Owl Eyes opened his mouth, gasping in disbelief. “The monster’s going to kill him!”
Chapter 23
Clear Sky stared at Black Ear, half dazzled by the glare of the monster’s eyes as it bore down on the tiny kit. The world grew silent. Time slowed. Bounding forward, Clear Sky moved as though invisible paws carried him. The verge blurred as he raced onto the Thunderpath. Slush splashed beneath his pads, but he hardly felt its wet chill. His gaze was fixed on Black Ear, blind to the monster thundering closer with every moment. Skimming the filthy snow, he grabbed Black Ear’s scruff without stopping.
Wind slammed him like stone. It sent him tumbling toward the far edge of the Thunderpath. The monster screamed past, its paws whisking so close that grit strafed his flank. Pain shrilled through his tail and scorched his fur. Rolling onto the sludge-covered grass, he felt the tug of Black Ear’s scruff between his jaws. I got him. Clear Sky hardly dared open his eyes. The kit wasn’t moving. Clear Sky gently let go and curled himself around the tiny kit.
“Clear Sky!” Thunder’s mew sounded in his ear.
Paws squelched around him. Teeth dug into his scruff, and he felt himself being dragged clear of the verge. He wrapped his paws around Black Ear, holding him close to his belly, and opened his eyes as they reached the shadow of the pines.
“Clear Sky?” Thunder’s frightened mew sounded again.
The teeth let go of his scruff. Blinking, he looked up to see Thunder, Owl Eyes, and Sparrow Fur crowding around him.
“We thought you’d been killed!” Owl Eyes stared at him, pelt bristling.
“The monster missed you by a whisker!” Sparrow Fur croaked.
Clear Sky loosened his grip on Black Ear. “Is the kit alive?” He hardly dared ask. The wind from the monster had hit them hard. Pain throbbed in his tail. His flanks were numb.
Thunder leaned down and sniffed the wet scrap of fur beside Clear Sky’s belly.
Black Ear mewled softly. “I want to go home.”
Relief washed Clear Sky’s aching body. He struggled to sit up, wincing at the pain in his tail, and sniffed the kit. Rogue stench bathed the tiny tom’s scruff, and his pelt reeked of Thunderpath fumes.
“Did the rogues hurt you?”
“They wouldn’t let me go home.” Black Ear looked up at Clear Sky, eyes glistening with fear. “Is
Slate okay? I saw them hurt her. Then they took me away.”
Clear Sky’s throat tightened. “Slate’s fine,” he promised the kit. “She just has a few scratches.
Pebble Heart is taking care of her.”
“Are Silver Stripe and White Tail all right too?” Black Ear asked.
Clear Sky pressed his muzzle to Black Ear’s cheek. “They’re safe and sound.” He was trembling, his pelt soaked with freezing water. But he’d saved Black Ear. As the kit scrambled shakily to his paws, he thought of Tiny Branch, safe in his nest at home. “We need to get you back to your mother.”
“First we need to get him warm and dry. Let’s head for Tall Shadow’s camp. It’s closest.”
Sparrow Fur plucked Black Ear up by his scruff.
“Ow!” The kit struggled, churning his paws. “My scruff hurts!”
“Here.” Thunder crouched in front of him. “You can ride on my back.”
Sparrow Fur laid Black Ear gently between Thunder’s shoulder blades and lifted a paw to pat
Thunder’s thick fur around the kit. “Just make sure you hang on.”
Black Ear snuggled deeper in, curling his claws into Thunder’s pelt.
Clear Sky glanced at Thunder.
Thunder looked worried. “Are you well enough to travel?”
Clear Sky ached in every limb. But he wasn’t staying here. “I’m fine.” He pushed himself onto his paws and tested his legs. They seemed to hold, though he couldn’t stop them shaking. The worst pain was in his tail. He hardly dared look. It felt as though the monster had shredded it. “My tail,” he croaked softly.
Sparrow Fur sniffed it. “It’s injured,” she meowed. “Can you move it?”
Clear Sky tried to lift it. Pain blazed though him, but his tail remained limp. He glanced at it nervously. It drooped behind him like a dead snake, slick with filth from the Thunderpath.
Sparrow Fur shook out her pelt. “While you go to Tall Shadow’s camp, I’ll fetch Pebble Heart and tell Slate and Gray Wing that Black Ear is safe. Pebble Heart might know how to fix Clear Sky’s tail.”
Black Ear lifted his muzzle. “I want to go back to the moor!”
Sparrow Fur met the kit’s gaze. “You need shelter and warmth. You’ve had a nasty shock. If Slate is well enough, I’ll bring her back with Pebble Heart.”
“Will you bring Gray Wing, too?” Black Ear eyed the tortoiseshell hopefully.
Clear Sky frowned as he saw Sparrow Fur and Thunder exchange an anxious look. “What’s wrong with Gray Wing?”
Thunder’s ear twitched. “Nothing,” he mewed quickly. “He’s probably still out looking for Black
Ear.”
Clear Sky narrowed his eyes. Thunder was lying. He glanced at Black Ear. There was something Thunder didn’t want the kit to know. He touched his nose to Black Ear’s head, changing the subject.
“You’re lucky,” he meowed. “Not many kits get to visit another camp before they’re a moon old.” He tried to ignore the pain in his tail. His pads stung, scratched by the Thunderpath.
Sparrow Fur turned toward the moor. “I’ll be as quick as I can.” Nodding a farewell, she hurried away through the pines.
Owl Eyes slid in beside Clear Sky and pressed his shoulder against him. “Lean on me.”
Clear Sky stiffened, resisting help, but another spike of pain made him gasp. Reluctantly, he let his weight rest against the young tom and limped slowly toward Tall Shadow’s camp.
As they neared the bramble wall of the camp, flecks of snow drifted down from the pines. The forest floor was lightly dusted, but the trees held a heavy weight of snow. The sounds of the forest were muffled beneath them, and shadow pressed on every side. Clear Sky felt as though he were walking in a strange dream. Cold seemed to reach through his pelt and his flesh, reaching his bones until he felt himself shivering.
“Clear Sky?” Jagged Peak’s surprised mew rang between the trees.
Clear Sky blinked through the darkness and made out the gray tom’s shape.
Jagged Peak hurried toward them. “What happened?” He pulled up and stared, first at Clear Sky, then at the bedraggled kit on Thunder’s back.
Owl Eyes pressed harder against Clear Sky. “Slash attacked Wind Runner’s camp while we were at the meeting. They took Black Ear. But we got him back.”
Jagged Peak’s eyes flashed with outrage. “Will we ever see the back of that fox-heart?”
Thunder growled. “I think he knows that he’d be a fool to show his pelt anywhere near us after this.” He nodded toward the camp. “We need to get Black Ear somewhere warm, and Clear Sky needs rest. He was hit by a monster.”
“It didn’t hit me,” Clear Sky croaked.
“Just your tail,” Thunder grunted. He padded past Jagged Peak, heading toward camp.
Black Ear stared up into the branches from between Thunder’s shoulder blades. “Is it always this dark?”
“It’s not yet dawn.” Jagged Peak hurried to catch up with Thunder.
“Then why are you awake?” Black Ear asked.
“We’ve been waiting for news.”
“Jagged Peak?” Tall Shadow’s mew sounded from the entrance. Her eyes widened as she stuck out her head and saw the party. Her gaze flicked over them quickly; then she withdrew and called across her camp. “Mouse Ear! We need your den! Clear Sky is injured. Holly! Black Ear is with them. He looks frozen to the bone.”