Her irritation sparked anger in Jaykit. Ignoring his aching stiffness, he scrabbled to his paws and glared at her. “It’s not fair!” he snapped. “I should be allowed to do the same things as any cat!”
“None of you should have been outside the hollow,” Leafpool pointed out. “Hollykit and Lionkit have been in serious trouble with Firestar and Squirrelflight.” Jaykit opened his mouth to defend himself, but she went on. “Thank StarClan that Thornclaw was close enough to save Hollykit and Lionkit from that den. Those fox cubs were old enough to have torn them to pieces.”
Jaykit lifted his chin defiantly. “We were trying to protect the Clan.”
“One day you will,” Leafpool promised. “But first you need to learn as much as you can, which includes learning not to go off by yourself!”
“Do you think Firestar will delay my apprenticeship because of this?” he mewed, suddenly anxious.
Leafpool drew the tip of her tail gently around his ears and said nothing.
“You do, don’t you!” Jaykit wailed. “Has Firestar said anything? Tell me!”
“Dear Jaykit.” Leafpool sighed. “You must know that you can never become an ordinary apprentice like Hollykit or Lionkit.” She ran her tail along his back.
Jaykit shrugged it away. It was as though a gale had swept him up and he could hear nothing but the rushing of wind in his ears. He began to walk to the entrance of the den, but each pawstep made him wince with pain.
Leafpool called to him, sounding unhappy. “Jaykit, wait. I thought you understood….”
“Understood what?” Jaykit whipped around to face her. “That I’m not good enough to fight for my Clan?”
“This has nothing to do with not being good enough,” Leafpool meowed. “There are other ways to serve your Clan.”
But Jaykit hardly heard her. “It’s not fair!” he raged. He started to push his way out through the brambles.
“Jaykit!” Leafpool’s voice was firm. “Come back!”
Instinctively Jaykit paused.
“You described Spottedleaf to me perfectly. Have you always been able to see like that in your dreams?”
Jaykit tipped his head to one side. “I guess,” he mewed.
“What do you see?”
“It depends what I’m dreaming about.” Jaykit was growing impatient. How could his dreams help him become a ThunderClan warrior? The hazy images he saw while he slept were pale in comparison to the rich world his senses brought him while he was awake.
“Now tell me which herbs I used to treat you.”
Curious now, Jaykit padded back to his nest, focusing on the pungent scents that lingered on his pelt, scents left by the herbs Leafpool had massaged into his wounds. “Dock on my scratches and comfrey where my body is stiff.”
“You have a good memory for plants. There are other ways to serve your Clan than being a warrior. You’d make a good medicine cat, for example.”
“A medicine cat!” Jaykit echoed in disbelief. Always stinking of mouse bile and cleaning up bad-smelling wounds?
“You could be my apprentice,” Leafpool urged.
“I don’t want to make do with being a medicine cat!” Jaykit hissed. “I don’t want to live half a life, separated from my Clanmates like you are. I want to be a warrior like Brambleclaw and Firestar.”
He turned away from Leafpool, bristling with fury. “I hate being blind. I wish I had never been born!”
CHAPTER 4
Hollykit waited in the center of the clearing, where Brambleclaw had left her. The sun was sinking behind the trees, pulling a shadow across the camp. Lionkit sat beside her, his pelt golden in the fading sunshine. Cold air drifted down into the hollow, and Lionkit shivered.
Suddenly the brambles at the entrance of the medicine den trembled, and Hollykit saw the gray-striped head of Jaykit poke out. She nudged Lionkit. “Look!”
“He’s okay!” he mewed in relief.
“Thank StarClan!”
Jaykit turned around and went back into the den.
“Leafpool must be keeping him a bit longer,” Hollykit observed. She dug her claws into the ground to stop her paws from trembling. At least she knew her brother was all right. But they still had to face Firestar. How was he going to punish them this time?
She glanced around, hoping no cat was staring at them. Mousefur was leaning against halfrock, a smooth low stone that stuck out of the ground near the entrance to the elders’ den. It would still be warm from the sun. Dustpelt was sharing tongues with Whitewing beside the thornbush that formed the warriors’ den. His apprentice, Hazelpaw, nodded to him before picking up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and carrying it over to the apprentices’ den. Her littermates, Mousepaw and Berrypaw, were there already, eating.
Hollykit caught Mousepaw’s eye. The young gray-and-white tom blinked sympathetically at her before looking away. Hollykit lifted her chin a little higher. She wasn’t going to let any cat see how scared she was. She would take her punishment like a true warrior.
She watched Sorreltail carry fresh-kill to her mate, Brackenfur. The dark ginger tom was resting beneath Highledge, his breath hoarse after his bout of whitecough. Sorreltail skirted the clearing, avoiding the kits, and dropped a mouse at his paws.
“How are you?” she asked him.
“Better,” he croaked. “I’ll be fine in a couple of days. Birchfall’s recovered already, thanks to Leafpool.”
“Well, at least you’re not in the medicine den anymore,” Sorreltail meowed gratefully.
“Leafpool needed room for Jaykit,” Brackenfur reminded her.
“Poor mite,” Sorreltail meowed. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”
Hollykit felt a surge of irritation. Jaykit had been as keen to chase off the fox cubs as she and Lionkit, but he was being fussed over in Leafpool’s den, while she and Lionkit had to sit here for the whole Clan to stare at.
She gave a small snort of anger.
“Have you got a tick in your ear?” Lionkit whispered.
“No, but it’s just not fair!” she hissed back. “We wouldn’t be in so much trouble if Jaykit hadn’t fallen over the edge! Why does he have to act like he can do anything and then be so helpless?”
“We shouldn’t have taken him with us,” Lionkit murmured.
“Can you imagine the fuss he would have made if we hadn’t?” Hollykit spat. But then she pictured her brother keeping up with them, finding the milk-scent that led to the den they had been looking for, and guilt swept over her.
He could have died.
The thought pierced her heart like a thorn. The three of them always did everything together. Losing Jaykit would be like losing her tail.
She sighed ruefully. “None of us should have gone.”
“I wish you had realized that earlier!”
Firestar’s meow took Hollykit by surprise. Tiny stones were still tumbling into the clearing where he had leaped down the rockfall that led from his den.
Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight followed him down and stood a little behind the ThunderClan leader. Hollykit’s heart sank when she saw anger in her father’s eyes and disappointment in her mother’s. She stared down at her paws, remembering the disastrous ending to their assault on the fox’s den. Thornclaw’s patrol had arrived just in time to see her and Lionkit flee the den with two fox cubs at their heels. Thornclaw had yowled in surprise as she sped into the trees, but she dared not stop, fearing the snapping jaws behind her, till she hurtled into Brambleclaw’s patrol on its way back from the lakeshore.
“What’s happening?” Brambleclaw demanded. He had grasped her by the scruff as she tried to race past. “What are you doing out here?”
Hollykit had tried to explain, but she’d been panting too hard, her heart thudding like a woodpecker on a hollow tree.
Spiderleg caught up with her. “The kits found the fox cubs,” the black warrior told Brambleclaw. “It seems they decided to organize a patrol of their own.”
Hollykit did not dare catch her f
ather’s eye.
“Where are Lionkit and Jaykit?” Brambleclaw growled.
“Lionkit’s with Poppypaw,” Spiderleg reported. “He’s okay. We haven’t found Jaykit yet, but the fox cubs have scattered. It’s going to take a while to hunt them out.”
Brambleclaw had glanced up at the sky and muttered under his breath, then escorted Hollykit and Lionkit unceremoniously back to the ThunderClan camp.
But that had not been the worst part.
When they’d reached the camp, Whitewing and Leafpool were crouching at the edge of the clearing, their fur spiked in horror. Ferncloud trembled beside them, moaning a low, mournful yowl.
Between them, Jaykit lay on the ground like a scrap of gray fur. Brambleclaw darted forward and crouched beside his son. He nudged Jaykit gently, as though he was trying to wake him from sleep, but his eyes were frantic with fear.
“He’s still breathing, and his heartbeat is steady,” Leafpool told him.
Brambleclaw stared desperately at Leafpool, then sat up. “Fetch Firestar and Squirrelflight,” he ordered Whitewing.
After that he had told Lionkit and Hollykit to wait in the clearing and carried Jaykit to the medicine den. Firestar had returned with Squirrelflight, and the three warriors had disappeared, faces grim, into Firestar’s den, not even glancing at Hollykit and Lionkit.
Hollykit leaned against Lionkit as Firestar, Squirrelflight, and Brambleclaw lined up in front of them once more. She was glad she didn’t have to face them alone.
“Jaykit’s going to be okay,” Firestar told them.
“I know,” Hollykit answered. “We saw him—”
Firestar silenced her with a glare and went on. “But Thornclaw’s patrol has not returned. Which means they are still hunting the fox cubs.”
“What possessed you to leave the hollow?” Brambleclaw demanded.
Firestar narrowed his eyes. “I know they are your kits, Brambleclaw,” he meowed, “but I’ll deal with this.”
Squirrelflight’s tail flicked. Hollykit guessed there were a few sharp words she wanted to share with her kits, but she held her tongue as Firestar spoke.
“We only wanted to help the Clan!” Hollykit protested.
“Then do as you are told!” Firestar growled. “What if Jaykit had died? Would that have helped the Clan?” His fierce gaze flicked from Lionkit to Hollykit, and they shook their heads.
Firestar pressed on. “You almost led the foxes right into the camp—as it is, you have given them a scent trail they’re not likely to forget!”
“We’re sorry,” Hollykit whispered.
“We thought if we could find the foxes—” Lionkit began.
“If you’d thought at all you would have let our warriors deal with the foxes and the Clan would be safe now!” Firestar lashed his tail. “Instead we have one badly injured kit and three hungry foxes who know where our camp is!”
Hollykit glanced guiltily at the nursery.
Squirrelflight pawed the ground in small, frustrated steps. Firestar nodded for her to speak.
“I’m so disappointed in you both!” she burst out.
“What about Jaykit?” Lionkit objected. “We didn’t force him to go with us!”
“We will speak to Jaykit when he’s recovered,” Brambleclaw answered. “Right now, it’s you two that concern us. You seem to have no more sense than hatchling chicks!”
“Are you going to stop us from becoming apprentices?” Lionkit asked in a small voice.
Hollykit’s breath caught in her throat. Would their father really do that? She looked pleadingly up at him.
“If it were up to me,” Brambleclaw meowed, “I would make you wait another moon. But it is Firestar’s decision.”
The Clan leader narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going to decide right now,” he told them. “Go back to the nursery. Ferncloud and Daisy will keep an eye on you, and it is up to you to make sure one of them knows where you are at all times. If you’re not where you are supposed to be, then you’re clearly not ready for the responsibilities of apprenticeship.”
“We won’t wander off again,” Lionkit promised.
“Hollykit?” Firestar prompted.
“I won’t do anything that might stop me from becoming an apprentice,” she vowed, meaning every word.
“Very well,” Firestar meowed. “I just hope you have learned something today. True warriors think of the Clan’s safety before anything else.” He turned away, padding to where Brackenfur was sharing tongues with Sorreltail.
His parting words seared Hollykit’s fur. She had let her Clan down. She glanced nervously at Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight. “We’re sorry,” she ventured.
“I should hope so.” Squirrelflight sighed.
“You should be setting an example,” Brambleclaw added.
Squirrelflight’s gaze softened a little. She bent down and licked Hollykit and Lionkit each between their ears. “I know you thought you were doing the right thing,” she sympathized.
“We just wanted to help the Clan,” Hollykit insisted.
“Your chance will come,” Brambleclaw promised.
“Will Jaykit have to stay in the nursery, too?” Lionkit asked.
“He’ll stay with Leafpool until he’s recovered,” Squirrelflight told him. “Then he can rejoin you.”
“Will he be well enough in time for the naming ceremony?” Hollykit mewed.
“If there is a naming ceremony,” Lionkit added.
Squirrelflight drew her tail over her son’s flank. “You know your brother can’t become a full apprentice.”
Hollykit stared at her mother. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it would be impossible to have a blind warrior—” Brambleclaw began but Hollykit turned on him, her paws pricking with fury.
“No, it wouldn’t!” she spat. “Jaykit can smell and hear and sense everything that happens in the camp!” She glanced at Lionkit for support. “It’s like he can see things, but with his nose and ears instead of his eyes!”
She glared at her father, waiting for him to say something, but he only glanced at Squirrelflight, exchanging a look of sadness that made Hollykit tremble with indignation.
Suddenly she heard pawsteps pounding toward the camp. A voice called from beyond the barrier. It was Thornclaw. The golden brown tabby hurried through the thorns with Spiderleg, Poppypaw, and Mousepaw close behind.
Firestar left Brackenfur and Sorreltail and padded over to meet them. Brambleclaw joined him. “Any luck finding them?” the deputy asked.
“Poppypaw and Mousepaw chased one of the cubs over the border into ShadowClan territory,” Thornclaw reported. “But there’s no sign of the other two.”
Hollykit’s ears burned with shame.
“The cubs are old enough to look after themselves,” Thornclaw went on. “They could cause a lot of trouble in the future.”
Ferncloud pushed her way out of the nursery. “Are the fox cubs nearby?” she fretted.
“No.” Thornclaw shook his head. “We made sure of that. There’s no fresh scent this side of the Sky Oak.”
Ferncloud looked a little comforted, but her ears still twitched nervously, and she hurried back to her kits, who were mewling in the nursery.
Hollykit caught Squirrelflight’s eye. Her mother blinked at her sympathetically. “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” she murmured. “Every cat makes mistakes. You just have to learn from them.”
“I will make it up to the Clan,” Hollykit promised.
“I know you will,” Squirrelflight assured her. “Why don’t you go and visit Jaykit? I’m sure he’d love some company.”
“Can I go too?” Lionkit begged.
“I don’t know if he’s well enough for both of you,” Squirrelflight meowed. “You can go later. But don’t forget to tell Daisy or Ferncloud before you leave the nursery. That’s what Firestar said, remember?”
Lionkit lashed his short tail but didn’t answer. Instead he stalked toward the nursery.
“I
’ll tell Jaykit you said hi!” Hollykit called after him.
“Whatever,” Lionkit grumbled, not looking back.
Hollykit nosed her way through the brambles into the shadows of Leafpool’s den. Jaykit was lying by the pool at one side of the den. He turned his jay-feather blue eyes on her as she entered.
“Hi, Hollykit.” His mew sounded tired. His pelt was slicked flat with poultices, making him look as small as a newborn kit. Hollykit felt a stab of pain. He had nearly died.
Jaykit flicked his tail. “There’s no need to feel so sorry for me,” he mewed.
Hollykit blinked. How was it that her brother always knew exactly what she was feeling? Sometimes it could be so annoying to have him sniffing out her private thoughts like an inquisitive mouse.
“I’m not going to die,” he went on.
“I never thought you would,” she lied. She padded to Jaykit’s side and smoothed the fur between his ears with her tongue.
“What did Firestar say?” Jaykit asked.
“We’ve got to stay in the nursery until he decides if we can become apprentices,” Hollykit told him.
“If?” Jaykit echoed.
“If we do as we’re told and stay in camp, then I think we’ll be okay,” Hollykit assured him. She hoped it was true. She had never seen Firestar so angry.
“It has to be okay!” Jaykit struggled to his paws, then winced with pain.
“Are you all right?” Hollykit mewed in alarm.
Leafpool was mixing herbs in the far corner of her den. “He’s just sore,” she meowed. “But he’s healing well.” Leaving her work, she joined the two kits. “I’ve been giving him comfrey to chew on.”
“Is that what you were mixing there?” Hollykit asked.
“I like to mix in a few heather flowers when I have them,” Leafpool explained. “The nectar sweetens the mixture and makes it easier to swallow.”
“How did you learn all that?” Hollykit mewed, genuinely curious.
“Cinderpelt taught me,” Leafpool answered. There was sadness in her voice as she spoke about her mentor, but Hollykit was more interested in Leafpool’s skill. Having so much knowledge must make her feel very powerful—no other cat in the Clan knew herbs like she did. She had cured Brackenfur and Birchfall and now Jaykit. Imagine being that important to the Clan.