Before Violetpaw could ask her father what was going through his mind, he suddenly halted.
“Do you think there’s something strange going on?” he asked, turning to the older warriors.
Squirrelflight looked puzzled for a moment; then her eyes widened in understanding. “We haven’t come across any WindClan patrols. That’s odd… I’d expect the dawn patrol to be out, and one or two hunting patrols. But we haven’t even picked up their scent.”
As if in response to Squirrelflight’s words, a sudden stronger gust of wind swept across the moor, bringing with it the sound of screeching and yowling.
“That’s coming from the WindClan camp!” Tigerheart exclaimed. “Are they under attack?”
Instantly Squirrelflight sprang forward, leading the deputies as they raced across the moor. “Stay back!” Hawkwing warned his kits as he followed.
Violetpaw and Twigpaw bounded along at the rear. WindClan’s camp lay in a deep hollow on the moor, where the ground fell away near the top of the hill. A thick barrier of gorse and other bushes guarded the edges.
Now the sounds of battle were even louder. Wriggling her way through the thorns, Violetpaw looked down on a mass of fighting cats.
Darktail and his rogues are attacking WindClan! And it looks like they’re winning!
She realized that Darktail must have led his Kin across WindClan territory under cover of darkness. That was the only cover they could expect in this bleak landscape. And with the WindClan cats asleep, they would have the advantage of surprise.
Whatever else Darktail may be, he isn’t stupid!
The four deputies sprang down the slope into the camp and flung themselves into the fray. Violetpaw watched as Hawkwing barreled through the battling cats, knocking rogues aside as he headed straight toward where Darktail was wrestling with Onestar. Pride warmed her from ears to tail-tip to see what a strong, fierce fighter her father was.
Before Hawkwing could reach Onestar, the WindClan deputy, Harespring, leaped forward, trying to come to his leader’s aid. But Nettle thrust himself between them, his claws out as he aimed a blow at Harespring. Then Hawkwing was there, blocking Nettle and swiping his claws across the rogue’s face. Nettle backed off with a screech of alarm.
Violetpaw exchanged a glance with Twigpaw. “We have to help!” she meowed.
With a nod from Twigpaw, both young cats hurtled down into the fight. Violetpaw saw her sister skid to a halt as Raven lunged for her, then dart aside to aim a blow at the back of the rogue cat’s head.
Raven spun around so fast that Twigpaw’s blow never landed. Her foreleg flashed out at Twigpaw, catching her on the side of her head so hard that she fell to the ground.
Violetpaw sprang to help her, only to be intercepted by Roach, the silver-gray tom, looming over her with death in his eyes. Violetpaw moved to slash at him, only to draw back a pace as if her paws didn’t want to obey her.
“Stop!”
An ear-splitting yowl rang out commandingly above the noise of battle. Violetpaw gasped in astonishment as she realized that the voice was Darktail’s. Roach turned away from her, staring across the camp, and Violetpaw saw that every fighting cat, friend and foe, had grown as still as if they had been frozen by the cold of leaf-bare.
Every cat’s gaze was fixed on Onestar and Darktail. The two cats stood nose to nose, their flanks swelling with their heavy breathing.
“You mouse-hearted excuse for a cat!” Darktail taunted Onestar. “Is that the best you can do? A kittypet fights better! But then… you always were a coward.”
A puzzled murmur ran through the Clan cats. Violetpaw shared their bewilderment. I don’t understand what’s going on.
It was Harespring who voiced the question every cat wanted to ask. “Darktail, you’re talking like… like you know Onestar. How can that be?”
Onestar never took his gaze from the rogue leader as he replied. “This cat’s word is not to be trusted. Look at what he’s done: raided camps, kept prisoners, killed more Clan cats than we can count. He’ll clearly do or say anything in his efforts to steal territory. And that’s what this is all about, isn’t it?” he challenged Darktail.
An evil gleam lit the white tom’s dark-furred eyes. “Of course it’s about territory. It’s always about territory. And I think you handing some of WindClan’s territory over to me would only be fair.” His eyes narrowed, and his voice grew more intense and menacing with every word. “Especially after what you did to me!”
Without waiting for a response from Onestar, Darktail turned to address the other Clan cats. “You all think of Onestar as an honorable leader, don’t you? Well, I know things about him that would make every WindClan cat’s fur stand on end.”
Now every cat’s gaze was trained on Onestar. “What is he talking about?” Harespring asked.
Onestar’s tail stood straight up, while he flexed his claws and ground them hard into the earth. “Why would you listen to him?” he demanded. “You’ve all seen the kind of cat he is!”
Darktail spun around to face Onestar again. “And they should know what kind of cat you truly are,” he meowed defiantly. “The Onestar they think they know could not have done what you did to me!”
The rogue leader’s words ended in a frenzied yowl, and he hurled himself once more at Onestar.
But this time the Clan cats were ready, and as the fighting broke out again, it was clear that the rogues were outmatched. Squirrelflight grabbed Darktail and flung him away from Onestar, aiming a pawful of claws at his throat.
The rogue leader writhed away from her and staggered to his paws. “Retreat!” he screeched.
The Kin broke away, fleeing up the slope and through the bushes, out of the WindClan camp. Darktail was the last to go; at the top of the hollow he turned and looked back, his eyes glaring hatred.
“We’re leaving now,” he yowled. “But we’ll be back! You can count on that, Onestar!”
As he vanished, Violetpaw glanced around at the Clan cats. Their eyes gleamed with victory, but they seemed apprehensive, too, like they knew that Darktail would make good on his threat. A chill ran through her.
This isn’t over.
As sunhigh approached, Violetpaw and Twigpaw were sitting with Hawkwing at the bottom of WindClan’s hollow. All three of them were sharing a rabbit.
When Darktail and his rogues had disappeared, Onestar had stood silent for a moment, gazing at the cats around him. At last he had straightened up, gathering dignity like an extra pelt.
“Now I must tell the truth,” he meowed. “But I will not speak until the Clan leaders are here. This is a matter for them, and I can only bear to explain once.”
“Okay,” Squirrelflight responded. “Bramblestar, Rowanstar, and Leafstar are—”
“Leafstar?” Onestar interrupted.
Squirrelflight nodded. “Oh, of course… you don’t know. Leafstar is the leader of SkyClan. They have returned! This cat,” she went on, above wondering murmurs from the WindClan warriors, “is the SkyClan deputy, Hawkwing.”
Hawkwing dipped his head respectfully. “It’s an honor to meet you, Onestar.”
Onestar replied with a grunt. “You might not say that when you’ve heard my story.”
Violetpaw thought that sounded ominous; she could see the WindClan cats exchanging worried glances.
“I’ll fetch the leaders from ThunderClan’s camp,” Squirrelflight mewed, moving on tactfully from the awkward moment. She bounded up the slope and slipped through the bushes.
When Squirrelflight had left, Onestar retired to his den, while Harespring sent out hunting and border patrols, with orders to keep a sharp lookout for Darktail and his Kin, and to avoid fighting except as a last resort. After that, there was nothing much to do except share the prey the hunters brought back, and wait for the leaders to arrive.