Bluestar's Prophecy (19 page)

Lionpaw was already halfway down the ravine. She scrabbled down the rocks after him.

“Hey!” Stormtail’s yowl sounded below. “Stop throwing rocks!”

She skidded to a halt, realizing that her paws were sending showers of stones down the slope. “Sorry!” she called. She waited while Stormtail led his patrol up the trail past her.

“Be more careful next time,” Stormtail scolded. Bluefur hung her head as White-eye, Robinwing, and Thrushpelt filed after him.

“Don’t worry,” Thrushpelt whispered. “We’ve all done it.”

As soon as they’d gone, Bluefur scrambled down the ravine, more carefully this time. She headed into the clearing and saw Lionpaw settling down with a piece of prey. At least he was alone. She would ask him straight out: Had Pinestar been getting him to talk to kittypets?

The gorse tunnel quivered, and Pinestar padded into camp.

Fox dung!

The ThunderClan leader looked calm, his pelt smooth and smelling strongly of bracken as if he had been rolling in fresh ferns.

Why
?

It was obvious.

To get rid of the scent of catmint and Twolegs!

How could he?
He was their
leader
, for StarClan’s sake!

Pinestar headed straight for the nursery.

Featherwhisker slid out as he approached. “Leopardfoot’s sleeping,” he told the ThunderClan leader. “The kits, too, since they’ve had some milk at last.”

Pinestar twitched the tip of his tail. “Can I see them?”

Featherwhisker stood aside. “The tom’s the weakest,” he warned as Pinestar squeezed into the brambles.

Poppydawn padded over to join Swiftbreeze. “About time, too,” she meowed, not bothering to keep her voice quiet. “If his kits had died in the night, they’d have gone to StarClan without ever meeting their father.”

Swiftbreeze shook her head. “Poor Leopardfoot. She kept asking for him. What must she think?”

Bluefur glanced at her paws. She wasn’t the only cat in ThunderClan questioning Pinestar’s loyalty. But she suspected she was the only one who knew just how far from the warrior code he was straying.

A few sunrises later Bluefur approached
Sunfall, who was washing below Highrock. “I’ll go on the sunhigh patrol,” she offered, relieved to catch him before he called the Clan together to assign duties for the day.

The ThunderClan deputy blinked. “You’ve been volunteering for a lot of patrols lately. Have you forgotten how to hunt?”

Bluefur paused. She was hoping he hadn’t noticed that she’d been tagging on to any border patrol she could. She wanted to check Twolegplace for any scent of Pinestar. She’d watched the ThunderClan leader closely, wondering every time he left the camp where he was going and whether to follow. There had been no scent of him on the Twoleg border so far, and she was beginning to wonder if she’d let her imagination run away with her.

“I just like patrolling,” she told Sunfall lamely. “But I’ll hunt instead, if you like.”

“Perhaps you might find it a little more interesting if you
led
a hunting patrol,” Sunfall suggested.

Bluefur pricked her ears. “Yes, please!”

“Good.” Sunfall signaled with his tail.

As the Clan gathered, worry fluttered in Bluefur’s belly. She’d never led a patrol before. Would she know what to do? Would she have to decide where to hunt, what prey to chase, how much to catch?

“Fine weather again,” Adderfang observed as he padded toward the ThunderClan deputy. Thistlepaw was at his heels, eager for any assignment that took him closer to being a warrior. The other warriors and apprentices padded after them. Robinwing was licking her lips, swallowing the last of her meal, while Dappletail kept bending to lick her chest; her morning wash was clearly not quite finished.

Sweetpaw was not with Smallear. For three sunsets she’d lain in her nest, too weak to move, unable to eat. Poppydawn had taken to sleeping outside the apprentices’ den, too worried to leave her ailing kit. Smallear had kept himself so busy helping Tawnyspots with Rosepaw’s training that the red-tailed apprentice had passed two assessments in as many days. Lionpaw was sick with envy.

“She’ll be a warrior before me!” he’d complained.

“She started her training before you,” Bluefur had pointed out.

She had decided not to question the golden-furred apprentice about Pinestar. Though she longed to, she knew that if her suspicions were wrong, Lionpaw would wonder why she was spreading rumors about ThunderClan’s leader. If they were right, the young cat could be too torn between loyalty to his leader and friendship with his denmate to tell the truth. It
was too much to ask of him.

“Snowfur!”

Sunfall’s mew snapped Bluefur from her thoughts.

“You’ll patrol the RiverClan border with Thrushpelt, Tawnyspots, Sparrowpelt, and Windflight.” Sunfall always sent a strong patrol to check Sunningrocks these days. No one was sure how far RiverClan was prepared to push its luck.

“Dappletail and Goldenpaw, you check the ShadowClan border with Speckletail.” Sunfall glanced at Poppydawn, hollow-eyed beside the apprentices’ den. Was he wondering if she’d be better off patrolling than fretting over her kit? His gaze flicked back to his assembled Clanmates.

“Adderfang, Thistlepaw, Smallear, and Robinwing.” The cats straightened as he called their names. “You will hunt.”

Thistlepaw circled his mentor, tail up.

“Bluefur will lead the patrol,” Sunfall added.

“What?” Thistlepaw stared at Bluefur.

“You heard me.” Sunfall padded away to join Poppydawn, leaving Bluefur to face the spiky apprentice’s disbelieving glare.

Thistlepaw cocked his head to one side. “So where are we going to hunt?”

“Snakerocks.” Bluefur blurted out the first place that came into her head.

Adderfang watched her coolly. “Risky,” he meowed. “But it might be worth it. No cat has hunted there for a moon.”

“Because it’s infested with adders and foxes,” Thistlepaw sneered.

Bluefur’s tail whisked the ground. “You’re not scared, are you?” She stared at him. She was not going to be intimidated by an apprentice, even if he was bigger than her now. She was a warrior, and she deserved his respect. She glanced at Robinwing and Smallear. “Ready?”

Smallear nodded and Robinwing plucked the ground as if she couldn’t wait to get moving.

“Good.” Bluefur headed for the gorse tunnel, praying her patrol was following. As she padded out of camp she heard, with relief, paw steps following behind. She led her Clanmates up the ravine and into the forest.

“Why are we taking the long route?” Thistlepaw called as Bluefur headed into a gully toward Snakerocks.

Bluefur hesitated, suddenly doubting her sense of direction.

“This way’s not so steep,” Robinwing meowed. “And it’s softer on the paws.”

“Yeah, right,” Thistlepaw muttered.

Bluefur pressed on.

“Why don’t we take this shortcut?” Thistlepaw scampered ahead of her and leaped onto a fallen log. He flicked his tail toward a thick bramble.

“We’d lose our pelts in there,” Bluefur snapped. Was he going to undermine her every paw step of the way?

“Just fall in behind, Thistlepaw,” Adderfang ordered. “Save your energy for hunting.”

Thistlepaw padded sulkily to the back of the patrol.

Ahead of them, a branch rustled with life. Bluefur halted
and crouched, signaling for her patrol to copy her. There was no harm in bagging a bird or two on the way. She crept slowly forward, eyeing the leaves as they twitched to reveal a small song thrush.

“Are we hunting at Snakerocks or what?” Thistlepaw mewed loudly.

The thrush fluttered up into the higher branches calling an alarm.

He did that on purpose!

“Thistlepaw!” Smallear scolded. “Now every piece of prey will know we’re here.”

But Adderfang had already turned on his apprentice. “We’re hunting for the Clan!” he hissed.

Thistlepaw crouched apologetically as Adderfang bared his teeth, but managed to flash a sly look of triumph at Bluefur.

“Come on,” she growled. “Let’s get to Snakerocks.”

By the time they arrived at the rocky outcrop, she had already decided how to punish Thistlepaw. She sniffed the air, remembering the fox that had chased her and Snowfur last time they’d been there.

No fresh stench
.

She padded to the clearing at the foot of the rocks. “You guard here,” she ordered Thistlepaw, thinking that the fox might return after all. “Tell us if you scent danger. We’ll look for prey up there.” She nodded toward the wall of boulders rising behind them. Glancing around the rest of the patrol, she added, “Don’t forget, there might be adders hiding in the crevices.”

Smallear and Robinwing nodded. Adderfang watched her, his expression impossible to read. Bluefur felt very uncomfortable giving instructions to senior warriors, but Sunfall had put her in charge of the patrol and she was determined to do things properly.

“Why do
I
have to be guard?” Thistlepaw complained. “It’s boring.”

Adderfang lashed his tail. “Because you proved back there that hunting is the last thing on your mind today.”

Thistlepaw sullenly flicked a leaf with his paw, but didn’t argue.

With a flash of satisfaction, Bluefur leaped up the rocks, her mouth open to taste the air for prey signs. Smallear disappeared into the undergrowth while Adderfang and Robinwing each took a different route up the boulders.

“Look out!” Thistlepaw yowled.

Bluefur tensed, glancing over her shoulder. “What?”

“Nothing,” he reported, studying something on the ground by his front paws. “Just a beetle.”

Scowling, Bluefur returned to the hunt.

Mouse.

She scented it a moment before she saw a shadow flicker in the crevice between two boulders. Pricking her ears to check for the slither of scales, she crouched. No sign of any snakes. She shot a forepaw down the fissure and hooked out the mouse. Killing it quickly, she tossed it down onto the ground beside Thistlepaw.

“Guard it, don’t eat it,” she told him.

Thistlepaw flashed her a look of fury, but she just turned and climbed to the top of the rocks.

“Snake!” Thistlepaw’s alarm call made Bluefur spin around and peer over the edge, clinging on with her claws as the ground spun far below.

Thistlepaw was looking up at her innocently. “Oops!” he mewed. “It was just Smallear’s tail sticking out of the ferns.”

Feeling her fur spike with anger, Bluefur returned to the hunt. Now she could smell rabbit. Tiny drops of fresh dung littered the top of the boulders, reminding her of the old apprentice trick of telling kits they were tasty berries. She followed the scent trail toward the leafy bank that spilled onto the top of Snakerocks. Silently she crept across the stone, her whiskers stiff with excitement.

Something white was twitching beneath a bush up ahead.

Bluefur tensed and dropped into her hunting crouch. Drawing herself silently forward, she breathed in so her belly didn’t brush the leaves. The rabbit scent made her mouth water.

“Watch out!” Thistlepaw was yowling yet again. What was the mouse-brain playing at this time? Bluefur blocked out the noise. Nothing was going to stop her from getting the rabbit.

It bobbed deeper into the bush.

Bluefur followed, slowly pushing her head between the leaves. There it was, grazing on the soft shoots that sprouted from the middle of the bush. Bluefur unsheathed her claws, stilled her tail, and leaped.

She landed squarely on the rabbit and made the killing bite before it realized what was happening. A twitch, then another,
and it was dead. Bluefur dragged it out from the bush, pleased at the weight of it. It would feed the elders and Leopardfoot.

“DOG!” Thistlepaw’s shout suddenly pierced her ear fur. There was fear in his wail this time. Bluefur’s pelt stood on end as she smelled the dog stench and heard giant clumsy paws thundering on the forest floor only tail-lengths away. With the rabbit still in her jaws she launched herself at the nearest tree trunk, scrabbling up it like a squirrel, her neck straining from the weight of her catch. Jaws snapped below her and she flicked her tail out of the way just in time as the dog jumped around the base of the tree, snarling and snapping, its eyes wild with excitement. Bluefur scrambled higher, her claws gouging bark, sending it showering down as the dog stretched its forepaws higher up the trunk. Heart thudding, she scanned the forest. She could make out Robinwing’s brown pelt on a branch of a tree nearby.

“Thistlepaw!” Adderfang was calling.

“Up here.” The answer came from somewhere level with her head, and Bluefur guessed the apprentice was safely up a tree as well. She wanted to check whether Smallear was okay, but there was no way she could call out without dropping the rabbit. She was relieved when Adderfang yowled the warrior’s name instead and Smallear replied, sounding breathless but intact.

“Safe!”

“Bluefur?” Adderfang was calling for her now. Bluefur tightened her grip on the rabbit, unable to reply. How would she get down? This dog would never give up the promise of
cat and rabbit. The blood tang must already be singing on its tongue.

A Twoleg barked. The dog froze, then growled with annoyance as the Twoleg barked again. Whining, the dog finally dropped to the ground and lolloped away.

Her jaws aching from the pull of the rabbit, Bluefur waited until the swishing of both Twoleg and dog had faded; then slowly, shakily, she let herself drop, paw over paw, down the trunk. She landed on all four feet, claws burning, and hurried back to the top of Snakerocks.

“Bluefur!”

Her Clanmates were circling in the clearing below, calling anxiously.

Quickly she bounded down the rocks and flung the rabbit at their paws. “Sorry,” she panted. “Couldn’t answer before.”

Robinwing’s eyes glowed. “Nice catch!”

“Didn’t you hear my warning?” Thistlepaw demanded angrily. “I was calling for ages. I heard that dog coming tree-lengths away.”

“I heard it!” Bluefur snapped. She wasn’t going to admit she had ignored it. “But what could I do? I had a mouth full of rabbit.”

Smallear trotted to the roots of an ash tree and dug a sparrow from the leaves that had drifted in a cleft. Adderfang scooted up Snakerocks and retrieved a freshly killed shrew from between two boulders.

“What about my mouse?” Bluefur asked Thistlepaw. Her heart was slowing down and her legs had stopped trembling.
She wanted to get back in charge of this patrol.

“Don’t worry, it’s safe,” Thistlepaw retorted, his eyes glittering. He dug in the soil and unearthed the mouse.

“Well done,” Bluefur congratulated him. “I think we have enough.”

“Back to camp?” Robinwing asked.

Bluefur nodded. She picked up her rabbit and headed back toward the ravine.

Thistlepaw was muttering under his breath as she passed him. “What’s the point of making me guard if no one takes any notice?”

“I climbed a tree as soon as you yowled,” Smallear objected.

“Stop complaining.” Adderfang shooed his apprentice forward. “We all escaped.”

“
And
kept our prey,” Robinwing added.

Bluefur’s neck was aching from the weight of the rabbit by the time they neared the ravine. She was trying her best not to let it drag along the ground, but the closer they got, the more its pelt scuffed the leaves. She couldn’t wait to drop it on the fresh-kill pile. Thistlepaw raced into the lead as they reached the edge and scooted first down the cliff. Bluefur thumped down after him, the rabbit swinging awkwardly from her jaws.

“Listen!” Thistlepaw skidded to a halt in front of her, and she almost crashed into him, her face full of rabbit fur.

“Whaf?” she mumbled.

Thistlepaw’s ears were pricked, his pelt bristling. “I can hear something.”

The rest of the patrol had stopped behind Bluefur.

“Me too,” Robinwing hissed.

Adderfang was scenting the air as Bluefur turned to look back up the path. “It’s that dog!” he warned. “It’s coming back.”

Smallear spun around. “It can smell the rabbit.”

Paws thudded over the forest floor near the top of the ravine; leaves swished and twigs crashed. The dog was charging toward them, fast.