The two warriors she had named stepped to the side of the two ShadowClan cats. Sandynose jerked his head toward the fern tunnel, while Macgyver gave Sleekwhisker a shove. She responded with a furious hiss but didn’t try to resist.
For a moment Violetshine was afraid that the former ShadowClan cats would attack. Scorchfur in particular was growling with rage, his tail lashing. But he did nothing as his daughter and Sleekwhisker were led away.
“What about my kits?” Yarrowleaf was wailing as she vanished into the tunnel with Sandynose hard on her paws. “I have nowhere to go. . . .”
Violetshine could feel tension in the air as the sounds died away, like the ominous sensation before a thunderstorm.
“How could you?” Snowbird turned on Leafstar, her eyes full of grief. “That was my daughter—the daughter I thought was dead! And you’ve driven her out to have her kits in the forest.”
Juniperclaw faced Leafstar at Snowbird’s side. “There are cats in SkyClan right now who followed Darktail,” he pointed out, his whiskers quivering with fury. “I’m one of them. Will you drive us out too, one day? Don’t you believe that a cat can change?”
“Obviously she doesn’t,” Scorchfur sneered. “I wanted to believe that this combination of Clans would work, but this has just made it clear that Leafstar has no business making decisions for ShadowClan cats. She didn’t grow up with us. She doesn’t understand our bonds!”
More than ever, Violetshine was afraid that the argument would grow into a full-scale fight. She glanced around for Hawkwing, knowing that her father would help, but there was no sign of him; clearly the SkyClan deputy wasn’t in camp.
Then, to Violetshine’s amazement, Tawnypelt turned on her Clanmates, standing at Leafstar’s side.
“Be quiet, all of you!” she snarled at them. “Like it or not, Leafstar is our leader now. She was chosen by StarClan. Do you want to go against StarClan?”
“Leafstar was chosen by StarClan to lead SkyClan,” Juniperclaw muttered. “Not us.”
Tawnypelt merely glared at him, and after a moment Juniperclaw turned his head away.
“Leafstar made the right decision,” Tawnypelt went on. “Those cats are traitors. If any of the rest of you want to be traitors, the way out of camp is right there.”
Violetshine half expected that some of the cats would leave. Snowbird took a hesitant step or two toward the tunnel, but Scorchfur shook his head, laying his tail comfortingly on her shoulder. Gradually, the tension subsided.
“Well, why are you standing around here?” Leafstar asked, fighting to take back control. Violetshine thought she sounded shaken, perhaps more by Tawnypelt’s unexpected defense than by the hostility of the other cats. “There’s work to be done.”
Gradually the group broke up, most of them heading for their dens. Frecklewish called to her apprentice, Fidgetpaw, and led him out of camp to collect herbs. Rowanclaw gathered a patrol and left camp to hunt.
Violetshine stood still, gazing at the fern tunnel where Sleekwhisker and Yarrowleaf had vanished, not sure what she should do. Did I mess up by bringing them here? she asked herself. What will happen to them now?
Then she felt a tail stroke gently along her flank, and turned to see Tree. He stood close to her, nuzzling her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m not sure how I feel,” Violetshine murmured. “I don’t really trust Yarrowleaf and Sleekwhisker. It was so terrible when Darktail was in control of ShadowClan, and it was Sleekwhisker who helped him kill Needletail.”
Tree rasped his tongue over her ear. “I know she meant a lot to you.”
“She was my best friend—my only friend. Sleekwhisker and Darktail tried to drown her in the lake, while Roach and Raven held me back so I couldn’t help her.” Violetshine shivered. “I still dream about it.”
“You never told me that before,” Tree mewed. “It must have been terrible. I can see I’ll have to stay and keep an eye on you.”
Oh, yes! Violetshine thought, warmed by his promise. “Tree,” she asked after a moment, “did you . . . did you see any ghost cats walking with Yarrowleaf and Sleekwhisker?”
“Yes,” Tree replied. “I saw a dark brown tom with a tuft of fur on his head.”
“That must be Spikefur. They said he had died.”
“I sense they tried to help him when he was alive,” Tree went on. “I think they might be good cats. . . .”
Violetshine didn’t know whether to be relieved by that, or horrified. She wanted to think that Yarrowleaf and Sleekwhisker were good cats, but if that was true, then Leafstar had just driven them out undeservedly, while their kin watched. They would struggle to survive with no Clan, no cat to help them.
I can’t imagine this ending well. . . . Oh, StarClan, is there any way you can look after two Clanless cats?
CHAPTER 6
Alderheart toiled up the moorland slopes toward the Moonpool. The half-moon appeared fitfully through gaps in the cloud, and there was a tang of frost in the air. Leaf-fall was clearly upon them, and the hungry days of leaf-bare were not far off.
Leafpool and Jayfeather were walking ahead of him, while Puddleshine and Frecklewish, with her apprentice, Fidgetpaw, brought up the rear. So far there was no sign of Kestrelflight from WindClan, or the RiverClan medicine cats, Mothwing and Willowshine.
I don’t think the RiverClan cats will come, Alderheart thought. Not when Mistystar is still keeping the borders closed.
“So how is Twigpaw adjusting?” Leafpool asked Alderheart, dropping back to pad alongside him. “I saw you talking to her earlier, and I thought she looked sad.”
“I know.” Alderheart felt a pang of pain when he thought about the young cat who had been his friend ever since he’d found her as a kit in the tunnel under the Thunderpath. “I think she’s just having trouble fitting back into ThunderClan.”
Leafpool’s ears twitched in surprise. “I hope she’s not thinking of leaving again.”
“I don’t think so.” Alderheart shook his head. “She knows she belongs with us, but she’s missing her kin, and she’s frustrated at having to be an apprentice again. But I haven’t spent as much time with her as I would have liked,” he added. “I’ve been worrying about the prophecy, and what it means now that we’ve lost ShadowClan and RiverClan has shut itself off.”
Jayfeather, just ahead, let out a snort. “Aren’t we all!”
“Well, perhaps we’ll get some guidance when we meet with StarClan at the Moonpool,” Leafpool meowed.
“We’d better,” Jayfeather snapped.
The night grew colder as the cats approached the Moonpool, and by the time they clambered up the final rocky slope beside the stream, a brisk wind had arisen, flattening their fur to their sides. Turning to look back the way they had come, Alderheart spotted the small figure of a cat bounding across the moor.
“There’s Kestrelflight!” he exclaimed.
“Thank StarClan,” Leafpool mewed. “I was beginning to think there must be trouble in WindClan, too. I can’t bear the thought that we might be down to two Clans.”
“Have you seen any sign of Mothwing and Willowshine?” Jayfeather asked Kestrelflight as he scrambled up the rocks and stood panting at the top.
The WindClan medicine cat shook his head. “Not a whisker.”
“Then I suppose they’re not coming,” Frecklewish murmured. “After all, the RiverClan borders are still closed.”
“Maybe we ought to wait a little while,” Puddleshine suggested. “Just in case they show up.”