The Fourth Apprentice Page 11

  “Who are they?” Dovepaw asked her mentor. “I saw them at the Gathering, but no cat told me their names.”

  “Whitetail and Sedgewhisker,” Lionblaze replied, peering across the empty lake. “Good choice—Whitetail especially. She’s an experienced warrior.”

  Dovepaw was pleased to see that the WindClan cats looked a lot friendlier. They raced up to the waiting cats with excitement shining in their eyes.

  “Greetings,” Ashfoot mewed as they skidded to a stop at the edge of the stream. “It’s good to see you.”

  “And you, Ashfoot,” Brambleclaw responded, dipping his head.

  Russetfur’s only reply was a grunt, and Mistyfoot didn’t say anything at all.

  “You know what you have to do,” Brambleclaw went on.

  “Find what’s blocking the stream, and get rid of it,” Lionblaze replied promptly, his tail flicking as if he couldn’t wait to be on his way.

  “Really?” Rippletail cast an alarmed glance at Mistyfoot. “I thought we were just supposed to find out what the problem is, and then come back to report.”

  Before the RiverClan deputy could reply, Russetfur let out a growl. “What’s the matter? Is RiverClan too scared to take on a challenge?”

  “Of course not!” Mistyfoot snapped, her blue eyes flashing. “But the safety of our Clanmates matters to us, even if it’s not important to you.”

  “It’s for the sake of our Clanmates that these cats are going,” Russetfur snarled, letting her neck fur bristle.

  Dovepaw’s heart started to race; for a moment it seemed as if the two she-cats would hurl themselves at each other in a screeching fight. But then Ashfoot stepped forward.

  “That’s enough,” she meowed. “We’re working together now. The patrol must do whatever they can without risking their lives.”

  Dovepaw picked up a sigh from Toadfoot and saw him roll his eyes. Brambleclaw’s ears snapped up; he had spotted the younger warrior, too. “You made the Great Journey, Toadfoot,” he meowed with an edge to his voice. “You should remember how the four Clans worked together to help one another. It doesn’t mean you won’t come back to your own separate territories.”

  Toadfoot scuffled his forepaws on the dusty ground. “I was only a kit then,” he mumbled. “I don’t remember much.”

  “Try,” Brambleclaw advised him drily. When there was no response from Toadfoot, he let his gaze sweep around to take in all the other cats. “Keep to the stream so that you can find your way back easily,” he instructed them. “Don’t get distracted; don’t let foxes or kittypets chase you off course—”

  “As if!” Toadfoot interrupted.

  That cat is a real pain in the tail, Dovepaw thought. Brambleclaw has more traveling experience than any cat. Why can’t Toadfoot listen?

  Brambleclaw fixed the ShadowClan warrior with a glare from his amber eyes. “Take time to rest and eat when you can,” he went on. “If you find the blockage, you won’t be able to do anything if you’re exhausted when you get there.”

  Even though Dovepaw knew that Brambleclaw’s advice was good, she was starting to get impatient. She could hear the brown animals far up ahead, feel their scratching through the stones beneath her paws, and sense the effort they were making to hold the water back.

  “Have you got ants in your pelt?” Lionblaze whispered.

  “Sorry!” Dovepaw murmured, trying to keep still.

  Brambleclaw stepped back to join the other deputies. Dovepaw glanced around, realizing that the cats who were to go on the quest were standing together for the first time. I hardly know their names! she thought, fighting back panic. Their different Clan scents filled her nose and made her feel dizzy; she drew closer to Lionblaze, feeling encouraged by how calm and strong he seemed among these restless, unfamiliar cats.

  “May StarClan light your path,” Ashfoot meowed solemnly. “And bring you all home safe.”

  CHAPTER 12

  With the gazes of all four deputies on them, the patrol turned to leave and started to pad up the dry streambed. It wasn’t wide enough for them to all walk next to one another; before they had gone more than a few paw steps, Toadfoot pushed his way to the front.

  “This is our territory, you know,” he growled.

  It’s just as much our territory! Lionblaze thought indignantly. This stream is the border, mouse-brain! He was aware of Dovepaw beside him, bristling as if she expected him to protest, but he kept silent, giving her just a tiny shake of his head.

  “Sorry.” The embarrassed mew came from Dovepaw’s other side as Tigerheart squeezed past her to join his Clanmate at the head of the patrol.

  Lionblaze couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. It wasn’t Tigerheart’s fault that his Clanmate was being such a pain.

  Following the ShadowClan cats’ lead, the other cats fell into Clan pairs too, with Dovepaw bringing up the rear beside Lionblaze. Her head and tail were dropping in disappointment, as if she hadn’t thought the journey would be so tense; Lionblaze guessed she’d looked forward to making friends with the cats from the other Clans.

  “Don’t worry.” He bent his head to murmur into her ear. “It won’t always be like this. It’ll take a while to get to know the other cats.”

  Dovepaw blinked at him. “We don’t have time to argue,” she whispered back. “Whatever is blocking the stream, the brown animals are adding to it, making it stronger. The water might be trapped forever!”

  Lionblaze touched her flank with the tip of his tail. “Not if we can do anything about it,” he promised.

  The streambed gradually became deeper, sheltered by crumbling banks of sand. Flat stretches of grass opened up on either side, and Lionblaze heard the strange thumping sounds and weird yowls of Twolegs up ahead.

  “We’re getting to the Twoleg greenleafplace,” he mewed to Dovepaw. “Remember you heard the same sounds when I took you on your first tour of the territory?”

  Dovepaw nodded. Her whiskers quivering with curiosity, she scrambled up the side of the stream before Lionblaze could stop her and peered over the top of the bank. Lionblaze sprang up beside her, his claws extended to drag her down again.

  “They’re huge!” Dovepaw couldn’t hide a squeak of astonishment as she stared at the tall pink creatures that had no fur except for a tiny scrap on top of their heads. Three or four Twoleg kits were leaping about the clearing, throwing something brightly colored at one another, while the fully grown Twolegs sat outside the pelt-dens. They’re like moving trees, Lionblaze thought, his own curiosity making him forget the danger for a couple of heartbeats.

  “Get down!” Toadfoot hissed furiously from behind them.

  But it was too late. One of the Twoleg kits had spotted Dovepaw; she froze in horror as it ran toward her with its pink paws outstretched. Yowls came from the other Twolegs. The fully grown ones sprang to their hind paws and pounded across the clearing, where their kits were already gathering around.

  “This way!” Toadfoot snapped.

  As Lionblaze shoved Dovepaw down the bank, the ShadowClan warrior turned to lead the way upstream, but a huge Twoleg leaped into the streambed, blocking their path. Big, meaty paws groped down from the sky, reaching for the cats.

  “No!” Petalfur screeched.

  In a panic, Sedgewhisker tried to climb the steepest part of the bank and fell back in a whirl of flailing legs and tail. Rippletail whipped around and fled back downstream, but Twolegs were blocking that way, too. Pushing Dovepaw behind him, Lionblaze advanced on the first Twoleg, his fur fluffed up and his claws out.

  “Over here!” Toadfoot’s yowl rose above the noise. “Follow me!”

  He had scrambled up at a place where the bank had slipped down into the stream and it was easier to climb out. Clambering after him, Lionblaze launched himself into the open with the rest of the patrol close behind.

  Toadfoot led them straight across the clearing toward the scatter of flimsy green pelt-dens. “No! This way!” he yowled when Whitetail and Sedgewhisker veered off toward th
e lake. “Stay together!”

  The WindClan cats swerved back and the whole patrol streamed across the scorched grass, pursued by yowling Twolegs. Lionblaze raced along, his feet thudding on the hard ground. Fear fluffed out every hair on his pelt, but at the same time his paws tingled with excitement. You can’t catch us, stupid Twolegs!

  Toadfoot looped around one den and started to lead the cats back toward the stream. Lionblaze caught a glimpse of Petalfur and Rippletail; the RiverClan cats were dropping back, and Petalfur was limping.

  “Lionblaze, look!” Dovepaw gasped; she had seen them, too.

  Before Lionblaze could make a move, a young male Twoleg, bigger than the other kits, swooped down and grabbed Petalfur. As the Twoleg swung her up into the air, the RiverClan cat let out a terrified squeal and struggled to get free.

  “Help!” Rippletail yowled. “Don’t leave her!”

  At the head of the patrol, Toadfoot turned and raced back toward the young Twoleg. “Make a circle!” he snapped. “If we want him to drop Petalfur, we’ll have to show him we’re not afraid to fight.”

  Whitetail, Sedgewhisker, and Rippletail exchanged horrified glances, but they ran into place, trembling, until they surrounded the Twoleg. Lionblaze slipped in between Dovepaw and Tigerheart. Taking their lead from Toadfoot, the patrol began to close in on the young Twoleg, stalking through the grass and hissing.

  “Let her go!” Lionblaze snarled.

  From behind him, a full-grown Twoleg let out a bellow. The young Twoleg dropped Petalfur; the RiverClan cat plunged to the ground and stood shakily on her paws.

  “Quick!” Toadfoot gathered the patrol with a whisk of his tail and led them at full pelt past the young Twoleg. Rippletail ran beside Petalfur, guiding her by pressing up against her shoulder. More Twolegs were pounding toward them; the patrol split into two at a nod from Toadfoot, and veered into a pair of pelt-dens.

  Lionblaze hurtled into the weird blue-green light with Dovepaw and Tigerheart behind him. Glancing back, he saw Dovepaw crash into a pile of hard Twoleg stuff that clattered and rolled all around her, almost carrying her off her paws. Recovering, she raced across a soft pelt laid on the ground and ducked under another pelt that was hanging from the roof of the den; it fell with a soft flop, burying her under stifling folds.

  Dovepaw let out a terrified screech, clawing wildly to free herself.

  “Help her!” Lionblaze snapped at Tigerheart, while he scrabbled at the bottom of the outer pelt, trying to find a way out.

  Tigerheart tugged at the pelt until Dovepaw managed to thrust her head out; she gulped in air and dragged herself the rest of the way, shaking the pelt off her hindquarters as she regained her paws.

  Lionblaze found a loose fold in the outer pelt and held it up in his teeth to make a gap. It tasted foul, like licking the trail left by a monster on the Thunderpath. Tigerheart wriggled through and Dovepaw followed, popping out into the harsh sunlight of the clearing. As Lionblaze wriggled out behind them, something heavy whizzed past his head and landed with a thump in a bramble thicket that bordered the clearing.

  Dovepaw jumped in alarm, then plunged off again when she spotted Toadfoot just ahead. Lionblaze followed, making sure Tigerheart was still with them. Toadfoot led the patrol past the outlying pelt-dens and into the bracken at the edge of the clearing. As he thrust his way through it, Lionblaze picked up the ThunderClan scent marks and realized that he had crossed into his own territory.

  The rest of the patrol bundled into the ferns beside him, where they crouched, panting, while the Twolegs in the clearing went on baying. Toadfoot was the last to arrive; he stood glaring at the rest of the cats with his tail lashing furiously.

  “This is hopeless!” he hissed. “We can’t even get out of our own territory without running into trouble. Thanks to that apprentice!” he added, turning his glare on Dovepaw.

  Lionblaze saw Dovepaw stiffen, the fur on her neck and shoulders beginning to rise. Toadfoot, you mouse-brain, it was you who led us straight into the Twolegs! he thought. He stretched out his tail to give Dovepaw a calming touch on her shoulder. “Young cats are curious,” he replied, his voice level. “If the Twolegs weren’t crazy, this would never have happened.”

  Toadfoot let out an angry snort. “This quest is over before it’s begun,” he growled. “We don’t even know what we’re going to find at the end of the stream. What makes us think we can refill the lake when we panic over a few Twolegs?”

  “I think you’re wrong,” Whitetail stated; she was still trembling, but she stood squarely in front of the young ShadowClan warrior. “Okay, we had a narrow escape, but that doesn’t mean we have to give up. We’re not helping our Clans by staying in our own territories and watching the lake shrink even further.”

  Rippletail, who was crouched beside the shivering Petalfur, trying to comfort her, looked up at that, his neck fur bristling. “Are you trying to blame RiverClan? None of you realizes how hard this is for us. We need the lake for food!”

  “No, I’m not blaming you!” Whitetail replied indignantly. “What did I say that would make you think that?”

  Lionblaze rose to his paws and stepped between Whitetail and the enraged RiverClan warrior. “We’re wasting time,” he meowed. “We need to keep going. Next time we’ll avoid the Twolegs.”

  “If there is a next time, you—” Toadfoot began.

  “Hey, we survived, didn’t we?” Tigerheart interrupted his Clanmate. Of all the cats, Lionblaze thought Tigerheart was the least affected by their danger; his eyes were gleaming, as if he had enjoyed the excitement. “We showed those dumb Twolegs! They were terrified! Who cares if we meet them again?” Turning to Dovepaw, he added, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

  Lionblaze felt faintly amused as he saw Dovepaw’s jaws drop open in outrage. “I can protect myself!”

  “We can all look after ourselves.” Sedgewhisker unexpectedly backed Dovepaw up. “After all, that’s why we were chosen, right? Because our Clans thought we had the best chance of solving the problem with the stream?”

  “That’s true,” Lionblaze meowed.

  Petalfur raised her head; she was still shaking so much she could hardly speak, but she gazed bravely at the other cats. “I think we should go on,” she mewed. “I’ve watched my Clanmates starving around me, and I can’t do that anymore! Thinking of that gives me courage.”

  “Well said, Petalfur,” Whitetail mewed quietly.

  “Then we keep going.” Lionblaze spoke before Toadfoot had a chance to argue. With a glance at the ShadowClan warrior, he added, “And since we’re in ThunderClan territory now, I’ll take the lead.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Lionblaze cast sidelong glances at Dovepaw as she padded beside him along the narrow trails underneath the ferns. Her fur was still standing on end from the encounter with the Twolegs, and he could see a ring of white around her eyes.

  Were we wrong to bring her? he wondered. She’s been apprenticed for only a moon. He shook his head. No, we need her, he told himself. Lionblaze thought of the time he had journeyed into the mountains with his littermates, to the Tribe of Rushing Water. They had only been apprentices then, and they’d managed fine. Dovepaw will be fine, too. She has to be.

  The sun was rising higher in the sky when the cats approached the point where the stream veered off into ShadowClan territory. Lionblaze halted and gazed across the dried-up streambed into the pine forests, where brown needles covered the ground and the undergrowth was patchy.

  Toadfoot padded up. “I think we should rest here for a while and eat,” he meowed. He nodded toward the two RiverClan cats. “They look ready to fall over.”

  Lionblaze didn’t like his sneering tone, and he didn’t want to side with Toadfoot against the other Clans, but he had to admit that the ShadowClan warrior was right. All the cats were tired from fleeing the Twolegs, and from the increasing heat, but Rippletail and Petalfur looked exhausted. Petalfur had already flopped down on her side among the ferns, breathing heav
ily.

  I’m not surprised the RiverClan cats are finding it hard, Lionblaze thought. They’re better at swimming than walking.

  “Okay, we’ll rest.” Lionblaze raised his voice so all the cats could hear him. “ThunderClan and ShadowClan will hunt, each in our own territories.”

  “We can hunt for ourselves,” Whitetail pointed out with a glance at Sedgewhisker.

  “Sure,” the tabby she-cat agreed.

  “That would be prey-stealing!” Toadfoot snapped.

  Whitetail sighed. “But it’s not stealing if you catch it and give it to us? Can’t you just give us permission and make it easier for every cat?”

  Lionblaze guessed she wanted to add mouse-brain, but she restrained herself. At least Toadfoot didn’t insult them by saying they only know how to catch rabbits, he thought.

  “We’ll do it Toadfoot’s way,” he mewed peaceably to Whitetail. “I’m sure you’ll get a chance to hunt for us all later.” Even though he could see the WindClan warrior’s point, he didn’t want to risk them running into a ThunderClan or ShadowClan patrol. They’d had enough delays already with the Twolegs.

  The WindClan she-cat hesitated for a moment, then gave him a curt nod.

  Lionblaze led Dovepaw deeper into ThunderClan territory, feeling safer and more relaxed to be on familiar ground. “You go that way,” he suggested to his apprentice, angling his ears around the edge of a hazel thicket. “There might be some prey under the bushes. I’ll go this way and meet you back at the border.”

  “Okay.” Dovepaw stalked off, setting her paws down lightly, her ears pricked and her jaws parted to scent the air.

  I hope she finds something really good, Lionblaze thought as he watched her out of sight. That’ll show Toadfoot! He padded into the trees in the opposite direction and almost at once spotted a squirrel out in the open, scraping at something underneath the leaves on the forest floor.