Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 The sky was growing pale with the first light of dawn when Fireheart and his warriors returned to the ThunderClan camp. Although Fireheart knew what he would find, it was still a shock to reach the top of the ravine and gaze down at the devastation. All the covering of gorse and fern had been stripped away by the fire. The earth floor of the camp was left exposed, surrounded by the blackened remains of the wall of thornbushes that was shored up with branches where the Clan cats had begun to repair it. "Will it ever be the same?" Sandstorm meowed softly as she came to stand beside him. A wave of exhaustion flooded over Fireheart as he thought of how much time and work it would take before the camp was fully rebuilt. "One day," he promised. "We've been through bad times before. We'll survive." He pressed his muzzle against Sandstorm's flank, taking comfort from her reassuring purr, before he led the way down the ravine. The bush where the warriors slept was still there, but the thick canopy of twigs had been

burned away. Only a few charred branches remained, the gaps between them interwoven with sticks. Brackenfur was crouched outside, while Longtail sat on watch near the entrance to the nursery, and Dustpelt paced back and forth in front of the elders' den. Brackenfur sprang to his paws as Fireheart and the others appeared, only to relax a moment later. "It's you," he meowed, relief in his voice. "We've been expecting Tigerclaw all night." "Well, you can stop worrying," Fireheart meowed. "He's too busy to worry about us. Tiger star is the new leader of ShadowClan." Brackenfur stared in astonishment. "Great StarClan!" he said with a gasp. "I don't believe it!" "What did you say?" Fireheart turned to see Longtail loping across the clearing. "Did I hear you right?" "You did." Fireheart could see the shock in the tabby warrior's face. "Tigerstar has taken over ShadowClan." "And they let him?" meowed Longtail. "Are they mad?" "Not mad at all," Whitestorm replied, coming

up to stand beside Fireheart. The elderly warrior scraped the bare earth with his paws and settled down on his haunches with a tired sigh. His thick white fur was stained with soot after the journey back through the forest. "The sickness almost destroyed the ShadowClan cats. They were desperate for a strong leader. Tigerstar must have seemed like a gift from StarClan." "It sounds like that's just what he was," Fireheart agreed heavily. "Apparently StarClan sent an omen to Runningnose to tell ShadowClan that a great leader would arise." "But Tigerstar is a traitor!" Brackenfur protested. "ShadowClan don't know that," Fireheart pointed out. By this time other cats were appearing. Brightpaw and Swiftpaw ran over from the apprentices' den; Dustpelt padded up with Darkstripe's apprentice, Fernpaw; Speckletail peered curiously out from the nursery. As they pressed around Fireheart with their questions, he had to raise his voice to make himself heard. "Listen, all of you," he meowed. "There's

something you need to hear." And I have to tell Bluestar, he added silently, bracing himself for the encounter. "Whitestorm will tell you what happened at the Gathering," he went on, "and then I want a dawn patrol." He hesitated, looking around at the assembled cats. All the warriors were tired; those who hadn't been to the Gathering had stayed awake to guard the camp. Before Fireheart could decide who to send, Dustpelt spoke. "Ashpaw and I will go." Fireheart dipped his head gratefully. The brown warrior had never been friendly toward him, but he was a loyal cat to ThunderClan, and he seemed to accept Fireheart's authority as deputy. "I'll go too," Mousefur offered. "And me," meowed Cloudpaw. Fireheart let out a purr of appreciation at his apprentice's words. He was pleased that his sister's son was working harder for the Clan and showing more commitment to Clan life, after the disastrous episode when he was taken away by Twolegs and had to be rescued. "Dustpelt, Mousefur, Cloudpaw, and Ashpaw, then," he

meowed. "The rest of you get some sleep. We'll need hunting patrols later on." "What about you?" asked Darkstripe. Fireheart took a deep breath. "I'm going to speak to Bluestar." The curtain of lichen had been burned away from the entrance to Bluestar's den at the base of the Highrock. As Fireheart approached, Cinderpelt, Thunderclan's medicine cat, emerged into the clearing and paused to stretch. Her dark gray fur was ruffled, and she looked worn out from the strain of caring for the Clan in the aftermath of the fire, but the strength of her spirit still shone in her blue eyes. Fireheart was reminded of the time when she had been his eager apprentice, until she had been lured too close to the Thunderpath, in a trap which Tigerclaw had set for Bluestar. The young cat's leg had been permanently injured so she could never be a warrior, but she had always kept her commitment to serving her Clan. Fireheart padded up to her. "How is Bluestar today?" he asked quietly. Cinderpelt cast a worried glance back into the

den. "She didn't sleep last night," she replied. "I've given her juniper berries to calm her, but I don't know if they'll do any good." "I need to tell her what happened at the Gathering," Fireheart meowed. "And she's not going to like it." Cinderpelt's eyes narrowed. "Why not?" As quickly as he could, Fireheart told her. Cinderpelt listened in shocked silence, her blue eyes wide with amazement. "What will you do?" she asked when Fireheart had finished. "There isn't much I can do. Besides, it could be a good thing for ThunderClan. Tigerstar's got what he wants now, and with any luck he's going to be far too busy working his new Clan into shape to bother about us." Seeing that Cinderpelt looked disbelieving, he added hastily, "Who they choose for leader is ShadowClan's business. We'll have to keep a watch on our borders, but I don't believe Tigerstar will be much of a threat, for a while, at least. I'm more worried about how Bluestar is going to take it." "This is going to make her worse," Cinderpaw meowed anxiously. "I only hope I can find the