Эрин Хантер - The Raging Storm

“Violetshine!” Tree slewed to halt on the bank beside her. He strained to reach her, but she was too far away, streaming like a weed in the powerful current. The root was sinewy, too thin to walk along, but strong enough to hold her for as long as she had strength to cling on.

I won’t let go, she promised her kits. The muscles in her forelegs screamed with the strain. She ignored the pain. She was going to save her kits.

On the other bank, Lionblaze and Gorsetail leaned over the edge, calling out to Lizardtail and Hootwhisker.

“We’ll find a way to get you off!” Lionblaze yowled.

Gorsetail looked around frantically, as though searching for something they could use to reach the stranded cats. Cherryfall, Nightcloud, and Willowshine clustered around her, their eyes wide with panic. Dewspring and Quailpaw stared in horror toward Violetshine.

She tried again to haul herself along the root. If only the current would let up for a moment, she’d have the strength to pull herself to safety. She tried to ignore Tree’s terrified face. Leafstar and Hawkwing had caught up to him now, Twigbranch and Flypaw at their heels. Violetshine steadied her breathing and hung on. The flood will ease in a moment, she told herself. I can get to safety then .

Something small and dark bobbed in the water upstream. It slid past the rock where Hootwhisker and Lizardtail shivered. Violetshine knew at once that it wasn’t debris. As it swirled closer, she made out the shape of a head. Ears twitched as it spun. A kit! She stared at it. There was no kit that young in SkyClan. Had a kit been left behind when RiverClan fled their camp? It spun closer and she recognized the gray pelt. Shadowkit! Why was he in RiverClan territory? His eyes were wild with fear and his paws flailed uselessly in the torrent. Tree followed her gaze, his eyes sparking with horror as he saw the kit. On the far bank, Willowshine and Dewspring were staring at Shadowkit, their fur spiked.

“StarClan, help him!” Willowshine raced to the edge, wailing frantically. Shadowkit glanced at her desperately as he spun past, out of reach.

I have to save him! Violetshine let go with one paw and prepared to lunge toward him.

“Don’t let go!” Tree shrieked in panic. His gaze flicked toward Shadowkit once more. He’d guessed what she was planning.

Shadowkit hurtled closer. He would be within reach any moment. She would have to let go. She’d grab him and try to swim. If she could just keep their heads above the surface for long enough, she’d get them to shore. She had to. As she bunched her muscles, timing her dive, shadow flashed at the edge of her vision. A black tom leaped from the other bank. Diving into the rapid water, he grabbed Shadowkit and swirled past.

Juniperclaw! Violetshine’s heart seemed to stop as she recognized him. What was the ShadowClan tom doing here? Water washed her muzzle. Spluttering, she flung both paws around the root once more and looked behind her.

Juniperclaw was swirling in an eddy of calmer water behind her. Shadowkit dangled by his scruff from the tom’s teeth, water streaming around him. He churned at the water and whimpered with terror. Juniperclaw’s face was twisted with determination as he swam. The backwash from the eddy carried him a little way upstream. Violetshine stuck out her hind legs, felt him grasp them, and braced herself as he hauled himself closer. With a desperate growl, he dragged himself along the length of her flank and reached out for the root. He grabbed it and clung on; then, grunting with the effort, he pushed Shadowkit onto the root with his muzzle.

Gasping, the kit scrabbled onto the gnarled bark. He was trembling, his eyes screwed shut. Tree leaned out. “I can reach him!” Leafstar and Finleap gripped his pelt as, gingerly, he grasped Shadowkit’s tail in his teeth and, with a jerk, snatched him onto the bank.

Violetshine turned her head. Juniperclaw clung on between her and the bank. “You saved him,” she gasped.

He stared at her, his eyes glazed with shock.

“Juniperclaw!” Tree yowled to him from the bank. “Can you help Violetshine get to the bank?”

“Climb over me,” Juniperclaw grunted. Water streamed into his mouth and he spluttered.

“No!” Violetshine stared at him, horrified. She couldn’t risk knocking him away. “What if you lose your grip?”

“I can hold on,” he promised.

“Do what he says!” Tree strained at the edge of the water. “He’s stronger than you! And he’s not carrying kits!”

Juniperclaw’s eyes widened. “Kits?” His gaze grew more urgent. “Climb over me! You mustn’t die.” More water filled his mouth. She saw him stiffen as he tightened his grip on the root. His eyes pleaded with her frantically.

Her heart in her mouth, Violetshine let go one of her paws and gripped onto Juniperclaw’s shoulder. He grimaced as she dug her claws in. She reached her hind legs around him and clung on like a tick as she let go her other paw and eased herself over his back. The water dragged at her. She heard him growling as he fought to cling on. Reaching up on his other side, Violetshine caught hold of the root again. She was closer to the bank now. The current softened here. Released from its grip, she managed to work her paws along the root until she was only a muzzle-length from land. As she reached for the bank, she felt teeth in her scruff. Tree had lunged down and grabbed her. He hauled her from the water and pulled her, dripping, onto the shore.

She collapsed. “Save Juniperclaw.” She lifted her head, straining to see the black tom.

He was hanging on to the root by his claw tips. “Tell Tigerstar I’m sorry.” He glanced up at her, relief in his eyes, and then he slid away. The water carried him down into the churning straits below, and he disappeared from view.

“No!” Rage surged through Violetshine. StarClan couldn’t let him die! He saved Shadowkit. Tree was nuzzling her, but she could barely feel it. She was numb with shock and grief.

“Look! Look!” Shadowkit yowled beside them. He was staring upstream.

On the far shore, Willowshine had plunged into the water. Lionblaze held on to her, grasping her flanks with his claws. Gorsetail and Nightcloud gripped Lionblaze from behind. SkyClan clustered at their backs, each cat gripping the one in front until they formed a long chain that stretched out into the flood. At the tip, Willowshine swam toward the rock, where Hootwhisker and Lizardtail stared with wide, frightened eyes. With a final push, she reached them and pulled herself onto the stone.

Violetshine’s breath slowly eased. Calm seeped into her. She felt suddenly exhausted. She had to sleep.

“Keep her warm.” Frecklewish’s mew sounded far away. “She’s in shock.”

She was vaguely aware of Tree and Twigbranch pressing against her. They were warm. She could feel their hearts beating beside hers.

“Violetshine.” Hawkwing’s mew reached through the haze that enfolded her. “Wake up. You need to wake up. For your kits.”

Alarm flashed beneath her pelt. Her kits! She couldn’t sleep now. She shook herself awake. “Hootwhisker! Lizardtail!” She remembered Willowshine’s desperate swim.

Tree blinked at her. “It’s okay. They’re safe now.”

She looked upstream. Lizardtail and Hootwhisker were shivering on the far bank as Gorsetail and Leafstar hauled Lionblaze and Willowshine from the water.

She gazed into Tree’s eyes. “You saved me.” Love flooded her heart, and she reached her muzzle to his.

As his warm breath touched hers, Shadowkit fluffed out his pelt beside them. “I did it!” he yowled, triumphantly. “I did what my vision told me and I brought the Clans together!”