Gray Wing felt his belly lurch. Does she mean what I think she means? But he couldn’t reply, because no words seemed big enough to express what he was feeling.
How did I come to rely so heavily on a cat I’ve only just met?
CHAPTER 22
Thunder woke to the first faint light of dawn creeping through the entrance of his den. He stumbled to his paws and ventured into the hollow, pausing to arch his back in a good, long stretch. The air was clear and cold; every leaf and blade of grass was edged with frost.
Leaf-bare is almost here, he thought.
When he had given his pelt a quick grooming, Thunder was ready to head out to visit Wind Runner and River Ripple, to ask for their help in the fight against One Eye. I don’t have much hope that Wind Runner will join us, he thought doubtfully. She made it clear that she wants to be left alone. And I’ll leave the forest cats for now, he decided, remembering how any cat who crossed the border had been attacked when Clear Sky first took over. One Eye was likely to be even more aggressive in guarding his territory. Maybe I can work out how to speak to some of them when our plans are in place.
As he padded toward the edge of the hollow, Thunder was surprised to see Gray Wing perched on Tall Shadow’s rock. He veered over to talk to him.
“Can you see anything?” Thunder called from the foot of the rock.
Gray Wing shook his head. “Everything’s quiet.”
For a moment the two cats fell silent, but Thunder felt too disturbed not to say what was in his heart. “Why did you leave, Gray Wing?” he blurted out. “I need you!”
Gray Wing narrowed his eyes as he gazed down at Thunder. “You don’t need me,” he responded. “If you keep believing that you do, it will hold you back.”
I wonder if that’s true, Thunder thought uncomfortably, not wanting to accept his kin’s words. “But you’ll stay now, won’t you?” he asked.
Gray Wing twitched one ear, gazing far out across the moor. There was something in his eyes that Thunder couldn’t read. Before he could respond, Lightning Tail popped out of his den and bounded over to Thunder’s side. “I’m coming with you,” he announced roughly.
Thunder suppressed a hiss of irritation. Why does Lightning Tail think I’ll want him with me, after the way he treated Star Flower? But then Thunder reminded himself how often Lightning Tail had been there for him. Our bond is too important for us to fight now. Lightning Tail will come around. When he gets to know Star Flower better, he’ll realize his suspicions are unfounded. “Okay,” he mewed.
Gray Wing looked down again from his perch. “You’d better get going. The sooner we know who will help us with this, the better.”
Thunder’s thoughts were still with Gray Wing as he headed across the moor with Lightning Tail by his side. He didn’t feel like talking, and it was Lightning Tail who broke the silence in a disbelieving tone. “You’re not even going to apologize?”
Surprised, Thunder halted and stared at him. “Apologize? For what?”
“You know very well,” Lightning Tail retorted with a lash of his tail. “You left the group vulnerable when you went off . . . cavorting with that rogue.”
Anger began to swell up inside Thunder. “Don’t call her that!” he hissed.
“Why? That’s what she is,” Lightning Tail asserted. “And you’d better remember that. She’s not one of us.”
Now Thunder had to make a massive effort to hold on to his anger and not lash out at his denmate. “What do you mean by ‘one of us’?” he asked. “Being one of the original cats from the mountains, or being born in the hollow?”
Lightning Tail sputtered for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected that question. “Well . . . yes, that’s a pretty good definition,” he managed to say at last.
“Then I’m not ‘one of us,’ either,” Thunder spat. “I was born in the Twolegplace! My mother was a rogue, and I would have been one, too, if Gray Wing hadn’t taken me in.”
“But that’s different—” Lightning Tail protested.
“Maybe that’s why Star Flower and I have such a deep connection,” Thunder went on, dismissing his friend’s words with a flick of his tail. “In our hearts, we both know that we’re outsiders.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Lightning Tail exclaimed. “You only just met her. And you’re not an outsider.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Thunder meowed, sinking his claws into the ground to stop himself from catching Lightning Tail with a blow over the ear. “I’m leader of the group, and I’m certainly capable of deciding who to spend my time with.”
There was a hurt expression in Lightning Tail’s eyes. “So that’s how it is, then? Other cats’ opinions don’t count for anything?”
Thunder didn’t respond, but merely turned his back and stalked on across the moor. He realized that Lightning Tail hadn’t followed him, and for a moment he was afraid that his denmate would go home. Then he heard a patter of paw steps as Lightning Tail ran to catch up and padded along just behind him.
Gray Wing had told Thunder where to find the rocky outcrop in which Wind Runner had made her den. But before he reached it, he spotted Wind Runner herself beside a small pool, slinking out from a patch of reeds with a mouse in her jaws. She stopped and waited for Thunder and Lightning Tail to approach her, but there was no welcome in her eyes.
“What do you want?” she asked, setting down her prey.
“We’re sorry to bother you,” Thunder meowed, dipping his head politely. “How are your kits doing?”
“Better,” Wind Runner replied tersely. “But we’re seeing more and more sick prey.”
“That’s partly why I’m here,” Thunder told her. “You remember the Blazing Star plant the spirit-cats told us about? We think it might be a cure for the sickness.”
Wind Runner’s eyes stretched wide. “You think you’ve found a cure? Well, who’s gone to look for the flower?”
“Some of our cats tried yesterday, but One Eye attacked them,” Thunder began. “And we haven’t tried again yet.”
“Why not?” Wind Runner snapped.
“Because we have another problem,” Thunder told her. “We’ve come to ask for your help.”
Wind Runner was instantly suspicious. “What for?”
“That evil rogue cat, One Eye, has driven Clear Sky out of his group,” Thunder explained. “We have a plan to defeat him, but we’ll need all the help we can get.”
Wind Runner’s eyes seemed to glaze over. “You want my help in battle to aid . . . Clear Sky? Are you mouse-brained?” Thunder opened his jaws to start giving her reasons, but the brown she-cat cut him off with a snarl. “No.”
“But remember what the spirit-cats said,” Thunder urged her. “Unite or die! We need to help each other.”
“No,” Wind Runner repeated, her tone implacable. “I left your group to protect my family, and that’s what I’m doing. We have a perfectly nice life here.”
Thunder narrowed his eyes with a glance at the small mouse that was her only piece of prey. “Is your life really all that nice?” he asked. “We’ve been struggling to find prey that isn’t sick, and there are far more cats with us than with you.”
“Then you have more mouths to feed,” Wind Runner retorted.
“Maybe. But are your kits actually getting enough to eat?”
Wind Runner twitched her ears. “I’ve given you my answer,” she rasped. “You can go now. But you can come back with news of the flower.”
Lightning Tail took a pace forward. “So you’re willing to take the group’s wisdom, but do nothing for us in return?”
The she-cat gave him a cold look from baleful, yellow eyes. “I lost two kits when I was with your group,” she reminded him. “Surely you owe me a few scraggly flowers?” Picking up her prey, she stalked away.
Thunder let out a sigh as he watched her go. That went well.
With a dissatisfied shrug, he headed toward the river, hoping he would have better luck with River Ripple. “You
might want to be a bit more tactful this time,” he told Lightning Tail after a few moments. “We really need River Ripple’s help in the battle, and a more friendly approach might work better.”
Lightning Tail didn’t respond.
“Really?” Thunder’s exasperation burst out of him. “We’re not speaking now?”
His denmate was quiet for a couple of heartbeats longer. “My loyalty is to the group now,” he mewed at last. “Not to you.”
I can’t believe it! Thunder stared at him. “Are you really abandoning me over a she-cat?” he demanded. “What? Are you jealous?”
Rage flared in Lightning Tail’s eyes. Without warning, he swiped at Thunder’s face and followed up the blow by leaping on him, tackling him to the ground. The two toms wrestled together among the dried leaves and the cold, frostbitten grass.
“I don’t need your approval,” Thunder snarled through gritted teeth as he thrust his hind paws into Lightning Tail’s belly. “I’ve led the group well so far, haven’t I?”
For an answer Lightning Tail rolled Thunder over and landed on his back, wrapping his forelegs around his neck. “You’re falling right into that rogue’s trap!” he growled. “And you’re the only one who can’t see it!”
“Well, if it’s a trap, what does she want from me?” Thunder asked, straining to throw Lightning Tail off.
“I don’t know,” Lightning Tail admitted. “But ever since I first saw her, I’ve known she was up to something. And whatever it is, it’s not good.” Abruptly he gave up the fight, springing to his paws and giving his pelt a shake before he stalked off toward the river. “This is stupid,” he meowed as he went. “We should be concentrating on finding cats to help us in the battle.”
Thunder jumped up and followed him. “Does that mean you’ll stop nagging me about Star Flower?” he asked.
Lightning Tail didn’t look at him. “Just come on,” he hissed.
The sun had risen by the time the river came into sight, dazzling on the water. Thunder headed for the stepping-stones, but as he jumped out onto the first one he realized that Lightning Tail had halted at the water’s edge with a bewildered expression.
“We have to cross the water?” he asked. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yes,” Thunder replied. “River Ripple lives on that island. He’s a bit weird. . . . He doesn’t mind the water.”
Lightning Tail nodded grimly. Water was washing over the stepping-stones, and as he followed Thunder he winced at the touch of it on his pads. Thunder didn’t like getting his feet wet, either, but he didn’t say anything. I’m not going to let Lightning Tail hear me complain.
Reeds grew around River Ripple’s island, and the interior was screened by bushes that grew close to the water’s edge. The reeds made a soft sound as they brushed together, and with the rushing of the river in his ears Thunder had a flash of understanding why River Ripple loved this spot. But the understanding vanished when he had to push his way through the tough stalks of the reeds and get his paws muddy to climb out onto a narrow strip of grass that edged the river. Lightning Tail followed with an annoyed hiss, shaking each of his paws in turn.
“Not very subtle, are you?”
Thunder jumped at the voice and looked up to see that River Ripple had emerged from the bushes and was watching the two cats with amusement glinting in his eyes. His long-furred pelt shone silver in the sunlight.
“You’re as bad as a pack of dogs,” he went on. “I saw you coming ages ago. Well, what can I do for you?”
Thunder dipped his head respectfully before he settled down and explained to River Ripple about the Blazing Star. Meanwhile Lightning Tail sat silently and washed his paws.
River Ripple nodded understandingly when Thunder had finished. “And what else?” he asked.
How does he know there’s something else? Thunder wondered. “One Eye has driven Clear Sky out of the forest, and taken over his group,” he meowed. “Gray Wing has a plan to defeat him, but we need help. Will you join us to drive One Eye away?”
River Ripple paused thoughtfully before replying. “I will,” he agreed at last. “But I have to warn you—I’ve had problems with One Eye in the past, and believe me, he won’t back down. It’s not a question of driving him out; you’ll have to kill him.”
“We’re prepared for that,” Thunder told him, doing his best to hide his dismay. “That’s what Gray Wing’s plan will do.”
River Ripple nodded, a grim look in his eyes. “If Gray Wing is behind it, I’ll be a part of it, and I’ll see that my cats help, too.”
“We were thinking of reaching out to some of the cats in the forest,” Thunder went on, pleased to have such a formidable cat as River Ripple on their side. “They can’t all want One Eye to be their leader. But I can’t think of a good way to get to them without running into One Eye and his rogues. Do you have any ideas about that?”
River Ripple shook his head. “Don’t even think about it,” he advised. “If One Eye found out that any of the forest cats spoke to you, he’d make them suffer. And he’d enjoy doing it,” he finished.
Thunder had to accept that the older cat was probably right. He thanked River Ripple, and was saying good-bye when the silver tom’s gaze turned serious.
“Be careful, young one,” River Ripple mewed solemnly.
“What do you mean?” Thunder asked, puzzled.
“I think you know,” River Ripple responded. “I’ve told Gray Wing many times: I know everything.”
Bemused, Thunder thanked him again, then padded away, shaking his head as he crossed the stepping-stones. If I thought I understood anything this morning, clearly I was wrong. . . .
The two cats traveled back to their camp in silence. Thunder remembered that Acorn Fur was still in One Eye’s camp, and tried not to worry too much about her. She was strong; Thunder hoped she was taking care of herself. Maybe that’s why Lightning Tail is so touchy; he’s upset about his sister.
But still, seeing Lightning Tail stalking ahead, Thunder couldn’t help feeling hurt. He couldn’t understand why his friend didn’t trust him enough to make his own decisions. I always felt I could count on him. Why is this turning him away, of all things?
Thunder was feeling like things couldn’t get any worse, until he arrived back at the camp and spotted Star Flower at the bottom of the hollow, talking to Tall Shadow. At the sight of her, Lightning Tail let out a disgusted snort and ran off.
Thunder’s heart started to race again as Star Flower bounded up the slope to his side.
“I’m so glad to see you,” she purred, brushing against his side. “I was disappointed when Tall Shadow said you weren’t here.”
“Well, I’m here now,” Thunder meowed, then winced, feeling annoyed with himself for sounding so stupid.
“I’ve got good news for you!” Star Flower announced, her green eyes shining. “I found a small patch of Blazing Star growing near the river. Not many flowers, but enough to treat the sick. And no need to cross the Thunderpath!” After a pause when Thunder didn’t respond, she asked, “Why don’t you look more excited?”
Thunder swallowed hard. Why aren’t I more excited? Star Flower had just given him an amazing piece of news, yet he found himself reacting with suspicion, just like Lightning Tail might. Could Star Flower really be up to something? Or has Lightning Tail ruined this for me by putting his own doubts into my head?
“It’s great news,” he told Star Flower hastily, hoping she wouldn’t be upset with him. “Can you take me there?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Star Flower meowed with a whisk of her tail. “Come on.”
As Thunder followed her out of the camp, he glanced over his shoulder to see Lightning Tail staring after him with a look of disapproval. It gave him an odd feeling of satisfaction to be showing his trust in Star Flower.
“I spent some time with Gray Wing’s kits,” Star Flower told him as they padded side by side across the moor toward the river. “Owl Eyes and Pebble Heart, and the in
jured one, Sparrow Fur. They’re very cute.”
“Yes, they’re great kits,” Thunder agreed. “I can’t believe One Eye would hurt her like that! You know One Eye?”
Star Flower nodded. “We’ve met.”
“Then you know what he’s like. He’s even driven Clear Sky out of his own camp! But we’re not going to stand for that,” Thunder went on confidingly. “We’re making a plan to corner him on the open moor. If you want, you could really help. . . .”
CHAPTER 23
Clear Sky stretched his jaws in a massive yawn and blinked in the strengthening dawn light. The sky above the hollow was the clear blue of a robin’s egg, and on the horizon a rosy flush showed where the sun would rise.
He was sitting at the mouth of Gray Wing’s den. Around him other cats were emerging, getting ready for the new day. For a couple of moments Clear Sky watched Turtle Tail’s three kits, grooming themselves just a few paw steps away. Pebble Heart was taking particular care with Sparrow Fur’s injuries, and Clear Sky’s heart warmed toward the wise little cat.
Nearer the center of the hollow, Lightning Tail was crouched over a mouse, devouring it in hungry bites, while his gaze remained fixed on Thunder and Star Flower, their heads close together near the foot of Tall Shadow’s rock. Dislike and distrust were rising from him, as clear as the scent of warm prey.
Clear Sky wasn’t sure if it had been wise for the moorland cats to allow Star Flower to stay overnight in the hollow. She had taken Thunder to find the herb that would heal the sickness, but to every cat’s disappointment the flowers she had found weren’t actually Blazing Star, only another plant that looked vaguely like it. Star Flower herself had seemed as upset as any cat, but Clear Sky couldn’t be certain that her feelings were genuine.
But Thunder still trusts her, he thought. That cat is smitten!
Thunder and Star Flower had stayed talking together far into the night, until Tall Shadow had emerged from her den, tired and irritable, and told them to shut up and let other cats get some sleep.