She screeched in pain as he tore fur from her belly.
“Dungheart!” Gray Wing swung a hefty blow at Tom’s ear. The kittypet’s eyes widened as it struck him. He yowled in fury and flung a blow back. Gray Wing reeled at its force. As he struggled to regain his balance, Thunder dived beneath the kittypet’s belly and knocked his hind legs from beneath him. Tom twisted, reaching out a forepaw and clawing Gray Wing’s flank.
Wincing in pain, Gray Wing kicked out with a hind leg, catching Tom beneath the chin.
Turtle Tail struggled to her paws and dived at Tom’s hind leg. Sinking in her teeth, she tugged him backward.
Gray Wing felt a surge of triumph. We’ve got you now, kittypet!
“Stop!” Tall Shadow’s yowl made him freeze.
Turtle Tail backed away. Thunder stopped mid-rear and let his paws drop to the ground.
Tom collapsed on Bumble’s grave.
“Show some respect!” Tall Shadow stared at the churned earth. “A dead cat lies here.”
Tom heaved himself to his paws and backed away from the moor cats. Blood dripped from his cheek.
Gray Wing noticed a nick in the kittypet’s ear and felt a flicker of satisfaction.
Tall Shadow marched between them, her face stern, then reached out and began to paw the scattered earth back into a mound over Bumble’s grave.
Gray Wing watched Tom. He wasn’t going to take his eyes off the vicious kittypet. “Are you okay?” he murmured to Turtle Tail.
“Yes,” she panted.
“Thunder?” Gray Wing glimpsed the tom’s golden fur from the corner of his eye.
“I’m fine.”
Tom’s gaze flicked from one to the other, then rested on Turtle Tail’s belly. “Thunder said that you’d kitted,” he grunted.
“So?” Turtle Tail’s answer was guarded.
Gray Wing padded closer to her. Why was Tom interested in his kits now? Turtle Tail had told him that one of the reasons she’d left Twolegplace was because her Twolegs would take her kits from her and give them to other Twolegs to raise. Is that why he wanted them? To give them away?
Tom narrowed his eyes. “You stopped them from being kittypets and made them live like rogues,” he sneered. “Do you think they’ll thank you for that?”
“They’re not rogues!” Gray Wing stepped forward. “They live with us. They’re the best-loved cats in the hollow!”
Interest sparked in Tom’s gaze. “The hollow?”
Gray Wing winced, realizing what he’d done. He clamped his jaws shut before he gave anything else away. Now the kittypet knew they lived in one of the hollows that dented the moor. It wouldn’t take long for him to find them.
Turtle Tail moved closer. “They’re scrawny little things,” she sniffed. “They must have been born with your kittypet softness. I doubt they’ll make it through the next cold season.”
Gray Wing’s heart twisted at the thought. But he knew she was lying. If Tom thought the kits weren’t worth having, he might go away and leave them alone.
“I should have drowned them instead of wasting my milk on them,” she added.
Thunder’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean—”
Tall Shadow cut him off. “Turtle Tail’s right.” She turned from the grave, eyeing Thunder sternly. “They’re sickly and good for nothing.”
Tom narrowed his eyes. “Still,” he mewed smoothly, “I’d like to meet my own kits.”
“Never!” Turtle Tail hissed. Horror sparked in her eyes as she realized that she’d given away how fiercely she loved her kits.
Tom’s face lit up. “Surely they’d like to meet their father?” He sounded pleased with himself.
Pain gripped Gray Wing’s chest as it tightened. He struggled to draw in breath.
Turtle Tail showed her teeth. “They will never meet you!”
Tom shrugged and, flicking his tail, scuffed his way across Bumble’s grave. “Shame it was Bumble who died and not you,” he called over his shoulder.
Gray Wing stared after him. How could any cat be so cruel?
“Come on.” Tall Shadow was the one to break the silence as Tom slid into the heather. “Let’s get back to camp.”
Turtle Tail was wide-eyed. “He mustn’t ever find my kits,” she whispered.
“He won’t.” Gray Wing pressed against her, stiffening as his chest tightened harder. He tried to draw in breath but it was too hard. He stumbled.
“Gray Wing!” Turtle Tail pushed her shoulder under his, holding him up as his paws gave way. “Thunder! Help me!”
Thunder was already at his other side. Gray Wing fought for breath as they held him between them.
“Be calm.” Tall Shadow sniffed his breath. “You’re okay, Gray Wing. It’s just the old smoke sickness. Cloud Spots will have some herbs for you if we just get you back to camp.”
Gray Wing watched her mouth moving, hardly hearing.
“Walk.” Turtle Tail’s stern mew sounded in his ear.
Gasping, he dragged a paw forward, forcing another in front. Suspended between Thunder and Turtle Tail, he began the long walk back to camp.
“That’s right.” Turtle Tail’s mew sounded through the darkness, pressing at the corners of his vision. “We’re nearly there.”
Gulping tiny breaths, he pushed himself on. I’ll make it. Someone has to defend the kits. Who else can reason with Clear Sky? His mind whirled. He dragged in breath after breath until suddenly he felt soft moss beneath his paws. It was his nest.
“Cloud Spots is fetching coltsfoot.” Turtle Tail’s breath bathed his muzzle.
“What’s wrong with Gray Wing?”
“Is he dying?”
Kit mews sounded around him.
“He’s going to be fine.” Cloud Spot’s calm mew sounded above him. “Eat these leaves, Gray Wing.”
Gray Wing smelled the tang of herbs beneath his muzzle and leaned down, lapping blindly until he felt them touch his tongue. He swallowed them, faintly aware of their bitterness.
Paws kneaded his back, easing the tightness that squeezed his chest like a snake. “He’ll probably sleep.” Cloud Spots’s mew sounded as his thoughts swirled and darkness reached for him. “He’ll be better when he wakes.”
“Wake up!” Stoneteller’s mew jolted him from sleep.
“What’s wrong?” He leaped to his paws, staring around. He was in the cave again. Moonlight filtered through the waterfall at the cavern’s mouth. His old tribe mates were curled in their nests.
“You mustn’t sleep, Gray Wing.” Stoneteller’s eyes blazed in the half-light. “There’s danger. Your loved ones are in danger!”
Heart lurching, Gray Wing jerked up his head. He blinked open his eyes, surprised to find himself in his own nest. He breathed, air filling his chest. Relief swamped him. Turtle Tail was asleep beside him, her chin resting on his flank. The kits were curled against them, warm and soft, eyes closed.
It was just a nightmare. Sighing, Gray Wing closed his eyes and drifted back into dreams.
“Gray Wing.” Turtle Tail’s mew woke him into a soft, gray dawn. He gazed around the shadowy camp. It was hardly light but Rainswept Flower was hurrying across the clearing. Cloud Spots was carrying herbs toward the bramble. Gorse Fur paced with Shattered Ice beside the long grass.
“What’s going on?” Gray Wing pushed himself to his paws.
Turtle Tail pressed her muzzle to his cheek. “Wind Runner’s begun her kitting.”
Chapter 10
Thunder watched Gorse Fur pace beside Shattered Ice. The thin gray tom stopped as another pained yowl burst from beneath the bramble.
Rainswept Flower poked her head from the trailing stems. Gorse Fur glanced fearfully toward her. “The kitting’s started too soon!”