She cast a glance at Leafstar as if she was acknowledging that they hadn’t been so close lately, that Leafstar might well know something that she hadn’t shared with her medicine cat. Leafstar couldn’t think of anything to say. She hadn’t been keeping secrets from Echosong, had she? She doesn’t know you saw Billystorm in the Twolegplace last night.
“There is trouble somewhere, far off now. A great battle between cats who believe they are right and cats who believe they have been wronged beyond all measure.” Echosong spoke unexpectedly, in a voice that sounded as if it was coming from far away. “If we don’t act, it will come to us. A force of pain and violence, seething with rage, will come right into the gorge, and there will be no escape, not even the river. Our Clan will be devastated, and the quarrel will become ours.”
Leafstar felt a chill run through her from ears to tail-tip, as if a storm cloud had covered the sun. Echosong, no. Don’t tell me this…
Echosong looked at her leader, her beautiful green eyes troubled. “Does that make any sense to you?” she asked, her voice sounding normal again. “Is there a battle we can fight somewhere else, before it comes to our camp?”
Chapter 33
Leafstar fluffed up her fur against the dawn chill. The sky was pale gold where the sun would come up, but shadows still lay thick in the gorge. From where she sat on the Rockpile, she could watch her warriors as they slipped silently out of their dens and gathered beside the pool.
She and Sharpclaw had arrived first, followed almost at once by the four Twolegplace cats. They stood huddled together; Leafstar remembered the hope that flared in their eyes when she gave them her decision the night before; now they just looked anxious, murmuring quietly to one another.
Sparrowpelt and Cherrytail stood side by side, their pelts brushing, while Shrewtooth paced nervously up and down the riverbank. Leafstar hoped she was right to include the young black tom on this mission. But he’s started to show such promise. I want to give him a chance to prove himself.
Rockshade was saying farewell to his littermates, Bouncefire and Tinycloud. “I guess we’ll be back in a few days,” he meowed, trying and failing to sound cheerful.
“It’s not fair!” Tinycloud exclaimed enviously. “Why do you get to go and we don’t?”
There was a sudden patter of paws as Fallowfern’s kits scampered down the trail and hurled themselves at Waspwhisker while he was padding toward the meeting place.
“No! You can’t go!” Plumkit squealed.
“We’ll miss you.” Nettlekit pushed his head into his father’s shoulder. “What if you never come back?”
All four of the kits set up a loud wail.
“That’s enough,” Waspwhisker told them, nuzzling each kit in turn. “Of course I’m coming back. And you have to look after your mother while I’m away. Make sure you do everything she tells you.”
“We will!” Creekkit promised.
Waspwhisker’s gaze met his mate’s as Fallowfern padded up to him. “Take care,” she whispered.
“Of course I will.” The two cats stood with their tails twining for a moment before Waspwhisker turned away and went to join Sharpclaw and the others.
Leafstar’s whiskers twitched as she spotted a pale shape slipping into the midst of the cats. What’s Egg doing? I said that no apprentices were to come. She thought that the cream tom was trying to stay unnoticed, but Sharpclaw’s eyes were sharper than that.
“Egg? What are you doing here? Didn’t you hear Leafstar say no apprentices?”
Egg shouldered through the cluster of cats until he could face his mentor. “But Sharpclaw—”
“I don’t have time for this,” the deputy interrupted, waving him away with a swift lash of his tail.
“I’ve been in Twolegplaces before,” Egg went on, his voice growing louder until Leafstar could hear him clearly from where she stood on the Rockpile. “And I’m just as old and strong as some of the warriors, even though I haven’t finished my training. You know this, Sharpclaw. You said as much when I did my assessment the other day.”
Sharpclaw paused, unusually hesitant, while his gaze traveled over the young tom. “That’s true…”
“I really want to come.” Egg kneaded the ground with his forepaws. “I want to prove my loyalty to SkyClan.”
Sharpclaw hesitated for a heartbeat longer, then turned to look up at Leafstar. “What do you think?”
Leafstar gazed down at the eager apprentice. It was true that he was strong; his thin frame had filled out since he had lived with the Clan, and his muscles swelled beneath his sleek pelt. And she had watched him in training; he was swift and agile in battle, easily outmatching the other apprentices.
“Very well,” she meowed. “You can come, Egg. But remember, Sharpclaw is your mentor. You must do as he tells you.”
“I will!” Egg promised, his eyes shining. “Thanks, Leafstar, Sharpclaw. You won’t be sorry.” He dipped his head to Leafstar and went to stand beside Rockshade.
The cats who were to leave the gorge were all gathered beside the pool, their Clanmates standing a little way off to bid them farewell. Sharpclaw padded over to Patchfoot, who would be in charge while the Clan leader and the deputy were away. Leafstar could see that Sharpclaw was giving the black-and-white tom some final instructions, but they were too far away for her to hear what they said.
Tension hung over the gorge like mist. Leafstar could read it in the bristling fur and jerky movements of the cats who were leaving, and in the somber gazes of those who were left behind. Letting out a long sigh, she lifted her head to the fading stars. “Please let this be the right thing to do,” she murmured. “Bring all my cats safe home again.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing.”
For a heartbeat, Leafstar thought that a warrior of StarClan had answered her. Then she recognized the voice; opening her eyes, she spun around to see Billystorm standing on the Rockpile a little way below her. Her heart swelled with joy as she realized that he was looking at her warmly, if with a wariness that she hadn’t seen before.
“It means a lot, actually,” she managed to reply, giving him a nod of welcome. “Thank you.”
Billystorm stepped up onto the rock beside her. “I—I want to apologize,” he meowed.
Surprise rippled through Leafstar. “What for?”
“I wasn’t fair to you,” the ginger-and-white tom replied. “Above everything else, you are leader of SkyClan. Which means you are my leader, and you have my loyalty, always.”
Leafstar caught her breath. Did this mean he had forgiven her for being bound by her duty to their Clan? She longed to brush her pelt against Billystorm and twine her tail with his, but this was not the time. Lowering her head, she murmured, “Thank you.”
“I want to come with you,” Billystorm announced.
Leafstar blinked in surprise. “You don’t have to.”
“Why?” Billystorm’s voice was challenging. “Because I’m half kittypet? But I’m half warrior, too. And when I’m here, I’m all warrior. As one of your warriors, I wish to help these cats.”
Leafstar gazed at him. Suddenly she felt more confident at the idea that she could set out on this mission with Billystorm beside her. She had never considered including the daylight-warriors. This wasn’t like leaving them out of Clan activities; this was a dangerous expedition into unknown territory, and that made it harder for the kittypets than for any other cat.
“What about your housefolk?”
“You mean if I don’t come back?” Billystorm’s green gaze burned into Leafstar. “I have no more to lose than any of my Clanmates. We all have something precious that we risk losing every time we fight.”