Эрин Хантер - The Raging Storm

Twigbranch pricked her ears. A mother! She lifted her tail happily. Violetshine was going to have the family she’d always wanted. She heard Tree purring loudly. He rubbed his muzzle against Violetshine’s cheek. “I can’t wait to be a father.”

Hawkwing’s eyes shone. “Is that why you’ve been so tired and irritable?” he mewed. “I thought it was just the weather getting you down.”

“So did I!” Violetshine purred at him.

Twigbranch glanced at her mother. Pebbleshine was turning away. “Wait!” Twigbranch hurried after her into the rain. She wanted to drink in her scent once more, but by the time she reached her, the scent had vanished. Her mother moved like a shadow toward the trees.

“I will always love you!” Hawkwing called after her.

“Good-bye!” Violetshine wailed.

“Good-bye, Pebbleshine.” Twigbranch’s words were hardly more than a whisper as she watched her mother disappear into darkness. Her heart ached with loss as she felt the rain pound against her pelt. And then she saw, on the grass where Pebbleshine had walked, that stars seemed to sparkle in her paw prints.

CHAPTER 24

As they crested the hill, Violetshine narrowed her eyes against the rain. It swept up from the lake, carried on a wind that seemed hungry for fresh bones to chill. She thought of her kits, warm and safe inside her, and felt protective. She was happy to bear the brunt of the storm if it sheltered them from its fury.

Tree was at her side. He hadn’t left her as they’d trekked back from the cave. Last night, SkyClan had decided to approach the lake through RiverClan territory, staying clear of the flood and making straight for ShadowClan’s camp. Tigerstar was the only leader left to convince. Leafstar had already dispatched messengers to WindClan and ThunderClan territory, begging them to send patrols to support them as they faced the ShadowClan leader.

“Go to WindClan,” Leafstar had told Macgyver and Plumwillow. “Ask Mistystar and Harestar to send cats to ShadowClan. We don’t intend to fight, but we need voices to support our claim.” She’d told Nettlesplash and Sandynose the same as she’d sent them to ThunderClan.

Now, as they headed down the slope into RiverClan territory, Violetshine’s heart pricked with hope. Perhaps, at last, the question of land for SkyClan could be settled. Tigerstar couldn’t hold out against four Clans, could he?

Hawkwing followed them, Leafstar at his side. Frecklewish and Fidgetflake trailed behind with their Clanmates. Nectarpaw was limping. A clumsy jump had twisted her paw. Sandynose and Bellaleaf pressed beside her, helping her to walk.

Tree led the group toward the river, which tumbled downhill. It was swollen by rainwater but still narrow here. As it flowed to the lake, it grew wider. Where once it had gently encircled RiverClan’s camp and spread idle streams through their land, now it churned angrily. The camp had disappeared beneath the muddy torrent.

Violetshine halted. She stared down at the shore, shocked by how high the lake had risen. “The rain must stop soon, or every camp will be lost!”

“The five Clans are together,” Tree reminded her. “We will survive this storm.”

“We’re not together yet.” Doubt pricked at her pelt.

Leafstar padded to her side. “Have faith,” she mewed gently. “We didn’t come this far to fail.”

Violetshine met the SkyClan leader’s gaze, relieved to see her so determined.

Tree stopped at the river’s edge. He nodded to the fallen tree that bridged the water. “Let’s cross here.”

“Okay.” Leafstar went first, Hawkwing and Sparrowpelt at her tail. Violetshine waited for Bellaleaf and Sagenose to guide Nectarpaw over. She held her breath as the injured apprentice limped haltingly over the slippery wood, relieved as she stumbled onto the far shore. Frecklewish followed.

Twigbranch stopped beside Violetshine. “You go next.” She nosed Violetshine toward the branch.

Violetshine resisted. “Let’s make sure Flypaw gets safely across first.” She nodded toward the young she-cat.

Flypaw was staring round-eyed at the tree-bridge. Muddy water frothed beneath. “After this journey,” she mewed, “I’ll never be anxious about crossing the tree-bridge to the island again.”

“Don’t worry, Flypaw.” Twigbranch blinked sympathetically at her apprentice and nudged her forward with her nose. “This will be the last river we cross for a while.”

Flypaw climbed onto the bridge and Twigbranch followed. Gingerly, the young she-cat crept along it. Her wet fur prickled with fear.

Finleap jumped up after them. “Stay close to each other,” he warned. “Watch where you’re putting your paws.”

“We’ll be okay,” Twigbranch told him.

Violetshine stifled a shudder as she watched them cross, then relaxed as first Flypaw and then Twigbranch and Finleap jumped down the other side.

“Come on.” Tree hopped onto the log and looked back at Violetshine. “Stay close to my tail.”

Violetshine blinked, relieved he was with her, and climbed after him. Her heart lurched as her pads slipped on the wet bark. She wobbled. Having a bellyful of kits is throwing off my balance, she realized. Digging her claws in, she steadied herself. She fixed her gaze on Tree and began to follow. Her heart lurched again as the bridge trembled. Lizardtail and Hootwhisker had leaped on behind. Violetshine stopped and looked back, bracing herself against the wind, as she checked to see if they’d found their footing. In single file, they padded after her, their whiskers stiff with concentration. She looked forward once more, swallowing as she glimpsed white water thundering beneath her.

Tree had already reached the other side. He watched her from the far bank, his eyes wide with worry. “Be careful.”

She blinked at him reassuringly. “I’ll be okay—”

A sudden roar made her freeze. Thunder seemed to rumble upstream. She jerked her muzzle around. A wall of water and debris crashed toward her. She stared at it, terror shrilling through every hair on her pelt. It slammed into the bridge, knocking Hootwhisker and Lizardtail away before sweeping her downstream with such force she thought it would smash her to pieces. A moment later, she was swirling. Water churned around her. It filled her nose and her ears and pressed its way into her mouth. Something hard hit her hind leg. Something else thumped the side of her head. Blinded by water and terrified, she flailed against the torrent. As the water lifted her up, she threw out her forepaws, hope flashing as they hit something hard. She dug in her claws, clinging on for dear life as the deluge surged past her. It dragged at her limbs, trying to haul her downstream. The sudden flood subsided and her head emerged. She took a desperate gulp of air and blinked water from her eyes.

She was gripping a root that jutted from the bank. She struggled to drag herself along it to the safety of the shore, but the force of the water held her in place. She felt as though the lake was sucking her toward it and clung on harder. She wouldn’t let it swallow her into its crow-black depths.

Staring upstream, her heart flashed with relief as she glimpsed Hootwhisker and Lizardtail clinging like wet rats to a rock in the middle. They were stranded, but she could see them hauling themselves clear of the water. She looked past them, fear gripping her once more as she wondered if a second wall of water might sweep down and knock them all away.