Closing his eyes, he fought to breathe, the tom writhing in his claws. I mustn’t let go. The single thought throbbed in his mind.
Then the tom stopped struggling.
Gray Wing opened his eyes and peered at the rogue. The tom was lying on the ground, as still as dead prey.
Slowly, Gray Wing released him and stepped away.
The tom grunted. Then, pelt rippling, he staggered to his paws and glared reproachfully at Gray Wing.
“You’re wasting your time,” Gray Wing puffed. “I won’t let you get her.”
The gray tom growled. His tail dragging, he limped away between the pines.
Gray Wing drew in a shuddering breath. In the distance he heard Lightning Tail screech.
Then another yowl cut through his ear fur.
He stiffened.
The cry was filled with pain. Not the furious pain of battle, but a deep and frightened yowl.
Star Flower!
Something was wrong.
He forced himself to run, his lungs aching with every step. Swerving out of the trees, he broke onto the verge of the Thunderpath. A monster thundered past, and he flattened his ears against the wind as it whipped by his face.
Its roar faded and he heard the desperate yowl again.
Ahead, on the grass, he saw Reed crouching over a fallen body.
Had Star Flower been hit by a monster?
His thoughts reeled as he remembered Turtle Tail. A monster had killed her. He’d never seen her body, but he had imagined her over and over again, lying stricken beside a strange and distant
Thunderpath. His heart seemed to burst inside his chest, but he forced himself to keep moving toward the huddled figure of Reed.
“What happened?” His mew was trembling as he neared.
Reed tuned to him, his eyes wide with fear. “The kits!” he breathed. “They’re coming!”
Chapter 6
Gray Wing struggled to steady his breathing. “Are you sure?”
“Of course!” Reed snapped his gaze back to Star Flower.
She lay on her side, a low moan rolling in her throat. Her flanks convulsed. “But it’s so early,” she croaked, fear flashing in her green eyes.
A monster growled on the Thunderpath. Gray Wing glanced up, blinded as its eyes drenched them in light. Instinctively, he lunged forward, protecting Star Flower with his body as the monster tore past. The grass streamed around them, and an acrid wave of stench blasted over him. It burned inside his chest, but Gray Wing ignored the pain. Fighting back a cough, he glanced over his shoulder. Had
Lightning Tail and Leaf managed to drive the other guards away? Had news of the rescue reached the rogue camp? Was a bigger patrol coming? “We have to get Star Flower away from here.”
“How?” Reed stared at Star Flower. “She can’t walk!”
Star Flower screeched as another convulsion seemed to grip her.
“I’ll get help.” Gray Wing tried to ignore his wheezing. There wasn’t time.
Reed looked at him, his ears twitching. “I’ll go,” he growled. “You need to catch your breath.”
Gray Wing shook his head. “You know more about herbs than me,” he told the silver tabby. “Find her something to help her pain.”
“Here?” Reed stared at the grass verge, then flicked his gaze toward the pines. “I don’t know anything about forest herbs.”
“Then guess!” Gray Wing was already on his paws. He leaped across the verge and pelted between the pines. Tall Shadow’s camp was closest, and he knew the quickest route. Dodging brambles and leaping ditches, he raced through the darkness. He struggled for breath, wondering if he could keep going. He felt as though he were underwater, trying to swim for the shore before he ran out of air.
I can’t let Star Flower die. Or her kits!
He had to get help.
The forest thickened, the branches blocking out the moonlight. Gray Wing dodged past trees, the rough bark scraping his flanks. Running on instinct, he managed to skim the jutting roots, leap ditches, and swerve past trailing brambles. At last, the trees thinned. The camp was near. He strained to see, trying to ignore the desperate pain in his chest. In the weak moonlight that filtered through the branches here, he saw the camp’s shadowy walls. He veered around them and burst through the entrance, his lungs on fire.
“Jagged Peak!” He caught sight of the gray tabby tom limping across the clearing.
Jagged Peak spun, pelt bushing. Shock showed in his eyes. “Gray Wing!”
“Help!” Gray Wing gasped and dropped to his belly. Dragging in air, he felt dizzy, the camp swimming around him.
“Where’s Star Flower?” Jagged Peak was at his side in a moment. He knew about Gray Wing’s plan. “Did you save her? Are you hurt?”
“The kits,” Gray Wing wheezed.
“Kits?” Jagged Peak looked puzzled.
Twigs rustled around Gray Wing as the forest cats scrambled from their nests. Eyes glinted in the entrances of the dens. Sun Shadow poked his head out. Mouse Ear slid into the moonlight. Holly hurried into the clearing.
Pebble Heart raced toward Gray Wing. “Is Tall Shadow okay?” He scrambled to a halt. “Are you okay?”
Gray Wing fought to find enough breath to explain. “Star Flower’s kits,” he rasped.
“Her kits?” Pebble Heart ducked close, his pelt rippling. “Are they coming?”
Gray Wing nodded mutely.
“It’s too soon!” Pebble Heart looked at Jagged Peak, panic flashing in his gaze.
Jagged Peak ignored him and stared at Gray Wing. “Where is she? Did you get her away from the rogues?”
“Yes, but she collapsed. Rogues… following.” Gray Wing managed to blurt out the words, hoping Jagged Peak would know what to do.
Jagged Peak lifted his head. “Mouse Ear! Sun Shadow! Holly! Go and find Star Flower. Bring her here.”
“There may not be time if the kits are coming!” Pebble Heart flicked his tail as the three cats started for the camp entrance. “Let me come too! I might be able to help.”
Jagged Peak glanced at him. The young tom looked determined. “Okay.”
Gray Wing pushed himself to his paws, the air slowly returning to his lungs. “I’ll show you the way,” he wheezed.
“You need to rest,” Pebble Heart told him sharply.
“I know where she is,” Gray Wing gasped, Star Flower’s desperate yowl ringing in his mind.
“She’s suffering. If you follow the wrong trail, she might die.”
Mouse Ear stopped at the entrance. “He’s right.”
“He can rest when he’s shown us where to go,” Holly agreed.
Pebble Heart looked anxiously at Gray Wing. “Will you be okay?”
“I have to be,” Gray Wing told him grimly. He headed after the others, struggling to hide the shakiness of his paws.
Holly waited for him to catch up and pressed against him. “Lean on me,” she murmured.
“I can manage—”
“Just lean!” she told him firmly.
He relaxed against her, relieved to feel some of the weight leave his paws as she moved beside him, her shoulder supporting his.
Mouse Ear hurried ahead as they left camp. “Which way?” His gaze scanned the shadows.
“Toward the ditches,” Gray Wing puffed. He jerked his nose toward the thickening pines. “She’s beside the Thunderpath.”
Mouse Ear hared away, Pebble Heart at his heels. Their pelts were quickly swallowed by the darkness.