I hope not, Jayfeather thought.
Another cat followed Sol into the clearing, with a scent Jayfeather couldn’t place, though he knew he should remember it. Hazeltail followed, and last of all came Hollyleaf and Lionblaze. Jayfeather relaxed as he realized that his littermates had made it home unhurt.
The Clan cats fell silent as Firestar padded past Jayfeather, their pelts almost brushing. “Greetings, Sol,” he meowed. His tone was cool but polite. “Thank you for coming.”
“Anything I can do to help,” Sol replied, with equal politeness.
“I’ll let you rest for tonight,” Firestar went on. “You must be tired after your journey. Berrynose, Honeyfern!”
“Yes, Firestar?” The two young warriors bounded up.
“Make a nest for Sol, would you? That bush between the medicine cats’ den and the warriors’ den would be a good place. It’s nicely sheltered, tucked under the cliff.”
And there’s a narrow entrance, so it’s easily guarded, Jayfeather added silently.
“Well done, Brambleclaw, and all of you,” Firestar continued, when Honeyfern and Berrynose had hurried off. “I know how difficult this must have been.”
“More than we expected,” Brambleclaw admitted. “We found Sol in a Twolegplace, with—”
“Wi’ me!” An angry voice interrupted Brambleclaw, and Jayfeather suddenly remembered who the cat was whose scent he hadn’t been able to identify. Purdy! What’s he doing here?
“An’ I’d like to know why you’ve dragged Sol all this way!” the old cat went on. “I hope you’re not accusin’ him of somethin’ he hasn’t done!”
An astonished murmur broke out among the listening cats. Jayfeather wasn’t sure whether Purdy’s mere presence or his fierce defense of Sol had provoked it.
“Brambleclaw, who’s this?” Firestar asked, surprise in his voice.
“His name is Purdy,” Brambleclaw replied. “He’s the loner we met on our first journey to the sun-drown-place. Purdy, this is our Clan leader, Firestar.”
“Welcome, Purdy.” Jayfeather pictured the flame-colored tom dipping his head to welcome the old tabby into the camp. “You can stay in the elders’ den. Foxpaw, will you go with him and introduce him to Mousefur and Longtail?”
“Thanks, Firestar,” the loner meowed. “Sol, just you give me a call if you need me, okay?” He padded after Foxpaw as the apprentice led the way toward the elders’ den.
As the old loner retreated, Leafpool padded up and gave Sol’s pelt a thorough sniff. “Were you hurt at all on the journey?” she asked. “Any stiffness in your legs?”
“No.” Sol’s voice was tinged with amusement. “I’m used to traveling long distances.”
Yes, because no cats want you around for very long. The sarcastic words rose to Jayfeather’s lips, but he had more sense than to let them out.
“Come on, Sol, I’ll take you to your nest,” Brackenfur announced.
As the two of them padded off, Firestar called quietly to Spiderleg. “You can take the first watch over Sol,” he murmured. “Bring him some fresh-kill, then make sure he stays in the den until morning.”
“No problem, Firestar.” Spiderleg bounded over to the fresh-kill pile.
Firestar headed back to his own den, leaving the rest of the Clan clustered together near the camp entrance.
“I’m sure he’s a killer!” Poppyfrost exclaimed. “Did you see those eyes? He looks as if he could see right through you.”
“I’m too scared to go to sleep,” Icepaw mewed. “What if he murders us in our nests?”
“Right,” Mousewhisker added. “I don’t know why Firestar let him in here.”
“Firestar needs to find out the truth,” Brightheart meowed.
“And I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” Sorreltail added briskly. “Spiderleg will make sure that Sol doesn’t get out of his den.”
In spite of the she-cats’ reassurance, Jayfeather’s paws tingled and the fur rose on his pelt as if a thunderstorm were about to break over the clearing. The air was tense with fear and uncertainty, as if every cat knew that something huge was hanging overhead.
Trying to ignore his jitters, Jayfeather padded over to where Hollyleaf and Lionblaze had flopped down together beside the thorn barrier.
“Hi,” he mewed. “How was the journey?”
“Long.” Lionblaze’s voice was bleak. “I thought we’d never get back.”
“We met some other cats,” Hollyleaf added. “They were having trouble with dogs, and Sol had encouraged them to fight. Several of them were killed, and since then the cats have to battle the dogs every time they set paw outside their den.” She let out a weary sigh. “More damage that Sol’s done.”
“He’s a troublemaker,” Lionblaze agreed, with a yawn.
The question Jayfeather wanted to ask—Do you think he killed Ashfur?—stayed unspoken. All he could pick up from his littermates were sensations of weariness, fear, and misery; he didn’t allow himself to probe deeper into their minds.
“It’s good to have you home,” he told them.
Neither Lionblaze nor Hollyleaf responded. Jayfeather realized that although he had missed his brother and sister with pangs sharp as claws, now that they were back, the murdered body of Ashfur still came between them.
“Come and eat,” he suggested, pushing the thought away. “Then you both need a good sleep.”
I wonder if we’ll get a chance to talk to Sol, he thought as he followed his littermates over to the fresh-kill pile. After all, he’s the only other cat who knows about the prophecy. A new thought occurred to him: Sol talked as if we were definitely the Three referred to in the prophecy. But we can’t be, because Squirrelflight’s not our mother!
Was this something that Sol didn’t know? Or had he been lying to them as well?
CHAPTER 16
Lionblaze woke to the sound of excited mewing and movement around him. He lifted his head to see his Clanmates pushing their way out of the warriors’ den and into the clearing. He staggered to his paws, wincing at the stabs of pain from his aching muscles, and shouldered his way through the branches after them.
The sky was clear, but the sun hadn’t risen far enough to penetrate the hollow. Deep shadows hung over the dens and blanketed Spiderleg in near darkness where he crouched, on watch outside Sol’s nest. But even though it was so early, it looked as if most of ThunderClan was gathered in the clearing. Daisy, Millie, and Whitewing were sitting outside the nursery. Lionblaze saw that they had their tails curled protectively around the kits, who gazed out across the stone hollow with wide, scared eyes. Foxpaw and Icepaw bounded across to join the warriors, feeling the need to be close to the older, more experienced cats.
Hollyleaf was already up, standing with Hazeltail and Brackenfur. She didn’t glance at Lionblaze, and somehow his paws wouldn’t carry him over to her.
It’s as if part of us, part of what we used to be, died with Ashfur!
Firestar emerged from his den on the Highledge and ran lightly down the tumbled rocks to join Graystripe at the bottom. At the appearance of the Clan leader, the excitement in the clearing mounted.
“Here’s Firestar!”
“Now something’s bound to happen!”
Lionblaze flexed his muscles, trying to work the stiffness out of them. He heard a flurry of paw steps, and the dawn patrol raced back into the camp with Thornclaw at their head.
“What’s going on?” the golden brown warrior panted as he skidded to a standstill in the middle of the clearing. “Have we missed anything?”