Page 3 of Sun Warrior

“All right, we can do this!” Nik wrapped the sodden strip of cloth around his neck, tying it so that he could lift it over his nose and mouth, and then he followed his Shepherd.

They jogged steadily on. The wind had risen again, and with it came the teasing boom of distant thunder. Nik joined Laru, who was waiting for him on a rise in the path. Breathing hard, the two of them paused. At that moment, the wind whined ominously and changed direction.

At first Nik was relieved as the smoke was blown away from them. He and Laru drank in gulps of cool, clean air, and then Nik’s breath caught in his throat as the smoke continued to part, revealing a city ablaze in the trees. The northernmost section of their city was completely engulfed in flame. He could see that the Tribe had managed to fell several of the largest and most ancient of the trees—ones filled with the exquisite nests his people called home—attempting to make a break in the path of the encroaching fire. And it had seemed to work, especially as the wind had shifted and was blowing away from the heart of the city.

But already the Tribe had paid an unthinkable toll.

“No,” Nik whispered brokenly. “No,” he repeated as he dropped to his knees in sick despair, sobbing impotent tears while he watched fire destroying his people and the only home he’d ever known.

Laru pressed against him. Nik put his arm around the big canine, finding comfort in his nearness—grounding himself with his Companion’s strength and love.

“I have to stop it, Laru. Somehow I have to stop it!”

Laru whined sadly, and then he, too, rallied. He barked sharply and moved out of Nik’s embrace, padding a few feet farther down the path before stopping to look expectantly back at his Companion.

“You’re right, big guy. I can’t stop anything here on my knees.”

Nik sprinted forward, Laru at his side. Within minutes he was met by soot-stained, frightened members of the Tribe fleeing for their lives. Some of them were burned. Some were bruised and broken. They trudged on blindly as if their souls had been consumed by the blaze behind them.

“Nik! Oh, God, Nik. Youarealive.” A woman staggered to him. Automatically he took her elbow, though he didn’t recognize her through the soot and sweat until the Shepherd at her side greeted Laru.

“Sheena! You and Captain made it. Have you seen O’Bryan? Is he okay?”

“When I last saw him he was alive.” Sheena nodded, struggling to catch her breath as more and more of the Tribe, moving as if they were sleepwalking through a nightmare, passed them. “But he went back into that.” She made a weak gesture behind her at the blazing forest. “He said he heard Fala’s pups crying. He said—he said he was going to save them,” she sobbed. “How is he going to do that? How is anyone going to be saved from that inferno?”

Nik grabbed both of her shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. “Sheena, you have to breathe and calm down. Now. These people need you.”

Sheena ran a trembling hand across her filthy face, wiping away sweat and tears and soot. “Okay. Yes. You’re right.” She nodded shakily. Then her gaze locked on Nik as if he was her lifeline. “What can I do?”

“You’re going the right direction. Keep following this path back to the Channel. If the wind shifts again this whole forest will catch. The Channel is your only hope.”

“But so many of them are hurt. There aren’t any supplies at the Channel. How am I supposed to help them? Nik, I don’t think any of the healers made it out alive. They refused to abandon the patients in the infirmary who couldn’t be moved. I heard them screaming. I think I might always hear them screaming.”

Nik shook Sheena’s shoulders. “Stop it! Stop thinking about it. There are extra supplies at the lookout platform closest to the Channel—you know that. Go there. If the Healers are dead, then we’ll have to stand in their place.”

“Where’s Mari? She’s a Healer. She can help. And Sol? Where’s our Sun Priest?”

Nik made sure his voice was calm and strong. “Mari had to go back to Earth Walker territory. And Sol is dead.”

Sheena’s head shook back and forth. Her eyes were wide and filled with shock. “Sol dead? No. No, it can’t be. Even our sun has turned against us!”

“Sheena, listen to me. What’s happening here has nothing to do with our sun. It has to do with men and greed and prejudice, but I don’t have time to explain. Right now all you need to know is that Thaddeus is dangerous and can’t be trusted. He killed Father.”

“What? How?” she sputtered.

Nik shook his head quickly. “Not now. Later. Now just know you can’t trust him, and maybe even Cyril. I’m not sure how far Thaddeus’s poison has spread. Sheena, our people need us. Get everyone you can to the Channel. I’ll send help. There are always supplies kept at the old meditation platform, and it’s in the Old Forest, far enough from the city that the fire won’t have caught it.”Won’t have caught it yet,Nik thought, but he kept the words to himself and hurried on. “I’ll be sure someone gets those supplies to you.”

“Yes. I can lead as many as possible to the Channel. I—I’ll check the lookout platform for emergency provisions and wait for the supplies. But, Nik, it’s going to get dark. These people are wounded—some badly. The swarm, it’s going to smell the blood and we’ll be—”

“Sheena, pull it together! Take one step at a time. Dusk is hours away. There’s plenty of time to set up a perimeter—even to hang travel cocoons and hammocks in the trees by the Channel if it comes to that. You can do this. I know you can.”

Sheena nodded shakily. “Okay, okay. You’re right. I can. I will. But be fast, Nik. A lot of the wounded are only staying on their feet because of shock and adrenaline. When they crash, they’re going to crash hard. And except for the basics, I have no idea how to help them.”

“I won’t leave you hanging. I promise,” Nik assured her. “Come on, Laru!” As he raced past the column of walking wounded, Nik heard Sheena begin to call encouragement to the people, telling them the Channel was close… safety was close. Nik set his teeth and ran as he silently prayed that his father would lend him strength and wisdom for the nightmare to come.

CHAPTER 2

Close enough to the City in the Trees that the forest was once again a familiar friend, Nik and Laru left the trail. Plunging up the side of the ridge, they chose the quickest way to the heart of the Tribe. The acrid scent of smoke became a taste that coated Nik’s throat, filling his mouth with bitterness. He and Laru paused at a trailhead close to the first of the pine giants that housed the Tribe. Smoke swirled around them, for a moment confusing Nik’s sense of direction. Then the constantly changing wind parted the grayness just as a screaming figure rushed into view. Nik could tell it was a woman and that she clutched a black Terrier in her arms even though the back of her tunic was on fire.