“We’re heading for the sunhigh slope,” Gray Wing told him. “It’s clear of brambles and ferns. We decided that Clear Sky would feel more at ease if he saw our approach clearly.”
“Who cares how he feels?” Thunder growled.
Gray Wing’s pelt brushed his. “We need him to feel calm.”
Thunder snorted. “It’s like feeding prey to a buzzard. He’ll take as much as he can get and still try to claw your pelt off.”
Tall Shadow turned her head, her dark gaze glowing through the gloom. “We have to try.” She flicked her night-black tail toward the top of the steepening slope. “I’ll go on ahead to check it’s safe. My pelt will be hidden better in the shadows.”
“Don’t go into the hollow until we get there.” Gray Wing called as she bounded ahead.
“Shouldn’t we stay with her?” Thunder watched her go uneasily. What if Clear Sky had planned a trap?
“She’ll be careful.” Gray Wing kept his gaze fixed ahead. “I don’t want to arrive out of breath.”
Thunder stiffened. “Is your chest still tight?”
“A little.” Gray Wing’s tail twitched. “But I’ll be fine.”
Thunder watched Tall Shadow disappear into the darkness at the top of the slope. “Perhaps I should go with her.”
Gray Wing glanced pointedly at his wide white paws, pale against the grass. “Her pelt won’t be seen. We don’t want to alarm Clear Sky.”
Thunder flexed his claws angrily. Were they going to spend their whole lives tiptoeing around Clear Sky? The meanest cat ever. Sparrow Fur’s words rang in his mind. Danger lies in the hollow. He looked to Gray Wing, remembering Pebble Heart’s words. “If you don’t know what Pebble Heart meant, why did you look so worried when you left?”
Gray Wing’s paws brushed the grass.
“Well?” Thunder pressed.
“Pebble Heart has dreams,” he murmured at last.
Thunder frowned. “We all have dreams.”
“Not like Pebble Heart’s.”
A soft wind lifted Thunder’s fur. “What do you mean?”
“You never knew Stoneteller. She was our leader in the mountains.” Gray Wing kept walking. “She shared with the ancients in dreams. They warned her of darkness to come and showed her the way forward when we were unsure.”
Thunder’s heart quickened. “Do you think Pebble Heart shares with the ancients?”
“I don’t know.” Gray Wing scrambled up the last steep rise and stopped at the top. Starlight glittered behind him. He was breathless from the climb. “But I think he’s special.”
Thunder caught him up. “He’s like Stoneteller?”
Gray Wing shrugged. “His dreams are important. That’s all I know.” He gazed toward the hollow. It opened like a wound at the edge of the moorland.
Thunder flattened his ears against the rustling of the forest beyond.
“He dreamed of death,” Gray Wing murmured. “Before Turtle Tail was killed.”
Thunder’s fur spiked as surprise jolted through him. “You mean he saw it coming?”
“He didn’t know it would be Turtle Tail.” Gray Wing stared at him. “You’re the only one I’ve told. Keep it to yourself while Pebble Heart’s a kit. He’s young and we don’t want to put pressure on him.”
“Why tell me now?”
“Just in case.”
Fear dropped like a stone in Thunder’s belly as Gray Wing held his gaze.
“Some cat needs to know, in case something happens to me.”
Thunder’s mouth grew dry. “Pebble Heart’s had a dream about the meeting, hasn’t he?”
Gray Wing bounded forward. “Let’s catch up.” He crossed the grass following Tall Shadow’s trail.
Thunder charged after him, his pelt bristling with frustration. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
Gray Wing stopped at the top of the hollow where Tall Shadow was pacing the lush grass. He gave Thunder a warning look.
Thunder swallowed back the questions spinning in his head and scrambled to a halt. He stared down into the hollow. The four oaks swished, their leaves rippling like water in the moonlight. At the bottom he could see a great rock between them, thrusting from the ground like a massive paw. Silhouetted at the top, he recognized Clear Sky’s broad shoulders, and saw his father’s confident pose. For a moment, Thunder thought he was getting a glimpse at the cat Clear Sky once was—the young cat of the mountains.
He hoped that this would make him easier to negotiate with.
Tall Shadow shifted her paws. “He’s not alone.”
Thunder opened his mouth, letting the cool night breeze bathe his tongue. A jumble of cat scents made him stiffen, his fur prickling. “He’s brought every cat in his territory.”
“Every cat?” Gray Wing snapped his head around.
Falling Feather, Quick Water, Leaf, Petal. Thunder recognized all the scents of his old camp mates. And newer scents he didn’t know. Had Clear Sky recruited more rogues?
Tall Shadow was peering down into the hollow. “I can’t see any cat except Clear Sky.”
Thunder fought to steady his breath. “They’re hiding.”
“Is it a trap?” Tall Shadow narrowed her eyes.
“Gray Wing!” Clear Sky’s yowl sounded from below. “I know you’re here. With Thunder and Tall Shadow. Why not show yourselves? You came to talk, didn’t you? Then let’s begin.”
Thunder hesitated as Gray Wing stepped forward. He felt his breath catch. I hope he’s wrong about Pebble Heart’s dreams.
Chapter 18
“Keep your hackles down,” Gray Wing murmured as he descended the slope.
“What are you doing?” Thunder stared after him, paws rooted to the grass. “We’re outnumbered.”
“He won’t attack.” Gray Wing glanced over his shoulder.
“Why bring his whole camp if he doesn’t mean to attack?” And what about Pebble Heart’s warning? Thunder couldn’t believe that Gray Wing was being so reckless.
Tall Shadow padded after him. “What will he gain by harming us?”
Thunder watched her go. “Clear Sky hurts cats just because he can.”
“I don’t believe that.” Gray Wing paused and met Thunder’s gaze. “Are you coming or not?”
Thunder took a deep breath. I’m no coward. Forcing his fur to lie flat, he followed. The grass was slippery with dew beneath his paws. The musky scents of the forest cats filled the hollow. His gaze slid sideways as they reached the bottom. Shapes moved in the shadows on the slopes. He could see them slipping between the ferns like fish through reeds. But the moonlit clearing was deserted.
That’s just like Clear Sky. I bet he told them to stay hidden because he knows a hidden enemy is more intimidating. “Just face us, you cowards,” he muttered under his breath.
“Hush!” Tall Shadow’s hiss was sharp.
Gray Wing padded to the foot of the great rock looming at the end of the clearing. He slid around the side and a moment later appeared at the top, facing Clear Sky.
Thunder flexed his claws. He felt uncomfortable, exposed.
“Join us!” Clear Sky called down.
Something about this felt wrong. A chill ran down Thunder’s spine.
“Come on.” Tall Shadow headed toward the rock.
Thunder followed. At least, he told himself, up there, they’d be safe from the reach of claws and teeth.
“What do we do if they attack?” he whispered to Tall Shadow as she crouched, ready to jump.
“Let’s hope they don’t.” She leaped, landing on a narrow ledge halfway up before jumping to the top.
Thunder sighed. That wasn’t much of a plan. “I hope you’re right,” he muttered, bounding after her.