Did Shaded Moss make her his successor? Gray Wing wondered. They talked together a lot. And I don’t think Tall Shadow would lie.
Though tension was rising among the cats, none of the others challenged Tall Shadow. Gray Wing was aware of a moment of grief. We’re all wondering how different things would be if Shaded Moss were still here.
He knew that this place wasn’t as wonderful as they had hoped when they set out from the mountains, or even when they first arrived on the moor after crossing the Thunderpath, but in the torrential rain no cat had the appetite for more journeying.
We’re here… we have to make the best of it.
Chapter 14
As the cats shared Moon Shadow’s prey, Gray Wing thought that Clear Sky seemed sad and angry. He hadn’t spoken, except for a brief word of thanks to Moon Shadow, and he only took a couple of mouthfuls.
“You need to talk to your brother about Bright Stream,” Turtle Tail murmured into Gray Wing’s ear. “You can’t avoid him forever.”
“I’ll think about it,” Gray Wing responded, though he shrank from the idea of Clear Sky’s fury turned against him.
Later that day the rain stopped and the sky cleared as wind sent the clouds scudding away. Gray Wing spotted his brother climbing the slope of the hollow alone. Briefly he hesitated. You’ll never have a better chance than this, he told himself, setting out to follow.
Clear Sky raced across the moor in a direction Gray Wing hadn’t yet walked. Where is he going?
After a while, he realized that his brother was heading toward the river. Gray Wing had never seen it up close, and curiosity tingled through his pads as he heard the sound of thundering water.
Clear Sky reached the riverbank at the point where a waterfall crashed down over rocks, throwing up fountains of spray. Beyond the falls, the river ran through sheer walls of stone. The recent rain had left it noisy and foaming. The sound and sight of the tumbling water reminded Gray Wing of his home in the mountains.
Watching the river, Gray Wing briefly lost sight of Clear Sky before realizing his brother was climbing down one of the narrow paths that led to the water’s edge. Gray Wing followed, setting his paws carefully and hugging the rock face, away from the sheer drop into the river.
Clear Sky was in no hurry, and Gray Wing soon began to catch up. “Did you come here because it reminds you of our waterfall?” he asked him.
Startled, Clear Sky spun around. His paws skidded on the slick surface of the path, and he let out a squeal of alarm as he slid over the edge.
Gray Wing bounded forward, caution forgotten, and managed to grab his brother’s scruff before Clear Sky could plunge into the gorge. For a few heartbeats Clear Sky dangled above the turbulent water, his paws flailing helplessly, Gray Wing’s grip the only thing that kept him from falling. His terrified blue eyes gazed up into Gray Wing’s.
An image flashed into Gray Wing’s mind of how he had tried to cling to Bright Stream as the eagle dragged her away. “I won’t let you die too,” he hissed through clenched teeth.
Confusion battled with the fear in Clear Sky’s eyes. “What…?”
With a mighty effort, Gray Wing hauled his brother upward until he could set his paws firmly on the path again. Clear Sky shook himself; his blue gaze was furious as he glared at Gray Wing. “You flea-brained idiot!” he snarled, his neck fur bristling. “Did you have to creep up on me like that?”
Gray Wing was still shaking from the thought of what could have happened. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.
Clear Sky glared at him for a moment longer, then let his fur lie flat again. “What did you mean, you won’t let me die too?” he asked.
Gray Wing took a deep breath. Then the words he had wanted to say for almost a moon tumbled out of him. “I can’t bear what happened to Bright Stream! I know it was my fault she died. I’ve wished over and over we could have switched places. I’m more sorry than I can ever tell you.”
Clear Sky’s eyes widened and he stared at Gray Wing in astonishment. “It wasn’t your fault she died!” he choked out. “The whole plan was my idea. I should never have let her go out to fight the eagles, not when she was carrying our kits. I killed her!”
Gray Wing stared at Clear Sky in disbelief, then took a pace forward so that he could push his muzzle into his brother’s shoulder fur. “Perhaps it was no cat’s fault,” he murmured, his voice rough with grief. “Just a terrible accident. We can’t both live our lives feeling guilty. Bright Stream wouldn’t want that. She loved you too much to want you to be unhappy.”
Gray Wing wasn’t sure that he was choosing the right words. He had been sunk so deeply in his own guilt for so long. But knowing that Clear Sky blamed himself, too, made him feel as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
We’ll still mourn Bright Stream, we’ll never forget her, but our lives will go on. Letting out a gusty sigh, Gray Wing gave his pelt a shake. “Why don’t we explore a bit farther downriver?” he suggested.
Clear Sky nodded. “Let’s do that.”
This time Gray Wing took the lead, down the narrow path and then alongside the tumbling torrent. Bright Stream’s death still pained them both, but Gray Wing was comforted to feel that they had recovered some of their old closeness.
They headed downriver. At first there was a clear path at the water’s edge, but undergrowth gradually encroached on it until the cats had to battle their way through. Gray Wing muttered curses under his breath as twigs and bramble tendrils snagged in his fur.
Eventually the undergrowth thinned out and they saw a tall outcrop of rocks jutting out from the river, which swept around it in two surging channels. Gray Wing spotted stepping-stones just above the surface of the water.
“Let’s explore!” Clear Sky exclaimed. Without waiting for Gray Wing’s response, he jumped neatly from stone to stone until he reached the outcrop. “Come on, it’s easy!” he called back to Gray Wing.
Gray Wing didn’t see the point of crossing to the outcrop, but he heard the hint of challenge in his brother’s voice. More hesitantly than Clear Sky, he leaped over the stepping-stones. Their surfaces were uneven and slick with water, and Gray Wing had a vision of slipping and being carried away by the swift, choppy current.
“You took your time,” Clear Sky meowed as Gray Wing reached his side. He gave him a friendly butt with his head. “Let’s climb to the top.”
He set off with a powerful leap, and Gray Wing toiled after him. Finally they reached the summit of the outcrop, made up of several flat rocks at different levels, with deep cracks between.
Gray Wing glanced warily in all directions. “There’s a lot of cat scent around here.”
“I’m not surprised,” Clear Sky responded. “These rocks must be great for sunning yourself. And there’ll be plenty of prey in all these cracks.”
“Quite right,” a cold voice hissed from behind them.
Gray Wing and Clear Sky both jumped around, startled, to see a strange she-cat standing on the top of a flat rock a couple of tail-lengths away. She was completely black, except for one white paw and a white spot on one shoulder; her green eyes were narrowed, glaring at them with hostility.
“Hello,” Gray Wing meowed, trying to sound friendly.
The black she-cat wasn’t impressed. “Get off my rocks,” she snarled, sliding out her claws.
Clear Sky’s neck fur began to rise. “Who says they’re your rocks?”