“Of course.” Moonlight dipped her head. Her gaze was still firm when she lifted it again. “But you are not just here to check on Sunrise.” As she spoke, Leafpool padded from the dogwood.
“She’s healed well.” Leafpool met Moonlight’s gaze. “You found the herbs you needed?”
“Yes.” Moonlight turned her questioning gaze back to Squirrelflight. “Is Sunrise why you came?”
“There is sickness in our camp,” Squirrelflight told her. “We came to find out if you had it too.”
“Were you worried that you’d passed it on to us?” Moonlight narrowed her eyes. “Or that we’d brought it to you?”
Squirrelflight avoided the question. “We were worried you might be sick.”
“We’re not.” Moonlight eyed her curiously.
Relief washed Squirrelflight’s pelt. She’d tried not to think how the Clans would react if they thought the Sisters had bought sickness to the forest. “Then it must be caused by prey. Be careful what you catch. We think there might be tainted prey in the forest.”
Snow’s pelt prickled. “We hunt here, not in your forest.”
Leafpool padded to Squirrelflight’s side. “We don’t know what has tainted the prey, and whatever it is might have spread here.”
Ivypool stepped forward, her eyes glittering anxiously. “Have you seen any sick prey?”
Moonlight narrowed her eyes. “Not that we’ve noticed. And nothing has made us ill.”
Finleap shifted behind Squirrelflight. “If there’s nothing to learn here,” he mewed, “we should head back.”
Twigbranch moved closer. “Do you think any other cats will have fallen sick while we’ve been away?”
“I hope not.” Squirrelflight’s belly tightened. She dipped her head politely to Moonlight. “I’m sorry we disturbed you.”
As she turned to go, Moonlight’s eyes narrowed. “What are the symptoms of this sickness?”
“It comes on quickly,” Leafpool told her. “The patient feels tired, then suddenly collapses and stops breathing. We’ve managed to keep the first two victims alive, but they’re unconscious and bringing up bile. If we can’t treat them soon, they might die.”
Moonlight looked at Snow. Flickers of recognition seemed to spark in their gaze.
Squirrelflight stiffened. “Do you know what’s causing it?”
“We thought it was strange that you let meadow saffron grow in your forest,” Snow meowed.
Moonlight sat down, her heavy belly resting on her hind paws. “We thought that Clan cats must be immune to its poison.”
“Meadow saffron?” Squirrelflight had never heard of it. “What is it?”
“Haven’t you seen the purple flowers?” Hawk asked. “We saw a few while we were on your land.”
Squirrelflight glanced at Leafpool. She hadn’t noticed any unusual plants, but the medicine cats might have spotted it. “Have you seen any?”
“No.” Leafpool looked perplexed. “But we weren’t looking for it.”
Moonlight’s gaze had darkened with concern. “When we settle new land, we dig up any meadow saffron we find. Mice and shrews like to eat the roots and seeds. It doesn’t hurt them, but it makes them harmful to us.”
Leafpool pricked her ears. “How do you know this?”
“Our ancestors passed on the knowledge,” Tempest explained. “The Twolegs they escaped from grew meadow saffron near their nest.”
Squirrelflight’s heart quickened. Had they found the cause of Sparkpelt’s sickness? “But how did this plant get on our land?”
Hawk frowned. “It might have spread from Twoleg gardens.”
Moonlight nodded. “If a Twoleg near your territory has planted some near their nest, birds will eat the seeds and drop them on your land.”
Leafpool’s eyes were wide. “Is there a cure?”
Moonlight shrugged. “Dandelion root will clear the poison from inside. But treatment must be fast, before the poison takes hold.”
Ivypool’s tail twitched impatiently. “We must get back!”
“Thank you.” Squirrelflight nodded to Moonlight. “You may have saved the lives of our Clanmates.” As she turned toward the entrance, Ivypool hesitated.
“Thank you.” The silver warrior’s gaze flitted gratefully around the Sisters.
Moonlight dipped her head. “I’m glad we could help.”
Squirrelflight pushed her way through the ferns. Hope sparked in her fur. But it was a long journey home. Would they make it back in time to save Sparkpelt?
As the patrol crossed the border and raced through the moonlit forest, Leafpool pulled up. “Wait.” The medicine cat nodded to Twigbranch and Finleap. “Come with me.”
Squirrelflight scrambled to a halt, alarm sending a shiver up her spine. “Where are you going?” She needed Leafpool with her. What if Sparkpelt hadn’t made it through the night?
Leafpool met her gaze. “We won’t be long. We need to gather dandelion roots. We’ll bring them back to camp as soon as we can. You and Ivypool go ahead so you can be with Sparkpelt and Thriftpaw.”
“Don’t take too long.” Squirrelflight glanced toward the camp.
“We’ll be quick,” Leafpool promised, and headed away into the shadows.
As Twigbranch and Finleap hurried after her, Squirrelflight glanced at Ivypool. The silver tabby’s eyes were dark with worry. “Come on.”
Squirrelflight charged onward through the forest. Dawn must be close, but clouds obscured the moon, throwing darkness over the forest, so deep she could barely see her whiskers. She skimmed blindly over the swath of blueberries and raced down the slope toward the hollow, scrambling to a halt outside the thorn tunnel. She paused as Ivypool caught up to her, and took a breath. Please, StarClan, let Sparkpelt be alive.
She hurried through the entrance, her heart lurching as she padded into a silent camp. It was quiet. Had she expected to find a body laid out in the clearing while her Clanmates sat vigil? She crossed the camp, Ivypool at her heels. “Wait here,” she told the silver tabby as she reached the medicine den. With four sick cats, it must already be crowded. “I’ll send Alderheart outside to talk to you.” Ivypool nodded, staring with hollow eyes as Squirrelflight nosed her way through the trailing brambles.
The hot, stuffy air surrounded her as she blinked in the darkness. She could make out the shape of Jayfeather, crouching beside Larksong. Alderheart rested his paws on the edge of Sparkpelt’s nest. They turned as Squirrelflight crossed the den.
Jayfeather sat up. “Are the Sisters sick?”
“No.” Squirrelflight halted. “But they know what’s caused the sickness. A new plant on our land. They saw it while they were here. It’s called meadow saffron. Prey that eats it becomes poisonous.” She leaned over Sparkpelt’s nest. The orange tabby was unconscious. She fought back panic. Why was Sparkpelt so still? “How’s she doing?”
“I gave her poppy seeds to make her sleep,” Alderheart told her. “She was fretting over Larksong.”
Squirrelflight glanced into the nest beside Sparkpelt’s. Through the darkness, she could see Larksong’s matted pelt, his bones jutting out as though he’d grown suddenly old. “Is he any better?”
“No.” Alderheart’s eyes glittered with worry.
Jayfeather flicked his tail impatiently. “Do the Sisters know a cure?”
“Dandelion root will clean the poison out,” Squirrelflight told him. “But it must be given quickly.” She glanced at Larksong’s nest. “Leafpool’s gathering some now. She’ll be here soon.”
Her heart leaped with hope as the brambles rustled at the entrance, but it was only Bramblestar.
“I saw you were back,” he meowed, hurrying across the den.
Jayfeather stared at him blindly in the darkness. “The Sisters aren’t sick, but they know what’s caused this and how to treat it.”
Bramblestar’s pelt prickled with surprise. “Will they be okay?” He glanced at Larksong and Sparkpelt’s nests.
Squirrelflight’s heart twisted with fear. “We don’t know if we found out in time.” She glanced at the other nests beside the den wall. Thriftpaw and Berrynose were sound asleep, their muzzles tucked beneath their paws. “Are they sick?”