Клэр Белл - The Named - The Complete Series

The teaching session with the young cubs began and ended late. It was almost dusk when the mothers came to take their litterlings back to their dens. Thakur stayed to care for his small teaching flock until another herder arrived.

“Could you keep my animals separated from the rest?” Thakur asked Cherfan. “It would save me from having to retrieve them from the main herd tomorrow morning.” Absently the big herder agreed, but his attention was on something else. A new fire flickered across the pasture near the sunning rock.

Cherfan stared and wrinkled his forehead.“Looks like the Firekeepers are having a gathering,” he said finally “Oh, don’t worry about your teaching herd. I’ll make sure your animals are grazed apart from the others.”

Thakur felt annoyed with the Firekeepers. He often liked to climb onto the sunning rock at dusk to catch the last warmth of the sun and watch the moon rise from behind the trees. Well, he would have to find another place tonight, or go and rest in his den. Despite his irritation he was curious about the gathering and decided to wander over and investigate.

The fire was large and cast its light far into the twilight spreading across the meadow. Smoke poured over the grass and billowed up into the sky. On his back, Aree sneezed and shook his head. Thakur’s throat stung as he circled upwind, away from the smoke haze.The Firekeepers have built a fire far bigger than they need,he thought crossly.

As he approached, he saw someone pacing back and forth in front of the bonfire, while others sat in a group facing it. Thakur swung back downwind, willing to brave the acrid smoke in order to catch the smells of those assembled in the gathering. He recognized most of the adult Firekeepers, including Fessran, Shongshar and Bira. He also caught the odors of some of the cubs. By now, he knew most of their individual scents. Thakur was not surprised to smell Fessran’s cubs, Chika and Nyang, among others, but he was surprised that her son Khushi’s scent was among them.

Khushi was to be trained as a herder, he thought. The cub had been among the students he taught earlier in the day, although Shongshar had come and fetched him early, saying that Fessran needed him. Thakur was sure it had not been Khushi’s own idea to come to the Firekeeper’s gathering. He did not smell happy.

The herding teacher caught another scent, so mixed with smoke that it only hinted at who it belonged to. Was Ratha here? Thakur wasn’t sure. The darkness, which had now fallen, and the fire’s glare made it hard to recognize anyone by sight. Smoke filled his throat again, making him cough, but the roar of the fire overwhelmed any sound he made. Carefully he made his way to the back of the group and sat close enough to see who was standing in front of the bonfire.

It was Fessran and she had stopped pacing. She faced the group and sat down. Shongshar sat off to the side, with Fessran’s three cubs. He was watching her intently as she began to speak.

“My first words are for the young ones who seek training as Firekeepers. You are at this gathering tonight because you are the best. You have been chosen to come here because you are the strongest and the cleverest of the cubs born in the spring season. You are here because we who serve the Red Tongue will not accept anything less.”

Aree moved restlessly on Thakur’s shoulder. Thakur gave him a nudge to quiet him, and then crept further into the gathering, trying to see the faces of those listening. The Firekeepers sat straight, with bristling whiskers and self-satisfied expressions. Most of the cubs looked awed and excited, their eyes glowing in the firelight. Khushi, sitting between his two siblings, lowered his head and nervously licked a front paw.

“You look at the Red Tongue and it frightens you,” Fessran continued. “Why? Because it is stronger than you are and fiercer and wilder? Yes! It is a creature far greater than any of us. It can live forever if it is kept fed and it can grow larger than any animal. The fire-creature takes, as its prey, not only the beasts of the forest, but the forest itself, and, when it is angered, nothing between ground and sky escapes its rage.”

Fessran’s eyes seemed to have a glint to them that was not her own yellow-amber, but a deeper shade … almost orange. Something made Thakur look off to the side at Shongshar. He was leaning forward over the cubs, his gaze intent, his eyes narrowed. His jaw moved as if he were speaking the same words tohimself and the fire’s glare flashed on his sabers.

Fessran continued,“We may warm ourselves before the Red Tongue and see by its light, but we may do so only as long as we are worthy. And how may we prove our worth? By striving to be as strong and fierce as we can. By thinking not of our paws or our whiskers, but of our duty to the Red Tongue. By refusing to show fear even when it claws at our throats and our bellies. That is what the Red Tongue demands of us.”

Fessran paused and surveyed the group. Khushi looked more miserable than ever.“Not all of you will be chosen to train as Firekeepers,” she said. “I must know which of you are worthy.” Her tail twitched restlessly as she curled it over her feet. “Those cubs who think they are brave enough to carry the Red Tongue, come and stand before me.”

Some youngsters strutted forward, their tails high and their whiskers bristling with confidence. Others, like Khushi, crept forward nervously, unwilling to be shamed by their littermates. They arranged themselves in an uneven row in front of Fessran. The harsh light of the bonfire made them squint and blink. She paced before the cubs, studying each one in turn.

“Good,” she said finally and looked toward Shongshar. “Bring me a torch,” she commanded. He lit a dry branch and brought it to her. The cubs’ eyes widened and they sat still, their gaze fixed on the Firekeeper.

Thakur tensed. What was Fessran doing?

The Firekeeper swung around, the torch clenched in her jaws. The flame fluttered and roared as she swept it across in front of the cubs’ faces.

Several youngsters squealed in terror and fled with their tails between their legs. Others, like Chika, skittered away, turned and faced the flame with ears laid back. A few cubs flinched and crouched, holding their ground. The fur rose along their backs and bristled on their short tails.

Fessran also looked startled, as if she hadn’t expected so many of them to flee. Thakur saw her glance toward Shongshar as if seeking reassurance. Again she passed the torch in front of the remaining youngsters, trying to rout them. All but Nyang backed away, hissing.

It was all Thakur could do not to jump into the midst of the gathering and snatch the brand away from Fessran. He only held back by telling himself that she must have a reason for this, however harsh and cruel it seemed.

She gave the brand back to Shongshar, who replaced it in the fire.“So,” she said, looking out over the Firekeepers and the shaken cubs. “You see that being chosen to serve the Red Tongue isn’t as easy as you thought. Those of you who stayed within the gathering circle have shown you can fight the fear. Return to your places.”

“Firekeeper leader,” said one cub in a high quavering voice. “The ones who ran away haven’t come back yet. Someone should look for them.”

Fessran turned to Bira.“Find the litterlings who fled and take them back to their mothers. None of them are worth training.”

Bira left. Thakur felt disbelief hit him and drain through him. He had disciplined cubs himself and treated them harshly, but never had he seen youngsters so deliberately terrified and humiliated. Did it matter to Fessran that her son Khushi had been among those who fled?

He looked again at the cubs who remained in the gathering and saw the fright and rage on their faces turn into fierce determination. Perhaps this was Fessran’s way of inspiring them, by making them angry enough to fight back and demonstrate that they were worthy to become Firekeepers. Even so, her tactics seemed cruel and unnecessary.