River, page 13
The golden she-cat dipped her head. “What have you to say to me, young one?”
Hesitant to begin with, Frostpaw gradually gained more confidence as she recounted the suggestions the Clans had made about changes to the code. Leopardstar’s expression remained blank; as Frostpaw explained, she couldn’t guess what the leader thought.
“Are you okay with that?” Frostpaw asked when she had finished.
Leopardstar nodded, but when she spoke, it was about something completely different. “RiverClan is in trouble,” she declared, “But if you act quickly, Frostpaw, it can be saved. I see Reedwhisker in a shadowy place, within your own borders. Listen!”
Frostpaw pricked her ears, and seemed to hear the sound of Twoleg voices in the distance. Then she felt herself falling . . . falling with stars all around her, and the voice of Leopardstar echoing in her ears.
“Careful!” That was Mothwing’s voice; Frostpaw’s mentor was gripping her shoulder with one forepaw, dragging her backward. “You nearly fell in!”
Frostpaw opened her eyes to find herself sprawled on a flat stone at the water’s edge. She was panting for breath, as if she had run all the way from the RiverClan camp.
“Well?” Mothwing asked with an impatient twitch of her whiskers. “Did StarClan say anything? Did you speak to Mistystar?”
“No, but I saw Leopardstar!” Frostpaw gasped, excitement surging through her at the memory.
“And does she agree with the changes to the code?”
Looking around, Frostpaw saw that the other medicine cats were already clustered together, discussing what they had seen. It sounded as if StarClan had approved the proposed changes.
Frostpaw half expected some cat to turn to her and Mothwing and demand why they had never reported that Mistystar was dead. But they all seemed focused on the warrior code. Mothwing must be right, that StarClan cats only show themselves to their own Clan, she thought with a breath of relief. She certainly wasn’t going to risk revealing any secrets by asking the other medicine cats if that was true.
“Well?” Mothwing repeated, tapping a paw.
“Yes,” Frostpaw responded, remembering the way Leopardstar had nodded. “She was fine with that. But I learned something even more important!”
“What?” Mothwing asked.
Frostpaw felt she would burst with excitement, but she managed to keep her voice low so that the other medicine cats wouldn’t overhear. “I know where Reedwhisker is!” she announced.
Chapter 15
Two blackbirds, a male and a female, were pecking together at something on the ground. Sunbeam gestured with her tail for Gullswoop to sneak around in a wide circle so that she could approach the prey from the opposite side. The white she-cat flattened herself to the ground and disappeared into the long grass.
At a nod from Sunbeam, Yarrowleaf began to work her way around in the other direction. The birds still seemed unaware that a hunting patrol was closing in on them.
“Now!” Sunbeam yowled.
The birds let out panic-stricken squawks as her screech split the silence and three cats leaped out at them from three different directions. They fluttered upward, but it was too late. Sunbeam snagged one claw in a flapping wing and brought one bird down so that Yarrowleaf could snap its neck with a well-aimed paw. Meanwhile, Gullswoop had gripped the other bird by its neck and shook it until it went limp.
“Thank you, StarClan, for this prey,” Sunbeam gasped.
The hunting had gone well. Earlier, Yarrowleaf had caught a squirrel, and the blackbirds were nice and plump, a good addition to the fresh-kill pile.
“I think we can go back to camp,” Sunbeam meowed. “Yarrowleaf, if you go and fetch your squirrel, Gullswoop and I will bring these.”
“Sure thing, Sunbeam.”
Yarrowleaf headed off through the trees, while Sunbeam and Gullswoop padded off side by side.
“You know, Sunbeam, you’re a really good hunter,” Gullswoop meowed, speaking with difficulty around the wing of the blackbird she was carrying. “You should feel so proud of yourself.”
Sunbeam shrugged, a little embarrassed. “We all did well today.”
“But you were leading,” Gullswoop insisted. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. I think you’re one of the best hunters in the Clan.”
That’s going a bit far, Sunbeam thought, wondering why her Clanmate would praise her so highly for a routine catch. It suddenly occurred to her that Gullswoop sounded like she was trying to cheer her up, which in a way was even weirder. Why does she think I need that? Sunbeam was sad that Lightleap still wouldn’t talk to her, but it was strange that Gullswoop had noticed it. How many other cats have noticed it? she asked herself, her fur prickling uneasily. Is the whole Clan gossiping about me?
“You know, I’m really fine,” she said, responding to what Gullswoop had not said.
“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that.” There was relief in Gullswoop’s voice. “Have you made up with Lightleap, then? How is she doing?”
“I’m not sure,” Sunbeam replied. “We haven’t spent much time together lately.”
“Interesting . . . ,” Gullswoop murmured with a flick of her ears. “It must bother you that she’s spending so much time with Blazefire. I don’t blame you. . . .”
Sunbeam halted as abruptly as if a rock had sprung up from the ground and thumped her in the chest. “What do you mean? I haven’t talked much with Blazefire recently, but he’s still my . . . my special friend.”
Gullswoop stared at her, disconcerted. “I—I didn’t mean—” she stammered. “Maybe I’ve got it wrong. It’s not like they like each other, not in that way. I’m sure of it.”
Sunbeam’s only response was a curt nod, but all the way back to camp her belly was shaking, and she felt as if she wanted to crawl out of her pelt. How long has this been going on? She remembered how she had asked Blazefire to talk to Lightleap for her, but she hadn’t realized the two had been spending so much time together.
Maybe that’s why Blazefire wouldn’t back me up the other day when I saw Lightleap wander off from the hunting patrol.
When she reached the camp, Sunbeam forced herself to do her duty by taking her blackbird to the fresh-kill pile, then began to look for Blazefire. He wasn’t out in the clearing, and his nest in the warriors’ den was empty.
Emerging into the open again, Sunbeam spotted Shadowsight at the entrance to the medicine cats’ den. Bounding over to him, she asked, “Have you seen Blazefire?”
“I think he went with a hunting patrol toward the SkyClan border,” Shadowsight replied, sounding a little reluctant to tell her. “Lightleap was with him, and a couple of others.”
Something about the soft way the medicine cat spoke made Sunbeam feel even worse, as if the whole of ShadowClan knew that Blazefire and Lightleap were together.
Her immediate reaction was to head out and try to follow Blazefire’s scent trail, but she told herself how stupid that would be; she could easily end up chasing him around the forest and missing him altogether. Or, if she found him, it would be so embarrassing to interrupt a hunting patrol, as if she were trailing after him like a lost kit.
Instead she settled herself on a flat rock from where she could watch the camp entrance. The longer she waited for the hunting patrol to return, the more anger swelled inside her until she felt it like a huge lump of crow-food in her belly.
I wonder if this is why Lightleap has been avoiding me. Sunbeam scraped her claws furiously across the rock. All this trouble started because I was worried about her, and trying to be a good friend. And now she does this to me!
The sun was going down, casting long shadows across the camp, before Snaketooth and Whorlpelt returned, dragging a large rabbit between them. Sunbeam sprang to her paws and raced over to confront the two warriors.
“Were you on the same patrol with Blazefire and Lightleap?” she demanded.
“That’s right,” Snaketooth replied, exchanging an uncomfortable glance with Whorlpelt, “but they went off on their own.”
“Yeah, we lost track of them,” Whorlpelt confirmed. He hesitated, then added, “Why don’t you come and eat with us? I’m sure they’ll be back pretty soon.”
Somehow the gray-and-white tom being nice to her made Sunbeam angrier still. “Be honest with me,” she mewed through gritted teeth, glancing from Whorlpelt to her former mentor. “Has Blazefire been spending a lot of time with Lightleap?”
Once again Whorlpelt glanced uneasily at Snaketooth. “Well—okay—sure, sometimes,” he stammered.
“Just as friends.” Snaketooth was so eager to get the words out that Sunbeam suspected she didn’t really believe what she was saying. Was she just trying to make her former apprentice feel better? “I mean—you’re all friends, aren’t you?”
Sunbeam wanted to unload her anger on these cats who were trying to hide the truth from her, but as she opened her jaws to speak, a yowl rang out from the forest beyond the camp. In the gathering twilight it sent an eerie chill through every hair on Sunbeam’s pelt.
“What was that?” Whorlpelt asked.
Before any cat could reply, the yowl was repeated, and Lightleap burst in through the camp entrance, her ears flattened and her fur bristling.
“Come quickly!” she screeched. “I need help. Blazefire is hurt!”
Sunbeam raced through the forest at Lightleap’s side, heading for the SkyClan border. Shadowsight and Snaketooth were hard on their paws.
“What happened?” Sunbeam asked.
“We were hunting among some rocks. We caught lots of mice,” Lightleap explained, her words coming in short bursts as she gasped for breath. “There was a kind of tunnel. Some mice were hiding in there. I dared Blazefire to go in and flush them out. He did, but the tunnel was too narrow. He pushed at a rock and the tunnel fell in on him. Two huge rocks are pinning him down!”
Fury surged through Sunbeam; she slid out her claws and might have sprung at Lightleap if Shadowsight hadn’t appeared at her side. How could she put Blazefire in danger like that?
“Are you both mouse-brained?” Shadowsight turned a shocked look on the brown tabby she-cat. “Why did you do that? You said you’d already caught lots of mice. You didn’t need the prey!”
Lightleap gave the medicine cat an anguished glance. “I didn’t mean for it to turn out like this!” she wailed. “It was just supposed to be fun! Blazefire is usually so quick! Remember when we were kits in the big Twoleg den and—”
“There’s no time for that,” Shadowsight meowed sternly; he flicked a glance at Sunbeam, who guessed he must be seeing the hurt in her face.
She remembered that Shadowsight, Blazefire, and Lightleap had all known each other when they lived with Tigerstar and Dovewing in the big Twolegplace. It had never occurred to Sunbeam to be jealous that Lightleap had known Blazefire for longer, but now she felt as if jealousy were burning her up, as if each hair on her pelt were a flame.
Lightleap led the way almost to the SkyClan border, to a stretch of the forest where the ground was uneven and rocks poked through the grass. Sunbeam bit back a cry of dismay when she spotted Blazefire lying unmoving beneath two large rocks, pinned by the tail, one hind leg, and part of his flank.
Shadowsight instantly ran up to him, laid a paw on his neck, and gave him a good sniff.
“Is he dead?” Lightleap’s voice was quavering. “He was awake when I left him to get help.”
“No, just unconscious,” Shadowsight replied. “We need to get these rocks off him, and then I can have a better look.”
In spite of her earlier anger, Sunbeam was overcome by a rush of worry for Blazefire. Along with Snaketooth, she put all her strength into pushing the rocks away until the ginger-and-white tom was free. She watched anxiously as Shadowsight checked his breathing and ran his paws gently over all of Blazefire’s body.
Eventually the medicine cat sat up. “We’ll have to carry him back to camp,” he announced. “His leg is broken, but I’m not sure what other injuries he might have.”
Sunbeam’s heart was heavy as she helped carry Blazefire back through the forest. Snaketooth balanced him on her back, while Sunbeam steadied him on one side and Lightleap on the other. Sunbeam didn’t want to look at Lightleap or speak to her, much less have to cooperate with her in helping Blazefire.
The sun had gone down, and shadows were gathering under the trees. Every paw step was an effort, and not just because of the weight of their injured Clanmate. Will he survive? Sunbeam wondered. And if he did, would he fully recover?
Puddleshine was waiting for them in the medicine cats’ den when they returned. Some cat must have told him what had happened, because he had already prepared a nest for Blazefire and a leaf with three poppy seeds to relieve his pain.
All the way through the forest Blazefire had remained limp and unresponsive, but as the medicine cats settled him in the nest, he stirred a little and his amber eyes blinked open. “Sunbeam?” he murmured.
“Yes, I’m here,” Sunbeam responded, bending over to give his ear a nuzzle. She was aware of Lightleap standing close by, watching them. He didn’t want her, she thought, and was then ashamed of herself for feeling so petty.
Blazefire let out a purr, then turned his head to lick up the poppy seeds Puddleshine was offering him. Then he sank back into the nest, closing his eyes again.
“We need to find some sticks to set his leg,” Puddleshine meowed to Shadowsight. “Best to do it while he’s unconscious.”
“Sunbeam, you should go now, and come back in the morning,” Shadowsight told her. “Blazefire should be awake by then.”
“Will he be okay? Will he walk again?” Sunbeam asked, even though she was afraid of what the answer might be.
Shadowsight shot a grave look at Lightleap. “Only time will tell,” he replied.
Sunbeam followed Lightleap out of the medicine cats’ den. Since she’d seen Blazefire pinned under the rocks, shock and anxiety had filled her with a kind of numbness. That was fading now, allowing her anger to seep back in.
“How could you?” she demanded, letting her shoulder fur bush up as she turned toward the brown tabby she-cat she had thought was her friend.
Lightleap’s gaze was full of guilt and sorrow, as if she realized at last how serious this was. “It was just a game,” she protested. “I had no idea Blazefire would get hurt.”
“I’m not just talking about that.” Sunbeam tried to put the icy wind of leaf-bare into her tone. “You know I’ve loved Blazefire since I was a kit. So why . . .”
Lightleap’s eyes widened. “Sure, Blazefire and I have been spending time together,” she meowed. “But only as friends! We have a lot in common, that’s all. We like to do stupid stuff, and take risks, whereas you . . . Sunbeam, you’re all about the rules.”
“Sometimes following the rules saves a lot of heartache,” Sunbeam pointed out, with a nod in the direction of the medicine cats’ den.
Lightleap blinked miserably. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.
Part of Sunbeam wanted to forgive her friend, but she had taken all she could for one day. Besides, she wasn’t sure she believed Lightleap that she and Blazefire were just friends. With a curt nod she stalked off swiftly to the warriors’ den, found her nest, and curled up tight in it with her tail wrapped over her face.
I wish I could wake up and find that all this was just a terrible dream.
Sunbeam roused from her nest to realize that the dawn patrol was leaving. Pushing her way into the open, she shook scraps of debris from her pelt and raced across the camp to the medicine cats’ den.
When Sunbeam slipped inside, she saw that Shadowsight was still curled up in his nest, but Puddleshine was awake, bending over Blazefire. He glanced over his shoulder at her and beckoned her with a whisk of his tail.
“He’s awake,” the medicine cat told her, “but still dazed from the poppy seed. You can see him for a few moments.”
He withdrew to the back of the den while Sunbeam hurried up to Blazefire. He lay stretched out on his side; one of his hind legs was kept straight by sticks bound tightly to it with ivy tendrils, and some kind of poultice was plastered to his tail by cobwebs.
Sunbeam had wanted so much to see him, but now that she was here, looking down at the cat she had thought would be her mate, she found she didn’t know what to say to him. Every hair on her pelt prickled with relief that he seemed to be recovering, but she still felt angry that he had been so reckless, and along with that a little guilty because she had asked him to talk to Lightleap. Did that lead them to take risks together? The cat she’d thought she knew wouldn’t have acted like this, and her hurt over whatever was happening between him and Lightleap still roiled in her belly. But she didn’t know how to put all that into words.
“You scared me” was all she managed to say.
Blazefire blinked up at her, his amber eyes clouded with pain. “I’m sorry,” he mewed.
“It’s okay,” Sunbeam responded. “I mean, you should have known better than to go into that tunnel! But you’ll recover, and then everything will be fine, and we . . .”
Her voice trailed off as she realized that Blazefire was still struggling to talk. “I wanted to tell you . . . ,” he mewed, his voice blurred. “I was planning to tell you . . . I do love you, I think I always will, but I don’t think we’re a good match to be mates.”
Sunbeam felt as if some cat had hurled a rock at her chest; for a moment she couldn’t breathe. He can’t be saying this! He can’t!
Blazefire paused, as if gathering his strength, and then continued. “We’re just too different. And it wouldn’t be fair to make you wait while I recover—if I ever do—and then not have it work out.”
Sunbeam listened in silence, trying to take in what Blazefire was telling her. She felt stunned, as if her whole world had suddenly vanished and left nothing but a huge, empty pit. All her life, she had thought that she would eventually become Blazefire’s mate. She had believed that she knew him.
