Книга - TWILIGHT

TWILIGHT
Erin Hunter


In the exciting second Warriors story arc, the wild cats of the forest have lived in peace and harmony for many moons—but new prophecies from their warrior ancestors speak of a mysterious destiny and grave danger for the clans. The penultimate title in this thrilling feline fantasy adventure.Before there is peace, blood will spill blood…New territory brings new troubles for the fierce cats of the warrior Clans, who are still uncovering the secrets of their new home around the lake. Dangers they have never faced before are lurking in the twilight shadows, and former allies are acting strangely hostile.As divisions between the Clans grow deeper, Firestar's daughters face troubling decisions. One is torn between loyalty to her calling and a forbidden love, while the other struggles with her best friend's betrayal and the surprising perils of the forest. The choices they make now could affect ThunderClan for generations to come . . . and with an unexpected enemy preparing to attack, their courage and strength will be needed more than ever if the Clan is to survive.









Warriors

The New Prophecy

TWILIGHT

ERIN

HUNTER










DEDICATION (#ulink_94f804c3-374e-50af-bcc6-cad6e701f943)


Special thanks to Cherith Baldry




CONTENTS


Cover (#u0200d15e-ba8d-5982-a937-30547c82f389)

Title Page (#u3d5db9b1-83fa-56c1-bcc7-3ff6f6f8a3b0)

Dedication (#ulink_73098edb-6086-5352-9a2f-9458e6d655f5)

Allegiances (#ulink_23d328e1-125f-58cb-b5fc-7aa93d3357bf)

Maps (#ulink_1369263e-bb59-5669-b493-dd31c793b6c7)

Prologue (#ulink_4895b569-d818-5396-a29f-c6f12e646075)

Chapter 1 (#ulink_aefd0476-d1b0-58ca-a128-bc893e321158)

Chapter 2 (#ulink_e20d3701-9cd7-52af-9b6e-50754d1589cc)

Chapter 3 (#ulink_f7775b1b-aefd-5c2a-bad0-aef9c6eb9d01)

Chapter 4 (#ulink_03f15c24-9aba-587e-8608-b2e3d3de8565)

Chapter 5 (#ulink_829e2121-5c68-57b1-b660-375d8f3bb371)

Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)




ALLEGIANGES (#ulink_ffdefec7-ae69-5e9b-a619-8ad1057f1faa)








MAPS (#ulink_d581a583-feea-5dd5-8f36-003696847143)















PROLOGUE (#ulink_f0e0df31-500f-59b1-90ae-9ac60d303f6c)


“No! There must be some mistake!” The cat looked up from where it crouched by the water’s edge, its fur glowing in the moonlight. “There is still so much I have to do!”

A broad-faced cat with blue-grey fur padded around the pool, her eyes soft with sympathy. “I’m sorry,” she meowed. “I know you expected many more moons with your Clanmates before coming to join us.”

The crouching cat looked down into the water. The moon’s reflection trembled like a floating leaf, and the surface of the pool glimmered with starlight cast by the countless shining shapes that lined the hollow. For a moment the only sound was the waterfall that splashed down the steepest part of the rocks. The cats of StarClan waited in watchful silence, as if each one shared the grief of the cat at the water’s edge.

“You have served your Clan more faithfully than some cats manage in a long lifetime,” the blue-furred cat went on. “It must seem very unfair that you should have to leave them.”

The crouching cat raised luminous eyes to face the starry warrior. “Bluestar, I know this isn’t your fault. There’s no need to apologise.”

Bluestar twitched her tail. “Of course there is. You should know how much your Clan owes to you.”

“All the Clans.” A black and white tom with a long tail rose to his paws and padded round the edge of the pool to stand beside Bluestar. “StarClan too. None of us would have found our new home without your help.” He dipped his head in a gesture of respect, and the starlight on the surface of the pool wavered.

The cat blinked at him. “Thank you, Tallstar. I’ve made mistakes, but I have always tried to do what I believed to be right.”

“StarClan asks no more from its warriors.” A lean, black tomcat began to pick his way over the moss-covered rocks. “If we could change your fate, we would.”

“But remember,” Bluestar warned, “not even StarClan can turn aside the paws of destiny, however much we might want to.”

The cat at the water’s edge nodded. “I understand. And I will try to have courage. Can you tell me when—”

Bluestar shook her head. “No. Even we cannot see the future so clearly. But when the time comes, you will know, and we will be waiting for you.”

A fourth warrior spirit rose from his place further up the slope and padded down between the shimmering ranks of StarClan. He was a light-coloured tabby with a twisted jaw. “Whenever the Clans tell stories of the great journey, your name will be honoured,” he promised.

“Thank you, Crookedstar,” the cat meowed.

All four of the shining warriors gathered around, four who had been Clan leaders when their paws walked the earth.

“Know that the strength of StarClan will be with you,” Bluestar meowed. “We will not leave you to face this alone.”

The cat looked up to meet the intense blue gaze. “StarClan has always been with me.”

“You say that, even though your life has been so hard?” Tallstar’s voice was surprised.

“Of course.” The cat’s eyes glimmered in the starlight. “I have made good friends in all the Clans. I’ve seen kits born and watched elders leave on their final journey to Silverpelt. I’ve made the long journey to the Clans’ new home. Believe me, I wouldn’t change a single day.” The cat paused and looked down into the pool again. “I know it is not in your power to give me longer with my Clan. But I can’t help wanting more.”

Bluestar’s eyes narrowed. “It hurts us all when a young cat is called to join StarClan. I know you would continue serving your Clan loyally for many seasons more.” Her voice rasped with pain, and the cat looked up at her, stretching out one paw in a comforting gesture.

“Don’t grieve, Bluestar. I know my Clan will be well cared for after I am gone.”

A murmur of respect rose up from around the hollow. Bluestar bent her head over the crouching cat, bathing the moon-bright fur with her scent. “We are with you always,” she mewed.

In turn, each of the others bent over and added their scent, filling the air with the tang of stars and ice and the night wind. More warriors followed—a graceful tortoiseshell, a sturdy bracken-coloured tom, a tabby she-cat with a silver-striped pelt—wreathing the cat with the strength and courage of StarClan.

Their voices swelled to a low keening of sorrow that drifted up to the stars. The shimmering forms began to fade one by one, until the hollow was empty.

And the stars shone down on a single cat that crouched unmoving beside the pool.




CHAPTER 1 (#ulink_d2128e7a-2070-51d0-8bf8-3cfb48a03a80)


“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting.”

Squirrelflight woke with a start as the ThunderClan leader’s yowl rang out across the stone hollow. Cloudtail was already pushing his way out through the thorny branches that screened the warriors’ den. His mate, Brightheart, uncurled herself from their mossy nest and followed him.

“What does Firestar want now?” Dustpelt muttered, pulling himself stiffly to his paws and shaking scraps of moss from his fur. With an irritated flick of his ears, he thrust his way into the open after his Clanmates.

Stretching her jaws in a yawn, Squirrelflight sat up and gave herself a quick grooming. Dustpelt’s temper was even shorter than usual this morning; Squirrelflight could see from his awkward movements that the wound he’d received in the battle against Mudclaw was still painful. Most of the ThunderClan cats still bore the rebels’ clawmarks; Squirrelflight’s side stung from a wound of her own, and she drew her tongue over it in rapid, soothing strokes.

Mudclaw had been deputy of WindClan until the Clans arrived in their new territory around the lake. The previous leader, Tallstar, had appointed Onewhisker to succeed him instead just moments before he died; furious, Mudclaw had led a rebellion against Onewhisker before he had the chance to receive his nine lives from StarClan. And Hawkfrost of RiverClan had helped him. Squirrelflight felt a surge of anger as she remembered how Brambleclaw still insisted on trusting his half-brother, even after he had seen that Hawkfrost was up to his ears in Mudclaw’s treachery.

Thank StarClan, Squirrelflight thought, that ThunderClan had discovered the plot in time, and had joined the battle against Mudclaw and his supporters. StarClan had proved who the true leader was when lightning struck a tree that fell on Mudclaw and killed him.

Giving a last lick to her dark ginger fur, Squirrelflight slid through the branches and padded into the clearing, shivering in the cold air. The pale sun of leaf-bare was just showing above the trees around the stone hollow where ThunderClan had settled at the end of their long journey. Wind rattled in the bare branches, but down here all was still. The air smelled crisp, and frost still edged the grass and bushes with white. Yet Squirrelflight could pick up a faint hint of growing things that told her newleaf could not be far away.

Digging her claws into the earth, she stretched luxuriously. Her father, Firestar, was seated on the Highledge outside his den, about halfway up the cliff. His flame-coloured pelt gleamed in the slanting rays of sun, and his green eyes shone proudly as his gaze swept across his Clan. Squirrelflight guessed he wouldn’t look so confident if he needed to warn them about more trouble.

The cats gathered in the clearing below him. Mousefur and Goldenflower emerged one after the other from the elders’ den; Goldenflower was guiding blind Longtail behind her, the tip of her tail resting on his shoulder.

“Hi.” Squirrelflight’s sister Leafpool padded up and touched noses with her. “How are those scratches? Do you want some more marigold?”

“No, I’ll be fine, thanks.” Leafpool and her mentor, Cinderpelt, the ThunderClan medicine cat, had been busy ever since the battle, finding the right herbs and treating the cats’ wounds. “There are plenty of cats who need it more than I do,” Squirrelflight added.

Leafpool sniffed Squirrelflight’s scratches and gave a nod of satisfaction. “You’re right. They’re healing well.”

An excited squeal came from the nursery as Birchkit pelted out, tumbled over his own paws, and picked himself up in a scramble of light brown fur to take a place beside his father, Dustpelt. His mother, Ferncloud, padded after him and sat next to him, turning her head to smooth his ruffled fur.

Squirrelflight let out a mrrow of amusement. Her gaze drifted past them to the tunnel through the thorn barrier at the entrance to the camp. She felt the muscles in her shoulders tense. It looked like the dawn patrol had just returned: Brambleclaw was padding out of the tunnel, followed by Sandstorm and Rainwhisker.

“What’s the matter?” Leafpool asked.

Squirrelflight suppressed a sigh. She and her sister were much closer than most littermates, and each one was always aware of what the other was feeling. “It’s Brambleclaw,” she mewed reluctantly. “I can’t believe he’s still friends with Hawkfrost, after the way he supported Mudclaw.”

“Many cats supported Mudclaw,” Leafpool pointed out. “They did it because they truly believed Onewhisker wasn’t the right cat to lead WindClan. After the tree fell, Hawkfrost admitted he was wrong, and that Mudclaw had tricked him into helping. Onewhisker has already forgiven him, and all the other cats who fought against him.”

Squirrelflight lashed her tail. “Hawkfrost lied! He was part of Mudclaw’s plot all along. I heard what Mudclaw said before he died—Hawkfrost was trying to become powerful enough to take over RiverClan.”

Leafpool’s troubled gaze seemed to pierce Squirrelflight’s fur. “You have no proof of that, Squirrelflight. Why should we believe Mudclaw over Hawkfrost? Are you sure you’re not judging Hawkfrost because of who his father was?”

Squirrelflight opened her jaws for a swift retort, but there was nothing she could say.

“Remember, Tigerstar was Brambleclaw’s father too,” Leafpool went on. “He may have been a murderous traitor, but that doesn’t mean his sons have to follow his pawsteps. I don’t trust Hawkfrost any more than you do, but we can’t assume he’s as evil as his father without proof. And even if Hawkfrost is dangerous, it doesn’t mean that Brambleclaw has to be like him—or like Tigerstar.”

Squirrelflight twitched her tail uneasily. “I guess you’re right.” The three tabby toms were tangled together like the tendrils in a bramble thicket, and she wondered if either of Tigerstar’s sons could ever be free of their father’s treacherous legacy. “It’s just—Brambleclaw won’t listen to a word I say! He cares about Hawkfrost far more than he cares about me. I don’t understand why he would take Hawkfrost’s word over mine.”

“Hawkfrost is his brother,” Leafpool reminded her. Her amber gaze was warm and sympathetic. “Don’t you think you should judge Brambleclaw by what he does now, instead of what his father did—or what you’re afraid he might do in the future?”

“Do you think I’m being unfair?” Squirrelflight asked. On the journey to the sun-drown-place, where StarClan sent them to learn about the danger threatening all the Clans, she had trusted Brambleclaw with her life. Since she had witnessed his growing friendship with his half-brother, Hawkfrost, she had felt her trust melt away like dew.

“I think you’re upsetting yourself for no reason,” Leafpool replied.

“I’m not upset.” Squirrelflight couldn’t bear to admit, even to her sister, the ache inside her when she thought of what she had lost. “I’m worried about the Clan, that’s all. If Brambleclaw wants to go off with Hawkfrost, it’s none of my concern,” she growled.

Leafpool rested the tip of her tail on her sister’s shoulder. “Don’t pretend that you don’t care,” she meowed. “Especially not to me.” Her voice was light, but her eyes were still serious.

“Hi, Squirrelflight!” Ashfur joined them before Squirrelflight could reply. The grey tomcat gestured to her with his tail. “Come sit by me.”

Squirrelflight padded to his side, noticing that his dark blue eyes gleamed as she joined him. Leafpool followed and gave her ear a quick lick. “Try not to worry,” she murmured. “Everything will be all right.” She gave Ashfur a friendly nod before padding over to sit with Cinderpelt beneath the Highledge.

Out of the corner of her eye, Squirrelflight saw Brambleclaw take a few steps towards her. The uncertain look in his eyes darkened when she settled down next to Ashfur, and he veered abruptly away to sit beside Brackenfur and Sorreltail. Squirrelflight’s fur tingled; she couldn’t tell if it was from relief or disappointment. As Firestar began to speak, she stared straight ahead, feeling Brambleclaw’s amber gaze burning into her fur.

“Cats of ThunderClan, three sunrises have passed since the battle with Mudclaw,” he meowed. “Two dead warriors still lie outside our camp. Now that we have rested, they must be returned to ShadowClan.”

A shiver passed through Squirrelflight’s pelt. She had discovered the stone hollow by falling into it when she and four other cats had first explored the forest; it was pure luck that the part of the cliff where she had slipped over had been too low for the fall to hurt her. But during the battle, two fleeing ShadowClan cats had hurtled over the precipice at its highest point and broken their necks in the clearing below.

“Do you think ShadowClan will want them?” Cloudtail meowed. “They were helping that traitor, Mudclaw, after all.”

“It’s not for us to decide another Clan’s loyalty to its warriors,” Firestar warned. “Mudclaw was no ordinary traitor. Even cats from other Clans believed he was the true leader of WindClan.”

Cloudtail twitched the tip of his tail, clearly dissatisfied, though Squirrelflight saw Brambleclaw nod as if he were thinking of Hawkfrost.

“The dead cats were ShadowClan’s warriors,” Firestar went on, “and their own Clanmates will want to honour them on their journey to StarClan. A patrol must take the bodies to the ShadowClan border.”

“I’ll go,” Thornclaw offered.

“Thank you.” Firestar dipped his head. “Brackenfur, will you go as well, and …”

He hesitated, his gaze travelling thoughtfully over his senior warriors. Squirrelflight realised this mission could be dangerous. Though only a few ShadowClan cats had been involved in the battle, their leader, Blackstar, might blame ThunderClan for the deaths of his warriors and use it as an excuse to attack.

“Dustpelt and Cloudtail,” Firestar decided. “Take the bodies to the border by the dead tree, then find a ShadowClan patrol and tell them what happened. But don’t look for trouble.” His gaze rested on Cloudtail for a moment, as if he were afraid the headstrong white warrior might say the wrong thing. “If ShadowClan seems hostile, get out of there fast.”

Thornclaw rose to his paws and beckoned the rest of the patrol with a sweep of his tail. Together they headed for the thorn tunnel. The bodies of the ShadowClan warriors lay just outside, hidden in a dense patch of brambles where they had been protected from foxes and other carrion eaters.

Firestar waited until the branches had stopped rustling behind the patrol before going on. “Last night Onewhisker should have travelled to the Moonpool to receive his nine lives and his name. But his leadership won’t be secure unless he is accepted by every one of his Clanmates. I’m going to lead a patrol to WindClan to check.”

“Surely that’s WindClan’s problem!” Mousefur protested. “ThunderClan warriors have already had their fur ripped off once helping Onewhisker. Haven’t we done enough?”

Squirrelflight, though she felt a twinge in her wounded side, couldn’t agree. “But if we risked our lives for Onewhisker,” she argued, “why not make certain it was worth the effort?”

Mousefur shot a glare at her, but Firestar waved his tail to stop the quarrel before it went any further.

Cinderpelt rose to her paws. “Whoever leads this patrol, it won’t be you, Firestar. You wrenched your shoulder in the battle, and you need to stay in the camp until it’s healed.”

Firestar’s neck fur bristled; then he relaxed and dipped his head to the medicine cat. “Very well, Cinderpelt.”

“I’ll lead the patrol.” That was Brambleclaw, springing to his paws.

“Thanks, Brambleclaw,” mewed Firestar. “You’d better not go on to WindClan territory, though. We must show that we respect their boundaries. Take the patrol along the border, and see if you can spot any of their cats.”

Brambleclaw nodded. “Don’t worry, Firestar. I’ll make sure no cat sets a paw over the border.”

Spiderleg, sitting on Ashfur’s other side from Squirrelflight, snorted. “Bossy furball,” he muttered. “Who does he think he is? Clan deputy?”

“Brambleclaw is a good warrior,” Ashfur mewed. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be deputy.”

“Except that ThunderClan already has a deputy,” Spiderleg pointed out.

“But Greystripe isn’t here,” Ashfur replied. “And sooner or later Firestar is going to have to decide how long he’s prepared to wait for him.”

A sharp thorn of grief stabbed Squirrelflight. Twolegs had captured the ThunderClan deputy just before the Clan fled their old forest home; Squirrelflight still remembered the shock of watching Greystripe being carried away inside the growling, mud-spattered Twoleg monster. No cat knew what had happened to him, yet Firestar refused to believe he was dead, or to appoint another deputy in his place.

Does Brambleclaw really want to be deputy? Squirrelflight wondered. She couldn’t help thinking just like Tigerstar, and remembering how far the murderous tabby had been prepared to go to achieve his ambition.

Firestar called her name, dragging her back to the hollow. “Squirrelflight, you can go with Brambleclaw to WindClan. You too, Ashfur and Rainwhisker.”

Squirrelflight pricked up her ears; a run through the woods would blast away these troubling memories. Ashfur was on his paws already, his tail bolt upright.

“Let’s go!” Squirrelflight meowed, bouncing over to Brambleclaw.

“Not yet,” Brambleclaw replied crushingly, his gaze sweeping over her and Ashfur as if he hardly knew them. “I want to hear the rest of the meeting.”

Glaring at him, Squirrelflight sat down again.

“We need hunting patrols too,” meowed Firestar. “Sandstorm, can you organise those?”

“Of course.” Sandstorm looked up from where she sat at the bottom of the cliff. “But there’s one thing I want to say before we end the meeting.” She paused, and Firestar gestured with his tail for her to continue. “ThunderClan has only one apprentice now. It’s hard to get all the duties done.”

Sorreltail’s brother, Sootfur, twitched his tail. “Yes, I’m fed up with fetching moss for bedding. It’s not a proper warrior’s job,” he complained. He hadn’t been a warrior for long, and obviously had hoped he’d finished with apprentice duties forever once Firestar had given him his new name.

“That’s too bad.” Firestar’s voice was firm as he stared at the young warrior. “You can’t expect one apprentice to do it all.”

“Whitepaw works her paws off,” put in Mousefur. “She deserves a bit of help.”

Whitepaw, the only remaining apprentice, ducked her head and scuffled her forepaws. Squirrelflight could see she hadn’t expected praise from the wiry brown elder, whose tongue was as sharp as her claws.

“I’ll help!” Birchkit bounced up excitedly. “I’m old enough to be an apprentice!”

“No, you’re not,” his mother, Ferncloud, told him gently. “Not for another moon.”

“I’m afraid your mother’s right, Birchkit,” meowed Firestar. “But don’t worry, your time will come. And there’ll still be plenty for you to do. Sandstorm, will you sort out the duties in the meantime so no cat does more than their fair share?”

The ginger she-cat dipped her head in agreement. “I will, and I’ll make sure Whitepaw has enough time to train with her mentor as well. That’s another thing,” she added. “With no apprentices to train, we aren’t practising our warrior skills as much as we used to. If there’s another battle, we could have problems.”

“There’s not going to be another battle,” Spiderleg meowed. “Mudclaw is dead, so where’s the threat?”

“Yeah, we’ve got enough to do,” Sootfur muttered.

“And Mudclaw is the only cat who ever caused trouble?” Mousefur asked scathingly, with a contemptuous twitch of her whiskers. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you’ll know there’s always some kind of threat.”

“Exactly, Mousefur,” Firestar mewed. “The four Clans are drawing apart again, and sooner or later we’ll find that we have no choice but to fight. We need one cat to be responsible for keeping up our battle skills.”

Ashfur opened his jaws to volunteer, but before he could speak Brambleclaw cut in. “I can do that, Firestar.”

Squirrelflight’s fur prickled. The Clan deputy would normally do this kind of job; it looked as if Brambleclaw really was trying to take Greystripe’s place.

“Starting tomorrow, I can spar with two or three cats every morning,” the tabby warrior went on. “Ashfur, I’ll start with you and Spiderleg.”

Ashfur’s blue eyes narrowed. “Claws sheathed?”

Brambleclaw’s gaze met his. “Claws sheathed, but that’s all. We’re not kits play-fighting.”

“Ashfur never said we were!” Squirrelflight sprang up, her fur bristling along her spine. “I’ll fight with you, and see if you think I’m playing!”

Brambleclaw blinked at her. “I’m sure Ashfur doesn’t need you to fight his battles, Squirrelflight. Why not let him speak for himself?”

Squirrelflight ignored Ashfur’s tail, laid warningly on her shoulder. She was too furious to remember she was in the middle of a Clan meeting. “You think you’re so great, Brambleclaw—”

“That’s enough!” Firestar lashed his tail. His green gaze scorched Squirrelflight’s fur; ashamed, she sat down again.

“Told you he’s a bossy furball,” Spiderleg whispered in her ear.

“Thank you, Brambleclaw,” Firestar meowed. “Make sure every cat has a chance to practise as soon as possible.” His gaze travelled over the cats below him as if he were taking in every clawmark and patch of missing fur, assessing how soon they’d be battle-fit again.

Brightheart stood up. “There’s a sheltered clearing not far from here.” The ginger and white she-cat pointed with her tail. “I was hunting there yesterday. The ground is flat and mossy, and it could be a good place to train, like the sandy hollow back in the forest.”

“Sounds ideal,” meowed Firestar. “Show me after the meeting. Brambleclaw, don’t forget to report to me as soon as you get back from WindClan.”

The tabby warrior gave a brisk nod. He turned to Squirrelflight. “We can go now, if you’re ready.”

Squirrelflight sprang up, her eyes narrowing. “Don’t tread on my tail, Brambleclaw.”

“Then start behaving like a warrior, not a mouse-brained apprentice. Unless you think Firestar should have chosen another cat to lead this patrol?”

His voice was as cold as his eyes. Squirrelflight felt a sting of dislike run through her fur. This was not the same cat who had travelled with her and the others to the sun-drown-place. He had been her closest friend on that journey, the cat who meant more to her than any of the others, and now she scarcely recognised him.

“Firestar can choose whichever cat he likes,” she replied, spitting each word out like grit. “You are one of his senior warriors, after all.”

“But that’s not what you really think,” Brambleclaw flashed back at her. His amber eyes blazed and his ears were flattened in fury. “You think I’m disloyal, because I have kin in another Clan. I saw you watching me when I was with Hawkfrost by the lake.”

“It’s a good thing I did,” Squirrelflight retorted. “Otherwise no cat would know that Hawkfrost was plotting to become WindClan deputy and then take over RiverClan. I heard what Mudclaw said.”

“Mudclaw was lying!” Brambleclaw hissed, his neck fur bristling with fury. “Why should we believe that traitor?”

“Why should we believe Hawkfrost?” Squirrelflight clawed the ground in frustration.

“Why shouldn’t we?” Brambleclaw countered. “Because Tigerstar was his father? Like he was my father too?”

“That’s not fair,” Ashfur protested, coming to stand at Squirrelflight’s shoulder. “Squirrelflight didn’t say—”

“Keep out of this!” Brambleclaw rounded on the grey tomcat, tail lashing. “It’s got nothing to do with you!”

Squirrelflight’s claws slid out; she was within a heartbeat of slashing at Brambleclaw’s muzzle. Then she saw Firestar heading out of the camp with Brightheart, and she thought how angry her father would be if his warriors started fighting among themselves. She dug her claws deep into the peaty soil instead. “I don’t care who his father was!” she hissed. “I don’t trust Hawkfrost because he plotted to kill Onewhisker. He’ll do anything for power. A blind hedgehog could see it.”

Brambleclaw glared at her for a heartbeat. “You say that, yet you don’t have any proof. Hawkfrost is my brother. I’m not going to turn my back on him when he hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Fine!” Squirrelflight exclaimed. “You’re so besotted with him you wouldn’t know the truth if it sat up and bit you. Why not join RiverClan too, if it makes you happier? You obviously don’t care about ThunderClan—or me.”

Brambleclaw was about to spit back a retort when Birchkit lost his balance chasing his tail and stumbled between the tabby warrior’s front paws. His eyes stretched wide as he noticed the two cats glaring at each other with bristling neck fur and twitching tails. “Sorry!” he squeaked and fled for the nursery.

Brambleclaw took a pace back, his lip curled. “Come on, we’re wasting time. We won’t reach WindClan before nightfall at this rate.”

Without waiting to see if the rest of the patrol was following him, he whipped round and stalked towards the entrance, his tail high.

Squirrelflight exchanged a glance with Ashfur and saw concern and gentleness in his blue eyes. After Brambleclaw’s hostility, it was like cool water on a hot day.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Squirrelflight insisted as she set off after Brambleclaw. She brushed past Rainwhisker, who was staring at her as if she’d sprouted rabbit ears. “Hurry up, or we’ll never catch him.”

Brambleclaw didn’t wait for them, but plunged into the thorn tunnel without looking back. As he vanished among the trembling branches, Squirrelflight felt hollow inside; it was almost as if Brambleclaw was deliberately walking out of her life. Would they ever be friends again? She couldn’t see how, after a fight like that.

She just had to accept that whatever they once had, the friendship that had lasted through their long journey, was over.




CHAPTER 2 (#ulink_80adef0f-d11e-56ae-9fd0-454548831b9e)


It was the first time Squirrelflight had left the camp since the battle with Mudclaw, and she found herself enjoying the feel of wind in her fur and the crackle of leaves underpaw. Here and there she glimpsed early signs of newleaf: a few pale snowdrops scattered under a tree, and a single early coltsfoot flower like a splash of sunlight against a mossy green trunk. Squirrelflight reminded herself to tell her sister, Leafpool, where it could be found. Coltsfoot was a good remedy for shortness of breath.

Once they were well away from camp, Brambleclaw stopped. “Why don’t you two take the lead?” he suggested, nodding to Ashfur and Rainwhisker. “Let’s see how well you know the territory.”

“Sure,” Rainwhisker agreed enthusiastically, picking up the pace.

But Ashfur gave the tabby warrior a hard stare before sliding through the bracken after Rainwhisker. Squirrelflight knew why.

“What did you say that for?” she mewed crossly to Brambleclaw when they were alone. “You’re treating them as if they’re your apprentices. Ashfur’s older than you, don’t forget.”

“And I’m leading this patrol,” Brambleclaw pointed out. “If you don’t like my orders, you’d better go back.”

Squirrelflight opened her mouth for a stinging reply, then closed it again. She didn’t want to get dragged into yet another quarrel. Instead, she whisked past Brambleclaw and bounded around the edge of a clump of brambles, following the scent trail Rainwhisker and Ashfur had left.

Ashfur must have heard her brushing through the bracken; he waited for her to catch up and slowed his pace to pad next to her. “The buds on the trees are swelling,” he remarked, flicking his tail towards the branches of an oak. “Not long now till newleaf.”

“I can’t wait,” Squirrelflight mewed. “No more ice and snow, lots more prey.”

“The Clan could do with some extra fresh-kill,” Ashfur agreed. “Talking of fresh-kill, how about we hunt? Do you think Brambleclaw would mind?”

“I don’t give a mousetail whether Brambleclaw minds or not,” Squirrelflight hissed.

She opened her jaws to taste the air. At first she thought she caught a trace of badger, and wondered if she should mention it to Brambleclaw—badgers were trouble, especially if their territory overlapped with a Clan’s. But he was the last cat in the forest she wanted to speak to right now, and she guessed he wouldn’t listen to anything she had to say anyway.

She tasted the air again; the scent of squirrel flooded over her, and when she spotted the bushy-tailed creature stooped busily over a nut a few fox-lengths ahead, she pushed the badger to the back of her mind. Checking the direction of the wind, she dropped into a hunter’s crouch and crept up on her prey. As she launched herself forward the squirrel leapt for a nearby tree trunk, but Squirrelflight sprang quickly. Her claws sank into its shoulder and she dispatched it with a swift bite to the neck.

A loud alarm call made her swing round to see a blackbird fluttering up from a clump of bracken while Ashfur watched it in frustration.

“Bad luck!” Squirrelflight called. “I probably startled it by going after the squirrel.”

Ashfur shook his head. “No, I stepped on a twig.”

“Never mind, you can come and share this.” Squirrelflight waved her tail invitingly. “There’s plenty.”

As Ashfur joined her beside the fresh-kill, Brambleclaw appeared from the undergrowth. “What are you doing?” he growled. “We’re on our way to see WindClan, or had you forgotten?”

Squirrelflight swallowed a mouthful of prey. “Come on, Brambleclaw—lighten up, for StarClan’s sake. None of us have eaten this morning.” Awkwardly, not sure how Brambleclaw would react if she tried to be friendly, she drew back from the squirrel. “You can have some if you want.”

“No thanks.” The tabby warrior’s voice was curt. “Where’s Rainwhisker?”

“He went on ahead,” meowed Ashfur, with a wave of his tail.

Without another word, Brambleclaw strode off in the direction the grey tom had indicated, shouldering through the long grass until his dark pelt was swallowed up by damp green fronds.

Squirrelflight let out a hiss of annoyance.

Ashfur flicked her ear lightly with the tip of his tail. “Don’t let him get to you so easily.”

“He doesn’t,” Squirrelflight muttered, trying to convince herself it was true. Once more she remembered how close she and Brambleclaw had been on their journeys, how they had relied on each other and come to need each other. How did we get from there to here? she wondered despairingly.

Glancing up at Ashfur, she saw that his eyes were dark with concern. She knew he wanted to be closer to her, more than just fellow warriors. It was tempting to tell him she felt the same way, but it was too soon for her to be sure her feelings were real. She needed to get over the quarrel with Brambleclaw first. And in the meantime we have a job to do, she reminded herself with a flash of impatience. You’re a warrior, not a moonstruck rabbit!

She and Ashfur finished the squirrel in a few swift bites and set out again towards the WindClan border. Soon they overtook Brambleclaw and Rainwhisker. Brambleclaw had brought down a starling and was tearing into it hungrily, while Rainwhisker was gulping down a vole. He glanced up as his Clanmates appeared.

“I thought you’d got lost,” he meowed.

Brambleclaw took his last mouthful of starling and rose to his paws. Without saying a word, he turned and stalked off. Squirrelflight exchanged a glance with Ashfur, shrugged, and followed.

The trees were thinning out when Squirrelflight began to hear the chattering of water over stones. The patrol emerged at the top of a slope that led down to the stream bordering WindClan. Gusts of WindClan scent drifted across on the breeze, but there was no sign of any cats.

“We must have just missed a patrol,” Ashfur meowed quietly. “Those scent marks are fresh.”

That was a good sign, Squirrelflight thought. If WindClan were organised enough to be patrolling their boundaries, they must be on their way to recovering from Mudclaw’s rebellion. Did that mean Onewhisker had been able to travel to the Moonpool to receive his nine lives and his leader’s name from StarClan?

“Let’s head for the stepping stones,” Brambleclaw suggested. “We might catch up to them.”

He bounded down the slope and headed upstream with the rest of the patrol hard on his paws. The trees soon gave way to open moorland; Squirrelflight turned her head to look at the grey sweep of leafless branches below her. Beyond them, the lake reflected the pale blue sky, where the sun had nearly reached its peak.

The stream tumbled more steeply here, between banks fringed by sedge and reeds. Water foamed around stepping stones that formed a path to the moorland on the other side, easy for a cat to leap, even when the stream was full.

Wind gusted into Squirrelflight’s face, buffeting her fur and making her eyes water. “I don’t know how WindClan puts up with it,” she grumbled to Ashfur. “There isn’t a tree in sight!”

Ashfur let out a small mrrow of amusement. “They probably wonder how ThunderClan puts up with all those branches blocking out the sky.”

“Ask me that when it rains,” Squirrelflight muttered.

A flash of pale brown caught her eye: a rabbit fleeing over the crest of the hill. Squirrelflight’s paws itched to dash after it, but it was well inside WindClan’s territory. Heartbeats later a lean, grey-black cat appeared, racing after the rabbit with his belly brushing the turf. Blinking to clear her watering eyes, Squirrelflight recognised Crowfeather. Like Brambleclaw, he had been one of the cats chosen by StarClan to make the journey to the sun-drown-place.

Hunter and prey disappeared into a hollow and a high-pitched squeal, quickly cut off, told Squirrelflight that the WindClan warrior had made his kill.

“Hunting patrol,” meowed Rainwhisker, nodding to the top of the hill.

Two more WindClan cats followed Crowfeather more slowly over the crest. Squirrelflight made out the dark grey tabby pelt of Webfoot; the smaller cat behind him was his apprentice, Weaselpaw. A third cat, Whitetail, joined them as they stood looking down at the ThunderClan patrol.

Brambleclaw called out, “We’ve brought a message from Firestar!”

Webfoot and Whitetail exchanged a glance, then Webfoot led the way down the slope until all three cats stood on the opposite side of the stream.

“What message?” Webfoot demanded.

Squirrelflight studied the WindClan warrior. He had been one of Mudclaw’s fiercest supporters, and he still showed marks of the battle in a torn ear and a patch of fur missing from one shoulder. But Onewhisker must have decided to trust him again, if he had been put in charge of this patrol.

Brambleclaw dipped his head in greeting. “Firestar sent us to make sure everything’s OK,” he mewed. “He asked us to check that Onewhisker had made his journey to the Moonpool.”

“Onestar,” Whitetail corrected him.

Squirrelflight’s belly lurched. Calling the Clan leader by his ordinary warrior name had been a really bad mistake, as if Brambleclaw didn’t expect him to have received his new name from StarClan.

“Sorry—Onestar.” Brambleclaw twitched one ear, but his voice remained steady. “That’s good news. Congratulate him for us, will you?”

Webfoot’s eyes narrowed. “Why did Firestar send you? Does he think StarClan wouldn’t give nine lives to Onestar?”

Squirrelflight’s eyes stretched wide. Had Webfoot forgotten that Onestar might have been crowfood by now if it wasn’t for Firestar and ThunderClan?

Brambleclaw blinked. “He just wanted to be sure.”

“Perhaps Firestar should concentrate on ThunderClan, and let WindClan get on with their own lives,” Webfoot suggested.

“Onestar wouldn’t be leader if it wasn’t for ThunderClan!” Squirrelflight pointed out hotly. “You know that as well as any cat, Webfoot. You and Mudclaw—” She broke off, choking on a mouthful of fur as Brambleclaw flicked his tail across her mouth.

Webfoot’s eyes burned. “I wasn’t the only cat to believe Mudclaw was our rightful leader,” he snarled. “But since StarClan killed him with the falling tree, and gave Onestar his nine lives and his name, I know that I was wrong.”

“If Onestar trusts him he’s got bees in his brain.” Squirrelflight dropped back to mutter in Ashfur’s ear. “If I was Onestar, I’d watch my tail.”

To her relief, she spotted Crowfeather appear over the rim of the hollow, dragging the rabbit’s body. Even though the WindClan warrior was as prickly as a holly bush, he wouldn’t be as cold and suspicious as Webfoot among his old friends.

“Hi, Crowfeather,” she meowed. “Good catch!”

To her surprise, the dark grey warrior gave her a curt nod and glanced away without saying anything. He kept his jaws clamped on his fresh-kill, his nostrils flaring.

“If that’s all,” Webfoot meowed, “you can all go home.”

“Don’t tell us what to do on our own territory!” Squirrelflight snapped.

“Leave it,” Brambleclaw warned in a low growl. Squirrelflight knew he was right—this was not the time to pick a fight, however hostile the WindClan cats were being.

Webfoot and the other WindClan warriors watched silently from their side of the stream as Brambleclaw turned and led his patrol back towards camp. Squirrelflight felt the WindClan cats’ gaze pricking her pelt all the way down the hill, and when she glanced back at the edge of the trees, the four cats were still there. She bounded forward, not stopping until she had put a thick bramble thicket between herself and WindClan.

“Thank StarClan!” She skidded to a halt in a clearing and shook herself as if she had just climbed out of icy water. “I don’t know what’s got into them.”

“Me neither,” Rainwhisker agreed.

“I would have thought it was obvious,” Brambleclaw meowed. “WindClan don’t want to be allied with ThunderClan anymore. Everything’s different now.”

“After all we did for them!” Squirrelflight’s frustration and anxiety spilled over into anger; she couldn’t believe Brambleclaw was accepting WindClan’s new hostility without question. “I was a whisker from clawing Webfoot’s ears off back there.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t,” Brambleclaw pointed out dryly. “There’s more than one cat in ThunderClan who’d say that Firestar shouldn’t interfere in another Clan’s business.”

“Mouse dung! Does that mean you think Firestar should have done nothing, and just let Mudclaw take over?” Squirrelflight sprang forward, but before she could reach Brambleclaw, Ashfur pushed his way between them.

“There’s no need for this,” he meowed. “WindClan probably want to prove they’re strong again, now that they have their new leader. Give them time. They’ll calm down.”

Squirrelflight suspected the grey tomcat was right, but that didn’t mean she was willing to let Brambleclaw get away with insulting her father. She forced her neck fur to flatten again, but she still quivered with fury as they set off towards the ThunderClan camp.

“Firestar will always want to help Onestar.” She addressed the back of Brambleclaw’s head as he slipped through a patch of ferns ahead of her. “They’ve been friends forever.”

“Maybe, but Onestar clearly doesn’t need his help any more,” Brambleclaw mewed without looking back. The certainty in his tone infuriated Squirrelflight all over again. “It’s natural for Clans to be rivals. We were right to help WindClan when they were in trouble, but we can’t keep on looking out for them.”

“Stupid furball!” Squirrelflight growled, not loud enough for Brambleclaw to hear her. She hated the way the Clans had separated like flowing water into their new territories; what had happened to their closeness during the journey from the forest, when every cat had tried to help each other without stopping to remember which Clan they belonged to? It felt much too soon to turn their backs on that and let hostility and Clan rivalry take over. How would they survive in this new and unfamiliar place if they couldn’t rely on each other?

“And what will happen if ThunderClan need WindClan’s help?” Rainwhisker meowed ominously, as if he had followed Squirrelflight’s thoughts. “Have any of you thought of that?”

Brambleclaw led the patrol home by a different route, hunting on the way to take fresh-kill back for the Clan. Pausing underneath an oak tree, Squirrelflight once again picked up the scent of badger. It was stronger this time, and fresh; she guessed that it was not long since the creature had passed that way.

“Brambleclaw, do you smell that too?”

The tabby warrior padded up with a squirrel he had just caught. He put the fresh-kill down and swiped his tongue around his jaws before drawing in a stream of air. Alarm flared at once in his amber eyes. “Badger! Close by, too.”

Squirrelflight’s pelt prickled. A badger in their territory was the last thing any cat wanted. Hawkfrost had already driven one away from RiverClan, and it looked like ThunderClan had been lucky not to encounter one before now. “We’ll have to do something,” she mewed.

Brambleclaw nodded. A badger would make a tasty meal of a young kit if it had the chance. They were unlikely to prey on an adult cat, but that didn’t mean full-grown warriors were safe if they met one. A badger would kill out of pure savagery, trampling its prey into the ground or clamping it in its jaws and never letting go until its victim was dead.

Squirrelflight reminded herself that not all badgers were like that. Her first journey from the forest had led her to Midnight, the wise badger who lived at the sun-drown-place. Midnight had warned them that Twolegs would destroy the forest, and told them that the Clans would have to leave. But Midnight was unique; the rest of her kin could be bloodthirsty marauders if the mood took them.

“Is there a problem?” Ashfur came to join Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw; his words were indistinct because he carried a mouthful of mice, dangling by their tails.

Brambleclaw beckoned with his tail to Rainwhisker, who had just brought down a blackbird; the young warrior came trotting over with a satisfied look on his face and a feather on his nose.

“A badger—maybe more than one—has been here,” Brambleclaw meowed. “We can’t go back to camp without checking it out.”

“You mean, follow the trail?” Rainwhisker mewed in alarm. “Are you sure?”

“We have to find out if it’s left our territory. Squirrelflight, can you tell which way it went?”

Squirrelflight nosed at the scent the badger had left in the grass. “That way.” She pointed with her tail.

Brambleclaw padded over to sniff the trail. “Keep quiet, all of you. I don’t want them to know we’re here until we see how many there are and decide what’s best to do. We’re lucky that the wind’s in the right direction, so it won’t carry our scent to them.”

The cats left their prey among the roots of the oak tree, scratching earth over the pile until they could come and collect it later. Then with Brambleclaw in the lead, they set out after the badger.

The trail led them deeper into the forest, in the direction of the ShadowClan border. Here and there were freshly turned patches of earth, as if the badger had been digging for grubs. Squirrelflight felt a pang of concern for her friend Tawnypelt and the rest of ShadowClan; if they failed to track the badger down in their territory, some cat would need to warn Blackstar.

The scent grew steadily stronger, a powerful reek that swallowed up all other scents of the forest. Squirrelflight felt her fur stand up along her spine. It looked as if ShadowClan would be safe after all; the badger was still close by.

Suddenly Brambleclaw halted in the shadow of a boulder and held up his tail as a sign for the others to stay back. He clawed his way silently up the rough stone until he could poke his head above it and see to the other side.

Instantly he ducked down again. Squirrelflight crept forward until she could peer around the side of the boulder.

The ground on the other side was flat and pebbly, leading to a scattering of more smooth grey boulders. Between two of the rocks there was a gaping hole flanked by piles of freshly dug earth; Squirrelflight almost sneezed as a harsh scent reached her from the damp soil, a mingled reek of badger and fox. The badger must be building a set in an old fox den, she thought.

In front of the hole, three badger cubs scuffled about, making high-pitched fretful noises as if they didn’t like having to trek through the forest in daylight. Squirrelflight stared, her neck fur rising in horror, then she slid back to join Ashfur and Rainwhisker in the shelter of the rock.

“There’s a whole family of them!” she hissed. “Great StarClan, they’ll be all over the territory in a couple of seasons!”

Ashfur looked puzzled. “It’s unusual for a badger to move with cubs.”

“Maybe they were forced out of their old home,” Rainwhisker suggested.

Brambleclaw slid down from the top of the boulder and crouched beside them. “We can’t do anything until we know how many adults there are,” he meowed. “We’ll stay here and keep watch. Don’t do anything unless I say so, OK?”

All three cats nodded, though Squirrelflight seethed at the way Brambleclaw was ordering them about like wet-eared apprentices.

“Badgers mostly come out at night,” Brambleclaw went on. “If they’re in the set now, there’s not much we can do. No cat is going in there.” His amber gaze rested on Squirrelflight.

“I’m not stupid!” she hissed.

“I didn’t say you were,” Brambleclaw retorted. “But there are times when you do stupid things.”

Ashfur took a breath as if he were going to leap to her defence, but she flicked her tail at him for silence. “Really, it’s not worth it,” she muttered.

“If we find there’s just one fully-grown badger with the cubs, we’ll attack,” Brambleclaw mewed. “We can’t let them settle in our territory. Four of us should be able to cope with one badger. Hawkfrost managed to drive one off, after all. This could even be the same badger.”

Squirrelflight’s neck fur began to rise again at the mention of Brambleclaw’s half-brother. It was bad enough that Brambleclaw refused to admit that Hawkfrost was untrustworthy, without having him held up as a model of courage and fighting skill as well.

“We might drive it into ShadowClan territory,” she pointed out.

“Then ShadowClan’s warriors will have to deal with it.” Brambleclaw’s eyes were intense, and his voice cold. “We have to protect our own Clan first.”

“And if there’s more than one badger?” Ashfur wondered.

“Then we’ll gather as much information as we can and report back to Firestar. Find somewhere to hide where you can see the mouth of the set.”

Squirrelflight returned to her vantage point in the clump of fern. The badger cubs were still scuffling in front of the pile of earth. The sun climbed higher, and Squirrelflight would have dozed off if hunger hadn’t gnawed at her belly. The squirrel she had shared with Ashfur seemed a long time ago, and she thought longingly of the heap of fresh-kill left under the oak tree.

Her jaws gaped in a yawn, and she clamped them shut again as an even stronger reek of badger flooded into her mouth. The undergrowth on the far side of the clearing rustled briefly before the ferns parted to reveal a powerful, broad-shouldered body and a long muzzle with a white stripe down the middle. The female badger lumbered into the clearing and her three cubs scampered up to her. She dropped a mouthful of beetles onto the ground and the cubs gulped them up with high-pitched cries of joy.

Brambleclaw sprang on top of the boulder and let out a challenging yowl. The female badger’s head shot up and she roared in defiance, showing two rows of sharp yellow teeth.

Brambleclaw yowled again. “Attack!” He leapt from the boulder, landing among the cubs who scurried out of the way, yelping with fear. They huddled together in the mouth of the set, staring at the warrior with wide, scared eyes.

Ashfur hurtled out of his hiding place further around the clearing, with Rainwhisker hard on his paws. Squirrelflight pelted forward to stand beside Brambleclaw. “Get out!” she hissed at the badgers, even though she knew they wouldn’t understand what she was saying. “This is our territory!”

Brambleclaw lashed at the badger’s muzzle with both forepaws. She reared backward, swiping at him with massive claws, but Brambleclaw dodged the blow.

Squirrelflight ran forward until she was close enough to rake her claws down the badger’s side; blood welled out of the clawmarks and she shook her paw fiercely to dislodge the trapped black fur. She ducked to avoid the snapping jaws, then darted back just as Ashfur dashed in from the other side. The badger swung her head from side to side as if she couldn’t decide which swift-moving target to attack first.

This is easy! Squirrelflight thought. She’s too slow and clumsy!

She let out a screech of alarm as a massive white-furred paw slammed down less than a mouse-length away from her haunches. If it had landed on her it would have snapped her spine. Startled and shaking, she rolled out of range in a tangle of paws and tail. She wanted to run all the way back to the camp, but she knew they couldn’t give up now. This ferocious creature could not be allowed to make a home in their territory, or no cat would be safe, from the youngest kits to the most battle-hardy warriors.

She scrambled to her feet in time to see Brambleclaw swipe his claws down the badger’s shoulder. Leaping up, he tried to fasten his teeth in her throat, but the badger shook him off. He flew through the air, landed with a loud thump, and lay motionless.

Squirrelflight raced to his side, her belly churning in fear. But before she reached him, he shook his head as if he were coming out of deep water, then he staggered to his paws. “I’m OK,” he rasped.

Squirrelflight veered away to meet the badger head-on. Rearing up on her hindlegs, she clawed her enemy’s nose while her other paw slashed for the tiny bright eyes. Ashfur battered at the creature’s haunches, angling his body to make room for Brambleclaw, who was biting down on the badger’s hindpaw. Rainwhisker had his front paws hooked in the badger’s rough pelt while his teeth clamped down on her ear.

The badger had had enough. Shaking off Brambleclaw and Rainwhisker, she let out a roar of fury and defeat and turned tail. Lumbering across to the mouth of the foxhole, she nudged her cubs to their paws and herded them in front of her as they fled the clearing.

“And don’t come back!” Ashfur yowled.

The badger wouldn’t understand his words, but the meaning was plain enough. All four cats stood shoulder to shoulder while the badger’s roars and the high-pitched cries of the cubs faded away through the trees.

“Well fought, all of you,” Brambleclaw panted. “Let’s hope that’s the last we see of them.”

“And that there aren’t any more,” Ashfur commented.

Brambleclaw nodded. “We’ll fill in the hole and keep watch to make sure they don’t come back.”

“What? Now?” Squirrelflight protested. “I’m worn out, and my belly’s yowling!”

“No, not now. We’ll go back to camp and get a couple of other warriors to deal with the set. The regular patrols can keep an eye on it after that.”

“Thank StarClan!” Squirrelflight sighed. “Let’s go and collect that fresh-kill.”

The four cats limped back through the forest. Squirrelflight felt the sting of new wounds on top of her scratches from the battle against Mudclaw. “I won’t have any fur left at this rate,” she muttered.

Ashfur padded to her side and drew his tongue gently across a clawmark on her shoulder. “You fought well,” he murmured.

“So did you.” Squirrelflight could see how battered he was, with blood seeping from a patch on his hindquarters where the fur had been clawed off. She touched her nose to his ear. “I bet that badger wishes she’d never set foot on our territory!” she mewed.

She pictured the huge creature crashing through the undergrowth with her cubs stumbling along behind. For a few heartbeats she shared their fear, and a pang of sympathy pierced her. She knew what it felt like to lose your home, and have to travel far to find a new one.

I hope she finds somewhere safe for her cubs, Squirrelflight thought. But a long, long way from ThunderClan.




CHAPTER 3 (#ulink_3e3b2518-a00e-5068-a147-dcbdc391b660)


“Leafpool! Leafpool, what’s the matter with you? That’s the third time I’ve called your name.”

The young medicine cat jumped. “Sorry, Cinderpelt.”

The grey she-cat bent her head to sniff at the seeds Leafpool was wrapping in a leaf. “What have you got here?”

“Poppy seed.”

Cinderpelt sighed. “No, it’s not. It’s nettle seed. Honestly, Leafpool, what’s the matter with you today?”

Leafpool stared down at the leaf. Cinderpelt had asked her to take some poppy seed to Firestar to soothe the pain in his wrenched shoulder. She had no idea how she had taken the wrong herb from the store inside Cinderpelt’s den, but the green, spiny seeds on the leaf in front of her were definitely nettle. They might have helped if Firestar had eaten something poisonous, but they wouldn’t do anything to help his shoulder.

“I’m really sorry, Cinderpelt.”

“I should think so. This morning I caught you trying to put yarrow on Mousefur’s ticks instead of mouse bile.” Cinderpelt’s tone softened. “Is everything all right, Leafpool? Were you hurt when those ShadowClan warriors chased you?”

Leafpool shook her head. “No … no, I’m fine.”

Her thoughts flew back to the night of the battle, when two ShadowClan warriors had chased her into the undergrowth at the top of the hollow, and plunged over the cliff to their deaths. Leafpool had almost fallen with them, her paws slipping on the rock as she tried to haul herself up. She could still feel the firm grasp on her scruff that had hauled her to safety, still see the intense gaze of her WindClan rescuer as he confessed that he loved her. Crowfeather! Every hair on her pelt tingled.

“Leafpool, you’re doing it again!”

Shaking her head to clear it, Leafpool carried the leaf back into Cinderpelt’s den. She returned the nettle seeds to the crack in the rock and took out some poppy seeds instead.

“If there is anything wrong, I wish you would talk to me about it,” Cinderpelt meowed, watching her from the entrance. “We’re busier than we’ve been since we arrived, dealing with wounds from the battle. I need you, Leafpool. You’re more than an apprentice now—you should be able to carry out medicine cat duties on your own.”

“I know. I’m sorry. But everything’s fine, really.”

Of course it was—it was better than fine, when Crowfeather loved her! Leafpool wrapped the correct seeds in the beech leaf and picked up the package to carry it to Firestar. She nodded to her mentor as she nudged her way through the curtain of brambles that led into the camp. Part of her wanted to confide in Cinderpelt more than anything, but Leafpool knew she could never reveal her feelings for Crowfeather to any cat. Medicine cats were not supposed to fall in love.

Cinderpelt had suspected a connection between Leafpool and the WindClan warrior before the Clans split up into their new territories. But that was before Crowfeather told Leafpool that he loved her, before Leafpool had admitted her own feelings to herself. Now it would be even harder to hide what she felt from the wise medicine cat.

She scrambled up the rocks that formed a tumbled pathway to the Highledge outside Firestar’s den. Looking down into the clearing, she saw Dustpelt slipping into the nursery to visit Ferncloud and Birchkit; the patrol that had taken the bodies to ShadowClan must have returned peacefully.

Leafpool set her leaf packet down on the ledge outside the den. “Firestar!” she called.

“Come in!”

She slid through the narrow cleft for a couple of tail-lengths until it widened out into a cave, dimly lit by the light that shone through the opening. Firestar was stretched on a bed of fern and moss at the far end. Thornclaw sat beside him. Firestar nodded a greeting to Leafpool and turned back to the golden-brown tabby.

“So there was no trouble with ShadowClan?”

Thornclaw shook his head. “We met Russetfur leading a border patrol, and she fetched Blackstar. He said he knew nothing about his warriors supporting Mudclaw.”

Firestar shrugged, wincing at a twinge of pain from his shoulder. “That could be true.”

“Then his warriors took the bodies away to be buried,” Thornclaw finished, “and we came home.”

“Well done, Thornclaw. I don’t want any trouble with ShadowClan.” Firestar paused for a moment before adding, “We’d better be careful what we say at the next Gathering. No sense in trailing our tails for Blackstar to pounce on. Pass the word to the rest of the Clan, would you?”

“Sure, Firestar.” Thornclaw rose to his paws and left with a farewell flick of his tail.

Leafpool padded across the cave and set down the leaf-wrapped poppy seeds. “Cinderpelt sent you these.”

Firestar leaned over and licked up the seeds with one swipe of his tongue. “Thank you, Leafpool. This’ll teach me not to take on two warriors at once!”

“You should sleep now,” Leafpool meowed.

As she finished speaking, she heard the sound of cats gathering in the clearing below the ledge, and Squirrelflight’s voice calling, “Firestar!”

The Clan leader glanced at Leafpool with a gleam of amusement in his eyes. “There goes my nap. Brambleclaw’s patrol must be back from WindClan.”

He rose to his paws and limped across the den. Leafpool followed him. Excitement rushed through her like a bubbling stream. She wanted to fling herself down the rocks and hurl questions at Squirrelflight. Had the patrol seen Crowfeather? What did he say? Had he been hurt in the battle? Had he mentioned her … ?

She stopped abruptly at the entrance to her father’s den. If she asked just one of these questions, Squirrelflight would want to know why she was so interested in the young WindClan warrior. And even her sister wouldn’t understand if she knew that Leafpool had broken the code of a medicine cat and fallen in love.

Brambleclaw and the rest of the patrol were waiting in the clearing, while more of the Clan cats gathered around them to hear their news. Leafpool jumped down the tumble of broken rocks and paused, feeling puzzled as she caught a powerful wave of feeling from her sister. Squirrelflight was in even more turmoil than she had been after the quarrel with Brambleclaw, making Leafpool’s fur bristle with a whirl of agitation, fear, and sympathy.

Leafpool slid between Dustpelt and Mousefur until she reached Squirrelflight’s side. “What’s the matter?” she murmured in her sister’s ear. “What happened?”

Squirrelflight’s claws scraped furiously at the earth in front of her. “WindClan treated us like we were sworn enemies!” she hissed.

Leafpool turned to listen to Brambleclaw, who was reporting to Firestar.

“Webfoot looked as though he’d like to claw our fur off,” the tabby warrior meowed. “You would never have thought we were the same cats who helped WindClan fight off Mudclaw a couple of nights ago.”

“But did you find out about Onestar?” Firestar asked. “He is Onestar now, isn’t he?”

“Oh, yes, he’s got his nine lives all right, but his Clan don’t seem to think we’re allies anymore.”

“I told you,” Ashfur broke in. “They have to show us they’re strong enough to stand on their own now.”

Brambleclaw shook his head. “I think it was more than that.”

“And you really can’t imagine what the problem is?” Dustpelt meowed, coming forward to stand beside his Clan leader. “Come on, Brambleclaw. You’re hardly likely to be the most popular cat in WindClan just now, not after Hawkfrost saved your life at the end of the battle. Onestar probably thinks you and Hawkfrost were working together all along.”

“Mouse dung!” Brambleclaw snapped. “Onestar forgave all the cats who fought against him, including Hawkfrost. And every cat knows I fought for WindClan. Onestar can’t have any quarrel with me.”

Leafpool glanced at Squirrelflight; once her sister would have leapt to Brambleclaw’s defence, but now she was just staring at him with narrowed eyes.

Firestar looked from Brambleclaw to Dustpelt and then back again. “I hope Ashfur’s right,” he mewed at last, “and this is just an example of WindClan trying to prove how strong they are. But I don’t think we can trust Webfoot to report on what’s happening in his Clan. I’ll have to visit WindClan myself once my shoulder is better.”

Leafpool exchanged a startled glance with her sister. “He should wait for the Gathering,” she mewed quietly. “He could talk to Onestar there.”

“You try telling him that,” Squirrelflight murmured back.

Leafpool knew she couldn’t. Firestar’s friendship with Onestar went so far back that none of the Clan cats, even those who had grown up with Firestar, would dare tell him he couldn’t visit his old friend. Leafpool heard Mousefur mutter, “Did you ever hear such a mousebrained idea? A day-old kit could see that WindClan wants to be left alone.”

Firestar was about to go back to his den when Brambleclaw stopped him. “Wait, we haven’t told you about the badger yet.”

“What badger?” Firestar turned back, his green eyes flashing with alarm. “On our territory?”

“Not any more,” Brambleclaw replied, and he described how the patrol had tracked the badger by its scent.

“It was digging out a set in an old foxhole,” Rainwhisker added. “And there were four of them. Three cubs and their mother.”

“The cubs were too small to fight,” meowed Ashfur. “But the mother gave us enough trouble.” He twisted around to lick a raw patch on his hindquarters.

Squirrelflight remained silent as Brambleclaw finished explaining how the badgers had been driven off. Leafpool picked up mingled feelings of fear, defensiveness, and pity. She could understand why. ThunderClan had been driven from their home too. But this is our territory now, she reminded herself. We can’t share it with badgers, especially not four of them.

Firestar looked around at his Clan. “Dustpelt, take a patrol up there, please, and fill in the hole. Keep at least one of the warriors on watch in case the badger comes back.”

Dustpelt beckoned to Rainwhisker, who would be able to show him the way to the half-built set, and signalled Brightheart and Cloudtail to follow.

Firestar watched them go. “Every patrol will have to watch out for badgers in the future,” he warned. “This family could come back, or more of them might be trying to settle. If one badger is trying to find a new home, there could be others.” Grimly he added, “We must make it clear they’re not welcome here.”

Moonlight glimmered on the rippling stream, and the warm scents of newleaf drifted across Leafpool’s fur as she stood gazing into WindClan’s territory. Suddenly a lean, dark shape raced down the bank—Crowfeather. He plunged into the stream with a glittering splash as moon-filled drops spun away from his paws. Water brushed his belly fur; then Crowfeather was pulling himself onto the bank beside Leafpool. His scent flooded over her.

“Crowfeather …” she murmured.

“What?”

Leafpool opened her eyes to see Cinderpelt poking her head out of her den. “Did you say something?” the medicine cat mewed.

Leafpool sprang out of her nest and gave herself a shake to dislodge scraps of moss from her pelt. “No, Cinderpelt.” The last thing she wanted was to be asked what she had been dreaming about. “Do you need me to do something?”

“I’ve just been checking our stores of herbs,” Cinderpelt meowed. “Some of them are getting very low, and—”

“I’ll go and gather some,” Leafpool offered. “It’s almost newleaf, so there’s bound to be something growing. Squirrelflight told me where she saw some coltsfoot.”

“Good,” mewed Cinderpelt. “We could do with some marigold or horsetail too. We used nearly every scrap after the battle. And anything else you see that would be useful.”

“Right, Cinderpelt.” Leafpool’s paws itched to carry her out of the camp so she could be alone with her thoughts. Waving her tail in farewell, she headed across the clearing and through the thorn tunnel.

The sun had not yet cleared the tops of the trees, and clammy, dew-laden grass brushed Leafpool’s belly fur, but she scarcely noticed the chill. Her paws tingled with excitement, and she ran faster until she was racing through the trees. The gurgle of water brought her to a halt. She realised her paws had brought her to the stream that marked the border with WindClan, close to the lake where trees grew in WindClan territory too. The place was hauntingly familiar. She had stood here in her dream, and Crowfeather had come to her.

The bank was silent and deserted, the trees casting long shadows over the water. Leafpool stood still, her gaze devouring the undergrowth on the far side of the stream. She half hoped, half dreaded what she might see. A WindClan patrol would be hostile if they found her so close to the border, but if Crowfeather appeared … But she had no business hoping to meet Crowfeather. She was a medicine cat, and medicine cats could not fall in love.

She tasted the air and picked up her own Clan’s scent markers, and those of WindClan from the opposite bank, but not the scent that threw her into such turmoil. A pang of disappointment burned through her, and she knew some part of her had expected him to be waiting for her.

“Stupid furball,” she muttered. “It was only a dream.”

She stiffened as she heard voices from further downstream; a heartbeat later ThunderClan scent drifted around her. She didn’t want to meet a patrol this far away from the camp. They would ask what she was doing, and she was too confused to explain properly. She glanced around. The only cover close by was a holly bush with branches that swept the ground; Leafpool squeezed under it just as the ThunderClan patrol came into sight.

Peering out between the prickly leaves, Leafpool saw that Brackenfur was leading the patrol. He padded past with Sootfur and Whitepaw behind him, then paused to ask his apprentice what she could scent. Leafpool froze.

“WindClan cats,” Whitepaw replied after a moment. “And ThunderClan, of course, and I think a fox went by a while ago—probably yesterday. No sign of any badgers, though.”

“Well done,” meowed Brackenfur. “If you go on like this, you’ll be a warrior in no time.”

Whitepaw fluffed out her tail with pride as she followed her mentor and Sootfur upstream. Leafpool relaxed; the apprentice hadn’t singled her out from the other ThunderClan scents. When the patrol had disappeared she began to wriggle out from her hiding place, only to be flooded by another, crashingly familiar scent.

“Leafpool, whatever are you doing under there?”

Leafpool scrambled the rest of the way out of the holly bush and turned around to meet the curious gaze of her friend Sorreltail. “Looking for berries,” she mewed feebly.

“Holly berries?” Sorreltail’s amber eyes stretched wide in surprise. “I thought they were poisonous.”

“Yes, they are. I was … er … looking for different berries.”

Sorreltail’s tail curled up, but to Leafpool’s relief she didn’t ask any more questions. Her eyes were shining, even though she looked tired. “There’s something I have to tell you, I think,” she meowed.

Leafpool stared at her friend in horror. Had she guessed about Crowfeather? “There are good herbs around here,” she began, struggling not to show her panic. She had to make Sorreltail believe she was here on medicine cat business—no other reason. “I always come here when—”

“Leafpool, what are you meowing about? I’m expecting kits!”

Leafpool saw pride and excitement and a flicker of fear in Sorreltail’s expression. Mousebrain! she scolded herself. Call yourself a medicine cat?

A purr of happiness rose inside her. “Are they Brackenfur’s?” The tortoiseshell and golden brown warriors had been inseparable ever since they arrived in the new territory.

Sorreltail nodded. “I haven’t told him yet; I wanted to be certain first. Oh, Leafpool, I just know he’ll make a wonderful father.”

“I’m sure he will.” Leafpool pressed her muzzle against her friend’s. “And you’ll be a wonderful mother.”

“I hope so.” Sorreltail ducked her head. “I’m a bit scared, but I know I’ll be fine if I’ve got you to look after me.”

“I’ll do my best,” Leafpool mewed, trying not to squirm under the warmth of her friend’s praise. Right now, she was as far from being a good medicine cat as she could be. “Just think, Sorreltail, you’ll be the first cat to bear kits for ThunderClan in our new home! The first cat to use the new nursery.”

Sorreltail blinked happily. The sound of a pawstep behind her made Leafpool turn; Brackenfur had come back to see what was keeping his mate.

“Are you OK?” he asked, padding up to her and giving her ears a lick.

“I’m fine, Brackenfur,” Sorreltail replied. “Just a bit tired.”

“Come a bit further,” Brackenfur meowed, pointing upstream with his tail. “We’ve found a nice sunny spot under a tree. You can rest and we’ll see how Whitepaw’s hunting skills are coming on.”

His gentle care of Sorreltail made Leafpool certain that he had guessed her secret. It wouldn’t be a secret for much longer.

Sorreltail leaned against his shoulder for a moment, then touched her nose to Leafpool’s. “Bye, Leafpool. I hope you find those berries.”

Leafpool watched the two cats head upstream, their pelts brushing, until they disappeared among the trees. There was a strange ache in her heart, half joy and half sorrow. She was happy for Sorreltail, but she envied her too. She and Brackenfur had entered a private world where a medicine cat could never follow.

Leafpool had always known that, ever since she first became apprenticed to Cinderpelt. But she had never thought about what it would mean. She had never realised one cat could long for another the way she longed for Crowfeather with every hair on her pelt. And now Sorreltail was depending on Leafpool to take care of her when her kits were born. Her duties kept her busy enough already. There was no room for forbidden feelings.

“You’re a medicine cat,” she told herself. “And Crowfeather’s a warrior from another Clan. So stop thinking about him. Stop dreaming.”

Head down, she padded away from the stream without looking back at the WindClan border, and went to search for Squirrelflight’s coltsfoot.




CHAPTER 4 (#ulink_dcb97402-fe37-5e6e-9700-8235fbb072f0)


Squirrelflight used her claws to tear moss from the roots of an oak tree and began patting it into a ball to take back to camp. A quarter moon had passed since the battle with Mudclaw and his followers, and the Clan was beginning to recover. Wounds were healing and the memory of Mudclaw’s rebellion was fading.

Brambleclaw had started his training sessions, and Sandstorm had insisted that every warrior take a turn with the apprentice duties. Squirrelflight would rather be hunting or exploring than fetching fresh bedding for the elders, but the job wasn’t too boring when you had a friend to share it with.

Casting a mischievous glance at Ashfur, who was gathering moss from another tree nearby, she hooked up her ball with the claws of one paw and hurled it at him. It landed accurately in the middle of his back and disintegrated, covering his pelt with scraps of moss.

Ashfur spun around to face her. “Hey!”

His eyes gleaming with laughter, the grey warrior scooped up his own moss and flung it at Squirrelflight. She dodged behind the tree to avoid it, and crashed straight into Brambleclaw.

“What’s going on?” the tabby tomcat demanded. “What are you doing?”

“Collecting moss for the elders’ bedding,” Squirrelflight replied. Regret for their lost friendship pierced her like a thorn, along with fury that he had to appear at the exact moment she’d stopped working.

Ashfur hurtled around the tree with more moss in his jaws and skidded to a halt when he saw Brambleclaw.

“Collecting bedding? So I see.” Brambleclaw used his tail to flick a scrap of moss from Ashfur’s shoulder. “Carrying it back on your pelt, are you?”

Ashfur put the moss down. “We were only having a bit of fun.”

“Fun?” Brambleclaw snapped. “Wasting time is what I’d call it. Don’t you realise how much there is to do?”

“OK, OK.” Squirrelflight felt her neck fur bristle. “There’s no need to treat us like lazy apprentices.”

“Stop behaving like lazy apprentices, then,” Brambleclaw flashed back at her, a glint of anger in his amber eyes. “Being a warrior means putting the Clan first.”

Squirrelflight’s fury rose like a wave. “Do you think we don’t know that?” she spat. “Who died and made you deputy?”

As soon as the words were out she knew she had said something unbelievably stupid. She wanted to snatch it back, but it was too late.

Brambleclaw’s eyes blazed, but when he spoke his voice was icy calm. “No cat knows whether Greystripe is dead or alive. Do you have any idea what Firestar must be suffering?”

“Of course I do!” Deep inside, Squirrelflight wanted to say she was sorry, but she couldn’t back down when Brambleclaw was being so unfair. “Firestar is my father, for StarClan’s sake! Don’t talk to me like I don’t care.”

“Steady.” Ashfur stepped forward and pressed his muzzle against Squirrelflight’s shoulder.

Squirrelflight struggled to control her anger. “I’d give anything to have Greystripe back.”

“Yes, we know,” Ashfur reassured her. His breath felt warm against her pelt. “Look, Brambleclaw,” he went on, straightening up, “we’ll get the moss, OK? You don’t need to hassle Squirrelflight.”

Brambleclaw twitched his ears. “OK, but be as quick as you can. And when you’ve done that, make sure the elders have had some fresh-kill.” Without waiting for a reply he turned and stalked off towards the camp.

“Feed the elders yourself!” Squirrelflight yowled after him. There was no need for Brambleclaw to behave like this—not unless he was punishing her for being suspicious about Hawkfrost.

If Brambleclaw heard her, he didn’t show it. He just carried on walking until soft green ferns hid him from sight.

“Take it easy,” Ashfur meowed. “He’s just trying to make sure everything gets done. We’re all under pressure, with only one apprentice.”

“He should do more himself then, instead of striding around giving orders,” Squirrelflight grumbled. “If he thinks I’m collecting moss for him, he can think again! I’m going hunting.”

She spun around and raced into the trees. Behind her she heard Ashfur call her name, but she was too furious to slow down. Part of her wanted to launch herself at Brambleclaw and wipe that look of scorn from his face, while part of her was torn apart with guilt for implying that Greystripe was dead. Every time she and Brambleclaw spoke to each other they seemed to plunge deeper into a pit of anger and mistrust. Squirrelflight wondered if anything could put things right between them.

With these troubled thoughts churning in her head she hardly noticed where her flying paws were taking her. Too late she saw a bramble thicket looming up in front of her; she tried to skid to a halt and stumbled headlong into the prickly tendrils.

“Mouse dung!” she spat.

Thorns tugged at the fur on her back as she struggled to wrench herself free; she couldn’t bear the indignity of Brambleclaw or Ashfur coming up to find her stuck. Digging her claws into the ground, she managed to drag herself out of the thicket, leaving scraps of ginger fur on the bramble thorns.

Scrambling up, she saw that the trees around her were unfamiliar—huge grey trunks hung with moss and ivy, packed closer together than in the woods around the camp.

“Squirrelflight! Watch out!”

Ashfur’s gasp of alarm came from close behind her. She spun round, her pelt standing on end. Just beyond the bramble thicket was a clearing where the ground was thick with dead leaves. Squirrelflight’s heart started to pound as she spotted a russet-brown, wedge-shaped face peering out at her from a clump of thorns on the far side of the clearing. She watched in horror as the fox stepped delicately out, its jaws parted in a snarl and its eyes gleaming with hunger.

“Back away slowly.” Ashfur’s quiet meow came from close by.

Squirrelflight’s legs felt as if they had turned to stone, but she forced herself to take one step back. At once the fox leapt. Squirrelflight raised her claws to defend herself, but in the same instant a grey streak flashed between the fox and her: it was Ashfur, slashing at the creature’s muzzle with both forepaws. He let out a fearsome caterwaul, but the fox stood its ground in the centre of the clearing. It wrenched its head towards Ashfur, jaws snapping. Squirrelflight hurled herself at the fox with a furious yowl and raked her claws down the side of its face. It reared up, throwing her off; she hit the ground with a thud that drove the breath out of her. When she scrambled to her paws she saw Ashfur on the ground, battering at the fox with his hindpaws as it tried to bite down on his throat.

Squirrelflight sprang again, claws stretched towards the russet fur. As the fox rounded on her, she glimpsed Ashfur trying to drag himself away with blood pouring from his neck. While her attention was distracted, the fox snapped at her, and this time its teeth met in her shoulder. Squirrelflight yowled with pain and tore at the fox’s muzzle with her claws. She heard Ashfur’s voice calling weakly, “Squirrelflight, run!” But the fox wouldn’t let go. Angry and terrified, Squirrelflight fought harder.

The fox gave her a shake that rattled her teeth. Squirrelflight hung limply in its grip, feeling her strength ebbing away. A black wave was rising behind her eyes, threatening to drown her, when she heard a loud yowling close by. Abruptly the fox’s jaws opened and let her drop. For a few heartbeats she lay half-conscious among the leaves, aware of furious snarls somewhere above her head.

Gasping for breath, she staggered to her paws. The forest swirled around her; when her vision cleared she saw Brambleclaw, his tabby fur fluffed out with rage so that he looked twice his normal size. He was driving the fox back into the trees with slashing claws and bared fangs; Ashfur fought alongside him, looking shaky but determined. Squirrelflight stumbled over to join them, letting out a yowl of defiance. At the sight of a third attacker, the fox backed off rapidly, then turned and vanished into the undergrowth. For a moment they heard rustling as it crashed through the ferns, then silence.

“Thanks, Brambleclaw,” Ashfur gasped. “How did you know we were in trouble?”

“I heard you,” Brambleclaw replied. His voice was tight with anger. “Great StarClan, what did you think you were doing out here? You know we haven’t explored this part of the territory properly yet. Surely finding that badger should have made you more careful?”

Squirrelflight was almost speechless with fury. Why did it have to be Brambleclaw who had come along to help? What made it worse was that he was right; she shouldn’t have gone tearing through the forest in a temper without looking where she was going. But he didn’t have to be so obnoxious about it. “What is your problem?” she spat. “I don’t know what I ever saw in you!”

“We thought we’d hunt,” Ashfur explained, brushing his tail across Squirrelflight’s mouth before she could say anything else. “I’m sorry we came further than we meant to.”

Brambleclaw’s gaze raked over him, fury still burning in his amber eyes.

“It’s a good thing we came across that fox,” Squirrelflight pointed out. “The Clan needs to know about it.”

“And how much would the Clan have known if the pair of you were killed?” Brambleclaw growled. “For StarClan’s sake, have a bit more sense next time.”

He stepped forward to sniff the wound in Ashfur’s neck. To Squirrelflight’s relief it had almost stopped bleeding; it looked deep, but not the kind of wound that would kill.

“You’d better get back to camp and let Cinderpelt have a look at that,” he advised. “You too, Squirrelflight. You have some pretty bad scratches there.”

Squirrelflight twisted her head to see along her flanks and over her shoulders. Several clumps of fur were missing, and blood trickled out in sticky red streams where the fox’s teeth had sunk into her flesh. The bitemarks stung fiercely, and every muscle throbbed. Squirrelflight longed to creep back to camp for a pawful of soothing herbs and her soft nest under the thorn bush. But they couldn’t let the fox go without trying to find its den.

“Shouldn’t we follow the scent trail and see if the fox has a den close by?” she suggested. Her voice was cold, hiding the anger that burned inside her. “There’s no use going to Firestar with half a story.”

“Good idea,” Ashfur agreed. “That fox looked thin and desperate, as if it’s competing for food with stronger foxes. That makes it dangerous. If it lives in our territory, we need to work out how to get rid of it.”

Brambleclaw hesitated, then nodded. “OK, we’ll follow for a while, at least.”

He led the way to the thicket where the fox had disappeared. The reek of its scent was still strong.

“What a stink!” Ashfur snarled.

Brambleclaw took the lead as the three cats followed the trail through the undergrowth. Before long it crossed the old, overgrown Twoleg path that led back to the stone hollow and continued into the woods on the other side. As the trees thinned out and gave way to moorland, Squirrelflight realised it was becoming mingled with the scent of cats. Not far off she could hear the gurgling of a stream.

Brambleclaw halted. “This is the WindClan border,” he announced.

“If the fox has crossed into their territory, it’s not our problem any more,” meowed Ashfur.

“Don’t be too sure of that.” Brambleclaw glanced from side to side. “Let’s just check if we can see its den.”

“Its den must be in WindClan territory, mousebrain,” Squirrelflight muttered, but she helped in the search, padding along the border for several fox-lengths in each direction before heading further back into the trees.

When the three cats joined each other again at the border, none of them had found the den.

“It looks as if the fox crossed the border. WindClan can deal with it now,” Squirrelflight mewed.

“I’m not sure Firestar will see it that way,” Brambleclaw warned. “He might want to warn Onestar.”

Squirrelflight knew he could be right. The awkward meeting with the WindClan patrol a few days before hadn’t seemed to change her father’s faith in his friendship with Onestar. And a true friend wouldn’t keep news of the fox to himself. Besides, even if the fox crossed the border, ThunderClan cats were still in danger.

“OK,” she agreed. “Let’s get back to camp and tell Firestar about it.”

Squirrelflight lay near the entrance to Cinderpelt’s den, gritting her teeth while Leafpool dabbed chewed-up marigold leaves onto her scratches. Nearby, Cinderpelt was applying cobwebs to the wound in Ashfur’s neck. He flinched, and Squirrelflight gave him a sympathetic glance.

“That should be fine,” the medicine cat told him. “Take it easy for the next couple of days, though. And make sure you let one of us check the wounds every day, to make sure they’re not infected.”

“You say the fox went across the WindClan border?” Leafpool asked her sister.

She looked worried. Squirrelflight couldn’t imagine why Leafpool should be bothered about a fox in WindClan’s territory. It would be much more worrying if it lived on the ThunderClan side of the border.

“That’s right,” she mewed, wincing as marigold juice seeped into the puncture wounds where the fox’s teeth had pierced her fur.

“You didn’t see any WindClan cats, did you?” Leafpool went on. Squirrelflight began to pick up embarrassment from her, and some deep, churning feeling she couldn’t identify. “Like—like Crowfeather, for instance?”

“No. If we’d seen any WindClan cats we would have told them about the fox, mousebrain. We wouldn’t have to think about visiting them again.” Brambleclaw was with Firestar right now, describing what had happened, and Squirrelflight was fairly sure what her father’s reaction would be. “Anyway, what made you think of Crowfeather?”

Leafpool was taking a long time to sort through the heap of marigold leaves. “Oh, no reason,” she mewed. “I just know he’s a friend of yours, from when you went to the sun-drown-place.”

“I don’t know about a friend,” Squirrelflight remarked. “I don’t think Crowfeather is capable of getting close to another cat—especially now that Feathertail’s dead. He really loved her. He must miss her so much.”

“I expect he does,” Leafpool replied. She sounded as if something was choking her, and Squirrelflight looked at her in concern, but she had bent down to chew up another leaf.

Ashfur hissed at the sting of marigold as Leafpool slapped the chewed-up leaf on his clawed hindleg. Squirrelflight blinked. Her sister was usually gentler than that!

There was a rustle among the brambles that sheltered the den and Firestar appeared, followed closely by Brambleclaw.

“Brambleclaw said you’d be here,” the Clan leader meowed to Squirrelflight and Ashfur. “I’ve decided to go over to WindClan to warn Onestar about the fox, and I want you to come with me.”

Squirrelflight wasn’t surprised. But we didn’t warn ShadowClan about the badger, she thought.

Cinderpelt raised her head. “I don’t think—”

“I know what you’re going to say,” Firestar interrupted. “But my shoulder’s fine now, and I’ve made up my mind.”

“That’s not what I was going to say.” The medicine cat’s blue eyes flashed. “These cats have been hurt in a fight and they need to rest.”

“I need them to tell Onestar what they saw,” Firestar objected.

“They can tell you, and you can pass on the message,” Cinderpelt mewed stubbornly.

“Hang on.” Squirrelflight heaved herself to her paws. “What about asking us? I feel strong enough to go over to WindClan. What about you, Ashfur?”

“Sure.” The grey warrior rose and stood beside her.

Firestar’s gaze swept over them. “Yes, you look fine to me. You can rest when we get back.”

“And if you get into another fight over there?” Cinderpelt challenged him.

“That won’t happen,” Firestar said calmly. “WindClan are our friends.”

Cinderpelt let out an angry hiss and stalked into her den, her tail twitching irritably.

Firestar watched her with a warm look in his green eyes. “She gets more like Yellowfang every day,” he murmured.

By the time Firestar led his patrol across the WindClan border the sun was beginning to set. There was no sign of any other cats; even the scent of the most recent WindClan patrol was faint. Squirrelflight struggled to pick it out among the rich odours of rabbit that drifted down from the moorland, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since early morning. They had not gone far when she spotted three rabbits hopping slowly along as they nibbled the grass.

“It’s as if they know we’re not allowed to chase them,” she complained to Ashfur.

Ashfur’s whiskers twitched. “I know. But just think what Onestar would say if he caught us taking prey in his territory.”

Soon they came to a stream that fell steeply over a series of tiny waterfalls. A few stunted thorn trees grew beside it. There were no WindClan cats to be seen until the patrol was climbing the slope that led to the camp. Then Squirrelflight spotted the outline of a single warrior keeping watch on the skyline; the cat whisked round and disappeared as Firestar led the others up the final stretch of turf. A few heartbeats later, Onestar appeared from the thorn bushes that surrounded the hollow and stood waiting for them. Webfoot and Crowfeather flanked him, their faces expressionless.

“Firestar.” Onestar dipped his head in greeting. “What are you doing in WindClan territory?”

His tone was polite, but he spoke to Firestar as an equal, his head proudly raised and his gaze steady. This was not the cat who had pleaded to Firestar for help when Tallstar first made him Clan leader.

“We came to see how you are,” Firestar replied. “I’d have come before, but I wrenched my shoulder in the battle.”

“WindClan is fine,” Onestar meowed. “Is there any reason we shouldn’t be?”

Squirrelflight’s jaws gaped in astonishment. How could he ask that, when less than a moon had passed since Mudclaw’s rebellion?

Firestar’s gaze slid past the WindClan leader to where Webfoot was standing in front of the barrier of gorse bushes. Squirrelflight guessed her father was reluctant to point out that some of the traitorous cats were still members of the Clan—not when one of those cats was in earshot.

Onestar’s eyes narrowed. “Every cat in my Clan knows that I am the cat chosen by StarClan to be their leader. There will be no more trouble. You don’t need to watch over me as if I were a helpless kit.”

“That’s not what I was doing,” Firestar protested. “We also came to bring you some news,” he went on. “Brambleclaw, tell Onestar what happened today.”

Brambleclaw stepped forward beside his leader. “These two”—he flicked his tail at Squirrelflight and Ashfur—“surprised a fox.”

“A young dog fox,” Ashfur put in. “One of the biggest I’ve seen.”

“The three of us fought it off,” Brambleclaw explained, “and it crossed the border into your territory. We think it must have a den—”

“—among some rocks near the foot of the hill,” Onestar finished. He flicked his tail dismissively. “My warriors have already tracked it. We’re keeping an eye on it; don’t worry.”

“It’s more savage than most foxes,” Brambleclaw warned. “Look at the wounds on Squirrelflight and Ashfur.”

“You can say that again!” Squirrelflight murmured, wincing as she flexed her shoulders.

“WindClan can deal with it,” Onestar insisted. “Many seasons have passed since ShadowClan drove us out of our old home, but too many cats still see WindClan as the weakest clan. You act as if we can hardly feed ourselves. But WindClan is as strong as any other Clan and we shall prove it. We do not need help from any cat.”

Firestar bent his head. Squirrelflight saw pain in his eyes and she longed to be anywhere but here, listening to one of her father’s oldest allies rejecting his friendship.

“WindClan did just as much as any other Clan to bring us to our new home,” Onestar went on. “We owe nothing to any cat.”

Squirrelflight barely stopped herself from yelling, That’s not true! Without ThunderClan, WindClan would have died in their former home, every last cat caught by Twolegs or killed by their gigantic, churning monsters!

Firestar lifted his head. “I’m sorry if we offended you,” he said evenly. He gestured with his tail at his Clanmates, indicating that they should leave. “Goodbye, Onestar,” he mewed. “I’ll see you at the Gathering.”

“Do you want a patrol to follow them to the border?” Webfoot spoke for the first time.

Onestar shook his head. “That won’t be necessary.” Without saying anything else, he turned and disappeared into the bushes. Firestar watched the place where he had vanished until the leaves stopped trembling. Then without speaking he turned and headed down the slope. Squirrelflight was about to follow when she heard a low voice call her name. She glanced back; Crowfeather was still standing in the shadow of the bushes.

“Squirrelflight, I wanted to ask you—” he began.

Webfoot thrust his head out of the bushes. “Crowfeather!”

“I’ll be there in a moment!” Crowfeather called back. “Squirrelflight, listen,” he began again.

But Firestar had paused at the foot of the slope. “Come on, Squirrelflight!”

“Can’t this wait until the Gathering?” Squirrelflight mewed to the WindClan warrior. “I’ve got to go.”

Crowfeather took a step back, his tail drooping in disappointment. “OK, I guess it can wait.”

Webfoot called out again, and with a last frustrated look at Squirrelflight, Crowfeather turned away.

Squirrelflight bounded after her Clanmates. She still couldn’t believe the way Onestar had spoken to her father. Any new leader would want his Clan to be strong and independent, but surely he couldn’t have forgotten everything he owed to Firestar?

If that’s the way Onestar wants it, she thought as she caught up to her Clanmates, then fine. It didn’t do us any favours to be his allies. But he’ll be sorry in the end, when he needs ThunderClan’s help again.




CHAPTER 5 (#ulink_62e25ee6-4182-5452-827f-1e3d7c196e09)


A ruffled disc of white light trembled on the surface of the lake, and up above the stars of Silverpelt blazed in the night sky. StarClan must be pleased with how we’re settling in, Squirrelflight decided as she followed her sister along the lakeshore. Her paws tingled at the thought of taking part in the first Gathering on the island. She couldn’t wait to cross the fallen tree and explore.





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