Violetshine followed his gaze and counted five saplings growing in the shadow of the maple.
“They warned us,” Plumwillow whispered.
“They knew what would happen if we left.” Sandynose paced frantically.
Frecklewish pushed her way to the front of her Clanmates. “The saplings are all healthy.” She flicked her tail toward them. “None have been broken by the storm.”
Hawkwing lifted his muzzle. “She’s right. The saplings are surviving the storm, and so will we.”
Quailpaw shrieked and leaped backward as water lapped his paws. “We’re going to drown!”
Hawkwing glanced up at the elm. “We’re SkyClan,” he yowled. “We can climb!” He leaped up the trunk, scrambling easily onto the lowest branch.
Leaning over, he called down. “There’s plenty of space up here.”
Violetshine nudged Sunnypaw toward the trunk as her Clanmates hurried toward it and swarmed into the branches.
Frecklewish waited at the bottom while Fidgetflake clawed his way up. Violetshine pressed beside her. “Do the saplings mean we’ll be okay?”
Frecklewish looked at her, hollow-eyed. “For now.”
Fear tightened Violetshine’s belly. She glanced back toward the maple as Frecklewish climbed into the tree. The stretch of water between the elm and the maple was as wide as a river. If only they could cross it, they could escape the flood.
“Violetshine!” Hawkwing called down.
Violetshine realized she was the last cat left on the ground. Water swirled higher around the hilltop. A wave washed over her paws. As the last trace of grass disappeared, she scrambled upward and heaved herself onto the branch beside Hawkwing.
Harrybrook and Macgyver had leaped to higher branches. They helped haul the others up. Violetshine glanced at her Clanmates, dotted along the branches. They populated the tree like crows waiting out the night.
Leafstar sat resolutely on the end of Hawkwing’s branch and gazed into the churning water. “Perhaps we should have stayed beside the lake,” she murmured.
Sagenose leaned over the branch above her. “I wish you’d decided that earlier.”
Violetshine glared at him. “Leafstar is our leader and she would die to protect us,” she growled. “If she brought us here, she did it with good reason. How can you be sure we wouldn’t have faced danger if we’d stayed?”
Harrybrook peered down through the leaves. “We’re safe for now,” he called. “We should be grateful for that.”
Violetshine looked at her father. “How long until the water goes down?”
His gaze was dark. “Not until the rain has stopped.”
Plumwillow called from a branch overhead. “That’s not going to be anytime soon!” She jerked her muzzle toward the sky. “Look at the clouds.”
They darkened toward the horizon. The rain swept down in great shadows, obscuring the distant hills.
Nettlesplash curled his tail over his paws as he hunched against the storm. “If we don’t drown, we’ll starve.”
Violetshine’s belly was hollow with hunger. Nettlesplash’s words frightened her. She shifted closer to her father. “We’ll find a way to escape, won’t we?”
He touched his muzzle to her head. “StarClan won’t let us die here.”
She wanted to believe him, but StarClan had warned them not to leave the lake. Had StarClan known that this flood would be waiting for them? In the medicine cats’ vision, a storm had ripped the saplings from the earth. Would it destroy SkyClan just as easily?
Has sunhigh passed? Violetshine couldn’t be sure. The clouds were unreadable. She only knew that her claws ached from gripping the bark as rain battered her face and wind tugged her pelt. She fought to stop her teeth from chattering.
The Clan had fallen silent around her as they waited out the storm. Even Hawkwing’s shoulders sagged.
She pressed closer to him. “We’ll be okay,” she whispered, hardly able to believe it.
He looked at her, his eyes round with pity. “I’m just glad I had a chance to know you and Twigbranch.”
Her heart lurched. He thinks we’re going to die! “We’ll see Twigbranch again,” she mewed desperately. “This isn’t the end.”
Farther along the branch, Leafstar’s ears twitched. She looked at Violetshine. “You’re right,” she mewed firmly. “This isn’t the end.” She sat up and raised her voice. “SkyClan will not die here.” Faces peered from the branches above as she went on. “We have come too far and survived too much to die here.” Leafstar got to her paws. “I may have been wrong to lead you here, but I won’t let anyone die because of my mistake. We are SkyClan. We have relied on our courage, strength, and intelligence since the Clans began, and we can rely on them now. If we work together, we can find a way to safety!” She looked up at her Clan, her eyes shining with determination.
Macgyver hopped onto the next branch down. “Why don’t we swim for it?”
“Too dangerous.” Leafstar flicked her tail. “SkyClan cats aren’t swimmers, and the currents look strong.”
The floodwater had stopped rising, but it swirled menacingly around the trunk of the elm. Broken branches floated past.
“We could leap onto one of those.” Violetshine nodded toward one as it sailed beneath them.
“How do we know it will ever reach land?” Hawkwing cautioned.
“I’d rather be stranded in a tree than on a log,” Sagenose called.
I wish Tree were here. Violetshine longed for his reassuring presence. He’d be able to come up with a good idea.
“Perhaps we could jump from here.” Plumwillow slithered down the trunk and landed on a long thick branch that jutted toward the maple. She padded along it. “It almost reaches the far bank.”
Leafstar slid past Violetshine and jumped nimbly onto Plumwillow’s branch. She padded past the gray she-cat and picked her way to the end.
Violetshine held her breath. Had Plumwillow found an escape route?
Leafstar stopped as the branch began to dip under her weight. She peered through the leaves. “It’s not long enough.”
Plumwillow hurried to her side. “It’s only a short jump.”
“A fox-length,” Leafstar countered. “That may be too far for some cats. And we’d need a firmer jumping-off place to be sure of covering a gap that wide.” The branch quivered as she moved.
Plumwillow looked into the maple, which stretched tantalizingly close. “If only its branches reached a little lower. They’d bridge the gap.”
Hawkwing padded to her side. As Violetshine followed, her paws pricked with agonizing hope. The far bank suddenly seemed closer, and yet it was still too far away. “The maple branches are young,” Hawkwing commented as he peered among the leaves. “They would be easy to bend.”
Plumwillow swished her tail impatiently. “How can we bend them? We can’t even reach them.”
Leafstar narrowed her eyes. “If one cat could make it across,” she mewed softly, “they could bend a branch.”
“Two would be better.” Hawkwing didn’t take his eyes from the maple.
“Or three,” Plumwillow chimed in.
“I’ll go,” Sagenose meowed.
“I’ll go too,” Macgyver called from above.
“I should go first.” Hawkwing squared his shoulders.
“No!” Violetshine’s fur spiked. Hawkwing mustn’t leave her! “What if you drown?” She felt sick as she stared down at the muddy water.
Leafstar lifted her muzzle. “I’ll go.” She eyed her Clan. “I brought you here. I’ll lead you out.”
“You’re our leader.” Hawkwing blinked at her. “You mustn’t risk your life.”
“I have nine lives to risk,” she countered. “You only have one.”
“Let’s wait and see if the rain stops!” Nectarpaw’s frightened wail sounded above.