Эрин Хантер - Squirrelflight's Hope

Excitement fizzed through her pelt as it darted past Alderheart. His gaze flashed toward it, his eyes widening in surprise. She pulled up and blinked at him. Had he understood the message? It’s me, Squirrelflight. I’m coming home.

Alderheart seemed to freeze. He stared after the squirrel; then he shook out his pelt and padded back into camp.

Frustration knotted her belly. Please understand! Was this what it was like to be a StarClan cat—trying to communicate with the living, and never being sure if they understood? For the first time she wondered how many signs from StarClan they missed every day without knowing.

She sat back on her haunches. She’d done all she could. Her pelt prickled with unease. What if she could never get back? Would she be stranded in the forest forever, like the dead cats the Sisters saw? She shivered and pushed the thought away. What had happened to the Sisters? The battle seemed to have left the rest of ThunderClan unscarred. Had the Sisters escaped so lightly? What had happened to Moonlight’s kits?

As her thoughts quickened, the forest blurred around her. She blinked, suddenly dizzy, and found herself in the Sisters’ camp. Startled, she looked around. Hawkwing was yowling orders to a SkyClan patrol.

“We’ll build the warriors’ den over there.” He nodded toward a space between the birthing den and the den where Squirrelflight and Leafstar had slept. “And that gorse bush will make a good den for the elders.”

Macgyver and Plumwillow sniffed around the gorse. Macgyver slid beneath the branches and popped out a moment later.

“We can dig out a hollow around the stem,” he told Hawkwing. “The earth is dry and sandy. It won’t take long.”

Sandynose pushed through the fern entrance. “There are plenty of brambles and vines we can gather.” He padded toward Hawkwing. “We can get the camp weatherproof by leaf-bare.”

“Good.” Hawkwing looked pleased.

Squirrelflight tasted the air for faint signs of the Sisters. Where were they? SkyClan had clearly claimed this land as their own. Her heart quickened. Had they driven the Sisters away?

She hurried across the clearing and followed the trail of tattered bushes to the site of the last battle. Her tail twitched as she saw the cave where the Sisters had taken shelter. It was a pile of rubble and stone now, branches sticking out like bones from rotted prey. She could see where earth had been dug out. Was that where her Clanmates had pulled out her body and Leafpool’s?

“Hey!” A mew made her jump. She spun, unsheathing her claws, instinctively dropping into a defensive warrior stance. Then she realized—some cat could see her!

She blinked as she saw the ghostly shape of a tabby she-cat padding from beside the landslide. She could see through it. She shivered, her pelt spiking. This cat was dead.

The cat lifted her tail in a friendly greeting. “You’re new here.” She dipped her head as she neared. “Did you die recently?”

Squirrelflight bristled. “I’m not dead.” She lifted her muzzle.

“Really?” The tabby reached out a paw and swept it through Squirrelflight’s forelegs.

Squirrelflight leaped away. “Hey!” Energy buzzed through her paws like the sparks from dry grass.

“You look dead to me,” the tabby mewed.

“It’s just temporary,” Squirrelflight told her. “While my body mends.”

“Sure.” The tabby sniffed, clearly unconvinced. “My name’s Blade.”

“I’m Squirrelflight.”

“Hi, Squirrelflight.” Blade nodded politely. “How did you die—I mean”—she corrected herself—“get injured?”

Squirrelflight nodded toward the landslide. “I was in there when it collapsed.”

“I hope it didn’t hurt too much.” The tabby swished her tail. “I got hit by a monster. I was dead before I could feel anything.”

“Did you live around here?” Had this cat seen the Sisters?

“Close enough.” Blade shrugged. “I lived with Twolegs, beyond the hills there.” She nodded toward the cliff face.

“You’re a kittypet?” Squirrelflight blinked at her.

“Aren’t you?”

“I’m a warrior,” Squirrelflight told her.

“Really?” The tabby’s eyes widened. “Is that why you have such a weird name?” She didn’t wait for a reply. “I’ve never met a warrior before. Especially not a dead one. I wondered where you went after you died. I’ve only seen the Sisters since I died.”

Squirrelflight pricked her ears. “Do you know the Sisters?”

“Quite well.” Blade sat down and began to wash her ears. “They can see dead cats,” she mewed between licks. “I used to chat quite often with some of them.”

“Who?”

“One was called Moonlight,” Blade told her. “And I think another was Tempest?” She looked unsure.

Squirrelflight leaned forward. “Do you know what happened to them?”

“Those other cats.” Blade jerked her muzzle toward the Sisters’ camp. “They’re warriors too, right?”

“Yes.” Squirrelflight’s pelt twitched.

“When they came to look at the mess after the battle, they took the Sisters away. They were pretty beaten up.”

“Did they take Moonlight away?”

“I guess.”

“And her kits?” Squirrelflight stared desperately at Blade.

“Yes.” Blade tipped her head.

But no cat died , right? Squirrelflight was too anxious to ask. She searched the kittypet’s eyes. She’d have said if any cat had died, surely? “Where did they go?”

Blade shrugged. “I heard the big gray tom tell his friends to take them back to camp.”

The SkyClan camp? Squirrelflight could hardly believe her ears. Of course—Leafstar hadn’t let her warriors take part in the battle. If they were to shelter with any Clan, it would be with SkyClan. Hope flashed beneath her pelt. Were the Sisters safe at last?

“Thanks, Blade.” She turned and began to head for the forest. She had to see for herself if the Sisters were okay. The valley became hazy around her, and the ground seemed to shift beneath her paws. A moment later she found herself in the SkyClan camp. She flicked her tail. This instant traveling was useful! She wished she could do it while she was alive.

Pain burst inside her head like burning ice. She winced, her paws trembling beneath her, as it hardened and grew sharper. Closing her eyes, she stood still, relief melting inside her as slowly it eased. What was that? Foreboding welled at the edge of her thoughts. She pushed it away. Perhaps Alderheart was trying a new treatment.

She forced herself to focus on the SkyClan camp, startled as Fidgetflake brushed past her, oblivious as he sent sparks fizzing through Squirrelflight’s fur. Squirrelflight shook her pelt out as Fidgetflake ducked into the medicine den. Quickly, she followed, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the shadows inside.

Moonlight was lying in a wide, bracken nest while Frecklewish sorted herbs beside her. The gray she-cat’s eyes were closed, and gashes crisscrossed her flank. Her muzzle was clogged with dried blood.

“Has she woken yet?” Fidgetflake asked softly.

Frecklewish shook her head. “I wish she were doing better.” She tore a bunch of dried marigold apart. “I’ve put new ointment on her wounds, but the infection is hard to get rid of”

“Her kits are doing well,” Fidgetflake told her. “They’re nursing happily, and Violetshine says she’s got plenty of milk now that her own kits are weaned. I’ve told Leafstar that she’ll need extra fresh-kill to keep her strength up.”

“Good.” Frecklewish crumbled leaves into a pile. “How are the other Sisters?”

“Quiet.” Fidgetflake glanced toward the entrance. “They wish they weren’t here, but they know it’s the best place for Moonlight.”