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Star Wolf
187550759
Author Kathryn Lasky
Publication date January 1, 2013
Publication Order
Preceded by
Spirit Wolf
Followed by
The Horses of the Dawn series

Star Wolf is the sixth and final book in the Wolves of the Beyond series. It was released on January 1st, 2013.

Preview

A new land awaits the wolves of the Beyond.

A great cold and a powerful earthquake have shattered the Beyond forever, and the wolves must find a new home in order to survive. Their only hope lies in what they call the Distant Blue, a faint haze they can make out beyond the frozen sea.

Once an outcast, Faolan has spent a lifetime proving that he can be a leader. But as he steps out onto the narrow Ice Bridge the wolves will follow to the Distant Blue, Faolan may be leading his friends into terrible danger. The Distant Blue could save the wolves, or it could be another broken land. And the wolves will face jagged ice, howling winds, and unknown threats from the deep just to get there. Can the refugees work together to reach their new home? Or will Faolan and the last remaining wolves of the Beyond be lost forever?

Plot

The story begins with the earthquake survivors, Faolan, Edme, Gwynneth, Mhairie, Dearlea, The Whistler, Banja, Caila, Katria, AirmeadAbban, Myrrglosch, Maudie,  Toby and Burney, looking back at the Beyond for the final time as they step onto The Ice Bridge. Faolan worries about crossing the sea, crossing obstacles on the bridge, and worst of all losing a cub or pup, but he finally calls the rest of the brigade to move forward, and not look back again. While Myrr and Edme follow behind, Myrr hopes never to return to the land where his parents abandoned him, but Edme and the others think back wistfully. To her dismay, she spots a hump on the bridge. Three days later, Heep and his rout come across the Ice Bridge and Heep detects Caila's and Faolan's scents, much to his fury, and vows to kill them both and recapture Abban.

The brigade discovers pressure ridges for the first time, and are forced to climb over four of them in three days. All at once, a powerful wind comes, and Abban is thrown from the bridge into the sea. Faolan is frozen in terror, and Caila attempts to leap in after him, but is stopped by her adopted daughters. The brigade is convinced Abban is lost, except Gwynneth, who dives toward the crack he fell through. Meanwhile, Abban sees a number of strange creatures under the sea, including a large beast with a sword attached to its head, which pushes him up so Gwynneth can grab him. However, Abban can no longer think about anything save for his experience underwater, and only speaks in strange rhymes. Gwynneth brings him back to Caila, who desperately attends to him and tries to convince herself that her son is perfectly fine. The creatures pass that day moving cautiously, with the pups and cubs attended to, and Faolan looking out for the slightest change in the wind. When Edme hears him speak Old Wolf, she realizes it might be familiar to her, and might be connected to the twisted femur she carries and the pain in her own leg. Faolan suddenly realizes she senses his gyre souls somehow. He also senses that she might be some sort of old soul as well.

That night, Faolan and Edme take the first watch while the others sleep. Faolan finds himself doubting his conviction that the Ice Bridge was the path for them, because of the pressure ridges. Edme assures him it wasn't his fault, but Faolan takes responsibility for believing it was smooth. They talk for a while, before the Whistler and Airmead come to take over the watch. Faolan reports that there'll be more ridges to cross tomorrow, and the Whistler assures him that they'll get there. Faolan looks up at the Sark's memory jug constellation, and thinks about how the she had died, making him and Gwynneth as shattered as the shards of her memory jugs. Edme then gets up to talk to Faolan, and he notes in his head about how the pain in her hip was changing how she walked. They talk about how to get over the ice bridge without any more of them ending up in the sea like Abban. While resting, Faolan gets an idea and forms a new byrrgis of sorts to protect the young ones from the wind, having all the wolves gather up and walk with the cubs and pups in the center. They are interrupted by a procession of strange creatures passing through a channel in the ice. Gwynneth arrives and explains that they are narwhales, and that she thinks Abban saw them under the sea. The wolves are stunned and horrified, and Gwynneth explains that the narwhales pushed him up to the surface. The three creatures look out at the mysterious sea animals.

While Gwynneth watches the new byrrgis, she thinks how awkward it looks, and is pained to realize how much of the old world has been lost. She also begins to notice that her vision is dimming, possibly due to scouting too early on the Crystal Plain before sunset. The brigade is stopped by a pressure ridge riddled with treacherous cracking ice. Faolan gets an idea to cross with two adults on each side of a pup, with himself and Edme taking Myrr over first. The journey reminds Myrr of when his own parents were still with him, and as a gust of wind pushes them over, he clings to his adopted parents. Fortunately, they land in a deep snowbank on the far side of the ridge. Gwynneth flies in from above, but loses her focus and crashes. Indignant and furious, she shouts her denial at every wolf who brings it up, stunning Faolan. The silver leader volunteers to climb back over and advise the rest of the brigade, refusing Gwynneth's offer to fly over.

The entire group safely makes it over the ridge and settles down for the night. While keeping watch, Dearlea and Mhairie discuss the possibility of crossing the sea ice to avoid pressure ridges. The conversation turns to place names, and Dearlea becomes excited about the possibility of renaming the Distant Blue. Suddenly, she spots Abban wandering out of the den, sleepwalking. The two are hesitant to wake him in case he turns on them. They stand still and watch him wander by, speaking in rhymes. Faolan arrives and guides him back to the den without waking him, asking his sisters not to tell anyone. He develops a strange theory that Abban's mind is somewhere else. Edme joins in and the two are left to themselves. Faolan points out a new constellation shaped like a narwhale, and asks her about traveling on the Frozen Sea. Edme brings up the dangers of leads and getting lost. Faolan realizes they can follow the Narwhale's tusk to the Distant Blue. When he mentions Gwynneth, Edme believes he is not ready to admit she is going blind. Faolan explains that Abban can sense leads before they open, elaborating on his theory that Abban's mind is trapped in the sea. He adds that Abban kept sleep-talking about a beast called Old Tooth, who would guide them on the sea. Edme is stunned into silence, but still refuses to leave the bridge. Gwynneth suddenly interrupts them with two bald eagles.

The eagles warn the brigade about Heep. Gwynneth introduces them as Eelon and Zanouche, old friends of hers. They then explain how they had left their home after the earthquake struck. Faolan asks them if crossing the Frozen Sea on the ice would be possible, and the newcomers agree that they could make it. The silver wolf helps Gwynneth to study the stars of the Narwhale and how to navigate by them. Gwynneth comments on Faolan's navigation abilities, making him think of his past life as Fionula. The two creatures finally acknowledge Gwynneth's failing eyesight. The Masked Owl tells him that she can still scout, and as she flies off, Faolan takes a fallen feather from her tail and leaves it beside Edme's bone.

Edme notices the feather and wonders why Faolan left the gift for her. She watches her old friend while he sleeps, aware of some sort of ancient soul inside him. Hoping to crack the mystery, Edme takes her bone and uses her inner eye to help her read the Old Wolf carving on it. Though her hip hurts immensely, she is able to see Fengo talking to her and calling her Stormfast while she lies dying. Edme awakes from the vision and realizes Faolan will soon understand where the bone came from.

Traveling becomes difficult for the brigade, forcing them to head out onto the sea. Edme is frightened of leaving the bridge behind, though no one knows why. Eelon catches a seal, which he revealed was with Abban's help, and a family of puffins fly up, with Abban saying he met them as well. The puffins introduce themselves as Dumpster, Dumpkin, and their daughter Dumpette, and quickly prove to be not very bright. Despite this, the puffins volunteer to fish for the creatures, who have been living on nothing but lemmings and other rodents. After this, the animals develop a routine of traveling on the Ice Bridge during the day and the Frozen Sea at night. One morning while the others sleep, Dearlea asks Mhairie how different the Distant Blue will be to everything they knew. The two wolves worry about how much of their old lives will be carried over. Dearlea worries that the stories they used to tell will be forgotten, and wonders what will happen if they do.

Zanouche flies back east and spots Heep's rout sheltering on the bridge. She watches Heep climb onto a ridge and howl his fury against Caila and Faolan. Rags, one of the outclanners, becomes aware of how insane his leader has become as he watches Heep howl, and he realizes Heep will lead all of them to their deaths. Meanwhile, Zanouche wonders if she might be able to kill Heep, but worries that another crazy leader will rise to power. Zanouche remembers seeing Faolan as a pup with Thunderheart, sensing something strange about him, and that Eelon had flown over him on his tummfraw, but likewise sensed something about him and not eaten him. Zanouche wonders if it is right for her and her mate to decide who goes into the Distant Blue.

Soon, an ice storm rolls in, and the puffins are the first to sense it. The creatures are trapped inside a snow den for four days, terrified the wet weather might melt the bridge. When the ice finally does snap, Edme is horrified to discover that the Ice Bridge might break apart. The others try to calm her down. As the storm rages on, Abban is caught giving lochinvyrr to a fish the puffins brought him, making the others realize his bond with the sea. The gale finally clears enough to allow traveling. Faolan wonders about Edme's stubborn determination to stay on the bridge. He spots the brightest star in the constellation of Beezar's stumbling paw, and both he and Edme remember that it used to be called Kilyric. The two wolves realize they can use it to get back to the bridge, and show Gwynneth their discovery. Gwynneth and Edme realize Faolan has an uncanny connection to the stars, and Edme makes him promise to return to the bridge at dawn. Overhearing their story of Kilyric blinking when Beezar stumbles, Dearlea becomes inspired to create a song. Mhairie hears her sister and advises her to keep her mind on their destination, but Dearlea is still frightened of the unknown.

Days later, the animals press on until Abban has a seizure. Faolan aids him by pushing Edme's bone in his mouth to prevent him biting his tongue. The cause of the pup's fit is revealed when Faolan feels the ice cracking and notices Old Tooth, the narwhale, coming to urge them back to the bridge. The group narrowly makes it as a large lead opens up. As she runs, Edme realizes that she has a gyre soul she is yet to meet on the Ice Bridge. The brigade is interrupted when Maudie falls in the sea. Edme swims in to rescue her, finding the pup lifted by two beluga whales. Old Tooth guides them to solid ice so Maudie and Edme can climb out. The other animals notice that neither wolf came back mad, and Maudie eagerly tells her mother about her experience in the sea. Myrr asks her if the belugas' skin felt like mossflowers on a summer night, and Edme becomes uncharacteristically angry with him, shouting at him that none of the pups have ever seen mossflowers. When Myrr defends himself by saying he imagined it, Edme seethes over his imagination. Faolan talks to her in private, thanking her for rescuing Maudie, then gently tells her she should comfort Myrr. She tells him her worries overwhelmed her because the young ones seem too adventurous. Faolan tells her that their brigade has become a new clan. That night, Edme returns to Myrr in their den, telling him she was too harsh. Myrr blames the power of imagination because that was what made his parents abandon him. Edme reassures him that imagination is a good thing. Myrr shares his private worry that Edme will abandon him one day if he does something bad. The one-eyed wolf tells her adopted son that will never happen, and they are bound by some form of kinship she calls "spirit fast".

Over the next few days, the early spring ice proves too treacherous to return to the sea, and the brigade travels on the bridge. One night, Edme finds Faolan wondering about life under the sea, and they spot a group of belugas. Abban sees a beluga with clawmarks on it, and cries out that Heep made them. Zanouche flies in and reports that the rout is quickly approaching via an ice tongue, formed underneath the bridge, and so were hidden from the eagles. Caila tells them desperately that Heep is mad and seeks to kill her and Abban. Thinking of a solution to escape them and cross the melting ice, Faolan suddenly remembers a bone he carved as the first Fengo, that shows wolves wambling, or leaping between ice floes. The others worry about the young ones, and Abban tells them he can swim, and Caila wonders how as she never gave him lessons. The eagles volunteer to carry Myrr and Maudie, and Faolan shows the other wolves how wambling is done. Abban promises that the newly arrived Old Tooth will lead the way.

Rags spies on the brigade and is astonished to see wolves leaping from one ice floe to the next, and Abban swimming in the ocean. He wonders if swimming would be worse than living with Heep, who has dreams of becoming the wolf with the most power in the new land. Rags remembers how his vain, elderly mother had abandoned him, and he went from Milk Giver to Milk Giver until The Sark of the Slough found him and brought him to another Milk Giver, and helped her name him after a heroic wolf called Ragmore. Only hours later, his third Milk Giver was killed by a wolverine and Rags fled to the Outermost, fending for himself from then on. For years afterward, his memories of the Beyond stayed buried, until the journey across the Ice Bridge when a longing for something decent began to stir in him. He wonders if there is any hope for an outclanner in the new land.

Faolan and his brigade continue their journey across the melting sea. While wambling, Faolan wants to name the other stars, besides Kilyric, in Beezar's paw and in the Narwhale constellation. He thinks there must be names for the new features of the Distant Blue. Dearlea listens to the belugas, feeling like they are trying to communicate, and thinks of a song to recall the journey across the sea. One night, Caila sees the shadow of Heep's tail, along with other outclanners, and so the group remains on the ice. But when the ice floes become smaller, the group decides to go back to the bridge. Old Tooth guides them back to where they need to go. Zanouche reports when she heard Heep talking about killing Caila before Abban's eyes, with her and Eelon declaring they protect the others because they care about them. They discuss how Heep is too dangerous to be left alive. Faolan reports that the end of the bridge is not far. Edme asks what they will call the Distant Blue as they get closer to it, even though she and Faolan both like the original name.

Back on the bridge, the creatures discover that the ice is soft and melting. They decide to travel quickly and sleep half as long, with Banja and the grizzlies carrying the pups, and Abban starts to fish for cod to give them energy. As the Distant Blue draws nearer, Maudie rides on Eelon and wonders what the new land will be like. She wonders about the animals, hoping they will be like her and her friends, and also that there will be no gnaw wolves. Gwynneth, looking at Maudie, wonders who her father was.

Months later, the brigade is nearing the end of the bridge when it splits into two forks. Edme insists that she travel the north one and Faolan the south. Watching them leave, the Whistler becomes aware that the two wolves are setting off on their own personal journeys, and that they are somehow old souls. He is struck by a thought that time is folding, with the wolves of the Beyond returning to their ancestral home, and also realizes the love that exists between the two wolves. Meanwhile, Edme struggles, with a painful femur, toward the place where she now knows she died one thousand years before. The one-eyed wolf realizes that her femur pain is a relic from her old life, that pained her as she aged and caused her too much difficulty on the Ice March, along with her advanced age, and she chose to be left behind. Finally, she reaches the rock she died on and receives a vision of Fengo pleading with her to rally, discovering her old identity: Stormfast, Fengo's mate.

At the same time, Fengo grants Faolan a vision of when he returned to the Ice Bridge to find Stormfast's bones with Grank's help. He picks the twisted femur to carve and bring back to the Cave Before Time, and his last gyre finally understands what the bone means to him. Faolan wakes to find himself standing over the sleeping Edme, and speaks her previous name. Edme too awakens, revealing that her leg no longer hurts, and likewise calls him Fengo. She remembers Stormfast's last promise to him: that he would not be alone, and now it has come true. Faolan asks her if they could become mates again in their new lives. Edme agrees and the two take their vows, with the constellation of the Sark's memory jug rising as if for the occasion.

Meanwhile, Abban sneaks down to the ice to escape his mother's clutches for a moment. The young pup recalls how lucky he was to have fallen into the sea, and how well he seemed to fit in. He wonders why he speaks in rhymes, as his words sound normal in his mind. While preparing to eat capelin delivered by the puffins, Abban is abducted by Heep and one of his wolves, Bevan. The puffins call the alarm and fly back to camp to alert the wolves. Dumpette darts in, gibbering in distress, right as Caila realizes her pup is missing. The Whistler forces the frightened puffin to explain what happened. Dumpette describes a theory that Heep and his rout sneaked up via a hidden ice tongue, displaying awesome intelligence to explain how it happened. She explains to the stunned creatures that with all the ice melting and the water carving tunnels into the ice tongue, it could make the perfect secret lair.

While Faolan and Edme make the journey back to camp, they find a collection of leaf-like objects on the ice. They examine them more closely, and find out they might be cocoons. Soon enough, a moth crawls out of one, saying "At last!" The wolves are confused until the moth explains that after fourteen years, she can finally fly. Her name is revealed to be Bells as more moths and woolly bear caterpillars emerge. Bells reveals that after only one season of flying, she will die - shocking the wolves with how calmly she speaks. The moths go on to explain their life cycle. Bells reveals that they always stop on the Ice Bridge to hibernate and create cocoons, and crawl to the Distant Blue - calling it the Great West - to feed, explaining that it is just a bit beyond Kilyric.

Faolan and Edme return to camp to find that Abban has been kidnapped, and Caila and Banja ran off to rescue him. Airmead reveals a plan she concocted: form a slink melf to swim up to the ice tongue and save Abban. The wolves, the young bears, the eagles, and Dumpette leave at moonset, with Gwynneth minding the pups, and explore the ice tongue for any tunnels that might lead to Abban's location.

Rags hides alone in one of the tunnels on the ice tongue, having finally left the rout in secret and lagging behind to conceal himself from Faolan, and listening to the voices of the rout nearby and unable to understand why they are remaining. All at once, he finds himself cornered by a furious Caila and Banja. They demand to know where Abban is, and Rags is shocked to find Heep kidnapped him. Rags tells the truth, that he struck out on his own and was cursed by Heep. Caila asks him why, and Rags admits his urges for something better. The outclanner finally realizes why Heep stayed above him. At the same time, Abban wonders what he could have done to avoid being snatched. The young pup hears his father cursing his mother, and realizes he was taken to trap her. Meanwhile, Heep struggles to smell the other wolves on the ice tongue. He reflects on how he captured the dazed Caila in the Beyond, and originally planned to kill and eat her before recognizing her as a famous turning guard and becoming her mate, before she began to defy him and ultimately left. The yellow wolf finally picks out her scent, and prepares to lay his trap. Under the Ice Bridge, the slink melf continues on its mission, now with another objective: kill all outclanners.

Heep drags Abban out onto the ice and orders him to yip for milk, despite being weaned. Caila hears the noise and races off to get to her son, facing the threat of death to be with him. The outclanners emerge to catch them both, and at the same time, the brigade attacks. After one of his wolves is sent over the edge, Heep becomes frightened of the water as Abban escapes and taunts him from the edge. The brigade use the water to their advantage and drive the outclanners toward it. At one point, seeing Heep distracted, Caila rips his tail off. Infuriated, Heep attacks the nearest wolf, who happens to be Banja, and rips her throat out. The outclanners give up and flee, leaving the red wolf dying on the tongue. Edme comforts her in her last moments, recalling her promise she made long ago to care for Maudie if anything happened to Banja. With her last breath, Banja places her trust in Edme. Edme whispers a prayer for Banja before they leave.

Later that morning, Gwynneth minds Myrr, Maudie, and Abban, recovered by the eagles, while they wait for the others to return. Myrr spots the creatures first, while Gwynneth strains to make them out, but Maudie notices her mother is missing. Maudie runs up to greet Edme, asking about Banja. Edme tells Maudie about how her mother died, and the young pup is grief-stricken. The rest of the brigade comforts her, with Toby and Burney telling her how they lost their mother, but the other animals take care of them and love them. Edme tells Maudie that every night, they will howl the morriah to help Banja climb the star ladder, but Maudie asks what will happen if the star ladder does not exist that far west. The other wolves are startled to hear her speak their fears aloud, but Faolan reminds them of the chieftain who fell off the star ladder and that he came from the Distant Blue. That night, the morriah begins with the Whistler and Dearlea howling the verses. The Whistler admires Dearlea's voice and her ability to write songs from the top of her head, wondering if he could be falling in love. Maudie suddenly spots something in the sky, and Edme recognizes it as Bells. The moth arrives and offers her condolences to Maudie. The orphaned pup strikes up a friendship with the moth, who warns them about the melting ice and promises to lead them to the Distant Blue. While flying behind Bells, Gwynneth becomes aware that while her vision has finally stopped worsening, her hearing has become extraordinary and she can even hear Bells' wings beating.

On their final night on the Ice Bridge, the creatures are surprised and surrounded by Heep and the remains of his rout. Myrr, in a fit of desperation and not wanting to lose Edme, jumps at the torn-off base of Heep's tail. While the rout is thus distracted, the brigade fight back. Rags, seeing Mhairie, Dearlea, and Caila fight together, joins the fray out of nowhere and runs beside the little family. The ice begins to crack and the bridge shatters, sending the wolves and bears plunging into the ocean. Old Tooth swims by and impales Heep with his tusk, finally ending the yellow wolf's life. His pod of narwhales arrive to help the struggling brigade and protect them from leopard seals and sharks. Caila and her adopted daughters help the panicking Rags swim. Old Tooth communicates to Abban that he wants the brigade to climb on their backs, so they can carry them to the Distant Blue. For one last time, they look back, just in time to see the Ice Bridge crumbling into the sea.

The narwhales carry the survivors for the last leg of their journey, and at last they come into sight of the Distant Blue. To their amazement, it is a green land in full spring. As they draw nearer to their new home, Dearlea looks back on their long journey. Caila asks her to sing, and she composes a song about the trek. They arrive on a beach, and Abban returns to thank the narwhales. The other creatures follow him, and Abban instructs them to thank the whales quickly before the tide goes out. They lick the narwhales' foreheads to express their thanks, and Abban watches as the whales leave. The young pup reflects on how falling into the sea had given him a second life - a sea creature, wondering how he could be so lucky. As night falls, Edme gathers the animals to say goodbye to the dying Bells, who is lying on the beach with Maudie watching closely. Bells recalls how happy she was that she finally got to fly before she passes on. The creatures spot the star ladder rising and Banja climbing up with Bells flying ahead of her.

The next morning, Faolan leaves camp to scout out the land, finding strange plants and signs of what he remembers to be bison, remembering how the wolves of the Distant Blue hunted them and making up his mind to do the same. As he climbs above a valley, he spots a herd of other large animals, and one of them climbs up to stand opposite him. Faolan recalls that these are horses, and this one seems to recognize him. Faolan acknowledges that he is back, and the horse whinnies, "The Star Wolf is back!"

  

Excerpt

(Excerpt from Chapter 2: A Slow Horror)

The pressure ridges did, however, offer two benefits: First, they seemed to abound with lemmings. So for the time being, finding food was not a problem. Second, the ridges offered some shelter from the wind when they made camp to sleep. Now, as the sun broke behind them, casting a pink radiance over the frozen landscape, the way ahead looked clear. Faolan tipped his head up and caught sight of Gwynneth flying.

“How does it look?” he howled. Gwynneth squinted into the paling sky ahead.

“I… I…” She hesitated before answering. “I think it looks fairly smooth.” Her gizzard clenched slightly.

“Just fairly?” Faolan asked.

“Uh…”

There was a blast of wind that cut through the air like a scimitar. Never had Faolan felt such force: It was as if the fur were being peeled from his back. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a small furry pup staggering against the wind. It was Abban! The wind had pushed him to the rim of the Ice Bridge, where he teetered and clung with all his might. And still his paws were slipping.

Faolan’s worst anxiety had caught up with him, and a real, living nightmare was unfolding before his eyes. Faolan tried to claw his way toward Abban, but the wind felt like a boulder crushing against him. A terrible squeal unfurled over the Frozen Sea, searing the air, and the little pup spiraled down toward a dark pool in the ice below the bridge.

“ABBAN!” his mother howled.

Gwynneth hurled herself into a steep banking turn, trying to intercept the falling pup.

Great Glaux. She spied the pup just as he dropped into the dark pool of water.

“He’s gone!” Gwynneth shreed. The Masked Owl was so shocked that her own wings began to lock.

You can’t go yeep! You can’t go yeep! You old fool. Faolan silently cursed his oldest friend. Not Now. But what is she to do? He felt his own marrow seize up. They stood at the edge of the bridge, locked with fear as they peered down into the channel of water that had been pried open by the sea and widened into a pool. The green water glinted darkly, like a liquid eye in the middle of the ice. A howl withered in Caila’s throat. She seemed to be gasping for the air that her drowning son could not breath. Gwynneth had recovered and was skimming close to the surface, looking for any sign of the pup.

How long can he last underwater? Faolan felt his own lungs squeeze together. He had clamped his mouth shut and forgotten to breathe.

“No, Caila!” he screamed with his first breath as he realized that she was about to leap in. Dearlea and Mhairie must have seen it a second before he did, because they both pounced on her and wrestled her to the ground and held her so she would not leap into the sea after her son. The wind had carried Abban directly into the sea, but it had shifted. If Caila leaped, she would be smashed onto the ice below. From this height, on the steepest section of the bridge, every bone in her body would be broken.

Caila howled in despair. Too much time had passed with Abban under the water. Her pup could not be alive.

Chapters

  • Ahhoooooo Garrooo!
  1. Ice Legs
  2. A Slow Horror
  3. Go Forth!
  4. Don't Blame the Blue
  5. The Fortress
  6. A Pup Sleepwalks
  7. Eagles
  8. The Intimations of Edme
  9. Onto the Sea and Back
  10. Howls of a Mad Wolf
  11. Starsight
  12. Spirit Fast
  13. "Abide and He Shall Guide!"
  14. A Dim Memory Comes Back
  15. Wambling
  16.  Ice Rot
  17. Old Wolves in New Pelts
  18. The Abduction of Abban
  19. "This Is My Story"
  20. Silence and Ice
  21. On the Tongue
  22. The Yips of Abban
  23. "How Will She Find Her Way?"
  24. The Morriah
  25. The Fortress in the Sea 
  26. The Distant Blue Draws Near
  • Epilogue

Characters

Trivia

  • The book takes place in The Beyond for a short time but then the rest of the book takes place on their way to the Distant Blue, and in the ending a very brief moment in the Distant Blue.
  • There has been a lot of controversy over this book, as Edme is mistakenly described as gray, and is in fact gray on the cover. However, this has been confirmed to be a mistake: "I think a copy editing mistake was made. But really it was my fault and not the editor's. In my mind Edme is a sort of russet colour" - Quote from Kathryn Lasky in an email reply.
  • Maudie is mistakenly called reddish.
  • In chapters 1 and 7, it is implied that Edme was a malcadh born, and also in chapter 7, Banja is not listed as a malcadh along with Faolan and the Whistler. Edme's maiming is explained later, at the end of the chapter, and Banja is called a gnaw wolf in chapter 16.

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