Her jaws snapped thin air as he rolled out of the way just in time. Leaping onto his paws, Clear Sky reared. Wind Runner lifted her forepaws to meet his, but he was quicker and threw a blow at her cheek. She lurched backward, unbalanced. Her hind paw slid over a root. It snagged her and she fell, her leg twisting beneath her.
Moth Flight heard a crack and froze with horror. She’d eaten enough prey to recognize the snap of breaking bone. Her mother’s leg bone had broken.
“Wind Runner!” She raced to her mother’s side. Wind Runner groaned, her eyes rolling with agony.
At the sound of her groan, Dust Muzzle and Gorse Fur glanced over from the far side of the clearing. They were driving Nettle backward toward a birch trunk. As their attention slipped, the SkyClan tom lashed out. He lunged low and clamped his jaws around Gorse Fur’s paw. Dust Muzzle’s gaze darted away from Wind Runner and he sliced his claws across Nettle’s ears.
Moth Flight jerked her muzzle fearfully toward Clear Sky.
Was he going to attack again?
He stood as still as stone, and watched the WindClan leader coldly. Then his blue gaze flitted across the writhing pelts and rested on Willow Tail.
Wind Runner gasped, trying to move, and fell back. Moth
Flight dragged her gaze from Clear Sky and looked into her mother’s eyes. Was that fear she glimpsed? Fresh blood was still welling at Wind Runner’s neck, and her hind leg stuck out at an ugly angle. Moth Flight’s chest tightened. She’d never seen her mother afraid before. “You’re going to be okay.” Forcing herself to think, she remembered the cobwebs on her paw. Quickly, she unwrapped a long strip and wadded it into the deep scratch at her mother’s throat. Then she ran a paw along Wind Runner’s leg. The WindClan leader flinched.
“I’ll be gentle,” Moth Flight promised. She could feel the break. Her breath quickened as she felt a jagged edge pressing inside the flesh. The bone was bent like a broken twig. Alarm shrilled through her. Could a bone heal like gashed flesh? She remembered Cloud Spots showing her comfrey, all those moons ago: I’ve heard it even helps broken limbs to heal, though I’ve not yet had to try it, thank StarClan. She closed her eyes and prayed he was right.
A screech sounded behind her.
Moth Flight spun, her breath stopping in her throat as she saw Clear Sky back away from Willow Tail, his eyes bright with shock.
Willow Tail staggered, a wail rolling deep from her belly. As she swung her head around, Moth Flight gagged.
Long gashes streaked the she-cat’s face. Blood streamed from her slashed eyes and dripped from her whiskers. Willow
Tail moaned as her paws buckled beneath her. She collapsed onto the ground and stared blankly ahead.
Moth Flight’s paws trembled. He’s blinded her. She gaped at Clear Sky. Around him, the battling cats slowed, letting their paws drop as they turned to look at Willow Tail.
Clear Sky moved away, his pelt rippling along his spine. He lifted his muzzle toward Red Claw at the edge of the clearing.
“She’s yours now,” he growled softly. “Do what you like with her.”
Willow Tail dragged herself feebly across the earth while the Clan cats backed away from her, their shocked gazes darting away. Red Claw unhooked his claws from Swift Minnow’s pelt and padded slowly toward the blinded cat.
Her nose twitched. Whimpering, she tried to crawl away, her head jerking one way, then the other, as though she was chasing glimpses of light.
Red Claw stopped beside her. “Why did you have to lie?”
Willow Tail froze. “Don’t you know?” Her mew cracked desperately.
“But why did you have to drag the Clans into it?” Red Claw’s eyes brimmed with grief. “It was never their argument.”
“It was the only way I could punish you!” Willow Tail’s pelt rippled along her spine. “You killed my friend!”
Red Claw bristled. “I didn’t kill her! The dogs killed her!”
“And who led the dogs into our camp?” Willow Tail rasped.
“Do you think I did it on purpose?”
“Of course you did! You lured them there.”
“They were chasing me.” Red Claw crouched close beside
Willow Tail. He was shaking, his mew cracking as he spoke. “I was young and dumb. I ran into a pack of dogs and, when they started chasing me, I ran back to the one place I’d always felt safe. I thought if I got there, nothing could hurt me. It wasn’t until the dogs attacked that I realized what I’d done!”
“You ran away!” Willow Tail accused. “You left us to die.”
“There was nothing else I could do.” Red Claw’s shoulders drooped. “I am so ashamed. I’ve been trying to pretend it never happened.”
“But it did happen!”
Red Claw hung his head. “I’m sorry, Willow Tail.” His mew was thick. “If there was anything I could have done to change it, I would have.”
Wind Runner lifted her head and gazed at him. “Was Willow
Tail lying about the stolen prey?”
“Yes.” Willow Tail rested her chin on the ground, her eyes red with blood. “I killed rabbits and dragged them across the border, then told you that I’d seen SkyClan hunting on the moor.”
Clear Sky’s gaze flicked sharply toward the WindClan leader. “You believed a rogue over me!”
Wind Runner growled from where she lay, pain tightening her words. “She’s my Clanmate.”
Clear Sky didn’t move. “And you are always loyal to your Clan,” he sneered.
Wind Runner didn’t flinch. “Aren’t you?”
Clear Sky looked away.
Moth Flight felt a surge of pride. Despite Wind Runner’s terrible pain, she’d silenced Clear Sky. Of course he’d be loyal to his Clanmate. If Willow Tail had been a SkyClan cat instead of a WindClan cat, he’d have stood by her. Moth Flight looked back at Willow Tail, her heart twisting with pity. The pale tabby’s flanks were quivering. Her ears were flat. A low moan crackled in her throat.
She’s in shock! Moth Flight scanned the edges of the hollow, hoping to see thyme sprouting between the roots and brambles, but there was none. She scrambled toward Willow Tail and swept her tail along the tabby’s spine. “It’s okay,” she murmured. “We’ll get you back to camp and take care of you.”
Willow Tail began to shiver, her matted fur spiking. She turned her gashed eyes toward Moth Flight. “Will I see again?”
“I don’t know,” Moth Flight whispered. Helplessness gripped her. She glanced around the watching cats. All she could see were wounds: scratched muzzles, torn pelts, ripped ears. Blood and fur specked the clearing. Fury rose in her chest.
“You fought for nothing.” She glared at Clear Sky. “Why didn’t you let me go home? I could have spoken to Wind Runner. I could have told her what you’d said about Willow Tail and Red Claw. You could have settled this with words.”
Clear Sky narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t ask Wind Runner to attack my camp.”
Moth Flight hesitated. If only Wind Runner had sent a patrol to search for her, not to start a war. “You need to make peace.”
She got to her paws and stood between her mother and Clear Sky. Looking from one to the other she growled. “This must end here.”
Clear Sky’s gaze lingered on her for a moment. Then he dipped his head. “It was a dumb fight,” he conceded.
Wind Runner took a shuddering breath. “It was never our battle,” she rasped.
Paw steps thrummed the forest floor beyond the camp barrier. The brambles shivered as Acorn Fur hurtled in. She skidded to a halt, her eyes widening as she saw the battle-scarred cats. Pebble Heart raced behind her, Cloud Spots and Dappled Pelt on his tail.