“Did he mention anything about a kittypet who died?” Gray Wing ventured.
“No.” Thunder’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“We found a body near Clear Sky’s new border,” Gray Wing explained. “It was Bumble, a friend of Turtle Tail from her time with the Twolegs. Clear Sky said he’d fought with the kittypet, but told me it was a fox who’d killed her.”
Thunder’s gaze glistened. “Clear Sky did return to camp yesterday smelling of fox,” he admitted. “And I fought a fox earlier today.”
Hope soared like a bird in Gray Wing’s chest. “So it could have been a fox?”
Thunder stiffened. “Why? Do you think it could have been Clear Sky?”
Gray Wing caught his eye. “Do you?”
They stared at each other for a moment that seemed to last forever. Gray Wing felt his heart beating in his throat. If Clear Sky’s own son thought him capable of murder… Gray Wing couldn’t bear to finish the thought.
“He’s angry.” Thunder avoided the question. “And he’s determined to claim as much territory as he can. He fears the coming cold season as though he was still in the mountains, and fear can bring out the worst in any creature.”
Gray Wing was impressed by how much Thunder had matured. The young cat seemed to spot danger with the clarity of a hawk’s gaze. He began to pace, nervous energy fizzing in his paws. “I don’t want forest cats fighting moor cats. Not over something as dumb as territory.” He swept his tail toward the rolling moor. “There’s more land here than we could ever need.”
“So long as old cats die as fast as kits are born.” Thunder’s mew was grim. “But what if our numbers grow? Won’t our borders need to grow too?”
Gray Wing flattened his ears. “Do you agree with Clear Sky?”
“No!” Thunder growled. “But we must defend the borders we have now or Clear Sky will take everything.”
There will be war. Stoneteller’s prophecy rang in Gray Wing’s ears. He mustn’t let it come true. Panic welled in his chest. “If only I could talk to Clear Sky,” he murmured. “We could straighten everything out. We could set borders we both agree on. We could live in peace.”
“Then talk to him.” Thunder’s clear amber eyes glowed as the sun slid behind the moortop. “You’re the only cat he’d ever listen to.”
Gray Wing blinked. Thunder knew his father better than any of the moor cats. If he thought that talk might be enough to settle their differences, there was a chance for peace. “You agree?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll do it!”
Thunder turned and headed for the camp. “Can Frost stay?” he called over his shoulder.
Gray Wing caught him up. “I wouldn’t turn away an injured cat.”
“You’re not Clear Sky,” Thunder muttered.
As they padded into camp, the other cats turned, their gazes curious. The kits, who had been charging up and down the clearing, stopped and turned.
“Go and make yourself a nest,” Gray Wing told Thunder.
“Can we say hi to him now?” Owl Eyes called.
“Yes.” Gray Wing nodded.
As Thunder padded to the edge of the camp where long grass sprouted beside the heather, the kits tore after him.
“You’re back!” Sparrow Fur squeaked.
“Are you staying?” Owl Eyes asked excitedly.
“For good?” Pebble Eyes added.
Gray Wing caught Tall Shadow’s eye. “I must speak with you.”
Turtle Tail was watching, her gaze sharp, as Tall Shadow padded to meet Gray Wing.
He ignored it, focusing on Tall Shadow. “I want to speak to Clear Sky and see if we can set borders we both agree on with words instead of claws.”
Tall Shadow’s ear twitched nervously. “Alone? Is that safe?”
Gray Wing hesitated. Would Clear Sky actually harm him?
Tall Shadow dipped her head. “Take others with you, just in case.”
As she spoke, paw steps sounded beyond the heather. Jackdaw’s Cry, Shattered Ice, and Gorse Fur had returned, all three carrying prey. Jackdaw’s Cry dropped a dead rabbit beside the flat rock. Shattered Ice placed the limp body of a lapwing beside it. Gorse Fur carried a shrew to Wind Runner and laid it at her paws. She touched his cheek with her muzzle, then sniffed the prey.
No wonder she’s getting plump. Gray Wing leaped onto the flat rock. “I must speak,” he called.
Turtle Tail turned to her kits as they came hurtling from Thunder’s side. She shooed them back with a flick of her nose.
“Why can’t we hear?” Owl Eyes complained.
“A cat who can’t hunt for himself is not old enough to hear everything,” Turtle Tail told him briskly.
Sparrow Fur lifted her chin. “I caught a butterfly yesterday.”
Turtle Tail gazed fondly at her daughter. “I know, dear. But, for now, take Owl Eyes and Pebble Heart back under the bramble. Play there, out of the way.”
Sparrow Fur turned sullenly and began to march away. Pebble Heart and Owl Eyes followed, dragging their paws.
As Gray Wing waited for them to disappear behind the trailing branches, Gorse Fur moved closer to Wind Runner. Jackdaw’s Cry sat down and swept his long black tail over his paws. Thunder padded from the grassy patch he’d been kneading into a nest. Hawk Swoop settled beside Shattered Ice while Tall Shadow and Rainswept Flower watched from the sandy clearing, Jagged Peak beside them.
Cloud Spots padded into camp, a bunch of green leaves clamped between his jaws.
Gray Wing acknowledged him with a nod and waited for him to drop his leaves beside the gorse and take his place among the others. Then he began. “Bumble’s death has unsettled us all, coming so soon after Misty’s.”
A growl rumbled in Turtle Tail’s throat.
Gray Wing silenced her with a sharp look. “Clear Sky is moving borders daily so that no cat knows where he may hunt or roam.” He pressed on before anyone could yowl accusations. “I have decided I must talk with him. If I can find out what he’s thinking and what he wants, then we might find a way to live peacefully side by side.” And you might sheathe your claws next time you meet a forest cat. He glanced anxiously around the moor cats. Could he stop their anger from spiraling into revenge?
Gorse Fur snorted. “We were already living peacefully until Clear Sky started causing trouble.”
“And we’ll do so again,” Gray Wing promised. “If I can only speak with him.” He paused and looked round. “Will anyone come with me?”
“I will!” Jackdaw’s Cry stepped forward.
Gorse Fur lifted his tail. “Me too.”
Cloud Spots wove between them and looked up at Gray Wing. “We should wait,” he meowed softly.
“Wait?” Shattered Ice jerked around to look at the black-and-white tom.
“We accused Clear Sky of murder yesterday,” Cloud Spots reasoned. “He will still be angry. We should let that anger pass before we confront him.”
“I don’t want to confront him,” Gray Wing argued. “I only want to talk.”
Thunder shouldered his way between Tall Shadow and Rainswept Flower. “Cloud Spots is right. Clear Sky will see it as a confrontation,” he warned. “My father has a quick temper. I’ve tried to reason with him but he won’t listen. It’s better to wait till he cools down.” His gaze betrayed a flicker of grief.
Sympathy flooded Gray Wing’s heart. He’s lost his father today. “Okay,” Gray Wing agreed. “Any cat who wishes to come with me to Clear Sky’s camp will meet me here, at the flat rock, in two dawns’ time.”
Wind Runner puffed out her fur. “I’ll be there.”
Murmurs rippled around the cats as Gray Wing jumped down beside Turtle Tail.