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began to scramble up the steep slope.
    When they arrived at the top of the ridge, they could see the cones of the five volcanoes in the distance. A dim rose-colored glow could be spotted over two of the volcanoes. “We’re too far away to see the flames,” Edme said. “But, of course, I only have one eye.”
    “I’ve got two but can’t see any flames. But when we get closer at twilight, I bet we’ll see them.”
    “There are other ridges ahead. I can see them clearly from here,” Edme yipped.
    Faolan had diverted his gaze and was looking straight down. Directly below them he had spotted the river.
“Tine smyorfin,”
he whispered.
    “Huh?” Edme looked at Faolan, whose eyes were trained on the river. “What’s that you said? Sounds like Old Wolf.”
    “What are you talking about?” Faolan asked.
    “That expression,
tine
something.”
    “I said ‘by my marrow,’” Faolan answered.
    “No, you didn’t,” Edme insisted. “You whispered something that sounded very much like Old Wolf. I may just have one eye, but I do have two ears, Faolan.”
    “Well, I was looking down there. See the river.”
    The water was no longer amber but green, green as a wolf’s eyes. But what was more interesting was the scene. In a shallow part of the river, there were two wolves and a large grizzly feeding off the carcass of what appeared to be a moose. The grizzly’s cubs were frolicking on the river-banks. At a short but respectful distance away, ten or so other wolves waited their turn. Periodically, the bear left to regurgitate large chunks of steaming meat for her cubs.
    Faolan was mesmerized by the sight. He had heardthat on rare occasions, wolves and bears shared prey. But he’d been told it was a practice from long ago. He recalled the chieftains saying that the wolves of the Watch kept up many of the old practices.
    “These have to be Watch wolves,” Faolan whispered.
    “Yes, I was thinking the same. I’ve heard they do this. It’s strange, isn’t it?”
    Faolan did not reply. For him, it didn’t seem that strange at all. He was not sure why. Partly, it was because watching these bears took him back to his youngest days as a pup, when he would wait with all the patience he could muster for Thunderheart to regurgitate the meat she had brought back from hunting. The smell of the fresh meat mingled with the juices from Thunderheart’s mouth and gut rushed back to him.
    “You’re thinking about Thunderheart, aren’t you, Faolan?” Edme asked.
    “Yes.” There was a small hitch in his voice. “I wish we could go down and meet these wolves.”
    “We can’t, Faolan. The Fengo said we must go to that place, the Hot Gates, to be met and properly led into the Ring of Sacred Volcanoes.”
    “I wonder how we’ll even knowwhat the Hot Gates look like. Such a strange name.”
    “I don’t know. Maybe they’re little volcanoes that lead into the Ring,” Edme replied. “Look, Faolan, there’s an outcropping down below and downwind from the bears. We could watch the wolves from there. They’d never know.”
    Faolan hesitated, but the idea was irresistible. It was as if his marrow were straining to be near that mother bear and her cubs. He could catch reassuring smells on the breezes when she regurgitated meat for her cubs. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to watch just a bit longer from a safe distance downwind.
    By the time Faolan and Edme reached the outcrop, the wolves had left the moose carcass. The grizzly mom and her two cubs had stayed on the banks of the river.
    “Her den must be near here. Bears like to have summer dens near a river. Good for fishing,” Faolan said.
    “Those cubs are so cute. Just little fur balls! Look how playful they are.”
    It took Faolan back. How much fun he had had with Thunderheart. He could picture himself so clearly, riding atop her shoulders or scampering afterher when they hunted for roots in the early spring. How he had hatedthe bitter roots they dug at first. Now he