I should have said I didn’t know anything about the herbs, she thought, trying to fight down panic. Maybe Darktail is just pretending not to be angry.
“I—I’m not sure,” Violetpaw stammered. “I mean, no one cat said it was okay. We all just sort of… agreed.”
Darktail said nothing, just went on staring at her until Violetpaw felt she would never be able to escape from the terrible power of his gaze.
“Am I in trouble?” she asked, her voice no more than a husky whisper.
“Not at all,” Darktail assured her. “You and I have an understanding, don’t we, Violetpaw? We were both kits that no cat wanted.”
“But that’s not true!” Violetpaw began to protest. “The ShadowClan cats were very kind to me, and—”
She broke off, trying not to shudder, as Darktail moved closer to her, so close that she could feel his breath riffling her whiskers.
“I know that feeling well,” Darktail purred. “When one feels unwanted, one might do anything—anything at all—to hold on to the cats one cares about. Even lie to protect them. Isn’t that so, Violetpaw?”
Violetpaw swallowed hard; she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
“I feel a special connection to you,” Darktail went on, “but that doesn’t mean that I couldn’t make your life very unpleasant if you go on lying to me.” When Violetpaw still didn’t speak, he added, “And it’s not just you that I could punish for your lie.”
Violetpaw felt an icy claw of fear stab her to the heart. Why couldn’t I have kept my big mouth shut? she asked herself despairingly. If I’d told him I didn’t know, he’d have believed me.
“Who exactly said this was okay?” Darktail persisted. “Was it Puddleshine? Or some other cat? Was it Needletail?”
Violetpaw took a step back, but Darktail still held her with his intense gaze, as if he could see right into her mind and watch her memory of the encounter when Alderheart and Mothwing arrived in the RiverClan camp.
“It was Needletail, wasn’t it?” Darktail meowed.
“I—I don’t know… ,” Violetpaw mumbled. “I didn’t really see…”
But it was far too late for that. Darktail bent his head closer still, until Violetpaw could smell his fishy breath.
“I only want to know the truth,” he continued. “I won’t punish Needletail—why should I? She has always been loyal to me. She was one of the first cats to join us.”
Violetpaw desperately wanted to believe him. And if I don’t tell him now, Puddleshine probably will. “Yes,” she whispered, still unsure that she was doing the right thing. “Needletail did say that they could take the herbs.”
“Thank you.” Darktail’s eyes flashed with anger. His gaze raked the camp until he spotted Needletail, who was just emerging from the bushes with a mouse in her jaws. “Needletail!” he called.
He began striding swiftly across the camp toward the silver-gray she-cat, who started at the sound of his voice and dropped the prey she was carrying.
Violetpaw scurried after him. A wave of panic surged through her as Darktail grabbed Needletail roughly by her scruff and flung her to the ground.
“What were you doing, giving away our herbs?” he yowled angrily. “Are you a spy? Are you loyal to the Kin or not? Are you like your friend, that useless mange-pelt Rain?”
Needletail cowered, terrified, under the barrage of questions. She was clearly struggling to stay calm, but Darktail’s furious onslaught had unnerved her.
“You said you wouldn’t punish her!” Violetpaw protested.
“She is not being punished,” Darktail responded. “She is being shown where she’s gone wrong… I am helping her.” Turning back to Needletail, he added, “If you’re not happy with the way I’m leading the Kin, you can leave if you want—just like Dawnpelt did.”
Needletail’s eyes widened and she looked even more terrified. And realization struck Violetpaw like a flash of lightning.
Could it be that Dawnpelt never made it to ThunderClan… because Darktail killed her?
Violetpaw couldn’t hold back a shriek of horror. Instantly Darktail spun around, his eyes slitted and full of rage.
“What, do you want to leave too?” he asked in a soft, menacing voice. “I don’t want any cats here who don’t want to be here.”
“She wants to stay,” Needletail meowed, scrambling up to stand beside Violetpaw. “We both really, really want to stay.”
Violetpaw had never been so scared in her life as when Darktail turned a questioning gaze on her. “I want to stay! I promise!” she assured him, her voice quavering.
Darktail nodded. “That’s good. You have passed my test, Violetpaw. Because of course, I already knew all of this. Did you think Raven would have kept it from me?”
Of course it was Raven! Violetpaw shuddered with horror at the thought that Darktail had been playing with her, as he might have played with a mouse before he killed it.
“As for you,” Darktail went on to Needletail, “because of your betrayal, you must live with our RiverClan prisoners until you earn the right to be one of the Kin again. Roach! Nettle!”
Darktail beckoned with his tail to the two rogues who sat nearest him, squabbling over the remains of a fish. They padded over, and at Darktail’s order grabbed Needletail by her shoulders, one on each side, and began hauling her toward the bramble thicket where the RiverClan prisoners were kept. Needletail struggled for a couple of heartbeats, then let them take her.
“No!” Violetpaw mewed in anguish. Scared and confused, she just wanted to be with her friend. “I’ll go, too!”
“No, no.” Darktail blocked her when she tried to follow, his voice smooth and friendly again. “You’ve proved yourself a good and loyal kit. Not like Needletail—and not like Puddleshine, who gave away herbs that rightfully belonged to his Kin.” He paused, then added, “I said I wouldn’t punish Needletail, and I’m not, but Puddleshine… now he does deserve punishment.”
Darktail stalked off toward the medicine-cat den, and not knowing what else to do, Violetpaw followed close behind.
Oh, StarClan… what have I done?
Chapter 12
“So what’s the problem?” Alderheart asked, emerging from the herb store to greet the gray tabby tom who had just appeared in the medicine cats’ den.
Stormcloud let out a long sigh. “I’m not really sure,” he mewed. “I feel guilty for even being here, when so many warriors are badly wounded.”
“Don’t say that,” Alderheart responded. “Any cat who feels unwell is entitled to come visit the medicine cats. Look what happened to Purdy. If he hadn’t decided to put up with his bellyache because he thought we were too busy, he might still be here telling stories to us.”
Stormcloud nodded sadly. “I really miss Purdy.”
He and Alderheart were alone in the den. Briarlight had dragged herself over to the fresh-kill pile with Jayfeather, while Leafpool was helping Mothwing and Willowshine check on the RiverClan cats who were still in poor shape after the battle. Even with five medicine cats in the camp, their resources were being stretched thin.
There are simply too many cats here, he thought. Even if they were all healthy, they couldn’t possibly be comfortable. And some of the RiverClan cats are so seriously hurt that they need care from sunrise to sunrise.