Эрин Хантер - Thunder Аnd Shadow

“ I m et them first,” Honey paw boasted.

“So?” Brindlepaw glared at her.

Twigpaw swiveled her ears toward the long grass, hoping to hear paws hurry ing toward the clearing. WindClan, ThunderClan, and RiverClan were here. But where was ShadowClan? Were they going to be late again?

Bramblestar and Misty star were talking at the foot of the great oak. Onestar was already seated on the branch above them. His gaze was cast down, as though he was avoiding the eyes of the other Clans. Twigpaw wondered if he felt guilty for having withheld lungwort from ShadowClan.

Is that why they weren’t here? Were too many cats sick? The worry that had been nagging in Twigpaw’s belly since she’d left the ShadowClan camp suddenly hardened. What if Violetpaw was sick? She tried to push the thought away, but then she pictured her sister looking after her Clanmates in the medicine den. She could have easily caught the illness. Twigpaw remembered grim ly how sick the cats had been. Had Oakfur died? Or Wasptail? Or the others? What about Violetpaw?

Guilt surged through Twigpaw’s pelt as she remembered the hurt in her sister’s eyes when she’d left. I had to go! You are my kin, but ThunderClan is my home! She’d hoped for a chance to explain to Violetpaw that they would always be sisters even if they lived in different Clans, but what if she never got that chance?

She glanced at Alderpaw, who sat between Leafpool and Jayfeather. Would he go check on ShadowClan if they didn’t show up at the Gathering? Perhaps he’d let her go with him.

Honey paw’s mew broke into Twigpaw’s thoughts. “Wavepaw say s that RiverClan kits learn to swim before they become ’paws.”

“No way!” Brindlepaw exclaim ed. “Don’t they drown?”

Wavepaw snorted with am usem ent. “RiverClan cats are born to swim.”

Brindlepaw’s eyes widened. “I hate getting m y fur wet.”

Twigpaw gazed at them distractedly. She was only half listening. Her thoughts were still on her sister.

Honey paw blinked at the RiverClan apprentices. “I’ve never even stood in a river.”

Wavepaw shrugged. “You should try it,” she mewed. “Rivers are fun. And fish taste delicious.”

Cy presspaw looked shy ly at Honey paw. “We can teach you to swim if you like.”

Honey paw shuddered. “No, thanks!”

Wavepaw’s eyes sparkled with m ischief. “Are you scared?” He nodded toward the trees.

Bey ond them, the lake glittered in the moonlight.

Honey paw fluffed out her fur. “Of course not. But it’s too cold.”

“No it’s not!” Wavepaw headed through the crowd toward the trees. “Come on.”

Honey paw followed.

“You can’t!” Alarm j erked Twigpaw from her thoughts. She hurried after them. “The Gathering’s going to start in a m om ent.”

Honey paw stared at her. “But ShadowClan isn’t even here y et.”

As she spoke, Onestar’s mew rang across the clearing. “I’m tired of waiting. Let’s start the m eeting.”

Misty star and Bramblestar exchanged glances and scram bled up the oak, taking their places beside the WindClan leader.

Bramblestar’s gaze flicked toward the long grass, as though he was hoping that ShadowClan might appear. Then he blinked down at the Clans as the cats drew closer. “Newleaf has brought more prey and fine weather. ThunderClan has thrived.” He turned to Misty star, dipping his head.

“Prey is running well in RiverClan. And, as you see, we have two new apprentices, Wavepaw and Cy presspaw.”

The two young cats shifted self-consciously as the Clans turned to look at them.

As Onestar leaned forward, ready to address the gathered cats, the long grass rustled.

Twigpaw j erked her gaze toward it, her heart skipping a best. ShadowClan? Would Violetpaw be with them? She watched Rowanstar pad into the clearing. As Tawny pelt and Tigerheart followed, she strained to see others behind them, but no cat followed the three ShadowClan warriors.

Pelts ruffled anxiously around Twigpaw as Rowanstar stopped at the edge of the crowd and looked up at Bramblestar. “We come alone,” he meowed curtly.

Twigpaw saw tufts of fur sticking from his pelt. Blood had dried on his m uzzle. He’d been fighting! Her gaze flitted to Tawny pelt and Tigerheart. They looked unharm ed. What had happened to the ShadowClan leader?

Bramblestar shifted on the branch, beckoning Rowanstar to his place beside the others. As the ShadowClan leader wove between the Clans, Bramblestar called to him. “You have recovered from the sickness.” Relief glowed in his moonlit gaze.

Rowanstar leaped onto the low branch and stood beside him. “The whole Clan has recovered.”

Misty star looked surprised. “Then why haven’t you brought them?” Her gaze flicked to Tawny pelt and Tigerheart, who had pushed their way to the front.

Rowanstar lifted his chin. “They wouldn’t j oin us.” His gaze flashed angrily around the Clans.

“They believe you betray ed them by allowing Onestar to withhold the herb we needed so desperately.”

Onestar growled. “You recovered, didn’t y ou? You never really needed it!”

Rowanstar snarled at the WindClan leader. “We only recovered because Harespring and Kestrelflight have more com passion than y ou! They gave us the herb!”

Shocked m urm urs rippled through the crowd. Twigpaw stretched to see over the heads of the bigger cats. Kestrelflight seem ed to shrink beneath his pelt. Harespring stared im passively at the gathered cats, betray ing nothing. Twigpaw’s pelt prickled with curiosity. Why had Alderpaw dropped his gaze? Why was Jayfeather puffing out his chest? Had they known about this? Clearly Onestar hadn’t.

The WindClan leader’s eyes sparked with rage. He glared down at Harespring. “Is this true?”

His deputy looked up steadily. “I could not let a Clan die.”

Kestrelflight padded forward. “I consulted StarClan,” he mewed. “They told m e that it was the right thing to do.”

Onestar’s fur lifted along his spine. He dragged his astonished gaze from his medicine cat to Rowanstar, but before he could speak, the ShadowClan leader flicked his tail. “You were right about the rogues, though, Onestar.”

Onestar stared at him.

“We should have driven them from the edge of our territory moons ago.” Rowanstar’s shoulders drooped. His anger over the herb seem ed to drain from him. Suddenly he looked old, his pelt dull in the moonlight, his ribs showing where the sickness had ravaged him. “They have taken over m y Clan.”

“What do you mean?” Bramblestar padded along the branch, thrusting his m uzzle close as shocked mews rang from the crowd.

Rowanstar m et the ThunderClan leader’s gaze. “Before we left for the Gathering, the rogues entered our camp.”

Misty star stiffened. “Was there a battle? Are many hurt?”

“There was no battle.” Sham e glittered in Rowanstar’s gaze. “My Clan chose them over m e.”

“They chose them?” Bramblestar sounded puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“They said that any ShadowClan cat who cam e here tonight would not be allowed to return to the Clan.”

Twigpaw stared at the ShadowClan cats in confusion. But where is Violetpaw? She couldn’t have decided to stay among the rogues—could she? Twigpaw felt cold as she watched Rowanstar’s paws trem ble beneath him. He no longer looked like a leader. He looked like a hungry, frightened loner.

Onestar curled his lip. “I always said that ShadowClan was no better than rogues.”

Rowanstar glared at him, energy sparking though his pelt suddenly. “That’s not true! They have just m ade a m istake!”

Tigerheart called out from below. “The real ShadowClan cats will come to their senses before long and drive the invaders out!”