The Silent Thaw

by Erin Hunter

  “While you were away, StarClan named you as a codebreaker.” Bramblestar stared darkly at the tom.

  Lionblaze stiffened. “What?”

  “Shadowsight had a vision,” Bramblestar explained. “It named all the codebreakers in the Clans. They must atone, or their Clans will suffer.”

  “Who’s suffering?” Lionblaze looked pointedly around his Clanmates, then at the fully stocked fresh-kill pile.

  Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “The suffering hasn’t started yet,” he mewed ominously.

  “You believe the word of a ShadowClan cat over your own Clanmate’s honor?” Lionblaze squared his shoulders. “I haven’t broken any code!”

  “What about crossing the WindClan border?” Bramblestar growled.

  “I’ve paid for that.” Lionblaze glared at him.

  Squirrelflight got to her paws, her fur ruffled. “I was named too,” she told Lionblaze, as though she wanted to reassure him. “So was Jayfeather and—”

  “Jayfeather?” Lionblaze’s gaze flashed toward the medicine den. “What’s he ever done but help his Clan?”

  Squirrelflight looked at the ground. “I think you are paying for my mistake.”

  “Because you and Leafpool lied about who our mother was?” Lionblaze sounded as though he couldn’t believe his ears.

  She nodded meekly.

  “But that was moons ago!” Lionblaze snapped. “Why should StarClan drag that up now? And what has it got to do with me and Jayfeather? Did we break the code by being born?”

  Bramblestar shrugged. “It’s pointless arguing,” he mewed smoothly. “StarClan has spoken. We must obey them.”

  “How?” Lionblaze snapped. “Am I supposed to apologize for being alive?”

  “No.” Bramblestar padded to the middle of the clearing and looked around at his Clanmates. “But I think it’s time we began to atone.”

  Bristlefrost glanced at Thriftear. She was staring at Bramblestar, her eyes round with worry. Around the clearing, her Clanmates exchanged uneasy glances.

  Lionblaze padded after Bramblestar. “How do we ‘atone’?”

  “The codebreakers must make things right.”

  Bristlefrost’s belly tightened. What was he going to demand of the named cats? She glanced nervously at Twigbranch. The gray she-cat sat up, her ears twitching.

  Bramblestar looked at Lionblaze. “The codebreakers must swear an oath.”

  Is that all? Relief swamped Bristlefrost’s pelt. Beside her, Thriftear’s shoulders loosened. Twigbranch let out a long breath. Around the clearing, their Clanmates seemed to relax, their pelts smoothing.

  “Okay.” Lionblaze lifted his chin. “Whatever you want, if it will get this over with. If StarClan thinks I’m a codebreaker, then I’ll atone.”

  Twigbranch got to her paws and padded into the clearing. “So will I.”

  Bramblestar lifted his muzzle. “Jayfeather!”

  A few moments later, Jayfeather hurried from the medicine den. Flecks of herbs were caught in his pelt. “What is it?” He blinked blindly toward the camp entrance. “Is Sparkpelt back?” His nose twitched suddenly. “Lionblaze!” He hurried to the clearing as he smelled his brother’s scent and, purring, touched his nose to Lionblaze’s cheek. “Are you well? Have you had enough to eat?” He sniffed Lionblaze anxiously.

  “I’m fine,” Lionblaze promised.

  “I want you to come to the medicine den so I can check you over properly,” Jayfeather told him. “You smell a bit sour.”

  “That’s just from sleeping on strange bracken,” Lionblaze told him.

  Bramblestar flicked his tail. “You can have your reunion later. First you must swear your oath.”

  “Oath?” Jayfeather’s eyes widened.

  “He wants us to make amends to StarClan for breaking the code,” Lionblaze explained.

  Jayfeather snorted. “If I’ve broken the code then I’m sorry for it, but every cat knows I’m loyal. I don’t need to swear an oath.”

  “Just do it,” Lionblaze told him. “Then perhaps we can get back to normal.”

  Bramblestar’s pelt twitched. “We can get back to normal when I say so,” he growled. “This oath is just so that your Clanmates can see that you’re sorry and that you are committed to obeying the code from now on.”

  “Next time,” Lionblaze muttered, “I’ll check who my parents are before I’m born.”

  Bristlefrost’s heart sank in her chest when she saw Bramblestar’s eyes light up with rage. Why was Lionblaze provoking him? The ThunderClan leader looked ready to spit something back at the warrior, but Squirrelflight hurried forward before he could speak.

  Her eyes flashed with guilt. “Do I have to take the oath too?”

  Bramblestar waved her away with a flick of his tail. “You’ve spent time in StarClan recently. Our ancestors sent you back to us.” Bristlefrost had been told the story of how the deputy, and her medicine-cat sister, Leafpool, both went to StarClan after being injured in a landslide. Squirrelflight returned, but Leafpool did not.

  “They have clearly forgiven you,” Bramblestar went on. “There’s no need for you to take the oath.”

  Squirrelflight stared at him, surprised.

  You see! Bristlefrost felt a rush of happiness. Bramblestar hasn’t changed. He’s still fair. She blinked expectantly at Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Twigbranch. What would the oath be? This would help their ancestors forgive them, she was sure. I hope you’re listening, StarClan.

  Bramblestar turned to face Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Twigbranch. “Repeat after me,” he ordered. “‘StarClan, forgive me for breaking your code.’”

  Haltingly, the three cats echoed his words. Lionblaze shifted his paws awkwardly as Bramblestar went on.

  “‘I promise I will always obey my leader without question.’” The ThunderClan leader paused to let them repeat it. “‘And I will do whatever I’m asked for the good of the Clan.’”

  “As if we didn’t before,” Jayfeather mumbled when he’d finished saying the words.

  Bramblestar grunted. “Just repeat it,” he growled. “You don’t need to comment. This is for the good of the Clan—to bring StarClan back.” He pressed on. “‘I will hunt only for my Clan. I will protect my Clanmates with my life. . . .’”

  As the rules went on, Bristlefrost glanced at the entrance. Sparkpelt still wasn’t back. She wondered if the she-cat had found no catmint at the Twolegplace and had gone farther in search of new growth. She looked back at the clearing. Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Twigbranch were repeating the last words of their oath.

  “‘If I break the code again, I will be exiled from my Clan to protect them from StarClan’s anger.’”

  Exiled? Bristlefrost frowned, noticing her Clanmates glancing at one another questioningly. She knew they were thinking the same thing she was—would this exile be permanent?

  Thornclaw padded forward. “Surely a cat must do more than break the code to be exiled.”

  Bramblestar eyed the dark warrior accusingly. “If a cat chooses to break the warrior code again, they must be prepared to face the consequences.”

  “But—” As Thornclaw began to object, a groan sounded at the entrance. Bristlefrost jerked her muzzle toward the noise, heart lurching as she smelled blood. A moment later Sparkpelt staggered into camp. Blood showed on her pelt. Tufts of fur were missing. Every stumbling paw step seemed to take more strength than she had.

  Squirrelflight raced forward, reaching her as she dropped to the ground.

  Jayfeather rushed to Sparkpelt’s side. “Alderheart! Bring cobwebs,” he yowled across the clearing.

  “What happened?” Squirrelflight pressed her muzzle to Sparkpelt’s ear.

  “There were dogs,” Sparkpelt gasped. “At the abandoned Twoleg den. They attacked me. . . .” Jayfeather quickly sniffed along her flank.

  Bristlefrost leaped to her paws. How could this have happened? She looked at Bramblestar. He must feel terrible that he’d sent Sparkpelt to the Twolegplace. But when sh
e spotted the leader, she froze. Shock pulsed through her. The ThunderClan leader was watching Sparkpelt coldly, as though staring at a piece of prey. As Sparkpelt’s Clanmates clustered around her and began to help her to the medicine den, Bramblestar sat down and began washing his face.

  Bristlefrost stared at him, a chill running through her body. She backed away, ducking behind the elders’ den, and caught her breath. What was wrong with Bramblestar? Dogs had just attacked his daughter. Didn’t he care?

  She headed for the entrance. If he didn’t care, she did! She was going to find out what those dogs were doing on ThunderClan territory. If they’d made a home there, the Clan needed to know. No cat should risk being attacked by them again.

  Outside camp, she broke into a run. Dusk was seeping through the forest, darkening the shadows. She raced through them, her pelt bushed, her nose twitching. She was breathless by the time she neared the abandoned Twoleg den. She slowed, tasting the air. There were dog scents here, but they were stale. There was no sound of movement as she crept around the crumbling stones and sniffed the ground. Sparkpelt’s scent was here too, but there was another scent, just as familiar. Bristlefrost padded toward it, her whiskers twitching.

  The earth beside the stone walls of the den was soaked with blood. It wasn’t Sparkpelt’s blood, or a dog’s. She sniffed it. Prey blood. This spot smelled like fresh-kill. Her thoughts quickened. Some cat had made a fresh-kill pile here.

  She frowned. Rogues didn’t gather their prey. They ate it as they caught it. Only Clan cats made fresh-kill piles. Had Lionblaze sheltered here on his way back to the Clan?

  She sniffed the stone walls around the blood-stained earth, but smelled only dog-scent. Lionblaze couldn’t have stayed here. It would have been too dangerous.

  She stiffened as a thought flashed through her mind. Had some cat gathered prey here on purpose? Had they wanted to lure dogs here? The earth seemed to shift beneath her paws, and she pictured Bramblestar washing his face while Squirrelflight helped their daughter to the medicine den. Not only had he not been concerned, but he’d seemed unsurprised that she’d returned to camp injured. Had he known about the dogs when he sent her here? She felt sick. Squirrelflight’s warning rang in her ears. Rootpaw was right. It’s not Bramblestar. Had she been wrong to dismiss it? She leaned against the wall, her paws trembling.

  Had Bramblestar tried to murder his own daughter?

  Chapter 15

  As dusk softened the shadows of the pine forest, Shadowsight scratched delicately at the earth and leaned down to sniff a crack where new shoots were pushing open the soil. The fresh scent of marigold leaves touched his nose, and he sat up, satisfaction warming his belly. It had been more than three days since Bramblestar’s impromptu Gathering, and new plants were now growing a short walk from camp. For a moment he thought only about herbs and the ointments he’d be able to mix once newleaf coaxed the first sign of fresh growth into full leaf. But as he gazed into the shadowy woods, his doubts returned. The satisfaction he’d felt at the sprouting marigold faded, and a chill crept through his fur.

  Had he been right to tell the other medicine cats about his vision? Nothing had changed. There was still no sign of StarClan, and since the Gathering, prey hadn’t been running any better in ShadowClan’s part of the forest. Snowbird’s broken paw was healing just as slowly. What had he expected? For StarClan to send him a vision congratulating him? He got to his paws. Of course there’d be no vision. But he had expected to feel a sense of relief at having shared the names of the codebreakers with the other Clans. Instead he only seemed to have succeeded in putting Dovewing in danger, just as Tigerstar has predicted. Bramblestar seemed determined to exact some sort of punishment on the codebreakers. There had been no talk of forgiveness.

  “Shadowsight.” Dovewing’s call jerked him from his thoughts. His mother was padding through the forest toward him, her eyes warm with affection. “There you are.” She stopped beside him and touched her nose to his ear.

  Shadowsight blinked at her, worried. Why was she looking for him? He hadn’t been out of camp long. “Does Puddleshine need me?”

  “No.” Dovewing glanced around the forest. “I was worried about you, that’s all. You’ve seemed distracted since the Gathering.”

  “I’m fine.” Shadowsight brushed loose soil gently over the crack in the earth to protect the new shoots and began to pad back to camp.

  Dovewing fell in beside him. “You’re worried about your vision, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not sure I should have shared it,” he admitted. “I think it might have caused more trouble than it solved.”

  “You did what you thought was right,” Dovewing told him gently.

  “Tigerstar didn’t think it was right.” His father had hardly spoken to him since he’d shared the vision.

  “He’ll come around. He’ll see that you did the right thing.” Dovewing’s pelt brushed Shadowsight’s. “Eventually.”

  “But what if I didn’t?” Shadowsight glanced at his mother. “I got you in trouble, maybe even Tigerstar. Bramblestar wouldn’t even listen to him at the Gathering.”

  “Bramblestar has just got a burr in his pelt about codebreakers,” she told him. “He didn’t want to listen to any cat.”

  “But he must have been thinking that if you’re a codebreaker, Tigerstar is too.”

  “Your father is a loyal and honorable warrior,” she reminded him. “He only broke the code when he had no other choice—and no cat could do more than he has done to uphold it since.”

  “But what if he’s named too?” Shadowsight’s tail twitched nervously. “Will he be allowed to remain ShadowClan’s leader?”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she soothed. “The Clan respects him. Without him, there might be no ShadowClan. No cat’s going to stop him being leader.”

  “But surely you’ve heard the whispers.” Shadowsight lowered his voice as they neared the camp entrance. “Scorchfur was telling Yarrowleaf that StarClan might be angrier at ShadowClan than any other Clan because of you and Tigerstar.”

  “I hope you told him that’s nonsense,” Dovewing mewed sharply. “If StarClan is angry with me and Tigerstar, they won’t punish our Clanmates for it.” She ducked through the bramble tunnel. Shadowsight watched her go, wondering what it was going to take for her to really listen to him.

  As Shadowsight followed her in, he was aware of their Clanmates eyeing him. Berryheart looked up from the mouse she was eating and narrowed her eyes. Snaketooth followed her gaze, her ears twitching. Shadowsight’s pelt prickled self-consciously. He knew that they thought he was a traitor for betraying one of their Clanmates in the list of codebreakers.

  He lowered his gaze as he headed toward the medicine den, relieved that Dovewing was with him. “They think I made the wrong choice,” he murmured to Dovewing, pointing his muzzle toward the two warriors.

  “Whorlpelt thinks you did the right thing.” Dovewing dipped her head politely to the gray-and-white tom as they passed him. “Plenty of your Clanmates think we need to atone so that StarClan can come back.”

  “But not all.” Resentment jabbed at Shadowsight’s belly. “They were happy enough when I was the only medicine cat who was hearing from StarClan. But now that I’ve brought news they don’t like, they say I’m too inexperienced to understand.”

  Dovewing paused as they reached the medicine den and ran her tail along his spine. “I know it hurts to have your Clanmates say mean things about you. But you mustn’t listen to whispers. Warriors will always have an opinion. The most important thing is that you did what you thought was right. And you told the truth. In the end, it’s lies that tear a Clan apart, not the truth.” She gazed at him affectionately. “I wish you had as much faith in yourself as I do.”

  “Even though I got you in trouble?” Shadowsight blinked at her guiltily.

  “It’s not so bad,” she told him. “If atoning for my codebreaking will help, I’m happy to do it. There’s no harm in admitting
mistakes.”

  Her courage reassured him. As he blinked at her gratefully, a long, deep groan sounded from the medicine den. He stiffened. A cat was in pain.

  Shadowsight darted inside, his heart lurching as he saw Pouncestep lying in a nest. Her eyes glittered with distress. Tawnypelt stood stiffly beside her, as though unsure what to do, while Puddleshine leaned over the nest, running his paws gently over Pouncestep’s flank.

  “What happened?” As Shadowsight crouched beside the nest, his sister groaned again.

  Tawnypelt’s eyes were round. “She fell from a tree after she disturbed a wasps’ nest.”

  Dovewing hurried to Tawnypelt’s side. Her gaze flicked in alarm from her injured kit to Puddleshine. “What’s wrong with her?”

  Puddleshine’s paws traced a line along Pouncestep’s flank. “It feels like she’s broken a rib, but I can’t feel any swelling. There’s no bleeding inside.” He looked at Tawnypelt. “Did she land on her paws?”

  Before Tawnypelt could answer, Pouncestep lifted her head weakly. “I panicked. I didn’t manage to turn in time.” She groaned and lay back in her nest.

  Shadowsight could see swelling around one eye and on her muzzle where the wasps had stung her. “I’ll get some ointment.” He hurried to the store, relieved that Pouncestep’s injuries, while painful, weren’t life-threatening. The stings would go down with a little dock and honey, and the rib would mend.

  And yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. It was another accident. He’d hoped that by sharing his vision, he’d fix ShadowClan’s run of bad luck. Had he waited so long that StarClan was still angry? He pulled a leaf from the store and unfolded it. The honey he’d managed to gather a few moons earlier was still sticky. He reached in for a pawful of dock and some poppy seeds and carried them back to Pouncestep’s nest.

  “You can come back later.” Puddleshine was shooing Tawnypelt and Dovewing away.

  Tawnypelt eyed her denmate anxiously. “She’ll be all right, won’t she?”

  “She’ll be fine,” Puddleshine told her. “She just needs to rest.”