Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 Cinderpelt could tell Fireheart nothing more, nor suggest what the evil in the forest might be. "StarClan wouldn't repeat the warning if it weren't important," she meowed, her troubled blue gaze resting on Fireheart. "All we can do is keep watch." "At least Bluestar is back safely." Fireheart tried to encourage her, but it was a poor effort. Both cats were aware of the shapeless, voiceless threat hanging over the Clan they loved. In the days that followed, Fireheart did his best to set up a system of patrols that would give the Clan ample warning if ShadowClan or RiverClan decided to attack. There were barely enough warriors for the regular patrols and sentry duties, and Fireheart felt his fur grow thin with worry as the season moved on. The rain gave way to crisp, dry weather, but there was a thin rime of frost on the ground each morning and the remaining leaves dropped steadily from the trees. The brief recovery of the forest was over, and prey became scarce again. One morning, about half a moon after the

confrontation with WindClan, Fireheart was about to lead out the dawn patrol with Brackenfur and Cloudpaw when Bluestar came padding from her den. "I'll lead the patrol this morning," she meowed, and went to wait by the entrance to the camp. "Bluestar leading a patrol?" muttered Cloudpaw. "That ought to go well. Watch out for flying hedgehogs!" Fireheart aimed a cuff at the side of his head, but he couldn't help feeling as surprised as his apprentice that Bluestar should start taking up Clan duties again. "Show some respect," he ordered. "She's your leader, and she's been ill." Cloudpaw grunted. Fireheart was about to join his leader when an idea struck him. "Listen, Cloudpaw, you want to be a warrior, don't you?" The white cat nodded eagerly. "Well, then, this is your chance to impress Bluestar. We'll take another apprentice as well. Go and find Swiftpaw." Cloudpaw's eyes lit up with excitement, and he dashed off toward the apprentices' den. Fireheart watched him go, then turned to

Brackenfur. "Can you get Longtail?" He knew the pale tabby warrior would be pleased to have a chance to show off his apprentice's skills. "He's due to go out on hunting patrol—you don't mind swapping duties with him, do you?" "No, that's fine, Fireheart." Brackenfur disappeared into the warriors' den, and a moment later Longtail appeared. The two apprentices joined their mentors, and all four cats padded over to where Bluestar was waiting. Her tail twitched. "Sure you've got the right cats, Fireheart?" she inquired acidly. Without waiting for a reply she led the way out of the camp and up the ravine. As he followed the blue-gray she-cat toward the RiverClan border, Fireheart could almost imagine that the last few seasons had never happened, and he was still a young warrior going out on patrol without any of the responsibilities that troubled him now. But the fire-scarred forest reminded him that there was no going back. The frost was beginning to melt as the sun rose over the river, though the leaves still crackled beneath the cats' paws as they padded through

the shadows. As they went, Fireheart tested the two apprentices on what they could see and scent, hoping to demonstrate their hunting abilities to their leader. They answered confidently, but Bluestar gave no sign that she had heard. The ThunderClan leader paused when they came within sight of the river and stood gazing at the opposite bank. "I wonder where they are," she murmured, almost too quietly for Fireheart to hear. "What are they doing now?" Fireheart did not need to see the sadness in her eyes to know that she was thinking of Mistyfoot and Stonefur. He glanced uneasily at the other cats to see if they had noticed, but Swiftpaw and Cloudpaw were sniffing at an old water-vole hole, while Longtail was watching the movements of a squirrel high in the branches of a tree. After a few moments Bluestar turned and followed the border upstream toward Sunningrocks. Fireheart noticed that she kept casting glances into RiverClan territory. But everything was quiet. They saw no RiverClan cats at all. Eventually Sunningrocks came within sight.

The smoothly sloping boulders seemed deserted. Then, as Fireheart watched, a cat climbed up from the opposite side and stood silhouetted against the sky. Fireheart stopped dead, his fur prickling with the sense of danger. Though he could not make out the color of her fur, there was no mistaking that aggressive stance, the arrogant tilt of her head, and her long, winding tail. It was Leopardstar. A couple of other cats had joined Leopardstar, and as the ThunderClan patrol drew closer, Fireheart recognized Stonefur, the RiverClan deputy, and the warrior Blackclaw. "Bluestar!" he hissed. "What are RiverClan doing on Sunningrocks?" But Fireheart felt his heart sink with dread when he saw the way that Bluestar was looking at the RiverClan deputy—not the challenging glare of a leader faced with enemy cats on her territory, but the admiring gaze of a queen who has seen her beloved kit become a noble warrior. Bluestar padded forward until she reached the base of the rock where Leopardstar waited.

Fireheart followed. "What do they think they're doing?" Cloudpaw muttered indignantly behind him. "Sunningrocks is ours!" Fireheart shot him a warning glance to keep silent, and the apprentice dropped back beside Swiftpaw and Longtail, while Fireheart went to stand at Bluestar's shoulder. "Good day, Bluestar," Leopardstar meowed, her voice confident. "I've been waiting since moonset to see ThunderClan cats, but I never hoped that one of them would be you." There was an edge of mockery in her tone, and Fireheart winced that the head of his Clan could be scorned so openly by other leaders. "What are you doing here?" Bluestar asked. "Sunningrocks belongs to ThunderClan." But her voice was low and unchallenging, as if she did not really believe what she was saying—or did not care. "Sunningrocks has always belonged to RiverClan," Leopardstar retorted, "even though we allowed ThunderClan to hunt here for a while. But ThunderClan stands in our debt after the help