Moth Flight’s hackles lifted. You don’t have the right to decide that! She opened her mouth to object but Wind Runner pressed on.
“This is the best way to stop Clear Sky. You’ve seen him drag us into war before. Help me stop him from doing it again.”
As her gaze swept beseechingly over the Clans, yowls of agreement filled the still night air.
“Cut him off!”
“Forget SkyClan!”
Moth Flight blinked at her mother. Was she really going to deprive SkyClan of help and healing? What would StarClan say? She glanced around her Clanmates, disappointment weighing in her chest. Dew Nose and Swift Minnow were joining in with the cheering.
Gorse Fur lifted his muzzle. “It’s the only way to avoid war!”
Moth Flight stared at her father in disbelief. Wind Runner was hotheaded, but Gorse Fur had always tempered her rashness with reason. Why was he going along with this madness?
A yowl sounded at the top of the hollow. The Clans fell silent, their eyes flashing as they turned to see who had called.
Sparrow Fur was haring down the slope. “Help!”
The gathered cats parted and let her race to the center.
The tortoiseshell gazed around, her eyes wide with horror.
“Where’s Moth Flight? Pebble Heart?” She scanned the Clans desperately.
Moth Flight pushed her way through the cats, Pebble Heart at her heels. “What’s happened?”
Sparrow Fur stared at her. “Tiny Branch is hurt! He got his paw trapped! There was a fox. We fought it off but Tiny Branch—”
Dappled Pelt burst from the crowd. “Was he bitten?”
Sparrow Fur nodded, her eyes wild. “It’s bad. We’ve carried him back to camp, but he’s unconscious.”
“Fox bites cause infection.” Cloud Spots nosed his way past
Dappled Pelt. “They must be treated at once.”
Sparrow Fur was trembling. “Acorn Fur can’t stop the bleeding.”
Moth Flight’s heart lurched. Tiny Branch was less than six moons old. If the blood loss didn’t kill him, the shock might.
“Come on.” She began to race for the side of the hollow.
Wind Runner’s snarl made her stop. “Where are you going?”
“I have to help Tiny Branch!” She skidded to a halt and glared at Wind Runner.
“I told you! SkyClan is on their own!” Wind Runner’s eyes blazed with fury.
“You decided that!” Moth Flight hissed. “I’m a medicine cat. I won’t stand by and let cats die.”
Shocked mews sounded around her.
“She can’t go!”
“She must!”
“What about the kits?”
“That’s Clear Sky’s problem!”
Shattered Ice blocked her path. “Clear Sky must learn that he can’t push the other Clans around.”
Moth Flight flexed her claws. “Get out of my way.”
A low growl rumbled behind her. Dust Muzzle stalked past and faced Shattered Ice. “Let her pass. Tiny Branch shouldn’t have to pay for his father’s mistakes.” He looked meaningfully at Thunder.
Thunder dropped his gaze. “Let her go, Shattered Ice.”
Shattered Ice glared at Thunder, hackles raised. “You’re not my leader.”
“But I am.” River Ripple stepped forward. “Let her pass.”
Growling, Shattered Ice backed away.
Moth Flight glanced at Dust Muzzle. “Thank you.” Breaking into a run, she pelted up the slope. Sparrow Fur charged after her, Cloud Spots, Dappled Pelt, and Pebble Heart at his heels.
Sparrow Fur dodged in front of her as they reached the top of the slope. “Follow me!”
Zigzagging past brambles and leaping logs, she blazed a winding trail through the thick woodland. Moth Flight’s chest burned as she raced to keep up. Behind her, she could hear the thrumming paw steps of Cloud Spots, Dappled Pelt, and Pebble Heart.
As the forest floor began to slope down, she recognized the glade where Sparrow Fur had stopped her and sent her home only a few days earlier. The tortoiseshell crossed it and headed for a thick clump of brambles. Ducking through a small gap at one edge, she disappeared. Moth Flight narrowed her eyes against the prickly stalks and followed her through, surprised to find herself emerging into a small hollow edged by trees and lush ferns.
Clear Sky stood in the center. Star Flower trembled beside him. The rest of SkyClan ringed around them, their horrified gazes fixed on a blood-soaked scrap of fur lying at Clear Sky’s paws.
Tiny Branch!
Moth Flight scrambled to a halt and crouched beside the kit.
She could hear her own heart pounding in her ears as she swiftly scanned his body. There were deep teeth wounds on his flank.
His hind paw was twisted and bloody, as though it had been yanked from a thorn bush. His eyes were closed, flickering slightly. His muzzle was clumped with dried blood.
She smelled the sharp tang of horsetail and marigold rising from Tiny Branch’s wound. Dried green pulp showed on his bloody fur. Acorn Fur had clearly been trying to treat him for some time. Moth Flight glanced at Clear Sky. “Where’s Acorn
Fur?”
“She went to find cobwebs.” Clear Sky’s mew was tight.
Moth Flight pictured the SkyClan medicine cat struggling alone to help Tiny Branch. Sympathy pricked at her heart. She wasn’t trained to deal with injuries as bad as this. She must be terrified. “She should have sent for help sooner.”
Clear Sky’s tail twitched. “SkyClan doesn’t ask for help unless there’s no choice.”
Did you stop her? Moth Flight angrily swallowed back the words. Picking a fight with Clear Sky wouldn’t help Tiny
Branch.
Star Flower didn’t wrench her gaze from her kit. “Will he be okay?”
Moth Flight didn’t answer. “Where’s her herb store?”
Clear Sky stared at her blankly. “I don’t think she has one.”
Red Claw stepped forward. “She’s been gathering herbs for a while,” he told his leader.
Moth Flight turned to the dark red tom. “Where are they?”
Red Claw began to lead the way to a short steep slope where the roots of an oak snaked into the earth.
As Moth Flight straightened to follow, she felt Dappled Pelt’s nose on her shoulder.
“I’ll go with him.”
“Bring every herb she’s got,” Moth Flight told her. She glanced at Pebble Heart. “What can we do?” She wasn’t sure which wound to treat first.
Pebble Heart crouched beside Tiny Branch while Cloud
Spots shooed the Clan backward, making room on the kit’s other side.
Pebble Heart pressed his paws on the brightest wound, where blood was still welling. “We need to stop this bleeding first. It’s the worst injury.”
Moth Flight slipped her paws under his. “I’ll press the blood back while you check the rest of him.” Warmth oozed under her pads. Fear flashed beneath her pelt, but she ignored it.
Cloud Spots sniffed Tiny Branch’s mangled hind paw. “This needs wet nettles to take down the swelling.”
Moth Flight looked toward the slope, relieved to see Dappled Pelt hurrying back, a wad of leaves in her jaws.
“Are there any nettles in there?” Moth Flight asked as Dappled Pelt dropped the herbs beside her.
“No.” Dapped Pelt began to sort through the pile. “It’s mainly chervil and borage.”
Moth Flight stiffened, frustration flaring through her. If only she’d been allowed to finish training Acorn Fur! Her store would be fully stocked. She avoided Clear Sky’s gaze, swallowing back anger. Tiny Branch is his kit. This wasn’t the time to argue about borders.
“There’s some thyme here.” Dappled Pelt mewed hopefully.
Moth Flight frowned at the unconscious kit. “He can’t chew anything.”
“We could put a sprig under his tongue,” Pebble Heart suggested.
“That’s better than nothing.” Moth Flight pressed harder on the wound as Pebble Heart slipped a claw between Tiny
Branch’s lips and very gently levered his jaws open.
Alarm sparked in her belly. The kit’s breath was so weak she could hardly feel his flank move. He was as limp as dead prey.
She watched, her mouth dry, as Pebble Heart slid a thyme stalk beneath the kit’s tongue.
“You’re here!” Acorn Fur burst into camp. Moth Flight saw relief glistening in the SkyClan medicine cat’s gaze. Cobwebs swathed her forepaws and she hurried over and peeled them off.
Pebble Heart took them from her and began stuffing shreds into the bloodiest wound. He nodded to Acorn Fur. “Put your paws here.”
As she pressed the cobwebs deep into the bloody flesh, Pebble Heart ripped the remaining wad into two and gave one half to Cloud Spots. Between them, they wrapped every graze and bite they could see.
Moth Flight leaned down and listened to Tiny Branch’s chest. There was no bubbling inside, but his heart was fluttering like a trapped bird, weak with exhaustion. Her belly tightened.
She glanced at Star Flower.
The golden tabby she-cat must have seen the despair in her gaze. She recoiled, pressing her muzzle into Clear Sky’s shoulder.
Clear Sky’s dark gaze swept the medicine cats, then fixed on Moth Flight. “He’ll live, won’t he?”
Tiny Branch suddenly whimpered. His eyes flickered open for a moment. Then he jerked, and fell still.
Clear Sky stared at him, his mouth open.
Moth Flight pressed her ear to Tiny Branch’s chest once again.
Nothing.
Her thoughts raced to her own kits. Were they safely tucked up with Rocky? What if a fox had gotten into the camp? What if one of them had wandered alone onto the moor? Panic tugged at her belly. She needed to see them. She had to know they were okay. But first she had to tell Clear Sky his son was dead.
She looked at the SkyClan leader, pity twisting her heart.
“I’m so sorry.”
His eyes clouded. Pain flared in their blue depths. Moth
Flight was startled to see the tough Clan leader sway on his paws. Star Flower rocked beside him, her nose buried deep in his pelt.
Their Clanmates began to move around them. Blossom tugged a clump of damp moss from between the roots of a tree and carried it to Tiny Branch’s body. Gently she began to wipe the blood from his fur. Thorn and Quick Water pressed against
Star Flower, supporting her as Clear Sky stepped away and crouched beside their dead kit. He rested his nose softly on the kit’s head. “I should have been there, my son. I should have saved you.”
Moth Flight glanced at Acorn Fur.
The SkyClan medicine cat was staring bleakly at her leader.
Moth Flight got to her paws and pressed her nose to the brown she-cat’s cheek. “I don’t think any of us could have saved him,” she murmured.
“If only I’d had more cobwebs in my den,” she mewed thickly.
Pebble Heart straightened. “It would have taken more than cobwebs.”
“He’s with StarClan now,” Dappled Pelt gazed sympathetically at Acorn Fur. “You did all you could.”
The tugging in Moth Flight’s belly grew stronger. “I have to see my kits.” Guilt flashed through her as Clear Sky jerked up his nose and stared at her. “I’m sorry—” She began to apologize, but he cut her off.
“Go to them,” he growled hoarsely.
She backed toward the entrance, grief tearing at her heart. “I wish we could have come straight away.”
Clear Sky’s gaze hardened. “Why didn’t you?”
Moth Flight froze. She felt the anxious gazes of the other medicine cats flashed toward her.
Sparrow Fur stepped forward. “Wind Runner didn’t want her to come,” she mumbled. “She said that SkyClan was on its own.”
Clear Sky straightened, the muscles in his broad shoulders rippling.
Star Flower padded forward shakily. “She was going to let a kit die?”
“It’s not that simple.” Fear flashed through Moth Flight. She only wanted peace. “You need to speak with Wind Runner.”
Star Flower’s green eyes brimmed with pain. She turned away.
Clear Sky blinked at Moth Flight. “You should go,” he growled. “Your kits need you.”
Her heart pounding, Moth Flight turned and raced out of camp. The scent of Tiny Branch’s blood lingered on her tongue.
My kits! She had to know they were safe. She hared through the forest, her paws skidding on fallen leaves as she swerved among the brambles and ferns. She broke from the forest and pelted onto the moor. She needed to smell her kits and feel their warmth against her muzzle. Her gaze fixed on the distant hollow, she pushed against the coarse grass, racing breathlessly upslope. Bursting into camp, she bounded over the moonlit tussocks and ducked into her den.
Rocky lifted his head sleepily and blinked at her. The kits were curled against his belly. “I told you I’d have them tucked up by the time you got home.”
Peace enfolded Moth Flight as she gazed at her beautiful kits. Spider Paw stirred in his sleep, stretching a paw to rest it on Bubbling Stream’s muzzle. Bubbling Stream pushed it off and rolled over, a tiny whimper escaping as she snuggled against Blue Whisker’s pelt.
Moth Flight padded closer, breathing in their milky scent.
She closed her eyes and lifted her muzzle. Thank you, StarClan, for keeping them safe.