Erin Hunter - Sunset

Brambleclaw told himself he could have been a bit more tactful; even so, if Ashfur’s attitude didn’t improve, he was going to find himself collecting mouse bile for the elders’ ticks.

Suddenly he froze. He had become so caught up in his deputy’s duties that he had almost forgotten about meeting Hawkfrost. Sunrise was not far off; he was going to be late.

He headed for the thorn barrier, only to halt, groaning inwardly, when he heard Squirrelflight’s voice behind him.

“Hey, Brambleclaw! Where are you going?”

Brambleclaw turned to face her as she came bounding across the clearing toward him. Squirrelflight hadn’t been assigned to any of the early patrols. She wouldn’t understand why he didn’t want to spend time with her, since he wasn’t going on a patrol either.

“Where are you going?” she repeated as she came up to him. “Hunting? Let’s go together.”

“I have to—” Brambleclaw began awkwardly. He broke off as Daisy’s three kits, Berrykit in the lead, dashed across the clearing and disappeared behind the brambles that screened Leafpool’s den.

“Those bad kits!” Squirrelflight exclaimed. “Remember the mess they made last time? I’d better check that Leafpool is there.”

She raced off. Silently thanking StarClan, Brambleclaw slipped out through the tunnel and headed into the forest at a run, making for the lake.

The sun had risen by now, and the trees were casting long shadows over grass that glittered with dew. Cobwebs shone on every bush. There was no sign of other cats; he had made sure that the hunting patrols went to other parts of the territory.

He paused at the edge of the forest; he heard the gentle lap of water a couple of tail-lengths away and glimpsed its daz-zling surface through the thick ferns. Opening his jaws, he tasted the air. He thought he could pick up RiverClan scent, and an unexpected trace of ShadowClan, but he couldn’t see his half brother. “Hawkfrost?” he called cautiously.

No reply. Brambleclaw spotted a thrush a fox-length or so in front of him, dragging a worm out of the ground. It reminded him that he hadn’t eaten that morning, so he dropped instinctively into the hunter’s crouch. In the same heartbeat something heavy crashed down on him, sending him tumbling over. He let out a yowl of alarm and the thrush took off with a loud stuttering cry. Flipping over to face his attacker, Brambleclaw stared up at Hawkfrost, who was gazing down at him with a glimmer of amusement in his ice-blue eyes.

“Do you mind ?” Brambleclaw spat. “Do you want every cat in ThunderClan to know you’re here?”

Hawkfrost shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’m allowed to be here as long as I stay close to the lake.”

Brambleclaw scrambled to his paws and smoothed his ruffled fur with a couple of licks. Hawkfrost was right, but he would still have some explaining to do if any of his Clanmates spotted him talking to his half brother. He wished he had Hawkfrost’s confidence, but he reminded himself that he was Clan deputy, and the RiverClan warrior’s equal in every way.

“Come into the ferns,” he meowed, flicking his tail to beckon Hawkfrost.

As they sat close together beneath the arching fronds, Brambleclaw picked up the scent of ShadowClan again. He wrinkled his nose. “You have ShadowClan scent on you,” he mewed.

Hawkfrost narrowed his eyes. “I must have picked up their reek on my way across their territory,” he growled. “Never mind that. We’re wasting time.”

Brambleclaw nodded and took a deep breath. He hoped he could find the right words to let Hawkfrost know his doubts about Tigerstar’s vision, without letting him think he was any less committed to becoming leader of his Clan. “This idea of Tigerstar’s, that we take over ShadowClan and WindClan,” he began, “I’m not sure it will work. StarClan have decreed there should be four Clans.”

His half brother flicked the tip of his tail. “Like Tigerstar said, that was back in the forest. Listen , Brambleclaw.

ShadowClan have always been a nuisance. Don’t you think life would be better for all of us if they settled down under a leader who could make sure they stuck to the warrior code?

Don’t you think you could make a better job of leading WindClan than Onestar? Between us we could ensure that every cat in the forest was strong and happy. No more battles, no more quarreling over territory…”

“Well… maybe.” Brambleclaw couldn’t argue with the vision Hawkfrost set in front of him. It was true that strong leaders could rule the forest for the good of every cat. He remembered how the ShadowClan warriors had ignored Berrykit’s cries for help when he was caught in the fox trap. If I were in charge , he thought, no cat would ever watch a kit in pain without trying to help, no matter where that kit came from . He wanted every cat in the forest to be cared for, but more than anything, he wanted what was best for ThunderClan. “But—” A faint cry interrupted him. “What was that?”

Hawkfrost shrugged. “Some unlucky bit of prey.”

The cry came again. “No!” Brambleclaw exclaimed.

“That’s a cat in trouble. Come on!”

He dived out of the ferns and pelted along the shore in the direction of the cry. It came again, closer but fainter, a horrible choking sound. Brambleclaw leaped across the roots of a tree and found himself face-to-face with Firestar.

The ThunderClan leader lay on his side on a narrow path between close-growing ferns. His limbs jerked feebly and his eyes gazed at nothing. Foam flecked his muzzle. Around his neck, half buried in his flame-colored fur, was a thin, shiny tendril, leading to a stick driven into the earth. Firestar was caught in a fox trap!

Brambleclaw leaped forward to help him, only to be thrust aside by Hawkfrost’s powerful shoulder.

“Mousebrain!” the RiverClan warrior hissed. “This is your chance, Brambleclaw. You’re deputy now. If Firestar dies, you’ll be Clan leader.”

Brambleclaw stared at him in astonishment. What is he telling me to do? Then he realized that Firestar was trying to speak.

“Birchpaw told me… Blackstar waiting on our territory…

Had to come alone…”

Hawkfrost’s eyes gleamed with triumph as he padded across to Firestar and bent down to whisper in his ear. “But Blackstar isn’t here. We are. You’re a fool, Firestar. You were too easy to trap.”

Brambleclaw felt the ground dip beneath his paws; he couldn’t grasp the details, only that the absence of Blackstar, and the ShadowClan scent on Hawkfrost, added up to something murderously evil. “You did this,” he said to his half brother. “You arranged for Firestar to be here, where there was a fox trap waiting.”

“Of course.” Hawkfrost sounded scornful. “I did it for you.”

Firestar’s sides heaved as he fought for breath. His gaze flickered from Hawkfrost to Brambleclaw and back again.

Brambleclaw could see that unless he loosened the wire right away, his leader would lose a life—perhaps more.

Hawkfrost stepped back. “The brave ThunderClan leader,” he sneered. “Not so powerful now, are you? Come on, Brambleclaw, finish him off.”

Brambleclaw felt as though his paws were frozen to the bare earth. Every hair on his pelt stood on end as he heard Tigerstar whispering in his ear: Kill him. No cat will know. You can be Clan leader. You can have everything you have ever wanted.

He staggered as Hawkfrost gave him a vicious nudge, his tail lashing angrily. “What are you waiting for? This is what we have wanted all along, remember? Kill him now!”

“They’re doing fine,” Leafpool meowed, stepping back from Sorreltail’s kits. “You must be very proud.”