Smoke Mountain by Erin Hunter Page B

enormous firebeast came roaring along the BlackPath, its round eyes blazing. It slowed downand then pulled into the space beside the den, rumbling to a stop beside the others. A burly, long-legged no-claw climbed out of it and stomped inside the den, stretching his front legs above him. Loud no-claw noise and mouthwatering smells of meat and salt and unfamiliar food wafted out the open door.
    Kallik thought about the meat she had stolen before getting caught by the no-claws. Her mouth watered as she imagined sinking her teeth into juicy flesh, but she also remembered very clearly the sharp scratch from the no-claw stick, and then waking up in a cage in the big white den. Would these no-claws give her to a metal bird?
    â€˜It’s wet and marshy down there, so we’ll have to slog through some mud,’ Lusa said, nodding at the reeds below them, ‘but I think we can follow the path to the den. There are some tall clumps we can hide behind if any flat-faces come out.’
    Kallik shook her head. ‘I don’t want to go anywhere near that place,’ she said, taking a step back. There was no way she was going to risk falling out of the sky again.
    â€˜I agree,’ Toklo said. ‘It’s too dangerous.’
    â€˜But they have food,’ Lusa pointed out. ‘I know you don’t like it, Toklo, but we have to eat.’
    A white shape was moving down through the marsh, following the stream. In the fading light, at first Kallik couldn’t work out what she was seeing. Then . . .
    â€˜Taqqiq!’
    â€˜Well, I suppose we may not have a choice,’ Toklo growled. He nodded down the hill. ‘Unless we’re going to let him risk his pelt on his own.’
    Taqqiq didn’t hear Kallik’s call, or if he did, he pretended he didn’t. He kept going, straight towards the no-claw den and all those giant, hulking firebeasts.
    Kallik raced after him, stumbling as the ground sloped down more steeply than she was expecting. The wind blew in her ears, and stinking water splashed around her paws, but she ignored the icky clinging feeling of the mud in her fur. Her muscles ached, but she forced them on. She had to get to Taqqiq before he reached the no-claws. What if he tried to steal their food and they shot him with a firestick?
    Suddenly she felt hard black earth under herpaws, the kind that smelled like burning and grew in straight lines to make BlackPaths. She’d reached the big open space around the no-claw den. Three of the large firebeasts were up ahead, glaring right at her. With a squeak of fright, Kallik shot towards a large metal box standing against the back of the no-claw den. It was swamped with strange smells, mostly of rotfood. She bundled into the shadow behind it, where the firebeasts couldn’t see her, and crashed into a pile of warm fur.
    â€˜
Hey!
’ the fur ball said, and she realised that it was Taqqiq.
    â€˜Oh, you’re all right,’ she said, panting. ‘I was so afraid one of the firebeasts would hurt you!’
    Taqqiq snorted. ‘I’m not afraid of them! Salik and I dealt with plenty of firebeasts,’ he boasted. ‘They’re really dumb when they’re asleep. You can roar right in their faces and they won’t even move.’
    â€˜You
tried
that?’ Kallik said with a shudder. ‘Why would you want to do that? It’s so dangerous.’
    â€˜It’s nothing,’ Taqqiq said, tossing his head. ‘We messed with firebeasts all the time. They never dared to hurt us.’
    Kallik looked around at the shadows. ‘So why areyou hiding back here, if you’re so brave?’
    Taqqiq bristled. ‘I’m not hiding!’ He shook himself so his fur fluffed out. ‘I was checking this tiny den for food.’ He nodded at the metal box beside them. ‘I’ve seen them before. Salik found good food in them, anywhere there were lots of firebeasts and no-claws together. But I