The Longest Day Read Online Free Page B

We didn’t get lost once.”
    Yakone gazed at her proudly. “I’m so pleased you came. There have been times when I wondered if I’d ever see you again.”
    Kallik shivered, the coldness of the water reaching through her pelt. Was Yakone thinking of the times when he’d nearly died on the journey? Injured and bleeding, he’d faked death to lure out the coyotes that were tracking them. And the injury itself had almost killed him.
    Kallik pulled her thoughts back and scanned the shore. Was Taqqiq here? She wanted to see her brother and know he was well. Her gaze flicked from one bear to another. Taqqiq wasn’t the only familiar face she was hoping to see again. Kallik pictured a young cub gazing trustingly up at her. No, she told herself. He’s too young to have made the journey. But even as she thought it, she saw a young bear bounding from the shade of the pines. Her heart soared. She could hardly believe her eyes. Kissimi was racing toward her.
    Kissimi’s eyes lit up as he saw Kallik. He charged past Illa and splashed into the shallows. Barking excitedly, he ran to meet her, rubbing his muzzle against hers. “Kallik! You came!”
    Affection flooded Kallik’s heart. “Oh, Kissimi! I’m so happy to see you!” She nuzzled him fiercely. He’d been a newborn cub—hardly bigger than a seal—when she’d found him beside his dead mother on Star Island. Kallik had so wanted to look after him. She knew what it was like to lose a mother, and she couldn’t let Kissimi feel as alone as she had.
    But a cub could never have made the journey that lay ahead of her. Reluctantly, Kallik had given him to Illa, his mother’s sister. Leaving Kissimi behind had been heartbreaking, but she knew Illa would take good care of him, and as he snuffled happily against her cheek now, as strong and healthy as any cub, she knew she’d made the right decision.
    Kallik drew back and looked at him proudly. “You have traveled so far! You must be very brave!”
    â€œI bet you’ve traveled farther!” Kissimi bounced around her.
    Kallik glanced at Yakone. “We’ve been a long way,” she huffed as they moved into the shallower water by the bank, Kissimi following.
    Illa and Tunerq spilled over with questions.
    â€œWhere have you been?” Illa asked.
    Tunerq shifted from paw to paw. “How far did you go?”
    â€œWe’ve been to the Melting Sea,” Yakone told them. “We’ve crossed mountains and forests and ridden on the back of a firesnake.”
    Tunerq tilted his head. “A firesnake? What’s that?”
    â€œIt’s like a great trail of firebeasts that races across the land on endless silver lines. It breathes smoke and growls louder than thunder.”
    Kissimi’s eyes were huge. “You rode on its back?”
    Yakone nodded as he joined Kissimi in climbing up onto the bank. “That’s right.”
    As the shallow water washed around her paws, Kallik saw how happy Yakone looked as he shared his news with old friends. Anxiety clawed at her belly. Would she ever feel as close to these bears as Yakone did? She shook her pelt. What did it matter? As long as she was with Yakone, she would be happy.
    Lost in thought, she hardly noticed Yakone lean over the water to snuffle her ear. “Come and join us,” he murmured. “It’s not just me they’re happy to see.”
    Kallik climbed up onto dry land, and she dipped her head in greeting to the Star Island bears.
    Kissimi immediately pressed against her. “I take seal blubber to where you buried Ujurak,” he told her. “I know he can’t eat anymore, but I thought his spirit would be happy that we still remember him.”
    Kallik was surprised to feel her eyes sting with grief. At once, she was back on Star Island, her heart breaking as Toklo kicked snow over Ujurak’s battered body. Ujurak had moved a rock