“He still hasn’t woken and he’s had difficulty breathing,” Leafpool told her. “But we’re giving him tansy and chervil root. And we’ve managed to get a little water into his mouth.”
Squirrelflight felt numb. What if he died? What if Sparkpelt died too, and their unborn kits? She headed for the entrance, shaking out her pelt before the thought could take hold. She pushed through the brambles, holding her face up to the sunshine. Perhaps the light could wash away the darkness she felt welling inside her.
Around the edge of the clearing, Jayfeather and Alderheart moved from warrior to warrior, leaning close as they checked them for symptoms. Finleap and Twigbranch moved aside as Graystripe padded from the elders’ den, his eyes dark. Flippaw paced nervously around Hollytuft, while Bristlepaw and Thriftpaw seemed rooted to the ground.
Thornclaw was blinking anxiously at Bramblestar. “Could Sparkpelt have eaten a tainted mouse too?”
“We haven’t hunted anywhere near the place Larksong’s mouse was caught,” Bramblestar reasoned.
Graystripe padded closer. “Perhaps there are tainted mice all over the forest. Sickness spreads between prey just as it spreads between cats.”
Bramblestar’s pelt bristled along his spine. “It might not even be prey that’s causing the sickness. What if Larksong picked up sickness in the forest and passed it to Sparkpelt?”
“Where could he have picked it up?” Thornclaw frowned. “We’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Mousewhisker padded nearer. “It might be a sickness from outside the Clans.”
Bramblestar blinked at him. “Larksong hasn’t left Clan territory.”
Squirrelflight tensed. A thought surfaced that she didn’t dare acknowledge.
Thornclaw’s gaze flashed suddenly. “But strange cats have come onto Clan territory.” Squirrelflight stared at him, knowing what he was going to say next. The dark warrior growled. “The Sisters might have carried this sickness with them.”
Bramblestar pricked his ears. Graystripe and Mousewhisker swapped glances. It made sense.
Squirrelflight padded quickly forward. “I’ll visit them.” If they’d brought this illness into the Clans, she had to warn them. “I’ll see if they’re sick.” As she spoke, Alderheart nudged Berrynose toward the medicine den. The pale warrior padded toward the trailing brambles, his eyes sparking with fear.
“Are you sick?” Mousewhisker asked Berrynose as he passed.
Berrynose glanced at him. “My chest is a little tight, that’s all.”
“I just want to keep an eye on him,” Alderheart explained.
Jayfeather looked up beside Thriftpaw. The apprentice’s ears were twitching nervously. “Thriftpaw is wheezing,” he mewed.
Alderheart hurried toward the young she-cat and pressed an ear to her chest. He straightened. “You’d better go to the medicine den too.”
Thriftpaw’s eyes widened. “Am I sick?”
“You’re probably fine,” Jayfeather told her. Across the clearing, Ivypool got to her paws, her pelt spiking with alarm. “But it’s best if we watch you for a while.”
Ivypool hurried toward her kit, panic glittering in her gaze. “I’ll go with her.”
Jayfeather shook his head. “If this sickness is contagious, we need to keep the affected cats isolated until we’ve found a way to treat it.”
Ivypool stared as Alderheart guided Thriftpaw toward the medicine den. Thriftpaw glanced at her mother as he passed. She blinked reassuringly, but Squirrelflight could see fear in the young cat’s eyes.
“I’ll go to the Sisters’ camp now,” she told Bramblestar. “If they do have this sickness, they might know a cure.”
Bramblestar nodded. “Take a patrol with you.”
She blinked at him, expecting him to choose warriors to go with her, but he turned and followed Alderheart toward the medicine den. Did he trust her to pick her own patrols again? She felt a flash of relief. “Ivypool.” She nodded to the silver-and-white tabby. “I want you to come with me.” Ivypool glanced toward the medicine den. “You can stay here if you want,” Squirrelflight told her. “But you’ll be more help to me than you will be to Thriftpaw right now.”
Ivypool dipped her head. “I’ll come.”
“Twigbranch.” Squirrelflight nodded to the gray she-cat. “I want you to come too. And Finleap.”
Twigbranch glanced toward the medicine den. “Should we take a medicine cat, to examine the Sisters?” she ventured.
“Good idea.” Squirrelflight flicked her tail. “Go and tell Leafpool that I need her.”
As Twigbranch hurried away, Squirrelflight felt her chest tighten again. She tensed. Was she sick, and not expecting kits at all? She shook out her pelt. It’s just anxiety, she told herself. I’ll be okay. She forced herself to relax, letting her breath deepen. She couldn’t be sick now. She had to find out where this mysterious illness had come from and how to cure it. Sparkpelt’s life could depend on it.
CHAPTER 17
By the time Squirrelflight led the way down the thickly brambled slope toward the ferns that screened the Sisters’ camp entrance, the moon was shining high above the small valley where they had made their home.
She stopped outside and raised her muzzle. “Moonlight? It’s me.”
Branches rustled beyond the ferns, and Snow’s mew answered. “Squirrelflight?”
“Yes.” Squirrelflight flicked her tail toward Ivypool, Twigbranch, and Finleap, signaling them to stay back. She didn’t want the Sisters to think this was anything but a friendly visit. “Can I come in? I’ve brought some Clanmates with me.”
Paw steps sounded in the grassy clearing. Voices echoed in the night.
“What are they doing here this time of night?”
“Why has she brought campmates?”
“Let’s find out.” Moonlight answered them briskly. “Come in, Squirrelflight. Bring your Clanmates.”
Squirrelflight nosed her way through the ferns. The Sisters ringed the clearing, staring with wide, moonlit eyes as the ThunderClan cats filed into camp. Moonlight’s belly was more swollen than ever. She hung back, flanked by Snow and Tempest, and eyed the patrol warily. “It’s late for a visit. Are you here with another warning?”
“I wanted to speak to you as soon as I could.” Squirrelflight scanned the sisters, looking for signs of illness. Sunrise wasn’t with them. “Are you all well?” She pricked her ears, searching Moonlight’s gaze as the large gray she-cat answered.
“We are.”
“And Sunrise?” Squirrelflight glanced anxiously at Leafpool.
“She’s resting,” Moonlight’s ears twitched. She was clearly unnerved by the patrol’s arrival.
Leafpool padded forward. “May I see her?”
“Her wound is almost healed,” Moonlight told her.
“I’d like to check,” Leafpool pressed.
“Okay.” Moonlight nodded to Furze. “Take her to Sunrise’s den.”
Furze beckoned Leafpool with a flick of her tail and led her through a gap in the dogwood at the edge of the clearing.
As Leafpool disappeared, Squirrelflight glanced around at the Sisters. Their long, thick pelts were disheveled. Was that sickness, or was their fur simply ruffled by sleep?
Tempest shook out her fur, as though conscious of Squirrelflight’s gaze. “Why bring so many Clanmates just to check on Sunrise?”
“Bramblestar told me to bring a patrol with me,” Squirrelflight told her.
Amusement flashed in Moonlight’s gaze. “Are you still trying to please him?”
Squirrelflight swished her tail. “He’s my leader, and my mate.” How could Moonlight understand? She had neither.