His heart slammed into his throat. Jagged Peak?
Gray Wing leaped from the boulder, ignoring his injured pad as the wound broke open, and raced toward the eagle, which had begun another dive. As he drew closer he saw that the bird was young, with soft feathers around its face and legs.
Good! That means it’ll be easier to deal with.
As he scrambled desperately among the rocks, Gray Wing could hear the panic-stricken caterwauling more clearly.
“Leave me alone! Help!”
“I’m coming!” Gray Wing yowled in reply. “Hold on!”
The eagle had alighted on a rock, and was reaching down with one claw, trying to grab Jagged Peak from a narrow crevice below. Gray Wing could just make out the tips of his brother’s ears, and realized that he was trapped in the tiny space.
I’ll have to distract the eagle so that Jagged Peak can escape.
Gray Wing sprang forward and crouched in front of the bird, his lips drawn back. The eagle flapped awkwardly around to fix its beady yellow eyes on him. It lunged, squawking. Gray Wing tried to dodge aside, but his injured paw made him stumble. With a stab of panic he felt the bird’s talons fasten in the loose fur at his neck. He thrashed to free himself and fell back among the rocks, but before he could struggle to his paws the eagle beat its mighty wings and grabbed hold of him again.
“Gray Wing! I’m coming!”
Gray Wing heard his brother’s shriek and caught a glimpse of Jagged Peak scrambling out of the crack, fearlessly launching himself at the eagle.
The bird flapped madly against the weight of two cats, and Gray Wing felt himself lifted from the ground. The pain in his neck was shooting through all his body and a red mist covered his eyes. He struggled to stay conscious. Then he felt the eagle let go with one talon to grab at Jagged Peak.
Hah! he thought. Mistake, greedy-belly!
He managed to twist around and batter at the eagle’s underbelly with his hind legs. With a screech the bird released him and he plunged downward to hit the rocks with a bone-jarring crash.
Looking up, Gray Wing saw Jagged Peak hanging on to the eagle’s wing with his claws. “Jagged Peak! Let go!” he yowled.
Jagged Peak glanced at the ground, then unhooked his claws and fell back onto the stones. The eagle swooped toward them again with another furious screech; with a heartbeat to spare, Gray Wing shoved Jagged Peak into the space between two rocks. They cowered there in the tiny gap while the eagle shrieked overhead.
Jagged Peak was trembling from pain and fear, looking like nothing more than a kit. Gray Wing curled his body around him and soothed him with long, slow licks.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “You’re safe now. I’ve found you.”
Chapter 6
At last the screeching died away and Gray Wing dared to stick his head out of the crack. The sky was clear; the eagle was nowhere to be seen. “Okay, we can leave,” he mewed to Jagged Peak.
Jagged Peak looked up at him with worried eyes. “What if the eagle’s waiting for us?”
“It’s not. It’s gone.”
Gray Wing squeezed into the open and after a moment’s hesitation Jagged Peak followed. He stood quietly, still shaking a little, while his brother checked him over, nosing carefully down one side and then the other.
“You have a few scratches,” Gray Wing announced at last, with a quiver of relief that it was no worse. “But you’ll be fine.” Anger surged up to replace his anxiety. “What were you thinking, leaving the cave like that, you little fuzz-brain?”
Recovering rapidly from his fear, Jagged Peak faced him defiantly. “I wanted to go with the others! Quiet Rain had no right to stop me!”
“She’s your mother,” Gray Wing meowed. “She knows what’s best for you.”
His eyes narrowing, Jagged Peak retreated a pace. “You haven’t come to take me back, have you?” he asked. “Because I’m not going. I’ll fight you if I have to!”
Gray Wing had to suppress an amused mrrow at the sight of his little brother, tail lashing and claws out. “Calm down,” he sighed. “I won’t make you go home. We’re going to find the others.”
Jagged Peak’s eyes widened in surprise. “But you wanted to stay!” he objected.
“You need me more than they do.”
Jagged Peak’s shoulder fur fluffed up with renewed indignation. “I’m fine on my own!” he declared.
“You nearly got carried off by an eagle,” Gray Wing pointed out.
Jagged Peak waved his tail dismissively. “Well, I found the way down into the valley without falling.”
Gray Wing realized that there was no point in arguing. “We still have a long way to go before we’re clear of the mountains,” he continued. “Things could get even more dangerous.”
“We’ll be okay,” Jagged Peak asserted. “We have each other now! And did you see how I fought off that eagle? You’d have been chickfeed if it wasn’t for me!”
The little cat set off again, bounding over the boulders. Gray Wing followed more slowly; the pain from his neck and torn paw pad stabbing him like sharp thorns. The sun had vanished behind the mountains, and dusk was gathering around them.
“We need to look for somewhere to shelter!” he called to Jagged Peak.
His brother halted and turned to look back at him. “I want to keep going,” he mewed obstinately. “The others will be so far ahead by now!”
“It’s too dangerous to travel in the dark,” Gray Wing insisted. “There are still places to fall, even though we’re in the bottom of the valley. Tomorrow we’ll follow the ledge up there,” he added, pointing with his ears.
Jagged Peak looked as if he was about to argue, then gave in and dipped his head. Gray Wing led the way to a sheltered spot in a hollow between the roots of a scrubby tree. As he was scraping out some of the gritty earth to make the den bigger, he heard Jagged Peak’s belly growl.
“Are you hungry? Do you want to hunt?” he asked.
Jagged Peak shook his head. “I’ll be fine until morning,” he mewed bravely.
Gray Wing had given up expecting Jagged Peak to apologize for running away, but as they settled down in the hollow the young cat nestled into his fur. “I’m glad you’re here,” Jagged Peak murmured drowsily.
I guess that’s good enough, Gray Wing thought.
Gray Wing woke to a cold, gray morning. Through the branches above his head he could see the sky was heavy with clouds, threatening more snow. Jagged Peak was curled into a tight ball with his tail wrapped over his nose, deeply asleep. The journey must be even more exhausting for such a small cat. Listening to his brother’s snuffling breath, Gray Wing had to admit how brave Jagged Peak had been to leave the cave on his own, and to attack the eagle.
If he’s this determined to find our new home, then I’ll make sure he gets there.
Soon Jagged Peak stirred and lifted his head, blinking sleepily. “Where’s Mother?” he asked with a yawn. “Has she gone out hunting?”
“You’re not in the cave anymore,” Gray Wing reminded him. “You stay here and wake up properly, while I go and see if I can find some prey.”
Clambering out of the hollow he padded up the valley. Soon he spotted a mouse scuffling around in the debris under a thornbush. At last, some good luck, he thought, springing to kill it.
When he returned to their makeshift sleeping hollow, he found Jagged Peak sitting on a tree root, grooming himself. The little cat’s eyes brightened as he saw the limp body dangling from his brother’s jaws.