Midnight

by Erin Hunter

  “It’s just too dangerous, Squirrelpaw; can’t you see that? The prophecy is a heavy enough weight for me to bear, without having to look after you as well.”

  “Look after me!” Squirrelpaw’s eyes blazed indignantly. “I can look after myself, thank you. I’m coming, whether you like it or not. If you won’t let me come with you, I’ll follow you. Think about what happened today. I don’t want to go back to camp and be told off for nothing, over and over again, any more than you do!”

  Brambleclaw stared at her, indecisive. He did not want the responsibility of taking a young apprentice into danger . . . but she would be in much more danger if she tried to follow him alone through unknown territory. And if she returned to the camp, once Firestar realised that Brambleclaw had gone missing, he would badger Squirrelpaw until she told him what she knew, and maybe even send an expedition to bring him back. For a couple of heartbeats Brambleclaw understood what it meant to be a leader, his fur weighed down with doubts and questions heavier than a whole riverful of floodwater.

  He heaved a sigh that seemed to go down to the tips of his paws. “All right, Squirrelpaw,” he meowed. “You can come.”

  CHAPTER 11

  “Where are we going to sleep?” Squirrelpaw asked.

  As soon as Brambleclaw agreed to take her with him on the journey, her hurt and anger had vanished like dawn mist under a hot sun. He did not think she had stopped talking for a moment since they left the clearing where Firestar had found them.

  “Quiet!” he hissed. “If any cat is looking for us, they’ll be able to hear you right across the forest.”

  “But where?” Squirrelpaw persisted, though she did lower her voice.

  “Somewhere not too far from Fourtrees,” Brambleclaw replied. “Then we’ll be ready to meet the others at sunrise.”

  Darkness had fallen as he led the way through the undergrowth. Clouds had massed to cover the sky, so that no gleam of star or moon broke through. A cold breeze whispered in the grass, and once again Brambleclaw tasted the scents of approaching leaf-fall.

  With possible pursuit in mind, he had considered finding shelter near Snakerocks, which the Clan had been ordered to avoid, but the risk of encountering the night-hunting badger was too great. Instead he decided to make for the Thunderpath, hoping that the acrid smells of Twoleg monsters would mask his own scent and Squirrelpaw’s.

  “I know a good tree by the Thunderpath,” Squirrelpaw suggested. “You can get right inside. We could hide there.”

  “And have spiders and beetles crawling through our fur all night?” Brambleclaw mewed discouragingly. “No, thanks.”

  Squirrelpaw sniffed. “Why do you always know better?”

  “Maybe because I’m a warrior?”

  Distracted by a rustling in the undergrowth, the apprentice made no reply. Barely pausing to track her prey, she dived into a clump of bracken and came back a couple of heartbeats later with a mouse dangling from her jaws.

  “Well done,” meowed Brambleclaw.

  The sight of the fresh-kill made him realise how hungry he was. Not long after, he managed to catch a mouse for himself, and the two cats paused to eat in quick, wary gulps, their ears pricked to catch the faintest traces of a ThunderClan patrol. But Brambleclaw could hear nothing except the ordinary night sounds of the forest and the nearby roar of monsters on the Thunderpath. Their stench was so strong here that it masked most others, as Brambleclaw had hoped, though he shrank from the thought of spending the night with that in his nostrils.

  While they ate, a thin, cold rain began to fall, growing steadily heavier until Brambleclaw’s fur was soaked and he was colder than he could remember feeling in moons.

  “We need shelter,” Squirrelpaw mewed, shivering. She looked small and vulnerable, with her fur plastered darkly to her body. “What about finding that tree?”

  Brambleclaw was about to agree when they emerged from the undergrowth at the top of a grassy bank, and he found himself looking down at the Thunderpath. A Twoleg monster roared past, its glaring eyes cutting shafts of yellow brightness through the night. Before it swept by, the light showed Brambleclaw a looming dark shape, the biggest monster he had ever seen, squatting on the verge of the Thunderpath. The reek of it flooded his senses.

  “What’s that?” exclaimed Squirrelpaw, brushing close beside him.

  “I don’t know,” Brambleclaw admitted. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. Stay here while I take a look.”

  Cautiously he padded forward until he stood a couple of foxlengths away from the monster. Was it dead, he wondered, and was that why its Twolegs had abandoned it here? Or was it crouching, watching, waiting to spring as he would spring on a helpless mouse?

  “Look, we could get underneath it,” Squirrelpaw pointed out, trotting up to join him; of course she had not obeyed his order to wait at the top of the bank. “We could shelter from the rain.”

  There was just enough light for Brambleclaw to make out a darker gap between the monster’s belly and the ground. His fur bristled at the thought of crawling into the narrow space, but he didn’t want to seem a coward in front of Squirrelpaw, and her suggestion was a good one. The overwhelming scent would certainly hide them from any pursuers.

  “OK,” he meowed. “But let me—” He broke off as Squirrelpaw bounded forwards, flattened herself to the ground, and wriggled underneath the monster.

  “—go first,” Brambleclaw finished resignedly, following her.

  A faint dawn light seeping under the monster’s belly roused Brambleclaw the next morning. Squirrelpaw was curled beside him. For a heartbeat he couldn’t remember why she was sleeping in his den instead of her own. Then the acrid reek of the monster, and a continuous roar from the Thunderpath close by, reminded him where he was and why. This was the morning when the journey would really begin! But instead of excitement, he felt only uncertainty dragging at his paws, along with the dismal thought that he had as good as exiled himself from his Clan by disappearing without his leader’s permission.

  Brambleclaw crept out from beneath the monster and lifted his head to taste the air. The grass was still wet from the previous night’s rain, and the bushes at the top of the bank were heavy with drops of water. Mist curled through the trees in the grey dawn. There was no sound or scent of other cats.

  Turning back to the monster, he called to Squirrelpaw, “Wake up! It’s time we were on our way to Fourtrees.”

  He was beginning to think he would have to slide back under the monster’s belly to rouse the apprentice when she crawled out, blinking. “I’m starving,” she complained.

  “We’ll have time to catch prey on the way,” Brambleclaw told her. “But we must get moving. The others will be waiting.”

  “OK.” Squirrelpaw raced up the bank and headed towards Fourtrees, following the line of the Thunderpath. Brambleclaw caught up to her, and for a time the two cats loped along side by side. The mist cleared and a golden light gathered on the horizon where the sun would rise. Birds began to sing in the branches overhead.

  Once she was properly awake, Squirrelpaw seemed to forget about stopping to hunt. She hurried on, paying no attention to anything around her. Brambleclaw was torn between wanting to get to Fourtrees as soon as possible, and staying alert for possible trouble. When he heard rustling in the bushes behind them he halted, ears flicking up and jaws parted to detect the scent of their pursuer.

  “Squirrelpaw!” he hissed. “Get out of sight!”

  But Squirrelpaw whirled around a heartbeat before he spoke, and stood staring in the direction of the sound, her green eyes wide. At the same moment, Brambleclaw picked up the strong, familiar scent of a ThunderClan cat. Then the branches of a nearby bush quivered and parted to reveal Leafpaw.

  The two sisters stood rigid for a moment, their gazes locked together. Then Leafpaw padded forward and set down the packet of herbs she was carrying at Squirrelpaw’s feet.

  “I brought you some travelling herbs,” she murmured. “You’re going to ne
ed them.”

  Brambleclaw stared from her to Squirrelpaw. “I thought you said you hadn’t told any cat!” His voice was loud with outrage. “How does she know? You’ve been lying to me!”

  “I have not!” Squirrelpaw spat.

  “No, she hasn’t,” Leafpaw’s gentler voice added. “But she didn’t need to tell me anything. I just knew, that’s all.”

  Brambleclaw shook himself. “You mean, you know everything?” he asked. “About the dreams, and the journey to the sun-drown place?”

  Leafpaw turned her serious gaze on him, and he saw unhappiness and bewilderment in the depths of her eyes. “No,” she mewed. “Only that Squirrelpaw is going away.” She hesitated, closing her eyes briefly. “And there will be great danger.”

  A pang of pity for her stabbed through Brambleclaw, sharp as a thorn, but he could not afford to give in to it. He had to know what Leafpaw had done with her knowledge.

  “Who else knows?” he demanded roughly. “Have you told your father?”

  “No!” The flash of anger in Leafpaw’s eyes suddenly made her look very much like her sister. “I wouldn’t tell on Squirrelpaw, not even to Firestar.”

  “She wouldn’t, Brambleclaw,” Squirrelpaw added.

  Brambleclaw nodded slowly.

  “I almost wish I had,” Leafpaw went on, bitterness in her voice. “Perhaps I could have stopped it all, and kept you here. Squirrelpaw, do you really have to go?”

  “I must! This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me. Don’t you see? It’s a command from StarClan, so it’s not like we’re going against the warrior code.”

  She began pouring out to Leafpaw the whole story of Brambleclaw’s dreams, and the meeting with the cats from other Clans. Leafpaw listened, her eyes widening in dismay. Brambleclaw fidgeted from paw to paw, acutely aware of the passing of time as the daylight strengthened.

  “But you don’t need to go!” Leafpaw wailed when Squirrelpaw had finished. “You haven’t been chosen.”

  “Well, I’m not going back. I can’t do anything right, as far as Firestar is concerned. Do you know he even told me I might not be fit to be a warrior? I’ll show him whether I’m fit or not!”

  Brambleclaw glanced at Leafpaw. She knew as well as he did how useless it was to argue with Squirrelpaw when she had made up her mind. There was something else, too, in Leafpaw’s amber eyes: a hint of trouble, as if she knew more than she was telling.

  “But you might not come back.” Leafpaw’s voice shook, and Brambleclaw was reminded even more forcibly that as well as a medicine cat, Leafpaw was Squirrelpaw’s sister. “What will I do without you?”

  “I’ll be OK, Leafpaw.” Brambleclaw was amazed at the gentleness of Squirrelpaw’s voice, and the way that she pressed her muzzle comfortingly against her sister’s side. “I’ve got to go. You do see that, don’t you?”

  Leafpaw nodded.

  “And you won’t tell anyone where we’ve gone?” Squirrelpaw pressed.

  “I don’t know where you’re going—and neither do you,” Leafpaw pointed out. “But no, I won’t say anything. Just remember that Firestar does love you. He has things on his mind that you know nothing about.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Now take the herbs and go.”

  Squirrelpaw dabbed at the packet of herbs, dividing them between herself and Brambleclaw. As they gulped down the bitter-tasting leaves, Leafpaw looked on, her eyes huge and sombre.

  “Even if you don’t have a medicine cat with you, you can still find herbs as you go along. Don’t forget marigold for wounds,” she meowed rapidly. “And tansy for coughs—oh, and juniper berries for bellyache. And borage leaves are best for fever, if you can find any.” She sounded as if she were trying to pass on the whole of her training in the few moments she had left.

  “We won’t forget,” Squirrelpaw promised. She finished the last mouthful of herbs and swiped her tongue around her mouth. “Come on, Brambleclaw.”

  “Goodbye, Leafpaw,” Brambleclaw mewed. “You—and the rest of the Clan—take care. If trouble is really coming to the forest, we . . . we might not be back in time to help you fight it.”

  “That is in the paws of StarClan,” Leafpaw agreed sadly. “I will do my best to be ready, I promise.”

  “And don’t worry about Squirrelpaw,” Brambleclaw added. “I’ll look after her.”

  “And I’ll look after him.” Squirrelpaw flashed him a challenging look before padding up to her sister and touching noses with her. “We will come back,” she murmured.

  Leafpaw dipped her head, sadness clouding her eyes. As Brambleclaw headed once again for Fourtrees, he glanced back to see her watching them, a motionless light brown figure against the ferns. As he raised his tail in a gesture of farewell she turned swiftly, and the undergrowth swallowed her up.

  CHAPTER 12

  Leafpaw caught a vole on her way back to the camp, and slipped down the ravine with it clamped in her jaws, hoping that any cat who saw her would think that she had been out on an early hunting expedition. Her mind was still whirling with her sister’s departure, and how the prophecies of StarClan seemed to be gathering around Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw like mist clinging to the branches of a gorse bush.

  As she emerged into the clearing she heard Mousefur’s voice raised loudly. “That Brambleclaw is a lazy lump! It’s well past sunrise, and he isn’t up yet. I want him for a hunting patrol.”

  “I’ll wake him.” Brightheart, who was sitting with Mousefur near the nettle patch, got up and went into the warriors’ den.

  Leafpaw felt a cold knot in her belly at the thought of what would happen when the rest of ThunderClan discovered that Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw had vanished. At that moment, Dustpelt appeared from the nursery and padded over to the apprentices’ den, where Whitepaw and Shrewpaw were sunning themselves.

  “Hi,” the brown warrior greeted them. “Have you seen Squirrelpaw? She’s not ill, is she? She’s usually raring to go by now—before I’ve even had time for a piece of fresh-kill.”

  Whitepaw and Shrewpaw exchanged a glance. “We haven’t seen her,” Whitepaw mewed. “She didn’t sleep in the den last night.”

  Leafpaw saw Dustpelt roll his eyes. “What is she up to now?”

  Brightheart pushed her way out of the warriors’ den and bounded across to Mousefur. Leafpaw trotted across to the fresh-kill pile with her vole so that she could hear what they were saying.

  “Brambleclaw’s not there,” Brightheart reported.

  “What?” Mousefur’s tail twitched in surprise. “Where is he, then?”

  Brightheart shrugged. “He must have gone hunting on his own. Never mind, Mousefur. Cloudtail and I will come with you.”

  “Fine.” Mousefur shrugged, and as soon as Cloudtail emerged from the den, blinking sleep out of his eyes, she roused Spiderpaw and all four cats left the camp.

  Meanwhile, Dustpelt was heading for the fresh-kill pile, irritably calling on StarClan to tell him how he was supposed to mentor an apprentice if she was never where she was meant to be.

  “If you see your sister,” he growled to Leafpaw, “tell her I’m in the nursery. And she’d better have a good excuse for going off on her own again.” He snatched up a starling and headed back to Ferncloud.

  Leafpaw watched him go before heading for the fern tunnel that led to the medicine cat’s den. She was relieved that Dustpelt had not stopped to question her about Squirrelpaw, but she knew that as time went on and the two cats did not return, there would certainly be questions—lots of them. And she had no idea at all how to answer.

  By midday, gossip was beginning to fly around the camp. On her way through the main clearing to fetch fresh-kill for Cinderpelt, Leafpaw overheard Firestar ordering the patrols to keep an eye open for the two missing cats.

  “So Brambleclaw is padding after Squirrelpaw, is he?” Cloudtail remarked, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “Well, she’s a very attractive young cat; I’ll say that for her.”

  “I can’t think what they’r
e up to.” Firestar sounded more annoyed than worried. “I’ll have something to say to both of them when they come back.”

  Leafpaw crouched down, pretending to be choosing the best piece of prey, while the warriors dispersed, leaving her father and mother alone together.

  “You know,” Sandstorm meowed to Firestar, “Greystripe told me what happened last night, when you found them hunting alone. It sounds as if Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw haven’t been back since. From what Greystripe said about the way you spoke to them, I’m not surprised they want to get away for a while.”

  “Surely I didn’t upset them that much?” Firestar sounded anxious. “Not enough to leave the camp?”

  Sandstorm gave him a direct look from wide green eyes just like Squirrelpaw’s. “I’ve told you over and over again that you don’t get anywhere with Squirrelpaw by criticizing her and ordering her around. She’ll do the opposite just to be difficult.”

  “I know.” Firestar let out a heavy sigh. “It’s just this prophecy . . . fire and tiger together, and trouble for the forest. I thought after we dealt with BloodClan the Clans would be at peace.”

  “We’ve had many moons of peace.” Sandstorm padded up to Firestar and pressed her muzzle against his cheek. “All thanks to you. If there is more trouble to come, it’s not your fault. I’ve been thinking about that omen,” she went on, sitting down with a quick glance around to make sure none of the warriors were in earshot.

  Leafpaw gave a guilty start, wondering if she should creep out of the shadows on the far side of the pile of fresh-kill, but if her mother knew she was there, she paid no attention to her; after all, Leafpaw already knew about the StarClan message.

  “It mentions fire and tiger, and trouble,” Sandstorm continued, “but it doesn’t say that fire and tiger will cause the trouble, does it?”

  Leafpaw saw a shiver run right through Firestar’s body, rippling his flame-coloured fur.

  “You’re right!” he murmured. “The prophecy might mean they’ll save us from the trouble.”