“We won’t let you down,” Fernpaw promised.
Fireheart left them there and led the others farther into the forest. His ears were pricked for sounds of the dogs, but for now the forest seemed to be waiting under a suffocating silence, as sinister as any howling or crashing of undergrowth. The sound of the cats’ breathing and their soft pawsteps seemed unnaturally loud as they padded under the trees.
Soon Fireheart halted again. “Sandstorm, you wait here,” he meowed. “I don’t want those two apprentices to have to run too far. You’re the fastest cat in ThunderClan—you’ll need to get a good start on the dogs to give the rest of us a chance. Okay?”
Sandstorm nodded. “You can trust me, Fireheart.”
Briefly she brushed her muzzle against his. There was no time for more words, but her love for him glowed in her green eyes, and Fireheart was filled with a wave of fear for her.
Tearing himself away, he took the rest of his warriors along a line stretching all the way to the gorge, leaving each of them at regular intervals as he went: next Longtail, then Dustpelt, and then Mousefur. At last he and Graystripe were left alone on the border with RiverClan, as near as they could get to the gorge without leaving their own territory. “Right, Graystripe,” he meowed, halting. “You hide here. If all goes well, Mousefur will lead the dogs to you. When they come, head for the steepest part of the gorge. I’ll be ahead of you, waiting to take over for the final stretch.”
“That will be on RiverClan territory.” Graystripe sounded dubious. “What’s Leopardstar going to think about that?”
“With any luck, Leopardstar won’t have to know anything about it,” Fireheart replied, remembering how the RiverClan leader had threatened Graystripe with death if he set paw in her territory again. “We can’t worry about that now. Stay hidden on our side of the border, and if you see a patrol, don’t let them know you’re here.”
Graystripe nodded and flattened his belly to the ground to crawl underneath the branches of a thornbush. “Good luck,” he meowed as he disappeared.
Fireheart wished him luck in return and went on, more warily now, into RiverClan territory. He saw no RiverClan cats but he scented some fairly fresh traces, which suggested that the dawn patrol had already passed that way. At last he found a place to hide in a hollow at the foot of a rock and settled down to wait. The whole forest was silent, except for the distant roar of water in the gorge.
Fireheart couldn’t help wondering where Tigerstar was now. Safe in ShadowClan territory, he guessed, waiting for his old Clan to be torn apart. Then he could swoop in like a carrion crow and take the ThunderClan territory for his own, gloating over his perfect revenge.
Clouds still covered the sky, so Fireheart had no way to judge the passing of time, but as each heartbeat followed the last he began to worry that something had gone wrong. Why was it taking so long? Had the dogs caught one of his warriors? Fireheart pictured Sandstorm being ripped apart by those cruel jaws and worked his paws on the hard earth in front of him, extending and sheathing his claws. He had to force himself not to go back and see what had happened.
What if this was all a huge mistake? he asked himself. Had he led his Clan into even greater danger?
Then, above the noise of the river, he heard a distant barking. Rapidly it grew closer. The dark force had gained a voice at last, giving tongue as the pack bore down on the cats who had become their prey. The sound grew louder still, until it seemed to fill all the forest, and Graystripe appeared, streaking along with his belly almost flat against the ground.
Barely three fox-lengths behind him was the pack leader. Fireheart had never seen a dog like it. It was enormous, easily twice the size of any Twoleg pet. As it ran, its muscles bunched powerfully under a short black-and-brown pelt. Its jaws gaped to show a vicious set of teeth, and its tongue lolled. It barked hoarsely as it snapped at the fleeing Graystripe.
“StarClan help me!” Fireheart whispered, and sprang out of his hiding place.
He just had time to see Graystripe hurtling toward the nearest tree; then all he could do was run. The barking seemed to redouble, and he could feel the hot breath of the pack leader against his hind paws.
For the first time Fireheart wondered what he would do when he came to the gorge. He had imagined slipping aside at the last moment to let the unsuspecting dogs dash straight over the edge. Now he realized that might not work; the dogs were much, much closer than he had imagined.
Perhaps he would have to leap over himself.
If that’s what it takes to save the Clan, then that’s what I will do, Fireheart vowed grimly.
The gorge was close by. Fireheart emerged from the trees to see nothing but smooth turf between him and the edge of the cliff. Casting a hasty glance over his shoulder, he saw that he was outrunning the dogs, and he slackened his pace a little to let them catch up. The pack streamed out of the trees behind their leader, their tongues lolling as they barked.
“Pack, pack! Kill, kill!” The words slashed at Fireheart like teeth.
Then from his other side a heavy weight barreled into him, bowling him over. He fought vainly to get up as a massive paw pinned him by the neck. A voice growled in his ear, “Going somewhere, Fireheart?”
It was Tigerstar.
Chapter 27
Fireheart struggled desperately to get free, lashing out with his hind paws to claw tufts of fur from his enemy’s belly. The ShadowClan leader barely moved. The reek of his scent was in Fireheart’s mouth and nostrils, and his amber eyes glared into Fireheart’s own.
“Greet StarClan for me,” he snarled.
“Only after you!” Fireheart gasped.
To his astonishment, Tigerstar released him. Lurching to his paws, Fireheart saw the ShadowClan leader double back and spring up the nearest tree. Before he had time to wonder what was going on, he heard a deafening howl and felt the ground shake under his paws. He spun around to see the pack leader looming over him, its dripping jaws wide. There was no time to run. Fireheart shut his eyes and prepared to meet StarClan.
Pain stabbed him as sharp teeth met in his scruff. His limbs flailed helplessly as the dog lifted him from the ground and shook him from side to side. He twisted in the air, struggling to claw eyes, jowls, tongue, but his thrashing paws met nothing. The forest spun about him. He was aware of more barking, and the stink of dog was everywhere.
“StarClan, help me!” Fireheart let out a yowl of terror and despair. This was not just his death, but the end of his whole Clan. His plan had failed. “StarClan, where are you?”
Suddenly a yowl sounded close by. Fireheart was flung to the ground, the breath driven out of his body. The grip on his neck loosened and was gone. Dazed, he looked up to see a blue-gray shape ramming into the side of the lead dog.
“Bluestar!” he yowled.
The force of his leader’s impact had sent the dog staggering to the very edge of the gorge. Its barking changed to a high-pitched howl of terror as its huge paws scrabbled for a grip on the turf. The loose soil crumbled away under its weight and it fell, but as it disappeared over the edge its snapping jaws closed on Bluestar’s leg, and wrenched her over as well.
Two of the other dogs, hard behind their leader, could not pull up in time. Blindly they charged over the edge of the gorge and vanished, howling, while the remaining dogs skidded to a halt, their fierce barks fading to piteous whimpers. Before Fireheart could force himself to his paws, they had backed away from the edge and fled into the forest.
Fireheart staggered to the edge of the gorge and looked over. Water foamed white beneath him. For a heartbeat he glimpsed the gaping muzzle of the pack leader struggling among the waves, before it vanished again.