“You know,” Clear Sky meowed when he had managed to control himself again, “there was a time when you wouldn’t have been able to admit to feeling terrified. You’d have gotten angry and picked a fight with me, and then you’d have tried to prove yourself by doing something foolish. You—” He broke off, wondering if he had gone too far.
“That’s true,” Jagged Peak responded in a neutral tone. “I had a lot to get my head around after I was injured.”
Clear Sky nodded. “I’m sure I didn’t help matters,” he admitted. “I should never have made you leave my group. You deserved better from me.”
Jagged Peak halted, staring his brother full in the face. “Thank you,” he mewed. “That means a lot to me. There was a time when you would never have been able to apologize.”
Before Clear Sky could say more, Lightning Tail caught up with them, glancing from Clear Sky to Jagged Peak and back again. “It’s good to see you getting along so well,” he commented wryly.
“What about you and Thunder?” Jagged Peak asked. “You didn’t seem glad to see him when he got back to camp last night.”
“Well, you know what that’s about, don’t you?” Lightning Tail replied.
“Um . . . no,” Jagged Peak replied, with a shake of his head, though Clear Sky felt he had a good idea.
Lightning Tail let out a small yowl of frustration. “That she-cat Star Flower’s got Thunder in a trance, and he’s too stupid to see what she’s doing.”
“What is she doing?” Clear Sky asked.
“I don’t know exactly,” he meowed slowly, obviously trying to keep calm. “But something about her is not quite right. It’s clear to me she’s up to something. And if Thunder weren’t so taken with her, he would see it too!” Lightning Tail declared, the fur on his shoulders rising.
“Let’s not leap to judge other cats,” Jagged Peak meowed. “It was Star Flower who told us that the Blazing Star can heal, remember.”
“Right, and I still don’t believe it.” With that, Lightning Tail gave a shrug and stalked into the lead.
By this time they had reached the outskirts of the forest. The leafless trees stood in front of them in a dark and threatening line, barely visible in the first faint light of dawn.
“Quiet from now on,” Jagged Peak ordered. “We have to get through here without alerting One Eye. Clear Sky, can you take us the quickest route to the Thunderpath?”
Clear Sky nodded. “We need to come out near the dead ash tree. It’s not too far from there to where the Blazing Star grows.”
He took the lead as the three cats slipped silently between the trees. Clear Sky kept his ears pricked, his jaws parting to taste the air. The reek of One Eye and his rogues had soaked into the forest like a shower of thundery rain, yet all the scents were stale; no cat had been this way since the day before. Even so, Clear Sky was relieved when they finally emerged from the forest at the edge of the Thunderpath near the place where the ash tree stretched bleached boughs across the strip of grass.
“Mouse Ear says he can tell if a monster is coming through vibrations in the ground,” Jagged Peak meowed.
“That’s right.” Clear Sky stretched out a paw and laid it on the hard black surface of the Thunderpath. His pads couldn’t pick up the faintest hint of movement. “I think it’s fine now,” he reported.
Jagged Peak waved his tail to beckon the other cats, and limped across the first half of the Thunderpath to the stretch of grass that ran down the middle. Clear Sky checked for vibrations again; then they completed the crossing. Not a single monster had appeared from either direction.
“It’s very early,” Clear Sky murmured. “Maybe the monsters are all still asleep.”
“Whatever the reason,” Jagged Peak agreed, “I’m glad it was so easy.”
Clear Sky’s pelt prickled at his brother’s words. I don’t trust easy. It makes me feel like something is bound to go wrong soon.
He took the lead again, heading into the marshes along the same route they had taken before. The stench of One Eye and his rogues faded behind them. Clear Sky began to pick up scents of mud and stagnant water and rotting vegetation.
“Tall Shadow loves it here,” he remarked to Lightning Tail, wrinkling his nose against the smells. “I can’t imagine why.”
By now dawn light was strengthening in the sky. Clear Sky could make out pools of water reflecting the pale light, surrounded by reeds and long grasses. Somewhere unseen a single bird sent up a thin, piping call. The ground underpaw was damp, with moisture welling through his pads every time he took a step.
“If I lived here, I’d turn into a frog,” he muttered.
At last Clear Sky drew to a halt. He became aware of a sharp, clean scent all around him. The outlines of spiky branches were visible against the sky, bearing yellow, five-petaled flowers. “This is the place,” he mewed.
He and Lightning Tail set to work biting off stems, while Jagged Peak climbed to the top of a hillock and kept watch. By the time they had amassed a huge mound of the herb, the sun was up, shedding cold, clear light over the marshes. Birdsong was all around them, and a breeze rattled the tops of the rushes.
All right. Now I can almost understand what Tall Shadow sees in this place, Clear Sky thought.
“I just wish I could believe Star Flower was telling the truth,” Lightning Tail meowed, contemplating the heap of flowers. “It would be so wonderful if this stuff really could help Holly.”
“Let’s hope it will,” Clear Sky responded.
He thought of Petal and the kits and other cats, cut off from him now in One Eye’s camp. One Eye had said other cats would get sick and were as good as dead. Had any of them gotten the sickness?
I wish I could take them some of the Blazing Star just in case, he thought anxiously. But what if One Eye takes advantage of the situation? Then he gave his pelt a shake. You stupid furball! Of course One Eye will take advantage!
“Come on!” he called to the others. “It’s time we were getting back.”
He and Lightning Tail divided the herbs between them, gripping them tightly in their jaws, while Jagged Peak took the lead, glancing warily around as they headed back to the Thunderpath.
While they were in the marshes, it seemed, the monsters had woken up and were roaring angrily. Their acrid tang rolled over the cats as they approached the Thunderpath and watched the glittering creatures speed past in front of their noses. The wind of their passing buffeted the cats’ fur and they choked in the reek they left behind.
“We could be here all day,” Jagged Peak grumbled as moments slid by without any break in the lines of monsters.
At last the noise died away and the air cleared slightly. The first section of the Thunderpath was clear as far as the strip of grass down the center. Clear Sky checked for vibrations and nodded.
“Now!” Jagged Peak yowled.
Tightly bunched together, the three cats darted across the black surface of the Thunderpath. Clear Sky hated the way it felt under his paws. Still keeping close to one another, they waited on the central grassy stretch until it was safe to cross the second half.
Jagged Peak watched Clear Sky as he set his paw on the surface again to feel the vibrations of oncoming monsters. Clear Sky thought at first that there was hardly any point, since he could see the monsters sweeping past a tail-length from his nose. But eventually a gap opened up, and he could only feel the faintest quivering beneath his pads.
“Okay,” he mumbled around his mouthful of stems.
Jagged Peak waved his tail, and the three cats set out across the Thunderpath. When they were barely halfway across, a monster appeared as if from nowhere. It let out an earsplitting shriek as it bore down on them with blazing eyes.
“Faster!” Clear Sky screeched, dropping most of his bundle of herbs.
He got behind Jagged Peak and gave him a strong shove, propelling him to the safety of the grass, where they both tumbled, a tangle of flailing paws. Lightning Tail landed beside them and rolled over as the monster s
wept past and growled away into the distance.
“What have we here?” A voice spoke somewhere above their heads.
Clear Sky stiffened. Looking up, he saw One Eye gazing down at him, a mocking twist to his mouth.
“Flea-pelt!” Clear Sky spat.
One Eye made no response, only circling them with the same mockery on his face as all three cats scrambled to their paws and shook debris off their pelts.
“And what’s this?” he went on, padding up to Lightning Tail. He gave the young cat a hard blow on the side of the head, making him drop his bunch of herbs. “Oh dear,” he went on. “I really don’t think I can allow you to take that.”
“It’s got nothing to do with you!” Jagged Peak protested, bravely facing up to One Eye. “We don’t need your permission.”
One Eye tilted his head to one side, as if he was pretending to think. “I guess not,” he meowed. “Yes, yes, you’re right. I shouldn’t have been so presumptuous.”
Clear Sky watched the rogue cat warily. He knew this had to be a trick.
A moment later, One Eye’s glance grew icy, and his voice was clipped and cold. “Rogue cats, attack!” he commanded, stepping aside.
Clear Sky stared as One Eye’s rogues streamed out of the undergrowth. Their pelts were matted; their rheumy eyes were filled with spite. There seemed to be even more of them than when One Eye drove him out of the camp.
The leading rogue leaped at Clear Sky, who rolled out of the way just in time.
“Coward!” One Eye sneered. “You’d never win a fight with me, one-on-one.”
With a snarl of rage, Clear Sky hurled himself at One Eye, but the weight of several rogues landing on top of him bore him to the ground. Twisting his head to one side he saw that Lightning Tail and Jagged Peak were lashing out at the mass of rogue cats who were attacking them. In spite of their scrawny bodies, One Eye’s followers were vicious fighters.
We’re hopelessly outnumbered, Clear Sky thought, as two rogues bundled him to the ground.
With a pang of pure horror he saw that two more rogues were forcing Lightning Tail back onto the Thunderpath, almost under the crushing, black paws of the passing monsters. Clear Sky heaved at the rogues who were pinning him down, but their weight was too much for him to throw off.
There’s nothing I can do!
Then a loud yowling sounded from the other side of the bramble thicket. Acorn Fur burst out into the open. Throwing herself at the rogues who were attacking her brother, she sank her claws into the nearest shoulder.
The rogue let out a screech of pain. Arching his back, he let go of Lightning Tail to take a swipe at Acorn Fur. While he was distracted, Lightning Tail squirmed free from the other rogue and flung himself back onto the grass just as a huge monster growled past.
At the sight of Acorn Fur, One Eye let out a furious screech. The rogues turned toward him, briefly breaking off the fight.
“Now! Run!” Clear Sky yowled.
He scrambled to his paws, thrusting Lightning Tail and Jagged Peak in front of him as he headed for the depths of the forest.
“I can’t leave Acorn Fur!” Lightning Tail protested.
“There’s nothing you can do!” Clear Sky gave him another shove. “Now, run!”
Lightning Tail growled in frustration, but he ran. The three cats pelted into the depths of the forest, blindly blundering through brambles and clumps of bracken in their desperate urge to escape.
Clear Sky took a last glance over his shoulder. He caught a glimpse of One Eye buffeting Acorn Fur around the head. The claw of regret tore at his heart. He didn’t want to leave her there, but there was nothing he could do to rescue her now.
One Eye will destroy the forest, Clear Sky thought as he raced after Jagged Peak and Lightning Tail. Somehow we have to drive him out.
CHAPTER 20
Clear Sky and his companions slowed their pace when they realized that One Eye and his rogues weren’t pursuing them. Their route back to the moorland hollow had never seemed so long. Lightning Tail was bleeding from a scratch on his shoulder, and limping almost as badly as Jagged Peak. Clear Sky’s tail stung as if a rogue had bitten it, and every muscle in his body seemed to ache.
Jagged Peak was trudging along with his head down. He had no obvious injuries, but his tail drooped and he looked as if every step took great effort.
Clear Sky watched him sympathetically, but didn’t say anything. His younger brother’s first mission as leader had ended disastrously, even though it wasn’t his fault. There was no way any cat could fight against One Eye and his rogues, and escape with a whole pelt.
When they reached the camp, the rest of the cats eagerly crowded around and began questioning them.
“What happened?”
“Why are you hurt?”
“Where’s the Blazing Star?”
At first no cat replied. Clear Sky felt exhausted, his chest still heaving from the aftermath of the fight and the desperate race to escape. Lightning Tail and Jagged Peak were struggling for breath too. The press of bodies around them made Clear Sky feel he was going to suffocate.
Then Pebble Heart wriggled his way to the front of the crowd. “Back off!” he told the other cats. “Give them some air.”
As the other cats obeyed, Clear Sky gradually felt the tension in his chest ease, and looked around for Gray Wing. His brother was standing to one side, a couple of tail-lengths away, waiting for the excitement to die down.
Jagged Peak was the first to speak. He padded up to Gray Wing and stood in front of him with his head hanging. “I failed,” he choked out. “I’m sorry.”
“What happened?” Gray Wing asked.
“I don’t have the Blazing Star.”
Clear Sky slipped up to his side and rested his tail across his young brother’s shoulders. “One Eye attacked us on the way back,” he explained to Gray Wing. “We had to fight him and his rogues, and we lost the Blazing Star. Jagged Peak was not to blame.”
To his surprise, though his face was grave, there was a gleam of approval in Gray Wing’s eyes. “It’s bad news about the Blazing Star,” he meowed, “but good news about One Eye. I’m sorry you were attacked, but in a way I was hoping something like that would happen.”
“What?” Clear Sky’s tail curled up in astonishment. “You wanted One Eye to rip our pelts off?”
“Not that, of course,” Gray Wing replied. “But it’s good that you ran away. Now that he thinks we’re all a bunch of cowardly cats, he won’t be expecting any more trouble from us. And that means we can go on to the next stage of our plan.”
“And what’s that?” Clear Sky asked, his interest stirring. He refused to show his annoyance that his brother had almost accused him of cowardice.
“I’m working out the last details now,” Gray Wing told him. “Let’s all meet at sunset, and I’ll explain it to you then.”
Clear Sky’s pads itched with impatience. He opened his jaws to protest, but Gray Wing forestalled him.
“You all need to let Cloud Spots check you out,” he meowed. “And then you can rest, and eat. Tall Shadow led a hunting patrol out, so there’s plenty of prey.”
Clear Sky’s shoulders sagged. All he wanted was to find a way of defeating One Eye, but he knew that his brother was talking sense. “Okay,” he muttered.
“And I’ll go and talk to Holly,” Jagged Peak added, still looking dejected. “I promise I won’t get too close, but I need to tell her face-to-face. I just hope she understands why I failed to bring back the Blazing Star.”
“I’m sure she will,” Gray Wing assured him. “And Jagged Peak,” he added as his young brother turned away, “you didn’t fail. You put us exactly where we need to be for my plan against One Eye to have a chance of working. Thanks to you, we have a real chance of winning this battle.”
“Let all cats gather together at the foot of the rock!”
The sun was going down, streaking the sky with scarlet, when Tall Shadow’s yowl echoed around the camp. Clear S
ky watched from the tunnel he was sharing with Gray Wing as Cloud Spots and Jagged Peak emerged from Holly’s den. Lightning Tail, Mud Paws, and Dappled Pelt, who were sharing prey beneath a gorse bush, hastily swallowed the last mouthfuls and found places to sit near the rock. Mouse Ear broke off the game he was playing with Sparrow Fur and Owl Eyes, and led the way to join their denmates. Shattered Ice and Thunder padded down the slope from where they had been keeping watch at the top of the hollow.
When the rest of the cats were assembled, Gray Wing and Clear Sky padded over from the den they were sharing, and thrust their way into the center of the crowd. Tall Shadow remained on her rock, her ears angled to listen while her eyes scanned the moor for intruders.
“So what is this plan, then?” Clear Sky demanded. He felt better after resting and eating, and from the burdock root Cloud Spots had put on his bitten tail, but his impatience was like ants crawling through his pelt.
Gray Wing signaled with his tail for the other cats to draw back, leaving him alone in the center of a ragged circle. Then he began to draw lines in the earth with his claws.
“Look,” he explained as Clear Sky peered closer. “Here’s the forest, and here’s the hollow where we are. There’s the Thunderpath, and there’s the river. This is the rocky outcrop where Wind Runner is living, and this is the clearing with the four oak trees. And here . . .” Gray Wing smacked a paw down in the middle of his drawing, then looked around inquiringly to see if any cat had gotten his point.
Clear Sky frowned in confusion. “But there . . . there’s nothing.”
“Exactly!” Gray Wing gave his brother a satisfied nod. “An empty space a good way away from anywhere cats live. Free, open space where a single cat on his own would be terribly vulnerable.”
Owl Eyes had crept forward and was studying the markings. His eyes stretched wide until they were as big as the eyes of the bird he was named for. “You mean . . . attack One Eye there?” he breathed out.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Gray Wing confirmed.
Clear Sky was aware of the cats sharing worried glances, until Thunder spoke up. “I’m not sure,” he meowed.