Эрин Хантер - Tigerheart’s Shadow

“No.” She peered between the trees. “Keep your eye on Blaze and Spire. They’re moving so fast.”

Spire had been pushing ahead relentlessly, and the other cats always seemed to be trailing behind. Tigerheart wondered if the healer had forgotten that he had a queen and kits with him. The days of walking had been hard for them all. But at least the rain, which had started to fall soon after they left the Silverpath, had stopped now. It had rained for two days, and as the fields and meadows had become muddier underpaw, Tigerheart had increasingly wondered whether they’d been wise to leave the Silverpath. The stones there had been hard on every cat’s pads, but trudging over sucking earth was exhausting.

Cloverfoot had stopped and was sitting at the foot of a tree while Berryheart caught her breath. “Can you ask him to slow down again?” Cloverfoot asked Tigerheart as he neared. “Berryheart can’t keep up this pace.”

“I will.” Tigerheart looked back at the kits. Lightkit scooped up a pawful of dust and flicked it over Shadowkit. As it fluttered around him, the gray tom lifted his muzzle to the sky and sneezed. Pouncekit ran and skidded through a pile of dry grass. “There’s no time to play!” Tigerheart called.

Pouncekit looked up from the grass and blinked at him sadly. “But it’s so nice here. Can’t we stop for a bit?”

“Not today.” Tigerheart could see Spire and Blaze disappearing over a rise. Why was Spire hurrying? Did ShadowClan need them so badly? Or was Spire just eager to get Berryheart home before she kitted? He left Berryheart and Cloverfoot with Dovewing, Cinnamon, Ant, and the kits and quickened his pace. He’d catch up with Spire and ask him to slow down. The woods thickened, and shadows striped the forest floor. As Tigerheart rounded a juniper bush growing between the trunks, he heard Rippletail and Sparrowtail. He could see their pelts through the branches. They had stopped and were talking in hushed tones. Tigerheart paused and pricked his ears.

“What if that weird tom has got it all wrong?” Sparrowtail snorted.

“I don’t like the way he talks to himself,” Rippletail mewed. “He stares into space and mumbles as though someone’s listening. I’ve never seen a medicine cat act that… crazy.”

“I don’t think Spire’s crazy,” Sparrowtail sounded worried. “But I don’t think he knows where he’s going, either. That stream he made us cross yesterday was dangerous. Berryheart nearly fell off the log. The water would have swept her into rocks.”

“He could be leading us anywhere,” Rippletail murmured, her voice weary.

“What if we never find our way back to ShadowClan? The kits are due soon. What if Berryheart kits before we get home?”

Tigerheart backed away. He didn’t want them to know he’d been listening. He wish he could reassure them, but as they trekked farther and farther from the Silverpath, he too had begun to doubt whether Spire truly knew where he was headed.

He climbed the rise where Spire and Blaze had disappeared and saw them halfway down the slope below. Breaking into a run, he bounded after them, breathless by the time he caught up with them.

“Hi, Tigerheart.” Blaze greeted him with a flick of his tail. “Is everyone okay?”

“Berryheart and the kits are struggling to keep up,” Tigerheart told him.

Spire stopped and blinked at him, his gaze vacant.

“Did you hear me?” Irritation flickered through Tigerheart’s fur. “You need to slow down.”

“I can’t,” Spire answered distractedly. “There’s no time to waste.”

Anxiety pressed Tigerheart’s belly. “Is ShadowClan in trouble, or are you worried about Berryheart kitting before we reach the lake?”

Spire frowned without focusing. “I don’t know. I only know that something is tugging me forward, and we mustn’t delay.”

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Tigerheart asked Spire. He saw worry flash briefly in Blaze’s eyes. It alarmed him. If Blaze had doubts, then something must be very wrong.

Spire lashed his tail. “Of course I know,” he snapped. “I told you.”

“But how do you know?” Tigerheart pressed. “Do you dream tomorrow’s route every night?”

“No,” Spire meowed curtly. “But I can feel when we’re on the right path.”

“So we’re going wherever you feel is best?” Tigerheart’s paws pricked with alarm. They might be wandering around the hills for moons.

Spire began walking. “We must hurry. There’s a river ahead. Crossing will be dangerous. But we must keep going.”

Tigerheart saw brightness beyond the trees where the beech woods ended. He strained to see between them. Could Spire see water? Land stretched beyond, rising toward hills. His worry deepened. “Are you sure there’s a river?”

Spire flashed him a look, then headed on.

“Blaze.” Tigerheart held the tom back with a paw. “Do you think we’re making a mistake, letting Spire lead?”

Blaze avoided his gaze for a moment, as though he was thinking. Then he blinked at Tigerheart. “I trust him.”

Tigerheart dipped his head. They had come this far because of Spire’s vision. They might as well keep going. What else could they do?

He followed Blaze and Spire to the edge of the wood and waited there while they carried on, crossing the wide field beyond. Spire veered to one corner of the field, heading for a dip that curved around the foot of the hill. Sparrowtail and Rippletail caught up with Tigerheart and paused beside him. They stared across the field at Spire.

“Where’s he heading now?” Rippletail asked.

“He says there’s a river ahead,” Tigerheart told him.

“I don’t see any river.” Rippletail grunted.

Sparrowtail glanced back into the woods. “Let’s wait for the others.”

As Berryheart padded heavily from between the trunks, Sparrowtail hurried to meet her and fell in beside her. Dovewing, Ant, Spire, and the kits followed, Cloverfoot close behind.

“Can we rest soon?” Dovewing asked as she saw Tigerheart.

Tigerheart glanced at the sky. The sun was sliding toward the horizon, but there was still a way to go until sunset. “There’s still plenty of traveling time left before dark.”

“The kits are tired.” Dovewing glanced across the field toward Spire and Blaze. “They need to rest.”

“I’m not tired!” Pouncekit lifted her chin, but Tigerheart could see weariness in her face.

“Do you want a badger ride?” he asked.

Her eyes shone. “Yes, please!”

“I’ll carry Lightkit,” Cloverfoot offered.

Dovewing looked gratefully at the she-cat.

Ant stooped beside Shadowkit. “Do you want to ride on my back?” he asked.

Shadowkit scrambled onto the tom’s shoulders and snuggled against his fur.

Tigerheart crouched so that Pouncekit could climb onto his back.

“How many more days do you think we’ll be traveling?” Dovewing mewed softly to Tigerheart.

“I don’t know.” Tigerheart shifted his weight as he walked so that Pouncekit was balanced comfortably between his shoulder blades. “I lost track of where we were as soon as we left the Silverpath. But Spire seems to be in a hurry to get to the lake.”

“Do you think he really knows the way?” Dovewing asked.

“I hope so.” Tigerheart gazed at the horizon, hoping to recognize the shape of a distant hill. But nothing seemed familiar. He had to believe Spire would find the way.

They trekked on, and as they rounded the curve of the hill, Tigerheart saw a river meandering along a wide valley floor. Relief washed his pelt. “Spire said a river lay ahead,” he told Dovewing. “He must know where we’re going.” Crossing will be dangerous. He didn’t dwell on the healer’s words.