Erin Hunter - Fire And Ice

The she-cat’s face was twisted with battle rage as she reared up at him. Blood was dripping into her eyes, and Fireheart could tell that she hadn’t recognized him. She drew back a paw and he saw her long claws flash as she prepared to swipe him. As Fireheart screwed up his eyes, bracing himself for the blow, he heard an achingly familiar yowl. “Silverstream! No!”

Graystripe , thought Fireheart.

Silverstream hesitated, shook her head, and recognized Fireheart with a muted gasp. She dropped back down to all four paws, her eyes wide with shock.

Fireheart reacted instinctively, his blood aflame with battle. Without thinking, he leaped onto the back of the RiverClan she-cat and pinned her to the ground. She didn’t struggle as he drew back his head and prepared to give her a vicious bite on her shoulder. But as Fireheart raised his head he felt Graystripe’s eyes boring into him. The gray warrior was watching in horror from the edge of the battle.

The look of pain and disbelief in his friend’s eyes brought Fireheart to his senses. He stopped, sheathed his claws, and loosened his grip on Silverstream. The she-cat slipped away from him and disappeared into the surrounding gorse. Fireheart stared, still in shock, as Graystripe raced after her.

Fireheart felt as if he were still being watched. He looked around and his eyes met Darkstripe’s on the other side of the clearing. Fireheart flinched. Graystripe’s affair had forced him into disloyalty to ThunderClan after all-he had let an enemy warrior go! How much had Darkstripe seen? Just then Fireheart heard Runningwind yowl for help. The tabby warrior was grappling desperately with Nightstar, ShadowClan’s treacherous leader. Fireheart darted through the throng to Runningwind’s side.

Without pausing to think, Fireheart leaped, grabbing Nightstar from behind. The black warrior howled in rage as Fireheart pulled him backward and sank his claws deep into Nightstar’s fur. He had fought side by side with this warrior only a few moons ago to help him drive out Brokenstar. Now he sank his teeth into Nightstar’s shoulder with the same ferocity he had used against the former ShadowClan leader.

Nightstar squealed and twisted in Fireheart’s grip. This tom had not been made leader for nothing, thought Fireheart, struggling to hang on. Nightstar scrabbled free, but Runningwind was ready. He pounced, and together the two warriors rolled across the frozen clearing. Fireheart watched them struggle and twist, timing his moment perfectly so that when he finally leaped, he landed squarely on Nightstar’s back. He grasped him more firmly this time, ready for the warrior to wriggle free. But Runningwind also had a grip. Together they scratched and bit the ShadowClan leader till he screeched out loud. Then they released him, springing backward with their claws still unsheathed.

Nightstar leaped to his paws and spun around, hissing. Fireheart saw the fury in his eyes, but the ShadowClan leader knew he was beaten. He backed away, his eyes darting around the clearing where his warriors were suffering similar treatment from the other ThunderClan warriors. He gave the yowl of retreat. Instantly his warriors stopped fighting and, like their leader, backed into the gorse that surrounded the camp. The RiverClan warriors were left alone to fend off ThunderClan and WindClan.

Fireheart paused to catch his breath, blinking blood from his eyes. Whitestorm was grappling with Leopardfur now, with Mousefur at his side. Sandstorm was battling with a RiverClan warrior almost twice her size. But her opponent was only half her speed. Fireheart watched Sandstorm nip and twist around him until the RiverClan warrior looked overwhelmed.

Dustpelt was fighting a smoky-black tom nearby. Fireheart recognized Blackclaw, the RiverClan warrior he had seen chasing rabbits in the uplands. Dustpelt was stubbornly refusing to be cowed by the blows and bites aimed at him. Each time he was struck, the young warrior turned and gave as good as he got. It looked as if he didn’t need any help, and Fireheart guessed Dustpelt would not thank him for interfering in this fight.

Where was Crookedstar? Fireheart searched the clearing for the RiverClan leader. It wasn’t hard to find him. Now that ShadowClan had run away, the clearing was less crowded. Fireheart soon spotted the light-colored tabby with the twisted jaw. He was crouching low, face-to-face with Tigerclaw. The two warriors stared at each other, their tails thrashing menacingly. Fireheart’s blood pounded through his veins as he waited for one of them to make a move. It was Crookedstar who leaped first, but Tigerclaw jumped nimbly aside and Crookedstar missed. Tigerclaw was more accurate; he turned and lunged at Crookedstar’s back. The ThunderClan warrior grasped the RiverClan leader with his long claws, and Crookedstar went limp beneath him. Fireheart watched breathlessly as Tigerclaw bared his teeth, lunged forward, and sank them deep into Crookedstar’s neck.

Fireheart gasped. Had Tigerclaw really killed the RiverClan leader? Crookedstar’s pained screech told Fireheart that Tigerclaw had missed the spine. But it was a blow to win the battle. Tigerclaw released his opponent and let him race, yowling, toward the camp entrance. As soon as Crookedstar’s tail shot out of sight, his warriors struggled free and pelted after him.

In a heartbeat, the WindClan camp fell silent apart from the howling of the wind above the gorse. Fireheart stared around him. The ThunderClan warriors were tired and battered, but the WindClan cats looked far worse. Every one of them was bleeding, while some lay unmoving on the frozen ground. Barkface, their medicine cat, wasted no time in rushing from one cat to another, attending to their injuries.

Tallstar limped toward Tigerclaw, blood dripping from his cheek. As he watched the WindClan leader, Fireheart remembered his dream from moons ago-Tallstar had been silhouetted against a bright fire, like a warrior sent from StarClan to save them. “Fire will save the Clan,” according to Spottedleaf’s prophecy. But looking at the WindClan cats, exhausted and beaten, Fireheart wondered if his dream had misled him. How could these cats represent the fire that StarClan promised would save his Clan? Surely it was ThunderClan who had just saved WindClan-again?

Tallstar spoke quietly to Tigerclaw. Fireheart couldn’t hear the words they shared, but he could guess by Tallstar’s bowed head that the WindClan leader was acknowledging the debt he owed to ThunderClan. Tigerclaw sat up straight and accepted the thanks with his chin held high. Fireheart felt a wave of revulsion at the dark warrior’s arrogance. He would never forget that Tigerclaw had stood by and watched while Leopardfur had nearly ripped him to shreds.

“Here.” Fireheart was shaken from his thoughts by the soft voice of Willowpelt offering him a mouthful of the medicine cat’s herbs. Fireheart purred his thanks as Willowpelt began squeezing juice from the herbs into the bite marks on Fireheart’s shoulders. The juice stung, but the smell took him straight back to another time, with Spottedleaf. She had given him the same herb to treat Yellowfang so many moons ago. As the odor of the herbs wafted up, Fireheart remembered his dream from the night before. “Beware a warrior…” Spottedleaf had warned him. Beware a warrior?

The truth washed over Fireheart like a chill wind-it wasn’t Graystripe he should have been wary of, but Tigerclaw! How could he have suspected his friend, when he knew what Tigerclaw was capable of? Suddenly Fireheart was sure Ravenpaw had been telling the truth, whatever Bluestar had said. Seeing the dark warrior’s performance today, Fireheart realized that Tigerclaw could easily have killed Redtail and walked away without remorse.

“You fought well, Fireheart!” Runningwind interrupted his thoughts. The brown tabby blinked warmly at Fireheart as he promised, “I’ll make sure Bluestar hears about it!”