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  Bramblestar beckoned to Thornclaw with his tail. “You lift here. Larksong, lift there.” He nodded the black tom toward a vine farther along, then padded around the silverthorn. “Bumblestripe, take this vine. Blossomfall, take that one, and Molewhisker, can you reach through that gap and lift the vine on Puddleshine’s back?”

  Molewhisker nodded and poked his paw through the gap Bramblestar had gestured to.

  When the patrol was in position, Bramblestar hooked his paw beneath the vine that twisted in front of Puddleshine’s nose. He looked at Finleap. “When I give the word, we’re going to lift the silverthorn. Can you pull Puddleshine out?”

  Finleap nodded. Twigbranch saw determination in the young tom’s gaze. Wasn’t he scared? She felt queasy at the thought of tearing the medicine cat free. Bramblestar turned to her. “I want you to unhook any thorns catching in Puddleshine’s fur as Finleap pulls him.”

  Twigbranch swallowed. “Okay.” She felt sick.

  “Alderheart, get cobwebs ready,” Bramblestar ordered.

  Alderheart scrambled to his pile and began tearing it into strips.

  “When I say now, lift.” Bramblestar glanced at his warriors. They nodded. “Now!”

  Growling with effort, Bramblestar lifted the vine with his paw. Around the silverthorn, the other warriors lifted too. The tangled mass shivered as they moved it. Puddleshine shrieked. “Grab him!” Bramblestar ordered.

  Finleap shot into the gap the warriors had created. Twigbranch wriggled after him, her gaze darting over Puddleshine’s pelt as Finleap grabbed the medicine cat’s shoulders between his forepaws and tugged. Twigbranch saw a thorn lift Puddleshine’s pelt. She reached out with her paw and quickly unhooked it. Another thorn snagged him and she knocked it away. Slowly, Finleap hauled Puddleshine out. Twigbranch freed barb after barb as they caught in the medicine cat’s pelt. She could see the strain on the warriors’ faces as they held the silverthorn clear.

  “Is he free?” Bramblestar’s mew was taut.

  “Yes!” Finleap dragged Puddleshine away from the vines.

  Twigbranch wriggled out, her heart racing.

  “Let it go!” Bramblestar yowled. The tangle of vines dropped as the warriors released their grip and landed, trembling, on the ground. A vine broke free and unfurled beside Bumblestripe, slapping the earth a whisker away.

  “Is everyone okay?” Bramblestar glanced around at the warriors.

  Molewhisker nodded. Larksong licked his paw urgently, as though soothing a scratch.

  Thornclaw’s ears twitched. “No injuries here.”

  Bumblestripe looked at Puddleshine. “He’s the only one hurt.”

  Alderheart was already pressing cobweb into a wound on the medicine cat’s flank. He balled up another strip in his paws and pressed it into a cut on Puddleshine’s neck. Twigbranch stiffened as she saw the blood oozing from the tom’s fur. There were too many injuries to count.

  Bramblestar gazed anxiously at Puddleshine. “Will he be okay?”

  Alderheart swabbed another wound. “None of the cuts are deep, but there are a lot of them and there’s always the chance of infection. We need to get him to a medicine den so I can treat them properly.”

  Bramblestar looked across the border. “There’s no point taking him to ShadowClan. He’s the only medicine cat they have. There will be no one to treat him there.”

  “We’d better take him to our camp.” Alderheart pressed another wad of cobweb into a wound.

  Puddleshine’s eyes were glazed. He lay limply as Alderheart worked on him.

  “Is he really okay?” Twigbranch asked anxiously. “He’s hardly moving.”

  “That’s the poppy seeds working,” Alderheart told her. “I gave him plenty.”

  “Tell me when he’s ready to be carried back to camp,” Bramblestar meowed.

  Alderheart nodded, not pausing his work.

  “We should tell Tigerstar what’s happened,” Finleap meowed.

  “Yes.” Bramblestar nodded. “Take Twigbranch and go to the ShadowClan camp.”

  Finleap glanced at the border. “Should we wait for a ShadowClan patrol to escort us?”

  “No.” Bramblestar twitched his tail. “Cross the border. Tigerstar will understand why you’re on ShadowClan land once he hears the news. Tell him we’ll take care of Puddleshine until he is well enough to return. He is welcome to send a patrol to check on him.”

  Twigbranch glanced at Finleap. What if a ShadowClan patrol attacked them before they had time to explain why they were there?

  He blinked at her. “Come on.” Leaping away, he skirted the silverthorn and headed across the border.

  Twigbranch followed him. Her heart quickened as she crossed the scent line. “Do you know the way to the ShadowClan camp?”

  “No, but you do.” Finleap slowed and let her take the lead.

  She hurried past him and led the way up a rise. She knew this trail well. She had traveled to the ShadowClan camp many times—usually in secret—to visit her sister, Violetshine, when they’d been kits. She’d been scared then, but she felt more anxious now. Since Tigerstar had returned, no cat had heard much from ShadowClan. Who knew what sort of leader he’d become? She glanced nervously between the pines. “What if Tigerstar is angry that we’ve taken Puddleshine to our camp?” she asked Finleap in a hushed mew.

  Finleap fell in beside her, matching her stride. “How can he be angry when we’re trying to help?”

  His confidence soothed her. He seemed so sure of himself. Even when he’d been pulling Puddleshine free, he’d known he could do it. He was sure they’d be mates too and that they’d have kits one day. And the thought didn’t scare him. Anxiety wormed beneath Twigbranch’s pelt. Then why does it scare me?

  CHAPTER 2

  Violetshine padded into a glade, where newleaf sun dappled white patches of snowdrops. Mintfur walked beside her while, ahead of them, Sandynose sniffed the air, his whiskers twitching as a mild wind carried the scent of the lake through the forest.

  “Look here, Fidgetflake!” Frecklewish stopped beside a patch of dark green leaves sprouting between the roots of an alder.

  The younger medicine cat hurried toward her, his black-and-white pelt prickling eagerly. “Is that some kind of comfrey?”

  “It’s wood sorrel,” Frecklewish told him, plucking out a few leaves with her claws. She held it out for him to sniff.

  Fidgetflake wrinkled his nose, backing away. “I know what it smells like. Horrible and sour.”

  “It tastes even worse,” Frecklewish murmured. “But it makes a good poultice for boils and abscesses. It draws out infection and dries the wound.”

  She stripped a leaf from a nearby bramble stem and began to roll the sorrel leaves into it. “We’ll take this back for the herb store.” She purred happily. Frecklewish had been eager to join the border patrol. The herb store had been depleted by the long, cold leaf-bare, and she wanted to collect fresh supplies. “The newest growth is the strongest,” she’d told Fidgetflake as they’d followed Sandynose, Violetshine, and Mintfur out of camp.

  Now Violetshine halted at the bottom of the glade, relishing the feel of sunshine on her fur. As she waited for Frecklewish and Fidgetflake to bundle up the wood sorrel, Sandynose padded around her, scanning the trees.

  Mintfur lay down and rolled in the warm dry leaf litter, clearly enjoying the fresh scents of newleaf. “It’s good to have our territory to ourselves again,” she meowed, sitting up and shaking the dust from her gray fur.

  “It’s good to have our camp to ourselves,” Sandynose grunted. “I don’t know how Leafstar ever thought ShadowClan could fit in. They’re too different.”

  “Not so different.” Frecklewish looked up from her herbs. “They’re still warriors, after all. They follow the warrior code. And they eat and sleep and hunt just like us.”

  “They hunt like foxes and snore like badgers,” Sandynose grunted.

  Mintfur licked her paw and drew it over her ear. “Well, they’re gone now,
and we don’t have to worry about tripping over them anymore.”

  “It was good of Leafstar to return their land without a fight,” Sandynose meowed. “After all, ShadowClan gave it to us. And then slept in our dens and ate our prey for a moon.”

  “Tigerstar thanked her for our kindness,” Violetshine reminded him.

  “They owed us more than thanks,” Sandynose sniffed.

  Frecklewish padded to Mintfur’s side. “Everything’s back to how it should be,” she mewed. “Five Clans living beside the lake. It’s best for everyone this way.”

  Sandynose narrowed his eyes. “I just hope Tigerstar agrees.”

  The warrior’s suspicion made Violetshine uneasy. “Why wouldn’t he?”

  “Tigerstar only cares about what’s best for Tigerstar.” Sandynose looked up the slope, his ears pricked. “He abandoned his Clan and his kin when they needed him. Then he came back when it suited him. And his mate is no better. Dovewing broke the warrior code and had kits with a warrior from another Clan, then left her own Clan to be with him and took her kits with her.” The light brown tom blinked at Violetshine. “A leader is supposed to set an example for their Clan. What kind of example has Tigerstar set?”

  Frecklewish shook out her fur. “He made mistakes. But StarClan guided his paws back to ShadowClan and made him its leader. He must understand how important it is that there be five Clans beside the lake.”

  “He might just think it’s important for ShadowClan to be beside the lake,” Sandynose meowed darkly.

  Mintfur got to her paws and headed up the slope toward the stretch of pines where a ditch stretched toward the ShadowClan border. “It’s no use worrying. We’ve been through enough trouble over the past few moons without wishing for more.”

  Violetshine padded after her, comforted by her easy tone. They’d survived the storm. Surely there couldn’t be more trouble waiting for the Clans?

  Leaves rustled behind her as Frecklewish and Fidgetflake followed.

  “I wasn’t wishing for trouble,” Sandynose grumbled as he joined them. “But ignoring the rain doesn’t stop it from falling.”

  At the top of the rise, Mintfur stopped. She stiffened and lifted her muzzle.

  Violetshine could see her tasting the air. Alarm pricked beneath her pelt. “What is it?”

  Mintfur’s eyes shone. “Can’t you smell it? Mouse!”

  Sandynose had already dropped into a hunting crouch and was creeping toward a ditch that cut the forest floor like a claw mark.

  Violetshine pricked her ears. She heard leaves rustle at the bottom of the ditch. The tangy scent of mouse touched her nose. She licked her lips. She hadn’t eaten yet, and even though she knew this catch would be taken back to camp for the fresh-kill pile, she was pleased to know that prey was returning after the leaf-bare chill. She hung back with Frecklewish and Fidgetflake, letting the others take the prey. Sandynose was already stalking along the top of the ditch. Mintfur had hopped over it lightly and was crouching farther along, her gaze fixed intently on the leaves at the bottom. As they rustled, Sandynose pounced. Landing in the ditch, he slapped his paws down. Mintfur dropped in front of him, blocking the mouse’s escape. But she needn’t have worried. Sandynose caught it cleanly and killed it with a quick bite.

  “Thank you, StarClan, for this prey,” Frecklewish whispered beside Violetshine.

  Sandynose hopped out of the ditch, the fat mouse dangling from his jaws.

  Fidgetflake dropped the herb bundle he’d been holding between his teeth and sniffed the mouse. “That’s even bigger than the one that Macgyver brought back yesterday.”

  Mintfur scrambled up beside Sandynose, purring. “It’s good to see the fresh-kill pile well-stocked again. There’s enough food for everyone.”

  Sandynose dropped the mouse. “Even now that we’ve got an extra mouth to feed.” He swapped glances with Mintfur.

  The gray she-cat rolled her eyes. “You mean Tree.”

  “He was supposed to help out with patrols, but I notice that Leafstar never asks him to join and he never offers.” Sandynose looked indignant.

  “He doesn’t mind sharing what’s on the fresh-kill pile, though,” Mintfur mewed meaningfully.

  Violetshine bristled. “He can take what he wants from the fresh-kill pile. He’s part of the Clan now.”

  “How can he be?” Mintfur asked. “He doesn’t even know the warrior code.”

  “He didn’t join as a warrior,” Violetshine meowed defensively. “He joined as a mediator.”

  “I’ve never seen him mediate,” Mintfur shot back.

  “That’s because there’s been nothing to mediate yet.” Violetshine glared at her.

  Frecklewish padded along the top of the ditch, looking thoughtful. “It is strange having a cat in the Clan who doesn’t act like a warrior. But his role is new and he’s still finding his paws. I think Leafstar was right to ask him to join us. Tree has a way with other cats that puts them at ease.”

  “He’d put me at ease if he spent less time lying around camp and more time helping out,” Sandynose muttered. “If he doesn’t want to patrol, he could help repair the dens instead. There are still walls and roofs that need patching after the storm. And with so many apprentices, we could do with more space in the apprentices’ den.”

  Anger flared through Violetshine. She lifted her chin. “If you’ve got a problem with Tree, why don’t you talk to him instead of complaining about him?”

  “Don’t think I haven’t tried,” Sandynose answered. “But you know how he is. Always so easygoing and friendly. It’s hard to criticize him. He always has an answer. He says he ‘doesn’t want to get in the way,’ or he’s ‘learning by watching.’ And he seems so genuine, it’s hard to argue.”

  Violetshine puffed out her chest. “He is genuine. He’s got a good heart, and just because he doesn’t act like a warrior doesn’t mean he isn’t important to the Clan. You wait and see. Frecklewish is right. He does have a way with other cats. Sometimes words are more powerful than claws, and they cause far less bloodshed.”

  Mintfur’s whiskers twitched with amusement. “It sounds like you’re fond of him, Violetshine.”

  Violetshine felt hot beneath her pelt. “So what if I am?” She and Tree had a special bond. She’d found him, and he was closer to her than he was to any other cat in SkyClan. Her paws prickled with happiness at the thought.

  “Sandynose.” Fidgetflake’s anxious mew made the cats turn. The apprentice medicine cat had crossed the ditch and was sniffing the ground beyond. “Come and smell this.”

  Sandynose leaped the ditch and sniffed the ground beside Fidgetflake.

  “Do you smell ShadowClan?” Fidgetflake asked.

  “Yes.” Sandynose’s fur lifted along his spine. He padded quickly forward and sniffed the ground again. He paced one way then the other, sniffing as he went. “ShadowClan cats have been here.”

  As Mintfur hurried to join him, Violetshine followed, her belly tightening. ShadowClan scent hung in the air. “They’ve crossed the border into our territory,” she breathed.

  Sandynose was already following the scent trail to the border. He stopped beside a bush and flattened his ears. “They crossed here.”

  “Do you recognize the scents?” Mintfur asked.

  He shook his head. “They don’t smell like any of the cats who stayed in our camp.”

  Violetshine pushed back the fear that was pressing in her throat. “ShadowClan does have some cats who grew up outside the territories,” she murmured, remembering the gossip she’d heard about an adventure Tigerstar and Dovewing had once had, far away from the lake. “Those cats could have strayed over the scent line without realizing. They haven’t lived here that long, so maybe they don’t recognize the borders yet.”

  Mintfur snorted. “Even those cats must know what a scent marker means.”

  Sandynose’s pelt bristled. “Let’s head back to camp. Leafstar should hear about this.”

  Sunshine filtered between the pi
ne and alder branches crisscrossing above the SkyClan camp.

  “You’re sure the scents were on our side of the border?” Leafstar’s amber eyes narrowed.

  “I know where the border is even if ShadowClan doesn’t,” Sandynose snapped.

  Leafstar shifted her hindquarters. The returning patrol had woken the SkyClan leader from a nap. Beside Sandynose, Violetshine felt her belly tighten. The warrior had worked himself into a rage on the journey back to camp, and Mintfur agreed with him that ShadowClan had crossed SkyClan’s border on purpose. Frecklewish and Fidgetflake had tried to reason with them. It might have been an accident. But Sandynose was convinced that a ShadowClan patrol had left its scent on SkyClan land deliberately.

  Hawkwing, who was clearing weed from the small stream that cut through the camp, kept working but pricked his ears as Leafstar considered her response. Tree, lying stretched in a pool of sunlight, lifted his head sleepily and watched. Macgyver, Nettlesplash, and Bellaleaf left their work patching holes in the elders’ den and padded closer, while Blossomheart and Harrybrook looked up from the mouse they were sharing beside the fresh-kill pile. Pigeonpaw and Nectarpaw paused from practicing battle moves in the clearing to watch as well.

  “I don’t think we should jump to any conclusions,” Leafstar said at last.

  Plumwillow poked her head out of the warriors’ den. “Conclusions about what?”

  Pigeonpaw blinked at her. “ShadowClan cats invading our territory.”

  “They didn’t invade,” Nectarpaw mewed.

  “Their scent is on our land,” Sandynose snapped.

  Plumwillow slid from the den, her pelt bristling. “What are ShadowClan cats doing on our land?”

  Leafstar stood up. “That’s what we’re trying to decide.”

  “It can’t have been anything good,” Macgyver meowed. Nettlesplash and Bellaleaf muttered in agreement.

  “It was probably an accident.” Blossomheart left her mouse and padded closer.

  Harrybrook got to his paws. “Perhaps it was a clumsy apprentice with a bad sense of direction.”