“He’s not really weak,” Thunder mewed, feeling uncomfortable discussing his father like this.
“He made mistakes, but he made them while he was trying to do what he thought was for the best.”
Hoping to change the subject, he added, “Anyway, what’s your story? I’d never seen you before that meeting at the four trees.”
“Oh, I was born on the moor,” Star Flower told him. “But I mostly kept myself to myself until I heard about cats forming groups. I decided to go to the four trees and find out more, and then I saw you.”
“You don’t seem like other rogues,” Thunder meowed.
Star Flower’s green eyes glinted with amusement. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Thunder ducked his head in embarrassment. “You’re sort of… softer and… and more
…” Beautiful was the word he wanted to say, but held his tongue.
“I take very good care of myself,” Star Flower murmured with a twitch of her whiskers. “Look at the sunset,” she went on, gazing up into the sky, where streaks of scarlet and gold were staining the blue.
Thunder’s gaze followed hers, and he let himself relax and enjoy the beauty that was blazing above his head. When Star Flower leaned closer to him and laid her paw over his, he thought that he would burst with happiness. The soft touch of her pelt sent warmth flooding through his fur, and her sweet scent drifted around him.
I’ve never felt like this before!
Thunder’s heart thumped even harder as he wondered how he could ask Star Flower if she might be ready to join a group— his group. He was sure that if she would agree to come and live with him, he would be able to smooth over any problems with Lightning Tail or the others.
If they only knew her like I do!
He was desperate to ask her, but he couldn’t think of the right words. His tongue felt as dry as a dusty path in greenleaf.
Before he could decide what to say, the light in the sky began to fade. Star Flower suddenly twitched her ears and sprang up.
“Well,” she meowed, “that was magnificent, but it’s starting to get dark. We should go home.”
“Where is your home?” Thunder asked.
Star Flower brushed her tail along his flank. “I’m not ready to tell you that yet,” she replied, “but I’m sure I’ll see you again.”
Thunder had no time to respond before she whirled around and vanished among the trees. He raced after her, pushing his way through the ferns, but when he burst out into the open there was no sign of the beautiful she-cat.
He had no choice but to make his way back to camp, his heart still pounding. Did that just happen? he asked himself. Was it real? And when will I see her again?
The sky was clear and the last of the daylight was enough to guide Thunder as he loped across the moor. Once or twice he thought he heard paw steps following him, and once the rustling of a gorse bush after he passed it. His pads tingled with apprehension, but when he spun around to see if some creature was following him, he saw nothing but the empty moor.
I wish it had been Star Flower, he thought longingly.
When Thunder arrived back home, all thoughts of the golden she-cat were driven out of his head.
He was amazed to see both Gray Wing and Clear Sky sitting at the edge of the hollow with Tall Shadow.
“Gray Wing!” Thunder yowled excitedly, racing up to them and skidding to a halt in front of his kin. “You’re home!” Purring loudly, he brushed his muzzle against Gray Wing’s shoulder.
“Yes, I’m home,” Gray Wing responded with a sigh. “It’s good to see you again, Thunder.”
“And you.” Thunder turned toward Clear Sky. “You’re becoming a familiar face around here,” he added wryly.
As soon as he had spoken, he realized how serious every cat was looking. Clearly this wasn’t the right time for humor.
“Where have you been?” his father demanded. “Lightning Tail said you’d gone off with some rogue she-cat. We have a crisis here. One Eye has taken over my camp!”
Thunder gaped at him. “That’s not possible!” he gasped. “Why would your cats let him do that?”
“They had no choice,” Clear Sky retorted bitterly. “One Eye has brought in a whole bunch of rogues. I don’t know where he found them, but they’re mean and fierce.”
Now Gray Wing looked at Thunder. “And there’s even worse news,” he said, rising to his paws and leading Thunder down into the hollow, toward the nest that Jagged Peak shared with Holly.
Before they reached it, Thunder could hear a familiar moaning. He felt as though all the blood in his veins had turned to ice.
Jagged Peak was crouching outside the nest, and sprang to his paws as Thunder and the others approached. “It’s Holly!” he exclaimed. “She has the sickness!”
Chapter 18
Clear Sky stood back and let Gray Wing and Thunder go into the hollow ahead of him. It felt strange to be following in the paw steps of his brother and son, but he knew that was the way it had to be now. Not only because of the promises they had made to the spirit-cats, but because of his deep sense of his own humiliation.
How can I lead any cat, when One Eye has so utterly defeated me?
Just before they reached Holly’s den, Thunder paused beside a gorse bush where Sparrow Fur was sitting, while Cloud Spots checked over her injuries. Owl Eyes and Pebble Heart crouched a fox-length away, their worried gazes burning into her pelt.
“Sparrow Fur, you’re back,” Thunder mewed, his voice full of relief. “Are you okay?”
Cloud Spots answered for the kit as he stroked a clump of fur back into place. “Her wounds are healing well. She’ll do.” Turning to Clear Sky, he dipped his head stiffly and continued, “Thank you for taking care of her while she was in the forest.”
Clear Sky returned the nod politely, though he suspected that the black-and-white tom’s thanks were not entirely sincere. He was sure of it a moment later when Cloud Spots muttered, “But it’s better that she’s back in her rightful home.”
Sparrow Fur pulled away from him, her fur fluffing up in indignation. “Clear Sky was good to me,” she insisted. “He let me rest, and then he rescued me from a trap.”
“Trap?” Thunder’s voice was sharp, and he exchanged a glance with Gray Wing. “What trap?”
Sparrow Fur gave her chest fur a couple of licks, clearly reluctant to go into details. “One Eye shoved me into a hollow tree,” she admitted, “and then blocked the hole.”
Clear Sky felt himself bristle as the other cats all turned identical glares on him.
“How could you let that happen?” Gray Wing asked.
“It wasn’t my fault!” he protested, struggling to meet the accusing gazes. “I wasn’t even there!”
For a long moment he was silent, then let his shoulders slump. “Can we just find a way to sort out this mess? One Eye is out of control—that much is clear—and now the sickness is spreading worse than ever.”
“Yes!” Jagged Peak spoke up, drawing closer. “We must do something—anything! I can’t bear to see Holly like this.”
“I can help!” Thunder announced, excitement pulsing through him again as he remembered what Star Flower had told him. “I just found out that the Blazing Star is a healing herb.”
“That’s it!” Cloud Spots sprang to his paws. “Remember what the spirit-cats said? ‘The claw still blights the forest,’ and, ‘Only the Blazing Star can blunt the claw!’ Suppose that the sickness is the claw, and the Blazing Star can heal it. Maybe it can cure Holly. We’ve tried everything else…”