Эрин Хантер - Tigerheart’s Shadow

“You’re just trying to scare us,” Scorchfur grunted.

“Even if they don’t make you ’paws, do you think they’re going to treat you with respect?” Tigerheart countered.

Scorchfur met his gaze challengingly. “After I fought with Tawnypelt, why would ShadowClan treat me with respect?” He sounded angry, but the anger was clearly directed at himself. “I wish I’d never gone for her eye. It was a fox-hearted move. But I was so mad.”

“I should have intervened earlier,” Tigerheart admitted.

“ Rowanstar should have intervened earlier,” Juniperclaw remarked pointedly.

“And he would, if it happened again,” Tigerheart promised. “It just took him by surprise. It took us all by surprise.” He tried to think of something more to say. He could feel they were relenting. Just a few words more. Perhaps it was best just to admit the truth. “We need you. ShadowClan is in trouble, and without you we may not survive. You’re both great warriors, and I know we can all put our differences aside and work together as a Clan again. We survived Darktail. We survived the Dark Forest. We can survive this. We just have to try.” He didn’t hide the desperation pulsing in his chest. If he was going to leave, he had to make them stay.

Scorchfur’s ears twitched. “Okay.” He glanced toward the border. “I’ll stay.”

“Me too.” Juniperclaw sounded relieved.

Joy washed Tigerheart’s pelt like a soothing wind. His chest expanded as he turned toward camp and began to lead the way through the forest. He just had to get them halfway there—far enough that they wouldn’t change their minds—and then he could make an excuse and go to Dovewing. “You won’t regret it.”

“I’m still worried about Rowanstar.” Scorchfur fell in beside him. “When he first became leader, he seemed so strong. But now, whenever we face trouble, he doesn’t know what to do.”

“He reunited the Clan after Darktail, didn’t he?” Tigerheart reminded him. “That took strength.”

Scorchfur huffed. “He didn’t reunite all the cats. Some of our Clanmates are still missing.”

“Didn’t they die?” Juniperclaw murmured darkly.

“Why did we never find their bodies?” Scorchfur argued.

Juniperclaw shot his denmate an anxious look. “Do you think some of ShadowClan is still roaming beyond the forest?”

“Of course not.” Tigerheart meowed quickly. “Why would any warrior stay away from their Clan?” As he spoke, the words felt like thorns on his tongue. I’m about to leave my Clan. Guilt seemed to freeze his heart until it stung. This is different, he told himself. He focused on the trail ahead. Soon he’d be with Dovewing. Then he wouldn’t have to think about ShadowClan anymore. No more guilt.

Bracken rustled at the edge of a ditch. Prey? Tigerheart pricked his ears. Scorchfur turned, his gray fur twitching excitedly. Juniperclaw tasted the air.

“Is it a rabbit?” As Tigerheart spoke, he saw Juniperclaw’s eager gaze sharpen into horror. A rank stench rolled across the ditch. It wasn’t prey. As Tigerheart tried to recognize the smell, he glimpsed black-and-white fur through the bracken. A roar sounded as a cruel snout thrust out.

Badger!

The great creature scrambled clumsily over the ditch and lunged at them, its beady black eyes glittering wildly. What was a badger doing here? No Clan had reported a set near their territory!

Tigerheart, numb with surprise, recoiled as its fetid breath bathed his muzzle. The badger turned. Its rump knocked Tigerheart into the ditch. As he scrabbled breathlessly to his paws, the badger snapped at Juniperclaw. Juniperclaw screeched with pain. The badger had the black tom’s paw in its mouth. Pelt bushing, Tigerheart leaped onto the badger’s back, dug his claws in hard, and bit down on the back of the creature’s thick neck.

Releasing Juniperclaw, the badger spun heavily beneath him. It lifted its snout and glanced over its shoulder at Tigerheart. Rage sparked in its eyes. With a growl, it threw itself onto its side and rolled. Tigerheart squawked as the badger’s weight fell on top of him. “Get its belly!” he puffed at Scorchfur. But the gray tom had already flung himself, claws slashing, at the badger’s exposed underside. With a roar, the badger’s limbs closed around Scorchfur.

It heaved itself upright. Tigerheart still clung to its back. Scorchfur wailed, trapped beneath it, his muzzle dangerously exposed to the badger’s snarling jaws.

Juniperclaw slashed at its nose. The badger threw its head up, howling with pain as claws sliced its snout. Tigerheart thrust his muzzle forward and snapped at one of the badger’s ears, sinking his teeth into the leathery flesh. The badger jerked as though hit by lightning. Rearing, it threw Tigerheart from its back with a desperate howl of pain.

Tigerheart hit a tree with a thump that sent the forest spinning around him. His head cracked against the bark with such force that for a moment he thought his skull had split. White pain flared behind his eyes. Tree roots jabbed his ribs as he dropped like dead prey. Dazed, he glimpsed a flash of black-and-white fur at the edge of his vision. He felt the ground shake.

“Tigerheart!”

He heard Juniperclaw’s panicked cry and felt a tug of loyalty. His Clanmates were in danger. Blindly he staggered to his paws and shook out his fur. Juniperclaw and Scorchfur were dodging around the badger, lashing out in turns at its hefty flanks. The badger spun and snapped at them, its eyes frenzied.

Struggling from his stupor, Tigerheart smelled its fetid stench once more and felt heat pulsing from its pelt. This badger was sick. He could hear it wheezing. Was this why it was foraging so far from its home? Had its denmates driven it away?

The badger staggered as Scorchfur struggled from beneath it and leaped, quick as a squirrel, to Juniperclaw’s side. The black tom’s paw was oozing blood where the badger had bit it, but he was still standing. The warriors faced the badger as it eyed them murderously.

“It’s sick!” Tigerheart yowled, ignoring the throbbing behind his eyes. “We can win if we work together!” He scrambled past the flailing badger and slid between his Clanmates. They lined up beside him and faced the stinking creature, ears flat. Tigerheart dug his claws into the earth. Juniperclaw bared his teeth. Scorchfur lowered his head, eyes like slits. Slowly, they crept forward, hissing together like snakes.

Confusion glistened suddenly in the badger’s eyes, and it froze. The heat from its stinking fur rolled over Tigerheart. For a moment he remembered the stench of Puddleshine’s medicine den when yellowcough had gripped the Clan.

Scorchfur lifted his head and snarled menacingly.

Confusion turned to fear in the badger’s fevered gaze. With a grunt, it backed away. It knows it’s beaten. Triumph surged in Tigerheart’s chest as the badger turned and lumbered heavily in the opposite direction. It stumbled into the ditch and floundered there for a moment.

“Let’s give it some scars to take away,” Scorchfur growled.

Tigerheart blocked him with a paw. “It’s already sick,” he meowed. “Let it go. We can send out a patrol later to check that it’s left our land for good.” Actually, you can send out a patrol, he thought. I won’t be here.

The badger hauled itself from the ditch and shambled through the bracken, disappearing into the shadowy pines.

Tigerheart looked at the sky and realized with a jolt how late it was. Sunset had passed and left the forest in darkness. Dovewing! She might be gone already! The thumping in his head made him wince. He flicked his tail toward Juniperclaw. “How’s your paw?”