by Erin Hunter
Tawnypelt flicked her tail. “The snow has drifted over the training ground,” she reported. “We need to find a more sheltered clearing, or else train in camp.”
Rowanclaw nodded. “If anyone finds a suitable training area, let me know. Until then, battle training will take place here.”
The kits burst out of the dirtplace tunnel.
“Is that strange cat still here?” Sparrowkit squeaked. “The one Tigerheart brought back last night?”
The warriors glanced at one another, surprised. Ivypaw stiffened as, one by one, the cats began to turn and stare at the sheltered corner where she was crouching. She wasn’t going to hide like she’d done something wrong to their precious territory. Puffing out her chest, she padded out from behind the brambles and met their gaze.
Rowanclaw took the center of the clearing. “Tigerheart found a ThunderClan apprentice inside our scent line last night,” he announced.
Pelts bristled behind him.
“Was she alone?” Ratscar demanded.
“The patrol didn’t find any other cats,” Rowanclaw answered. “No warrior scent has been found.”
“Are you sure?” Olivenose flattened her ears. “They could be trying to take more of our territory!”
“We’re not!” Ivypaw couldn’t stop herself calling out.
Starlingpaw turned on her, bristling. “Be quiet!”
Ivypaw scowled at him as Tawnypelt padded forward and turned to her Clanmates. “She’s just an apprentice.”
Rowanclaw sat down and wrapped his tail over his paws. “We’re holding her for now,” he meowed. “No doubt ThunderClan will look for her soon. Until then, she’s no threat.”
“Yeah,” grunted Starlingpaw. “No threat.”
Ivypaw fought the urge to cuff him around the ear.
Rowanclaw flexed his claws. “The patrols must leave,” he ordered. “We can’t waste hunting time.”
Ratscar, Scorchfur, Snowbird, and Applefur began to weave among their Clanmates, assembling their patrols. Within moments they were thundering through the brambles, out into the pine forest.
A tiny mew made Ivypaw turn. “Hey, Thundercat!”
Sparrowkit had leaped past the bramble screen and was facing her, back arched and fur on end. Ivypaw broke into a purr as Dewkit leaped out after him and Mistkit peeped, trembling, around the prickly stems.
“Can you fly?” Sparrowkit demanded.
Ivypaw blinked. “Fly?”
“The warriors said you flew down from the trees in the battle.”
“Oh, yes.” Ivypaw nodded. “All ThunderClan cats can fly.”
“Liar,” growled Starlingpaw.
Ivypaw shrugged. “It’s not my fault that ShadowClan kits have poppy seeds for brains.”
Sparrowkit raced at her, spitting. “No we don’t.”
Ivypaw ducked and snarled in his face, baring her teeth. The kit’s pelt bushed, and his eyes widened with terror. “Kinkfur! Help!” With a squeal, he turned and hared away. Mistkit and Dewkit went wailing after him.
Starlingpaw turned on her. “What did you do that for?”
“Sorry.” Ivypaw winced. “I didn’t think I’d scare them that much.” Her pelt burned. “I was just joking.”
“Those kits have been raised on tales about ThunderClan warriors who eat kits for fun!” Starlingpaw snapped.
Ivypaw stared at him. “Really?”
“They’ll have bad dreams for days.”
“Let me go and apologize,” Ivypaw offered.
The brambles rustled, and Blackstar stalked in. “You will apologize,” he growled. “But not yet.”
Ivypaw straightened up. Blackstar was huge. His one black paw was the size of her head. “I’m really sorry,” she mewed.
Blackstar’s whiskers twitched. “Don’t worry. We’re not going to put you on the fresh-kill pile yet.” His eyes seemed to glow. Was he amused? He scanned the corner she’d been held in, glancing down at the half-eaten mouse at her paws. “Sorry to keep you like this. Have you had enough to eat?”
“Yes.” Hastily, Ivypaw pushed the mouse toward him. “I don’t want to use up your food. Prey is scarce.”
Blackstar dipped his head. “I expect you want to go home.”
Ivypaw felt her eyes glisten. “Yes.”
“You’ll be back in your camp soon enough.” He gazed past her. “First, there’s a bargain to be struck. ThunderClan has something we need.” He turned and padded away.
Ivypaw watched him go, unease pricking her belly. “A bargain?” she echoed.
Starlingpaw shrugged. “Perhaps we’re going to swap you for food.”
Tawnypelt padded around the jutting brambles. “Are you all right?” The sympathy in the tortoiseshell’s mew made Ivypaw more homesick than ever.
“I’m fine.” She swallowed against the lump rising in her throat. “What do you want to swap me for?”
“Herbs,” Tawnypelt answered. “Littlecloud’s sick. We need catmint and tansy. Tigerheart told us that Jayfeather has been growing some.”
“Tigerheart?” Ivypaw was confused. But Tigerstar told me that ShadowClan knew about the herbs ages ago. That’s why they’d wanted to invade ThunderClan territory. Had Tigerstar lied?
“He overheard some ThunderClan warriors talking about it yesterday,” Tawnypelt told her.
No he didn’t! Anger throbbed in her ears. Dovepaw told him! How could her sister betray her Clan like that? Ivypaw stared around her prison. How could she betray me?
Tawnypelt padded closer. “Don’t worry, dear.” Her eyes were round. “I’m sure Jayfeather will happily give up a few herbs on your behalf. You’ll be home in no time.”
Ivypaw backed away, bristling.
“Would you like to use the dirtplace?” Tawnypelt offered. “You could stretch your legs. You must be stiff, holed up here.” She waved Starlingpaw away with her tail. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Tawnypelt took her across the camp. The clearing was long and wide. All the dens were neatly tucked away inside the camp wall. Ivypaw was impressed. It was perfect for practicing battle moves. Dawnpelt, lying near the edge, looked up from the frog she was chewing and scowled. Sparrowkit was huddling beside Kinkfur. Dewkit and Mistkit were nowhere to be seen. Cedarheart and Tallpoppy had made nests in the snow outside their den and watched her pass.
Ivypaw felt hot under her pelt. She was relieved to duck through the tunnel to the dirtplace while Tawnypelt waited in the clearing. The dirtplace was outside the camp wall, and Ivypaw wondered if she could slip away and make it to the border.
“Are you finished?” Tawnypelt called.
Ivypaw pushed the idea away. The forest was full of patrols that all knew the territory better than she did. She kicked snow over her dirt and headed back through the tunnel. “I want to apologize to the kits,” she told Tawnypelt as she emerged.
“What for?”
“I frightened them.”
Tawnypelt purred. “I thought Sparrowkit was looking a little quieter than usual.” She led Ivypaw across the clearing toward Kinkfur. As they neared, Mistkit squirmed out of the den and hid behind the tabby queen. Dewkit followed and ducked under Kinkfur’s tail.
Sparrowkit, trembling, lifted his chin. “You don’t scare me!” he growled.
“Good—”
A shriek ripped across the camp, and Flametail came racing through a gap in the brambles, wild-eyed and with his fur bushed up.
Tawnypelt bristled. “What is it?” She raced over to the terrified medicine cat.
“Darkness!” Flametail gasped. “Cold, sucking darkness.” The ginger tom’s eyes were black with terror.
Blackstar rushed out of his den. “What’s the matter?” He barged past Smokefoot and stared at the medicine cat.
Flametail’s gaze fixed on his leader. “There is a great darkness coming,” he hissed. “I’ve felt it, all around me. It will engulf ShadowClan like an endless wave and suck us down to our doom.”
Blackstar thrust his face closer.
“What can we do?”
“We must prepare to fight. StarClan was right. We are alone, and we must fight for our lives!”
Smokefoot leaned forward. “Who? Who must we fight?”
Flametail shook his head. “I couldn’t see.”
“It must be the other Clans,” Blackstar snarled. “If StarClan says we fight alone, it must be them that we fight!”
Kinkfur trembled beside Ivypaw and swept her kits closer with her tail. The brambles shivered. Ivypaw turned to see Tigerheart pad into camp. Rowanclaw, Shrewfoot, and Crowfrost followed.
Flametail straightened up, calmness flooding his mew. “The greatest battle in the history of the Clans is coming, and we must prepare to meet it.”
Tigerheart’s broad shoulders stiffened. He glanced backward, catching Ivypaw’s eye. We are being prepared already, he seemed to say.
Ivypaw didn’t feel comforted. Flametail’s prophecy of doom had scared her; she wanted her Clanmates around her, and Firestar to decide which battles should be fought and which could be left for another day.
If the greatest battle ever was coming, Ivypaw wanted to be home before it arrived.
Chapter 22
Dovepaw paced outside the thorn barrier with her ears pricked. She could hear the patrol heading back from the ShadowClan border with Brambleclaw in the lead. Brackenfur and Graystripe padded after, their paws heavy on the snow. Ivypaw was with them, tailed by Squirrelflight.
Dovepaw was unnerved by the patrol’s silence. They didn’t scold Ivypaw for her carelessness in getting caught. They didn’t ask her what had happened in ShadowClan’s camp. Her pelt itched with anticipation. Would Ivypaw forgive her for letting ShadowClan take her prisoner?
The patrol appeared at the top of the slope and headed down toward the camp. Dovepaw tried to catch Ivypaw’s eye, but her sister’s gaze followed her paws, dark with worry.
“Are you okay?” Dovepaw fell in beside Ivypaw. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“She’s fine,” Squirrelflight told her. “Let her rest.”
“Won’t Firestar want to speak to her?”
Squirrelflight shook her head. “What’s done is done.” She sighed. “Ivypaw knows she made a stupid mistake. She won’t do it again.”
Dovepaw paused. Didn’t they want to question Ivypaw about what she’d been doing on the border in the middle of the night?
Ivypaw headed straight for her den.
“Please talk to me!” Dovepaw pleaded.
Ivypaw stopped and looked at her with clouded eyes. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’m just tired.”
“Really?” Dovepaw leaned closer.
Ivypaw nodded and turned away.
Stones cracked on the pile of rocks beside the cliff. Firestar’s orange pelt glowed in the twilight as he bounded down from Highledge. “Did everything go okay?” he asked Brambleclaw.
“We gave them the herbs; they gave us Ivypaw,” the deputy reported.
“Any idea how they caught her?” Firestar prompted.
“She said she was trying night hunting on the border and strayed over the scent line.”
Thornclaw was frowning outside the warriors’ den. “You shouldn’t have sent such senior warriors to fetch her,” he grumbled. “It shows too much respect.”
Dustpelt paced around him, tail whipping. “If any ThunderClan cat dies because we have no herbs, ShadowClan will have blood on their fur.”
Guilt clawed at Dovepaw as she stared after her sister.
“Come on,” Squirrelflight murmured in her ear. “Leave Ivypaw to rest. It’s time to leave for the Gathering.”
Dovepaw spun around. “I’d completely forgotten!” She glanced up at the fat white moon. If she saw Tigerheart tonight, what would she say to him?
Thornclaw and Dustpelt were already waiting by the tunnel. Firestar’s tail disappeared through the brambles at the medicine den entrance. Dovepaw guessed he was checking on Sandstorm before he left. Sorreltail padded across the clearing with Blossomfall and Rosepetal, fur fluffed against the cold. Berrynose, Foxleap, and Lionblaze emerged from the shelter of the warriors’ den.
Squirrelflight waited beside the nursery until Leafpool slid out of the entrance. “How’s Cherrykit?” the orange warrior asked.
“Her breathing’s a little rough, but she still has her appetite,” Leafpool answered. They headed for the barrier.
Brambleclaw glanced over to the medicine den, breath billowing at his nose, as Firestar and Jayfeather padded out. “Let’s go.”
They headed for the lakeshore. Jayfeather stuck close to Lionblaze’s side as the patrol headed down the bank. The snow had drifted deep in places, but Lionblaze guided his littermate through a gap and dug a channel to where the breeze from the lake had blown the snow thin enough to cross easily.
“Dovepaw?” Lionblaze called to her softly.
She hurried to catch up to him. “What?”
“Do you know what Ivypaw was doing on the border?” Lionblaze hissed. Beside him, Jayfeather’s ears were pricked.
“It didn’t have anything to do with the Dark Forest,” Dovepaw whispered. “She was just . . .” She groped for a reason. “Practicing her night hunting, like she said.” Jayfeather’s tail twitched, and Dovepaw focused hard on believing that was what Ivypaw had been doing. She didn’t want Jayfeather spying on her thoughts and discovering the truth.
“Look!” Squirrelflight was staring up the hillside. They were crossing WindClan’s shore, and high on the moorland, the silhouettes of WindClan warriors were lined along the crest.
“What are they waiting for?” Thornclaw growled.
Foxleap shook snow from his tail. “Perhaps they don’t want to arrive first.”
The moon glinted on the WindClan warriors, sending long shadows spilling down the smooth, white hillside.
“Come on.” Firestar quickened the pace. “The sooner we get into the shelter of the island, the better.”
Dovepaw waited for Rosepetal and Blossomfall to catch up, then matched their pace. Blossomfall was fretting. “I hope they’ll be okay.”
“Briarlight will be happy being left in charge of the medicine den,” Rosepetal pointed out.
“But Bumblestripe’s been coughing all day,” Blossomfall sighed. “What if he takes a turn for the worse?”
“Jayfeather put Brightheart in charge,” Rosepetal reminded her. “She’ll know what to do.”
Dovepaw reached out with her senses, up the WindClan slopes where the heather creaked under the layers of snow. The warriors waiting at the top made no sound, only watched. Unease began to prick Dovepaw’s belly. She stretched her senses farther, back to ShadowClan territory.
“It could be a trap.” Crowfrost’s mew was sharp with worry.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t go.”
Blackstar cleared his throat. “We must not show fear,” he meowed. “They won’t attack under the full-moon truce.”
“Can you be sure?” Snowbird demanded.
“It’s a Gathering!” Tawnypelt declared. “They wouldn’t dare!”
Who are they frightened of? Had StarClan warned them about the Dark Forest warriors? Dovepaw turned her ears toward RiverClan.
“Are you coming?” Mothwing was calling across the camp.
Willowshine’s reply was firm. “I’m staying here.”
“Will they obey the truce?” Reedwhisker muttered.
Mosspelt’s paws pattered over the snow. “Perhaps we should hide the kits and elders until they’ve left the island.”
Fear was darkening every Clan like clouds across the moon.
Dovepaw could hear RiverClan warriors pacing the clearing when ThunderClan reached the island. She nosed her way past Blossomfall and Rosepetal and crouched on the shore beside Jayfeather and Lionblaze. “They know!” she whispered.
Lionblaze blinked at her. “Who knows?”
“The other Clans! They know about the Dark Forest.”
“You’re imagining it.” Jayfeather’s eyes glint
ed in the moonlight. “Only we know about the Dark Forest.”
Dovepaw realized that she hadn’t actually heard any cat mention the Dark Forest. “Well, they’re scared of something,” she hissed.
“I know,” Jayfeather agreed. “I can sense it in the air. The medicine cats must have told their Clanmates about StarClan’s warning.”
“Perhaps we should tell our Clanmates,” Dovepaw suggested.
“And scare them to death?” Lionblaze dug his claws into the snow. “We can deal with whatever’s coming by ourselves.”
“Look!” Foxleap called from the edge of the water. “It’s solid all the way to the island!” The young warrior was already slithering across the frozen lake.
Dovepaw padded to the edge and put out a tentative paw. The ice burned, but as her pad grew numb, she tried another paw, and another, until she was standing on the hard white surface.
“Come back!” Sorreltail called. “It might break!”
“Don’t worry,” Foxleap yowled. “It’s shallow here.” With unsteady paws he wobbled farther out, picking up speed and falling into a clumsy skid. “Whoa!” He slithered to a halt, purring. “Try it, Blossomfall! It’s fun.”
Blossomfall hurtled after him, yowling with surprise and pleasure as she glided over the ice. Dovepaw’s heart lurched as her paws slid underneath her. Tensing to stay upright, she picked her way across. Every muscle felt stiff with fear, but it was still thrilling to be walking across the lake. She could see the dark shadow of water lapping beneath the moon-white surface. With every paw step, the ice groaned and creaked.
“Come on!” Firestar’s sharp order sounded from the island shore. “Get off there.”
Dovepaw’s claws scraped the ice as she fought to grip it, and she slithered ungraciously onto the snowy shore, relieved to feel solid earth beneath her.
Brambleclaw and Dustpelt were already pushing through the bracken toward the clearing in the pine trees. Dovepaw slipped through the crackling fronds, lost for a moment as her Clanmates disappeared around her. She followed the sound of their fur brushing stems until she slid out onto the edge of the clearing. The RiverClan warriors froze, as though trapped in ice, while they watched ThunderClan arrive.
“What’s up with them?” Rosepetal whispered.
