Page 53 of Prince of the Northwest Forest
Nah. I get dressed in the tiny tent, which must look from the outside like I’m wrestling a bear cub under a sheet, then put on my boots and step outside.
Kalle’s security fox is curled up ten feet from us under a tree, watching me carefully, while his elk is missing—must be monitoring wherever Kalle went.
I stuff my sleeping bag into its sack and fold and roll up Kalle’s blanket, noting its fine weave. He returns while I’m taking down the tent, and he helps me to pack it up, then accepts the granola bar that I hand him.
I find a handy bush to do my business, then use some water from my bottle to wash my face and hands. I check my texts—pleased that I have service—and send a quick one to Daryl letting him know I’m fine but am conserving my phone’s battery. Then I power down my phone.
“What I wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee,” I say, drinking water from my metal cup and eating my own granola bar.
Kalle sighs. “That sounds really good.”
“I should’ve brought some. Even cold instant coffee would be better than nothing.” I sigh. “But I guess this is roughing it.”
“I’ll see what I can find us.” I have no idea what he’s talking about, but this is his realm, so maybe he knows a barista. Besides me, that is.
“Should we get a move on?” I ask. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, we should keep going.”
We hoist our bags onto our shoulders and start along the path.
The morning’s walk first takes us along a ridge where the forest is spread out before us, Mount Pátu looming in the distance and the ice-capped peaks of Icedonia still seeming far away. But then we go down in elevation, and we step into a region that was demolished during Mount Pátu’s last eruption.
One moment, we’re in the forest, with green conifers and birds chirping, and the next, it’s like we’ve stepped onto another planet. Thick ash lies in piles everywhere. There are pumice outcroppings and no trees. It’s just … gray.
“Wow,” I say, looking around at the devastation. “There isn’t even wood left from the trees. It’s like every living thing was vaporized.”
Kalle looks very grave. “That’s what happens with a volcanic blast. Thousands of mammals, fish, and birds were killed here.”
“No wonder your alliance with the Fire Realm is so important.”
He nods.
We follow his fox through the desolate landscape. A lump forms in my throat as I think about the destruction.
We walk around a particularly large pile of rocks, and behind it, in the shade, is a small purple flower. “Hey,” I say, pointing. “New growth.” A soaring feeling of hope warms me. The land may yet regenerate.
“Lupine. They are food for pocket gophers,” Kalle says. His expression turns strange, like he is putting something together, his brows furrowed. He scratches his forehead.
“What is it?” I ask, tilting my head.
“I just got an idea.”
Now we’re headed steeply downhill, which is hard on my knees. I’m grateful to be getting out of this blast zone, though. “Care to share with the class?”
“What class?” Kalle asks.
“It’s just an expression. All I mean is, want to let me know what you’re thinking?”
“I was wondering if bringing in gophers could help this area. My job at the Renversé Hotel was to talk them into going elsewhere. Maybe this is a place they can go.” He pauses. “I think they might be scared, though.”
“You think that the gophers could dig up the soil here?”
“And mix it with the ash, yeah. Plus …” He rubs his face. “I don’t want to get into it, but their digestive tracts—which they tell me about in great detail—leave seeds behind, along with spores and fungi.” He blows out a breath. “They can also bring seeds along in their claws or fur. I’m wondering if I can persuade the gophers to help fix some of this devastation that the Fire Realm brought onto our lands. We could just capture them andmove them, but we’d get better buy-in from them if we let them know what we were asking them to do.”
“Even more reason to get your ability to communicate with them back.”
Chapter Fifteen
