Эрин Хантер - The Silent Thaw

“Patrol?” Tigerstar looked surprised. “Already?”

“I think he should rest for a couple of days,” Shadowsight mewed.

Puddleshine tipped his head thoughtfully. “But going on normal patrols again could be good for him.”

Shadowsight saw Antfur’s muscular legs begin to quiver. The brown-and-black tom grimaced a little. Shadowsight darted toward him, pressing his flank against Antfur’s to steady him as he began to sway. “Are you dizzy?”

“A little,” Antfur confessed. “But that’s okay. I should get back to my warrior duties.”

“You need to rest.” Shadowsight was supporting most of the warrior’s weight as he leaned against him. Antfur seemed hardly able stand on his own four paws. How could he be ready for patrols?

Antfur pulled away from him. “I’ve already rested for three days,” he pointed out.

Tigerstar swished his tail. “He just needs some exercise. A warrior’s place is out there, in the forest.”

“Besides, Mittens was going to show me a shrew nest,” Antfur meowed eagerly.

“Mittens?” Tigerstar frowned.

Antfur frowned, clearly realizing he’d said the wrong name. He tried to correct himself. “I mean Blaze.”

Shadowsight’s paws pricked anxiously. “You mean Blaze fire , right?” Had he forgotten his friend’s warrior name?

“Of course.” Antfur lifted his chin.

Tigerstar’s gaze darkened. “Perhaps you should stay in the medicine den for another day or two.”

Antfur’s eyes widened indignantly. “I don’t want to be treated like a kit, or an elder. I joined ShadowClan so I could be a warrior. I’m perfectly okay. I should be taking care of my Clanmates. They shouldn’t be taking care of me.”

Tigerstar caught Shadowsight’s eye. “What do you think?”

“I’d like to keep an eye on him.”

“Puddleshine?” Tigerstar looked at the other medicine cat.

“Shadowsight is right. Another day in the medicine den might be best,” Puddleshine mewed.

“No!” Antfur’s pelt bristled. “I’m as fit as a hare.” He padded around the den, swishing his tail. “I’m perfectly capable of hunting.” He stared at Tigerstar.

“But what if you get dizzy again while you’re out of camp?” Shadowsight felt unconvinced.

“I won’t be on my own,” Antfur told him. “I’ll have a patrol with me, and my Clanmates won’t let anything happen.”

Shadowsight still wasn’t sure. As long as he was keeping the secret of the codebreaker vision, he couldn’t let any cat take risks. If StarClan really had let Antfur get hurt to send him a message, they might decide to send another. “He should stay here.”

Tigerstar frowned thoughtfully. “But Antfur has a point,” he murmured. “He won’t be on his own.”

Puddleshine nodded. He padded around Antfur, sniffing his pelt. “There’s no swelling or stiffness. If he gets dizzy, he can rest until it passes.”

“What if he gets confused again?” Shadowsight stared at Puddleshine.

“He’ll be with his Clanmates.” Puddleshine looked decided. “They’ll help him.”

Antfur shifted his paws impatiently. “Can I go?” he asked Tigerstar. “The dawn hunting patrol will be heading out soon.”

Tigerstar nodded. “Okay, but take it easy.”

“Of course I will.” Antfur ducked out of the den.

Shadowsight watched him go. Would StarClan watch over him? Or would Antfur be in danger until Shadowsight shared the codebreaking vision with the Clans? I hear you, okay? He glanced upward, anger welling in his chest. I’m just trying to do what’s best.

As Tigerstar left the den and Puddleshine fetched herbs from the store for Snowbird, Shadowsight gazed into the pale dawn light. Perhaps the run of bad luck had nothing to do with StarClan. Antfur would be fine. Fresh air and company would make him better, wouldn’t it? He tried to push his nagging doubt away. StarClan, I know what you’re trying to tell me! Worry itched beneath his pelt. Please protect Antfur.

The morning passed slowly. Shadowsight made poultices for his Clanmates’ injuries: oak leaf and goldenrod for Stonewing’s tail, nettle for Scorchfur’s bruises, and marigold for Dovewing’s ear. He kept his ears pricked, listening for Antfur’s return. The small brown-and-black tom was probably having fun, relieved to escape the gloom of the medicine den and feeling like his old self again.

As Shadowsight crossed the clearing, his paws still green with the nettle juice he’d smeared on Scorchfur’s injuries, paw steps sounded at the entrance. A patrol was returning.

Whorlpelt and Flowerstem looked up from the mouse they were sharing. Flowerstem’s nose twitched nervously as she tasted the air. Outside the apprentices’ den, Cinnamontail dropped the brambles she’d been threading into the wall. She looked toward the entrance, her pelt ruffling along her spine.

Shadowsight followed her gaze nervously. What had put his Clanmates on edge? Through the thrumming of paw steps, he could hear fur brushing the forest floor, as though the patrol had caught a large rabbit and was dragging it back to share with their Clanmates. The entrance shivered as Snaketooth padded in. Shadowsight’s breath caught in his throat as he saw grief in the tabby she-cat’s gaze. Blazefire and Gullswoop followed her. They were hauling something behind them, their claws hooked into dark brown fur.

Shadowsight froze. Horror swamped him like ice water as he recognized the body they’d brought back. It wasn’t a rabbit. It was Antfur, and the warrior was clearly dead. He swallowed back nausea as Blazefire pulled his Clanmate’s body into the clearing and let it drop to the ground.

Cinnamontail raced from the apprentices’ den, her eyes wide with shock. “What happened?” She crouched beside Antfur and stared at Blazefire.

“We told him to say close.” The white-and-ginger tom sounded numb. “But he chased a squirrel up a tree. I followed him, but he was too fast. He’d cornered it at the top before I reached him, and he got dizzy.” Blazefire’s mew broke. “He fell.”

“There was nothing we could do.” Gullswoop stared bleakly at Antfur’s body.

Cinnamontail stared at her dead friend. Like Blazefire, she’d shared a den with the tom when they’d lived in the city, before they joined the Clan. They’d known each other since kithood. Her eyes glistened with grief. “He was injured so recently. He should never have gone out.”

“He wanted to hunt with his Clan,” Blazefire mumbled.

“He wanted to be a warrior the moment he knew what one was,” Cinnamontail wailed. “He was always first to spot prey and first to chase it. He wanted to help make his Clan as strong and healthy as it could be. And in the end, it killed him.”

Dovewing padded from her den. When she saw Antfur’s body and heard Cinnamontail’s sob, she limped across the clearing. Pressing her cheek to Cinnamontail’s, she looked at Shadowsight. He stiffened. Could she see his guilt? It was searing his belly like fire. I should have made Tigerstar keep him in camp! He dropped his gaze. Would it have changed anything? Antfur had only been hurt in the first place because StarClan was trying to send Shadowsight a message. His death proved it. This couldn’t just be a run of bad luck. Shadowsight’s paws felt as heavy as stone. It was a message from StarClan. And he knew, with a sense of dread that made the ground seem to shift beneath his paws, that the injuries and deaths would keep happening until he stopped them. He glanced guilty toward Tigerstar’s den. No matter what his father had said, he couldn’t risk keeping the secret anymore. He had to warn the other medicine cats.