He paused and scanned the trees. There was no sign of Lightleap and Flaxfoot here. Had the two warriors found the sticks and headed back to camp? He turned and followed the scent trail back the way he’d come, wondering why he hadn’t seen them. The trail veered and he quickened his step. A creak overhead made him look up. Above him, a heap of snow slithered from a branch and plummeted down. It hit him with a thud and engulfed him, knocking him off his paws. He struggled up and burst out of the drift, his eyes and ears filled with snow. Clambering onto the top of the pile, he shook out his fur and rubbed the snow from his face with a paw. Of all the trees in the forest, why did he have to be walking under this one? He glanced up indignantly, questions flashing in his mind. Why me? Why now? Why did ShadowClan have less prey than the other Clans? Why had Snowbird hurt her paw so badly?
His pelt pricked uneasily. Was StarClan trying to tell him something? He’d been hoping all day that they’d send him a sign. Perhaps this was it. If they didn’t want to speak to the Clan through the Moonpool, there were other ways to communicate. Shadowsight felt suddenly cold, and not just because the melting snow was seeping into his pelt. He hurried toward camp. The sticks could wait. He wanted to check on Snowbird. What if StarClan thought he hadn’t understood their message? Could they make her injury worse? I can’t believe that StarClan would want to hurt any cat. As he remembered what he’d told his father, doubt tugged in his belly. Perhaps StarClan would let one cat suffer if it helped all the rest. Was this their way of telling him that they wanted him to share his vision?
His heart quickened as he neared camp. Anxious mews sounded from beyond the bramble wall. Puddleshine was issuing orders. “Take him to the medicine den! Fetch cobwebs!” Shadowsight tasted the air, panic flashing beneath his pelt as its iron tang touched his tongue. Blood! He raced into camp.
As he burst from the entrance, he saw Stonewing, Antfur, and Scorchfur limping toward the medicine den. Dovewing was with them, tufts of fur sticking out of her pelt.
“What happened?” He hurried toward them. Had foxes found the patrol? Had another Clan invaded? His pelt spiked with alarm. “Were you attacked?”
Dovewing turned to meet him, her eyes wide. “A branch fell.” She was breathing rapidly. “It hit Antfur and Scorchfur.”
“Are you hurt?” Shadowsight scanned his mother’s pelt frantically. Despite the tufts of fur, she didn’t look too badly injured, although one ear was torn.
“I’m okay,” she told him. “Antfur got the worst of it.” She glanced toward the small brown-and-black tom. His eyes were glazed as Stonewing and Puddleshine guided him into the medicine den. “He was knocked unconscious. We had to carry him back.”
“And the others?” Shadowsight blinked at Scorchfur. The dark gray tom’s pelt was ragged as he limped after his Clanmates as though every paw step hurt.
“Scorchfur is badly bruised,” Dovewing told him. “I don’t think any bones are broken, though. Stonewing’s tail got trapped. We had to scoop out the earth underneath the branch to get him free.”
As Dovewing’s green eyes clouded with shock, Tigerstar padded from his den. He blinked as he saw Dovewing, his pelt bushing. “What hurt you?” He raced across the clearing, scrambling to a halt beside her and sniffing her pelt anxiously.
“A falling branch.” Dovewing nodded toward the medicine-den entrance. “Antfur’s been hurt, and Scorchfur. You’d better take a look.”
Tigerstar stared at her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded shakily. “I just want to go to our den and rest.”
“Of course.” He guided her away. “I’ll look in on the others once I’ve made sure you’re comfortable.” He looked at Shadowsight. “Will you take care of them while I see to your mother?”
“Of course.” Shadowsight gave his mother an anxious glance.
“I’ll be okay,” Dovewing reassured him. “I just need to rest. Go help Puddleshine.”
Nodding, Shadowsight ducked into the medicine den. Snowbird was still asleep. Scorchfur lay in one of the old nests, his eyes closed, but breathing steadily. Stonewing was gingerly licking his battered tail. Puddleshine leaned into a nest at the far end of the den where Antfur sat up straight, staring blankly ahead.
“What’s wrong with him?” Shadowsight hurried to his nest.
“No broken bones,” Puddleshine told him without taking his eyes off Antfur. “But the branch caught him on the head.”
There was a gash behind his ear, not that Antfur seemed to notice. He glanced strangely at Shadowsight. “Are you one of those forest cats?” He looked confused for a moment, then blinked and looked away. “I need to scavenge,” he mewed to no cat in particular. “There are hungry cats here. I know where the scrapcans are.”
Shadowsight frowned as he recognized the words from when he was a young kit. “He thinks he’s back in the city,” he whispered to Puddleshine.
“He’s dazed.” Puddleshine looked uneasily at the tom. “Rest might help.”
Antfur tried to step out of the nest. “Let’s go scavenging.”
“We can scavenge later.” Puddleshine nudged him back. “You have to rest now.”
“Why is the den spinning so fast?” Antfur wobbled and collapsed into the bracken.
“I’ll fetch some marigold,” Shadowsight mewed. “We can treat the gash, at least.” He turned away, fear opening like a bottomless pit in his belly. Another accident? On the same day? As he rummaged for marigold in the herb store, his thoughts whirled. StarClan must be trying to send him a message. What do they want? he thought desperately.
But he knew. His pelt prickled along his spine. As he took the marigold back to Antfur’s nest, Tigerstar padded into the den.
“How are they?” he asked Shadowsight as he glanced from nest to nest.
“We don’t know yet.” Shadowsight laid the dried marigold petals beside the nest.
Tigerstar padded to Scorchfur’s nest. “How did this happen?”
Scorchfur blinked at him, his pelt ruffled. “We were hunting and a branch just snapped above us.” He looked puzzled. “It wasn’t rotten,” he mewed. “There was no reason why it should have fallen.”
Shadowsight felt sick. It must be StarClan. He couldn’t keep this secret anymore. What if Tigerstar was wrong?
He had to ask another cat for advice. He glanced at Puddleshine. “Can you manage while I check on Dovewing? I want to put some marigold on her torn ear.”
“Okay.” Puddleshine nodded. “But don’t be long.”
Shadowsight grabbed a mouthful of marigold petals and hurried to the entrance. Treating his mother’s ear wasn’t the only reason he wanted to see her. She could advise him. He crossed the clearing and ducked into her den. Dovewing lay in her nest, her eyes half-closed.
Shadowsight padded forward and dropped the marigold beside her. “How are you doing?”
She blinked at him drowsily. “Just tired,” she told him. “How are the others?”
“Antfur’s a bit confused.” He didn’t tell her that the tom didn’t even know where he was. “Scorchfur will be fine with some rest.”
“Good.” Dovewing let her eyes close again.
Shadowsight took a few petals and chewed them into a pulp. He leaned into the nest and began gently to lap the ointment onto the torn edges of Dovewing’s ear. She flinched but said nothing. When he’d finished, he sat back and looked at her. “What would you do if you had a secret that might help a lot of cats, but might hurt a few if you told it?”