Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 Firestar emerged from the forest near Sunningrocks and paused to taste the air. The sun was rising behind him, sending long shadows from the forest toward the river. Several days had passed since Darkstripe had left ThunderClan, and so far the patrols had not brought any news of him, nor of ShadowClan cats in the territory. But the memory of Firestar's dream was still too sharp for him to believe that the threat from the territory beyond the Thunderpath was over. Graystripe and Thornclaw padded out of the trees behind him. "Smell anything?" Graystripe asked. Firestar shrugged. "Only RiverClan cats. No more than I'd expect, this close to the border. But I want to make sure that they haven't been near Sunningrocks." "We'll renew the scent markings," meowed Graystripe. "Come on, Thornclaw." While his friends disappeared into the gullies among the rocks, Firestar remained where he was, carefully drawing the air over his scent glands. Though he was worried about ShadowClan, he

had not forgotten RiverClan or their ambitious leader, Leopardstar. She had tried to retake Sunning-rocks not long before, and Firestar would not be surprised if she decided to try again. Not many moments passed before he detected fresh RiverClan scent. Instantly suspicious, he padded around the base of the rocks, only to relax a few moments later as he caught sight of Mistyfoot. She was alone, crouched at the very edge of the river, and as Firestar watched she scooped a fish out of the water and killed it with one blow of her paw. "Well done!" Firestar called. Mistyfoot turned, saw him, and padded up the gently sloping bank as far as the border. Firestar went to meet her there, glad to see that she still looked friendly in spite of the way she had left the ThunderClan camp. But he noticed with alarm that Mistyfoot was much thinner than when he had last seen her, and he wondered if something bad had happened following the revelation that Bluestar had been her mother. "How are you, Mistyfoot?" he meowed. "I hope there hasn't been any trouble."

"About me and Stonefur?" Mistyfoot replied, guessing his thoughts. She hesitated. "Stonefur told the Clan the truth about Bluestar," she meowed at last. "Some of them didn't like it. One or two of them won't talk to us at all now, and most of them are a bit uneasy with us." "I'm sorry to hear that," Firestar mewed. "What about Leopardstar? Has she said anything?" "I could tell she wasn't pleased. She supported us in front of the Clan, but I think she has an eye on us all the same, to make sure we're still loyal." "Of course you're loyal!" Firestar exclaimed. "Yes, and the rest of the Clan will realize it sooner or later. Besides…" Mistyfoot paused again, and then went on. "That isn't the worst of our problems." "What do you mean?" "Tigerstar." Mistyfoot shivered. "He visits Leopardstar regularly, and I can't work out why. I'm sure they're planning something." A jolt of fear shot through Firestar. "Planning what?" Mistyfoot twitched her ears. "I've no idea. Leopardstar hasn't told Stonefur, even though

he's her deputy. But there are a couple of ShadowClan warriors stationed permanently in our camp." "What? That shouldn't happen! It must be against the warrior code!" Mistyfoot shrugged, looking defeated. "Try telling that to Leopardstar." "But what are they doing there?" "Leopardstar says that they're staying with us so the Clans can exchange training methods and fighting techniques, but I don't see much sign of it. All they do is watch…. It's like they're learning all about us, all our secrets and weaknesses." Mistyfoot's fur bristled as if she saw her enemies in front of her. "That's why I came over here, to get away from them for a bit." "That's terrible," Firestar meowed. "What is Leopardstar thinking?" "You want my opinion? She wants to do the best for her Clan and she thinks Tigerstar is the strongest leader in the forest, so she's set out to be his ally." "I'm not sure Tigerstar has allies," Firestar warned her. "Only followers."

Mistyfoot nodded. "I know." She sat down, licked one paw, and drew it two or three times over her ear. Firestar wondered if she was regretting saying so much to a warrior of another Clan. "How is the prey running?" he asked, hoping to distract her. "At least the river hasn't frozen yet." "Not yet. Prey's scarce, but that's nothing new." Mistyfoot flicked her ears dismissively. "It's leaf-bare, after all. And those two warriors of Tigerclaw's don't help," she added. "They sit there in camp stuffing their faces, but they never bring back much fresh-kill." She broke off at the sound of Graystripe's voice yowling her name. Firestar turned to see his friend bounding down the bank toward them with Thornclaw just behind him. "Hi, Mistyfoot," panted Graystripe as he came up. "How are Featherpaw and Stormpaw?" "They're fine, Graystripe," replied Mistyfoot, with a purr of welcome for her former Clan mate. Though Graystripe's stay in RiverClan had been short, the two cats had become good friends, and Mistyfoot was always willing to give Graystripe

news of his kits. "Featherpaw is turning into a great fighter. ThunderClan will have to watch out when she's made a warrior." Graystripe let out a purr. "Well, she couldn't have a better mentor." Firestar backed away while Graystripe and Mistyfoot discussed the two apprentices. Thornclaw padded up to him and meowed, "We've renewed the scent markings, Firestar. There's no fresh RiverClan scent around the rocks." "That's good," Firestar responded, though his thoughts were only half on what the young warrior was telling him. Mistyfoot's news deeply disturbed him. It sounded as if RiverClan and ShadowClan were allied more closely than ever before. And if Tigerstar decided to go to war, ThunderClan would be trapped between them. Oh, StarClan, Firestar murmured to himself. Show me what I should do now. After his talk with Mistyfoot, Firestar ordered extra patrols, but no cat reported anything unusual. The days slipped past peacefully until the