Эрин Хантер - Eclipse

“Look!” Jaypaw encouraged her to open her eyes. “It’s still shining.”

Squirrelflight rested her head down. “StarClan must be angry with us.”

“Not us ,” Lionpaw mewed. “It’s WindClan they’re angry with.”

It’s got nothing to do with StarClan. Jaypaw patted the ferns around his mother’s head. It was like taking care of an anxious kit.

Hollypaw stirred. “Is she awake?” She jumped to her paws.

“Squirrelflight?”

“Is that you, Hollypaw?”

Hollypaw buried her nose in her mother’s fur. “I was so scared you were going to die!”

Squirrelflight managed a soft purr. “I’ll never leave you, little one,” she promised.

Paw steps scuffed toward them, and Jaypaw scented Brightheart.

“I saw her move!” The one-eyed warrior’s mew was filled with hope.

“She’s awake,” Jaypaw told her. “No sign of fever, and her breathing’s strong.”

“Shall I fetch Leafpool?” Brightheart offered.

Jaypaw shook his head. “She’s sleeping. I think we should wake her only if the bleeding starts again or Squirrelflight starts to get restless.”

“How did these feathers get here?” Squirrelflight was sniffing at the soft blanket covering her. She pawed weakly at her bedding. “And the ferns?”

“We built a nest around you,” Hollypaw told her.

“Thank you.” Pride warmed Squirrelflight’s mew. “I have such brave, kind kits.”

“You should rest, Squirrelflight,” Brightheart warned.

“You lost a lot of blood.”

“Yes,” Squirrelflight breathed, the ferns rustling around her.

“She’s closing her eyes,” Hollypaw whispered. “We should leave her to sleep.”

“You three should be resting too,” Brightheart advised. “I’ll watch Squirrelflight until Leafpool wakes up.”

Jaypaw’s fur tingled. This could be their chance to go look for Sol. “Thanks, Brightheart.” He forced his voice to sound tired. “Come on,” he called to Lionpaw and Hollypaw. “Let’s go get some sleep.”

He paused as soon as he was sure they were out of earshot of Brightheart.

“What is it?” Hollypaw stopped beside him. “You’re all jumpy.”

“We have to find Sol!”

“What?”

Lionpaw sighed. “Jaypaw’s got it into his head that this stranger knows why the sun vanished.”

“How?” Hollypaw’s breath stirred Jaypaw’s whiskers.

“Because he warned us it was going to happen!” Jaypaw didn’t wait for another of Hollypaw’s dumb questions. “We’ve got to go now , while the Clan thinks we’re sleeping.”

Lionpaw padded around his sister. “We have to go with him,” he warned. “He’ll only go by himself if we don’t.” He stopped and looked at her. “Are you fit enough?”

“Yes.” Hollypaw nodded. “My rest did me good. But wait.”

She hurried away and returned a few moments later with a stale shrew.

Jaypaw wrinkled his nose. “You’re not going to eat that?”

“I’m starving. Aren’t you?”

“No.” Jaypaw was too anxious to bother with food. He could eat later. “Just hurry up.”

Hollypaw began to gulp down her meal.

“Is Brightheart watching us?” Jaypaw asked Lionpaw.

“She’s watching Squirrelflight,” Lionpaw told him. “She’s got her back to us.”

“Who else is in the clearing?”

“No one else,” Lionpaw told him. “They’re all in their dens.” He paused. “Firestar’s on Highledge.”

“But he’s sleeping.”

Surprise bristled from Lionpaw’s pelt. “How did you know?”

“I can hear his breathing.” Jaypaw sniffed the air. Graystripe was guarding the camp entrance. “We’ll have to sneak out through the dirtplace tunnel.”

“Not again !” Lionpaw sighed. “Are you sure we really need to find this Sol?”

Jaypaw clawed the ground. “He could hold the answer to everything !”

Lionpaw leaned closer. “You mean the prophecy, don’t you?”

And StarClan. And the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Who else might share the secret? “I’m just guessing,” Jaypaw admitted. “But I’ve got to find out.”

Lionpaw nudged Hollypaw. “Are you finished?”

“Yes!” Hollypaw answered, still chewing. She belched loudly as Jaypaw led them along the thorn barrier toward the dirtplace tunnel.

Jaypaw flicked her nose with his tail. “Hush!”

“Sorry.”

“Wait!” Lionpaw warned. He pressed Jaypaw down behind a clump of grass. “Brightheart’s looking around.”

“Has she seen us?” Jaypaw whispered, heart thumping.

Lionpaw held his breath. “No,” he mewed at last. “She’s watching Squirrelflight again. It’s safe to go.” He straightened and began to pad forward.

“Wait!” Jaypaw hissed, and dragged him back by his tail.

There were more cats coming.

Lionpaw ducked down beside him. “What is it now?”

Birchfall and Berrynose were padding one after the other through the dirtplace tunnel, back into camp.

“I beat off two WindClan warriors single-pawed,” Berrynose boasted.

“They may be fast, but they’re small,” Birchfall meowed.

“Once you get hold of them, it’s easy to knock them off their paws.”

“Unlike RiverClan,” Berrynose sneered. “They must do nothing but eat. They’re more like fat, furry fish than cats!”

Jaypaw held his breath as their paw steps passed and disappeared into the warriors’ den.

“How was I meant to know they were coming through the tunnel?” Lionpaw muttered. “I can’t see through thorns.”

“Try using your ears!” Jaypaw snapped.

They squeezed through the dirtplace tunnel, and Jaypaw felt a wave of relief to be safely out in the forest, even though the stench of dirtplace lingered in his nostrils. He led Hollypaw and Lionpaw up the slope toward the lake. There was a patch of brambles they could hide behind while they decided which way to head.

“So?” Hollypaw prompted once they’d halted behind the bush.

Jaypaw sniffed the air. He had a faint hope that he could still pick up some of Sol’s scent. After all, it hadn’t rained since his visit. But the battle had drowned the forest in unfamiliar scents. Four Clans had fought here. No trace of Sol remained.

“Dustpelt took him back to the WindClan border,” Lionpaw reminded him.

“That’s where I saw him,” Hollypaw mewed excitedly. “On the moorland.”

“He won’t be there now then,” Jaypaw mewed.

Lionpaw’s tail swished the leaves. “Why not?”

“Because he’s been there.” Jaypaw felt certain that Sol knew about all four Clans. He’d sought out Firestar on purpose.

He’d been on WindClan’s land. It made sense that he would want to make contact with the other Clans as well. Jaypaw just hoped he hadn’t gone looking for RiverClan. That was on the other side of the lake, too far to go and come back before their Clanmates noticed they were missing. “He would have gone to ShadowClan next,” he mewed firmly, though he wasn’t completely certain. He was worried that his littermates wouldn’t follow him if they thought he hadn’t a clue where he was leading them.

“How can you be sure?” Lionpaw asked.

“I just am,” Jaypaw lied.

“But we can’t go onto ShadowClan’s territory!” Hollypaw gasped.

“ You did,” Jaypaw reminded her.

“That was an emergency,” Hollypaw argued. “I had to go.”

“This is an emergency too!”

“But we don’t know he’s there. Not for certain.” Hollypaw sat down. “I didn’t see any strangers in the camp when I was there.”

“Maybe he hadn’t arrived by the time the battle started,” Jaypaw mewed.