Yudi was woken by a palm gently placed on his shoulder and a soft whisper in his ear. “Yudi . . .”
He came awake at once, alert. He could just make out the shape of Kula’s face as his sister bent over him. Behind Kula, Saha was placing a hand on Arrow’s shoulder and had just started to whisper, “Arr—” when Arrow sat up, awake and instantly alert.
“Kula?” Yudi asked. He already knew something was wrong from the way Kula and Saha were waking up their siblings.
Kula glanced back at her twin brother. Saha was about to wake up Brum. Kula looked at Yudi again and jerked her head toward the window. Yudi understood: Talk outside.
Saha was still trying to wake up Brum. “Brum . . .” he whispered directly into Brum’s ear, hitting his sleeping sister on the shoulder with the side of his hand to avoid making any sound. Brum continued sleeping. Saha looked at his siblings and made a helpless gesture.
Kula kicked Brum’s foot lightly. Nothing.
Arrow bent down and pinched Brum’s arm.
Kula and Saha both put their mouths to Brum’s ears and whispered urgently, “Brum!”
Through it all, Brum continued sleeping.
All three of them turned and looked at their eldest sibling.
Yudi went over to his sleeping sister. He bent down and put his palm on Brum’s chest firmly and whispered over Brum’s face, “Brum.”
Brum opened her eyes and grasped Yudi’s hand. “Yudi? Safe?”
Yudi put his finger on his lips, making a shush gesture.
Brum glanced around, saw her other siblings awake, and nodded her head vigorously to show she understood.
Yudi gestured toward the window.
All five of them climbed out the window and left the hut.
As they walked across the clearing, Arrow leading the group as always, Kula and Saha explained the danger. “Fire,” they whispered.
Yudi nodded. He could smell the smoke—they all could. They could also see in the distance, just becoming visible now, a faint reddish glow that could be nothing else. He guessed that it was what their parents would call a “day’s walk” from the hermitage, but for fire itself, that distance meant nothing. It could be here in the hermitage within the hour, if the wind blew this way. He knew this instinctively, even though he had never actually seen a forest fire or been told about them. He had seen a fire up close and knew it could kill and destroy everything it touched. The thought of that destructive energy consuming his family’s house and the houses of the other priests of the hermitage was not a happy one. His little face set itself in a grim expression as he listened to what the twins had to say.
He looked at the jungle. Not having their ability to see in the dark, he could only make out the dense jungle and the general outlines of the trees, with some upper foliage tinged by starlight. But as they grew closer to the jungle itself, he began to make out the gleaming silvery eyes of animals in the darkness. He did not slow his step, but he felt somewhat troubled by the sight of so many pairs of eyes. It was not normal to see so many, and anything not normal was to be treated with suspicion, his instincts warned him.
Brum must have also sensed the same thing because her stocky little shape stopped at once. Her fists rose up. “Animals! Brum fight animals!”
Kula touched her shoulder, reassuring her. “Friends,” Kula said. “No hurt.”
Brum reluctantly lowered her fists.
They entered the canopy of trees and were surrounded by the jungle.
As Yudi’s eyes adapted to the darkness, he began to make out the faint outlines of creatures all around. There were more than he had ever seen before, predators and prey alike, all gathered together, none showing any aggression toward each other. He could smell them too, their fur and sweat and urine and excrement.
Brum wrinkled her nose, rubbing it hard to try to get rid of the stink. “Ugh. Smell!” Brum said.
“Why animals here?” Yudi asked Kula.
“Fire make animals run,” Kula said. “Fire all around. Big circle.” She gestured with her hands. “Animals come here. To Krushan. Ask for help.”
“From us?” Yudi asked, incredulous. “How we help animals?”
“Fight!” Brum said, rubbing her hands together. “Brum fight fire!”
“Fire burn Brum,” Arrow said scornfully.
Brum glared at Arrow. “Brum fight fire.”
“Can’t fight fire,” Yudi said. He looked around at all the animals. He could see them now, looking at him, their large soulful eyes, their snouts, their furry faces, their lowered tails. “Krushan can’t fight fire.”
“Not fire,” Kula said. “Soldiers. Bad soldiers come. Kill Krushan. Kill father, mothers.”
Yudi caught his breath. “Where?”
Kula made the same circling gesture again. “Everywhere. Coming fast. Many bad soldiers.”
Brum slapped her own chest. “Brum. Fight. Soldiers.”
For once, nobody corrected her.
Brum looked around at her siblings, surprised. “Brum! Fight! Soldiers!” she repeated, waiting to be corrected.
Arrow’s dark eyes gleamed. “Arrow fight soldiers.”
Kula and Saha said together, “Kula-Saha fight soldiers.”
Yudi nodded grimly. “Krushan fight soldiers. Protect father, mothers, hermitage.”
Brum grinned, her large white teeth shining in the darkness.