Эрин Хантер - Veil Of Shadows

As he headed toward the medicine cats’ den to collect their soiled bedding, Rootpaw couldn’t get Bramblestar’s last message out of his head. The spirit had seemed so faint. Maybe it was becoming harder and harder for him to communicate with living cats.

What will happen if Bramblestar’s spirit fades away? Rootpaw asked himself. Will he die for good? What about his nine lives? And if he dies, will ThunderClan be stuck with that intruder in his body forever?

Rootpaw shuddered to think what that evil presence might do to ThunderClan if he was left in charge for much longer.

“Greetings. Please take me to your Clan leader.”

Rootpaw froze at the sound of that hauntingly familiar voice, letting his claws sink into the ground. Had Bramblestar’s spirit returned after all? Relief bubbled up inside his chest. He’s a pain in the tail, but I have kind of missed him. But then, why is he asking for Leafstar . . . ?

Rootpaw whipped around to see that it wasn’t Bramblestar’s spirit who had spoken. It was Bramblestar’s body . The interloper was here, in the SkyClan camp!

Sneaking closer, Rootpaw ducked behind two warriors crouched near the fresh-kill pile and watched as Bramblestar approached across the camp. Sparrowpelt was leading him toward Leafstar’s den. Two ThunderClan warriors flanked their leader. The small white she-cat closest to Rootpaw was Whitewing, and on the other side of Bramblestar, Rootpaw recognized the pale gray pelt of Bristlefrost.

Rootpaw’s pads prickled with excitement when he saw her, but he forced himself to stay calm and out of sight. This wasn’t the time to start padding after a cat from another Clan. This looked serious. There was no threat in the gaze or demeanor of any of the three cats, but Bramblestar had clearly come to speak to Leafstar, leader to leader. That wouldn’t happen unless it was really important.

Rootpaw remembered anxiously that he hadn’t told Leafstar that the creature leading ThunderClan wasn’t the real Bramblestar. After the encounter in the forest, he had left it up to Frecklewish and Fidgetflake, as the SkyClan medicine cats, to enlighten their leader, but he was sure that so far they hadn’t done so. As far as he knew, the medicine cats hadn’t spoken privately with Leafstar since that night, and Leafstar hadn’t said anything to warn her Clan about strange happenings beyond their borders.

As if his thoughts had summoned them, Frecklewish appeared out of the medicine cats’ den, with Fidgetflake close behind her. Rootpaw spotted them exchanging a glance, and saw how awkward and frustrated they both looked.

I guess they wish they had told Leafstar before this. . . .

Rootpaw’s pelt itched with the need to find out why Bramblestar had come to the SkyClan camp. He scuttled rapidly across the open ground between him and Leafstar’s den and skidded into cover around the back of the stump. Angling his ears forward, he listened as hard as he could, at the same time patting the debris around the oak roots with his paws.

If any cat asks, I can say I’m tidying up around the leader’s den.

Ruefully he recognized that this wasn’t exactly how a warrior should behave, but he knew that what he was doing was more important.

Though Rootpaw couldn’t see Leafstar from where he was hiding, he could tell that she had emerged from her den in the split at the bottom of the Tallstump and was standing in the entrance. Bramblestar and his escort were close by.

“I have called an emergency Gathering for tonight, because of Shadowsight’s disappearance,” Bramblestar announced, his voice carrying clearly to Rootpaw. “We in ThunderClan have stepped up our punishment and exile of the codebreakers who were named in his vision, and we think all the Clans must do the same. If Shadowsight is not strong enough to enforce his vision—”

“What makes you think Shadowsight isn’t strong enough?” Leafstar interrupted. “Do you have any idea what happened to him?”

“Yes, I have an idea,” Bramblestar responded. “And I’ll share it at the Gathering tonight. In the meantime, Leafstar, you should make sure that you punish any codebreaking cats in your own Clan. It’s vital for us all to do that, so that StarClan will know we’re serious about following the warrior code.”

I wonder how Leafstar will react to that, Rootpaw thought anxiously. His paws went still as he strained to hear his leader’s answer.

Leafstar’s tone was distinctly chilly as she responded. “With respect, Bramblestar, who are you to come here and tell me how to run my Clan?” Rootpaw had to slap his tail over his jaws to stop himself yowling in glee, hearing his leader stand up to the interloper. “For a start,” Leafstar went on, “none of my warriors were named in Shadowsight’s vision. For another thing, breaking the code has always been serious to SkyClan. Nothing has happened to change that, and I will continue punishing any culprits just as I always have.”

Bramblestar’s only reply to that was a dismissive grunt. “Tension between ThunderClan and ShadowClan was high at the last Gathering,” he continued. “And I’ve heard rumblings that Tigerstar is quite distraught about Shadowsight’s disappearance. What if he uses it to accuse other Clans of wrongdoing, or suggest that we don’t enforce the code as good leaders should?”

The impostor paused, waiting for a reply, but Leafstar said nothing. After a few heartbeats Bramblestar spoke again.

“Eventually the Clans will need to take sides,” he growled. “Those who are willing to commit to getting StarClan back no matter the cost . . . and those who are not.”

Still there was no response from Leafstar. Bramblestar let out an angry snort. “Be there tonight!” he snarled.

Rootpaw heard his paw steps retreating, and Bristlefrost and Whitewing following. When he was sure they had left the camp, he slipped out of his hiding place to see Leafstar sitting at the entrance to her den, her tail wrapped around her forepaws and a thoughtful look in her eyes.

As Rootpaw watched, she rose to her paws and let out a commanding yowl. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beside the Tallstump for a Clan meeting!”

Confident now that no cat would ask where he had been or what he had been doing, Rootpaw strode out into the center of the camp and sat beside Tree and Violetshine, who glanced at each other warily as they reappeared from the warriors’ den. “Another meeting?” Tree asked in a hushed voice. “What now?” Rootpaw could see his father’s confusion reflected in the expressions of several of the gathering warriors.

Needleclaw bounded over to join them. The two medicine cats left their den to sit near Leafstar, while the apprentice Wrenpaw scampered up to the side of her mentor, Rabbitleap. More warriors emerged from their den until almost the whole of SkyClan was assembled. The deputy, Hawkwing, was the last to appear, and padded over to sit at his leader’s side, glancing at Leafstar with a questioning look.

“Some of you know that I have just had a visit from Bramblestar,” Leafstar began, her gaze traveling seriously around her Clan. “He has called us to an emergency Gathering tonight, and he also tells me we must punish the codebreakers in our Clan so that we can reconnect with StarClan. If any of you have any thoughts about that, now is the time to share them with the rest of us.”

“Do we have any codebreakers?” Plumwillow spoke up from somewhere behind Rootpaw.

“Of course not!” Sagenose replied indignantly.

“I don’t know. . . .” Plumwillow’s voice went on, and Rootpaw glanced over his shoulder to see the dark gray she-cat working her claws worriedly into the ground. “We must reconnect with StarClan. It’s been moons since we last heard from them, and the frost seems to be over. So maybe we should investigate whether there are any codebreakers in our Clan.”