“Is every cat okay?” Shaded Moss asked, gazing around at the group as they cowered under the rock.
“We’re fine,” Clear Sky replied.
“Just scared out of our fur,” Turtle Tail added.
Dappled Pelt was crouching with her head down and fur still fluffed out. She was shaking. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “I panicked back there, and I could have got you both killed.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Moon Shadow puffed out his chest. “You’ll know better next time.”
Turtle Tail leaned over to whisper into Gray Wing’s ear. “I’m quite impressed by how Moon Shadow saved Dappled Pelt. But I’d never tell him so!”
Gray Wing nodded, grateful for her humor. “He’s brave, but he’s still an annoying furball,” he whispered back.
Quick Water, who had been keeping watch at the edge of the overhang, glanced over her shoulder. “Those eagles are out there,” she reported. “They know we’re here, and they seem prepared to wait all day.”
Gray Wing remembered how helpless he had felt when the eagle was trying to lift him off his paws. “If it’s the only way to stay safe, we’ll have to put up with staying under this rock,” he pointed out.
“For how long?” Hawk Swoop demanded. “I don’t know about any other cat, but I need some prey!”
Indignant murmurs showed that some of the others agreed with her.
“We have to protect ourselves,” Shaded Moss decided, with a nod to Gray Wing. “It’s just a matter of waiting.”
With a few more grumbles the cats settled down, licking pads sore from crossing the scree, or curling up to sleep. At first they seemed glad to rest, but as the day dragged on their anxiety began rising again.
Cloud Spots stuck his head out into the open, then jerked back into cover. “There are two more eagles out there,” he reported, his eyes wide with dismay. “They’re sitting on the top of this rock.”
More screeches split the air and Gray Wing shivered. It was as if the eagles were challenging the hidden cats. They know exactly where we are.
As daylight faded, the eagles showed no signs of leaving. Even worse, one of them hopped down and stretched its neck under the rocky overhang. His heart pounding with fear, Gray Wing shoved Turtle Tail behind him to keep her away from the snapping yellow beak. All the cats shrank back, pressing themselves against the rock wall in a shuddering heap of fur. The eagle watched them for a few heartbeats with malignant yellow eyes, then flapped out of sight, but every cat knew that all four eagles were still there.
“We’re not mice!” Clear Sky announced when the eagle had withdrawn. “We will not be treated like prey! We need to show these eagles that cats are the hunters around here.”
“And how are we going to do that?” Rainswept Flower demanded.
Clear Sky’s glance raked the cowering group. “By catching one of the eagles ourselves,” he meowed.
Gray Wing couldn’t stifle a gasp of shock. Looking around, he saw the others exchanging scared glances.
“That’s impossible,” Shaded Moss stated, in a tone that didn’t invite contradiction. “There are four eagles out there!”
Clear Sky was undaunted. “And there are more of us in here,” he retorted.
Admiration for his brother’s courage rose inside Gray Wing, bringing a trickle of hope like the first thawing of an icicle. “Let’s at least hear what Clear Sky has to say,” he urged the others.
Shaded Moss hesitated, then gave a curt nod.
“I believe that four cats could bring down one eagle,” Clear Sky explained. “Me, Tall Shadow, Quick Water, and Jackdaw’s Cry.” Glancing at the cats he had named, he added, “We can all jump high, and together we have the strength to pull down a bird.”
Gray Wing took a pace forward. “I want to help,” he meowed.
“You will,” Clear Sky responded. “You’re the fastest among us. I want you to draw the other birds away. Take three cats with you.”
Shaded Moss shouldered his way forward until he stood beside Clear Sky. There was quiet authority in his voice. “Tell me exactly what you think we should do.”
Clear Sky scraped a few pebbles together with one paw and began to lay them out as he spoke. “Here are the four eagles. Gray Wing and his cats will get three eagles to follow them. My group will isolate the fourth and surround it.”
The other cats had gathered around him, watching closely. Gray Wing tried to picture the plan in his head, and eventually nodded. “It could work,” he agreed.
“Or we could just wait until dark and sneak away,” Turtle Tail suggested.
Clear Sky turned on her in outrage. “And let the birds follow us tomorrow, and the next day, and the next? We have to take them on now, so that they leave us in peace.”
“Clear Sky is right,” Tall Shadow declared.
No other cat looked so certain, but they all gradually let out murmurs of agreement.
“Okay,” Clear Sky mewed briskly. “We must move fast, because it’ll be dark soon.”
“Turtle Tail, Cloud Spots, and Bright Stream will go with Gray Wing to lure three of the birds away.” Shaded Moss gave his orders calmly. “Leave the fourth eagle as close to the rock as you can, so that Clear Sky and his cats can spring out and catch it.”
Clear Sky’s whiskers twitched in alarm as his mate’s name was mentioned. “I’m not sure Bright Stream is fast enough,” he objected.
Shaded Moss flicked his ears in surprise. “She’s almost as fast as Gray Wing.”
Gazing at his brother, Gray Wing knew exactly why Clear Sky was reluctant for his mate to play such an important part in their plan. He’s worried about their kits.
“I’ll be fine,” Bright Stream insisted, her tone full of hidden meaning. “Gray Wing will take care of me,” she added, flicking Clear Sky playfully over the ear with her tail-tip.
“And what about the rest of us?” Jagged Peak asked, his tail twitching irritably. “I’ve attacked an eagle before, you know. I’ve got experience!”
“The rest of you will stay here under the overhang, ready to rush out and help wherever you’re needed,” Shaded Moss meowed. Solemnly he added to Jagged Peak, “You must be ready to pounce at any moment.”
Jagged Peak nodded eagerly and crouched down at the edge of the overhang, ready to spring.
Gray Wing motioned to Turtle Tail, Bright Stream, and Cloud Spots with a flick of his ears, and they ventured out from beneath the overhang. The gathering darkness helped to conceal them as they crouched low among the rocks until they were some distance away.
“Now!” Gray Wing mewed.
Together they sprang into the open, caterwauling loudly to attract the attention of the eagles. All four birds were perched on the crags above them. A shudder went through Gray Wing from his ears to his pads as four heads swiveled toward him and his denmates.
Two of the eagles took off with cumbersome wing-beats to gain height—then they swooped.
“Cloud Spots! Turtle Tail!” Gray Wing yowled. “Run to the next boulder! Lure the birds toward you!”
The two cats took off, racing across the snow-covered slope, and the pair of eagles flapped after them. Gray Wing and Bright Stream huddled into the shelter of a boulder as the birds passed over their heads.
“I’ll attract the others,” Bright Stream whispered.
Before Gray Wing could respond, she slipped out into the open, and began trotting in circles, pretending to limp. As the other two eagles took off and flew toward her, she darted back under the rock where Gray Wing was waiting.
“That was risky,” he muttered.
“It worked, didn’t it?”
The two eagles settled, one on top of the rock and one on the ground, peering underneath. Gray Wing spotted Clear Sky and the others creeping out from under the overhang, preparing to surround the bird on the rock.