“I don’t want to cross,” Falling Feather whimpered, crouching down with her nose on her paws.
“Can’t we stay on this side?” Hawk Swoop asked. “Back on Highstones? There was plenty of space up there.”
“Yes, but no prey,” Clear Sky pointed out. “We need trees, bushes, and long grass to feed us all.”
“Well, you can cross without me,” Falling Feather mewed stubbornly.
Shattered Ice padded up to her and rested his tail on her back. “We’ve come this far together,” he told her gently. “We’re not leaving any cat behind now. I’ll look after you, I promise.”
Falling Feather rose shakily to her paws.
Gray Wing noticed that Turtle Tail was also looking terrified, and he brushed his pelt against hers. “You’ll be okay,” he murmured.
Turtle Tail flattened her ears. “It’s too soon after Shaded Moss.”
Gray Wing nodded. “I know. But the sun trail has led us here. It’s just one more obstacle, that’s all.”
Quivering, the cats gathered at the edge of the Thunderpath. The black stone extended in front of them, the far side looking a long way away. Gray Wing watched his brother, admiring Clear Sky’s courage as he ventured close to the path and scanned it in both directions, leaping back just in time as monsters roared past.
“Okay,” Shattered Ice meowed. “Let’s split up. Clear Sky, you lead the first group, and then keep watch for the rest of us at the other side. Quick Water, Tall Shadow, Cloud Spots, and Jackdaw’s Cry, go with him.” As the cats he had named gathered together, he went on: “Rainswept Flower, Dappled Pelt, Turtle Tail, and Falling Feather, come with me. And Gray Wing, you lead the last group, with Jagged Peak, Hawk Swoop, and Moon Shadow.”
Gray Wing nodded in response, and braced himself for the crossing.
Every cat seemed to feel better now that Shattered Ice had come up with a plan. Clear Sky led his group to the edge of the Thunderpath and waited for a glittering blue monster to pass. The sound of its roaring died away into silence.
“Now!” Clear Sky yowled.
His group sprang forward and raced across the Thunderpath, their paws barely skimming the surface. Clear Sky ran alongside Tall Shadow, making sure that she didn’t lag behind. They reached the other side with heartbeats to spare before the next monster appeared. Gray Wing lost sight of them in the long grass.
“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Shattered Ice declared, as he flicked his tail to wave his own group up to the edge.
He and his cats had to wait a long time before the next gap in the continuous lines of monsters. Clear Sky reappeared at the other side and signaled to them with his tail.
“Okay! Now!” he yowled.
The cats were leaping forward onto the Thunderpath when Clear Sky let out another shriek. “No! Go back!”
With screeches of alarm the cats retreated. Shattered Ice grabbed Falling Feather by the scruff and hauled her out of danger as a bright red monster appeared out of nowhere, flashing past with a snarl.
“Dungeater!” Turtle Tail yowled after it. She seemed to have forgotten how nervous she had been.
Shattered Ice and his group approached the edge of the Thunderpath again, more cautious than ever after their narrow escape. But this time the path cleared quickly, and no monsters threatened them as they raced across.
Gray Wing gestured with his tail to gather his own group together. Trying to force his paws to stop shaking, he lined up Jagged Peak, Moon Shadow, and Hawk Swoop at the edge of the Thunderpath. Stooping, he pressed his ear to the stone surface, but he couldn’t sense any vibrations.
“Okay… now!”
With his group hard on his paws, he bounded onto the Thunderpath. But as they reached the halfway point, he heard the roar of an approaching monster, growing rapidly louder until the sound filled the whole world.
“Faster!” Gray Wing screeched.
He had almost reached the edge when Clear Sky leaped out from the grass, barged past him and headed for the middle of the Thunderpath. Horrified, Gray Wing skidded to a halt and turned to see Jagged Peak crouching in the path of the monster, frozen with terror. Clear Sky scooped him up by his scruff and leaped back in two mighty strides, just as the gigantic monster thundered past.
“You stupid, stupid kit!” Clear Sky snarled, dropping Jagged Peak and glaring at him. “Don’t you know by now not to stop in the middle like that?”
Jagged Peak cowered down into the grass as if trying to hide from his brother’s fury. “I—I’m sorry,” he stammered.
“It’s my fault too,” Gray Wing meowed. “I should have realized he wasn’t with me.”
Before his littermate could respond, Quick Water pushed her way forward. “Clear Sky, calm down,” she snapped. “It was a scary moment for all of us.” Bending over Jagged Peak, she gave his head fur a couple of quick licks. “Come on,” she murmured. “You can walk with me for a bit.”
Jagged Peak struggled to his paws, giving Quick Water a grateful glance.
Every cat was shaky, their fur ruffled and dirty. They stumbled up the grassy slope in front of them, their excitement gone, their courage almost spent.
Chapter 13
The slope led onto open moorland covered in tough, springy grass and clumps of gorse. Gray Wing relaxed, reveling in the open sky and the breeze that carried the scent of rabbits.
I could live my whole life here.
Toward nightfall, they came across a shallow hollow lined with gorse bushes and small rocks that offered shelter. A pool of peaty brown water lay at the bottom.
“We’ll stay here for now,” Tall Shadow said. “We can rest and explore, and decide whether this is the place Stoneteller meant for us to find.”
After a couple of days spent drowsing in the hollow, venturing out only to hunt rabbits, Clear Sky was the first to lead out a group to explore, taking Dappled Pelt, Falling Feather, and Moon Shadow with him.
“We went as far as the river,” Clear Sky reported when they came back. “There’s a massive waterfall, thundering down into a gorge.”
“No cave behind it, though,” Falling Feather mewed regretfully.
On the following day, Gray Wing set out with Cloud Spots, Rainswept Flower, Jagged Peak, and Turtle Tail. The sun shone brightly in a blue sky, clear except for a few wisps of white cloud. A breeze was blowing from the forest in front of them, bringing with it the scent of fresh, growing vegetation.
“This feels so good!” Turtle Tail sighed, pausing to arch her back in a long stretch.
“No rain, no Thunderpaths, and plenty of prey,” Rainswept Flower agreed. “What else could we want?”
“We need to learn more about the place first,” Gray Wing warned her. “There might be dangers we know nothing about.”
Trekking on across the moor, they came to a steep slope leading downward. Ahead of them Gray Wing spotted a clump of fresh green leaves rustling in the wind. At first he wasn’t sure what it was, until he realized that he was looking at the tops of several trees.
“Let’s go look!” Jagged Peak meowed eagerly, springing forward.
Gray Wing hauled him back by hooking his tail around the young cat’s neck. “Yes, we’ll go look,” he replied sternly. “But you will stay with the rest of us and not dash around like a demented snow hare!”
Jagged Peak nodded, but flexed his claws impatiently as he followed Gray Wing.
The moorland grass gave way to lush fern and undergrowth. Pushing through at the head of his group, Gray Wing halted, letting out a gasp of amazement.
In front of him the ground fell away into a vast, circular hollow. The sides were lined with ferns and bushes, and at the bottom, four magnificent oak trees stretched their branches to the sky.