“Don’t tell me we have to climb that!” Tinycloud groaned.
“Yes, we do.” Twigpaw replied. “But we’re very close to the ThunderClan camp now. You’ll see!”
Leafstar took the lead as the cats toiled up the slope, while Sparrowpelt and Hawkwing helped Tinycloud. A few tail-lengths from the top, Twigpaw bounded ahead and let out a caterwaul of joy as she reached the ridge, digging her claws into the tough grass.
“Look down there!” she meowed as the SkyClan cats struggled up to join her. “There’s the lake—and the horseplace—and you can’t see it from here, but the ThunderClan camp is down there, too. We’re almost home!”
Yowls of excitement followed her announcement, and Hawkwing gave Twigpaw’s ears an approving lick. “I knew you would find the way,” he meowed, resting his tail over Twigpaw’s shoulders. “I’m very glad Alderheart took you and your sister in,” he added.
“So am I,” Twigpaw purred.
Chapter 16
The sun was setting as Violetpaw led her hunting patrol back into the rogue camp. The rest of the patrol—Loki, Nettle, and Scorchfur—dropped their prey on the fresh-kill pile, grabbed some for themselves, and padded off to eat.
Left to herself, Violetpaw chose several of the best pieces of prey and carried them to a dip in the ground not far from Darktail’s den. The shadow of an elder bush sheltered her from the rest of the Kin.
Violetpaw had already hidden the leaf wrap of poppy seeds among the roots of the bush. Now she drew it out and carefully counted out three seeds for each piece of prey before she pushed them inside the fresh-kill.
Darktail and his friends will really enjoy this, she thought grimly. Even though her heart was pounding hard at the risk she was taking, she took a kind of joy in the thought that she was playing such an important part in defeating the invaders.
Darktail’s den was beneath a jutting rock, screened by overhanging fronds of fern. When Violetpaw was sure all the poppy seeds were well concealed, she padded up to the entrance, trying not to let her legs shake with apprehension.
“Darktail!” she called out. “The hunting patrol is back, and I’ve picked out some good prey for you.”
The fern fronds shook as the white tom brushed past them into the open. “Good,” he meowed, swiping his tongue around his jaws. “I’m starving!”
“So am I.”
The voice came from behind Violetpaw; she spun around, her belly lurching as if she had swallowed crow-food. Sleek-whisker was standing a fox-length away, her yellow pelt gleaming in the last light of the sun.
How long has she been there? Violetpaw asked herself, fighting against panic. Did she see what I did to the prey?
Then Violetpaw forced herself to be calm, telling herself that if Sleekwhisker had spotted her, she would surely have asked what she was doing.
I know she’s desperate to catch me doing something wrong, because she can’t stand it that Darktail likes me better than her. So, if she hasn’t said anything, she couldn’t have seen me… I hope.
“The prey is over here.” Violetpaw waved her tail in the direction of the elder bush. “Should I fetch it for you, Darktail?”
“No, we can eat over there,” Darktail replied. Glancing around, he beckoned with his tail to his closest followers, who were stretched out together in a patch of sunlight. “Raven! Roach! Nettle—come over here! It’s time to eat.”
As the rogues padded over to the prey pile, Violetpaw dipped her head to Darktail. “I’ll just go and get some sleep,” she mewed.
Darktail twitched his whiskers. “Don’t you want to eat with us?” he asked.
“No thanks, Darktail. I had a mouse while I was out,” Violetpaw replied, thankful for once that the rogues didn’t follow the warrior code, so no cat would be surprised that she had eaten before she brought food back for the Kin.
For a moment, Darktail looked concerned. Oh, StarClan! Violetpaw thought, her muscles tensing. Don’t let him order me to share the prey!
Then Darktail gave her a brusque nod. “Suit yourself,” he responded with a shrug, and padded off to join his Kin around the prey pile.
Trying not to let her relief show, Violetpaw slipped away to the new den she had made for herself among some reeds at the edge of the stream, so she could get some privacy from Zelda. That went well, she congratulated herself. Now, I just have to wait…
Violetpaw lay curled up in her den until night had fallen and the noises outside in the camp had faded into quiet. Expecting that every cat would be asleep, she slid out of her den, shook some scraps of moss from her pelt, and arched her back in a good long stretch. Then, her ears pricked alertly, she headed across the camp to Darktail’s den.
He should be in a really deep sleep, she told herself with satisfaction. Along with the other three mange-pelts he calls his closest Kin. Then ThunderClan and I can put our plan into action.
But as Violetpaw approached the den, Sleekwhisker rose up out of the shadow of the fern clump. Her green eyes glinted; she was fully awake.
“Oh, good, there you are,” she purred.
Disconcerted, Violetpaw took a pace back. “Oh, uh… I just went to make dirt,” she explained desperately. “I’ll get back to my den now.”
Sleekwhisker slid out her claws. “I don’t think so,” she responded, amusement in her voice.
With a hard shove, Sleekwhisker thrust Violetpaw through the screen of ferns and into Darktail’s den. It took a couple of heartbeats for Violetpaw’s vision to clear in the dim light—but when it did, she felt as if terror had turned her whole body into a block of ice. Darktail and the rest of his close Kin were all there, and every one of them was awake. Their eyes gleamed in the darkness, their baleful gazes fixed on her.
Before Violetpaw could speak, Roach and Raven grabbed her neck fur with one forepaw each. Violetpaw cringed as their claws sank deep into her pelt. The two rogues dragged her forward until she was standing in front of the leader.
“Get off me!” she yowled, trying to dig her claws into the earth floor of the den. “What’s gotten into you?”
Darktail gazed down at her, quite calm, his eyes filled with a dreadful gentleness. “Do you have anything you’d like to tell me?” he asked.
“Like what?” Violetpaw tried to sound innocent, desperately wondering if there was any plan that would save her now.
Darktail reached behind him into the shadows and drew out a leaf; on it were the poppy seeds, sticky now from prey juices. “Like what your plan was, exactly, with this little trick,” he responded as he pushed the leaf in front of Violetpaw.
Violetpaw felt her blood turn icier still. “I’m—I’m not sure what those are,” she stammered.
“Oh, very funny,” Darktail meowed. “I wasn’t sure, either, so I asked Puddleshine. He was so helpful. He explained that these are poppy seeds, and powerful enough to put a cat to sleep.” He paused, examining the claws on one forepaw. “Which makes it interesting that several of them were found in the pieces of prey you brought for me and my closest Kin.”
Violetpaw shook her head, still trying to cling to innocence. “I’m not sure… I didn’t…”
Darktail suddenly shook off his calm demeanor. “Don’t waste our time pretending you didn’t do it,” he snapped. “Sleek-whisker saw you doing something suspicious to the prey, and she was smart enough to warn us before we could eat it. You know,” he went on, a menacing rumble in his throat, “it’s almost impressive, how good you are at this: lying, pretending to be a friend when in fact you’re an enemy. I suppose it’s all the time you spent among those useless Clan cats. I thought you were like me—”