River, page 9
Sunbeam’s courage faltered at the thought. She had never had much dealing with rogues, but the elders around the fresh-kill pile in the evening told terrible stories about them. She tried to imagine herself fighting, going over the best moves and techniques to use, but that just made her realize she had no idea how many cats she would be facing. She was acutely aware that she had broken away from the hunting patrol; now she was quite alone.
Is it really wise for me to get into a fight?
Sunbeam decided that the most sensible thing she could do was to find the rest of her Clanmates and tell them what she had overheard. Tawnypelt, as the most senior warrior, could decide what to do.
Besides, she added to herself, the noise was really far away. It could even have been coming from RiverClan, and if it was, that’s their problem.
As she turned away, heading for the spot where she had parted from the patrol, a breeze sprang up, fluttering the leaves and setting the fern fronds swaying to and fro. Sunbeam’s nose twitched as she picked up a scent. Instantly she identified it as ShadowClan, and felt sudden relief that she must be closer to the patrol than she had expected.
Then the scent grew stronger, and Sunbeam was able to identify the cat it belonged to. Lightleap!
The fern fronds parted and the brown tabby she-cat limped into the open, coming from the direction where Sunbeam had heard the strange sounds. When she saw Sunbeam, she halted, with an awkward expression that rapidly changed to suspicion.
“Have you been following me?” she demanded, her voice harsh. “Are you spying on me?”
“No, I’m not, honestly,” Sunbeam responded. “I was trying to spy for prey, but this StarClan-cursed squirrel got away from me.”
Her attempt at humor had no effect on Lightleap, who simply turned her back on Sunbeam and limped away.
“What happened?” Sunbeam called after her. Was it Lightleap I heard, fighting the rogues? Maybe she took another of those crazy risks. Is she badly hurt?
Lightleap paused, looking back over her shoulder. “Nothing happened,” she responded. “I trod on a thorn, that’s all. Now leave me alone.”
Sunbeam followed her, ready to scold her for dismissing her injury when there could be a threat to the Clan. If there are rogues on our territory, then Tigerstar should know about it. Anxiously she scanned Lightleap for any other wounds, but to her relief she couldn’t see anything; Lightleap didn’t look like a cat who had been in a fight.
She could be telling the truth, Sunbeam thought, and she’ll be even angrier with me if I suggest she’s lying.
She had decided not to say anything when Lightleap suddenly halted, spun around, and confronted her. “Stop trailing after me like you’re a dumb kit!” she snapped. “What part of ‘leave me alone’ don’t you understand?”
“I’m trying to be your friend!” Sunbeam protested. “But Great StarClan, Lightleap, you do make it difficult.”
For a couple of heartbeats she thought she might have reached Lightleap, who stood rigid, staring at her in silence. But the moment didn’t last. Lightleap let out an angry hiss and turned to pad off, leaving Sunbeam feeling even worse than when she had broken away from the rest of the hunting patrol. Somehow, instead of making up with Lightleap after the quarrel, she’d made her friend even more hostile.
I’d better find the others, she thought wearily. And I don’t think I’ll tell Tawnypelt about the noise after all. I don’t want to get into trouble again. Telling on Lightleap didn’t go too well last time. Anyway, I’m sure it was nothing.
Sunbeam sat outside the warriors’ den in the ShadowClan camp, her gaze fixed on Lightleap, who was crouched beside the fresh-kill pile, sharing prey with her sister, Pouncestep. Although Sunbeam had just returned from the dawn patrol, and her belly was full from the mouse she had eaten when she arrived back in camp, she wasn’t content. She still felt uneasily that she should have investigated the strange noises she had heard on the day before, or reported them to Tawnypelt.
But she had an even more pressing problem: Would Lightleap ever get over feeling that Sunbeam had betrayed her, so that they could be friends again? After they returned from hunting, Sunbeam had tried several times to speak to her, only to have Lightleap coldly turn her back, or make a great show of ignoring her while she talked with other Clanmates.
And what was she doing all by herself yesterday?
Movement at the camp entrance distracted her from these thoughts; she sat up as she saw the latest hunting patrol escort Sneezecloud and Brackenpelt of RiverClan into the clearing. Their heads were raised and their eyes wide; their legs seemed stiff as they headed into the center of the camp. Sunbeam could tell that something was wrong.
Cloverfoot rose from where she was sharing a squirrel with Yarrowleaf near the fresh-kill pile and padded across to meet the newcomers. Sunbeam rose, too, and eased herself closer, curious to find out what all this was about. Lightleap followed the Clan deputy, her eyes bright with interest.
She doesn’t look worried, or guilty, Sunbeam mused with relief. This can’t be about what happened yesterday.
“Greetings,” Cloverfoot began, with a slight dip of her head; her tone was chilly. “Why are you here?”
“Greetings, Cloverfoot.” Brackenpelt halted in front of the Clan deputy. “We wanted to ask if any of your cats have seen Reedwhisker.”
Cloverfoot blinked, looking a little bewildered. “I haven’t,” she stated. Swinging around, she let her gaze travel over the members of the Clan who were out in the clearing. “Reedwhisker? Any cat?”
There was no response except for a few shaken heads.
“What makes you think Reedwhisker would have been on ShadowClan territory?” Cloverfoot asked. “Surely you’re not going to admit he might have been trespassing?”
Sneezecloud, standing at Brackenpelt’s shoulder, gave his Clanmate an alarmed glance at this, but the tortoiseshell she-cat remained calm. “Of course not, Cloverfoot,” she replied. “We have no reason to think he’s here. But he went out on a hunt and Mistystar wanted him back in camp. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Then I’ll say good-bye. My Clanmates will escort you to the border.”
Brackenpelt opened her jaws as if to protest that there was no need, then closed them again, clearly thinking better of it. “Thank you for your help,” she mewed at last.
Flanked on either side by their escort, the RiverClan cats headed out of camp. Just before they disappeared into the bushes, Sneezecloud looked back over his shoulder. “If any of you do see him,” he called, “tell him that we’re looking for him.”
Excited chatter broke out among the ShadowClan cats as soon as the RiverClan cats were gone. Blazefire strolled over to stand at Sunbeam’s side.
“That was so strange!” she exclaimed, turning to him.
Blazefire shrugged. “You shouldn’t think too much about it,” he advised her. “RiverClan has always been a weird bunch, right?”
“I suppose so.” Though she agreed with Blazefire, Sunbeam remembered the noise of fighting in the forest, and the way Lightleap had appeared, limping, during the hunt. Is all this somehow connected?
“There’s something I have to tell you,” she meowed to Blazefire. “Follow me; we’ll go where no cat will overhear us.”
Blazefire rolled his eyes good-humoredly, but he followed Lightleap without protest to their favorite flat rock near the edge of the camp.
“I’m still really worried about Lightleap,” Sunbeam continued when they were settled. She described how Lightleap had abandoned the hunting patrol, and later she herself had broken away to hunt alone. “And when we met up again, Lightleap accused me of spying. I know she’s having a tough time,” she finished, “but if she’s getting up to something secret—whatever it is—who knows what might happen?”
Sunbeam paused, unwilling to share her worst fears, even with Blazefire. Suppose Lightleap did see Reedwhisker, and fought with him? She might even have attacked him because he was trespassing—but if so, why didn’t she report it? Oh, I can’t tell any cat about this! It would make things even worse between me and Lightleap.
Blazefire was obviously waiting for her to continue; Sunbeam rapidly thought of something to say that didn’t sound too mouse-brained. “A distracted warrior could be a liability to her Clanmates, right?”
To her dismay, Blazefire didn’t look as worried as she had expected. “You only ran into Lightleap because you had wandered off,” he pointed out coolly. “Wouldn’t you count as a ‘distracted warrior,’ too?”
“That’s different,” Sunbeam protested, though she knew she was doing a poor job of convincing Blazefire.
“I know you’re concerned about Lightleap,” Blazefire continued, resting his tail-tip briefly on Sunbeam’s shoulder. “You’re a good friend. But you can’t be too hard on her, or get too caught up in the rules. Lightleap’s father is our leader, remember—not you.”
“I know who our leader is!” Sunbeam responded, hurt that Blazefire would scold her instead of sympathizing with her.
“Then maybe you should loosen up a little bit,” Blazefire suggested.
“Maybe.” Sunbeam could hardly get the word out. She had been so sure that Blazefire would support her. Instead he was dismissing her concerns about Lightleap as if he were flicking a fly off his fresh-kill. Usually he would agree with her, or tease her affectionately about how she was focused on the rules, but he wasn’t teasing now.
Sunbeam turned her head away to hide her sense of betrayal. Oh, Blazefire, I know that something is really, really wrong! And what in StarClan’s name am I going to do about it?
Chapter 10
Flamepaw paced back and forth at the bottom of the cliff beneath the Highledge, every so often casting a glance up at the entrance to the Clan leader’s den. He startled at the sound of paw steps behind him and spun around to see his sister, Finchlight.
“You scared me out of my fur!” he exclaimed.
“Sorry,” Finchlight responded, brushing her tail against his side, “but there’s no need to get so worked up.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Flamepaw grumbled. “You’re a warrior already. This new assessment is really important for me.”
“Just relax,” Finchlight meowed, pushing her muzzle against Flamepaw’s shoulder. “Trust your instincts, and don’t dwell on how you messed up last time.”
Messed up? For a moment Flamepaw was furious with his sister for being so blunt. But she’s right, he admitted, so there’s no point in getting angry with her. Or with myself . . .
Flamepaw nodded, trying to let his lingering fury at himself fade like mist under the sun. He knew that he shouldn’t have been trying to show off. If I hadn’t been such a stupid furball, I would be a warrior by now.
“You’re right,” he told Finchlight. “I have to put all that out of my mind. Bramblestar has agreed to come and watch me today, to support me, because I’m his kin.”
Saying the words made Flamepaw feel immensely proud. My Clan leader is taking trouble especially for me! If I have to live up to the pressure of my famous family, at least I get something out of it, he added to himself wryly.
“Are you sure?” Finchlight asked, with a doubtful glance up at the Highledge. “No cat has seen much of Bramblestar today. He hasn’t come out of his den in ages. And I’m sure I heard him and Squirrelflight arguing up there earlier.”
“Bramblestar promised he would be there,” Flamepaw assured her. “And our Clan leader doesn’t break his promises.”
He remembered how Bramblestar had looked when he made the promise: the interest and approval glowing in his amber eyes. For a long time Flamepaw hadn’t believed that he belonged in his Clan, but finally, under that warm gaze, he could see a way to prove himself.
Now he flexed his claws impatiently; he felt as though every hair on his pelt were straining to begin the assessment.
Should I tell Bramblestar I’m going to get started? Would that make him get a move on?
Flamepaw took a few uncertain paces toward the bottom of the tumbled rocks that led up to the Highledge, only to halt as a cry came up from Twigbranch, who was on guard at the camp entrance.
“RiverClan cats!”
Turning toward the sound, Flamepaw saw four cats emerging from the thorn tunnel. Poppyfrost was in the lead, followed by two RiverClan warriors—Flamepaw thought he recognized Minnowtail and Havenpelt. Molewhisker brought up the rear.
“We came across these cats while we were patrolling the border,” Molewhisker announced to his Clanmates. With a glance at the newcomers, he asked, “Do you want to see Bramblestar?”
The two she-cats both shook their head. “Oh, we wouldn’t want to disturb him,” Minnowtail meowed. “We just wanted to know if any cat had seen Reedwhisker. Has he been here at all?”
Flamepaw shot Finchlight a confused glance. “Reedwhisker, here? Have they got bees in their brain?” he muttered.
All the ThunderClan cats were staring at the newcomers with identical blank expressions. “Why would Reedwhisker have come so far away from RiverClan?” Molewhisker asked. “Especially when he would have to cross other territories to get here? Did he need to meet with Squirrelflight or Bramblestar?”
“Oh, no reason.” Flamepaw noticed how swiftly Minnowtail replied: so swiftly that he began to wonder whether she was hiding something. “It’s not important.”
“Except he went off without telling any cat where,” Havenpelt explained. “While we were on patrol, we just thought we’d drop by and ask if any cat had seen him.”
“No. We haven’t.” Bumblestripe’s voice was cold.
Minnowtail dipped her head politely. “Thanks, anyway. We’ll be going, then.”
“Sorry for intruding,” Havenpelt added.
The two she-cats turned and bounded out through the thorn tunnel. Their ThunderClan escort, taken by surprise at their abrupt departure, had to race to catch up with them.
“That was weird,” Flamepaw remarked, padding forward with Finchlight to join the cats who were beginning to gather near the camp entrance.
Bumblestripe, pressing up behind him, let out a derisive snort. “RiverClan has always been weird.”
“It must be all that fish they eat,” Cherryfall added. “And now they seem to have lost their deputy. How did they manage that?”
Thriftear shrugged. “Who knows?”
“What I’d like to know is this,” Thornclaw began, raising his voice to be heard over the general chatter. “Could those two really have been on a patrol that brought them all the way to the ThunderClan border? They’d have to cross through another Clan’s territory. They didn’t just ‘drop in.’ They came here for a reason, and maybe it wasn’t to look for Reedwhisker.”
“Thornclaw’s right,” Twigbranch meowed. “Is there any cat who’s not worried that they might be up to something? Don’t forget, Mistystar sided with the fake Bramblestar. How can we be sure that she has the Clans’ best interests at heart now?”
Honeyfur glared at Twigbranch, her shoulder fur bushing up and the tip of her tail twitching. “So what if Mistystar sided with the impostor?” she snapped. “Lots of cats did that—even here in ThunderClan!”
An outcry followed her words. Cats who had rebelled when Ashfur was controlling Bramblestar faced up to those who had stayed loyal to the cat they’d believed was their leader. Flamepaw took a pace back, alarmed by the bristling pelts, lashing tails, and lips drawn back in a snarl. He had only been an apprentice when the impostor had ruled ThunderClan, but Sparkpelt had sided against him, and that had separated Flamepaw from his mother and sister. Glancing around, he spotted Sparkpelt in the crowd; her orange fur was bristling as she glared at Honeyfur.
“We’ll always be ready for future betrayals,” Lionblaze hissed. “No impostor will ever deceive ThunderClan again.”
“But surely nothing like that could ever happen again.” Finleap was obviously trying to sound reasonable. “How many cats like Ashfur could there be?”
Lionblaze’s only response was a growl from deep in his throat.
“They’re not actually going to fight, are they?” Flamepaw muttered to Finchlight.
His sister blinked uneasily. “Some cat ought to stop them,” she responded, with a glance up at the Highledge.
To Flamepaw’s relief, Squirrelflight emerged from the leader’s den and ran lightly down the tumbled rocks to halt on the fringe of the group of furious cats. “What in StarClan’s name is going on here?” she demanded. “No—don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Just break it up. Do none of you have duties you should be doing?”
Her scathing words quieted the angry cats, who stepped away from one another, looking ashamed of themselves. Twigbranch went back to her place at the mouth of the tunnel, while Lionblaze started to call together a hunting patrol.
Squirrelflight watched for a moment with sharp green eyes until she was sure that the stormy exchange was over, then turned to Flamepaw. “Are you ready to start your assessment?” she asked.
Flamepaw jumped; in the midst of all the commotion he had almost forgotten his assessment. At Squirrelflight’s words his optimism wavered a little. “Isn’t Bramblestar coming?”
Squirrelflight’s gaze flicked back toward the Clan leader’s den, and a shadow crossed her face. Flamepaw thought she seemed troubled, though she was clearly trying to hide it. “Bramblestar has other things to take care of,” she explained, seeming to choose her words carefully. “So I’ll be observing you in his place. Go and find Lilyheart, and we’ll get going.”
Flamepaw nodded. “Sure, Squirrelflight.”
All the same, as he trudged across the camp to call Lilyheart from the warriors’ den, Flamepaw felt weighed down by disappointment. He had felt special—really important—when he thought that his Clan leader was going to observe his assessment. It had given him confidence, a hope that he was really talented. Cats are always telling me I’m special, but just for a while I really felt special.
