Leafstar gazed thoughtfully at Hawkwing for so long that he had to clamp his jaws firmly together to stop himself from telling her to hurry up and decide.
“Very well,” she mewed at last. “I guess Hawkwing can go.”
“Really?” Hawkwing’s father Sharpclaw turned an incredulous look on his Clan leader. “You’re going to reward that hot-headed young mouse-brain for arguing with you in front of the whole Clan? Is it really the best idea to send a cat who can’t control himself?”
Despite himself, Hawkwing felt a hot blaze of anger, and had to clamp his jaws shut to bite back a sharp protest. He had to turn away to hide from every cat how furious he was. I don’t want to react to being called hot-headed by acting even more hot-headed . . . but it isn’t fair! Why does Sharpclaw have to ruin everything?
“I’ve made my decision, Sharpclaw,” Leafstar meowed firmly.
Hawkwing glanced up, too nervous to hope. I know she won’t let me go—not after Sharpclaw’s rant.
Leafstar looked down at him, her even gaze revealing nothing. “Hawkwing will go on this quest.”
Hawkwing’s anger ebbed away like rain sinking into parched earth. I can go! I can go on the quest, and help find the spark that remains! He thought again of the other Clans—how exciting it would be to meet other cats who lived like SkyClan. It was all he could do not to break into a happy, self-satisfied purr.
The sun had set, and shadows stretched across the gorge. As Hawkwing headed toward his den, thinking longingly of his comfortable nest, he spotted Sharpclaw padding determinedly toward him.
What does he want? Hawkwing wondered nervously.
He halted to wait for his father. “Don’t start complaining or arguing!” he burst out, before Sharpclaw had the chance to say a word. He knew it wasn’t advisable to speak to his father this way, but he just couldn’t stomach another lecture. Not while he was still glowing from their leader’s announcement. “Leafstar has decided, and I’m going, whether you’re happy about it or not.”
“I’m not happy about it,” Sharpclaw admitted, his eyes narrowing, “but maybe not for the reason you think. One day, Hawkwing, when you have kits of your own, you’ll know what it feels like to almost lose them.”
What does that mean? “Don’t you think I can look after myself?” Hawkwing retorted, a growl in his voice. “You’re talking like a queen in the nursery—but I’m not a kit anymore. I’m a warrior!”
Sharpclaw nodded, unexpectedly serious. “I know that. But I can still be worried about you, Hawkwing. I’ve been talking to Cherrytail about this,” he mewed. “Do you think you might have become too reckless since Duskpaw died?”
Hawkwing was already on edge, and the mention of his brother made his self-control snap. Just when I finally feel like I don’t have to feel guilty every moment . . . “I don’t want to hear about Duskpaw anymore!” he spat.
Sharpclaw’s green eyes widened in a mixture of shock and dismay. He stared at Hawkwing in silence for several heartbeats before he spoke again. “How can you want to forget your own brother?” he asked incredulously.
“That’s not what I meant—” Hawkwing began, horrified that Sharpclaw believed he could ever feel that way, but his father had already spun around and begun to walk away.
Watching his father’s retreating back, Hawkwing felt claws of guilt grip around his heart. Of course I’m not trying to forget Duskpaw. I didn’t mean it like that! Did I?
He searched his heart, and realized no, he didn’t. He never wanted to forget Duskpaw, his silliest littermate, who had always been able to make him smile. All he had wanted was to push away the painful memories, and not always think about how much he was missing his brother. But Sharpclaw hadn’t given him a chance to explain.
Hawkwing hung his head, despair clouding out the happy glow he’d felt at Leafstar’s decision.
Whatever the rest of the Clan sees in me, Sharpclaw doesn’t. Will my father ever understand?
Clouds covered the sky and a thin drizzle was falling, soaking through Hawkwing’s fur and making him shiver. The dawn light was strengthening, but there was no sign of the sun.
Sagenose, Firefern, and Harrybrook had been chosen to go on the new quest with Hawkwing, Darktail, and Rain. All of them were crouching around the fresh-kill pile, bolting down prey before setting out on their search.
Hawkwing swallowed the last bite of mouse and stretched out his forelegs to loosen up for the long journey. Beside him, Darktail was doing the same.
“How long do you think we’ll be away?” Hawkwing asked him.
The white tom paused before replying, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “As long as it takes,” he replied at last. “Until we find the spark and dispel the darkness.”
His words awoke a glow of determination in Hawkwing’s heart. Yes! This time we won’t stop until we find Firestar’s kin!
Rising to his paws, Darktail gathered his patrol around him with a sweep of his tail. At the same moment Leafstar appeared through the drizzle, with Echosong limping at her side, and a group of the SkyClan cats straggling behind.
“We’re ready to go,” Darktail announced, sharing a solemn look with the Clan leader. “I promise you, I’ll succeed this time.”
Leafstar dipped her head, while Echosong padded around and gave traveling herbs to each of the questing cats. Hawkwing licked them up, grimacing at the bitter taste on his tongue.
“May StarClan light your path,” Leafstar meowed, “and bring you home safe.”
Calling their good-byes, the patrol followed Darktail as he headed for the trail that led to the top of the cliff. As he brought up the rear, Hawkwing noticed the apprentice Pebblepaw staring at him, a worried look in her eyes.
Is she anxious about me, or the whole group? Hawkwing asked himself.
He had barely spoken to Pebblepaw since their return from the first quest. Not out of hostility—that was all in the past—but because he knew she was grieving for Billystorm, and that he was maybe the last cat she would want to comfort her.
Now he realized that Pebblepaw could just be thinking about the good of the Clan, but he couldn’t stifle the feeling that she was especially fearful for him.
But I’m not sure she cares anything about me, he told himself. I can’t even begin to imagine it.
All Hawkwing could do was tear his gaze away and bound over to the foot of the cliff, scrambling to catch up with his Clanmates. He had no idea anymore of how he felt about the young she-cat.
With Darktail in the lead, the patrol headed across a wide stretch of grass, bounded by lines of bushes on all four sides. Several fox-lengths away a group of huge black-and-white animals were standing, tearing at the grass and grinding it slowly between teeth like jutting stones. Hawkwing cast sidelong glances at them, trying hard not to look nervous in front of the two rogues.
“What are those?” Harrybrook asked, the fur on his shoulders beginning to bristle. “I didn’t think animals could be that big!”
“They’re called cows,” Rain informed him with a wave of his bushy gray tail. “They’re not dangerous, but it’s best to stay away from them. They never look where they’re going.”
Two days had passed since the questing cats had left the SkyClan camp. After the first rainy morning the weather had cleared and now a stiff breeze was blowing, sending fluffy white clouds scudding across the sky. Hawkwing was enjoying the warmth of sunlight on his pelt, and the enticing scent of prey from the bushes up ahead.
I hope Darktail lets us stop to hunt soon.
Beyond the line of bushes Hawkwing could see a copse of taller trees, and beyond that the walls of a Twoleg den, looming up vast even at that distance. Darktail seemed to be heading straight for it.
“We’re not going there, are we?” Hawkwing asked. “We don’t want to get mixed up with Twolegs.”
“That’s exactly where we’re going,” Darktail replied. “It’s a Twoleg barn, sure, but the Twolegs abandoned it long ago.”
Like the badgers
abandoned the dens in that clearing? Hawkwing thought, instantly wary. But he kept his suspicions to himself, only resolving to be very careful as he and the rest of the patrol approached the den.
“Why are we going there?” Firefern asked, putting on speed to pad beside Darktail and Hawkwing.
“Because I think it might be one of the places where Firestar and his kin took refuge,” Darktail replied. “They might even still be there, but if they have moved on, we might be able to find traces of them.”
“Cool!” Firefern meowed.
Hawkwing’s pads prickled with excitement. He hadn’t realized that they could be so near to meeting with the other Clans. What will they think of us? What will we say to them?
Darktail led the way through the bushes, the thorny branches scraping the cats’ sides as they wriggled through the gaps. The copse lay a few tail-lengths ahead, in a tangle of ferns and bramble. The air was still full of prey-scent, but Hawkwing wasn’t thinking about hunting anymore, when they might be so close to the end of their quest.
Then as they drew nearer to the trees, Hawkwing caught a flicker of movement in the branches. Instantly he froze.
“Darktail!” he called out in a hoarse voice. “Up ahead—”
Then he broke off as Darktail bounded forward, obviously relaxed, and called out, “Toad? Toad, is that you?”
At the sound of Darktail’s voice a skinny, mottled brown tom jumped down from one of the trees and trotted forward to meet Darktail. “Hi,” he mewed, stretching out his neck so that the two cats could touch noses. Darktail mewed a happy greeting, his whiskers twitching with excitement.
“It looks like they’re old friends,” Hawkwing murmured to Firefern.
“Yes, we are,” Darktail responded, glancing over his shoulder as the rest of the patrol caught up with him. “I’m sorry, friends, let me introduce you—this is Toad. We’ve known each other for ages! Toad and Rain and I have often hunted together in the past—isn’t that right, Rain?”
Rain nodded. “Right. Hi, Toad. It’s good to see you again.”
Toad nodded. “So what are you doing in these parts?” he asked. His glance raked over the SkyClan cats. “And who are these?”
“More friends of ours,” Darktail replied, settling down comfortably in the shelter of a clump of ferns and wrapping his tail around his paws. Rain sat beside him, and beckoned with his tail for the other questing cats to join them.
“We’re looking for even more cats,” Darktail continued to Toad. “A big group of them. Have you seen any unfamiliar cats around here?”
“Funny you should say that.” Toad raised one hind paw to give his ear a vigorous scratch. “I did see a whole crowd of them—strong cats, well fed, with glossy fur. It was weird . . . I’ve never seen so many traveling together in a group.”
Excitement blazed through Hawkwing like fire licking through dry bracken. The spark that remains! His earlier apprehension at the sudden appearance of another rogue was swallowed up and forgotten. “They sound like Clan cats!” he exclaimed. “Could they have been Firestar’s kin?”
Toad twitched his whiskers dismissively. “I’ve never heard of any cat called Firestar,” he replied. “But I kept my distance. I just know that they camped for a while, here in this barn, and they weren’t rogues.”
Hawkwing’s paws itched to sprint straight to the barn. We were right all along!
“Come on!” he urged Darktail, springing to his paws and kneading the ground in his eagerness to get going. “Let’s hurry!”
“Hang on a moment.” Sagenose flicked out his tail to stop Hawkwing from bounding toward the barn.
Irritated, Hawkwing opened his jaws to protest, then saw the doubt in his Clanmate’s eyes. He sat down again, saying nothing.
“As I understand it,” Sagenose went on, “the other Clans have an awful lot of cats between them. Would they all fit in that barn?”
“Good question,” Harrybrook put in. “And how long have they lived there? According to Ravenpaw, they left the forest many, many moons ago.”
“Well, it’s a big barn,” Toad responded. “And it would take many moons for that many cats to find a suitable place to live.”
“Of course, we don’t have all the answers now,” Darktail replied with an unconcerned flick of his ears. “Perhaps some Clans have splintered off. Perhaps their numbers have dwindled . . . but surely we should check out the barn, at least?”
The SkyClan cats glanced at each other, Hawkwing struggling to conceal his impatience.
“Do you know if the Clan cats are still there?” Sagenose asked Toad.
The skinny rogue shrugged. “They may be,” he replied. “I noticed them when they first moved in, but I haven’t been back there in a while.”
“Why don’t we just go and look?” Hawkwing demanded. “What do we have to lose?”
Sagenose gave a grunt of agreement. “Okay, but let’s all stay alert. We need to be ready if there’s any trouble.”
“It’ll be fine,” Darktail mewed easily. “Toad, come along with us. Perhaps we can introduce you.”
Toad padded alongside as Darktail led the questing cats toward the barn. As he drew closer, Hawkwing couldn’t work out what he thought of the place. His fur began to bristle as he spotted a monster crouching beside a wall of reddish rock, only to lie flat again as he realized it must be dead: Its insides were blackened and shriveled as if fire had roared through it.
Hawkwing shivered. Even for a monster, that’s a cruel way to die!
There were no sounds coming from the barn, which made Hawkwing think Darktail must be right, and that the Twolegs who built it had abandoned it long ago. But when he opened his jaws to taste the air and pick up the traces of the Clan cats, strong Twoleg scents flowed in.
Would Firestar’s kin really hide out here, so close to Twolegs?
Hawkwing glanced at his Clanmates, who were all creeping around the barn, sniffing eagerly for the cat scent they hoped to find. Warily he padded over to join them, but the scent of Twolegs was swamping everything else. And there was another scent, cutting through it; alarm jolted through Hawkwing as he identified it.
“Dogs!” he yowled.
At the same moment the doors of the barn burst open. Two huge dogs sprang out, then skidded to a halt. Their jaws were parted and their tongues lolled as they let out bone-chilling howls. Two vicious-looking Twolegs were holding them back by long tendrils fastened around their necks.
For a heartbeat Hawkwing and the other cats froze with terror. One of the Twolegs growled something, and to Hawkwing’s horror both Twolegs let go of their tendrils. The dogs were free!
“Run!” Darktail screeched.
Hawkwing spun around and raced away, his Clanmates pelting alongside him, with Darktail and the other rogues just ahead.
“Follow me—make for the trees!” Darktail yowled. “Dogs can’t climb!”
Hawkwing’s paws barely touched the ground as he hurled himself toward the copse. He could hear the dogs barking behind him, and imagined he could feel their hot breath on his hindquarters. His heart pounded at the thought of their vicious teeth meeting on his tail.
Toad was the first cat to reach the nearest tree. At once he swarmed up the trunk and balanced on a low branch. Darktail clambered up beside him. Hawkwing leaped up into another tree next to them. Digging his claws into the fork where he crouched, he looked around and gasped with relief as he saw Firefern, Harrybrook, and Sagenose safe among the branches of a third tree on the other side of Darktail.
Last of all, the dogs only a mouse-length behind him, Rain made an enormous leap and dug his foreclaws into a branch of Darktail’s tree. Hoisting himself up, he crouched there, hissing defiance at the dogs below.
Hawkwing gazed down at the ferocious creatures, his chest heaving as he fought for breath. The dogs were running in wild circles at the base of the trees, barking fiercely as they looked up, their jaws slavering. Their Twolegs stood at a distance, pointing their forepaws and letting ou
t huffs of laughter.
How are we going to get out of this? Hawkwing wondered, trying to stop himself from trembling with fear.
His gaze was still fixed on the dogs when he heard a sudden shriek, and whipped his head around to see Toad falling from his branch in a frantic tangle of paws and tail. His claws scraped on another branch as he plummeted past it, but he couldn’t get a grip; he hit the ground right between the two dogs.
Toad was obviously half stunned by the impact. He struggled to his paws and tried to run, but he was far too slow. Before he had staggered more than a couple of steps, the nearest dog was upon him, grabbing his hind leg in its jaws.
Toad let out a terrified screech. “Help me!”
Hawkwing couldn’t see what he or any of the others could do. If we jump down and fight, the dogs will kill us . . . they’re fiercer even than the badgers.
Howls of anguish came from the other SkyClan cats. Hawkwing opened his jaws and let out his own terror and despair. This is too horrible! It’s happening right in front of us, but there’s nothing we can do! He couldn’t go on looking any longer, as Toad’s shrieks were abruptly cut off.
“Listen, all of you!” Darktail hissed. “This is our chance. While the dogs are distracted, we can escape.”
“But what about Toad?” Hawkwing asked, even though he knew how useless the question was.
The rogue’s gaze turned dark. “There’s nothing we can do for Toad now.”
CHAPTER 11
Turning, Darktail began to scramble from branch to branch, heading toward the far side of the copse. Hawkwing followed him, thankful that his Clan had trained him to hunt in trees, so he could be sure-pawed so far above the ground. With every paw step he struggled not to listen to the dreadful snarling and tearing that came from the dogs. His Clanmates clambered after him, and Rain brought up the rear.
When they reached the edge of the trees, Darktail leaped down. “Run!” he yowled.
The rest of the patrol pelted after him, their belly fur brushing the grass and their tails streaming out behind them. Darktail led them to the hedge, where they thrust their way through again, ignoring the thorns that tore at their fur, until they could halt, panting, on the other side.