Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 The sun began to set for the third time since Fireheart had almost drowned. The young warrior was washing himself outside his den, scraping his tongue across his fur. He kept imagining that he could still taste the muddy water. As he twisted his head to wash his back, he heard the pad of approaching paws, and looked up to see Tigerclaw looming over him. "Bluestar wants you to go to the Gathering," the deputy growled. "Meet her outside her den— and bring Sandstorm and Graystripe." He stalked away before Fireheart could reply. Fireheart got up and stretched. Glancing around, he spotted Graystripe and Sandstorm eating beside the patch of nettles, and hurried over to join them. "Bluestar has chosen us to go to the Gathering," he announced. Sandstorm finished off her blackbird and swiped a pink tongue around her jaws. "But can we get to the Gathering?" she meowed, sounding puzzled. "I thought the stream was impossible to cross." "Bluestar said StarClan would be angry if we

didn't try," Fireheart mewed. "She wants to talk to us now—maybe she has a plan." Graystripe spoke through a mouthful of vole. "I just hope she doesn't expect us to swim." In spite of his words, his eyes shone with excitement as he gulped the rest of the fresh-kill and sprang to his paws. Fireheart knew he must be looking forward to a chance to see Silverstream, and he wondered if they had managed to meet in the time since he and Graystripe had been caught crossing the river after their ill-fated hunting mission for RiverClan. Fireheart thought of Silverstream's kits, and he wondered how Graystripe would be able to bear seeing them grow up in another Clan. Would Silverstream ever be able to tell them that Graystripe, the ThunderClan warrior, was their father? Fireheart tried to put the questions out of his mind as he and his friends crossed the clearing to the Highrock. Bluestar was sitting outside her den, with Whitestorm, Mousefur, and Willowpelt already by her side. A moment later Tigerclaw and Darkstripe joined them. "As you know, the moon is full tonight,"

Bluestar began when all the cats were gathered around her. "It will be hard to get to Fourtrees, but StarClan would expect us to do all we can to find a dry route. So I've chosen warriors only— this will be no journey for elders or apprentices, or queens expecting kits. Darkstripe, you led a patrol to examine the stream this morning. Report what you found." "The water's going down," meowed Darkstripe. "But not fast enough. We patrolled as far as the Thunderpath, and there's nowhere a cat could cross without swimming." "The stream's narrower up there," mewed Willowpelt. "Could we jump across?" "Maybe, if you grew wings," Darkstripe replied. "If all you've got is your own paws…" "But that has to be the best place to try," insisted Whitestorm. Bluestar nodded. "We'll start there," she decided. "Maybe StarClan will lead us to a safe place." She rose to her paws and led her cats quietly out of the camp. The sun had gone down, and twilight blurred the shapes of the forest. In the distance an owl

hooted, and Fireheart could hear the rustle of prey in the undergrowth, but the warriors were too intent on their journey to hunt. Bluestar took them straight through the trees to the place where the stream emerged from a hard stone tunnel underneath the Thunderpath. Their usual route to Fourtrees did not pass this close to the Thunderpath, and Fireheart wondered what his leader was planning to do. When they reached the tunnel, he saw that floodwater spread out on either side, reflecting the pale light of the rising moon. Water covered the Thunderpath as well, and as the cats watched they saw a monster pass by, moving slowly, throwing up a filthy wave from its round black paws. Once the monster had disappeared into the distance, Bluestar led her cats to the water's edge on the hard surface of the Thunderpath. She sniffed the water, wrinkling her nose at the stench, and cautiously put one paw into the flood. "It's shallow enough here," she meowed. "We can walk up the Thunderpath until we're on the other side of the stream, and get to Fourtrees along the border with ShadowClan."

Walk up the Thunderpath! Fireheart felt his coat begin to prickle with fear at the thought of deliberately following the tracks of the monsters. Cinderpaw's accident had shown him what they could do to a cat, and she had only been at the edge. "What if another monster comes?" asked Graystripe, voicing Fireheart's fear. "We will keep to the side," Bluestar replied calmly. "You saw how slowly that monster was moving. Maybe they don't like getting their paws wet." Fireheart saw that Graystripe still looked doubtful. He shared his friend's worries, but there was no point in protesting any more. Tigerclaw would just berate them for being cowards. "Bluestar, wait," called Whitestorm as the Clan leader waded into the water. "Remember how low our territory is on the other side of this stream? I can't help thinking it will be flooded there, too. I don't think we'll get to Fourtrees without going onto ShadowClan territory, which is higher." A cat close to Fireheart let out a faint hiss, and Fireheart felt another pang of fear. A band of

warriors setting paw across the border of a Clan with which they had recently battled? If a patrol caught them, they would think it was an invasion. Bluestar paused with water lapping over her paws, and looked back at Whitestorm. "Maybe," she acknowledged, "but we'll have to risk it, if it's the only way." She set off again without giving her cats any time to protest. There was nothing to do but follow. Fireheart splashed along the edge of the Thunderpath just behind Whitestorm. Tigerclaw brought up the rear to keep a lookout for monsters coming up from behind. At first everything was quiet, except for a single monster traveling in the other direction on the opposite side of the Thunderpath. Then Fireheart heard the familiar growling and the splash of an approaching monster. "Look out!" Tigerclaw yowled from the end of the line. Fireheart froze, pressing himself against the low wall that edged the Thunderpath as it crossed the stream. Darkstripe scrambled on top of it and crouched there, baring his teeth at the monster as