Screeches of outrage and distress rose from the other cats. Jackdaw’s Cry and Shattered Ice leaped to their paws and began to pad around, quickly joined by Rainswept Flower and Dappled Pelt. Shocked and appalled, the cats huddled together in small groups. The meeting was beginning to break up in disorder.
“Wait—there’s more!” Wind Runner yowled, raising her tail for silence. “Misty had two kits. Gorse Fur and I searched all around Misty’s nest, but we couldn’t find them. They were gone. Either Clear Sky killed them, too, or they wandered off when their mother was killed. And they were far too young to survive alone. Don’t you see,” she went on, her voice tight with fury. “Clear Sky is extending his territory, and he doesn’t care what he does to make it happen. If we don’t act fast, we’ll lose everything we ever had! We can’t trust any cat—not even Thunder.”
Everything we ever had? Wind Runner’s words jolted Gray Wing. Since when did Wind Runner help us escape from the mountains or set up this camp? He sat in stunned silence as exclamations of pity and outrage erupted all around him.
“Killing kits—that’s the worst he’s ever done!” Turtle Tail exclaimed.
“And what are we going to do?” Shattered Ice asked.
Desperately trying to shut out the sounds of panic and rage, Gray Wing turned to Pebble Heart, who had followed him to the rock and was crouching close to his side again. “Is this the bad thing in your dream?” he asked.
Pebble Heart’s eyes were filled with horror at what he had heard, but he looked puzzled, too. “No… ,” he responded. “I’m not sure, but I don’t think the bad thing has happened yet.”
Gray Wing shook his head in confusion. He wanted to believe the kit, but he couldn’t imagine what Pebble Heart’s dream might have meant if it wasn’t about the death of the she-cat and her kits. Another bad thing in the forest… where will it all end?
While Gray Wing had been talking to Pebble Heart the caterwauling had died away. Jackdaw’s Cry’s voice rang out strongly. “We need a leader!”
Gray Wing looked up to realize that the cats were all focused on Wind Runner, who was still standing on top of the rock. Even Tall Shadow was glancing uncertainly from Gray Wing to the brown she-cat.
Gray Wing wasn’t sure what to do. He was acutely aware that he still hadn’t recovered completely from his illness. And Tall Shadow was staying on the outskirts of the group, clearly unwilling to take the leadership again.
But do we really want Wind Runner as our leader? A cat who was a rogue until a few sunrises ago?
He cleared his throat. “Tall Shadow, what do you—” he began.
Wind Runner interrupted him, speaking to all the cats who were gathered around her. She wasn’t even looking at Gray Wing. “I suggest taking a patrol to talk to Clear Sky,” she meowed. “We need to find out what happened to those kits.”
Yowls of agreement came from the surrounding cats.
“If he killed them I’ll rip his pelt off!” Shattered Ice threatened, digging his claws into the ground.
“I’ll help you,” Jackdaw’s Cry agreed.
Gray Wing knew that he had to take control. “Good idea, Wind Runner,” he mewed, rising to his paws. “Will you and Gorse Fur come with me? And I’ll take Turtle Tail and Cloud Spots too.” Turning to Shattered Ice and Jackdaw’s Cry, he added, “Not you two. There’ll be no pelt ripping until we find out exactly what’s going on.”
“We know what’s going on,” Shattered Ice growled, but to Gray Wing’s relief neither he nor Jackdaw’s Cry challenged his decision.
Good. You insisted on making me leader, so let me lead.
Gray Wing bent his head to speak quietly to Pebble Heart. “I’ll keep an eye out for the bad thing. Now find your brother and sister, and don’t worry.”
“I’ll look after them,” Rainswept Flower meowed, sweeping her tail around Pebble Heart and leading him away. “Good luck, Gray Wing.”
Turtle Tail followed for a few paces. “Good-bye, kits,” she mewed, touching each one on the head with her nose. “Behave yourselves for Rainswept Flower. I’ll be back soon.” Then she turned and hurried back to Gray Wing.
Gray Wing glanced around at the cats in his patrol; they were all pressing closely around him, their eyes eager. “Right,” he snapped. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 26
The sun was rising higher as Gray Wing led his cats across the moor. Ahead of them, the forest was a rustling green wall; the breeze carried scents of heavy green growth and prey.
Once he got going, setting the pace at a steady lope, Gray Wing found that his breathing was easy and he didn’t have any pain in his chest. “Maybe I’m really over this at last,” he mewed to Turtle Tail.
His mate twitched her ears. “Let’s hope so. But don’t you dare hide it from me again.”
Gray Wing was leading his patrol toward the edge of the forest nearest to Clear Sky’s camp. As they drew closer, his senses were alert for anything that might explain Pebble Heart’s dream. I trust him, he realized. Pebble Heart is going to be an extraordinary cat.
They passed the first of the outlying trees, and plunged into the undergrowth. As lush ferns brushed against his pelt, Gray Wing was watching for any sign of Clear Sky’s guards. But nothing halted their progress until an eerie shriek rose up in front of them, splitting the peaceful morning air.
“That was a cat!” Turtle Tail gasped.
“This way!” Wind Runner took the lead, racing toward the sound.
The shriek wasn’t repeated, but as he bounded after Wind Runner, Gray Wing could hear the faint noises of a cat in pain. He began to pick up the scent of fox. Is this Pebble Heart’s bad thing? he asked himself. Fear of what he was going to find throbbed within his heart.
Wind Runner led the way between two oak trees and vanished into a clump of ferns. As the patrol burst through after her, Gray Wing found himself in a small clearing. In the middle of a circle of trampled grass, a skinny tortoiseshell cat lay splayed out, blood trickling from wounds all over her body.
“Bumble!” Turtle Tail exclaimed. “Oh, no!”
Outstripping Wind Runner and Gray Wing, Turtle Tail raced across the clearing and flung herself down beside her friend. “Bumble, we’re here now,” she mewed, pressing her nose against Bumble’s shoulder. “We’ll help you.”
Gray Wing and the others padded across to stand beside the injured cat. The reek of fox was overwhelming now, drowning all other scents.
Bumble’s eyes were half closed and her breath came in shallow pants. Her glazed eyes were fixed on Turtle Tail.
Cloud Spots pushed forward and began to examine Bumble’s wounds. Gray Wing could see that there were slits down her belly and sides that were slowly leaking blood. Though he didn’t have Cloud Spots’s skills, Gray Wing guessed that none of the wounds alone would have killed her, but there were so many, and she was losing so much blood, that it was clear she was dying.
Cloud Spots looked up at him and gave a tiny shake of his head, confirming what Gray Wing already knew. “There’s nothing I can do,” he murmured. “This is beyond the power of any healing herbs.”
Turtle Tail shot him a grief-stricken look, and began licking at her friend’s wounds with a soothing murmur as if she were tending to her kits.
Gray Wing bent his head close to Bumble’s. “Who did this to you?” he asked. “Was it a fox?”