Erin Hunter - MOONRISE

“The signs from StarClan are not clear,” she admitted. “I see a time of great danger and change for the forest. A terrible doom hangs over us all.”

“Then you have had warnings about this! Why haven’t you told us before?” Mousefur challenged with a lash of her tail.

“Don’t be mouse-brained!” Cloudtail growled. “What good would it have done? What could we do? Leave the forest—and go where? Wandering around in strange country with leaf-bare coming on? You might fancy that, Mousefur, but I don’t.”

“If you ask me, Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw had the right idea,” Sootfur muttered to his brother Rainwhisker. “Getting out when they did.”

Leafpaw wanted to leap to the missing cats’ defense, but she made herself sit still and keep quiet. She was the only cat in the Clan who knew that Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw had left on a mission from StarClan to try to save the forest from this terrible danger. Stormfur and Feathertail, Greystripe’s RiverClan children, had gone with them, and cats from WindClan and ShadowClan too. However much their Clanmates missed them, Leafpaw knew it was for the good of all the Clans that they had gone.

Yet the danger was here now, she thought, apprehension gripping her belly, and the missing cats had not returned. Did that mean they had failed? Did it mean StarClan had failed, in spite of the warnings they had sent?

Cinderpelt’s calm gaze rested on the hushed and waiting Clan. “There will be great danger,” she repeated. “But I do not believe that ThunderClan will be destroyed.”

The Clan cats looked at one another, bewildered and afraid. The silence seemed to stretch out for a thousand heartbeats, until it was broken by a single eerie wail rising from the group of elders. As if that were a signal, more yowls and cries of terror broke out. Faced with the terror of approaching monsters, few of the Clan could believe Cinderpelt’s reassurances.

Ferncloud swept her tail protectively around her three kits, drawing them into the shelter of her flecked grey fur. “What are we going to do?” she cried.

Dustpelt got up and pressed his nose comfortingly into her side. “We’ll do something,” he promised. “We’ll show the Twolegs this is our place.”

“And how do you propose doing that?” Mousefur asked, her voice harsh. “When have Twolegs ever cared about us? They do what they want.”

“Their monsters will frighten all the prey,” Ashfur added. “We already know the forest is emptier than it’s ever been, and leaf-bare is coming. What are we going to eat?”

More terrified caterwauling broke out, and several heartbeats went by before Firestar could make himself heard again.

“We can’t decide what to do until we know more,” he meowed, when the noise had died to apprehensive muttering. “What happened yesterday was near Snakerocks, well away from here. It’s possible that the Twolegs won’t come any further.”

“Then why would StarClan send any warnings at all?” Thornclaw asked. “We’ve got to face it, Firestar—we can’t pretend this isn’t happening.”

“I’ll arrange extra patrols,” Firestar assured him, “and I’m going to try speaking to ShadowClan. This was near their border, and they may have had trouble too.”

“You can’t believe anything ShadowClan tells you,” Cloudtail growled. “They wouldn’t give you a mousetail if you were starving.”

“Maybe not,” Firestar replied. “But if the Twolegs have invaded their territory, they might be prepared to talk if it meant we could help one another.”

“And hedgehogs might fly,” Cloudtail grunted. He turned away from Firestar and muttered something into the ear of his mate, Brightheart, who pushed her nose into his fur as if she were reassuring him.

“Everyone must keep alert,” Firestar continued. “If you see anything unusual, I want to know. We survived the flood and the fire. We survived Tigerstar’s dog pack, and the threat from Scourge and BloodClan. We will survive this too.”

He leaped down from the rock to show that the meeting was at an end.

Immediately the cats in the clearing broke into anxious little knots, discussing what they had just heard. Firestar and Cinderpelt spoke briefly together, and then Cinderpelt padded over to Leafpaw.

“Firestar is going to see ShadowClan right away,” the medicine cat announced. “He wants you to come too.”

Mingled excitement and apprehension clawed at Leafpaw. “Why me?”

“He wants both medicine cats with him. He thinks that if we’re there Blackstar will realise that ThunderClan isn’t looking for a fight.” Cinderpelt’s blue eyes flashed. “All the same, Leafpaw, I hope you’ve practiced your fighting moves recently.”

Leafpaw swallowed. “Yes, Cinderpelt.”

“Good.” With a wave of her tail, she led the way to where Firestar was waiting at the entrance to the gorse tunnel. Greystripe and Brackenfur were with him.

“Let’s go,” meowed Firestar. “And remember, I don’t want any trouble. We’re only going to talk.”

Greystripe snorted. “Try telling that to ShadowClan. If a patrol catches us on their territory, they’ll claw us as soon as they see us.”

“Let’s hope not,” Firestar replied with feeling. “If the Twolegs are threatening both our Clans, we can’t afford to waste our strength in fighting one another.”

Greystripe still looked doubtful, but he said nothing more as Firestar led them up the ravine towards the ShadowClan border. Leafpaw kept her ears pricked for any unusual sounds, and every hair on her pelt stood on end. The forest that had been safe for as long as she could remember was suddenly a frightening place, invaded by the Twolegs and their monsters.

Firestar led his patrol directly towards Snakerocks, and soon Leafpaw realised that he was heading for the spot where the monster had left the Thunderpath. Before they came in sight of it she picked up the reek of the monster and the rich earthy smell of the torn ground. When she came to the top of the slope above the Thunderpath, she stopped and peered through a clump of bracken.

Just below her, a swath of churned-up grass stretched as far as the Thunderpath. Trees lay on the ground, their roots tangling in the air. Everything was silent; Leafpaw couldn’t hear a single bird, or the scuffling of prey in the grass. But the monster had gone, and when she opened her jaws to drink in the air, the scent of Twolegs was stale. Even the reek of the monster was beginning to fade.

“They haven’t been here today,” Greystripe meowed. “Perhaps they’ve finished whatever they were doing.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Firestar replied tersely.

“This is . . . terrible.” Brackenfur sounded stunned. He had not been on the original patrol. “Why are they destroying the forest, Firestar?”

The tip of Firestar’s tail twitched back and forth. “Why do Twolegs do anything? If we knew that, our lives would be a lot easier.”

Skirting the edge of the damaged area, he led the way along the Thunderpath. Leafpaw’s belly lurched as she saw that more trees had been felled in ShadowClan’s territory, and more ground had been churned up.

Every one of the ThunderClan cats stopped to stare across the hard black surface. Brackenfur dropped into a crouch as if he were about to spring into attack, but there was no enemy to fight.

“Look at that!” Greystripe’s voice shook with horror. “You were right, Firestar. ShadowClan is having exactly the same trouble.”

“Then that should make it easier to talk to Blackstar.” Firestar was trying to sound confident, but his ears were laid flat against his head.

Cinderpelt gave the scarred area a long look before turning away, shaking her head. Though she said nothing, her blue eyes were filled with dread and confusion.