Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 A full moon crossed the sky behind thin wisps of cloud as Bluestar led her warriors to the Gathering. Fireheart was already uneasy. In spite of her declaration of war against StarClan, Bluestar had insisted on going. "How can I trust you to lead the Clan?" she had spat at her deputy when he had asked her which warriors he should take. Fireheart had simply bowed his head in obedience, but he could still feel the pain of knowing that his leader was convinced he was a traitor. He also had his doubts about including Graystripe, but his friend had begged desperately to be allowed to come. "Please, Fireheart! I'll be able to get news of Featherkit and Stormkit," he had meowed. Fireheart knew that Graystripe was inviting hostility from RiverClan by appearing so soon after the battle at Sunningrocks, and had half hoped that Bluestar would refuse. But the ThunderClan leader had merely flicked her tail dismissively. "Let him come. You're all traitors, so what does it matter?" Now Fireheart bunched together with the

other ThunderClan warriors to follow Bluestar down the slope. As they emerged into the hollow, the first thing he saw was Tigerstar and Leopardstar sitting side by side, watching approvingly as a group of their apprentices scuffled playfully with eachother. Fireheart's fur crawled as he saw those two together. He still had no evidence that Tigerstar was plotting revenge on his former Clan, but Leopardstar would certainly be feeling hostile after her Clan's defeat at Sunningrocks. "You've done a good job there," meowed Leopardstar to her companion. "Those are strong young cats, and they've learned their fighting moves well." A purr rumbled in Tigerstar's chest. "We've made some progress," he agreed. "But there's a long way to go yet." A pair of tumbling apprentices rolled right up to their leaders' paws and Leopardstar shifted backwards to give them more room. The young ShadowClan cats were certainly muscular and well fed, Fireheart thought; he could hardly believe they were the same scrawny creatures who

had almost died when the sickness swept through their Clan. He exchanged an uneasy glance with Graystripe; sooner or later, he was sure, ThunderClan would have to meet these skilled fighters in battle. At a word from Tigerstar the apprentices stopped their playful skirmish and sat up, licking their ruffled fur. The two leaders began to make their way toward the Great Rock. Fireheart spotted Bluestar already waiting at its base, but he couldn't see Tallstar, the WindClan leader. As the ThunderClan cats dispersed to meet with warriors in other Clans, he noticed Graystripe hurrying up to a plump bracken- colored she-cat, and caught the scent of RiverClan from her. Fireheart felt a pang of anxiety as he watched his friend. He trusted Graystripe absolutely, even though he would always have one paw in RiverClan while his kits were there. But several ThunderClan warriors would doubt his loyalty if they saw him so eager to talk to a RiverClan cat. "Mosspelt, how are you?" Graystripe greeted the she-cat. "How are Featherkit and Stormkit?"

"Featherpaw and Stormpaw now," replied Mosspelt proudly. "They've just been apprenticed." "That's great!" Graystripe's yellow eyes were glowing as he turned to Fireheart. "Did you hear what Mosspelt said? My kits are apprentices now." He glanced around. "They're not here, are they?" Mosspelt shook her head. "They're too newly apprenticed for that. Maybe next time. I'll tell them you were asking after them, Graystripe." "Thanks." Graystripe's excitement faded and was replaced by anxiety. "What did they think when I didn't come back from the battle?" "Once they knew you weren't dead, they coped well," replied Mosspelt. "Come on, Graystripe; it wasn't much of a shock. Every cat in RiverClan knew you would go back eventually." Graystripe blinked in surprise. "Really?" "Really. All the time you used to spend mooning around on the border or looking across the river. All the stories you told those kits about what you and Fireheart used to get up to when you were apprentices…It wasn't hard to see that your heart had never left ThunderClan."

Graystripe blinked again. "I'm sorry, Mosspelt." "Nothing to be sorry for," retorted Mosspelt briskly. "And you can be sure that your kits will be well cared for. I'll keep an eye on them, and Mistyfoot and Stonefur are mentoring them." "They are?" Graystripe's eyes lit up again. "That's great!" Fireheart felt a pang of misgiving. Mistyfoot and Stonefur were both fine warriors, but he wondered why they had agreed to mentor Graystripe's kits. Mistyfoot had been a good friend to their mother, Silverstream, and so she might be expected to take an interest. But she and her brother had reacted with such hostility when he told them that Bluestar was their mother that Fireheart was surprised they wanted anything to do with kits who were half ThunderClan. Or was it possible that they wanted to teach the kits to be especially hostile toward their father's Clan? "You'll tell them how proud I am, won't you?" Graystripe meowed urgently to Mosspelt. "And remind them to do what their mentors tell them?" "Of course I will." Mosspelt let out a reassuring

purr. "And I know Mistyfoot will help you keep in touch with them. Leopardstar might not like it, but…well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her." Fireheart had his doubts; after her rejection of Bluestar, Mistyfoot might not want anything more to do with ThunderClan. He suspected she would feel more loyal than ever to RiverClan and Graypool, the cat she had always loved as her mother. "Thanks, Mosspelt," mewed Graystripe. "I won't forget all you've done." He looked around as yowling sounded from the top of the Great Rock to signal the start of the meeting. Turning, Fireheart saw that all four leaders were now assembled, their pelts shining in the moonlight as they stood looking down at the cats below. He paid little attention as the leaders formally opened the meeting. Instead, he wondered whether Bluestar would mention the terrible assault on Swiftpaw and Brightpaw, and whether any of the other leaders had similar news. Fireheart almost hoped that they had, because that would prove that the dark force in the forest