Erin Hunter - Fire And Ice

“You had no need to defend your territory ,” Bluestar answered. “My warriors were not hunting there. They were returning home after finding WindClan. It was a mission we all agreed on! According to the warrior code, they should not have been attacked.”

“You speak of the warrior code?” spat Crookedstar. “What about the ThunderClan warrior who has been spying on our territory since then?”

Bluestar was caught off guard. “Warrior?” she echoed. “Have you seen him?”

“Not yet,” Crookedstar hissed. “But we find his scent so often, it won’t be long before we do.”

Fireheart glanced at Graystripe in alarm. He knew only too well which warrior had been detected in Crookedstar’s territory. Would any of the RiverClan warriors recognize his scent tonight?

Graystripe sat motionless, not taking his eyes off the leaders on the Great Rock.

Tigerclaw’s deep growl sounded from the crowd. “We have scented ShadowClan in our territory as well as RiverClan this past moon. And not just one warrior, but a whole patrol, always the same cats.”

The ShadowClan leader’s eyes flashed indignantly. “ShadowClan has not been in your territory. Clearly your warriors can’t tell the difference in the scents of cats outside their own Clan. You have been smelling the scent of rogue cats. They have been stealing prey from our territory as well!”

Tigerclaw snorted in disbelief and Nightstar glared down at him. “Do you doubt the word of ShadowClan, Tigerclaw?” The crowd murmured uncomfortably as Tigerclaw stared back at Nightpelt with unconcealed distrust.

For the first time, Tallstar spoke, his tail twitching uncertainly. “My warriors have also found strange scents in WindClan territory. They seem to be ShadowClan.”

“I knew it!” Tigerclaw snarled. “RiverClan and ShadowClan have united against us!”

“ Us? What do you mean by us !” spat Crookedstar. “I think it’s you and WindClan that have formed the alliance! Is that why you were so keen to bring them back? So you can use them to invade the rest of the forest?”

Tallstar’s fur bristled. “That’s not why we returned, and you know it. We have kept to our own hunting grounds these past moons.”

“Then why have we found strange warrior scents in our territory?” Crookedstar growled.

“They don’t belong to WindClan!” hissed Tallstar. “They must be rogue cats, as Nightstar says.”

“But rogue cats would be a convenient excuse for invading our territories, would they not?” Bluestar murmured. She stared dangerously at the RiverClan and ShadowClan leaders.

Crookedstar raised his hackles and Nightstar arched his back. With a flash of alarm, Fireheart saw Tigerclaw stand up and stalk toward the Great Rock, every muscle tensed. Would the leaders really fight at a Gathering?

At that moment a shadow fell over the valley. The cats fell silent as they were plunged into blackness. Fireheart looked up, trembling. A cloud had covered the full moon, completely blocking out its light.

“StarClan has sent the darkness!” Fireheart recognized the meow of Halftail, a ThunderClan elder.

The ShadowClan medicine cat yowled in agreement, “StarClan is angry. These meetings are meant to be held in peace.”

“Runningnose is right!” It was Yellowfang. “We shouldn’t be fighting among ourselves, especially during leaf-bare. We should be worrying about keeping our Clans safe!” Her voice echoed in the frightened silence. “We must listen to StarClan.”

Tallstar spoke up, a dim silhouette on top of the Great Rock. “This Gathering is over, by the will of StarClan.” The crowd murmured in agreement. The air was thick with the scents of fear and hostility.

“Come, ThunderClan.” Fireheart could barely see Bluestar as she leaped down from the Great Rock and headed for the edge of the clearing. He pushed his way through the other cats and hurried after her. He saw the massive outline of Tigerclaw as the deputy fell in step beside his leader, and the pale gray shapes of the other ThunderClan cats as they gathered behind the two great warriors. No cat spoke as they trekked solemnly up the slope toward home. Fireheart glanced over his shoulder. The other Clans were withdrawing too. By the time he reached the top of the slope, Fourtrees was deserted.

The Clan ran silently through the forest, following the familiar scent-lined trail. Fireheart spotted Graystripe at the back and he slowed his pace. Maybe Graystripe would be more prepared to talk about Silverstream, now that it was clear how tense things were between the Clans. His scent had been detected in RiverClan territory! Graystripe was putting himself and the Clan in danger with his secret meetings.

Fireheart searched for the right words but Graystripe hissed first, “I know what you’re going to say. And I won’t stop seeing her!”

“You’re a mouse-brained fool!” Fireheart spat back. “They’ll soon work out it’s you. Bluestar will guess, or some cat from RiverClan’ll recognize your scent. Tigerclaw’s probably guessed already!”

Graystripe shot Fireheart an anxious glance. “Do you really think so?”

“I don’t know,” Fireheart admitted, relieved to hear a note of fear in Graystripe’s voice. Graystripe had been acting as if he had no idea what might happen if the Clan found out about his affair. “But once he starts thinking about it…”

“Okay, okay!” spat Graystripe. He was silent for a moment. “What if I promise we’ll meet only at Fourtrees? That way our scent will be hard to detect, and I won’t have to go into RiverClan territory. Will you leave me alone then?”

Fireheart felt his heart sink. Graystripe was not going to give up Silverstream that easily. Then he nodded. This had to be better than creeping into hostile Clan territory to see her.

“Satisfied?” Graystripe’s eyes flashed in the gloom, but his voice sounded shaky. Fireheart felt a pang of regret for their lost friendship, and a rush of sympathy for the gray warrior. He stretched his head forward to nuzzle Graystripe’s flank, but Graystripe ran on ahead, leaving Fireheart alone at the back of the group.

Even though the cats were tired from the journey, Bluestar called a meeting as soon as they were home. Most of the Clan was still awake anyway. The Gathering had been shorter than usual, and the sudden cloud cover had alarmed even the cats left in the camp.

While Bluestar and Tigerclaw settled themselves on the Highrock, Fireheart hurried over to the nursery. He wanted to know how Cloudkit was. He poked his head through the entrance. It was pitch black and warm inside.

“Hello, Fireheart,” Brindleface whispered, a faint shadow shifting in the gloom. “Cloudkit’s much better. Yellowfang gave him feverfew. It was just a chill.” The queen sounded relieved. “What happened at the Gathering?”

“StarClan sent clouds to cover the moon. Bluestar’s called a meeting. Can you come?”

Fireheart listened to Brindleface sniffing her kits. “Yes, I think I can,” she answered finally. “My kits will sleep for a while.”

Fireheart withdrew his head, and together they joined the cats gathered in the clearing. Fireheart felt fur brush against him, and Cinderpaw glanced up at him with wide, worried eyes.

Bluestar had already begun. “The greatest threat seems to be from RiverClan and ShadowClan. We must be prepared for the possibility that these two Clans have united against us.”

Shocked meows rippled through the Clan.

“Do you really think they’ve joined together?” Yellowfang rasped. “RiverClan has the best sources of prey, but I can’t imagine they’d want to share with ShadowClan.” Fireheart remembered Silverstream’s words about RiverClan’s hunger after the Twoleg invasion, but he held his tongue, fearful that Bluestar would want to know where he’d heard such a story.