by Erin Hunter
She looked away. “Finleap is right. We should keep moving.” This patrol had been her idea. These cats were relying on her. She wasn’t going to let Finleap upset her.
They trekked through the afternoon, following Tree as he led them to the Thunderpath and then following it until it turned toward the flat land. They left it then, and their path grew steeper, lifting onto moorland, which rose and dipped until the patrol was lost in a sea of heather. The rain was relentless and the wind seemed to strengthen as evening drew closer. Drenched to the skin, Twigbranch tried to ignore the growling hunger in her belly. She followed Tree, hardly seeing or feeling, aware only of the rain streaming over her face and the wet earth beneath her paws.
“That’s where I met SkyClan.” Tree’s mew took her by surprise. She looked up and found him gazing toward a stretch of heather on the hillside. “I don’t know which route they might have taken from here.”
She glanced at him anxiously. “Do you think we’ll be able to pick up their scent?”
“It might be hard in this weather,” Tree meowed. “We’ll have to guess where they went next. If we’re lucky, there might be a loner who saw them.”
“I hope so.” Twigbranch’s heart quickened. Had they come this far only to lose SkyClan’s trail? She saw a sheltered dip among the bushes. “We could make camp there for the night.”
Tree shook his head. “The earth will be too boggy,” he told her. “I know this place. There’s shelter farther up.” He nodded to the trees, which grew where the slope steepened.
Twigbranch looked at them wearily. They seemed a long way off. “Is there anywhere closer?”
“Come on.” Tree’s mew was gentle. “It’ll be worth the climb.”
Twigbranch glanced back at the others. Their eyes were dull with exhaustion. “We’re heading for shelter,” she told them.
Lionblaze pricked his ears. “Is it far?”
“Beyond those trees,” Tree told him. “There’s good hunting and a cave.”
Lionblaze trudged past her. Hootwhisker and Icewing followed him, lifting their heads for the first time since sunhigh. Flypaw stumbled and Twigbranch hurried to her side. “It won’t be long until you can rest,” she mewed encouragingly.
Finleap hurried ahead with Cherryfall, and Tree took the lead while Twigbranch stayed close to Flypaw. The young she-cat was struggling to keep her footing on the uneven grass. Pushing into the wind, Twigbranch pressed her flank against her apprentice and guided her forward as the slope steepened. She felt Flypaw relax as they reached the woods. Sheltered from wind and rain, the patrol quickened its pace. Darkness was falling, and soon they were following Tree through shadow. At last the trees opened into a clearing where a wall of rock cut into a steep bank. It made a shallow cave against the dark hillside, and Tree padded inside and turned to face the others.
Flypaw was shivering as Twigbranch nudged her into the cave. It was hardly more than an overhang, but with its back to the wind, it provided shelter.
Once inside, Flypaw sat down heavily. “I’m hungry.”
“Rest while I hunt,” Twigbranch told her.
Flypaw shook her head. “If you’re hunting, so am I.” Determination flashed in her eyes.
Twigbranch felt a rush of pride. She touched her nose to Flypaw’s head. “Okay.”
Nightcloud was sniffing the back of the cave. “It’s dry here.” Her mew echoed against the stone.
Lionblaze shook rain from his pelt. “Take Gorsetail and fetch some bedding,” he told her. “The rest of us will hunt.” He glanced at Twigbranch. “Is that okay?”
Twigbranch nodded. It felt strange to have such an experienced warrior ask her permission. She noticed Finleap gazing at her and met his eye hopefully. He dropped his gaze and hurried from the cave.
“Are you ready to hunt?” She blinked at Flypaw.
“Yes.” The young tabby got to her paws.
Twigbranch led her among the trees, following a rabbit trail through the undergrowth. Night swathed the forest. She opened her mouth, tasting for prey, but even here the rain had washed the scents away. She pushed deeper into the woods. Wind roared through the branches. Rain pierced the canopy. She scanned a stretch of brambles but there was no sign of prey. Weariness pulled at Twigbranch’s bones. She felt suddenly dizzy and realized that she was too tired to hunt. She could be more help to the patrol if she built warm nests for the night.
Finleap’s pelt flashed beyond the brambles. He looked as though he was stalking something.
“Go and help Finleap.” She waved Flypaw toward him with her tail. “I’m going to help Nightcloud.”
As Flypaw hurried toward Finleap, Twigbranch headed back to the cave. Had SkyClan sheltered here? How far ahead were they? She paused as she reached a clump of brambles and tore out as many fronds as she could carry. Grasping the stems between her jaws, she dragged them to the cave and dropped them beside Nightcloud.
The WindClan warriors had already heaped piles of ferns at the back to the cave. Nightcloud nodded thanks to Twigbranch and spread the bracken with the rest of the bedding. “We’ll be cozy tonight.”
“Good.” Twigbranch purred. “We’ll need our strength if we’re going to catch up to SkyClan.”
“Do you think we’ll find them tomorrow?” Nightcloud’s eyes shone in the gloom.
“I hope so.” Twigbranch wondered if it was possible to find SkyClan so quickly. The journey had been hard going, and the storm showed no sign of easing. She padded to the lip of the cave and gazed at the dark woods.
Tree padded from between the trunks. A fat rabbit hung from his mouth. Twigbranch licked her lips. She could smell its warm scent as he padded toward her.
He laid it on the ground at her paws. “Do you want to share this one?”
“Yes, please.” She blinked at him gratefully.
They settled down and took turns ripping flesh from the carcass. The sweet musky flavors sang on Twigbranch’s tongue, and at last she began to feel warm. As her fur dried, it fluffed out against the chill of the night.
Tree swallowed a mouthful and stretched happily. “I haven’t been so hungry in a long time.”
“That’s because you’ve been living with a Clan,” Twigbranch told him, still chewing.
“Maybe,” he conceded.
“Were you always a loner?” Twigbranch tore another strip of flesh from the rabbit.
“Yes.” Tree’s eyes were round in the darkness. “My mother left me when I was a kit. I taught myself how to hunt and find shelter.”
“That must have been hard.”
“I guess.” He shifted onto his belly. “It’s so long ago I hardly remember.”
Twigbranch swallowed her mouthful. “Did you like living alone?”
“I liked the freedom,” Tree told her. “The only thing I worried about was my next meal. I liked having no responsibilities. But then I met Violetshine.” He sounded faintly annoyed, even though his eyes were clouded with wistfulness. Twigbranch swallowed back a purr of amusement. Violetshine had clearly disrupted his beloved loner life. “For the first time, I started thinking about having a family. I wanted responsibility. I miss her so much.” Twigbranch’s heart ached for him as he stared blindly into the forest. He blinked. “But we’re going to find her and I’m going to tell her how I feel.”
Twigbranch followed his gaze. “I can’t imagine having kits,” she mewed guiltily. “Finleap wants to already, but I’m not ready to give up being a warrior.”
“You don’t have to give it up,” Tree reminded her. “Queens only stay in the nursery until their kits are weaned, don’t they?”
“I guess.” Was she being selfish, wanting to focus on herself? “But I don’t want to worry about that yet. I like being a mentor. I’m learning so much every day.”
“You’re young,” he mewed gently. “There’s no rush.”
“Violetshine’s young too.”
“Yes.” Tree’s gaze softened. “But she’s always wanted a family. I think she’
ll make a great mother.”
“So do I.” Twigbranch suddenly missed Violetshine with a piercing grief she hadn’t felt since her sister left. As silence settled between them, Flypaw burst from the ferns at the edge of the trees. Her eyes were bright and a shrew dangled from her jaws.
She hurried toward Twigbranch and dropped it on the ground. “I caught it first try,” she mewed proudly.
“Well done!” As Twigbranch purred admiringly, she saw Finleap padding toward them. He was carrying a bedraggled sparrow. It was skinny and looked more like crow-food than fresh-kill.
He stopped beside Flypaw and laid it on the ground. “I was thinking that we could share this . . .” He eyed the fat rabbit lying, half-eaten, between Twigbranch and Tree. “But I guess you don’t need it.” Anger hardened his mew.
Twigbranch shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t realize you were bringing me food. Tree just offered and I was hungry.”
Finleap wasn’t listening. He was still staring at the rabbit. “I guess he knows where the best prey lives. This used to be his home. It’s easy to hunt when you know the territory.”
Tree stared at Finleap coldly. “I could catch a rabbit anywhere.”
“Did you used to catch rabbits to impress Violetshine?” Finleap mewed pointedly. “Or have you forgotten Violetshine?”
Tree’s hackles lifted. “I don’t have to impress any cat.”
“Really?” Finleap’s ears twitched. “You seem to be trying pretty hard to impress Twigbranch.”
Tree glanced scornfully at Finleap’s scrawny catch. “Harder than you. You ignore her for the whole journey and then you bring her that.”
Finleap curled his lip. “Loner.” Hissing, he stalked away.
Flypaw blinked at Twigbranch. “What was that about?”
Twigbranch ignored the question and scrambled to her paws. Was Finleap jealous? Hope flickered in her belly. Maybe he still loves me. “I’d better go and see if he’s okay.”
Tree had been hard on him, but Finleap had picked the fight. She couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, even though he was acting like a fox-heart. She hurried across the cave. Finleap was sniffing at the bedding, his pelt bristling. “Oh, so you can tear yourself away from Tree?”
Twigbranch blinked at him. “What are you talking about? Tree loves Violetshine!”
He glanced at her angrily and padded out of the cave.
“Where are you going?” She hurried after him. “We have to talk.”
He began to climb the steep bank beside the cave.
“Don’t walk away!” Frustration flared beneath her fur. She scrambled after him.
At the top, the forest opened and moorland fell away. Heather crowded the dark hillside. Twigbranch followed him across the windswept grass, narrowing her eyes as rain battered her face.
He stopped as he reached a swath of heather and turned on her. “I bet you don’t even want to find SkyClan! You’re probably happy to see Violetshine gone now that you’ve made Tree notice you.”
Shock froze Twigbranch. “Do you have you bees in your brain?” She stared at him. “How could you say something like that? I would never betray my sister. And I’d never make Tree try to notice me. I told you! He’s just a friend. And he wouldn’t do that to Violetshine, either!”
“You haven’t left his side since we left camp,” Finleap snarled.
“I’m leading the patrol, and he knows the way!” Twigbranch snapped.
“Every time I look at you, your muzzle’s in his ear.”
“We were just talking! I’ve got to talk to some cat. Ever since SkyClan left the forest, I feel like I can’t talk to you.” Grief pressed in her belly. “I don’t know why you stayed with me. You’ve made it pretty clear that you wish you’d left with SkyClan.”
“I stayed because I love you!” Finleap spat.
“You’ve hardly looked at me. If that’s love, I don’t want it!” She lashed her tail.
“You don’t know what love is!” He glared at her accusingly.
“Of course I do!” Why was he being so mean? “I love you!”
“Not enough to have my kits.”
She stared at him, wind tugging at her fur. “Is that it? If I won’t have your kits, you don’t want me?”
“I want you to love me enough to have kits.” Hurt sharpened his gaze.
“And I want you to love me enough to wait.” She felt suddenly weary. She was tired of having this argument. “Forget it, Finleap.” Rain streamed from her whiskers. “We’ll find SkyClan soon. And then you can go back to them.” As she turned away, a shadow moved at the edge of her vision. She narrowed her eyes.
A black tom was pushing through the heather. The rain had slicked his pelt, and he’d flattened his ears against the wind. “Hi!” he called out as he neared them.
Finleap arched his back warily. “Who are you?”
“I’m Spider.” The tom stopped in front of them. He seemed unfazed by Finleap’s hostility. “I live around here.”
“Alone?” Finleap asked.
“Of course.” Spider blinked at him.
Finleap let his hackles smooth. “Why aren’t you hiding from the storm?”
“I was,” Spider told him. “Then I smelled cat scents. Are there others with you?”
Twigbranch nodded. “We left them at the cave.”
“I thought so.” Spider sat down and hunched his shoulders against the weather. “I don’t usually have much company up here. It’s weird you should show up so soon after the other group.”
Twigbranch stiffened. “The other group?”
“Did you meet SkyClan?” Finleap leaned forward eagerly.
“SkyClan . . . ,” Spider mewed thoughtfully, as though remembering. “Yes, that’s what they called themselves.”
“How long is it since you saw them?” Twigbranch’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
“They passed here yesterday.” The tom was vague. “Then they headed that way.” He jerked his muzzle toward the stretch of moorland. “I hope they’re okay. I heard there’s been flooding over there. It’d be a shame if they got caught in it.”
Finleap’s eyes widened. “We’re getting close!” He headed toward the cave. “We have to tell the others.”
Twigbranch raced after him. “Thanks, Spider!” she called over her shoulder.
“Happy to help!” The black tom was already disappearing into the heather.
She followed Finleap down the steep slope beside the cave, half scrambling, half falling on the slippery grass.
“We know where SkyClan has gone.” Finleap was already inside the cave, sharing the news with Lionblaze. “And we’re closing in on them. They passed through here yesterday.”
Tree was sitting beside the remains of his rabbit while Flypaw shared her shrew with Nightcloud and Gorsetail. The yellow tom was staring into the forest. As Twigbranch hurried to tell him about Spider, she noticed that his eyes were glazed. He was murmuring, as though talking to someone.
She stopped beside Flypaw. “What’s wrong with Tree?”
Flypaw shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s been like that since you left.” She took another bite of shrew and chewed it thoughtfully. “I thought he was talking to me at first, but he must be talking to himself. Maybe the weather’s getting to him.”
Twigbranch padded closer to Tree and sniffed him warily. “Tree?” she ventured softly. “Is everything okay?”
He turned to her, blinking. His gaze cleared and he stiffened. “Not exactly. I was talking to a dead warrior.”
Twigbranch stiffened. Was the warrior still here? Her pelt prickled uneasily. Was it the same cat who’d told him to stay beside the lake? “Who was it?”
“The same cat who told me SkyClan should stay beside the lake.”
She noticed alarm in his eyes. “What did they say?”
“SkyClan is in trouble.” For the first time, Tree looked worried. “We can’t stay here tonight. We have to go and help them.”
Twigbranch’s belly
tightened as she remembered Spider’s warning about the flooding. “Did the warrior tell you what the trouble was?”
Tree shook his head. “She didn’t know.”
She? Was it Needletail? Twigbranch knew that Violetshine’s old friend had spoken to Tree before. “What was her name?”
“I don’t remember. She’s a cat I’ve seen before . . . I mean, when I was a loner. We met when she was alive.” Tree’s gaze suddenly widened. “But actually . . . she looks like you. Not her pelt. She had white fur, with brown speckles. But her eyes . . .” As he hesitated, the fur lifted along his spine. “Her eyes were just like yours.”
A chill ran through Twigbranch’s pelt. “Green?” she whispered.
“Just like yours,” he breathed again.
She knew who it was. A dead warrior who was worried about SkyClan, who had Twigbranch’s eyes. There was only one cat who fit that description. Her heart seemed to skip a beat.
“Pebbleshine.” Twigbranch’s mew caught in her throat. “Oh, Tree—you were speaking to my mother.”
CHAPTER 21
Violetshine was dreaming.
Tree. The rain was over, and he was beside her in the nest. She smelled his scent and pressed closer.
He nuzzled her ear with his nose. “I missed you.”
Warmth reached her bones for the first time in days, and she snuggled deeper into the bracken. Her heart ached with happiness. They were safe in the SkyClan camp once more. She could hear the lake lapping against the shore. How strange. The lake didn’t used to be so close to the camp.
“Never leave again,” Tree murmured.
I won’t. She tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead water trickled from her mouth. It dripped into Tree’s fur. He leaped up, his pelt bristling in surprise. I’m sorry. She tried to apologize, but more water bubbled from her lips. Tree backed away, disgust darkening his gaze. As he turned away, Violetshine felt a chill in her fur. Alarm sparked in her belly.
“Wake up!” Dewspring’s yowl jerked her from sleep. She opened her eyes into rain and remembered with a stab of disappointment the hill where SkyClan had made camp last night. Weak dawn light showed the bristling pelts of her Clanmates.