Firestar was curled up on his bedding at the back of the den. As Dovewing spoke, he raised his head, instantly alert, and slipped out past her onto the Highledge.
“Wake up!” he yowled. “Every cat, into the clearing! WindClan is attacking!”
Once he had raised the alarm, he ran down the rockfall into the clearing. Dovewing paused for a moment on the Highledge before she followed him. The moon had set, but a few faint warriors of StarClan still lingered overhead. The trees above the hollow were outlined against a pale sky. Dovewing took in a deep breath of cold dawn air and bounded after her leader.
Warriors were beginning to emerge from their den, vague and clumsy from sleep. Daisy appeared at the entrance to the nursery, then vanished straight back inside. Jayfeather poked his head out from behind the bramble screen of the medicine cat’s den, his ears pricked to hear what was going on.
Dashing back to her own den, Dovewing met Ivypool as she staggered out into the open. Her fur was ragged and there was a pained look in her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Dovewing asked. “Did something happen in the Dark Forest?”
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Ivypool replied, shaking her head to clear it. “I’m a warrior there now. I have to train the others.” Her eyes were haunted and her gaze kept flicking from side to side as if she thought some cat was on her tail. “I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “I can still fight.”
Hollyleaf followed her out of the den, looking brisk and ready for action. She ran into the middle of the clearing to join Firestar and Brambleclaw.
“We will meet the WindClan cats in the tunnels,” Firestar announced as his Clan gathered around him. “We won’t let them set a single paw in ThunderClan territory. As far as I know,” he added, with a glance at Dovewing, “WindClan hasn’t trained to fight in the tunnels.” Dovewing gave him a quick nod. “ThunderClan will have the advantage!”
A yowl of enthusiasm greeted the Clan leader’s words. Every cat was awake now, ready to defend their Clan. Dove-wing spotted Brightheart and Foxleap running through the new battle moves, while the two apprentices bounced up and down with excitement.
Dovewing was still listening to the approaching WindClan warriors as they crossed the moorland and approached the border with ThunderClan. Suddenly the noise of their voices and paw steps was cut off and their images faded to nothing. Dovewing’s belly churned; she knew what that meant.
“We must hurry!” she meowed to Firestar.
Several other cats looked at her in surprise, not understanding the reason for her eagerness. Of course they don’t know that I can sense WindClan as far away as their own territory.
Hollyleaf came striding over to her. “Lionblaze tells me that you can hear things,” she mewed quietly. “Far away, I mean.”
Dovewing nodded.
“Because of the prophecy about the Three?” Hollyleaf’s voice was strained.
Feeling awkward, Dovewing replied, “Yes.” She could guess how difficult it must be for Hollyleaf not to have a part in the prophecy with her littermates. It can’t be easy for her to talk to me about it.
Hollyleaf was silent for several heartbeats, then gave her ears a decisive twitch. “Well, let’s make the most of it. What are the WindClan cats doing now?”
“They’ve entered the tunnels,” Dovewing told her. “It’s really hard to hear them underground.”
“All the same tunnel?” Hollyleaf prompted.
Dovewing stretched her senses to their limits and found that she could still pick up faint traces of the advancing enemy. “Yes, I think they’re all together,” she muttered, concentrating with every hair on her pelt. “Now they’re entering the cavern with the river running across it… now they’re entering another tunnel…”
“I think I can work out where they are,” Hollyleaf hissed. “And where they’re likely to head…” She turned to Firestar, Brambleclaw, and Lionblaze, who had come over to listen. “We’ll split into three,” she went on. “One patrol will enter the tunnel above the camp, a second will take the tunnel near the old Twoleg nest, and a third the one by the lake. Our aim is to push the WindClan cats back into the cavern with the river, where there’ll be more room to fight.”
Brambleclaw gave her an approving nod. He leaped up onto a boulder and began dividing the warriors up into patrols. “I’ll lead one,” he announced, gesturing with his tail, “Hollyleaf another, and Brackenfur, you take the third. Hollyleaf tells me you’re the best at underground fighting.”
Looking pleased and a bit embarrassed, Brackenfur moved to stand with his patrol.
“But we’re not in a patrol!” Cherrypaw objected.
“We want to fight WindClan,” Molepaw agreed.
“Wrong, Cherrypaw—you’re in my patrol,” Firestar told her. “We’ll stay here in the hollow to defend the elders and the nursery if WindClan manages to break through.”
The two apprentices exchanged a glance; Dovewing could see they weren’t sure whether to be disappointed not to be fighting underground, or pleased to be chosen for a patrol by their Clan leader.
“We can fight, too, if we have to,” Daisy meowed, padding up with Ferncloud. “We’ll guard Sorreltail and the kits.”
“And me,” Purdy added, lumbering across from the elders’ den. “Just because I’m old, don’t mean I can’t fight. I’ve clawed more cats than you young ’uns have eaten mice. There was a time—”
“Thanks, all of you,” Firestar meowed, cutting off Purdy before he could embark on one of his interminable stories.
As the three tunnel patrols set off for the camp entrance, Cinderheart appeared from the medicine cat’s den. “I will fight, too,” she announced, padding over to join Hollyleaf.
Oh, really? Dovewing thought, pricking her ears with interest.
A few cats muttered something in response to Cinderheart’s announcement, but there was no time for questions. Hollyleaf broke into a run, taking the lead as she raced through the thorn tunnel and out into the forest.
Dovewing and Ivypool were in Hollyleaf’s patrol, along with Cinderheart, Sandstorm, Mousewhisker, and Berrynose. Hollyleaf led them in a swift scramble up the path to the top of the hollow and up to the tunnel entrance.
“Follow me in,” she murmured to Dovewing. “I need you to tell me what WindClan is doing. Sandstorm,” she added, raising her voice, “bring up the rear. Let me know if there’s any trouble behind.”
“Got it,” Sandstorm responded, her pale green eyes gleaming in the strengthening dawn light.
Dovewing took a deep breath and followed Hollyleaf into the tunnel. Instantly the sound of WindClan burst into her ears. “They’re running so fast!” she gasped.
“Where?” Hollyleaf’s voice was terse.
“Not here, not yet,” Dovewing whispered as she and Hollyleaf raced down the tunnel at the head of the patrol. “They’ve come up against one of the entrances Dustpelt and Brackenfur blocked off… now they’re turning around… they’re coming this way!”
As well as the WindClan cats, Dovewing could hear the other ThunderClan patrols as they headed down their tunnels. The whole hill was alive with scurrying creatures, like an ants’ nest. The noises were growing so loud that Dovewing could hardly distinguish one patrol from another, or work out exactly where they were.
Then as they rounded a corner, the scent of WindClan suddenly grew stronger. Dovewing barely had time to gasp, “They’re here!” before they collided head-on with the WindClan warriors.
WindClan had no warning at all. As they charged into the ThunderClan cats, they let out yowls of shock. For a few moments they were helpless, shoving at one another in the dark, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.