A Dangerous Path Read online

  “I have one more piece of Clan news,” Leopardstar meowed, obviously deciding that she had waited long enough for Bluestar to speak. “One of our elders, Graypool, is dead.”

  Fireheart’s ears pricked. He wondered what Mistyfoot and Graystripe had told their leader about Graypool’s death, and if he had left any of his own scent on her body. Leopardstar could possibly use that to accuse ThunderClan of killing the old cat, to give her Clan an excuse to attack.

  But when Leopardstar went on, it was only to say, “She was a brave warrior and the mother of many kits.” She paused to cast a sympathetic glance at Mistyfoot and Stonefur. “Her Clan mourns her,” she finished.

  Fireheart relaxed, then felt himself tense again as Tigerstar stepped forward. Would the ShadowClan leader announce what he knew about two of Graypool’s kits?

  To his relief, Tigerstar made no mention of the secret. Instead he gave news of ShadowClan kits that had been made into apprentices and the birth of a new litter—details that showed how ShadowClan was beginning to recover its strength, but nothing that suggested hostility to any other Clan.

  Hope flared in Fireheart again. Perhaps there really was no need to keep worrying about a threat from Tigerstar. It would be a relief to forget him and concentrate on the lurking threat of the dog in the forest. Then Fireheart remembered the ShadowClan leader’s brutal treatment of Graypool, which had led to her death, and all his suspicions returned.

  When Tigerstar had finished speaking, Tallstar moved to take his place, but Bluestar thrust herself in front of the WindClan leader. “I will speak next,” she growled, giving Tallstar a hard stare.

  She stalked to the front of the rock. “Cats of all Clans,” she began, her voice coldly angry, “I bring news of theft. WindClan warriors have been hunting in ThunderClan territory.”

  Fireheart’s heart lurched as angry yowling broke out all over the hollow. The WindClan cats sprang to their paws, furiously denying the ThunderClan leader’s accusation.

  Cloudpaw scrambled around two bigger warriors and came to a halt beside Fireheart, his blue eyes wide with shock and excitement. “WindClan!” he meowed. “What’s she talking about?”

  “Be quiet!” Fireheart snapped. He glanced at Onewhisker, afraid that he might have overheard Cloudpaw’s outburst, but the tabby warrior was on his paws, yowling defiance at Bluestar.

  “Prove it!” he called, his fur bristling. “Prove that WindClan have taken so much as a mouse!”

  “I have proof.” Bluestar’s eyes blazed cold fire. “Our patrols found remains of rabbit scattered not far from here.”

  “You call that proof?” Tallstar shouldered his way forward to stand nose-to-nose with Bluestar. “Did you see my cats on your territory? Did your patrols find WindClan scent?”

  “I don’t need to see or smell thieves to know what they have done,” Bluestar retorted. “Every cat knows that only WindClan hunts rabbits.”

  Fireheart’s muscles tensed, and he instinctively unsheathed his claws.

  “All this is a pile of mouse dung,” Tallstar insisted. His black-and-white fur was fluffed out, and his lips were drawn back in a snarl. “WindClan have lost prey as well. We have found rabbit remains on our territory too. And there are far fewer rabbits than usual at this season. I accuse you, Bluestar, of letting your warriors hunt on our land and making false accusations to cover up the theft!”

  “That seems far more likely,” Tigerstar put in, his amber eyes gleaming. “Every cat knows that prey has been scarce on ThunderClan territory since the fire. Your Clan is hungry, Bluestar, and some of your warriors know WindClan territory very well.”

  Fireheart felt the ShadowClan leader’s gaze rest on him, and knew Tigerstar meant him and Graystripe.

  Bluestar whipped around to face the ShadowClan leader. “Silence!” she hissed. “Stay away from me and my Clan. This is no business of yours.”

  “It is the business of every cat in the forest,” Tigerstar replied calmly. “The Gathering is supposed to be a time of peace. If StarClan are angered, we will all suffer.”

  “StarClan!” Bluestar spat back at him. “StarClan have turned away from us, and I will fight them if I have to. I care only for feeding my Clan, and I will not stand by while other cats steal our prey.”

  Her speech was almost drowned by the shocked gasps of the cats listening below. Fireheart couldn’t help glancing up to see if StarClan would show their fury by sending a cloud to cover the moon and end the Gathering, as they had done once before. But the sky remained clear. Did that mean StarClan had accepted Bluestar’s declaration of war?

  Graystripe nudged him. “What’s the matter with Bluestar? Does she want to pick a fight with WindClan? And what’s all this about fighting StarClan?”

  “I don’t know what she wants,” Fireheart muttered.

  “I think she’s right about the rabbits, and who cares what a stupid old tradition says about keeping the peace at the Gatherings?” meowed Cloudpaw. “Let’s face it, StarClan was just thought up by some leader to scare the other cats into being obedient.”

  Fireheart shot his apprentice a disapproving glance, but there was no time to discuss his attitude toward their warrior ancestors. His heart thudded as if he were about to leap into battle. There was no way of hiding Bluestar’s madness—and ThunderClan’s vulnerability—from the other Clans now. Tallstar bristled with fury. So far Leopardstar had not joined in the argument, but she wore the expression of a cat who was about to sink her teeth into a juicy piece of fresh-kill.

  When the noise in the hollow had died down, Tallstar made himself heard. “Bluestar, I swear by StarClan that no cat from WindClan has hunted on your territory.” His tail lashed from side to side. “But if you insist on fighting with us, we will be ready.” He retreated from the edge of the rock and turned his back on Bluestar, a pointed refusal to defend himself any further.

  Before Bluestar could retaliate, Leopardstar stepped forward. “The fire was a terrible misfortune,” she meowed. “Every cat in the forest knows that, but yours is not the only Clan to suffer recently. Your forest will grow back as rich in prey as it ever was. But Twolegs have invaded our territory and they show no signs of leaving. Last leaf-bare the river was poisoned and cats who ate the fish fell ill. Who can guarantee it won’t happen again? I cannot speak for WindClan’s needs, but RiverClan needs better hunting ground even more than ThunderClan.”

  A few RiverClan cats yowled their agreement, and Fireheart’s fur bristled with apprehension. He shot a glance at Graystripe, remembering his friend’s warning about Sunningrocks. The new RiverClan leader meant to expand her territory, and the logical direction was across the river into ThunderClan land. The gorge cut her off from WindClan territory, and all her other borders were bounded by Twoleg farms.

  But Bluestar had not understood the veiled threat. When the RiverClan leader fell silent she dipped her head graciously. “You’re right, Leopardstar,” she meowed. “RiverClan has endured hard times. Yet your cats are so strong and noble that I know you will survive.”

  Leopardstar looked taken aback—as well she might, Fireheart thought. The old Bluestar would never have missed the ominous promise in Leopardstar’s words.

  Tigerstar took a step toward the ThunderClan leader. “Think carefully before you threaten WindClan, Bluestar,” he warned. “There will never be peace in the forest if—”

  Bluestar bared her teeth and snarled at him, her fur bristling with fury. “Don’t talk to me about peace!” she hissed. “I told you to keep out of this. Unless you’re allying yourself with that thief over there.”

  Fireheart watched Tallstar stalk over to Bluestar, and he guessed that the WindClan leader was barely managing not to spring at her throat. “If you want a fight, you’ll have one, Bluestar,” he growled. Not waiting for a reply, he leaped down from the rock.

  Tigerstar exchanged a glance with Leopardstar and both leaders followed, leaving Bluestar alone. Fireheart glanced at the sky again, hardly able to believe there
was no sign from StarClan to show that they had seen the Gathering descend into hostility. Did that mean StarClan wanted a war between the Clans?

  As Bluestar scrambled down from the rock, Fireheart looked around for the other ThunderClan warriors. “Cloudpaw,” he instructed urgently, “round up as many of our warriors as you can find and send them to the base of the Great Rock. Bluestar will need an escort.”

  His apprentice nodded and slipped away into the crowd. Fireheart saw Stonefur thrusting his way through the crowd toward Graystripe.

  “Are you ready?” the RiverClan deputy meowed. “Leopardstar wants to leave quickly.”

  “On my way,” Graystripe mewed, springing to his paws. His voice shook as he added, “Good-bye, Fireheart.”

  “Good-bye,” Fireheart replied. There was so much more he wanted to say, but once again he had to face the fact that his best friend belonged to another Clan, and the next time they met could be in battle.

  Before the two RiverClan cats turned away, he sought desperately for the right words to speak to Stonefur. “Congratulations,” he stammered at last. “I was glad to hear Leopardstar chose you as deputy. ThunderClan don’t want trouble, you know.”

  Stonefur met his eyes. “Nor do I,” he meowed. “But sometimes trouble comes anyway.”

  Fireheart watched them as they headed for the edge of the clearing, and noticed with a jolt that another cat had his gaze fixed on the RiverClan deputy. It was Tigerstar!

  Fireheart wondered what his thoughtful look meant. Was the ShadowClan leader sizing up a future ally? Or could he possibly suspect that the tom was one of the kits Graypool had told him of, the kits that came from ThunderClan? After all, it was common knowledge that Stonefur and Mistyfoot had been raised by Graypool. If so, it wouldn’t be long before Tigerstar realized who their real mother was. Both Stonefur and Mistyfoot looked very much like Bluestar.

  Fireheart was so preoccupied that it was a few moments before he realized that the cat sitting in the shadows beside Tigerstar was Darkstripe. He told himself that it was only natural for Tigerstar’s oldest friend to seek him out at a Gathering, but Fireheart didn’t like it. He still wasn’t sure of Darkstripe’s loyalty.

  Springing to his paws, he pushed through the cats toward them. As he approached, he heard Tigerstar meow to his companion, “Are my kits well?”

  “Very well,” the ThunderClan warrior replied warmly. “Growing big and strong—especially young Bramblekit.”

  “Darkstripe!” Fireheart interrupted him. “The Gathering’s over, or hadn’t you noticed? Bluestar will want to leave shortly.”

  “Keep your fur on, Fireheart.” Darkstripe’s voice was an insolent drawl. “I’m coming.”

  “Go on, Darkstripe; you mustn’t keep your deputy waiting,” meowed Tigerstar. He nodded to Fireheart; his amber gaze was carefully neutral.

  Fireheart padded across the clearing to join Bluestar with Darkstripe just behind him. The rest of her warriors were clustered around her, shielding her from the hostile glares and mutterings of WindClan. Her blue eyes still glowed with defiance, and Fireheart realized with a sinking heart that war between the two Clans could not be far away.

  CHAPTER 11

  The sun was rising over the trees as Fireheart emerged from the warriors’ den. Shaking a scrap of dead leaf from his fur, he took a deep breath of the crisp air and extended his forelegs in a long stretch.

  After the previous night’s Gathering, he was almost surprised to see life in the camp going on as usual: Ashpaw and Cloudpaw were busily patching the outer wall with twigs; Goldenflower and Willowpelt were watching their kits just outside the nursery, where Brightpaw had stopped to play with them; and Whitestorm was padding into the clearing with his jaws full of fresh-kill. Fireheart could sense tension in the air, but so far none of his fears of attack seemed to have come to anything.

  He looked around for Sandstorm, who had led the dawn patrol, but she didn’t seem to be back yet. She had not been among the cats who had gone to the Gathering, and Fireheart desperately wanted to talk to her about what had happened.

  “Fireheart!”

  The voice was Bluestar’s. Fireheart swung around to see his leader trotting across the clearing from her den.

  “Yes, Bluestar, what is it?”

  Bluestar jerked her head. “Come to my den. We need to talk.”

  As Fireheart followed her he noticed her jerky steps and twitching tail. She looked like a cat about to launch herself into battle, yet there was no enemy in sight.

  Reaching her den, the blue-gray she-cat padded across to her bedding and sat there facing Fireheart. “You heard that hypocrite Tallstar last night,” she hissed. “He refused to admit that his cats have been stealing our prey. So there’s only one thing for ThunderClan to do. We must attack!”

  Fireheart stared at her, jaws gaping. “But, Bluestar,” he stammered, “we can’t do that! Our Clan isn’t strong enough.” He couldn’t help remembering that they would have had four extra warriors by now if Bluestar had agreed to promote the apprentices, but he didn’t dare mention that to her. “We can’t afford to have warriors injured or maybe killed.”

  Bluestar fixed her eyes on him in a look of fierce hostility. “Are you saying that ThunderClan is too weak to defend itself?”

  “Defending ourselves is very different from launching an attack,” Fireheart meowed desperately. “Besides, there’s no real proof that WindClan stole—”

  Bluestar bared her teeth. Her fur bristled as she rose to her paws and took a threatening step toward Fireheart. “Are you questioning me?” she snarled.

  With an effort, Fireheart stood his ground. “I don’t want needless bloodshed,” he told her quietly. “All the signs tell us that there’s a dog loose in the forest, and that’s what has been taking the rabbits.”

  “And I tell you that dogs don’t wander alone! They come and go with their Twolegs.”

  “Then where did the dog scent come from?”

  “Silence!” Bluestar lashed out with one paw, barely missing Fireheart’s nose. He forced himself to stand still. “We will travel tonight and attack WindClan at dawn.”

  Fireheart’s heart lurched. It was an honor for a warrior to fight for his Clan, but never before had he been faced with such an unjust battle. He did not want to shed ThunderClan or WindClan blood for no good reason.

  “Did you hear me, Fireheart?” Bluestar demanded. “You will choose the warriors and give them their orders. They must be ready by moonset.” Her eyes were blue flames; Fireheart almost felt they could sear him to ash, just as the fire had destroyed the forest.

  “Yes, Bluestar, but—” he began.

  “Are you afraid of WindClan?” the old leader spat. “Or are you so used to cringing before StarClan that you won’t defy them and fight for the rights of your Clan?” She paced to one side of her den, spun around, and paced back again, thrusting out her muzzle toward her deputy. “You disappoint me, you, out of all my warriors. How can I believe you will fight with all your strength when you question my order like this?” she hissed. “You leave me no choice, Fireheart. I will lead this attack myself.”

  Objections raced through Fireheart’s mind. Bluestar was growing old and losing strength; she was on her last life; she wasn’t thinking clearly. But in the face of her fury he could voice none of them. Instead he dipped his head respectfully. “If you wish, Bluestar.”

  “Then go and do as I ordered.” She kept that fiery gaze trained on him as he backed out of the den. “You will come with us, but remember that I will be watching you,” she growled after him.

  In the clearing outside, Fireheart shivered as if he had just dragged himself out of icy water. His duty was to choose the warriors for the attack on WindClan, and tell them what Bluestar had ordered so that they would be ready to leave after moonset. Yet every hair on his pelt protested against this. A dog had stolen the rabbits, not WindClan. It could not be the will of StarClan to attack an innocent Clan! Bluestar was simply wrong.
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  Fireheart found that his paws were taking him to Cinderpelt’s den. Perhaps she could advise him. The medicine cat’s wisdom and her special bond with StarClan might help her to see the way forward more clearly than he could. But when he reached Cinderpelt’s clearing and called out to her, there was no reply. Fireheart stuck his head a little way into the cleft in the rock and saw that the den was empty, except for the neat piles of herbs stacked along one side.

  As he pushed his way out of the fern tunnel, not sure what to do now, he caught sight of Thornpaw padding past with a load of moss for the elders’ bedding. The apprentice dropped his burden when he saw the deputy and meowed, “Cinderpelt’s out collecting herbs, Fireheart.”

  “Where?” Fireheart asked. If she was near the camp, he could go and find her.

  But Thornpaw shrugged. “Dunno, sorry.” He picked up the moss and went on.

  Fireheart stood motionless for a few moments, his head spinning with fear and confusion. He could not ask any of the other cats for advice, because a deputy should never question his leader’s orders. He could not even talk to Sandstorm, much as he wanted to, because she was bound by the warrior code to obey her leader. There was only one hope left.

  Slowly he padded back to the warriors’ den, meeting Brindleface on her way out. “I’m going to catch up on some sleep,” he explained in answer to her inquiring look. “I want to be fit for a night patrol.” He couldn’t bring himself to tell her what was really planned for that night.

  Brindleface’s eyes softened with sympathy. “You do look a bit tired,” she meowed. “You’re working too hard, Fireheart.”

  She gave his ear a quick lick and padded off toward the pile of fresh-kill. To Fireheart’s relief, no other cats were inside the den, and he did not have to answer any more questions as he curled himself deeply into the moss and fern. If he could just sleep for a while, he might be able to meet with Spottedleaf and ask for her guidance.