“Hollyleaf, stop!” Hazeltail’s voice was shocked. “What are you doing?”
Hollyleaf’s vision cleared. She saw her paws dripping with scarlet: The prey she had caught was reduced to a red pulp. There was nothing left to take back to the fresh-kill pile.
Fury surging through her, she rounded on Hazeltail. “Stay out of my fur!”
Hazeltail backed away, her eyes wide and scared, then whipped around and plunged away into the bracken.
After the hunting patrol returned, Hollyleaf was too disturbed to stay in the camp. She didn’t want to talk anymore, especially not to Lionblaze or Jayfeather. Instead she headed out alone, down to the lake and then along the WindClan border until she reached the ridge and could look out across the rolling moorland.
Somewhere out there was the WindClan camp and the cat who was her father. His WindClan blood ran in her veins. But I don’t feel half-WindClan!
Hollyleaf knew her home was under the trees, hunting mice and squirrels. The WindClan rabbits looked scrawny and tasteless from running across the hills. She hated the open spaces and the unrelenting wind.
Gazing out across her father’s territory, she yowled silently, No! No! No!
As shadows fell across the stone hollow, Firestar called together the cats who were going to the Gathering. Hollyleaf padded up to join Jayfeather and Lionblaze, deliberately not looking at Squirrelflight and Leafpool a few paces away. Graystripe, Brambleclaw, and Sandstorm bounded up, followed by Cinderheart, Poppyfrost, and Berrynose.
“Let’s go,” Firestar meowed. “And the less we say about Sol, the better, okay?”
He led them down to the lake and along the edge of the water, splashing through the border stream. Hollyleaf felt every hair on her pelt prickle with disgust as she set paw on WindClan territory. I don’t belong here! I want nothing to do with WindClan!
More rain had fallen earlier in the day, but now the clouds had cleared away, leaving the full moon to shine brightly. Hollyleaf stopped and stared up at it. Do you approve of what I’m going to do, StarClan?
With every paw step she was alert for the sight or scent of WindClan cats. She wondered if Crowfeather had been chosen to go to the Gathering. Why should it matter? she thought fiercely. He’s nothing to me. Nothing!
Just ahead of her, Firestar was flanked by Graystripe and Sandstorm. “You know, I still miss Fourtrees,” Sandstorm murmured. “The moon seemed brighter there, somehow.”
Firestar gave her an affectionate nudge. “You sound like an elder!”
Sandstorm swatted at him with her tail. “You wait. I’ll be the crankiest elder the Clans have ever seen. Mousefur will seem sweet and gentle next to me!”
“And hedgehogs will fly,” Graystripe meowed. “But I miss the old forest, too,” he added. “It’s the place we were born. These younger cats will feel just the same about the lake. Isn’t that right?” He glanced over his shoulder at Lionblaze and Hollyleaf.
Lionblaze managed a brief nod, but Hollyleaf couldn’t reply at all. Sheer envy surged over her, jealousy of these cats who knew where they belonged, who had good memories of living by the warrior code, season after season.
They don’t know it’s all a lie!
The horseplace was dark and silent when the ThunderClan cats padded past. There was still no sign of WindClan; Hollyleaf assumed they had already made their way to the island.
When they reached the tree-bridge, they found RiverClan in the middle of crossing; Firestar held back his warriors with a polite nod to Leopardstar. While she waited, Hollyleaf flexed her claws in and out, her belly churning.
This will be a Gathering none of them will ever forget!
Leaping from the roots at the other end of the tree-bridge, she paused to taste the mingled scents of the other three Clans.
“We’re the last,” Cinderheart meowed, landing beside her. “We’d better be quick.”
Hollyleaf followed her Clanmate across the strip of pebbles and into the undergrowth. There was no need to hurry. She had set her paws on the path she had chosen, and the time for her to act would come as surely as one season gave way to the next.
When she pushed through the bushes and into the clearing around the Great Oak, she hesitated, awed in spite of herself by the mass of cats in front of her. Clan mixed with Clan as the cats found themselves places around the tree. Then Hollyleaf’s paws carried her forward, weaving a path through the crowd. She was scarcely aware of Tawnypelt greeting her, or of the ShadowClan queen’s affronted look as she brushed past. She ignored the snatches of gossip that she picked up as she padded past. What has all that got to do with me now?
She found a place to sit, close to the Great Oak, where she could look up and see the Clan leaders crouched among the branches: Onestar, comfortably settled in the fork of a branch; Blackstar, crouched on the lowest branch with his tail hanging down; Leopardstar, standing a tail-length higher, impatiently scratching at the bark. Firestar leaped up to join them, scattering a few late acorns as the branch he chose swayed under him.
Lionblaze had followed Hollyleaf across the clearing, and sat down next to her. “Crowfeather’s here,” he muttered.
“I know.” Hollyleaf had already spotted the WindClan warrior, but he hadn’t seemed to notice her. Now she glanced to where Lionblaze was pointing with his tail, and she saw her father sitting close to Nightcloud and Breezepelt. His head was turned away, but Hollyleaf guessed that he knew exactly where she and her brothers were. All his kits together at once. How nice for him.
A shrill yowl sounded from the branches of the tree, and Leopardstar stepped forward. The noise in the clearing stilled as the cats fell silent and turned to look up at her.
“The Gathering has begun,” she announced. “RiverClan will report first. Prey is running well. Mistyfoot, Reedwhisker, and Rainstorm drove a fox out of our territory.” She stepped back with a curt nod to Blackstar.
The ShadowClan leader rose, while below him Hollyleaf drove her claws into the ground, her whole body quivering with tension. Suddenly she wasn’t sure she would know when her time to act had come. StarClan, give me a sign! If you’re even watching….
“ShadowClan is thriving,” Blackstar reported. “Littlecloud has taken Flamepaw as his apprentice, and introduced him to StarClan at the Moonpool.”
A murmur of congratulation rose from the assembled cats, with a few yowls of “Flamepaw! Flamepaw!” Hollyleaf spotted the young cat sitting with Littlecloud and the other medicine cats, his eyes shining with pride. Claws tore at her heart. I felt like that once.
Onestar followed Blackstar, but he had nothing to tell them about except a dead sheep in the border stream, which his warriors had dragged out to keep the water clean.
Then it was Firestar’s turn. Rising to his paws, he balanced on his branch and looked down into the clearing with his green eyes glowing in the moonlight. “Sol has left the forest,” he began. “We—”
“About time, too,” Blackstar growled.
Leopardstar dipped her head to Firestar with cold courtesy. “I’m glad you saw sense at last, Firestar.”
Firestar returned the nod equally politely, though Hollyleaf could see his claws tighten on his branch. “Besides that—”
Now!
“Wait!” Hollyleaf leaped to her paws. “There’s something that I have to say that all the Clans should hear.”
“What?” Lionblaze reached up and dragged at her with one paw, trying to get her to sit down again. “Are you mouse-brained? Warriors don’t speak here!”