A Dangerous Path (24 page)

“What?” Cloudtail sprang to his paws. “Why didn't you say so? She'll claw my ears off if I keep her waiting!” He dashed off.

“Mouse-brain,” muttered Speckletail, but Fireheart suspected that she was as fond of the young warrior as all the elders.

Saying good-bye to Lostface and One-eye, he padded into the clearing in time to see Sandstorm leaving at the head of her hunting patrol. Brindleface was saying good-bye to them, gazing proudly at her foster kit.

“You will be careful, won't you?” she mewed anxiously. “None of us know what's out there.”

“Don't worry.” Cloudtail flicked her affectionately with his tail. “If we meet the dog, I'll bring it back for fresh-kill.”

At the entrance to the camp the patrol passed Longtail on his way in. The pale warrior was shaking as if with cold, and his eyes were staring. Instantly alarmed, Fireheart crossed the clearing to meet him.

“What's happened?” he asked.

Longtail shuddered. “Fireheart, there's something I have to tell you.”

“What's the problem?”

As he drew closer, Fireheart caught an unexpected scent on Longtail's fur—the stench of the Thunderpath. The acrid scent was unmistakable, and Fireheart's alarm turned to suspicion.

“Where have you been?” he growled. “To ShadowClan, maybe, to see Tigerstar? Don't try to deny it; your fur stinks of the Thunderpath!”

“Fireheart, it's not what you think.” Longtail sounded worried. “Okay, I did go that way, but I didn't go anywhere near ShadowClan. I went to Snakerocks.”

“Snakerocks? What for?” Fireheart wasn't sure that he could believe anything the pale warrior told him.

“I've scented Tigerstar there,” Longtail explained. “Two or three times lately.”

“And you didn't report it?” Fireheart felt his fur bristle with fury. “A cat from another Clan on our territory—a murderer and a traitor, what's more—and you didn't report it?”

“I…I thought…” stammered Longtail.

“I know what you thought,” Fireheart snarled. “You thought, ‘This is Tigerstar. He can do what he likes.' Don't lie to me. You and Darkstripe were his allies when he was in ThunderClan, and you're still his allies now. It was you or Darkstripe who told him about Swiftpaw and Lostface—don't try to deny it.”

“It was Darkstripe.” Longtail scuffled the dry earth with his paws.

“So that traitor could accuse Bluestar of negligence in front of the entire Gathering,” Fireheart concluded grimly. “So you could help him steal a couple of apprentices from this Clan. That's it, isn't it? You're plotting with Tigerstar to steal his kits.”

“No—no, you've got it wrong,” meowed Longtail. “I don't
know anything about that. Darkstripe and Tigerstar often meet together on the border by the Thunderpath, but they don't tell me what it's about.” He glared resentfully. “Anyway, this isn't about the kits at all. I went to Snakerocks to find out what Tigerstar was doing there. And I found something that you need to see.”

Fireheart stared at him. “You want me to come with you, to Snakerocks—where you admit you've scented Tigerstar? Do you think I'm quite mad?”

“But, Fireheart—”

“Silence!”
Fireheart hissed. “You and Darkstripe were always Tigerstar's allies. Why should I trust what you say now?”

He turned and stalked away. He was convinced that Longtail and Darkstripe were setting a trap for him, just as Tigerstar had once set a trap for Bluestar beside the Thunderpath. If he were mouse-brained enough to go with Longtail to Snakerocks, he might never come back.

He found that his paws had taken him to the medicine cat's clearing. As he brushed through the ferns, Cinderpelt put her head out of the cleft in the rock.

“Who—Fireheart! What's the matter?”

Fireheart halted, trying to get his anger under control.

Cinderpelt's blue eyes widened in consternation; she padded to his side and pressed her gray flank against him. “Steady, Fireheart. What got you worked up like this?”

“It's just…” Fireheart flicked his tail toward the main clearing. “Longtail. I'm convinced he and Darkstripe are plotting against the Clan.”

Cinderpelt narrowed her eyes. “What makes you think that?”

“Longtail wants to lure me out to Snakerocks. He told me he scented Tigerstar there. I think they're setting a trap for me.”

Dismay spread over the medicine cat's face, but when she spoke her words were not what Fireheart had expected.

“Fireheart—do you know how much you sound like Bluestar?”

Fireheart opened his mouth to reply, and could not. What did Cinderpelt mean? He was
nothing
like Bluestar, with her irrational fears that every cat in the Clan was trying to betray her. Or was he? He forced himself to relax, letting the fur on his shoulders lie flat again.

“Come on, Fireheart,” Cinderpelt urged. “If he meant to lead you into a trap with Tigerstar, would he
tell
you he'd scented him? Even Longtail isn't as mouse-brained as that!”

“I…suppose not,” Fireheart admitted reluctantly.

“Then why don't you go and ask him what it's all about?” As he hesitated, she added, “I know he and Darkstripe were Tigerstar's friends when he was here, but Longtail at least seems to be loyal to the Clan now. Besides, if he
is
tempted to betray the Clan, you won't help by refusing to listen when he tries to tell you something. That's just pushing him into Tigerstar's paws.”

“I know.” Fireheart sighed. “I'm sorry, Cinderpelt.”

Cinderpelt let out a little purr and touched her nose to his. “Go and talk to him. I'll come with you.”

Bracing himself, Fireheart headed out into the clearing again, looking around for Longtail. A chill ran through him as he realized that he might have already driven the pale warrior out in search of Tigerstar, but when he checked the warriors' den he was there, crouched in a huddle with Whitestorm.

“Whitestorm, you've got to listen to me,” Longtail was meowing as Fireheart and Cinderpelt entered. There was real fear in his voice. “Fireheart thinks I'm a traitor, and he won't have anything to do with me.”

“Well, it seems like you've been meeting Tigerstar and telling him our news,” Whitestorm pointed out reasonably.

“Not
me
—Darkstripe,” Longtail protested.

Whitestorm shrugged, as if he weren't interested in arguing. “All right, go on. What's the problem?”

“There are dogs living at Snakerocks,” Longtail blurted out.

“Dogs? Have you seen them?” Fireheart interrupted. Both his warriors looked up as he padded over to them, with Cinderpelt just behind.

“You're sure you want to hear?” Longtail said accusingly. “You're not going to charge me with plotting again, are you?”

“I'm sorry about that,” Fireheart mewed. “Tell me about the dog.”

“Dogs,
Fireheart,” meowed Longtail. “A whole pack of them.” Fireheart's blood turned to ice at the word
pack,
but he said nothing, and Longtail went on. “I told you I scented Tigerstar over at Snakerocks. I…I thought I should warn him about the danger there—and I wanted to know what he
was doing so far into ThunderClan territory. Well, I found out.” He shuddered.

“Go on,” Fireheart urged. He realized how wrong he had been; Longtail really did have important news to report.

“You know the caves?” Longtail meowed. “I was just coming up to them when I saw Tigerstar, but he didn't see me. I thought he was stealing prey at first because he was dragging a dead rabbit along, but he left it on the ground just outside the cave entrance.” He broke off, his eyes clouding with terror as he saw again something unseen by the other cats.

“And then?” Whitestorm prompted.

“Then this…this creature appeared out of the cave. I swear it was the biggest dog I've ever seen. Forget the stupid things that come with Twolegs. This was
huge.
I only saw its front paws and its head…enormous slavering jaws, and you've never seen such teeth.” Longtail's eyes were wide with the memory of fear.

“It snatched the rabbit and dragged it into the cave,” he continued. “And then the howling and barking started. It sounded as if there were more dogs in there, all fighting over the rabbit. It was hard to understand what they were saying, but I think they were saying ‘pack, pack' and ‘kill, kill.'”

Fireheart stiffened, every limb locked in terror, and Cinderpelt mewed quietly, “Those were the words in my dream.”

“And what Lostface said,” Fireheart added. He knew at last what terrible creatures had attacked the young she-cat. He
remembered that StarClan had warned Bluestar about a pack. Longtail had discovered the true nature of the evil in the forest, the force that had turned the cats into prey, the hunters into hunted. Not a single dog, separated from its Twolegs, but a whole pack of savage creatures. Fireheart could not imagine where they had come from, but he knew that StarClan would
never
have unleashed such destruction and risked the balance of life in the whole forest. “And you say Tigerstar
fed
these dogs?” he questioned Longtail. “What does he think he's doing?”

“I don't know,” the pale warrior admitted. “When he dropped the rabbit, he jumped on top of the rock. I don't think the first dog saw him. Then he went away.”

“You didn't speak to him?”

“No,
Fireheart, I didn't. He never knew I was there. I'll swear by anything you like—by StarClan, by the life of Bluestar—I don't know what Tigerstar is doing.”

His fear convinced Fireheart. He had been expecting an attempt by Tigerstar to steal the kits, but this was something far more complicated. How could he ever have imagined that the ShadowClan leader would give up his grudge against ThunderClan? He realized that he should have been more afraid of Tigerstar all along. Somehow he was linked to the dark force in the forest. Yet Fireheart didn't know what Tigerstar wanted with the dogs, or what advantage he could gain by feeding them.

“What do you think?” he asked Whitestorm.

“I think we need to investigate,” meowed the older warrior
grimly. “And I'm just wondering how much Darkstripe knows about all this.”

“So am I,” agreed Fireheart. “But I'm not going to ask him. If he
is
in league with Tigerstar, he won't tell us anything useful.” Rounding on Longtail, he added, “Don't you
dare
say a word to Darkstripe about this. Stay away from him.”

“I…I will, Fireheart,” the pale warrior stammered.

“We still need to know why Tigerstar is taking such an enormous risk, feeding fresh-kill to these dogs,” Whitestorm went on. “If you want to lead a patrol up to Snakerocks, I'll come with you.”

Fireheart looked upward, judging the light. “It's too late today,” he decided. “By the time we reached Snakerocks, it would be getting dark. But we'll go at dawn tomorrow. I'll find out what Tigerstar thinks he's up to, if it's the last thing I do.”

Fireheart emerged from the warriors' den
and paused. He gazed across the clearing to where Sandstorm was crouched by the nettle patch, gulping down a piece of fresh-kill. He had chosen some of the warriors he wanted to come with him to Snakerocks, but so far he had not spoken to Sandstorm. He was reluctant to risk her life on this dangerous mission, and afraid that she would refuse to come if it meant following his orders. Yet he knew that he could not imagine going without her.

Taking a deep breath, he padded over to the nettle patch and sat down beside her.

Sandstorm swallowed the last mouthful of squirrel. “Fireheart? What is it?”

Quietly Fireheart told her what Longtail had discovered at Snakerocks. “I want you to come with us,” he told her. “You're fast and brave, and the Clan needs you.”

The she-cat turned her green gaze on him, but Fireheart could not read the expression there.

“
I
need you,” he blurted out, afraid she was about to refuse. “For Bluestar's sake, as well as the Clan's. I know things haven't
been right between us ever since I stopped the battle with WindClan. But I trust you. Whatever you think about me, do it for the Clan.”

Sandstorm nodded slowly. She was looking thoughtful, and a small seed of hope began to grow in Fireheart's heart. “I know why you didn't want to fight WindClan,” she began. “In a way, I thought you were right. But it was hard to know you had gone behind Bluestar's back without telling the rest of us.”

“I know, but—”

“But you're the deputy,” Sandstorm interrupted, reaching one paw toward him for silence. “You have responsibilities the rest of us can't understand. And I can see how torn you must have felt—between loyalty to Bluestar and loyalty to the Clan.” Hesitating, staring down at her paws, she added, “I was torn too. I wanted to be loyal to the warrior code, and I wanted to be loyal to you, Fireheart.”

Fireheart felt too full of emotion to answer. He stretched out his head to press against her flank, and to his delight she did not move away. Instead she looked up at him again, and he felt as if he were drowning in the depths of her green gaze. “I'm sorry, Sandstorm,” he murmured. “I never meant to hurt you.” His voice barely more than a whisper, he added, “I love you.”

Sandstorm's eyes glowed. “I love you too, Fireheart,” she whispered. “That's why it hurt so much when you asked Bluestar if Brackenfur could mentor Tawnypaw. I thought you didn't respect me.”

“I made a mistake.” Fireheart's voice shook. “I don't know
how I could have been so mouse-brained.”

Sandstorm let out a purr and touched her nose to his.

“I want you beside me always.” Fireheart breathed in her scent, rejoicing in the warmth of her body. He suddenly felt that he would always be happy if he could stay like that forever.

But he knew that he could not. “Sandstorm,” he told her, lifting his head. “I know what we're going to face out there. It's more dangerous than I ever imagined. I'm not ordering you to come, but I still want you with me.”

Sandstorm's purr grew deeper, a vibration that filled her whole body. “Of course I'm coming, you stupid furball,” she mewed.

 

Fireheart set a double watch on the camp that night and kept vigil himself in the center of the clearing. A growing sense of horror crept over him as he listened to the wind sighing through the bare trees. It seemed to carry Spottedleaf's voice to him, murmuring about the enemy that never slept: Tigerstar, the dogs—or both. The enemy was about to unleash its fury, and no cat was safe. The next day, Fireheart knew, could see the final destruction of his Clan.

As he watched the moon above him, barely waning from the full, Cinderpelt emerged from her den and padded across the clearing to sit beside him.

“If you're leading a patrol tomorrow, you should get some sleep,” she advised. “You'll need your strength.”

“I know,” Fireheart agreed. “But I don't think I could sleep.” He raised his eyes to the moon again and the glittering stars of Silverpelt. “It looks so peaceful up there. But down here…”

“Yes,” murmured Cinderpelt. “Down here I can feel the evil growing. The forest is dark with it, and StarClan cannot help us. It's up to us.”

“So you really don't believe that StarClan has sent this pack to punish us?”

Cinderpelt met his gaze, her eyes shining with the reflected light of the moon. “No, Fireheart, I don't.” She leaned toward him and let her muzzle brush lightly against the side of his face. “You're not alone, Fireheart,” she promised. “I'm with you. And so is the rest of the Clan.”

Fireheart hoped she was right. The Clan would survive only if it united and faced this dark threat together. They had supported him in the battle that wasn't fought against WindClan, but would they join him in facing the pack?

After a few moments Cinderpelt asked, “What will you tell Bluestar?”

“Nothing,” Fireheart replied. “Not until we've had a look around, at least. There's no point in upsetting her. She doesn't have the strength to cope with this—not now.”

Cinderpelt murmured agreement. She kept watch with him in silence until the moon began to set. Then she meowed, “Fireheart, I'm telling you as your medicine cat that you need to rest. What happens tomorrow could determine
the very future of this Clan, and we need all our warriors to be at full strength.”

Reluctantly Fireheart had to admit that she was right. Giving Cinderpelt's ear a farewell lick, he got to his paws, padded off to the warriors' den, and curled himself into the moss beside Sandstorm. But his sleep was broken, and his dreams were dark. Once he thought he saw Spottedleaf bounding toward him, and his heart lifted in joy, but before she reached him she turned into a huge dog with gaping jaws and eyes like flames. Fireheart woke, shuddering, to see that the first light of dawn was beginning to seep into the sky.
This could be the last dawn I'll ever see,
he thought. Death waits for us out there.

Then as he raised his head he saw that Sandstorm was sitting beside him, watching over him while he slept. As he saw the love in her eyes he felt new strength flowing through his limbs. He sat up and gave the she-cat's ear a gentle lick. “It's time,” he meowed.

Bracing himself, he roused the cats he had chosen the evening before for his patrol to Snakerocks. Cloudtail almost leaped out of his nest, his tail lashing fiercely at the thought of confronting the creatures who had injured Lostface.

Brindleface, who had been sleeping close to the young warrior, awoke with him and followed him to the edge of the den. “May StarClan go with you,” she mewed, grooming the scraps of moss out of his fur.

Cloudtail pressed his muzzle against hers. “Don't worry,”
he assured his foster mother. “I'll tell you all about it when I come back.”

Fireheart woke Whitestorm and then padded across the den to where Graystripe lay curled up in a pile of heather. Prodding him with one paw, he murmured, “Come on.”

Graystripe blinked and sat up. “This is just like the old days,” he mewed, in a vain attempt to sound cheerful. “You and me, charging into danger again.” He pushed his forehead against Fireheart's shoulder. “Thanks for choosing me, Fireheart. I'm scared stiff, but I'll prove that I'm loyal to ThunderClan, I promise.”

Fireheart pressed against him briefly and left the gray warrior to have a quick wash while he went to wake Longtail. The pale warrior shivered as he crawled out of his nest, but his eyes were determined. “I'll show you that you can trust me,” he promised quietly.

Fireheart nodded, still half-ashamed that he hadn't listened to Longtail the night before. “The Clan needs you, Longtail,” he meowed. “Far more than Tigerstar and Darkstripe need you, believe me.”

Longtail brightened at that and followed Fireheart with the other warriors out to the nettle patch. They gulped down fresh-kill while Fireheart quickly reminded them of what Longtail had told him the day before. “We're going to investigate,” he meowed. “We can't decide how to get rid of these dogs until we know exactly what we have to face. We're not going to attack them, not yet—have you got that, Cloudtail?”

Cloudtail's blue eyes burned into his, and he did not reply.

“I won't take you, Cloudtail, unless you promise to do as you're told without question.”

“Oh, all right.” The tip of Cloudtail's tail flicked irritably. “I want every last dog turned into crowfood, but I'll do it your way, Fireheart.”

“Good.” Fireheart's gaze swept over the rest of the patrol. “Any questions?”

“What if we come across Tigerstar?” asked Sandstorm.

“A cat from another Clan on our territory?” Fireheart bared his teeth. “Yes, you can attack
him.”

Cloudtail let out a growl of satisfaction.

Gulping down the last of his fresh-kill, Fireheart led the way out of the camp and up the ravine. Although the sun had nearly risen, clouds covered the sky, and shadows still lay thick among the trees. There was a strong smell of rabbit not far from the camp, but Fireheart ignored it. There was no time to hunt.

The warriors advanced warily in single file with Fireheart in the lead and Whitestorm keeping watch at the rear. After what he had learned from Longtail, Fireheart felt even more strongly that the familiar forest had become full of danger, and his fur prickled with the expectation of attack.

All was quiet until they drew close to Snakerocks. Fireheart was just considering the best way to approach the caves when Graystripe mewed, “What's that?”

He plunged into a clump of dead bracken. A moment later
Fireheart heard his voice, strained and hoarse. “Come and look at this.”

Fireheart followed the sound and found Graystripe crouched over a dead rabbit. Its throat had been torn out, and its fur was stiff with dried blood.

“The pack have been killing again,” Longtail mewed grimly.

“Then why didn't they eat the prey?” asked Sandstorm, coming up to sniff at the limp, gray-brown body. She sniffed again. “Fireheart, there's ShadowClan scent here!”

Fireheart opened his jaws and drew the forest breeze over the glands in the roof of his mouth. Sandstorm was right. The scent was faint but unmistakable. “Tigerstar killed this rabbit,” he murmured, “and then left it here. What for, I wonder?”

He remembered how Longtail had reported seeing Tigerstar feeding the pack with rabbit, and the reek of rabbit that had followed them all the way from the ThunderClan camp. Backing away from the prey, he summoned Cloudtail with a flick of his tail. “Go back along the way we came,” he instructed. “You're looking for dead rabbits. If you find any, check for other scents, and then come and tell me. Whitestorm, you go with him.”

He watched the two warriors retreat and then turned to Graystripe. “Stay here and guard this. Sandstorm, Longtail, come with me.”

Even more cautiously now, pausing to taste the air every few steps, Fireheart drew closer to Snakerocks. It wasn't long before they discovered another dead rabbit lying exposed on
a rock, with the same betraying scent of Tigerstar lingering around it. By this time they were in sight of the mouth of the cave. Fireheart could just make out the shape of yet another rabbit lying at the edge of the open space in front of it. There was no sign of the pack.

“Where are the dogs?” he muttered.

“In that cave,” replied Longtail. “That's where I saw Tigerstar leave the rabbit yesterday.”

“When they come out, they'll see the rabbit over there, and they'll scent this one….” Fireheart was thinking aloud. “And then there's the one Graystripe found…” Understanding hit him like a rock and he could scarcely breathe for fear. “I
know
what Whitestorm and Cloudtail will find. Tigerstar has laid a trail straight back to the camp.”

Longtail crouched down on the forest floor and Sandstorm's eyes stretched wide with horror. “You mean that he wants to bring the pack right to us?”

Pictures flashed through Fireheart's mind of massive, slavering dogs racing down the sides of the ravine and breaking through the fern wall into the peaceful camp. He could see jaws snapping, limp feline bodies tossed high in the air, kits wailing as cruel teeth reached for them…. He shuddered. “Yes. Come on; we have to break the trail!”

Not even an order from StarClan themselves could have made Fireheart try to retrieve the rabbit that was close to the cave mouth. But he snatched up the one that lay on the rock and bounded back to where he had left Graystripe. He set
down his burden long enough to meow, “Bring that rabbit. We have to warn the Clan.”

Ears pricked in amazement, Graystripe obeyed. They headed back toward the camp, and before they had traveled more than a few fox-lengths Fireheart spotted Cloudtail and Whitestorm coming to meet them, slipping warily through the undergrowth.

“We've found two more rabbits,” Cloudtail reported. “Both stinking of Tigerstar.”

“Then go and fetch them.” Rapidly Fireheart explained what he suspected. “We'll dump them in a stream somewhere and break the trail.”