The Green Ember (The Green Ember Series Book 1) Read online

  Minutes went by. How many? She couldn’t tell. She could hardly breathe. The blanket of smoke was covering her, and there was nowhere to turn. She ran on but was running out of air. Her eyes stung. I won’t make it.

  Coughing, she looked up and saw a break in the smoke above, revealing a clean blast of sunlight before a brilliant blue sky. She smiled. For the briefest moment it occurred to her that this would make a happy last sight.

  But the air began to clear in a sudden strong breeze. She saw the tops of evergreens in the near distance, the ever-widening circle of blue brightness as the heavy clouds of smoke retreated.

  She knew where she was.

  The ground was still heavy with smoke, though it was clearing. Her eyes stung; the smoke began to blind her. Tears came, filling her eyes, and she saw more clearly.

  The smoke on the ground was twisting in the wind and being carried off like sheets jerked from a clothesline. She saw the tops of the trees, knew she had made it near Evergreen Row. She smiled, throwing herself into the last yards, gathering all her energy for her greatest possible speed, then looked straight ahead.

  The last of the ground smoke cleared to reveal ten waiting wolves at the bottom of the first pine of Evergreen Row.

  Chapter Seven

  Fateful Decisions

  This is the end.

  She was pounding the ground, hurtling towards Evergreen Row and the snarling, sickening smiles of the waiting wolves. At their head, somehow, stood the awful captain with the single red eye.

  He had outsmarted and outmaneuvered her. How could she have thought she might escape?

  She made a decision. She would not, did not, slow down. Heather sped toward them, hoping to plow into Redeye with one powerful leap and kick. Rabbits were capable of great force when they struck with their legs at high speed. She had never done it, of course. But she wasn’t about to quit.

  She was seconds away from the gang of wolves. They crowded around the trunk of the first pine, panting, their lolling tongues dripping saliva. As she hurried their way, some tensed and took a few steps back, but Redeye advanced. He stood in front of his soldiers at the edge of the first great evergreen, beneath the drooping branches. The rows of green pines stretched back beyond them, nearly all the way to Seven Mounds. Heather prayed that Picket was safe. There was nothing else she could do for him now.

  The last few yards. A final burst of speed. That single red eye. It became a target, and she, a hurtling arrow. He barked for the wolves to spread out, cut off the possibility of her darting sideways in an attempt to escape. They obeyed at once, fanning out in a wide arc behind Redeye, extending like a giant mouth ready to snap closed on her.

  She readied herself to launch at him, noticing at the last moment the low limbs of the pine above the snarling face of her enemy.

  She coiled, in stride, her powerful legs ready to propel her forward at an even greater speed. The wolves at the flanks closed in on her, but Redeye stood firm. He rose to his full height and drew a long spear from where it lay hidden behind him.

  Too late!

  She launched.

  * * *

  Picket reached Seven Mounds with some difficulty. He had done his best to calculate the quickest route while accounting for the need to cut back and forth as often as possible. As he fled, he had been tortured by the conflict in his mind.

  Should I go back?

  He had slowed a few times but always remembered Heather’s charge, “Don’t look back!” He didn’t know what to do. What would Father say? What would King Jupiter have done? Finally, he decided that, for the moment at least, he would do what Heather asked and trust to her plan. Seven Mounds came into view, an odd, almost-natural looking series of large hills that ran, all seven, in succession.

  Running hard, he crossed between the shorter rise that separated the second and third mound and sprinted into the small, narrow clearing he and Heather knew so well. He removed the broken limbs and brush that disguised the small cave-like opening. He looked from side to side, confused and afraid.

  He slid roughly inside the opening. All was dark. He closed his eyes and sagged onto the cold, damp floor.

  Opening his eyes, he looked around the cave. His eyes had adjusted to the dimness, and the slim opening let in a glowing seam of light. The room was small, with a high ceiling. It could hold maybe five or six more rabbits his size. He heard a faint trickle, like a small stream. As his eyes grew more and more accustomed to the dark, he noticed what looked like another fissure in the rock at the back of the cave wall. There was no light coming through it.

  He crossed back to the entrance and peered out, fear and guilt gnawing at him.

  He hung his head. He didn’t know what to do. He felt as if he was responsible for all that had happened. It was certainly his fault the wolves had found them. “Don’t look back,” she had said. Was that because she knew if he did, he would see her—what? What did she not want him to see? It didn’t take much imagination to know. She had given herself up to save him. He was alive because of her.

  Despair mingled with gratitude within him. Guilt rose in his throat like a gag, and he slumped to the ground, beating the rock floor of the cave. His father had tried to teach him courage, had told countless tales of great rabbits who sacrificed and did brave deeds for those they loved. He knew his Whitson Mariner, Captain Blackstar, and, though only a beginning, the tale of King Jupiter Goodson. He was supposed to be like those very real heroes who had gone before. He was supposed to protect his sister, to never leave her. He was supposed to protect Baby Jacks. He should have run into the danger and done all he could to rescue Jacks, no matter the cost. Hadn’t he promised as much? Instead, he was a cowering, crying rabbit staying safe in a cave. Heather had been the one who acted heroically. Heather, his only sister and dearest friend in the world.

  Will I ever see her again? Will I ever see my Jacks?

  He rose and looked out the cave entrance. He peered down the flat, level stretch of ground running a short distance from the mound to the thick trees straight ahead. The trees and brush were heavy on both sides of the short clearing, and Picket imagined wolves and hawks waiting inside them to strike the moment he left the cave. It was like a tunnel, the overhanging limbs and leaves forming the top, with the roots of the trees curving back toward the path. Trying to ignore the terrors that might lurk on either side of the thick brush, he set his gaze on the trees beyond.

  That way led to Heather, to Jacks and their parents. If any of them were still alive.

  Chapter Eight

  Heather’s Flight

  Heather was flying. She had never put this much energy into anything. All her years of playing Starseek felt like effortless exercise in this moment of extreme action. Her legs stretched out behind her, then rotated slowly over her head as she flipped in midair to present her powerful feet as a weapon.

  The red-eyed wolf stood firm at the base of the pine tree, the low branches brushing his haughty, hideous scar-crossed face. He snarled viciously, extending his spear. Heather hit the ground just short of the wolves, inches beyond the lunging thrust of Redeye’s spear. Like a spring, she shot up, feet barely escaping the claws of the desperate diving wolves.

  Heather struck the low branches of the tree, grabbing on for dear life. The low-hanging limbs were thick and did not snap as she clung to them. They bent wildly with her weight, crashing into Redeye and the nearest wolf soldiers as the others dove in after her. She glanced down to see Redeye’s shocked, furious expression.

  The tree was her only hope of salvation. She clung to it as teeth and spears, swords and claws sought her. The branches, having bent in with her impact, now sprung out with equal force, shoving back the wolves who had waded in to destroy her.

  As the pine tree resumed its natural shape, shaking out its arms like a stretching giant, she held on. The wolves nearest were almost all scattered, but
two of the hysterical soldiers clung on just below her. Heather didn’t hesitate. She leapt into the thick of the tree, dodging swiping blows and snapping teeth as she ascended the pine.

  The two wolves recovered quickly and chased her through the limbs. She calculated as best she could, building momentum as she bounced back and forth between limbs, then ran full speed across a long, sturdy limb. One of the wolves was inches behind her. As the limb bent with their weight, she once again coiled and launched as powerfully as she could. The wolf’s snapping jaws closed on the air where, a moment before, Heather had been.

  She sailed through the air, this time from partway up the giant pine. Beneath her, she saw the wolves reforming and the terrible glare of Captain Redeye. He was shouting orders, and the wolves on the ground were forming up. They were recovering from the surprise she had given them.

  The second pine in Evergreen Row loomed before her. She landed much like she had before, though this time she was more prepared for the impact. She clung on hard, but when the limb snapped back she used the momentum it carried to propel herself up farther into the tree. She did not stop for a moment. She could hear howling and barked orders below. She knew that if she stopped for even a second, she would never see Picket again. Would she anyway? Had he made it? No time for worry now. Every ounce of her concentration was required.

  Once again she bounced back and forth, up and through the limbs, until she landed on a long sturdy branch and darted across it at speed. She coiled to launch and leapt with all her might. She sailed through the air between the pines again, looking down on the scurrying wolves. She saw Redeye pointing at the trees ahead and knew she needed to think fast.

  She landed and again held on, springing into the heights of the tree. She knew she had no chance if she simply scaled to the top. The wolves would easily trap her. She had to keep going. Locating a strong long limb close enough to the next pine, she leapt skyward.

  As she sailed through the air, a spear rose to meet her. She twisted, and the spear narrowly missed her. She turned again, unbalanced, and crashed into the next tree. By inches, she managed to cling to the springing branch as it reformed and launched her into the heights of the tree. She decided to go up higher on this tree and leap to the next from a distance where it would be more difficult for her enemies. As often as she could glance at the scrambling wolves below, she did. It filled her heart with dread. They were already ascending the next tree, and Redeye trotted along beneath her, barking commands and looking wickedly intent.

  With a glance, she saw three of the wolves standing alongside Redeye in the gap between the tree she was in and the next one in Evergreen Row. Her heart skipped as she saw what was in their hands. But it was too late. She coiled and launched.

  She heard the twang of bowstrings as speeding arrows split the air in their flight toward her. She couldn’t do much. Ahead of her, the tree was occupied by three more wolves, who were scurrying to meet her when—if—she landed there. They climbed higher and higher to intercept her. She twisted in the air, trying to move, if only a little bit, from her natural flight.

  Two arrows sailed past, whipping the wind around her, and the third struck her right ear, splitting it at the top. She focused, reached out for the limbs of the next pine. She made contact, and the limb swung low, just beneath the ascending wolves, who growled and bared their teeth. This time, instead of letting the limb spring back and carry her up again, she let go, falling down a few limbs lower, so that she landed beneath the waiting wolves.

  The wolves were on her in a moment. But she had surprised them again. She scampered across the lower limbs and, as quickly as possible, sprang to the ground again.

  The wolves were in disarray now. Many had lost track of her, and some were panting or wounded from the chase. Heather noticed she was cut in several places, not just her split ear, and felt bruised all over. But she knew she couldn’t stop.

  She stole a backward glance and saw that three wolves were chasing her on the ground. One was right on her heels.

  Redeye.

  She was losing energy fast, but she leapt into the next tree, found a footing on a sturdy low limb, and zigzagged up as Redeye lunged for her. He received a face-full of prickly pine but recovered quickly and ran along the ground. His eye never left her.

  One of the other wolves followed her into the tree at great speed. He barreled toward her with all his strength, leaping at her. She dove out of his way at the last moment, and he careened, with a sickening crunch, into the trunk of the tree.

  She recovered quickly, striking out to snag a limb, and sprang back into a full run along the branches. The next tree was the last in Evergreen Row, and, as far as she could tell, there were only two more wolves in close pursuit.

  She ascended and ran along the longest limb that was closest to the next pine, as she had each other time. Redeye ran ahead, anticipating her next move by hurrying to the next tree. But as she ran, full speed, along the limb, she suddenly stopped and dropped like an acorn from the tree.

  She landed behind them.

  As they slid to halt and churned in the dirt to recover, she shot off into the clearing that led to Seven Mounds. She could hear the gurgling brook now closer and knew she had a chance if she could only make it to the third mound.

  Her strength was nearly gone. She had, in fact, gone far beyond anything she had believed herself capable of. But now it truly was the end of her energy. She was wounded and exhausted and had been through what felt like a lifetime’s worth of danger in only a few minutes. She thought of Picket, safe but worried, in the cave. At least, she hoped he was there. If only she could reach him and if only she could fit through the small opening, they might survive. She and her brother. They could figure things out from there. He needs me. Only let Picket be all right.

  She plunged into the woods, Redeye and the other wolf trailing her in. For a moment she thought she saw something in the thicket ahead, but when she looked again, there was nothing. Please don’t be Picket. Please, be in the cave.

  She was finished with diversion, done with subtle maneuvers and clever turns. She only had energy for one final straight run at the cave.

  She came in sight of the third mound through the woods, entered the small tunnel-like clearing, and hurtled towards the cave entrance. She heard the heavy footfalls behind her, felt the instinctual sense that a predator was upon her.

  She only had eyes for the cave entrance, which came into view before her, illuminated in a blast of sunlight breaking through branches that waved in a sudden gust. She stared hard at the cave entrance, hoping, praying, that she would see Picket’s face. But there was no one there. Despair grabbed at her, but she ran on. She would not look back, though the grunting, wheezing wolves felt close enough to reach back and touch. She focused on the cave entrance like it was the only thing in the world. Please, Picket. Please!

  Then she saw something. A face appeared at the entrance.

  Picket!

  It was him. When their eyes met and she knew he was all right, beyond hope a last jolt of energy filled her. She sped toward the cave entrance, putting a short distance between herself and her attackers.

  She slowed for a moment at the small entrance and turned to slide in.

  Rock closed on fur. Panic rose as she found she could not move.

  She was stuck tightly, unable to get into the narrow opening.

  “No!”

  Redeye and the second wolf slowed to a trot, a triumphant sneer forming on the leader’s mouth.

  “Stuck, are we?” Captain Redeye said, glowering even as he panted. The other wolf made to lunge, but Redeye barked a short, insistent order, and the wolf resisted. “Ending this little troublemaker will be my pleasure, soldier. Fall back.” The wolf obeyed and trotted back behind Redeye.

  Picket shouted and pulled and dug at the walls. He was desperate to free her and pull her inside. But he could
not move her.

  Heather was incredulous. It would really end like this? No matter how hard Picket pulled and she struggled, she knew she was truly and finally stuck.

  I’m dead. After all that. Inches from safety.

  * * *

  Picket was beside himself, his moment of exultation turning to terror as he pulled at his sister with all his strength. He would have run out and faced the wolves himself if he could have, but Heather was lodged in the opening, and he could not get out, even to die in a futile effort to protect her. He was stuck as well. Stuck safe.

  It was unbearable.

  He didn’t give up but kept pulling on his exhausted sister, tearing at the rock to break open a path for her. But it was too late.

  * * *

  Heather looked up wearily at Redeye, too exhausted now to think clearly. Was she imagining the faint hint of pity in his eye? She must have been, for when she shook her head, it was gone. He crept upon her with a cruel, gloating sneer.

  “This is the end, little rabbit,” he growled, baring his razor-sharp teeth. “Thank you. The sport was … exhilarating.”

  Heather closed her eyes and whispered, “I love you, Picket,” but just when her eyes had almost closed, she saw a grey blur over Redeye’s left shoulder. Her eyes shot open again. It was a grey rabbit, hurtling towards them with his powerful feet coiled to kick. Father! Can it be?

  Redeye couldn’t see the grey shape, because it sped toward them from his blind side. Surely the wolf behind Redeye had seen it. Heather waited for the powerful kick to land on Redeye, hoped it would come in time, but the rabbit passed the attacking wolf and stretched out his powerful feet and struck her. She felt the terrible blow on her shoulder, and everything went black.

  Chapter Nine

  Salvation

  Picket had seen far more than Heather had.

  He had pulled at her with all his strength, knowing somewhere inside that he could not pull her free but refusing to heed that voice. He had torn at the rock until his nails bled. He tried everything to rip her free and pull her inside the cave, but the one-eyed wolf was upon her, and there was no time left. She had whispered her farewell, and all he could say was, “No! No, no, no!”