Эрин Хантер - Thunder Аnd Shadow

“Warn Leafpool.” Puddleshine was already talking to Dovewing by the time she caught up.

The young medicine cat’s eyes glowed with pride. “But tell her I know which herb cures it. Tell her I had a dream from StarClan!”

Twigpaw stared at her paws, a tail-length behind Dovewing. Look at me! Desperately Violetpaw tried to catch her sister’s ey e. Did you look for our mother? Twigpaw was acting as though Violetpaw wasn’t there. Was she still angry? Or perhaps she was asham ed she hadn’t found their mother. It’s okay. I knew there wasn’t much chance. I’m sorry I didn’t help you. She swallowed back the words, her paws hot with frustration.

Dovewing was ey eing Tigerheart. “Thanks for sharing this with us. It was good of you to stop.”

Tigerheart fluffed out his fur. “It was Puddleshine’s idea, not m ine.”

Dovewing returned his gaze coolly. “We thought it was strange to see a ShadowClan patrol heading toward WindClan territory. We thought som ething might be wrong.”

“Well, there is, and now you know.” Tigerheart turned away brusquely.

“Twigpaw?” Violetpaw twitched her ears hopefully, but Twigpaw carried on staring at her paws, her tail flicking restlessly. She clearly wasn’t going to talk.

“Come on, Violetpaw!” Tigerheart’s urgent mew called her away.

Violetpaw threw a last pleading glance at Twigpaw. “I’m sorry,” she m urm ured before turning to race after the others.

Tigerheart and Puddleshine had already reached Scorchfur and were heading for the WindClan border. She glanced over her shoulder.

Twigpaw was staring after her.

Hope flickered in Violetpaw’s chest. If Twigpaw was watching her, she must care. We’ll talk soon! She hoped she’d be able to keep her silent prom ise; there was so much to talk about, but there was no time to worry about it now. Scorchfur had already leaped over the stream that cut between ShadowClan land and the m oor. She pushed harder against the wet grass, closing the gap.

Her lungs were burning as she caught up to the patrol.

The grass felt coarser as brambles gave way to heather, which grew thicker and thicker as the slope steepened. Wind whipped the rain harder against Violetpaw’s pelt. She was relieved as the heather closed around them and she found herself chasing Scorchfur through a narrow gap, rough stem s closing in on either side. The trail twisted one way, then the other. She breathed in the sweet scent of peat and a sour sm ell she didn’t recognize. She’d never been on the m oor before.

Suddenly the heather opened onto a wide stretch of grass. Gorse sway ed on one side, and above she saw the top of the m oor, arched like a spine against the glowering sky.

Tigerheart slowed, Scorchfur beside him. Puddleshine eased his pace and glanced across the slope as though scanning for lungwort.

“Can you see any?” Violetpaw pulled up beside him.

“Hush!” Tigerheart’s hiss m ade her j um p. The tabby tom had halted and was staring at a bank of heather ahead. It rocked in the wind. Violetpaw narrowed her eyes, suddenly wary. Tigerheart was tasting the air. “WindClan cats,” he warned.

Scorchfur shifted beside her.

Violetpaw blinked at Tigerheart. “They’ll understand why we cam e, won’t they?”

“Of course they will.” As Puddleshine padded forward, his ears pricked eagerly, three

WindClan warriors em erged from the heather.

Violetpaw stiffened. Hostility shone in their eyes. The largest tom’s hackles were up.

Puddleshine halted and glanced nervously at Tigerheart.

“Don’t worry.” The ShadowClan tom stepped in front of the medicine cat and faced the WindClan patrol.

“What are you doing here?” The dark gray tom flattened his ears threateningly.

“Hi, Crowfeather.” Tigerheart stood his ground and mewed briskly. “We’ve come on an herb-gathering mission. It’s urgent.”

A black tom with amber eyes padded closer, showing his teeth.

“Wait, Breezepelt,” Crowfeather cautioned.

“Wait for what?” hissed the third tom. His tabby fur was plastered to his lithe fram e by the rain. “We should chase them off our land.”

“Not y et, Leaftail.” Crowfeather padded closer and stopped a m uzzle-length from Tigerheart.

“First we’re going to take them to Onestar so they can explain them selves to him.” Spite glittered in his gaze.

Tigerheart lifted his chin. “I’ll be happy to talk to Onestar. I’m sure he’ll understand why we cam e.”

Crowfeather and Leaftail exchanged glances. Was that am usem ent in their eyes? Violetpaw suddenly felt cold.

Puddleshine seem ed unaware of the m enace in the air. He blinked at the WindClan warriors.

“Are we going to y our camp?” His eyes lit up. “Good! I need to speak with Kestrelflight.”

Crowfeather’s whiskers twitched. “I doubt y ou’ll be doing much talking,” he meowed darkly.

Violetpaw’s belly tightened with foreboding as the WindClan warriors flanked them and began to guide them along the slopes. They crossed the m oor until she saw a dip surrounded by gorse.

Crowfeather led them to a gap in the thick green wall and ducked through it. Violetpaw followed Scorchfur and Tigerheart, Puddleshine at her tail.

The tunnel opened onto a wide stretch of grass. Heather clustered at the edges, backed by thick gorse. Sm all, sleek cats slid from dens and stared at them as the patrol m arched them across the clearing. Their eyes sparkled nervously. Violetpaw’s heart quickened. Tension hung in the air as though thunder was coming. She padded closer to Puddleshine, com forted by the touch of his flank against hers.

Onestar was sitting on a wide, flat rock at the end of the clearing.

His gaze sharpened as he saw them. He leaped onto the grass and stood m otionless as they approached.

Violetpaw blinked at him, her throat tightening. Was this how the rogues had felt when they’d first entered the ShadowClan camp? She doubted they’d been as scared. Rowanstar was stern, but his gaze had never been as icy as Onestar’s.

Her fear intensified when the WindClan leader looked right at her, nostrils flaring. “What is she doing on m y territory?”

Crowfeather looked confused he stopped in front of Onestar. “Er—we caught them inside our border.”

Fury flashed in Onestar’s eyes, turning ice into fire in a m om ent. He lashed his tail in her direction. “This one is a rogue. She lived am ong the sam e cats who killed Furzepelt!”

Violetpaw stiffened with fear.

The WindClan leader’s pelt spiked along his spine. “How dare y ou?” he hissed. “Get her off m y territory before I take m y revenge!”

Tigerheart stepped backward, and Violetpaw saw the two warriors’ claws curl into the grass as though preparing for a fight. She tried to back up as well, but hit a wall of tawny fur, thick with WindClan scent. Cats padded closer on every side. The gorse hem m ed them in. Her paws trem bled. They were trapped.

“Hear m e out. Violetpaw is a ShadowClan cat now. She poses no threat,” Tigerheart said in a steady voice.

Onestar snarled. “Make it quick.”

Tigerheart glanced at Puddleshine, whose gaze was frozen on Onestar. Violetpaw could sm ell his fear. Tigerheart said quickly, “Three of our Clanmates are ill with a sickness we’ve never seen before. StarClan sent Puddleshine a dream telling him which herb would cure it. They told him that he must gather it on the m oor.”

Onestar narrowed his eyes to slits. “I don’t care what StarClan told him. No ShadowClan cat crosses onto WindClan land.”

Tigerheart’s tail twitched and Violetpaw guessed he was angry, but he replied calm ly. “We mean no harm. But we can’t let our Clanmates die.”