Эрин Хантер - Tigerheart’s Shadow

“It’s a bird with a huge, sharp beak made of claws,” Dovewing mewed.

Lightkit leaped down beside her littermates. “It sounds scary.”

“It is.” Dovewing nuzzled them down into the soft folds of the furless pelts, then padded back to Tigerheart. She settled beside him as he lay down on his belly and began to wash his paws. “It’s so nice being together without the Clans judging us,” she mewed absently.

Tigerheart stopped washing. Why had she said that? Did she prefer it here?

She nudged his shoulder with her nose. “It is, isn’t it?”

He met her green gaze and tried to read it. Was she about to tell him that she’d changed her mind? Did she want to stay in the city? “I guess,” he murmured.

“Sneaking around never felt right.” She turned her gaze toward the guardian cats who were moving around the shadowy den. Spire padded between the nests of the two new sick cats. Fierce washed her chest. Ant and Cobweb were still gnawing on the meaty bone they’d stolen, while Rascal and Mittens picked fish bones from their teeth. Blaze was already sleeping in his nest, tired out from the day’s adventure.

Tigerheart looked at Dovewing. Was she wondering what it would be like to live here forever? “When we go home,” he meowed pointedly, “we won’t have to sneak around. We can be honest. We just need to decide which Clan we want to raise our kits in.”

“I guess it will have to be ShadowClan,” Dovewing sighed. “I can’t ask you to give up your chance to be the leader of your Clan.”

“I might not have a chance anymore.” For the first time, Tigerheart wondered with a sickening jolt if he’d been replaced as ShadowClan’s deputy. He had, after all, deserted them.

Dovewing sniffed. “Who else could lead ShadowClan? You said that your Clanmates were begging you to lead them before you left. Of course you have a chance.”

Tigerheart eyed her nervously. She was still gazing across the den. Was she testing him? Was he meant to say that he would give it up?

She turned and caught his eye. “I know how important it is to you. I want you to be happy.”

“So you’ll join ShadowClan?” Hope flickered in his chest.

“I guess.” She didn’t sound convinced. “If there’s still a ShadowClan to join.”

He tensed. It’s dark in the forest. He remembered Shadowkit’s words and shivered. Stop it! He was seeing prophecies everywhere. Even in the words of a kit.

Dovewing went on. “But we don’t have to worry about that now. We can worry about it when the kits are old enough to travel.”

When will that be? He didn’t dare ask, but he felt they should leave soon. She was so wrapped up in her love for their kits, perhaps going home wasn’t important to her anymore. Perhaps their safety was the only thing she cared about. He glanced toward the nest, where the kits had settled into silence. They must be asleep already. Perhaps she was right. His heart ached with love for Dovewing, Lightkit, Pouncekit, and Shadowkit. He should put their interests first. But wasn’t getting them back to the Clan so that they could grow up surrounded by warriors just as important as keeping them safe? If they didn’t become warriors, what would they become?

Dovewing’s breath deepened beside him, and he realized she had dozed off. He pressed closer against her. It would all be okay. He had Dovewing and his kits, and one day he’d have his Clan again.

He looked up at a clear stretch of wall, hoping to spy starlight piercing the harsh Twoleg light. A shadow moved beyond the stone. Tigerheart stiffened. A face was peering into the den. He recognized the wide ears and pointed muzzle. Fog. She was spying on the guardian cats. Fear quivered in his belly. Was she planning her next move? Did she have an eye on the cozy den the guardian cats had made for themselves beneath the gathering place?

I have to stop her. Tigerheart knew that, whether they left this place or not, he had to make sure these cats were safe from Fog and her gang.

His thoughts flitted as he watched Fog’s silhouette move along the stretch of clear wall. How could he drive her away? An idea sparked in his mind. Perhaps there was no need to drive her away. She might be happy to return to her old home if he could figure out how to get rid of the foxes that had stolen it.

“We’d need to find out how many foxes live there before we make a move.” Fierce paced the shiny floor of the gathering-place den.

“Of course,” Tigerheart agreed. “But if we can get Fog and her gang to join us in the fight, I think we can drive them away.”

He’d called a meeting the next morning, as soon as the guardian cats began to stir. Pouncekit, Lightkit, and Shadowkit watched from their nest. They stared with round, dark eyes, their ears pricked. Dovewing had given them strict instructions to keep quiet while the older cats talked. She stood beside Cobweb now, her gaze fixed on Fierce. Tigerheart had told her about his plan. He could sense Dovewing silently urging him on, but the guardian cats weren’t enthusiastic. Although Blaze watched curiously, Peanut and Bracken listened anxiously, their pelts prickling. Ant frowned, shifting his paws uneasily. Dotty, Pipsqueak, and Boots glanced at one another as he went on. “Fog is only going to make our life difficult if she stays,” he told them. “Last night, I saw her looking into our den.” He nodded toward the clear stretch of wall. “Her cats are not going to sleep outside in this weather if they think they can sleep in here.”

Dotty looked puzzled. “Why don’t we invite them to join our group?”

Tigerheart’s hackles lifted as he remembered Darktail. “Fog believes in every cat looking after himself. Her denmates probably feel the same. Do you want cats here who are only interested in filling their own bellies?” He flicked his muzzle toward the nests where Feather and Scowl, their newest patients, lay. Spire was stripping herbs from their stems beside them. “I’ve met cats like Fog before. In the forest, we call them rogues. They have no pity for sick cats. They see them as burdens. Inviting Fog to join this group would destroy everything you’ve built here!”

Fierce listened thoughtfully. “But you think, if we can drive the foxes away, Fog and her friends would go home?”

“Yes.” Tigerheart ignored the doubt pricking in his belly. “They liked their old home. I think they’d choose it over this place if they could.”

Pipsqueak’s tail twitched. “Just because we chased a pair of foxes from the herb patch doesn’t mean that we can fight a whole clan of them.”

“We don’t know that it is a whole clan,” Tigerheart argued.

“It was enough to drive away Fog and her cats,” Rascal commented darkly.

“But if we fought together…” He looked pleadingly around the guardian cats. “With Fog fighting with us instead of against us, we could do it. I could offer to show them the battle moves I taught you.”

Fierce blinked at him. “First you tell us Fog’s cats are a threat; then you offer to teach them how to fight?”

Dovewing padded forward and stood beside Tigerheart. “Tigerheart’s only trying to help. He speaks from experience. Rogues drove his Clan from their home. He had to fight to get it back. His Clan still hasn’t really recovered.”

“Why is he here, then?” Dotty looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Doesn’t his Clan need him?”

Guilt sparked in Tigerheart’s chest. “I’m here because I think my Clan is better off without me for a while.”