We trailed after Tappet at a sprint, breaking off the Golden Path and dodging between buildings and exhibits. The destruction Dreyfus had wrought was everywhere: smashed trees and fences, fires spreading through broken branches and wooden structures. I was thankful that our animal exhibits were all metal and stone and wouldn’t burn, but the trees and fences all around gave off a monstrous heat and plumes of smoke that drove the animals still trapped in the cages mad with fear. They called for me to help them, but Father had taken my keys when he’d locked me in the Snake House.
We followed Tappet down the pyramid to a heavily wooded park at the base, which was dominated by fifty-foot-tall bitter berry trees. The shrubs at the edges of the park had caught fire, and the wind whipped the flames high. We heard a moaning growl and human screams from within the park.
Tappet chirped, “In there!”
Olivia saw them first. “Mum! Dad!” she shouted, and took off. Kenji and I followed her, trying to see where she was headed, but we were too far behind. A roar sounded, and Mala, our two-hundred-pound spectacled bear, appeared before Olivia and swiped at her. Olivia stopped short in time and dodged it. That’s when I saw them. The duke and the duchess were partway up a tree, clinging to the branches for dear life.
“Olivia!” the duke bellowed.
“Darling!” cried the duchess.
She scrambled away from the bear and back toward me. Mala charged her for a few paces and roared. Spectacled bears are mostly vegetarians and wouldn’t think of hurting a human even if they were starving. But Mala foamed and roared and reared up on her hind legs. When Olivia was far enough back, she turned around and refocused herself on the tree the duke and duchess were in. Mala screamed, “Get away from him!” and leaped up on the trunk. She tried to climb to where the duke and duchess were cowering, but all around the base of the tree were stumps from broken branches, and the bear couldn’t get a foothold.
“Run away, Olivia!” the duchess screamed.
“Go!” called the duke.
Mala roared and clawed at the base of the tree. “You get away from him!” she bellowed. She leaped up against the trunk and gained traction with her claws, snapping at the duchess’s feet and pulling off a white leather boot.
“Mala, stop!” I shouted, coming up behind her.
She turned to me and snarled. “Leave me alone, Marlin!”
“Where is Bashtee?” I called to her.
“What are you doing, boy?” the duke shouted at me. “Get Olivia out of here!”
“Bring help!” the duchess shrieked.
I went up closer to the tree. The flame from the shrubs had caught onto the bitter berry trees at the edges, and the smoke was clouding the treetops.
“Is Bashtee up there?” I said to Mala as she chomped at a branch below the duchess’s feet.
“The boy is mad,” the duchess cried. “Olivia, you must run!”
I heard twigs cracking behind me and then Olivia was at my side, Kenji perched on her shoulder. “Marlin will help you, Mother,” she said. “You need to trust him!”
I turned to look at her. She didn’t think I was crazy.
“Please, Marlin,” she begged me.
I nodded and ran to the base of the tree below the bear. “Is Bashtee up there?” I called to Mala, who had climbed up a few feet above my head. She looked down at me and roared, “Go away!” I couldn’t see the top of the tree because of all the smoke, but I knew the only thing that would drive her to this. I grabbed hold of the broken stub of a branch and pulled myself up onto the trunk. There was splintered wood everywhere, but the tree was sticky with sap, and it made my grip stronger. I pulled myself higher until my head was at Mala’s belly. When I reached the level of her face, she snapped at me.
“Marlin, stay away from him!” Her jaws clamped on a branch where my hand had just been. She clawed at me and tore the shoulder of my shirt, drawing blood.
“I will not hurt Bashtee!” I screamed at her. “When you thought he was lost, that he wasn’t your cub, I found him for you. I brought him back for you.”
The bear’s face contorted for an instant in recognition. It was the second I needed to grab hold of the duchess’s bare foot and pull myself up to a higher branch.
“Oh!” she screamed, kicking at me with her other heel.
Mala’s mothering instinct overpowered her again and she swiped at me, barely missing my guts.
“Help him up, Mother!” Olivia screamed furiously from below. The duke grabbed hold of my collar and hoisted me up to the branch where they were teetering.
He lost his balance, and I grabbed his belt. For a moment, I entertained the thought of letting go. It would be a better world if Guiana had one less ravisher. He looked at me fearfully and flailed for support. His fate was in my hands. The animals would be saved, the jungle preserved, and my father avenged.
And, like my father, I would be a murderer.
I pulled the duke back toward the safety of the tree trunk and grabbed the branch above me. I hoisted myself up above the Duke and Duchess of Bradshire but made sure to put a foot on each of their heads for a boost.
“Ow! Watch it!” they cried, and I ascended, smiling.
High up in the tree, through the haze of the smoke, I saw Bashtee. He had climbed far up into the tree to get away from whatever had scared him, but he let me lift him off the branch and tuck him under one arm.
The Bradshires made for excellent ladders on my way down. My boots marked their white clothing brilliantly.
“My baby!” Mala moaned as I handed Bashtee down to her, setting the cub gently on her head. She dropped off the trunk of the tree, picked Bashtee up by the nape of his neck, and trotted off with him through the trees and away from the fire.
The duke and duchess slid to the ground, much less gracefully, and Olivia ran to them. The family pulled together, all crying with relief. Kenji and I surveyed the scene from a respectful distance, but I did overhear Olivia comforting her mother.
“It’s all right,” she said. “We’re with Marlin now.”