“I have no idea,” he replied. “I would need to talk to her.”
“Like that’s going to be easy,” Mothwing responded with an irritable twitch of her tail.
When he pushed his way through the bushes at the top of the slope above the Moonpool, Alderheart wasn’t surprised to see that neither Puddleshine nor Kestrelflight was waiting for them. Turning, he gazed back the way they had come, but nothing moved in all the landscape. Everything was still and silent under the frosty light.
“We’ll give them a little longer,” Leafpool decided as she led the way down the spiral path toward the pool. “They might be on their way.”
“And hedgehogs might fly,” Jayfeather meowed scornfully. “We all know they won’t come.”
Alderheart sat in silence, watching the glittering reflections of moon and starshine on the surface of the pool, and listening to the sound of the water as it cascaded down the rocks. His heart ached.
It’s so peaceful here, and yet the Clans are in such turmoil.
The moon rose slowly in the sky, but still there was no sign of the WindClan and ShadowClan medicine cats. Finally Leafpool rose to her paws again.
“We’ve waited long enough,” she declared. “No cat can say that we haven’t given them every chance.”
“Then let’s get on with it,” Jayfeather mewed. “We’re wasting moonlight.”
Leafpool nodded. “I need to say one thing before we meet with StarClan,” she announced. “These are challenging times, and I know that every cat wants to do their best to save the Clans. But I hope that we all have the sense to look after ourselves, and not put ourselves in danger fishing for information. Don’t you agree, Alderheart?”
Aware of Leafpool’s sharp glance resting on him, Alderheart ducked his head. “Sure, Leafpool,” he mumbled.
She must have worked out that Mothwing and I went to the RiverClan camp. She doesn’t approve… but she hasn’t actually told us not to do it again.
Meanwhile, Jayfeather was shifting his paws impatiently. “Are we ever going to dream tonight?” he asked. “We need StarClan’s guidance more than ever.”
“We’ll do it now,” Leafpool responded. “And may StarClan light our path.”
Together with the other medicine cats, Alderheart crouched over the pool and touched his nose to the surface of the water. Icy darkness swirled around him, and when it cleared, he found himself standing on short grass, which stretched away as far as he could see.
He looked around for the spirits of his ancestors, but instead he caught sight of a group of skinny, ragged cats sheltering under some bushes a few fox-lengths away.
“SkyClan… ,” he whispered to himself.
Pain clawed at his heart as Alderheart recognized the cat who was on watch: the large tom who looked so much like Twigpaw, but with Violetpaw’s eyes. He realized once again how much this cat resembled his lost friend.
Then sudden hope sprang up inside Alderheart. Maybe Dovewing and Tigerheart were wrong! Maybe Twigpaw did escape the monster and reach SkyClan after all!
He padded up to the group of cats, knowing that none of them would realize that he was there. He passed so close to the large tabby tom that their pelts almost brushed.
But though Alderheart thoroughly searched the group of resting cats and peered underneath every bush, there was no sign of Twigpaw, and he couldn’t pick up even the faintest trace of her scent.
His hope died, leaving him even more grief-stricken than before. Opening his eyes, he found himself once again crouching beside the Moonpool, but its beauty left his heart cold. This proves it. If Twigpaw had made it to SkyClan, I would have seen her. She must really be dead.
Chapter 13
Violetpaw crouched over the body of a fat wood pigeon, tearing at the succulent flesh. All around her, Darktail and his Kin were gulping down their prey. The sun felt warm on Violetpaw’s back, and from close by she could hear the gentle gurgling of the streams that bordered the RiverClan camp.
It must have been so beautiful here, before Darktail and his rogues attacked.
“Wow, I’ve never seen a pigeon disappear so fast,” Darktail meowed, looking up at Violetpaw from the rabbit he was eating. His eyes gleamed teasingly. “Maybe you’d like some of this rabbit as well.”
Scorchfur, one of the last remaining ShadowClan warriors, pricked up his ears and frowned, as if he couldn’t believe Darktail’s good-humored tone. But he didn’t speak, instead running to carry a squirrel to his mate, Snowbird, who was in the nursery with her kits.
Violetpaw had to choke down her mouthful; she trusted Darktail even less when he was being friendly. “No thanks, Darktail. I’m not even sure I can finish this.”
“Well, tell me if you change your mind,” Darktail responded. “We can’t have you starving, can we?”
As he spoke, Scorchfur came back, hesitated for a moment, and then meowed, “Maybe we should give the leftover prey to the RiverClan prisoners—and to Needletail. They’re beginning to look really skinny. After all,” he added with a glance toward the center of the camp, where the prisoners were kept, “if we’re going to keep them prisoner, isn’t it our responsibility to see that they’re healthy?”
Violetpaw spotted Darktail narrowing his eyes, his muzzle tensing in anger, then an instant later relaxing. His voice was calm as he replied to Scorchfur.
“Of course I’m feeding the prisoners well. Do you have any reason to think otherwise?”
Scorchfur glared at Darktail, hatred shining visibly in his eyes. Looking from one cat to the other, Violetpaw felt her neck fur prickle with fear. Don’t say it, she pleaded silently. Snowbird is still nursing your kits—don’t make her struggle for prey while you’re punished by Darktail.
Slowly, Darktail rose to his paws and padded over to Scorchfur, thrusting his face within a mouse-length of the dark gray warrior’s.
“Scorchfur,” he meowed softly, “do you doubt my ability to lead my Kin? Perhaps you’re not truly my Kin. Not every cat is. Perhaps you would be happier somewhere else?”
Scorchfur was silent for a few more heartbeats. “No, Darktail,” he blurted out at last. “Of course I don’t doubt you. Of course you know what’s best.”
For a long moment, Darktail did not move, staring into Scorchfur’s eyes. At last, when Violetpaw thought she could not bear the tension any longer, he gave a curt nod and padded back to where he had left his rabbit, close beside Sleekwhisker.
Scorchfur choked down the rest of his vole, then rose and stumbled away, followed by the other ShadowClan warriors who had been eating with them.
“Don’t go far,” Darktail called after him. “The prisoners’ den needs to be cleaned out soon.”
Poor Scorchfur, Violetpaw thought. He should have kept his mouth shut. Now that there were no apprentices, Darktail saved the worst jobs for cats who had angered him. Poor Puddleshine had cleaned the prisoners’ den last. Violetpaw still felt a flutter of guilt when she remembered the terrible confrontation where she’d gotten him into trouble. Fortunately, even Darktail seemed to realize that the Kin needed a medicine cat too badly for Puddleshine to remain on cleaning duty for long.
When Scorchfur and the others were gone, Sleekwhisker let out an exaggerated sigh. “When will all the ShadowClan warriors leave? It’s obvious they don’t understand how you work, Darktail. They’re not worthy of your leadership!”