“Of course.” Leafstar glanced toward the party preparing to leave.
As Leafpool turned back toward the nursery, the SkyClan leader headed toward her deputy. “May StarClan guide your paws,” she meowed.
Hawkwing flicked his tail. “With Molewhisker’s help.”
Leafstar blinked at the ThunderClan tom. “Are you sure you know the way?”
He nodded.
Violetpaw looked around the camp. Even though SkyClan had been here only a short while, it felt like home. She would miss the sound of the stream and the swishing branches of the pine forest.
Hawkwing seemed to sense her unease. He swept his tail along her spine. “We’ll be home soon, hopefully with some more of our Clanmates.” He purred. “There are so many cats I want you to meet.”
Leafstar caught his eye. “I hope you find them.”
“We will find as many as we can,” Hawkwing promised. “Soon we will be a bustling Clan again.”
Wistfully, Leafstar held his gaze. “We will never be as we once were.”
The juniper bush shivered as Twigpaw scrambled from underneath. She raced across the camp, leaping the stream and stopping beside her sister. “Are you leaving now?” She rubbed her muzzle along Violetpaw’s jaw.
Violetpaw pressed against her. “I wish you were coming with me.”
“I’ll be here when you get back.” Twigpaw blinked at her brightly. “You’re going to have such an exciting time.”
Violetpaw shifted her paws nervously. “I hope so.”
“You will!” Twigpaw insisted. “Some cats never get to leave the forest. You’ll remember this journey forever, and you’ll always be known as one of the cats who helped reunite SkyClan.”
Twigpaw was always so positive. Sometimes Violetpaw wished she were more like her. But then she glanced at Hawkwing; being more like Twigpaw would mean being less like him, and she liked being like Hawkwing. One day she’d be as brave as him too.
“We should leave,” Molewhisker meowed, glancing at the sky once more. “I’d like to get to the Thunderpath before sunhigh.”
The Thunderpath? Violetpaw swallowed.
Rabbitleap stretched and padded toward the entrance. Blossomheart followed.
“Good luck!” Leafstar called as Molewhisker headed after them.
Hawkwing touched his nose to Twigpaw’s head. “Take care of SkyClan while we’re away.”
Leafstar purred. “I’m sure she will.”
Twigpaw turned to Violetpaw, her gaze suddenly dark. “You’ll be careful, won’t you?”
“Of course.” Violetpaw touched Twigpaw’s muzzle with her own. She breathed in the soothing scent of her sister, and then padded after Hawkwing as he followed Rabbitleap, Blossomheart, and Molewhisker out of camp.
As her paws scuffed the needle-strewn forest floor, the frogs in her belly grew still. Suddenly she felt ready for the journey ahead. We’re going to find our lost Clanmates.
Two sunrises later, as the sun reached its peak in the wide, blue sky, Violetpaw smelled the acrid scent of another Thunderpath. They’d crossed many, but the smell of this one was stronger. The sound of growling stirred her ear fur. It came from beyond the trees, as though a pack of huge dogs were arguing over prey. She glanced at her father, wondering if they should stop, but he kept walking. Molewhisker too. Rabbitleap and Blossomheart glanced at each other.
She followed them to the edge of the forest and padded out onto grass. Blinking in the bright sunshine, she saw a wide verge sloping toward a Thunderpath. This one was much wider than the ones they had crossed already, and instead of being deserted as those had been, it had monsters roaring along it in both directions, with barely a gap between them.
Violetpaw stopped, her heart skipping a beat. She thought of Pebbleshine with a sickening jolt. Her mother had been killed on a Thunderpath. “We can’t cross that!”
Hawkwing turned and paused. His eyes were round and dark. “We have to.”
Molewhisker padded back to Violetpaw. “This is the most dangerous Thunderpath we’ll have to cross,” he promised. “Once we’ve crossed it, we’ll be safe.”
Will we? Violetpaw tried to stop herself from trembling. On the other side, home would seem beyond reach.
Rabbitleap met Violetpaw’s gaze. “You are fast and smart. I’ve seen you hunt and I’ve watched you practice battle moves. You have all the skills you need to make this crossing.”
“But how will we ever get back?” Violetpaw suddenly felt very small.
“If we can cross it once, then we can cross it again,” Hawkwing told her.
“You can do this.” Rabbitleap nudged her gently forward.
Violetpaw dug her claws into the grass. “Pebbleshine was killed on a Thunderpath like this,” she croaked.
Hawkwing looked at her, grief sharpening his gaze. “She was unlucky,” he meowed thickly. “But I’m with you. I won’t let the same thing happen to you.”
Reluctantly, Violetpaw began to pad toward the Thunderpath. Every hair in her pelt told her to retreat, but she forced herself on, reassured as Molewhisker and her Clanmates fell in beside her. Together they approached the edge.
Monster after monster hurtled past. Sour air blasted her face. Grit sprayed her paws.
Molewhisker raised his voice. “Wait for a big enough gap.”
Violetpaw wondered if a gap would ever come. The monsters chased after one another like foxes chasing rabbits.
“When I say go”—Hawkwing lifted his chin—“run as fast as you can.”
Blossomheart and Rabbitleap nodded. Violetpaw stared at her father, her mouth dry with terror. A huge monster thundered past. The hot wind from its flanks nearly knocked her off her paws. She clung to the filthy grass and waited, her heart pounding in her ears as the monsters streamed past.
At last, a gap appeared. To one side, a distant green monster trundled toward them, spattered with mud. To the other, the Thunderpath curved toward an empty rise. The way between was clear.
“Run!” Hawkwing’s yowl made Violetpaw jump. Blossomheart shot forward, Rabbitleap at her heels. Molewhisker raced past them, his tail skimming the stone. Hawkwing shoved Violetpaw forward. “Hurry!”
She ran, eyes narrowed, terror sparking in her belly. The hot stone burned her pads. The green monster rolled closer, as though in no hurry. The rise was still clear. We’re going to make it!
As exhilaration surged beneath Violetpaw’s pelt, a howl rose behind the green monster. A smaller monster had edged out and was hurtling toward her. It let out a desperate wail, as though running for its life. Terror choked Violetpaw’s thoughts. Her paws froze beneath her, and she skidded to a halt. Ahead of her, Molewhisker, Hawkwing, Rabbitleap, and Blossomheart dived onto the safety of the green embankment.
Rooted by panic, Violetpaw stared at the small monster. It roared past the green one, neck and neck with it now. In a moment it would pass it and plow straight over Violetpaw. She knew she should move, but she was frozen with terror. StarClan, help me!
The small monster’s paws squealed on the stone as the Twoleg inside stared in horror at Violetpaw. The monster let out a wail, as though warning her to move. It swerved suddenly, the Twoleg’s eyes bulging as it dived in front of the green monster, veering so close that its flank caught the green monster’s nose. Violetpaw stared, as though watching a nightmare from a long way away. Hypnotized, she heard the thump of their thick hides collide. The small monster spun out across the Thunderpath and came to a juddering halt on the far side.
Teeth grabbed her scruff, and Hawkwing’s fear-scent bathed her as her paws half lifted from the stone. With a grunt, her father dragged her clear. He dropped her on the embankment beside her Clanmates. Blinking dumbly, she gazed at them.