Sunset

by Erin Hunter

  “Fox dung!” Tawnypelt snarled. “I’m a loyal ShadowClan cat. If I’m ever made deputy or leader it will be because I have earned it myself—and because my Clanmates and StarClan wish it. You’re twisting the warrior code to get what you want, just like you did when you were alive.”

  A growl rumbled in Tigerstar’s throat. Brambleclaw caught the gleam of unsheathed claws and his heart pounded in fear for his sister.

  But Tawnypelt held her head high. “You don’t frighten me,” she meowed calmly. “And I don’t want anything you can give me.”

  Spinning round, she stalked across the clearing and straight into the clump where Brambleclaw crouched in hiding.

  She let out a hiss of surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Brambleclaw retorted, peering through the grass stems to make sure Tigerstar hadn’t spotted him. To his relief, the huge tabby had turned away.

  Tawnypelt’s eyes were cold as she gazed at her brother. “You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” she meowed. “You think he can give you power. Have you got thistledown for brains? You know what he did when he was alive.”

  “That was then.” Brambleclaw twitched his ears uncomfortably. “Now he’s just helping us to become good warriors—me and Hawkfrost. We train together. Tigerstar teaches us stuff.”

  “I bet he does!” Tawnypelt let out a snort of contempt. “Brambleclaw, think, will you? You’re an amazing cat already; you’re brave and loyal and you have tremendous warrior skills. Why do you need Tigerstar?” Without giving her brother a chance to reply, she swept on. “We’ve spent a long time trying to break free of our father’s legacy. When we were kits in ThunderClan, most cats didn’t trust us. Our Clan leader didn’t trust us, for StarClan’s sake! That’s why I left to join ShadowClan. Tigerstar welcomed me, but then I saw what his leadership was like, and I was glad when Scourge killed him! I don’t want any part of his blood. I’ve survived just fine without him, and so have you.”

  “Maybe,” Brambleclaw mewed defensively. “But he died before I had a chance to know him. Maybe this is my chance now.”

  His sister’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not what’s happening here and you know it.” She let out a sigh, part weariness, part exasperation. “Brambleclaw, I think you’d make a fantastic leader. But only if you go about it the right way.” She touched her nose to his ear in farewell. Her voice was more affectionate as she added, “Think about it, mousebrain.”

  Brambleclaw watched her stalk away. He wondered if Tigerstar had summoned his other daughter Mothwing to meet him here. He doubted it; Mothwing was a medicine cat, and all her dreams would be spent with StarClan. Besides, medicine cats couldn’t lead their Clans; their paws were set on another path.

  Part of Brambleclaw wanted to listen to Tawnypelt. He knew Squirrelflight would say the same thing, if she knew about these meetings. But there was nothing wrong with accepting his father’s help, he argued with himself; every warrior thought about leading their Clan one day. And if StarClan approved of his relationship with Squirrelflight, surely that meant they knew about his ambitions as well? He crushed down the small voice of his conscience and stepped out into the clearing to greet Tigerstar.

  Brambleclaw woke with a start at the sound of a piercing cry from outside the warriors’ den. He sprang to his paws, his neck fur bristling.

  “Keep your fur on,” Spiderleg mewed from his mossy nest. “It’s only Ferncloud. She was in here just now, looking for that horseplace cat.”

  “Daisy? Is she missing?”

  “Well, Ferncloud says she wasn’t in the nursery,” Spiderleg explained. “But she must be around here somewhere. She’d be the last cat to go wandering off. She’s hardly left the hollow since the badger attack.”

  That was true, which made it all the more unsettling. Brambleclaw pushed his way out through the thorns to see Ferncloud standing in the middle of the clearing, with Cloudtail beside her.

  The white tomcat was awkwardly stroking her shoulder with his tail, trying to calm her down. “She can’t be far away,” he comforted her. “Remember how scared she was when Berrykit wandered off.”

  “But the kits have gone too,” Ferncloud pointed out fretfully. “She must have taken them away deliberately.”

  As Brambleclaw padded towards her, another yowl rose from behind him. He turned to see Sorreltail bounding over from the apprentices’ den.

  “Whitepaw and Birchpaw haven’t seen them either,” she panted. “I don’t think they’re in the camp.”

  Brambleclaw stood for a moment, thinking. The sun had barely risen above the tops of the trees. If Daisy had left the camp she must have done so as dawn was breaking. What could have been important enough to draw her out into the forest, when she was so frightened of what she believed was lurking there?

  “What happened?” he asked Ferncloud.

  The grey she-cat’s eyes were wide with distress. “I went into the nursery with some fresh-kill for Daisy and Sorreltail,” she explained. “The nest was still warm, but Daisy and the kits were gone.”

  “We’ve searched the whole camp,” Sorreltail added, lashing her tail. “We’ll have to send out patrols to look for them.”

  “Well, you won’t be going,” Ferncloud told her, brushing her muzzle against Sorreltail’s shoulder. “You need to stay with your kits.”

  “Brackenfur’s with them,” the young tortoiseshell queen mewed. “I want to help look for Daisy.”

  “Yes, but—”

  Ferncloud broke off as a flash of flame-coloured fur announced the appearance of Firestar from his den on the Highledge. The Clan leader ran down the rocks and across the clearing towards them.

  “What’s going on?”

  Ferncloud explained; before she had finished speaking, Brambleclaw spotted Dustpelt emerging from the thorn tunnel, at the head of the returning dawn patrol. Squirrelflight, Sandstorm, and Brightheart were with him.

  Brambleclaw beckoned them over with his tail. “Did any of you see Daisy while you were out?”

  “Yes, she slipped out of camp just behind us,” Dustpelt replied, looking puzzled. “Why—is there a problem?”

  “She’s gone!” Ferncloud pushed her way through the cats to his side. “Why didn’t you stop her?”

  “For StarClan’s sake!” Dustpelt hissed. “I thought she was going to make her dirt. Why would I want to stop her?”

  “Were the kits with her?” Cloudtail asked.

  “I didn’t notice them,” Dustpelt replied.

  “I did,” meowed Sandstorm. “They followed her out.”

  “Berrykit was complaining about something,” Squirrel -flight added, “but we didn’t stop to listen.”

  “It’s obvious what’s happened.” Firestar spoke with deep concern, and every other cat turned to look at him. “Daisy has been talking about taking her kits back to the horseplace to live. Berrykit’s being caught in that trap must have made up her mind. As soon as he was fit to travel, she left.”

  “No!” Cloudtail sounded outraged. “After the badger attack, I promised that the Clan would look after her.”

  “And then her kit lost half his tail in a fox trap,” Firestar pointed out. “I’m sorry, Cloudtail. I know you did your best.” His green eyes looked regretful. “For a while, I really thought it was going to work. Her kits were settling in well.” He twitched his ears. “I’d better tell the Clan.”

  He bounded off towards the rocks beneath the Highledge. Cloudtail and Brambleclaw exchanged a glance; Cloudtail’s blue eyes were sparking with anger.

  “Is that it?” he meowed. “Isn’t Firestar going to do anything to find Daisy?”

  Firestar’s yowl sounded before Brambleclaw could reply. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting.”

  Brambleclaw waited, his claws flexing in and out, while the rest of the Clan emerged from their dens. Leafpool came out from behind her screen of brambles. Brightheart darte
d across to her and began mewing quietly, obviously telling her what had happened. Mousefur and Goldenflower appeared from beneath the hazel bush, one on each side of Longtail. Mousefur’s eyes were sharp with curiosity as the cats found a place to sit near the rockfall.

  At the sound of Firestar’s yowl, Brackenfur poked his head out of the nursery, then bounded across to Sorreltail. “What are you doing?” he demanded, covering her ears with anxious licks. “Look at you, you’re shaking with exhaustion! You shouldn’t be wearing yourself out like this.”

  Sorreltail leaned against his shoulder. Brambleclaw could see that she was quivering, though whether it was from tiredness or distress at losing Daisy, he couldn’t tell.

  “I thought I’d be able to find her,” she mewed softly. “But she must have gone back to the horseplace.”

  “Then there’s nothing else you can do,” Brackenfur told her. “Come back to the nursery. The kits are all wailing their heads off. They’re hungry, and I can’t feed them!”

  “Why didn’t you say so?” Sorreltail whisked round and headed for the nursery, her tail high as if her weariness was forgotten.

  Squirrelflight slipped past Sandstorm and Dustpelt to join Brambleclaw. “If only I’d stopped to talk to Daisy this morning, I might have persuaded her to stay.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Brambleclaw murmured, fighting down his own disappointment. He had always doubted that Daisy had the makings of a true Clan cat, but the loss of her kits was disastrous. What about my apprentice? He guessed from what Squirrelflight said that Berrykit hadn’t wanted to go. That just proved the kit’s spirit; thanks to Daisy, a fine warrior had been lost to the Clan.

  “Daisy must have decided that she and her kits belong in the horseplace,” Firestar was explaining. “We’ll all miss her and her kits, but we have to respect her wish to leave.”

  “That’s mousebrained!” Cloudtail burst out.

  Firestar gazed down at him, the tip of his tail twitching, but Cloudtail didn’t seem bothered about showing disrespect towards his Clan leader.

  “Daisy is no safer in the horseplace than she is out here,” he protested. “She came here in the first place because she was worried the Twolegs would take her kits away. Besides, there hasn’t been a sniff of a badger in the territory since the attack. I think we should go and bring her back.”

  Squirrelflight let out a soft hiss. “Look at Brightheart,” she murmured, flicking her tail in the direction of the scarred shecat. “I bet she doesn’t want Daisy to come back.”

  Brambleclaw took a swift glance. Squirrelflight was right. Brightheart’s expression was a mixture of anger and distress.

  “Cloudtail,” Firestar began, “we can’t force Daisy to do anything. She—”

  “We should at least go and talk to her,” Cloudtail interrupted. “Then we could make sure she got back safely.”

  “I agree,” Brambleclaw meowed, taking a pace forward to stand beside the white warrior. He knew he might regret it for the rest of his life if he didn’t make an effort to retrieve Berrykit. “If it’s OK with you, Firestar, I’ll go with Cloudtail.”

  Squirrelflight twitched her whiskers in surprise. “I seem to remember some cat making rude remarks about kittypets joining the Clan.”

  A wave of embarrassment flooded over Brambleclaw. “Yeah, well, I’m sorry about that,” he replied. “But ThunderClan needs more kits, and Daisy’s would have made good warriors.”

  “Very well,” Firestar meowed. “You can go, but if Daisy says she wants to stay where she is, come straight back and leave her in peace. Best wait until sunset,” he added. “There won’t be so many Twolegs around.”

  “Great!” Cloudtail’s tail shot up in delight.

  Brambleclaw glanced across at Brightheart again, in time to see her vanish behind the bramble screen into Leafpool’s den.

  The sun was going down over the lake, turning the water scarlet, as Brambleclaw and Cloudtail padded down to the shore. The pine forest in ShadowClan’s territory was a black outline against a sky the colour of blood. Brambleclaw hoped that wasn’t a bad omen for their journey to the horseplace.

  They crossed WindClan territory swiftly, staying within two tail-lengths of the water’s edge. Brambleclaw scented a patrol, but as the sun slipped below the trees the moorland slopes were shadowed, and they saw no sign of any cats.

  Darkness was gathering by the time they arrived outside the horseplace, and clouds had filled the sky, covering the moon. Cloudtail halted, tasting the air, while Brambleclaw peered through the Twoleg fence. At the far side of the field was the Twoleg nest, a dark mass with one yellow light gleaming. Brambleclaw hoped they wouldn’t have to go near it.

  Much closer was another, smaller building with no lights showing. Brambleclaw remembered passing it in daylight, and thinking it looked a bit like the barn where Barley and Ravenpaw lived.

  “Over there, maybe?” he suggested, gesturing with his tail.

  “Yes, Daisy said they lived in a barn,” Cloudtail replied. “Let’s go.”

  He flattened himself to the ground and crept under the fence. Brambleclaw followed, feeling his pelt prickle as he entered this strange Twoleg territory. He padded after the blur of Cloudtail’s white pelt in the gathering darkness, then froze as he heard the high-pitched cry of a horse. A heartbeat later the ground shook with the thudding of hooves.

  Fighting panic, Brambleclaw whipped his head back and forth, trying to see where the noise was coming from. Then two horses burst out of the night almost on top of him, a whirl of glossy pelts and gleaming hooves. Their eyes were rolling back; something had spooked them into flight.

  Cloudtail took off with a yowl of terror. Brambleclaw dashed after him. “No! This way! Keep together!”

  He wasn’t sure where the barn was any more. The horses had disappeared into the darkness again but he could still hear the thunder of their hooves. He and Cloudtail might run straight into them and be pounded into the grass.

  Then he spotted a pale shape dashing across the field. It was Smoky, the horseplace tomcat who had fathered Daisy’s kits.

  “Follow me!” Smoky gasped, skidding to a halt and spinning round to run back the way he had come. “Quick!”

  Brambleclaw and Cloudtail raced in his paw steps. Brambleclaw caught another glimpse of the horses, storming past with manes flying. Then they were gone, and Smoky was slowing down, leading them up to the wall of the barn.

  “In here,” he meowed.

  The barn was built of piled-up stone, with a door made of strips of wood. There was a narrow gap at the bottom; Smoky slipped inside, followed by Cloudtail, and Brambleclaw squeezed after them, finding it hard to fit his shoulders through the small space. He stood panting, trying to catch his breath and letting his fur lie flat again.

  Inside, the barn was almost completely dark. It was smaller than Ravenpaw’s home, but Brambleclaw could just make out familiar stacks of hay and straw. Their scent filled the air, along with the smell of mice and cats. Relief swept over Brambleclaw as he distinguished the well-known scents of Daisy and all three kits; at least they had made it back safely.

  “Well, I never expected to see you here,” Smoky mewed.

  “What do you want?” Another cat had come up beside Smoky, gazing at the two forest cats with curious eyes. Her pelt was grey and white like Daisy’s; Brambleclaw wondered whether they might be littermates.

  “This is Floss,” Smoky told them.

  “I’m Cloudtail and this is Brambleclaw.” The white warrior flicked his tail at his Clanmate. “We’ve come to see Daisy.”

  He broke off at the sound of heavy footsteps outside the door of the barn. Brambleclaw’s heart started to pound again as it opened. Twolegs! He and Cloudtail flashed a glance at each other, and dived for the cover of the straw bales.

  As he pulled the end of his tail into a tiny space hardly big enough to contain him, Brambleclaw heard an amused mrrow coming from Smoky. “There’s no need to hide. It’s only the Nofurs.”
>
  Brambleclaw managed to wriggle around in his cramped hiding place so that he could peer out. At first he could hardly see anything because a bright yellow light was shining straight in his eyes. Then the beam shifted, and he realised the dark shape behind it was carrying the light in its paw. In the other forepaw it held a bowl like the ones Brambleclaw had seen in a Twoleg nest on his journey to the sun-drown-place. The Twoleg shook it and something rattled inside. He heard Floss meow, “Dinner! And about time, too.”

  The Twoleg put the bowl down in front of the two horse-place cats and went out again, taking the glaring light with it.

  Once the door had closed, Brambleclaw crept out, feeling slightly embarrassed. Smoky turned towards them, while Floss plunged her face into the food bowl.

  “You’ve come to see Daisy?” He sounded surprised. “I didn’t think you’d want to see her again, once she left.”

  “We like Daisy a lot,” Cloudtail mewed.

  “Yes, we wanted to make sure she and the kits are OK,” Brambleclaw added.

  Before he had finished speaking, shrieks of delight erupted from the far corner of the barn. Daisy’s three kits dashed out, wild with excitement, and hurled themselves at Brambleclaw and Cloudtail.

  “You came, you came!” Berrykit squealed. “I said you would.” He crouched down in front of Brambleclaw, his fur fluffed up and his teeth bared in a pretend growl. “I chased a mouse on the way here,” he boasted.

  “Did you catch it?” Brambleclaw asked.

  Berrykit looked downcast. “No.”

  “Never mind, you will next time.”

  The young kit brightened up, waving the stump of his tail. “I’m going to catch all the mice in this barn!”

  “Leave some for us!” Hazelkit protested. She had charged into Cloudtail, knocking him off his paws, and now she was scrambling over him. “We want to catch mice too. We want to be apprentices like Birchpaw and Whitepaw.”

  “Are they warriors yet?” Mousekit asked.