Erin Hunter - The Fourth Apprentice

“What do you think, Firestar?” Sandstorm prompted quietly.

Firestar was silent for a moment, while Rainstorm’s gaze flickered from one cat to the next as if he could read his fate in their eyes.

“I think Thornclaw’s right.” Spiderleg, dried mud still clinging to his pelt, pushed his way to the front of the crowd. “Maybe it would teach RiverClan to stay away from our side of the lake.”

“And to stop telling other Clans what they can do,” Cloudtail added. “Leopardstar’s getting way too big for her fur.”

“No, they’re just desperate,” Brackenfur argued. “This heat-”

“It’s hot over here, too,” Mousefur snapped.

“Firestar?” Brambleclaw raised his tail to silence the arguing cats. “What do you want us to do?”

Finally Firestar shook his head. “I’m sorry, Thornclaw. I know you want what’s best for the Clan, and I admit that I don’t like turning down the chance of some extra food. But there’s nothing in the warrior code that allows us to use a cat from another Clan to bargain with.”

“That’s right,” Squirrelflight added, padding up to her father’s side. “We would just be making things worse.”

Thornclaw opened his jaws as if he was going to argue, then closed them again, shrugging. “Whatever you say, Firestar,” he muttered.

“Brambleclaw, show Rainstorm where he can rest,” Firestar instructed. “Later, when it’s cooler, you can lead a patrol to escort him back to RiverClan.”

Lionblaze crept into the shadow of a rock and managed to snatch some sleep. His dreams were dark and confused, and when he woke he felt almost as tired as when he had first curled up.

Long shadows stretched across the clearing as he padded to the pitifully small fresh-kill pile, and the sky above the trees was streaked with scarlet. The scorching heat of sunhigh had faded, but the air was still heavy and stale.

Maybe I can get some cats together for a hunting patrol .

“Hey, Lionblaze!”

Lionblaze swung around at the sound of Brambleclaw’s voice. The Clan deputy was bounding toward him; Rainstorm followed more slowly. The RiverClan warrior’s paw steps were firmer now, though he still looked exhausted.

“I’m leading a patrol to take Rainstorm home,” Brambleclaw explained as he came up to Lionblaze. “I’d like you to come.”

“Sure. Can I bring Dovepaw? It would be good experience for her.”

At Brambleclaw’s nod, he looked around for his apprentice and spotted her outside her new den with Ivypaw and Cinderheart. When he waved his tail, all three cats came trotting over.

Meanwhile, Brambleclaw ducked into the warriors’ den and emerged with Brackenfur and Sorreltail. Lionblaze noticed that he hadn’t chosen any of the cats who had wanted to keep Rainstorm hostage until RiverClan gave them some fish.

“We’re going over to RiverClan with Rainstorm,” Lionblaze told Dovepaw as she approached.

“Great!” Dovepaw gave a little bounce of excitement. “I’ll get to see some other territories.”

“Can’t we go too?” Ivypaw asked, looking up at Cinderheart with disappointment in her eyes.

“Sorry, no,” Cinderheart replied. “You’ll both have to get used to being separated for your duties,” she added to her downcast apprentice. “We’ll go to the training clearing instead, and I’ll teach you your first fighting moves.”

“Great!” Ivypaw cheered up at once, her eyes gleaming. “Dovepaw, I’ll flatten you when you get back!”

Dovepaw flicked her sister’s nose with the tip of her tail. “You can try.”

Brambleclaw gathered his patrol together with a sweep of his tail and led the way out of the thorn tunnel. As soon as they set off into the forest, Lionblaze realized that they were heading for ShadowClan territory.

“Wouldn’t it be safer to go the other way, past WindClan?” he suggested.

Brambleclaw gave him a brief glance from thoughtful amber eyes. “We’ve had just as much trouble with WindClan lately,” he replied. “Besides, it’s farther that way, and I’m not sure how long Rainstorm will be able to keep going. I think that if we cut straight across the mud, staying between what’s left of the lake and ShadowClan’s territory, we shouldn’t have any problems.”

“I hope you’re right,” Lionblaze muttered.

They emerged from the trees not far from the stream that marked the border with ShadowClan. Lionblaze shot a dismayed glance at the exposed mud at the bottom. “This stream used to be full to the brim,” he told Dovepaw as she padded up to stand beside him and peered down curiously at the empty stream. “Water flowed constantly into the lake, but now most of it is gone.”

“Is that why the lake has shrunk?” Dovepaw asked, tipping her head to one side.

“Partly,” Lionblaze replied.

“So why did the stream go away?”

“No cat knows. I suppose it must be the heat.”

Dovepaw stared upstream to where the channel curved away, hidden beneath wilting clumps of fern. Her whiskers were quivering and her claws flexed in and out.

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Lionblaze told her. “Let’s keep going.”

Dovepaw jumped as if he had startled her, though he couldn’t see what had sent her into such deep concentration.

“What-” he began, but at that moment a yowl interrupted him. “Lionblaze! Are you with this patrol or not?”

Brambleclaw had led the rest of the cats out onto the dried-up lake and paused, glancing back over his shoulder as he called out to Lionblaze.

“Sorry!” Lionblaze called back. With Dovepaw scampering behind him, he raced onto the hard brown mud and fell in at the back of the patrol. “Stay beside me,” he warned Dovepaw. “And if we see any ShadowClan warriors, let Brambleclaw handle it.”

“What if they attack us?” Dovepaw mewed; she looked excited rather than afraid.

“I don’t think they will. But if they do,” Lionblaze warned her, “stay out of it if you possibly can. You’re not trained; a ShadowClan warrior could turn you into crow-food with one paw.”

“Couldn’t,” Dovepaw muttered under her breath, just loud enough for her mentor to hear.

Lionblaze didn’t scold her. He remembered what it had felt like to be an apprentice, desperate to prove himself and learn all the skills of a warrior. He liked this little she-cat; she was brave and curious, and he guessed she would learn quickly.

Are you the One? he wondered as he watched her padding purposefully across the mud, her gaze flicking from side to side as if she was checking for the approach of ShadowClan cats. Or is it your sister? I wish StarClan would send us a sign .

To his relief, there was no trace of ShadowClan patrols as the ThunderClan cats trekked across the mud. Lionblaze couldn’t help feeling as if hostile eyes were gazing at him from the undergrowth on the bank, but no cats appeared.

The last of the sunlight was fading and the moon had risen above the trees by the time the patrol reached the edge of RiverClan territory.

“You go ahead now,” Brambleclaw meowed to Rainstorm. “Lead us to your camp.”

“There’s no need for you to go anywhere near our camp,” Rainstorm retorted, sounding a bit more belligerent now that he was back on his own territory. “I’ll be fine on my own from now on.”

“I want Leopardstar to hear our side of what happened,” Brambleclaw replied; only a tiny flick of the tip of his tail told Lionblaze that he was irritated. “And if she offers us some fish in return for looking after you, we won’t say no.”

“We don’t have any prey to share with other Clans,” Rainstorm snapped as he turned and led the way up the bank and onto RiverClan territory.