A black tom was pushing through the heather. The rain had slicked his pelt, and he’d flattened his ears against the wind. “Hi!” he called out as he neared them.
Finleap arched his back warily. “Who are you?”
“I’m Spider.” The tom stopped in front of them. He seemed unfazed by Finleap’s hostility. “I live around here.”
“Alone?” Finleap asked.
“Of course.” Spider blinked at him.
Finleap let his hackles smooth. “Why aren’t you hiding from the storm?”
“I was,” Spider told him. “Then I smelled cat scents. Are there others with you?”
Twigbranch nodded. “We left them at the cave.”
“I thought so.” Spider sat down and hunched his shoulders against the weather. “I don’t usually have much company up here. It’s weird you should show up so soon after the other group.”
Twigbranch stiffened. “The other group?”
“Did you meet SkyClan?” Finleap leaned forward eagerly.
“SkyClan . . . ,” Spider mewed thoughtfully, as though remembering. “Yes, that’s what they called themselves.”
“How long is it since you saw them?” Twigbranch’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
“They passed here yesterday.” The tom was vague. “Then they headed that way.” He jerked his muzzle toward the stretch of moorland. “I hope they’re okay. I heard there’s been flooding over there. It’d be a shame if they got caught in it.”
Finleap’s eyes widened. “We’re getting close!” He headed toward the cave. “We have to tell the others.”
Twigbranch raced after him. “Thanks, Spider!” she called over her shoulder.
“Happy to help!” The black tom was already disappearing into the heather.
She followed Finleap down the steep slope beside the cave, half scrambling, half falling on the slippery grass.
“We know where SkyClan has gone.” Finleap was already inside the cave, sharing the news with Lionblaze. “And we’re closing in on them. They passed through here yesterday.”
Tree was sitting beside the remains of his rabbit while Flypaw shared her shrew with Nightcloud and Gorsetail. The yellow tom was staring into the forest. As Twigbranch hurried to tell him about Spider, she noticed that his eyes were glazed. He was murmuring, as though talking to someone.
She stopped beside Flypaw. “What’s wrong with Tree?”
Flypaw shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s been like that since you left.” She took another bite of shrew and chewed it thoughtfully. “I thought he was talking to me at first, but he must be talking to himself. Maybe the weather’s getting to him.”
Twigbranch padded closer to Tree and sniffed him warily. “Tree?” she ventured softly. “Is everything okay?”
He turned to her, blinking. His gaze cleared and he stiffened. “Not exactly. I was talking to a dead warrior.”
Twigbranch stiffened. Was the warrior still here? Her pelt prickled uneasily. Was it the same cat who’d told him to stay beside the lake? “Who was it?”
“The same cat who told me SkyClan should stay beside the lake.”
She noticed alarm in his eyes. “What did they say?”
“SkyClan is in trouble.” For the first time, Tree looked worried. “We can’t stay here tonight. We have to go and help them.”
Twigbranch’s belly tightened as she remembered Spider’s warning about the flooding. “Did the warrior tell you what the trouble was?”
Tree shook his head. “She didn’t know.”
She? Was it Needletail? Twigbranch knew that Violetshine’s old friend had spoken to Tree before. “What was her name?”
“I don’t remember. She’s a cat I’ve seen before . . . I mean, when I was a loner. We met when she was alive.” Tree’s gaze suddenly widened. “But actually . . . she looks like you. Not her pelt. She had white fur, with brown speckles. But her eyes . . .” As he hesitated, the fur lifted along his spine. “Her eyes were just like yours.”
A chill ran through Twigbranch’s pelt. “Green?” she whispered.
“Just like yours,” he breathed again.
She knew who it was. A dead warrior who was worried about SkyClan, who had Twigbranch’s eyes. There was only one cat who fit that description. Her heart seemed to skip a beat.
“Pebbleshine.” Twigbranch’s mew caught in her throat. “Oh, Tree—you were speaking to my mother.”
CHAPTER 21
Violetshine was dreaming.
Tree. The rain was over, and he was beside her in the nest. She smelled his scent and pressed closer.
He nuzzled her ear with his nose. “I missed you.”
Warmth reached her bones for the first time in days, and she snuggled deeper into the bracken. Her heart ached with happiness. They were safe in the SkyClan camp once more. She could hear the lake lapping against the shore. How strange. The lake didn’t used to be so close to the camp.
“Never leave again,” Tree murmured.
I won’t. She tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead water trickled from her mouth. It dripped into Tree’s fur. He leaped up, his pelt bristling in surprise. I’m sorry. She tried to apologize, but more water bubbled from her lips. Tree backed away, disgust darkening his gaze. As he turned away, Violetshine felt a chill in her fur. Alarm sparked in her belly.
“Wake up!” Dewspring’s yowl jerked her from sleep. She opened her eyes into rain and remembered with a stab of disappointment the hill where SkyClan had made camp last night. Weak dawn light showed the bristling pelts of her Clanmates.
“Flood!”
At Plumwillow’s shriek, Violetshine scrambled to her paws. Fear shrilled beneath her fur. Where the hill had once been surrounded by muddy fields, now a great lake swirled around it and lapped at their nests.
“The water’s still rising.” Hawkwing hurried around the Clan, nudging them higher up the slope. At the top, a great elm rocked in the wind. The Clan had camped beneath it because it was the tallest tree as far as the eye could see. A maple grew nearby, but it was smaller and had promised less shelter. Saplings sprouted around its roots where they’d wanted to build nests. Violetshine stared at it now, wishing they’d made their camp there. The land where it grew sloped upward, beyond the reach of the flood, but there was no way to reach it. Water cut it off, and they were trapped on a rapidly shrinking island.
Violetshine’s paws seemed to be rooted to the spot. She stared at the water. It washed over the grass. Currents churned the muddy torrent.
“Get back.” Hawkwing steered her toward the elm as the flood lapped higher and the grass where Violetshine had stood disappeared.
Leafstar stared across the drowned landscape. Her eyes were round with disbelief. “StarClan help us.”
Bellaleaf swung her muzzle toward the stricken leader. “They tried to warn us, remember?”
“We were meant to stay with the other Clans!” Sagenose hopped clear as the water lapped higher.
Dewspring flattened his ears. “This is what happens when you ignore StarClan.”
Leafstar blinked at him, fear showing in her eyes. Her voice was tight. “There was no place for us beside the lake.”
“We should have fought harder to make one,” Bellaleaf snapped.
“Instead we’re going to drown in the middle of nowhere!” Dewspring’s pelt bristled.
Hawkwing glared at his Clanmates. “Don’t blame Leafstar! She has always done what she thought was best for the Clan. How could she know the future?”
Sagenose grunted. “StarClan knew it.” He nodded toward the saplings. “Look!”