ShadowClan patrol invaded our land—with one of the form er rogues!”
Dovewing j erked her head up. “It wasn’t an invasion! I saw the patrol. It was Puddleshine and Violetpaw, who is a ShadowClan apprentice now. They wanted herbs, not a battle!”
“Then why send two warriors with them?” Onestar scowled at her. “Why send a cat who has aligned herself with those who killed my warrior?”
Bramblestar snorted. “Two warriors and an apprentice don’t make an invasion.”
Onestar lashed his tail. “They were ShadowClan!” he hissed. “For all we know, that apprentice was scouting for her rogue friends.”
“Traitors!” Emberfoot y owled.
“Rogue lovers!” Crowfeather hissed.
Oatclaw flattened his ears. “ShadowClan has forgotten what it is to be a Clan.”
Harespring leaped onto an oak root, his pelt bushed. “Half their apprentices live with the rogues.”
Onestar nodded approvingly at his deputy. “They don’t even come to Gatherings any more.”
Leafpool padded to the front of the crowd and glared up at the WindClan leader. “Stop y owling about ShadowClan’s m istakes and think about y our own!”
Onestar’s eyes narrowed to slits. He leaned down toward the ThunderClan medicine cat, hissing, “I have m ade no m istakes.”
“You denied a valuable herb to a Clan in need!” Leafpool hissed back.
As she spoke, the grass at the edge of the clearing rustled. Crowfrost was leading his Clan into the clearing. They stream ed around the other cats, eyes flashing watchfully in the moonlight.
Crowfrost pushed through the crowd and clim bed into the great oak. He sat in Rowanstar’s place.
“Rowanstar has the sickness that has stricken our Clan. I will take his place tonight.”
Bramblestar and Misty star dipped their heads to the ShadowClan deputy as, below them, cats shifted to make room for his Clanmates. Puddleshine sat down beside Willowshine and Mothwing.
A low growl rum bled in Onestar’s throat.
Crowfrost ignored it. “Rowanstar would be well by now if Onestar had allowed us to gather herbs on his land.”
Onestar showed his teeth. “Gather y our precious herb som ewhere else. No ShadowClan cat will ever set paw on WindClan land again.”
Mothwing blinked up at Crowfrost. “What is this herb?”
“Lungwort,” Crowfrost told her. “StarClan shared dream s with Puddleshine. Runningnose told him that the sickness is called y ellowcough and that lungwort is the only cure.”
“Puddleshine had a dream from StarClan!” Willowshine’s eyes lit up. “Then he is truly a medicine cat.”
Mothwing shifted stiffly beside her.
Willowshine j erked her nose toward her form er m entor, guilt flashing in her gaze. “Of course that’s not the m ost im portant part of being a medicine cat,” she mewed quickly.
Alderpaw felt a stab of sy m pathy for Mothwing. “But he is ShadowClan’s only medicine cat,” he m urm ured. “It will be better for them that he can speak with StarClan.”
Mothwing looked at Puddleshine. “What does the herb look like?”
“It has dark green leaves specked with gray,” he told her. “I would show you if I could find som e. But Runningnose told m e it only grows on the m oor.”
Mothwing turned to Onestar. “May I pick the herb on y our land? I’m not a ShadowClan cat.”
Alderpaw leaned forward. Mothwing’s idea was a good one.
Onestar curled his claws into the oak bark. “Not if the herb is for ShadowClan,” he snarled.
Crowfrost’s pelt bushed. “Two of our elders are sick. They can’t last much longer without the herb,” he snapped at Onestar. “Are you determ ined to see innocent cats die?”
“No ShadowClan cat is innocent,” Onestar spat. “You are all sheltering the rogues.”
Crowfrost flattened his ears. “They live outside our territory!”
“How can we be sure?” Onestar thrust his m uzzle close to Crowfrost’s. “You took Violetpaw back. Can you be sure of her loy alty? And now y ou’re the Clan with a sickness y ou’ve never seen before. Perhaps the rogues brought it into y our Clan.”
Crowfrost held his gaze, hackles rising. “Violetpaw is one of us. The rogues are not living with our Clan.”
“But y our Clanmates are living with the rogues!” As Onestar spat back, y owls of agreem ent rose am ong the WindClan cats. RiverClan shifted uneasily, while ThunderClan exchanged anxious glances.
Fear spiked through Alderpaw’s pelt. The leaders mustn’t fight over this. Fighting wouldn’t cure any cat. “Kestrelflight?” He stared at the WindClan medicine cat. “Surely you won’t let Clan cats die?”
Panic sharpened the m ottled gray tom’s gaze. He glanced at Onestar, who was glowering at him, ears flat. “I can’t betray m y Clan,” he mewed hoarsely.
Mothwing touched Alderpaw’s shoulder with her tail softly. “It’s not fair to ask that of him.”
“Of course it’s fair. He’s a medicine cat, not a warrior!” Leafpool bristled beside them.
“What’s not fair is asking innocent cats to die because of one cat’s stubbornness!” She turned her furious gaze on Onestar.
Onestar stared at her coldly. “If ShadowClan drives the rogues away, they can have the herb.” Without waiting for a response, he leaped from the oak and pushed his way through the gathered cats. His Clanmates j oined him, and they stalked away through the grass, pelts spiking.
“I’m sorry.”
Kestrelflight’s whisper m ade Alderpaw j um p. The WindClan medicine cat was murmuring in Puddleshine’s ear. Before Puddleshine could respond, the WindClan medicine cat hurried away to j oin his Clanmates.
Bramblestar’s tail drooped over the edge of the branch as he watched WindClan leave.
Misty star glanced at the sky. Clouds were trailing across the moon. She turned to Crowfrost. “I will send patrols to search RiverClan territory for this herb,” she offered. “But if StarClan has said it is only on the m oor, I don’t have much hope of finding it.”
Crowfrost dipped his head gratefully as the RiverClan leader j um ped down from the branch.
Alderpaw blinked at Puddleshine as ThunderClan headed for the tree-bridge. “Congratulations on y our dream.”
“Thank y ou.” Puddleshine dipped his head. “I just wish Runningnose had told m e som ething that had helped us instead of m aking things worse.” He hurried away, following Crowfrost and Tawny pelt into the shadows. Misty star had already led her Clanmates into the long grass. The clearing was nearly em pty.
Alderpaw padded to the foot of the great oak and waited for his father to j um p down. “Could y ou send a secret patrol to gather lungwort in WindClan’s territory?” he mewed as Bramblestar landed behind him.
Bramblestar padded wearily past him. “And what would happen when Onestar found out?”
Alderpaw hurried after him. “Who cares about Onestar?” Frustration rippled through his pelt.
“Sick cats will die unless we help them.”
“Then ShadowClan must deal with the rogues,” Bramblestar meowed sim ply.
Alderpaw blinked eagerly. “We could help them!”
“It’s not our battle.”
“It’s every one’s battle! These are the rogues who drove Sky Clan away.”
“So?” Bramblestar’s shoulders sagged.
“Don’t you care about Sky Clan?” Why was his father giving up so easily? “They m ay be part of the prophecy!”
Bramblestar faced him in the deserted clearing. “Sky Clan is gone,” he meowed. “The sooner y ou accept that, the better.”
Alderpaw watched his father walk away, shock pulsing in his paws. Did Bramblestar really believe that? He glanced at the sky. StarClan! Would you really let SkyClan disappear without giving us a chance to save them?