“Clear Sky told us that a fox must have killed Bumble. There was certainly fox scent all over the clearing.”
Gray Wing stood on the tall rock at the end of the hollow, with his cats gathered around him. He was coming to the end of the story of what the patrol had found when they went to the forest.
“And do you believe him?” Rainswept Flower asked.
“I don’t know what to believe,” Gray Wing confessed. “But I do know that starting a fight with Clear Sky wouldn’t help any cat.”
“So what did you do then?” Jackdaw’s Cry asked.
“We buried Bumble and came home.”
Jackdaw’s Cry let out a hiss of anger, his claws raking the grass. “You mean you let him get away with it? That’s flea-brained!”
“That’s what I told him.” Wind Runner looked just as furious, her tail lashing. “Clear Sky will just think we’re weak! Is that what we want?”
“No!” Jagged Peak yowled; Shattered Ice and Jackdaw’s Cry echoed him.
“Now, wait a moment.” Tall Shadow rose to her paws and padded into the middle of the group. “What would be really flea-brained would be to attack Clear Sky when we’re all worked up about Bumble’s death. After all, she was only a kittypet.”
“She was my friend!” Turtle Tail flashed.
“I know.” Tall Shadow’s voice was calm. “All I’m saying is, we need time to think.”
“And suppose Clear Sky won’t give us time?” Wind Runner challenged her.
Gray Wing realized he would have to intervene. He was relieved that Tall Shadow was recovering some of her old leadership skills, and she deserved his support.
“Tall Shadow is right,” he meowed. “We’ll wait, and starting tomorrow we will send out extra patrols toward the forest, so that we can keep an eye on Clear Sky.” He locked glances with Wind Runner, half expecting her to argue, but after a moment’s pause she gave him a reluctant nod.
Gray Wing was glad to see that the other cats were calming down too. He leaped from the rock and padded over to Tall Shadow. “Thank you for that,” he mewed. “You said exactly the right thing.”
Tall Shadow dipped her head. “Should we talk about this?” she suggested.
With a murmur of agreement Gray Wing led the way to the shelter of a gorse bush. The sun had set over the moor, but the sky was still streaked with scarlet. Some cats had obviously been out hunting while Gray Wing’s patrol had been away, and a pile of prey lay at the bottom of the hollow. Most of the others gathered around to start eating, while Wind Runner leaped up onto the rock to keep watch, and Turtle Tail headed to her den to see her kits.
“Tall Shadow, what do you think we should do now?” Gray Wing asked.
The black she-cat thought for a moment. Gray Wing noticed that she was looking more energized, more like the leader she had once been. She doesn’t have to worry about Moon Shadow any longer, and she knows as well as any cat that we have to deal with Clear Sky.
“Do you want to take over as leader again?” he asked.
Tall Shadow shook her head. “I’m happy to share responsibility with you, Gray Wing,” she replied. Her mouth twisting wryly, she added, “I don’t even mind much that Wind Runner has started organizing us all. She’s a valuable cat, and once all this is over I think we should welcome her and Gorse Fur formally into our group.”
“Good idea,” Gray Wing meowed, pleased that Tall Shadow was losing some of her caution around other cats. Working together is the best way forward. “We need every cat on our side.”
“As to what we do now,” Tall Shadow went on, “some cat has to stop Clear Sky, before more damage is done.”
Gray Wing nodded. “You’re right, but it won’t be easy.”
Tall Shadow gave one forepaw a thoughtful lick and drew it over her ear. “Let me think about it,” she meowed.
Fighting off a sense of foreboding, Gray Wing padded down to the prey, chose part of a hare, and carried it up to Turtle Tail’s den to share with her and the kits.
Turtle Tail was sitting at the entrance to the tunnel, her paws tucked neatly underneath her. The kits were sleeping behind her in a heap of fur.
“Are they okay?” Gray Wing asked as he set the prey down in front of her.
Turtle Tail sighed. “I think they are now. But they were upset when I had to tell them that Bumble is dead. Pebble Heart in particular took a long time to drift off.”
Gray Wing glanced at his mate, faintly surprised at the note of accusation in her voice.
“I didn’t make any of this happen,” he mewed. “We could never have accepted Bumble into our group. She wouldn’t have been able to cope.”
Turtle Tail’s shoulders sagged. “I know,” she murmured, her voice so full of grief that she could hardly get the words out. “I believe in you, Gray Wing. I know this isn’t your fault. It just broke my heart to see her lying there, bleeding. I wish things could have been different.”
Gray Wing pressed himself close to her side and covered her ears with comforting licks. “I’m sorry you’re hurting, Turtle Tail,” he murmured. “You and the kits are the most important things in my life. I never dared hope for such happiness… ,” he mewed. “After the fire, I wondered if I could carry on as leader, but you made me rest, and now I’m ready to lead again—with Tall Shadow, if that’s what she wants.”
“But how will you lead?” Turtle Tail asked, looking up and gazing into his eyes. “Innocent cats are being slaughtered—and for what? So Clear Sky and his cats can have enough to eat?”
“No,” Gray Wing replied. “I’m not sure that Clear Sky killed Bumble. I think it was the fox, and besides, I don’t believe this is about hunting anymore. Clear Sky already has more territory than any cat could possibly want. I think he has some kind of plan. I have no idea what it is, but in part of his mind, Clear Sky honestly thinks he’s doing this for a good reason.” He let out a long sigh. “Some cat has to get to the bottom of it all somehow.”
“And that cat has to be you?” Turtle Tail asked.
Gray Wing blinked at her. “What other cat is there?”
Chapter 27
Thunder ducked underneath a low-growing elder branch and headed into the clearing, a mouse dangling from his jaws.
Skirting the pool in the middle of the camp, he padded to Petal, who had made a new nest for herself and Misty’s kits underneath an arching clump of ferns. The kits had survived for the three days since their mother’s death, and Thunder was hopeful that they would grow up into healthy cats.
“There you go,” he mewed, dropping the mouse in front of Petal.
“Thanks, Thunder,” Petal responded, dipping her head gratefully. “My belly’s so empty, they can probably hear it rumbling on the moors.”
Thunder saw that she had chewed up some squirrel into a mush, and was encouraging the kits to lap it up. The little she-cat turned her head away and pressed herself against Petal’s belly, rooting for milk.
“No, little one,” Petal murmured gently, guiding the kit back to the squirrel mush with one paw. “This is what you need to eat now that you’re getting bigger.”
“Big kit now,” the tiny she-cat agreed, sniffing at the squirrel mush and then starting to suck it down.
Thunder was amazed to see the kind and loving look in Petal’s eyes as she gazed down at the kits. Petal—the toughest she-cat you could wish to meet! “Have you given them names yet?” he asked.
“Yes,” Petal replied. “The little tom is Birch and the she-cat is Alder.”