Pain seared his side. Hawkfrost’s claws tore his flesh, then let go.
Jumping to his paws, Lionpaw felt blood welling in his fur.
Anger swelled in his belly. Why didn’t they take the prophecy seriously? It could be his greatest weapon. A shiver of uncertainty ran down his spine. Unless they were right and it was nothing more than Firestar’s dream.
“Wake up!”
Lionpaw felt a muzzle nudging his flank where Hawkfrost had clawed it. He winced in pain and struggled to his paws.
Hollypaw was sitting beside him. “The patrol will be leaving soon.”
The den glowed faintly in predawn light. Light rain pattered on its branches.
Hollypaw licked her nose. “Blood?” She licked it again, glancing anxiously at Lionpaw’s flank where she had nuzzled him.
Shocked, Lionpaw licked the wound Hawkfrost had left.
He hadn’t realized the line between dream and reality was quite so blurred.
“There must be a thorn in your nest,” Hollypaw decided.
She pushed Lionpaw out of the way and began picking through the moss.
Paws began to pace the clearing outside.
“We’ll have to find it later,” Lionpaw mewed. “It sounds like the patrol’s getting ready to leave.”
Hollypaw looked up, eyes shining in the half-light.
“Let’s go!”
Lionpaw was already heading out of the den.
Ashfur and Brackenfur waited in the clearing, their fur slicked flat by the rain.
“You’re awake.” Ashfur shook drops from his whiskers.
“We can leave.”
“Wait.” Firestar bounded down from Highledge. “Remember,” he warned, “you’re only going to look for signs of prey-stealing. I don’t want you fighting any trespassers. If you find intruders, come back and report it.” His eyes glittered with worry. “This is more serious than a simple border skirmish. If there is to be a battle, it must be decisive.” He looked from one cat to another. “Understand?”
Lionpaw nodded along with his Clanmates.
“Good.” Firestar turned and began to climb the rocks back to Highledge.
Brackenfur weaved between Lionpaw and Hollypaw. “Are you two ready?”
Ashfur was already darting through the tunnel. Lionpaw raced after him, his paws slapping the rain-muddied ground.
The tunnel sheltered him briefly; then he was out in the dripping forest. Hollypaw and Brackenfur pounded behind; he could hear their paws skidding on the slippery leaves. He unsheathed his claws, gouging the earth as he ran. Energy surged through him.
Ashfur, streaking through the forest ahead, seemed small among the trees. Lionpaw stretched out, gaining on him. I could reach the border in one leap if I wanted. Power pulsed in his blood. And if we meet WindClan, I could beat every one of them. The pain from the gash in his f lank eased, as though it were healing already. Rain washed the blood from his pelt. Hawkfrost had better watch out next time.
In front of him, Ashfur swerved. He was following the track. But Lionpaw knew a better way. He ran straight on, crashing through a wall of fern. As he exploded from the undergrowth, Ashfur stared in surprise. Lionpaw was ahead now, veering back onto the track and lengthening his stride.
“Get back!” Ashfur ordered. “I’m leading this patrol.”
Lionpaw slowed and let Ashfur shoulder past him. The warrior’s blue eyes flashed with anger. Lionpaw fell in behind, a flash of satisfaction warming his pelt. He’d let Ashfur lead—for now. One day he’d be at the head of every patrol.
Ahead, the border stream glimmered between the trees.
Ashfur quickened his pace, leaping a patch of ground elder before pulling up at the water’s edge. Lionpaw slid to a halt behind him, raindrops dripping from his pelt.
“What in StarClan did you think you were doing?” Ashfur demanded. “You could have run into an ambush! We’d no idea what was waiting for us.”
Hollypaw and Brackenfur caught up.
“I was just taking a shortcut,” Lionpaw defended himself.
“Well, next time, just stay back!”
“Problem?” Brackenfur asked.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Ashfur snapped.
Hollypaw threw her brother a warning glance.
Lionpaw shrugged. I haven’t given our secret away.
Brackenfur was sniffing the air. “The rain has gotten rid of any scents.”
“There may be other signs,” Ashfur guessed. “Let’s split up and search.”
“Okay.” Brackenfur nodded. “But stay within earshot. We don’t know what we might find.”
While the others padded away, sniffing every leaf and twig, Lionpaw peered downstream. Bushes crowded the bank. Was it possible a WindClan cat had sheltered there from the rain?
If so, the scent might not have been washed away yet.
He padded beneath a dripping red currant bush. The soil was drier inside. He sniffed around the stem. No scent. As he pushed his way out through the soft leaves, holly leaves jabbed his nose. A dense bush spread up the bank, its glossy leaves gleaming with raindrops. Narrowing his eyes against its prickles, he lay flat and wriggled inside. Mud smeared his belly as he squirmed around the branches. Sharp leaves scraped his back.
“What are you doing?” Hollypaw hissed to him from outside. “Hiding from the rain?”
“Shh!” Lionpaw could smell the faintest hint of WindClan scent. He rummaged carefully through the barbed leaves clumped around the roots.
“I’ve found something!” he mewed, wriggling out backward with his pelt ruffled and muddy. “Look!” He dragged out the remains of a blackbird.
“What is it?” Ashfur came hurrying to see, Brackenfur on his heels. He curled his lip as he stared at the carcass. The tangle of bloody bones and feathers was still warm. The scent of WindClan mixed with the scent of fresh-kilclass="underline" This had been taken by a WindClan warrior and eaten where it was caught, in the shelter of the holly bush.
“We must have just missed them,” Brackenfur growled.
Hollypaw was gazing in silent dismay at the blackbird.
Lionpaw nudged her. “Pretty good find, huh?”
“They’re breaking the warrior code!” She gasped. “They should be taking their fresh-kill back for their elders and queens. Not stuffing their faces as soon as they’ve caught it.”
Lionpaw snorted. “I don’t think cats who steal care much about the warrior code.”
“They must be pretty desperate,” Brackenfur commented.
Ashfur pawed the remains toward Brackenfur. “Take this back and show Firestar. I’ll take Hollypaw and Lionpaw to check upstream.”
“Is there any point?” Brackenfur flicked his tail. The bank behind them was crowded with bushes, most of them bramble. “WindClan aren’t used to fighting their way through that kind of stuff.”
Lionpaw wasn’t ready to go back to camp yet. “They managed to get under that holly bush.” He could still feel the scratches along his spine.
Ashfur nodded. “It’s worth checking.”
“Don’t be too long.” Brackenfur picked up the carcass in his teeth and disappeared into the trees.
Lionpaw gazed along the bank, squinting his eyes against the rain. It was a jungle of brambles from bottom to top, but he was ready to search every tail-length of it. A WindClan warrior might be hiding there. He headed toward a tiny opening in the prickly thicket, tensing his shoulders, ready to batter his way through.
“Wait!” Hollypaw tugged on his tail. “You’ll get torn to shreds if you try squeezing along that mouse path! Let me go.
I’m smaller. I can get through.”
“I won’t get hurt,” Lionpaw assured her. “It’s only thorns.”
Don’t forget the battle in the mountains, he wanted to say. He stopped himself in time, suddenly conscious of Ashfur hovering behind them.