As her shoulders loosened, he glared at her. “But I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again.”
Fear j abbed her belly. As he stalked away with Needletail, Violetpaw realized she was shaking. She backed away, then turned and raced for camp.
Dam p air settled over the clearing as the sun sank behind the trees. Violetpaw crouched at the edge of camp, a half-eaten m ouse beside her. Her Clanmates m oved quietly around the body ly ing in the m iddle. Kinkfur had been carried from the den and placed there, her paws tucked neatly beneath her. Tawny pelt and Dawnpelt had sm oothed her fur. Mistcloud, Sparrowtail, and Ratscar had gathered pinecones and early prim rose and laid them around her body. Now they sat in the twilight, ready to begin the vigil.
Violetpaw watched them, her thoughts j um bled. Twigpaw had left; Kinkfur had died; Needletail was no longer her friend. Did I think she would be, after I left her like that? She couldn’t forget the flash of pain in Needletail’s gaze as she’d spoken about waking up and finding Violetpaw gone.
Crowfrost padded from his den. He m oved stiffly, like an elder. His fur was unkem pt.
Violetpaw sat up, unease tugging in her belly. Was he just grieving? Or was som ething else wrong?
He stopped beside Kinkfur’s body and beckoned his Clanmates closer with a flick of his tail.
Violetpaw crossed the clearing and stopped beside Lionpaw and Birchpaw. Puddleshine blinked at her from the other side of Kinkfur’s body. Scorchfur and Spikefur sat together, their gazes dark.
“Kinkfur was a loy al ShadowClan cat for many moons before I was born.” Crowfrost’s mew was hoarse. “And she rem ained loy al and kind to the end. She fought beside us against the Dark
Forest cats. She was at the front of every battle. She defended her Clanmates as though she were defending her own kits.”
As the ShadowClan deputy went on, Spikefur narrowed his eyes, watching him as though watching prey.
“StarClan will welcome her. She has many friends there, and a kit, Dewkit, and long day s of endless hunting lie ahead of her.” He dipped his head. “She will be remembered.”
Ratscar leaned down to grasp a prim rose between his teeth. He lifted it and laid it on Kinkfur’s body. Kinkfur’s surviving kits, Mistcloud and Sparrowtail, leaned close, touching their noses to her pelt one last tim e. As Ratscar settled down beside his old friend, Crowfrost began coughing.
His Clanmates turned to watch as Crowfrost crouched, his body j erking. His rasping coughs echoed in the evening air. Violetpaw stiffened. For the first time she saw that his gaze was glassy with fever. Fear spiked through her chest as Puddleshine hurried to the deputy’s side.
“Fetch tansy!” Puddleshine called.
No cat m oved.
The ShadowClan deputy was ill. No one was left to lead.
Violetpaw felt weak with dread. Was sickness going to destroy the Clan?
Chapter 21
Catching his breath, Alderpaw paused on the last rocky slope that led to the Moonpool. His pads burned from the clim b. Leafpool leaped ahead of him. Jayfeather stopped at his tail.
“Hurry up,” the blind medicine cat grunted. “The moon won’t stay up all night.”
Still Alderpaw hesitated. A warrior was standing on the rim of the hollow, looking down at them. Alderpaw couldn’t make out who it was, but he caught the scent of WindClan. “It looks like Kestrelflight brought an escort again,” he told Jayfeather.
“It’s Harespring.” Jayfeather pushed past Alderpaw.
“How do you know?” Alderpaw clambered after him.
“I’ve sm elled his scent all the way along the trail,” Jayfeather puffed. “I wonder why
Kestrelflight only cam e with one warrior this tim e.”
“Perhaps Onestar thinks that his deputy is as good as two ordinary warriors,” Alderpaw guessed.
“Perhaps.” Jayfeather sounded unconvinced. He nodded to Harespring as he reached the top, and padded past him.
Alderpaw followed, glancing nervously at the WindClan deputy, who watched them, betray ing no expression. After his trip to the WindClan camp with Leafpool, he didn’t trust any of WindClan. Perhaps they all shared Onestar’s rage and paranoia.
He padded down the dim pled stone path. The Moonpool shone at the bottom. The half-moon’s reflection was rippling in the wind, which spiraled down between the sheltering cliffs. It ruffled Alderpaw’s fur, but he didn’t feel cold. Newleaf had finally loosened the stone grip of leaf-bare.
The night air was fragrant with scents.
Willowshine was sitting beside Mothwing and Puddleshine, but as the ShadowClan medicine cat spotted Leafpool, he hurried forward.
“How’s Twigpaw?” he asked as she reached the pool.
“She’s fine.” Leafpool dipped her head politely.
In the day s since the ThunderClan patrol had brought her home, Twigpaw had been quiet, her thoughts drifting easily. When Alderpaw had asked her about her time with ShadowClan, she’d told him that they’d treated her well but she was glad she didn’t have to live in such a disorganized Clan. Sadness had tinged her gaze as she’d said it, and, when he’d pressed her, she’d adm itted that even though she didn’t miss ShadowClan, she wished she could still be with Violetpaw.
“It felt good to have kin close by,” she had m urm ured.
Alderpaw had touched his nose to her cheek, wishing there was som ething he could say to com fort her.
In the hollow, Puddleshine’s eyes flashed with gratitude. “Twigpaw was am azing.”
Alderpaw blinked at him as he reached the pool. What had Twigpaw done that had im pressed the medicine cat so much? “Am azing?”
“She helped m e with the sick cats,” Puddleshine explained. “She knew which herbs to give and how to make even the sickest cats swallow them.”
Jayfeather grunted. “I suppose all that time she spent getting under m y paws wasn’t entirely wasted.”
Alderpaw ignored the grum py medicine cat, relishing the pride warm ing his belly. “Twigpaw loves to help.”
Leafpool leaned forward anxiously. “How are the sick cats?”
The glow faded from Puddleshine’s gaze. Alderpaw suddenly noticed how weary he looked, his pelt dull and unwashed, his tail drooping. “Kinkfur died a few day s ago,” he mewed.
Kestrelflight shifted his paws uneasily, avoiding the ShadowClan medicine cat’s gaze. Had he known about Kinkfur’s death before the m eeting? Did he feel responsible?
Puddleshine went on. “No cat has shown signs of im provem ent. Snakekit is just fur and bones, and Rowanstar’s lives are ebbing away.” He lowered his voice, one eye on Harespring, still standing at the top of the hollow. “And now Crowfrost has been taken ill.”
Alderpaw saw Leafpool swap anxious looks with Kestrelflight. His heart lurched. ShadowClan had no leader now. They would be more vulnerable than ever.
Mothwing padded forward. “We’ve scoured RiverClan territory for lungwort, but we’ve found nothing that fits y our description.”
Willowshine pricked her ears. “We wondered if birch sap might help. There’s a young tree near the river. The bark is soft enough to score into. We can gather sap and bring it to you if y ou like. Its sweetness will give the sick cats energy when they can’t eat.”
Jayfeather tipped his head curiously. “Birch sap? Does it cure coughs?”
“We don’t know y et. We’ve only just discovered it,” Willowshine told him. “But it won’t do any harm. It might be worth try ing until Onestar changes his m ind.”
Alderpaw’s belly tightened. From what he’d seen of the WindClan leader, Onestar was never going to change his m ind. His thoughts quickened. And if he doesn’t? How many ShadowClan cats will die? Would there be any cat left? Anger surged through him. “Why don’t the Clans j oin together and make Onestar give ShadowClan the herb?”