Bluepaw whirled and was surprised to see Stormtail watching from beside the nettle patch, his eyes gleaming.
“She’s a natural fighter,” he went on. “Moonflower would have been proud of her.”
Bluepaw stared at her father, amazed. Was he proud of her? Had he been keeping an eye on her training after all? She longed for him to say more, but he turned his head and began washing his flank.
The rattle of stones on the ravine made her jump. Paws hit the ground and pounded toward the clearing.
Something was wrong.
“Invasion!” Adderfang exploded into the camp, his pelt bristling.
Thrushpelt raced in after him. “RiverClan has crossed the ice!” he yowled.
Thistlepaw’s eyes were sparkling with excitement as he shot into the camp. “They’re trying to take Sunningrocks!”
Pinestar was out of his den in an instant. “Did you see them?” he demanded.
“They’re swarming over the rocks!” Adderfang hissed.
“Stormtail!” Pinestar called the gray warrior to him. “You head one patrol. Attack from the far side.”
“But that will mean going all the way around,” Stormtail argued. “The battle may be lost before we arrive.”
“No, it won’t.” Pinestar curled his lip. “We’ll hold them till you reach us. A second wave will finish them.”
Stormtail nodded.
“Take Dappletail, Smallear, Sweetpaw, White-eye, and Tawnyspots.”
Each cat stepped forward, pelt bristling, as Pinestar called out names.
“Go!”
On Pinestar’s word, Stormtail pelted from the camp with the patrol pounding after him.
“Adderfang, Thistlepaw, Sparrowpelt, Snowpaw, Thrushpelt, Robinwing, Leopardfoot, Sunfall, and Bluepaw!”
Bluepaw darted forward. She could feel her legs trembling.
“You come with me.” Pinestar’s green eyes shone like emeralds. “Patchpelt, Poppydawn, Rosepaw, and Goldenpaw. Wait at the top of the ravine in case RiverClan tries to attack the camp.” He gazed around his Clan. “The rest of you, defend the medicine den. This might be a revenge attack provoked by WindClan.”
Panic flashed through Bluepaw. What if the Clans had joined together to make ThunderClan suffer as WindClan had? She pushed the thought away. It was too frightening. ThunderClan could not take on more than one Clan at a time.
Pinestar was already pelting toward the gorse barrier. Bluepaw unsheathed her claws to better grip the snow. Sunfall was a whisker ahead of her, and she followed in his paw steps, running faster than she had ever run before. She had seen the WindClan battle, seen how vicious warriors could be in the heat of the action. Panic threatened to swamp her as she scrabbled up the ravine with her Clanmates pushing behind her, sending stones and snow flying as they raced for the top.
Her lungs ached for air by the time they’d raced through the forest and burst from the trees. Sunningrocks rose into the pale evening sky, the great slabs of stone turned red by the fiery sun sinking behind them. Screwing up her eyes to block the glare, Bluepaw could just make out the crest of the rock. Lined up on its summit was a row of RiverClan cats, silhouetted against the sun, heads held high and tails lashing. She searched the line for Crookedpaw, but recognized only the tawny pelt of Oakheart.
Hailstar stepped from the ranks of RiverClan, his pelt like fire in the dying sun. “An ancient wrong has been put right!” he yowled. “These rocks are ours again!”
“Never!” Pinestar hissed. “ThunderClan, attack!”
Chapter 13
ThunderClan surged forward.
Sunfall hissed to Bluepaw. “Keep close to me! And don’t take on any cat bigger than you!”
Bluepaw stared up at the RiverClan cats bristling atop the rock. They were all bigger than her! Blood pulsed in her ears as Sunfall charged up Sunningrocks, shrieking like a fox. She hurtled after him, ears flat and eyes round; a screech tore from her throat that was driven more by terror than by rage. Had RiverClan brought its whole camp?
Let Stormtail come soon!
Hailstar howled as Pinestar crashed into him, knocking him to the ground. Sunfall sent a white tom rolling across the slab of stone with a vicious swipe, then leaped on top of him, sending fur flying as he shredded the tom with his flailing forepaws. A RiverClan she-cat with a mottled pelt raced alongside Bluepaw. Thinking fast, Bluepaw ducked and nipped the she-cat on the hind leg as she flew past.
The RiverClan warrior shrieked and wheeled around. Shock pulsed through Bluepaw as the warrior’s eyes fixed on her. They were blazing, lit by the sun and by fury. She was going to attack! Bluepaw crouched and braced herself. As the mottled warrior leaped, Bluepaw darted forward, slipping under the warrior’s front claws and shouldering her way beneath her belly. The she-cat’s claws scraped stone instead of pelt as Bluepaw pushed up with all her might, unbalancing her enemy. She spun to see the she-cat tumble sideways and felt a surge of triumph.
Yowling with rage, the warrior scrambled back to her paws and turned to attack. Bluepaw prepared to lunge, aiming again for the belly, but the RiverClan cat was ready. She came in low, knocking Bluepaw’s front paws from under her and sending her spinning and rolling along the rock. Grasping at the stone, Bluepaw’s claws frayed without getting a grip, and she found herself tumbling and sliding over the side and plummeting into the snow piled below.
Struggling free from the drift, Bluepaw sneezed the freezing snow from her mouth and nose. She paused to catch her breath, then began to creep along the base of the rock with her mouth open and her ears pricked, testing the air for any sign of RiverClan warriors. The frozen river bubbled a tail-length away, swirling into blackness under the cloudy white ice. Steep rocks trapped her on the narrow riverbank. She could recognize the howls and shrieks of her Clanmates battling above.
From the stench coating the snow she guessed RiverClan had swarmed from there up the rock. Following the RiverClan scent, Bluepaw sought a way up the cliff. As she searched for cracks and fissures, trying to work out where she might get a hold, snow crunched behind her. Alarmed, she spun around, her hackles lifting.
Crookedpaw.
Relief flooded her.
“Thank StarClan!” she mewed.
But his eyes were dark with fury.
Didn’t he remember her?
“We’re enemies now,” he hissed.
Bluepaw froze. He was going to attack!
He sprang at her, knocking her into the snow. She gasped as his forepaws punched the breath from her body. Terrified, she struggled as he raked her back with unsheathed claws. As pain shot through her, she twisted her head and bit his forepaw with such fury she felt his fur split and her teeth scrape on bone.
Crookedpaw yowled and kicked her away.
Screeching in shock, Bluepaw tumbled toward the river. Terror shot through her. She couldn’t fall through the ice! She plunged her paws through the snow and dug her claws into the solid ground underneath, halting her fall as her hind paws slid flailing onto the ice. She hauled herself forward and shot up the bank, slamming into Crookedpaw.
With a yelp of surprise, he staggered, unbalanced.
Bluepaw spun around and nipped his hind leg, spun again and nipped his fore, then reared and lunged, sinking her teeth deep into his scruff. Digging her hind claws into the ground, she tried to drag him backward. He was too heavy! He thrashed from side to side, jerking her head back and forth until she let go. Then he turned on her, his eyes flashing.
“Don’t expect mercy from me!” he spat.
Panicked, Bluepaw reared up and began swiping desperately with her forepaws. But Crookedpaw kept coming, hitting back, his blows stronger and fiercer than hers. She managed to flick a claw across his muzzle, but he clouted her ear and she felt the wetness of blood as pain seared like fire. How could she beat him? Suddenly a yowl sounded behind her.