to one side and stared at the cairn. The voice of Twist ebbed away, the baying of the wolves faded as well, and it was as if he had been transported to a moment outside of time. He felt as though he were standing next to his own pelt, looking at himself.
I know the code.
“Faolan! Are you all right?” Twist asked.
Instantly, Faolan was back in his own skin. “Fine, good!” And he did feel good, as if he’d had a long, restful sleep.
“Look, Dunmore is awakening.” The two wolves turned their heads toward the volcano, which had suddenly begun to spew geysers of hot coals into the black folds of the night. The sky was spangled with burning
Meanwhile, atop the cairn on Morgan, Edme was also concentrating hard on her jumps. She did not attain the height she desired, but her form was good, even excellent,until she caught sight of Banja below, sneering at her. She came down hard on her rump.
“Ouch!”
“Ah, you were distracted!” Winks said. “Can’t let that happen. What pulled your attention away?”
Edme was reluctant to say that it was Banja. She didn’t want to sound as if she were complaining, blaming someone else for her mistakes. But inside her head, she was cursing the wolf who had lodged like a burr inside her brain ever since the meeting with the Fengo.
I am not going to let her do this to me,
Edme silently vowed.
She wants to get at me and she won’t!
Edme squared up for her next jump. She took off beautifully, tucked her legs just as instructed to reduce the wind, soared as high as she had yet, then rounded down for what would have been a perfect landing, until a loud cackling burst out below her. Once more, she landed on her rump.
“Hey, quiet down there!” Winks shouted.
“Oh, we didn’t realize we were so loud,” Banja said. “Sorry, Winks. I was just telling Paddy that joke you told me the other night about the caribou who tried to play
biliboo.”
“First of all, it was a limerick, not a joke. Andsecondly, with the wind in this direction, your words carry and I am trying to do some serious instruction up here.”
“Yes, I see she does need it. So sorry. My apologies to both of you,” Banja answered. Winks looked at Edme, a perplexed expression shining in the
taiga’s
single eye.
“Hmmm” was all she said.
Did that apology sound as phony to Winks as it did to me?
Edme wondered.
Back atop Stormfast, Faolan worked hard onhis jumps until the very end of the watch. Twist led him on a much longer trail back to the den so Faolan could see the changing of the Watch shifts at the other volcanoes.
“We’re coming up on Kiel now. That’s Leitha just going up to the cairn.”
Faolan saw a black wolf with a glossy pelt and three legs nimbly make her way up the cairn. When she reached the top, she sprang into the air, executing a dazzling backward somersault. Faolan gasped. “She did that on only three legs!”
“Yes, indeed,” Twist replied. “Some think that Leitha is the best jumper of the Watch.”
Faolan could not help being ashamed that he’d once felt so special because of his jumps.
They had almost completed the circle and were approaching the volcano Dunmore when Twist stopped. Directly ahead was a cairn, but no wolf stood atop it. It was not as tall as the other cairns, but as Faolan looked at it, he felt a shudder pass through him. His hackles rose.
“The cairn of the Fengos,” Twist said quietly. “This is where their bones rest and many of the bones they carved. When their time is near, when
cleave hwlyn
is approaching, they begin to carve their final bone, their Bone of Passage. It’s their last thoughts before they leave this world and begin their climb up the star ladder to the Cave of Souls. That bone is buried with them deep in the cairn. The Fengos carve in a code understood only by them.”
Faolan cocked his head to one side and stared at the cairn. The voice of Twist ebbed away, the baying of the wolves faded as well, and it was as if he had been transported to a moment outside of time. He felt as though he were standing next to his own pelt, looking at himself.
I know the code.
“Faolan! Are you all right?” Twist asked.
Instantly, Faolan was back in his own skin. “Fine, good!” And he did feel good, as if he’d had a long, restful sleep.
“Look, Dunmore is awakening.” The two wolves turned their heads toward the volcano, which had suddenly begun to spew geysers of hot coals into the black folds of the night. The sky was spangled with burning
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