Island of Shadows Read Online Free PDF

bucking ice.
    Toklo looked at her. “I’ll watch out for orca, I promise. I can still keep you safe, Kallik.”
    Kallik’s heart ached. You have nothing to prove, my friend. Out loud she said, “I know you can, Toklo. I hope the water here is too shallow for whales, but we need to keep watch, especially when Lusa is crossing the gaps.”
    Toklo nodded, and for a moment everything felt the same as it had always been: the two larger bears looking out for Lusa and Ujurak, knowing that their strength and size had to keep all four of them safe. Then Yakone called out, “Is everything okay?” and Toklo’s gaze clouded again. He slithered to the edge of the floe and jumped heavily across the gap. One of his hindpaws landed close to the jagged cliff that plunged down to the open waves; he grunted and snatched it back before stumbling toward Yakone and Lusa, who were watching him with wide, startled eyes. Kallik silently begged them not to comment.
    â€œWait for me!” she barked, trying to sound lighthearted. She let her paws slip over the ice until she felt the floe start to dip under her weight; then she pressed down with her hindpaws and pushed herself over the dark gap that snaked through the smooth white ice. She landed with her paws spread wide to keep her steady, but the other bears were already balancing the floe, and it barely moved under her weight. Kallik nodded breathlessly to her companions, then looked past them. Chunks of ice stretched toward the horizon, bobbing gently as the waves moved beneath them. Lusa was right, crossing them wouldn’t be easy, but they didn’t have a choice. And the sea would close up as they left the shore behind and reached the deeper, colder water.
    Kallik shook her fur. “Let’s keep going,” she said. “We won’t want to get caught on the broken ice when night comes.”
    As the day went on, Kallik began to notice that Lusa was lagging behind. Even though the gaps grew smaller as they came to the deeper water, she seemed to be having problems jumping from one ice floe to the next. Kallik waited on a large, steady floe for the black bear to catch up. She thought she could guess what was wrong. Since the raid on the no-claw dens, Lusa had only had meat to eat, and not much of that.
    Out here on the sea, there’s no chance of finding any leaves or berries for her.
    When Lusa had caught up, Kallik stayed beside her, crossing with her from one floe to the next, until they reached Toklo and Yakone, who had stopped to wait for them a few bearlengths ahead.
    â€œEverything okay?” Yakone asked.
    Lusa nodded. “I’m sorry,” she panted. “I just feel so tired. My paws don’t seem to go where I tell them to.”
    â€œShe needs to get to land,” Kallik told the male bears. “Can we go any faster?”
    â€œOh, sure.” Toklo’s voice was heavily sarcastic. “Go faster, when Lusa can’t keep up as it is. That’s a great idea!”
    â€œI just thought—” Kallik began.
    â€œNo, you didn’t think,” Toklo interrupted. “Why can’t you just let me make the decisions, and we would all do a lot better?”
    It was hard for Kallik not to lash out at Toklo and rake her claws over his ears. “You have no right to order us around!” she growled.
    â€œSome bear has to, when you have bees in your brain,” Toklo retorted, fury flaring up in his eyes. “Or you can carry on alone, and see how far you get!”
    â€œWe’d be just fine, wouldn’t we, Yakone?”
    â€œStop it, both of you!” Lusa’s voice rose into a wail. “This is all my fault,” she went on miserably. “I’m holding you back.”
    â€œNo, you’re not.” Kallik padded over to Lusa and pressed her muzzle against the little bear’s shoulder. “It’s harder for you, that’s all. I just want to do what’s