Эрин Хантер - Lost Stars

Alderheart met Squirrelflight’s gaze steadily. “It’s your decision,” he told her. “What do you want to do?”

Chapter 20

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Pinebranch for a Clan meeting!”

Shadowpaw poked his head out of the medicine cats’ den to see his father sitting on the pine branch above his den, from which he always addressed the Clan. His paws were tucked underneath him, and his tail dangled. His father’s expression was grave.

Worry prickled beneath Shadowpaw’s pelt. “Now what’s happening?” he wondered aloud. I just hope I’m not at the center of it, for once. . . .

“Listen and you might find out,” Puddleshine told him, giving him a shove from behind. “But I’d bet a moon of dawn patrols it’s something to do with your visit to ThunderClan.”

Great. Shadowpaw thought that his mentor must be right. He cringed when he thought of how Squirrelflight had denied that Bramblestar was sick, and how no cat had believed him when he’d told them what to do to save their leader. They thought I was trying to kill him! They really thought I could be that . . . evil!

He padded out of the den with Puddleshine a paw step behind him and found a spot to sit near Lightleap and Pouncestep. Cloverfoot and Tawnypelt turned away from the fresh-kill pile and joined Dovewing near the bottom of the tree. Cloverfoot looked apprehensive; Shadowpaw guessed that Tigerstar had already confided in his deputy what he was going to say.

Oakfur emerged slowly from the elders’ den and plopped down just outside it, raising one hind leg to give himself a vigorous scratch behind his ear. Cinnamontail and Berryheart appeared from the warriors’ den with more of their Clanmates behind them, to form a ragged circle beneath the Pinebranch where Tigerstar was waiting.

The Clan leader let his amber gaze travel around his Clan before he rose to his paws and spoke. “Cats of ShadowClan, once again we have been the victim of a grave deception! A fox-hearted betrayal!” He paused. Murmurs of shock and disgust wormed their way through the crowd, but Shadowpaw felt only surprise.

Tigerstar lifted his head. “Therefore,” he went on, “I’ve decided that my only choice is to close our borders. So we’ll be doubling our patrols, and renewing our scent markers twice as often. And I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what to do with any cat who dares set paw on our territory. From now on—”

“Just a moment,” Tawnypelt interrupted, her ears flicking up indignantly. “What happened? You can’t do this without telling us why. That would be mouse-brained.”

Tigerstar narrowed his eyes as he gazed down at the tortoiseshell she-cat. Shadowpaw winced at the way she was addressing her Clan leader, then reflected that as Tawnypelt had once been deputy, she was used to expressing her opinion. Not to mention that she was the leader’s mother. And a pretty outspoken cat.

Before Tigerstar could respond, Oakfur paused in his scratching. “Things didn’t exactly go well when WindClan and RiverClan decided to close their borders recently,” he pointed out. “They just helped Darktail and his Kin to grow more powerful.”

“That’s right!” Snowbird agreed. “We need to know more before we do this.”

A chorus of yowls broke out, as more cats demanded that Tigerstar explain himself. Finally the Clan leader had to raise his tail for silence.

“I’ve just learned that the other Clans have banded together to defile the Moonpool by trying to break the ice,” he explained. “Their scheme failed, which is no great surprise . . . but, needless to say, I am disgusted by this snubbing of our Clan. The other Clans have tried to cut us off from the Moonpool because they don’t trust Shadowpaw,” he went on. “They don’t trust that a ShadowClan cat could have such a connection with StarClan. But they’re wrong about that! I know it, and soon the other Clans will know it, too. Shadowpaw has special powers. . . .”

Shadowpaw hunched his shoulders in embarrassment as his father continued to proclaim how sensitive he was, how many visions he had had, and how valuable his link to StarClan would prove for his Clan.

I’m not like that at all. I’m just a medicine-cat apprentice, and I don’t know what’s going on, any more than any cat!

Worse, he worried that his Clanmates didn’t agree with their leader. He caught the doubtful glances they were casting at him. Even Puddleshine was looking at him thoughtfully. His mentor had defended him before, but was he regretting that now?

Strikestone cleared his throat to speak first. “Shadowpaw is unusual,” he began. Tigerstar shifted and cast an angry glare at the white tom. But Strikestone lifted a paw, indicating he wasn’t done. “But he’s ours—and in my mind, there’s no doubt that a ShadowClan cat could be singled out by StarClan.”

To Shadowpaw’s surprise, this time murmurs of agreement hummed through the crowd. Yarrowleaf purred, looking at him with fond eyes. “Shadowpaw is good,” she agreed. “He and my kits grew up together. Maybe it’s unusual for StarClan to communicate with only one cat, but why shouldn’t it be Shadowpaw?”

This time cats were nodding, meowing their agreement. Other cats spoke up in support, but Shadowpaw’s mind wandered. The certainty in their voices only made him feel more unsure. He knew they loved ShadowClan . . . but did that make him right? The visions he had received were so clear, just as if he were talking to a living cat. Shadowpaw knew that StarClan didn’t usually communicate like that. But what other way was there to explain it?

If I’m not being given these visions to save the Clans, Shadowpaw wondered, then why am I having them? He remembered Spiresight, whom he had met when he was a kit living inside the big Twoleg den, and remembered too how Spiresight had been treated by the other cats who lived there. Dovewing had said that Spiresight was a medicine cat in a group that didn’t understand medicine cats. The cats who lived at the Twoleg den saw his visions as crazy and believed there was something wrong with him.

Even if my Clan believes me . . . it’s not a long distance from “medicine cat” to “crazy furball,” Shadowpaw reflected. What if I am imagining it? Spiresight was right sometimes, but he talked a lot of nonsense, too. . . .

“Exactly!” Tigerstar’s loud, assertive voice jerked Shadowpaw out of his reflections. “I’m glad we all agree. Cloverfoot, please set the new border-patrol schedules and send out hunting patrols.”

The Clan leader leaped down from the branch and disappeared into his den, leaving his deputy to carry out his orders. Meanwhile, most of the warriors drew together in little groups, talking with their heads together and glancing over their shoulders at Shadowpaw.

As he turned away from them, wanting to be alone, Shadowpaw caught Puddleshine’s eye. His mentor looked curious but didn’t call to him. He could stand to be rid of me for a while, Shadowpaw mused. Let him get some real medicine-cat work done, without worrying about me, and all the trouble I’m causing.

Leaving the camp behind him, Shadowpaw headed out into the forest. Clouds lay low over the tops of the pine trees, and the light underneath them was dim, though it was not long past sunhigh. The surface of the snow glimmered eerily in the dusk, unbroken by any traces of prey. Shadowpaw’s paws and legs grew numb with cold as he broke through the crusty surface into the powdery snow beneath.