Эрин Хантер - The Silent Thaw

“Of course you’re meant to be a medicine cat. You’ve always been special.”

Special. The word suddenly sounded more like an insult than a compliment. Shadowsight looked away. He couldn’t stand the thought that he’d lost Puddleshine’s trust.

A growl sounded outside. Shadowsight pricked his ears. “What’s going on?”

Puddleshine turned toward the entrance. “I smell SkyClan.” As the medicine cat hurried out, Shadowsight followed.

Rootpaw and Tree were in the clearing, flanked by Gullswoop and Blazefire.

Shadowsight’s pelt rippled with surprise. Had Tree agreed to follow Bramblestar’s orders?

Dovewing, who was eating beside the fresh-kill pile, got to her paws. Around the clearing, Snaketooth and Berryheart turned their heads to stare at the visitors. Scorchfur’s hackles lifted.

Tigerstar padded from his den and glared at Tree and Rootpaw. “What are you doing here?”

Tree dipped his head. “You heard Bramblestar’s order,” he mewed. “I’m to visit every Clan as part of my atonement.”

Tigerstar curled his lip. “Do you really think you can convince me to make my warriors atone because Bramblestar tells me I should?”

Yarrowleaf blinked at her leader, pain still showing in her eyes. “Perhaps we should listen to him.”

Scorchfur padded forward. “You want StarClan to come back, don’t you?”

Tigerstar turned on him. “Your first loyalty is to your Clan, not to Bramblestar!” he snapped. “ I decide if we atone, not him.”

Scorchfur backed away, his tail flicking uneasily.

Shadowsight’s pelt tingled with relief. Tigerstar was going to keep standing up to Bramblestar, even if it meant disagreeing with his own Clanmates.

Tigerstar padded closer to Tree. “You’d better get out of here,” he hissed. “Before I have you dragged out by your scruff.”

Tree’s eyes rounded. “But I’ve come to talk to you about Squirrelflight’s message.”

Tigerstar narrowed his eyes. “What message?”

Tree started, looking confused. “Squirrelflight . . . she didn’t visit?”

“No,” Tigerstar hissed. “We’ve had no visit from ThunderClan—and even if we had, I’d have told her what I’m telling you. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say!”

Tree glanced hopefully around the camp. “Is Cloverfoot here? Maybe I can speak to her.”

“Get out!” Tigerstar lunged at him, stopping a whisker away.

Tree recoiled, his pelt spiking. Rootpaw pressed close to his father and glared defiantly at Tigerstar.

Dovewing padded from the edge of the camp. “You should go,” she told Tree softly. “Tigerstar won’t change his mind. Bramblestar went too far at the Gathering. StarClan gave Tigerstar nine lives. No cat but them can take his leadership away.”

“But I might be able to help you.” Tree’s gaze stayed on Tigerstar. “There’s something you should know.” He looked around at the ShadowClan warriors. “Something you should all know.”

Shadowsight pricked his ears. What did he mean?

“Leave.” Dovewing slid between Tree and Tigerstar as the ShadowClan leader uncurled his claws. “Before some cat gets hurt.”

Tail flicking, Tree turned and headed for the entrance. Rootpaw hesitated. His gaze flitted around the camp, lighting up as it reached Shadowsight.

Shadowsight stiffened. Me? Rootpaw was staring at him eagerly. What does he want me to do? Shadowsight shifted his paws self-consciously as Rootpaw’s eyes widened. He’s trying to tell me something. He returned Rootpaw’s gaze helplessly. Then Rootpaw turned and headed for the entrance, his tail twitching sharply. Shadowsight watched him go. Was that tail flick meant for me?

Cinnamontail brushed past Rootpaw as she padded into camp. She glanced over her shoulder as he disappeared. “What were they doing here?”

Dovewing met the tabby’s gaze. “Bramblestar wanted them to come and persuade Tigerstar to exile the codebreakers.”

Cinnamontail sniffed. “Since when does a ThunderClan leader tell ShadowClan what to do?” She padded toward the medicine den and stopped in front of Puddleshine. “I’ve been feeling queasy all morning,” she told him. “I think I ate a bad mouse.”

“Come with me.” Puddleshine headed into the den. “I’ve got some watermint that will help.” He paused and looked at Shadowsight. “Do you want to treat Cinnamontail?”

Shadowsight could see that the medicine cat was trying to prove that he still trusted him. He shook out his fur. “Can you give him the watermint? I want to check on the marigold I found near camp.” Before Puddleshine could comment, he hurried across the clearing. It was a lie. He wasn’t interested in the marigold right now. He wanted to catch Tree and Rootpaw before they crossed the border. Rootpaw had made it clear that they had more to share than Bramblestar’s orders.

He ducked out of camp and scanned the forest, relieved when he glimpsed Tree’s yellow pelt through the undergrowth. He chased after him, his paws thrumming against the earth as he raced to catch up. “Wait!” He skidded to a halt beside the two SkyClan cats.

Rootpaw turned first, his eyes lighting as he saw Shadowsight.

Tree’s whiskers twitched with surprise. “I thought ShadowClan didn’t want to hear my message.”

“They didn’t want to hear Bramblestar’s message,” Shadowsight told him. “But you came to tell us something else, didn’t you?”

Tree blinked at him. “You said at the Gathering that your visions hadn’t come from StarClan.”

“Yes!” Shadowsight told him eagerly. He was relieved that some cat had heard him. “They came from some other cat.”

“Who?” Rootpaw’s eyes widened.

“I don’t know,” Shadowsight confessed. “I just know it wasn’t StarClan.”

Tree’s gaze was solemn. “Did you know that Bramblestar isn’t Bramblestar?”

“What?” Shadowsight froze. “How can he not be Bramblestar?”

“When he lost a life,” Tree explained, “some other cat’s spirit took his body. The real Bramblestar is a ghost. He can’t get back into his body and he can’t find StarClan.”

Rootpaw’s eyes were dark. “Whoever’s leading ThunderClan is an impostor.”

“An impostor?” Shadowsight’s thoughts whirled, the earth seeming to shift beneath his paws. First StarClan wasn’t StarClan and now Bramblestar wasn’t Bramblestar. “What’s going on?”

“We don’t know yet.” Rootpaw padded closer, his eyes bright. “But if your visions didn’t come from StarClan, where did they come from?”

“I told you, I don’t know,” Shadowsight mewed. “I just know it was a voice.”

Tree frowned. “Do you think it could have been Bramblestar’s voice?”

Shadowsight felt confused. “Bramblestar?”

“The impostor.” Rootpaw whisked his tail. “He’s the one who’s been yowling about codebreakers since this began, and your visions have agreed with him. Perhaps he the one who’s been speaking to you.”

Shadowsight’s heart pounded. Some cat had stolen Bramblestar’s identity and was trying to control the Clans through his visions. “How do you know Bramblestar is a ghost?”

Rootpaw and Tree exchanged glances.

“I’ve seen him,” Tree mewed. “I can help you see him too, if you like.”

Rootpaw’s eyes widened. “Can you?”

Tree fluffed out his fur. “It’s not easy, but I can make dead cats visible to the living—for a while at least,” he told them. “I did it for ShadowClan when some of their warriors went missing after Darktail took over.” He eyed Shadowsight somberly. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” Shadowsight nodded.