Эрин Хантер - The Silent Thaw

Squirrelflight frowned. “How could a rogue know about StarClan?” she murmured. “This cat must have been a warrior once.”

Tigerstar snorted. “A warrior would never try to harm the Clans.”

“Really?” Squirrelflight stared at him. “I suppose you’re too young to remember the Great Battle.”

“I know we lost Clanmates,” he growled.

“They were killed by cats who used to be warriors,” Squirrelflight mewed darkly.

“But the Great Battle threatened all the Clans.” Tigerstar’s pelt prickled. “This is ThunderClan’s problem.”

Rootpaw blinked. Did he really believe that? Alarm flashed in the ghost’s eyes.

Shadowsight stepped in front of his father. “An impostor is leader of ThunderClan,” he mewed. “Because of him, cats in every Clan want to punish their Clanmates. How can you say it’s just a ThunderClan problem?”

The ghost leaned toward Rootpaw. “Remind Tigerstar that he and I are kin,” he murmured. “And that I took him in when Darktail drove him from his Clan. He owes me. He owes ThunderClan.”

Rootpaw stared at the ghost, still tired from making it appear. “How can I say that?” he murmured, as quietly as he could. Didn’t the ghost realize that Tigerstar was the leader of another Clan?

The ghost stared at him sternly. “Say it however you like,” he growled. “But say it. We need Tigerstar’s help.”

The ghost was right. Rootpaw squared his shoulders and faced the ShadowClan leader. “I thought Bramblestar was your kin.”

“Clan is more important than kin,” Tigerstar growled.

Rootpaw narrowed his eyes. “I heard he took you in when Darktail chased you out of ShadowClan.”

“That’s right!” Squirrelflight flicked her tail eagerly. “We gave you sanctuary.”

Tigerstar looked at her warily as the ShadowClan cats exchanged glances.

Tawnypelt padded forward. “Darktail tore our Clan apart, and the other Clans stood up to him,” she mewed.

Tigerstar frowned. “They did it to protect themselves, not us.”

Dovewing gazed at the ShadowClan leader. “Do you really believe that this impostor doesn’t mean to harm us all? We can’t let him carry on as leader of ThunderClan. He’s made it clear time and time again that he wants to tell every Clan what to do, not just ThunderClan.”

Tawnypelt nodded. “He threatened to replace you with another leader, remember?”

Tigerstar met the tortoiseshell’s clear, green gaze and held it for a moment. Then he dipped his head. “You’re right.” He looked around at his warriors. “This isn’t something we can ignore. ThunderClan needs its rightful leader back for all our sakes.”

As hope flashed in Rootpaw’s chest, Dovewing lifted her tail. “Can Squirrelflight stay here?” she mewed.

“Yes.” Tigerstar met his mate’s gaze. “She will be treated like a Clanmate for as long as she’s with us. In the meantime, we need to come up with a plan to get rid of this impostor.”

“Kill him!” Whorlpelt flexed his claws. “If he’s not a leader, he won’t have nine lives. It’ll be easy.”

The ghost bristled beside Rootpaw. “If you kill him,” Rootpaw mewed, stepping forward quickly. “the real Bramblestar’s ghost won’t have a body to return to.”

Tree tipped his head. “We have to bide our time,” he mewed. “We need to get the support of every Clan. We can’t let this turn into war.”

Squirrelflight nodded. “The impostor mustn’t realize that we know he’s not Bramblestar.” She looked at Tree. “You have to carry on with your atonement.”

“Do I tell the other Clans what I’ve told you?” Tree blinked at her.

“Not until we’re sure they’re ready to hear,” mewed Squirrelflight.

Puddleshine looked thoughtful. “I can share what we know with the other medicine cats,” he suggested. “They might be able to influence their Clans without directly challenging the cats who support the impostor.”

Tawnypelt frowned. “But surely no cat would support him if they knew he was an impostor?”

Squirrelflight shifted her paws. “It’s not an easy story to believe,” she mewed. “I wasn’t ready to believe it at first, and I shared a den with him.” She shuddered. “Puddleshine’s right. We should try to persuade the other Clans through their medicine cats.”

“I’ll tell the others at the next half-moon meeting,” Puddleshine mewed.

Dovewing blinked at Tigerstar. “I’ll have to go back into exile,” she told him. “So that the impostor thinks we agree with him.”

Tigerstar looked alarmed. “It’s too dangerous.”

“I won’t go far,” Dovewing promised him. “If I’m free to roam where I like, I might be able to keep an eye on ThunderClan.”

“Be careful.” Tigerstar’s pelt lifted along his spine.

Dovewing met his gaze. “I’ll be very careful,” she promised.

Rootpaw glanced at the ghost. Hope was glistening in its eyes. He’d done what it had asked. And he’d made it visible to the others. He couldn’t help feeling a glimmer of pride. Perhaps being like Tree wasn’t so bad after all—as long as no cat found out. He looked around at the ShadowClan cats. They were willing to stand up to the impostor. Despite the fear swirling beneath his pelt, Rootpaw felt hopeful. And yet ShadowClan was only one Clan. What if they failed? What if the other Clans continued to support the impostor? Would following the warrior code lead them to their own destruction?

Chapter 23

Bristlefrost half closed her eyes and relished the warmth of the newleaf sun that washed the clearing. She was pretending to doze in a pool of sunshine beside the nursery, but she was really watching Finleap and Twigbranch struggle to uproot a thornbush at the edge of the camp. Bramblestar claimed that it would smother the warriors’ den if it was left to grow, but the whole Clan knew it had been there for moons and barely grew at all. This was a punishment. The ThunderClan leader had accused Finleap and Twigbranch of codebreaking after they’d forgotten to thank StarClan for their catch earlier in the day. Berrynose, ThunderClan’s new deputy, had been on patrol with them. He hadn’t warned them at the time, but he’d told Bramblestar about their misdemeanor as soon as they returned to camp.

Bristlefrost’s pelt prickled uncomfortably. Was I that eager to please when I was trying to help Bramblestar? She shuddered. I won’t ever tell on my Clanmates again.

In the days since he’d driven Squirrelflight from the camp, Bramblestar had been insisting his warriors pay closer and closer attention to the code, but he was continually announcing new interpretations of rules, to the point where no cat knew what was codebreaking and what wasn’t.

The ThunderClan leader was watching Finleap and Twigbranch from the Highledge. He lay there alone, his chin hanging over the edge of the stone while Finleap and Twigbranch dug deeper between the roots of the thorn tree. Their pelts were ruffled and specked with soil, and their paws were filthy as they tried once more to dislodge the stubborn bush.

Berrynose padded toward the exhausted warriors. “Get a move on,” he growled. “Bramblestar wants it dug up by dusk. What’s taking you so long?”

Bristlefrost saw the cream-colored tom glance up at Bramblestar. Was he hoping the ThunderClan leader would be impressed? Bramblestar stared straight through his new deputy, and Bristlefrost felt a shiver of satisfaction. The more Berrynose tried to please Bramblestar, the more Bramblestar seemed to despise him.