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Frecklewish needed to pay for the lost kits, just as Ravenwing had done.

Mapleshade stood up, shaking on exhausted paws. This would be harder to achieve because

Frecklewish only left ThunderClan to go to Gatherings, when she would be surrounded by her Clanmates. And even inside the border she was rarely alone. Mapleshade needed to find a way to attack her within the territory, the safest place for a warrior to be. Thinking hard, she started to pad along the bottom of the hedge. A tendril of ivy caught at her foot and almost tripped her. Hissing, Mapleshade snatched her paw away. The ivy lay on the ground, quivering like a glossy green snake.

Snakerocks! Mapleshade pictured the nest of adders that had been blocked in with stones.

Perhaps there was something deadly inside ThunderClan’s borders after all!

Chapter 7

Mapleshade trekked back to the forest, skirting the edge of WindClan under cover of darkness and heading for ThunderClan’s border with Twolegplace. She knew she would have to wait for Frecklewish to pass by on patrol; even then, Mapleshade would need the luck of StarClan to get the she-cat alone. She plunged into the lush green grass at the foot of the Twoleg fences, then scrambled up and over the wooden barrier, dropping down into the small, strongly scented enclosure on the other side.

Almost at once, a fat gray-and-white tom heaved himself through a tiny flap in the side of the Twoleg den and lumbered toward her, mewling.

“Get out of here! You’re one of those stinking forest cats, aren’t you? My housefolk don’t want you in their backyard! Shoo!”

Mapleshade waited until the kittypet was a mouse-length away, then shot out one paw and raked his face. The kittypet leaped backward, screeching. Blood dripped from his blunt muzzle. “Ow!” he wailed.

Mapleshade stayed where she was. The kittypet glared at her through screwed-up eyes before turning and shuffling back to the den. When the flap banged shut behind his plump haunches, Mapleshade studied the enclosure. A tree grew beside the fence with broad enough branches to support her, and dense leaves to hide her from view. She would wait there for Frecklewish. She scrambled up the tree and settled on a bough that looked out over the forest. She had caught a squirrel at Fourtrees and drunk from a stream so her belly was comfortably full. Resting her chin on her paws, she let herself doze, one ear pricked for any sounds from below.

At dusk four ThunderClan warriors came past, creeping along the bottom of the fence as if they feared the kittypets were about to attack. Mapleshade curled her lip in scorn. She had thought her Clanmates were braver than that. Frecklewish was not among them, though. As night fell, Mapleshade dropped down from her branch into the long grass, hoping to hunt. ThunderClan scent surrounded her and for a moment she felt a pang of longing; then she pictured her Clanmates driving her and her kits away, and she thought of Frecklewish watching her kits drown, and her fury returned. She quickly caught a blackbird that was wrestling with a worm and carried it back to the tree. Behind her, the gray-and-white tom was bundled out of the den by a cross-sounding Twoleg. Mapleshade watched the kittypet squat on the grass, its eyes huge with fear, then race back inside. Ha! He knows this territory is mine now!

Mapleshade slept fitfully, the bark digging into her belly fur and sending a damp chill through her bones. She woke with the first glimmer of dawn, feeling pangs of hunger. The blackbird had been old and scrawny. Mapleshade scanned the forest for signs of movement. All was still beneath the trees.

She jumped down and padded into the ferns, scanning for prey. A tiny rustle alerted her to a mouse scrabbling at the foot of a sycamore tree. Mapleshade stalked forward, hoping her flashes of white fur wouldn’t startle her prey. The mouse was intent on nibbling a seed so Mapleshade was able to pounce unseen, killing the creature with a single blow to its neck.

Then she froze. She heard voices! Bloomheart was among them, directing his patrol to split up and hunt before meeting again at the lightning-struck elm. There wasn’t time to get back to the Twoleg fence, so Mapleshade crouched beneath a clump of bracken with her fresh-kill. Paw steps came closer, then a glimpse of pale brown fur through the green stems. Frecklewish! StarClan had brought her right to Mapleshade. But she couldn’t attack her here, not when the others were so close by.

Mapleshade backed carefully out of the bracken, dragging the mouse. Its body was still warm so the scent it left would seem fresh. Sure enough, she heard Frecklewish sniffing the air and uttering a low growl that suggested she had picked up the trail. Mapleshade let the mouse scrape along the ground a little more before daring to pick it up and move forward with it dangling from her jaws. She couldn’t risk being seen by Frecklewish before she had reached Snakerocks.

Mapleshade deliberately pushed her way through the thickest undergrowth so that the mouse left a generous trail of scent. She hoped that her own scent would be lost among general ThunderClan odors; she didn’t think she had been out of the Clan long enough to smell unfamiliar. She could only just hear Frecklewish stalking her; the she-cat was one of the best hunters in the Clan and moved as lightly as a butterfly’s wing over the leaf-strewn ground.

Suddenly dark gray stones loomed over the stems of bracken. Mapleshade swerved, still carrying the mouse, which felt heavier and heavier in her jaws. She padded around the base of the rocks and emerged into the clearing on the other side. There was hardly any trace of cat scent; clearly the warriors were concerned that the adders might escape from their prison. Mapleshade hoped the snakes were still there, but had no time to check. She left the mouse on the ground and raced to the heap of smaller stones that had been piled in front of the adders’ nest. She pushed aside as many as she could, leaving a gaping black hole, then ducked behind a boulder.

Frecklewish emerged cautiously from the bushes, her jaws parted to scent the air and her fur bristling. She looked puzzled when she saw the dead mouse. Mapleshade sprang out from behind the rock and snarled at her.

“You let my kits die!”

Frecklewish stumbled backward in shock. “Mapleshade! You shouldn’t be here!” She arched her back. “Leave or I’ll call the rest of the patrol.”

Mapleshade lashed her tail. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a tiny flicker of movement from the pile of stones. Was that a snake slithering into the light? Mapleshade took a step closer to the rocks. “Too scared to fight me yourself, Frecklewish?” she hissed. “You prefer watching helpless kits drown, don’t you?”

The brown she-cat stiffened. “I thought your kits would be saved,” she rasped. “I never meant for them to die.”

Mapleshade sniffed. “I don’t believe you! You’re a fox-hearted coward. I bet you’re glad they are dead!”

Frecklewish bounded toward Mapleshade, her eyes flashing with anger. “I wish you were dead!” she spat. “You betrayed my brother’s name!”

Mapleshade dodged sideways just as Frecklewish lunged at her. With a yelp, the she-cat stumbled into the pile of stones. Before she could find her footing, there was a hiss and a sleek dark green head darted forward, tongue flicking.

“Adder!” gasped Frecklewish. There was a blur of movement, then Frecklewish staggered backward, screeching. “It bit me! Help!”