“True,” Alderheart responded. “Besides, I trust Violetpaw. She may be an apprentice, but there’s something very capable and serious about her.”
“Yes.” Ivypool sighed out the word. “She reminds me so much of Twigpaw.”
All the cats were silent for a moment; Alderheart knew that his Clanmates were remembering the young cat, sharing in his grief for her.
Then behind him, Alderheart heard Lionblaze spring to his paws. “Look! Across the Thunderpath!” he hissed.
Alderheart saw three dark shapes emerge from the bushes on the RiverClan side. His muscles tensed as he tasted the air, not sure at first which cats were heading toward him over the hard surface of the Thunderpath. Violetpaw’s scent flowed between his jaws, and Alderheart relaxed as he recognized her and saw that she was leading the two ShadowClan elders, Oakfur and Ratscar.
Both the old cats let out huge sighs of relief as they reached the bushes and flopped down beside Alderheart and the other ThunderClan cats.
“Good job, Violetpaw,” Oakfur meowed. “The plan worked!”
“Great StarClan!” Ratscar huffed. “I thought that mange-ridden Darktail would catch us for sure.”
“Shh!” Sparkpelt warned them. “We still have to get you safely through ShadowClan territory.”
“Rest for a few moments, and let’s have a look at you,” Alderheart mewed.
Though there was little light, he could just make out the skinny shapes of the elders and see claw marks scored across their sides. The sweetish scent that rose from them told him that some of the wounds were infected, and he remembered Juniperclaw telling him that Darktail made Puddleshine save all his herbs for the Kin.
“I’ve chewed up some marigold,” he told them as he began to dab the pulp on Oakfur’s wounds and then Ratscar’s. “That should help, and I’ll see to you properly tomorrow in camp.”
Oakfur sighed and gave a wriggle of pleasure as the healing juices sank into his wounds. “That feels great, youngster,” he rasped.
“I caught some mice for you,” Ivypool added, dropping one in front of each of the elders. “Eat up quickly, and then we can go.”
The elders didn’t need telling, gulping down the prey in huge mouthfuls.
It’s like they haven’t eaten for a moon, Alderheart thought, disgusted at the state of these honorable cats who had served their Clan so well.
“Is this how Darktail treats elders?” he asked Violetpaw, who was standing close by, her eyes shining with triumph at the success of her first mission.
Violetpaw shrugged. “Darktail always lets the strongest cats eat first. And they’re not allowed to share any prey unless he gives permission.”
Alderheart remembered that Darktail had done the same in the gorge when he and his rogues had claimed to be part of SkyClan. He must have been lying through his teeth when he said he and his rogue friends wanted to be part of a Clan. He just wanted to collect Clan cats to follow him and live by his twisted rules.
“Are you up for the journey through ShadowClan territory?” he asked the elders. “It’s a long way, and it might be dangerous.”
“We sure are,” Ratscar assured him.
“Yes,” Oakfur added. “Anything to get away from those crow-food-eating rogues!”
Alderheart gave each of the old cats a bunch of traveling herbs that he had brought with him from ThunderClan to give them strength for the rest of their journey. Then, while they licked them up, he turned to say good-bye to Violetpaw.
“You’ve done brilliantly,” he meowed. “You’re a brave cat, Violetpaw.”
The young she-cat ducked her head, embarrassed. “I just want to help,” she murmured.
“You’ve certainly helped us,” Oakfur told her. “More than we can ever thank you for.”
Ratscar echoed his Clanmate’s thanks. “We’ll be seeing you again, I hope,” he mewed.
“I hope so,” Violetpaw responded. “Alderheart, I’ll try again three nights from now.”
“Okay,” Alderheart agreed. “But be careful.”
“I will. Good-bye for now, and a safe journey.”
For a moment Alderheart wanted to ask Violetpaw about Needletail, but he stopped himself, knowing that, with every heartbeat that the apprentice delayed getting back to Darktail’s camp, she put herself in more danger.
“Good-bye,” he called softly after her as Violetpaw raced back over the Thunderpath and vanished into the bushes on the RiverClan side.
Lionblaze took the lead as the patrol set off toward ThunderClan territory. Alderheart and Sparkpelt flanked the elders, one on either side, while Ivypool brought up the rear.
The elders were shaky on their paws, and progress was slow, though at first the forest was silent, with no sight or scent of any rogues. Lionblaze led them along the edge of the trees, where the going was easier as the undergrowth thinned out toward the lake.
Alderheart was just beginning to hope that they would get home without any trouble, when suddenly Lionblaze halted. “Fox dung!” he hissed.
“What?” Alderheart craned to see past Lionblaze’s muscular form.
A little way ahead, he spotted two cats crouching on the narrow strip of pebbles that separated the forest from the lake. Both of them seemed to be focused on a hole in the bank.
“It’s Cloverfoot and that mangy rogue Nettle,” Ratscar growled. “It looks as if they’re hunting.”
Sparkpelt nodded. “There could be voles in there,” she murmured.
“And if they’re waiting for them to come out, they could be there all night,” Lionblaze meowed with an irritated twitch of his tail. “We’ll have to take a route farther away from the lake.”
Alderheart suppressed a sigh as they set out again, heading deeper into ShadowClan territory. This is more tiring for the elders… and there’s more chance of running into rogues.
His belly began to churn with fear as they made their way through the trees. In this part of the forest, pines had shed their needles over the ground, and while the smooth covering made walking easy for the elders, there was little cover if they needed to hide from a patrol.
Oakfur and Ratscar would never manage to climb a tree, Alderheart thought, wishing that they could move faster, but knowing that the elders were doing the best they could.
At last the pine trees began to give way to oak and beech, and Alderheart realized that they were approaching the border near the clearing where the Twolegs built their pelt-dens in greenleaf.
Perhaps we’re going to make it after all, he thought.
They were heading down a slope toward a thick bank of ferns when Sparkpelt raised her tail in warning, then leaped onto a tree stump to get a better view of what lay ahead.
“Rogues patrolling!” she reported in a whisper. “Roach and another cat I don’t recognize. I thought I could pick up their stink.”
“Head for the ferns,” Lionblaze ordered calmly, as Alderheart spotted the two rogues’ shapes slinking through the shadows a few fox-lengths away. “And for StarClan’s sake, be quiet!”
Sparkpelt and Ivypool bundled the two elders down the slope and into the shelter of the ferns. Alderheart and Lionblaze followed, keeping low with their belly fur brushing the ground, hoping that their movement wouldn’t disturb the fern fronds and give them away.
“We must be close,” Lionblaze whispered. “I can smell the ThunderClan scent markers.”
Just as he spoke, Ratscar let out a hollow cough. From behind them, Alderheart heard Roach’s voice. “Loki, did you hear that?”
“Fox dung!” Ivypool snarled.
For a few heartbeats Alderheart was frozen, unsure what to do. He could feel the rogue cats’ paw steps vibrating through the ground and knew that within heartbeats they would be discovered.