by Erin Hunter
Jayfeather got to his paws. “We will just have to persuade him.” He nodded to the others. “Tell your leaders they must meet. The Clans must make peace and stand together.” A chilly wind spiraled around the hollow as he went on. “Or the coming storm will tear us all away.”
CHAPTER 14
Stones jabbed into Twigbranch’s pads as she followed Sparkpelt and Larksong along the shore. Bramblestar and Squirrelflight headed the patrol. Flypaw, Snappaw, and Eaglepaw chattered excitedly at the back. It felt strange to be traveling to the island when the moon was barely more than half-full, but after Jayfeather and Leafpool had returned from the Moonpool, Bramblestar had sent word to the other Clans that there would be a special Gathering.
Finleap’s fur brushed Twigbranch’s flank and she glanced at him, wanting reassurance. “Do you think SkyClan will really leave the lake?”
“I don’t know.” Finleap wouldn’t meet her gaze.
“But if StarClan sent a message saying there has to be five Clans, surely the other Clans will try to persuade them to stay?”
“I don’t think ShadowClan wants them to stay.” He sounded weary, as though he thought reasoning with ShadowClan was pointless.
“But surely, if the other Clans want them to stay . . .” Her mew trailed away hopefully.
“Who says they do?” Finleap stared ahead.
Twigbranch’s belly tightened. Would the other Clans refuse to support SkyClan? After all, no one had offered them land. What if they do leave? She’d lose Violetshine and Hawkwing forever! Her thoughts quickened. Would Finleap go with them? She hadn’t decided about kits yet.
The other Clans won’t let them go! They can’t! Twigbranch knew that Bramblestar was taking Leafstar’s threat seriously. He was clearly determined to stop her. He’d said as much to Squirrelflight and Lionblaze that morning, and his gaze had been dark as he’d chosen warriors for the patrol.
She glanced at Finleap, wishing he would say something encouraging. “I’m glad Bramblestar picked us. What if it’s the last chance I get to see Violetshine and Hawkwing?” Please tell me everything will be okay.
“I thought kin wasn’t important.”
There was bitterness in his mew. Twigbranch flinched. Since he’d told her he wanted to have kits, Finleap had been distant. She always seemed to be the one to start conversations, while he only replied in short, vague phrases. Her heart ached, but what could she do? Promise to be his mate? Give up mentoring Flypaw so that she could have his kits? Anger pricked at her belly. He was pressuring her into something she didn’t want yet. But she loved him, and she could understand that he was acting out of unhappiness. If only he could find his place in ThunderClan. She’d planned to keep stalling—refusing to give him a straight answer—to give him time to adjust. But what if SkyClan left? It would force him to make a decision. Clan or kin?
She changed the subject. “I hope Reedclaw has recovered from her cough.”
Finleap didn’t respond.
Ahead, Lilyheart stopped at the lake’s edge to take a drink. As Twigbranch passed her, she glimpsed ShadowClan across the water, trekking along the far shore.
Sparkpelt must have noticed them too. “ShadowClan will be glad to see SkyClan leave,” she mewed to Larksong.
Larksong followed her gaze. “Leaf-bare must have been hard for them. How could they hunt properly when SkyClan had taken half their land?”
“I hope they get it back.” Sparkpelt fluffed out her fur. “If ShadowClan goes hungry, it means trouble for all the Clans.”
“No cat wants a hungry Clan on their border,” Larksong mewed.
Sparkpelt swished her tail. “With SkyClan gone, everything can go back to normal.”
Twigbranch could hardly believe her ears. Sparkpelt wanted SkyClan to leave. What about StarClan? Didn’t she care that the five Clans were meant to be together?
She blinked at Finleap. “Did you hear that?”
Finleap’s pelt was prickling. “I guess she’s worried the conflict between ShadowClan and SkyClan might spread.”
Twigbranch was unnerved. Sparkpelt had been her mentor. Had she always wished SkyClan would leave? Why didn’t I realize? “Do you think the other Clans feel the same way?”
Finleap shrugged. “If they do, then SkyClan will have to leave.”
Her mouth grew dry. Hearing Finleap say those words out loud made her realize that she hadn’t truly thought it was possible until now. But he was right—SkyClan would have no choice but to leave if none of the Clans were on their side. “I really might never see Hawkwing and Violetshine again.”
Finleap didn’t speak. Didn’t he care?
“Will you go back with them?” She stared at him, her heart pounding.
“I don’t know.” He avoided her gaze.
Was she going to lose her kin and her love at the same time? What would be left if they went? Feeling sick, Twigbranch followed her Clanmates to the tree-bridge.
She crossed silently, pulling away from Finleap as she reached the far shore and hurrying to catch up to Flypaw.
Flypaw glanced at her. “I hope Harepaw and Dapplepaw are at the Gathering. I’ve got so many new moves to show them.”
Snappaw swished through the grass beside them. “Wait till they see all the battle skills we’ve learned.”
As they emerged into the clearing, Flypaw whisked her tail. “They’re here!” WindClan and RiverClan moved beneath the trees, moonlight dappling their pelts. Flypaw darted toward a knot of apprentices at the far side. As Snappaw chased after her, Twigbranch hesitated. Her Clanmates were nodding greetings to the other warriors. She scanned the clearing. SkyClan and ShadowClan hadn’t arrived yet. Sparkpelt was talking with Breezepelt and Mallownose. Twigbranch narrowed her eyes. Was she telling them that she wanted SkyClan to leave? Were they agreeing with her?
Nervously, Twigbranch padded to the shadows beneath the Great Oak. Bramblestar was already waiting beside the wide, gnarled trunk. The ThunderClan leader’s gaze was unreadable.
Twigbranch’s paws pricked as she smelled SkyClan scent. The long grass swished, and SkyClan spilled into the clearing. Leafstar and Bellaleaf flanked Frecklewish. Sandynose and Plumwillow were at their heels. Hawkwing! Violetshine! Relief swamped her as she saw her father and her sister pad into the moonlight. She hurried to meet them. “Is it true?” She blinked at Hawkwing, her heart pounding. “Is SkyClan going to leave?”
Hawkwing’s gaze was solemn. “We’re not sure yet.” He glanced toward Leafstar, who was heading for the oak.
Violetshine pressed her muzzle to Twigbranch’s cheek. “I hope this Gathering will mean we can stay.” She stiffened as the long grass swished again and Tigerstar stalked into the clearing. Juniperclaw followed, his eyes narrow and watchful. Stonewing, Cloverfoot, and Scorchfur streamed out behind the skinny deputy. Strikestone and Tawnypelt brought up the rear. Wordlessly, the ShadowClan warriors moved around the edge of the clearing, keeping their distance from the other Clans.
“They haven’t brought any apprentices,” Violetshine whispered.
Twigbranch swallowed. “I guess it’s not an ordinary Gathering.”
Tigerstar padded toward the Great Oak. He nodded curtly to Bramblestar, then leaped onto the lowest branch.
“You’d better join your Clanmates,” Hawkwing whispered to Twigbranch. “The meeting’s about to start.”
“Will I see you afterward?” Twigbranch blinked at him expectantly. “You won’t leave without talking to me, will you?”
“Of course not.” He touched his nose to her ear.
Violetshine flicked her tail along Twigbranch’s spine. “Whatever happens, we’ll see you before we leave.” She hurried after Hawkwing as he joined the SkyClan cats clustering beneath the Great Oak. Before we leave. A shiver ran along Twigbranch’s spine. Did she mean leave the Gathering or leave the forest? Don’t be rabbit-brained! She shook out her fur. It’s all going to be fine. She watched Bramblestar leap into the Great Oak and take his place beside Tigerstar.
Leafstar, Mistystar, and Harestar followed. The leaders had to come to an agreement. It was what StarClan wanted.
Across the clearing, Flypaw was chattering excitedly to Harepaw. “Twigbranch is going to show me how to catch a buzzard one day.” Dapplepaw crouched beside them, copying a hunting crouch Snappaw was demonstrating.
“Hurry!” She beckoned them with a flick of her tail. They scurried after her as she slipped between her Clanmates and stopped beside Finleap.
Bramblestar lifted his muzzle. “You know by now that our medicine cats have received a message from StarClan.” He looked down to where Jayfeather stood beside the other medicine cats, and nodded to Leafpool.
Leafpool’s moonlit gaze swept the gathered cats. “Last night, at the Moonpool, we shared a single vision.” A breeze swished through the branches overhead as she went on. “We saw five saplings standing together. A fierce wind raged around them, but each sapling wove its branches into the others’. The wind could not bend them. But when one broke away, the storm ripped them all from the earth.”
Kestrelflight leaned forward. “The message seems clear: The five Clans must support one another.”
“Or every Clan will be lost,” Willowshine chimed in.
Alderheart lashed his tail urgently. “We must put an end to conflict.”
“How?” Mallownose yowled. “There has always been conflict between Clans!”
“And there always will be.” Breezepelt called from the other side of the clearing. “We are five Clans, not one.”
Brackenfur’s eyes flashed in the moonlight. “The Gathering was once the only truce we obeyed.”
“We must protect our borders,” Cloverfoot growled.
Twigbranch shifted her paws uneasily. She gazed across the sea of pelts, which bristled beneath the stars.
Alderheart lashed his tail. “You speak as though peace were impossible!”
“We are warriors!” Tigerstar’s growl sounded from above.
“We are warriors!” Stonewing echoed the cry, repeating it like a cuckoo. “We are warriors! We are warriors!”
His Clanmates lifted their voices beside him, and the cry spread throughout the Clans. Twigbranch’s pelt spiked as she saw the yowling faces. This was not what StarClan wanted.
“We may be warriors,” Bramblestar called out from beside Tigerstar, “but we are not fools! Do we seek conflict for conflict’s sake? Sacrifice your life for your Clan, but don’t sacrifice your Clan for the sake of tradition!”
The yowling faded into an uneasy silence.
“Bramblestar.” Tigerstar curled his lip in disgust. “You’re always so smart with words. You want us to give up conflict, but what else must we give up for the sake of peace?”
Stonewing flattened his ears. “He wants ShadowClan to give up land.”
Bramblestar’s tail twitched as he stared back at Stonewing.
Tigerstar’s eyes narrowed. “This peace would suit ThunderClan very well. You keep your land and we lose ours. You grow fat while we grow thin.”
Below, Juniperclaw flattened his ears. “Why should ShadowClan alone suffer?”
Leafstar’s eyes blazed. “How dare you say ShadowClan is the only one to suffer! We have suffered as much as any Clan, and we go on suffering because of ShadowClan.” She nodded at Frecklewish. “Tell them what ShadowClan has done!”
The SkyClan medicine cat narrowed her eyes. “Sparrowpelt has been poisoned.”
“So?” Scorchfur stared at her from the crowd. “What does that have to do with us?”
“He vomited deathberry seeds,” Frecklewish answered evenly. “I recognized them at once. Some cat must have given them to him.”
As the Clans shifted uneasily, Tigerstar gazed from the Great Oak. “Are you accusing ShadowClan of feeding your Clanmate deathberries?” He snorted scornfully. “He clearly ate them by accident.”
Harestar narrowed his eyes. “Would any cat eat deathberries by accident?”
Mistystar tipped her head. “Had SkyClan ever seen deathberries before they came to the forest?” She eyed Frecklewish inquiringly.
Frecklewish shifted her paws. “No. They didn’t grow near the gorge.”
“Then isn’t it possible a SkyClan cat could eat deathberries by mistake?”
Hawkwing bristled beside Juniperclaw. “Why would any cat eat a berry when they are surrounded by warm, juicy prey?”
Tigerstar met his indignant gaze. “Sparrowpelt must have eaten one. How else could he have swallowed the seeds?”
“He was poisoned!” Sandynose lashed his tail.
Plumwillow’s hackles lifted beside him. “We know that Alderheart was treating Puddleshine with deathberries. There were deathberries in the ShadowClan camp. And now one of our warriors has been poisoned by them.”
Around her, the SkyClan cats murmured angrily.
“It’s just a coincidence!” Tigerstar’s gaze flicked to Alderheart. “Did any of your berries go missing?”
“No . . .” Alderheart’s fur prickled along his spine, his eyes darting this way and that. He was clearly walking through his memory. “I kept a close eye on all of them, but . . .” He began shifting uneasily, his claws digging into the earth.
Leafstar leaned her head toward him from her perch. “But what?”
“I can’t be sure that none of the seeds I buried were taken.”
Tigerstar’s hackles lifted. “Are you accusing ShadowClan of using your seeds to poison Sparrowpelt?”
As the Clans whispered nervously to one another, a small voice sounded at the edge of the crowd. “I saw Juniperclaw near our fresh-kill pile.”
Twigbranch’s whiskers twitched with surprise as she saw Violetshine meet Tigerstar’s gaze.
“He was there on the night before Sparrowpelt got sick.” Violetshine’s mew trembled as she called out across the heads of her Clanmates.
“But you have no proof that Juniperclaw poisoned him!” Outrage hardened Tigerstar’s yowl. He glared venomously at Violetshine. Twigbranch’s heart lurched as Tigerstar raged on. “A cat becomes sick and you blame us? Grassheart is lying in our medicine den now, injured by a wound inflicted by SkyClan. She was attacked! She didn’t just happen to get sick after one of your patrols passed by.”
“‘Passed by’?” Leafstar bristled. “You invaded our camp!”
“And you attacked our patrol!” Tigerstar shot back.
“You were on our territory!” Leafstar showed her teeth to the ShadowClan leader.
Bramblestar slid between them. His gaze flashed toward Tree. “Can you do nothing to mediate here?”
The yellow tom shifted in the shadows at the back of the crowd. He padded into the moonlight and met Bramblestar’s gaze. “How can I mediate? No cat will listen to me. I have tried to make peace between ShadowClan and SkyClan, but neither side is willing to compromise.” He looked around at the cats gathered in front of him. “Tigerstar was right when he said you were warriors. I don’t think there can ever be peace between you.”
Twigbranch saw defeat in the loner’s eyes. Had he given up? Violetshine was staring at Tree, her eyes glittering with fear. She’s scared he’ll leave the lake. He’d admitted that he was powerless to bring peace to the Clans. Surely he had no place here now?
Leafstar snarled beside Bramblestar. “I don’t know why we ever came here! We suffered enough because of Darktail and his rogues. We should have guessed that you were hardly better. The lake Clans are only loyal to their bellies, and their hunger for territory means more to them than any warrior code.” Bramblestar’s ears twitched indignantly, but Leafstar went on. “All of you act as though you’re doing SkyClan a favor by letting us hunt beside the lake. We’ve done nothing but try to help the Clans. We made our camp where you chose and kept to borders you marked. We took in ShadowClan and even offered to let them become SkyClan warriors. Then, without complaint, we let them leave to re-form their own Clan. And now they steal our prey and mark our territory as though it’s their own. And the rest of you don’t o
bject. You are so scared of sharing your own territory, you let ShadowClan treat us like outsiders. And now, after ShadowClan has tried to murder one of our Clanmates, you make excuses. ShadowClan can steal our land and kill us one by one and none of the other Clans will lift a paw.” The SkyClan leader curled her lip in disgust as the gathered cats watched her silently. “That is why we are leaving the lake and returning to the gorge.”
Twigbranch caught her breath. They’re leaving . . . they’re really leaving! She looked across the crowd to Violetshine, grief tugging at her heart.
“You belong beside the lake,” Bramblestar insisted.
“You mustn’t leave.” Harestar got to his paws. “You were driven from the Clans once before, long ago. It must not happen again.”
Mistystar narrowed her eyes. “Why not? Things have been complicated since they came. Wouldn’t it simplify everything if they returned to the gorge?” She blinked apologetically at Leafstar. “Even if you are far away, you’ll still be one of the Clans. You can still follow the warrior code and honor StarClan. And you might be happier there.”
Leafstar stared at her, then dipped her head. “At least you are honest.”
Tigerstar snorted. “ShadowClan has been nothing but honest. We have told you we want our territory back. What is more honest than that? If you must go, then go.”
“But what about the vision?” Jayfeather’s panicked mew sounded from below the oak. He padded forward and stared blindly up at the leaders. “StarClan has told us that the five Clans must stand together. How can we stand together if SkyClan is at the gorge?”
Frecklewish whisked her tail anxiously. “StarClan showed the vision to all of us.”
“They know a storm is coming.” Leafpool stood at the SkyClan medicine cat’s shoulder.
“We must face it together!” Kestrelflight called.
Alderheart stared beseechingly at Bramblestar. “You can’t let SkyClan leave, or we are all lost.”
Twigbranch shivered. She could hardly believe this was happening. How could the Clans allow this? The cats of WindClan and ThunderClan shifted nervously. Fear flashed in their eyes as they exchanged glances. SkyClan moved closer together, like hunted prey, while RiverClan gazed uneasily at Mistystar. ShadowClan watched silently, muscles taut beneath their pelts.