The Longest Day by Erin Hunter Read Free Book Online

possibly Hashi, too. And Sheena’s cubs! If Chula was in danger, they might be, too! Lusa raced up the slope, swerving between the trees.
    Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Ossi following. Her shoulder thumped into a trunk and she staggered sideways.
    Ossi overtook her. “This way.”
    Lusa silently thanked Ossi for not asking questions. As she ran, she searched for movement in the undergrowth. She expected Ujurak to appear at any moment—as a moose, or a hare—anything that might guide them.
    Brambles shivered to one side and a bird exploded from between the stems. Ujurak? It fluttered up toward the canopy, disappearing among the branches.
    Just an ordinary bird! They must have startled it from its cover.
    Ossi scrambled up a rise. Lusa was panting when they reached the top. She drew in a gasping breath as she looked down the other side, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chula and the others. But only dense forest lay ahead, the pale leafy trees giving way to tight rows of pines.
    â€œIs this definitely the way you came?” she asked Ossi.
    He gazed around. “We definitely traveled through pine trees,” he told her. “But one pine looks the same as the other. I’m not sure which way to go from here.”
    â€œIs there anything you remember?” Lusa’s heart was pounding. “Did you stop to gather berries? Was there a clearing? Did you cross a river?”
    â€œA BlackPath,” he told her suddenly. “We crossed a BlackPath.”
    â€œWhere?”
    Ossi tilted his head on one side. “I’m not sure!”
    Lusa began to pace. “You must remember. It was only two sunrises ago! Think !”
    Suddenly Ossi leaned forward. “There!” he barked.
    Lusa followed his gaze. She could see only trunks and shadows.
    â€œThe stream!” Ossi plunged down the slope. “We drank there.”
    As Lusa followed, she saw a sparkle between the trees where water reflected a shaft of sunlight. Ossi swerved between the trees, Lusa at his heels. He skidded to a halt as he neared the stream. Lusa slid past him, her paws slithering on the pine needles. “Which way now?”
    â€œUpstream,” Ossi told her. He turned and followed the stream up a rise that lifted toward daylight. Lusa could see sunshine flooding into the forest where the trees ended.
    A rumble sounded from the gap. Lusa’s pelt tingled with fear. A firebeast. She recognized the sound too well. They were getting close to the BlackPath. At least they were heading in the right direction. Another rumble sounded, as loud as thunder. Lusa’s breath caught in her throat. That’s the noise from my dream!
    Brambles blocked their path, but Ossi forced his way through, and Lusa squeezed through the gap he’d made. Sunlight splashed across her face as she burst out the far side.
    The BlackPath lay in front of them, stretching far into the distance in one direction and disappearing around a curve in the other. Ossi stopped at the edge and stared into the forest on the far side. Fresh rumbling rolled toward them, and Lusa saw a massive firebeast approaching around the curve. It raced nearer, eyes flashing on its orange head and along its flanks. Slain trees were lying on its back, and Lusa shuddered.
    A second roar sounded from the other direction. A blue firebeast appeared, hurtling along the BlackPath toward the orange beast.
    Lusa pressed close to Ossi. “Are they going to fight?” Perhaps they should go into the woods until it was over.
    â€œWait.” Ossi leaned backward. The blue firebeast was howling, splitting the air with a shriek that made birds fly up from the trees behind Lusa. The orange firebeast howled in reply, and both began to slow. Pulling toward the far side ofthe BlackPath, they rumbled to a halt, snout to snout, then fell silent.
    Lusa realized she was trembling. “We should go around them.” They couldn’t let the firebeasts get in the way of