Thunder hesitated, then gave her a curt nod. Leaping up onto a nearby rock, he cleared his throat and called the cats around him. “It’s time to bury the dead,” he announced when they had all gathered.
Sparrow Fur’s eyes stretched wide with amazement. “Why would we give him the respect he would never have given any of us?” she demanded.
Thunder glanced over at River Ripple, Wind Runner, and Clear Sky, who had managed to sit up, looking shaky but determined. “It’s because we’re different from One Eye,” he responded, “and we always have been.”
The other leaders nodded their agreement.
“One Eye believed every cat was out for themselves,” Clear Sky meowed. “But we believe that life is better for every cat when each of us acts for the greater good.”
A murmur of approval rose from the crowd at Clear Sky’s words. Thunder glanced around and picked out cats who seemed to have suffered least from their enemies’ claws: Shattered Ice, Lightning Tail, and Night. “Come and help me dig the grave,” he instructed, leaping down among them.
“I want to help, too,” Star Flower mewed as Thunder led the way to the foot of the thorn tree where One Eye was lying.
With so many paws working together, it didn’t take long to dig a hole deep enough to bury One
Eye. Then Star Flower nudged his body into the hole and watched as the others covered him with earth and leaves.
When the task was finished, the cats who had gathered looked at one another uncertainly, murmuring together as if they weren’t sure what to do now. Should one of us say something? Thunder wondered.
Then Star Flower stepped forward, raising her face to the sunshine. “To my father, a true ray of light,” she mewed.
Thunder narrowly stopped himself from gaping, and heard scornful snorts of disbelief from one or two of the others. But no cat said anything.
River Ripple came to stand beside her, and dipped his head toward the grave. “One Eye was a survivor,” he pronounced. “A cat like no other who will be missed by those who loved him.”
Perfectly true, Thunder thought, admiring River Ripple’s cleverness. But it leaves an awful lot out!
Star Flower stretched out a paw and laid it gently on her father’s grave. For several heartbeats she remained motionless, her eyes closed. Then at last she opened her eyes again and slowly padded up to Thunder.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I won’t trouble you anymore.” She slipped past him and headed toward the forest.
Thunder stood with his back to her. A massive urge to turn and call her back crashed over him like a storm, and he had to fight with all his strength not to yield to it. When he finally couldn’t fight anymore, he spun around to see that Star Flower had disappeared over the swell of the moor.
Meanwhile, River Ripple was rounding up his cats, while Wind Runner joined Gorse Fur. Cloud
Spots helped Clear Sky to his paws and let him lean on his shoulder.
“I’ll come with you back to the forest,” Cloud Spots meowed. “No—don’t argue. I don’t want you collapsing halfway there.”
“I’ll come too,” Shattered Ice offered. “Just in case there’s trouble.”
“And me!” Sparrow Fur bounced up enthusiastically.
As they set out, Clear Sky paused and looked back, his gaze traveling over the cats who had fought for him. “Thank you,” he mewed. “Thank you, every cat. I’ll never forget this.”
Watching them go, Thunder realized that River Ripple had sidled up to him and was angling his ears toward the place where Star Flower had disappeared. His eyes were alight with a mixture of sympathy and amusement.
“Don’t worry,” he murmured. “There will be others.”
Thunder felt his heart pounding hard in his chest. “Right,” he meowed with a casual flick of his ears.
But while River Ripple padded away, Thunder couldn’t tear his gaze away from the spot where he had last seen Star Flower.
I’m not so sure there will be others…
Chapter 27
Clear Sky forged ahead, ignoring the pain of his wounds and the ache of exhaustion in his chest. His eagerness to return to the forest was growing with every paw step. Though he had only been away for a few days, it felt like a lifetime. He drank in the familiar forest scent and feasted his eyes on every tree and bush as he drew closer.
I haven’t lived here very long, he thought, his spirits lifting. But the forest has truly become my home.
“Hey!” Cloud Spots, who was falling behind, called out to him. “Take it a bit slower! You’re still hurt, and the forest isn’t going anywhere.”
But Clear Sky yearned to feel leaf-mold beneath his paws again, and to listen to the creak and rustle of branches above his head. And he was desperate to return to his camp, to find out what One
Eye had done to his cats.
Shattered Ice quickened his pace to lope alongside him, with Sparrow Fur scampering behind.
“So what now, Clear Sky?” he asked. “Don’t you think you’ll find life… uneventful without One
Eye?”
Clear Sky glared at him. “Don’t be such a mouse-brain!”
“I can just imagine you, curled up in your nest,” Shattered Ice went on, a teasing look in his eyes.
“Bored with hunting and training, and wishing you had One Eye back to liven things up a bit.”
Clear Sky halted, feeling his shoulder fur beginning to rise. “Are you trying to be annoying?” he demanded. “Do you think I went through all this, nearly got my pelt ripped off, put you and your denmates in danger, just so that I could wish for that mangy excuse for a cat to come back again?”
Unbothered by his sharp tone, Shattered Ice let out a mrrow of laughter. “Sorry, Clear Sky. But at least I got you to slow down!”
Clear Sky heaved a deep sigh, unable to hide his amusement. “Thank you, Shattered Ice.” The words welled up from deep within his heart. “Thank you for helping me to get my territory back. I know I haven’t always been…” His voice trailed off as he failed to find the right words.
“It’s okay,” Shattered Ice meowed understandingly, as the two cats walked on more slowly toward the outskirts of the forest. “I’ve known you since you were a kit. Perhaps you haven’t always made the right decisions, but I know who you truly are, deep inside. Maybe this fresh start will help you to remember that, too.”
His words gave Clear Sky a lot to think about, but before he could respond, Shattered Ice halted again, beneath the boughs of the outlying trees. “Who’s there?” he called sharply. “Come out and show yourself!”
Acorn Fur poked her head out cautiously from behind a tree, relief flooding into her gaze as she saw who was approaching. “It’s you!” she exclaimed, bounding out into the open. “You’ve come to save us!”
She ran up to Shattered Ice and touched noses with him, then with Cloud Spots. Clear Sky felt a prickle of annoyance in his pads that she had greeted the moorland cats and ignored him. What am I, invisible or something?
“Yes,” he meowed. “One Eye is dead, and I’ve come to take back leadership of the forest cats.”
Acorn Fur turned to him at last. “You’d better come quickly, then,” she responded.
She whirled around and took off into the forest at a fast trot, not waiting to see whether the other cats were following her. Apprehension trickled down Clear Sky’s spine like melting snow, and he exchanged a worried glance with Shattered Ice before heading after Acorn Fur.