The Fourth Apprentice Read online

  “Stay there,” Lionblaze warned over his shoulder. Brownish-gray sludge flecked his pelt and clotted his belly fur. Just beyond him, Berrynose and Spiderleg were up to their haunches in mud.

  The two warriors were thrashing helplessly, their pelts plastered to their sides by the brown slime. They didn’t seem to be sinking past their belly fur, but they couldn’t get a paw hold to drag themselves out.

  “I’m glad they won’t be sharing our den,” Dovepaw murmured to Ivypaw. “They’ll stink of mud and dead fish for a moon!”

  Ivypaw nodded. “I bet they won’t be sharing any cat’s den until they get that stench off!” She wandered off to examine a dead fish lying a couple of fox-lengths away. Dovepaw stayed to watch as Thornclaw cautiously approached the mud hole, holding the stick at one end and stretching the rest of it out so that his Clanmates could grab it. Berrynose sank his claws into it and scrambled along it until he reached more solid ground, where Lionblaze and Cinderheart helped him to his paws.

  “Filthy stuff!” he exclaimed, spitting out mud and shaking his pelt so that sticky drops flew everywhere.

  Dovepaw leaped back to avoid being spattered. Meanwhile Spiderleg clambered along the stick and stood panting at the edge of the muddy hole.

  “Thanks,” he meowed to Thornclaw. “I’ll be more careful where I put my paws next time.”

  Thornclaw nodded. “You’re welcome. You’d better go back to camp and get yourselves cleaned up.”

  Spiderleg and Berrynose plodded off, their heads and tails drooping, shedding mud from their pelts at every paw step.

  “And now I suppose I’d better give the stick back to Jayfeather,” Thornclaw went on, “or he’ll be madder than a fox in a fit.”

  He set off toward the shore, only to halt after a few paces as a furious caterwaul came from farther around the lake. Dovepaw looked up in alarm. A mottled blue-gray tom was racing toward them, his tail streaming out behind him. Twitching her whiskers, Dovepaw picked up another unfamiliar scent, similar to the fish lying on the mud.

  That must be RiverClan.

  Thornclaw dropped the stick again. “Hey, Rainstorm!” he called. “What do you want?”

  The RiverClan warrior ignored him and the rest of the cats who were clustered together a few tail-lengths away from the mud hole. He was heading straight for Ivypaw, who was still sniffing curiously at the dead fish.

  “Prey-stealer!” he yowled. “Leave that alone! The fish are ours!”

  Ivypaw spun around, her fur fluffing up and her eyes wide with terror at the sight of a full-grown RiverClan warrior bearing down on her.

  “Mouse dung!” Cinderheart spat, bounding off to intercept Rainstorm before he could attack her apprentice. Dovepaw and Lionblaze raced after her.

  Suddenly Lionblaze let out a yowl. “Rainstorm, watch out!”

  Dovepaw realized that the RiverClan cat was heading straight for the mud hole. Too intent on Ivypaw, he seemed not to hear Lionblaze’s warning. His flying paws slid into the deeper mud; he gave a screech of mingled fear and surprise as he rapidly sank up to his belly fur.

  “Help!” he wailed. “Get me out of here!”

  “Serves you right,” Cinderheart meowed indignantly, halting at the edge of the mud hole and looking down at the struggling warrior. “Can’t you see she’s only an apprentice? This is her first time out of camp.”

  “I’m sorry.” Ivypaw trotted up, looking anxious. “I wasn’t going to eat the fish, honestly.”

  “I don’t think any cat would want to eat it,” Dovepaw added, coming to stand beside her sister. “Yuck!”

  Rainstorm didn’t reply. He had sunk into a deeper part of the hole than the two ThunderClan cats who had been trapped earlier; the mud was oozing around his shoulders, and his frantic efforts to climb out only made him sink farther.

  “Keep still,” Lionblaze mewed. “We’ll get you out.”

  Thornclaw trotted up with the stick and pushed it out across the mud until Rainstorm could sink his claws into it. But he couldn’t get a firm-enough hold to drag himself out, as if his struggles had already worn him out. Dovepaw pressed close against Ivypaw as she watched, her belly fluttering with anxiety. Even though the RiverClan warrior had been about to attack her sister, she didn’t want to see him drown.

  “Help…me…” Rainstorm rasped, stretching his neck to keep his muzzle clear of the mud.

  “Oh, for StarClan’s sake…” Lionblaze muttered. He crept up to the very edge of the hole, testing every paw step before he put his weight down, and leaned over so that he could sink his teeth into Rainstorm’s scruff. He gave an enormous heave, and with a loud sucking noise the RiverClan tom scrambled free of the clinging mud and collapsed on one side, his chest heaving as he gasped for air.

  “Consider yourself lucky,” Thornclaw meowed unsympathetically. “Now take off. You shouldn’t have been on this side of the lake at all.”

  Rainstorm’s paws scrabbled, but when he tried to stand up his legs gave way and he fell onto the mud again.

  “Now what are we going to do with him?” Cinderheart meowed. “He’s never going to make it back to RiverClan in that state.”

  Lionblaze sighed. “There’s no need for any of this, if RiverClan would just be reasonable. Are any of his Clanmates around?”

  “Over there.” Thornclaw pointed with his tail and Dovepaw spotted a group of RiverClan cats in the distance, close to ShadowClan territory. They were confronting the ShadowClan patrol she had seen heading to the waterside earlier. Her whiskers quivered and she sensed they were having an argument.

  “I’m not getting involved in that debate,” Thornclaw decided. “If we go over there, we’ll find ourselves fighting with ShadowClan as well as RiverClan. Come on.” He prodded Rainstorm with one paw. “You can come back to our camp until you’re fit to travel. It’s not nearly as far as your own territory.”

  “Thanks,” Rainstorm panted. He staggered to his paws, managing to stay upright this time; Lionblaze padded alongside him and gave him his shoulder to lean on. “Cinderheart, will you keep an eye on the apprentices while they collect the water?” he called. “I’ll help Thornclaw get Rainstorm back to camp.”

  “Sure,” Cinderheart replied.

  Dovepaw watched the two ThunderClan warriors set off across the mud, flanking Rainstorm, who was still unsteady on his paws. “Hey!” she called after them. “Don’t forget the stick!”

  Thornclaw bounded back, his tail flicking irritably. “I don’t know what’s got into Jayfeather,” he growled, snatching up the stick and carrying it away with him.

  “Are you okay, Ivypaw?” Cinderheart asked, looking down at her apprentice with concern in her blue eyes.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Ivypaw replied. “I’m sorry I was stupid about the fish. If I hadn’t gone near it, Rainstorm wouldn’t have fallen into the mud.”

  “It wasn’t your fault!” Indignation surged through Dovepaw. “He was being horrible.”

  “Dovepaw’s right,” Cinderheart mewed. “He had no need to come dashing over here like that. Now, pick up your moss, and we’ll go collect the water. I want to get back to the hollow and find out what Firestar does when he hears about this.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Lionblaze halted in the center of the clearing and let Rainstorm sink to the ground, where he sprawled on his side with his legs folded untidily beneath him. The RiverClan warrior looked like a mess: With mud plastering his fur to his sides, it was obvious how scrawny he was, as if he hadn’t had a good meal in a moon. Lionblaze couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

  RiverClan must be in big trouble if they get that angry about a dead fish.

  Thornclaw had bounded away up the tumbled rocks to find Firestar in his den. Lionblaze was left to wait with Rainstorm and Jayfeather, who had joined them when they reached the shore and accompanied them back to camp. Lionblaze’s shoulders ached from supporting Rainstorm on the long trek from the lake, and his mouth was parched with thirst. It was nearly sunhigh, and the a
ir in the hollow was quivering with heat. The mud on Rainstorm’s pelt was already baked dry.

  If we hadn’t run into all this trouble, we’d have been back with the water long ago, Lionblaze thought. We should be resting when it’s this hot.

  More of the ThunderClan cats were appearing from their dens, gazing curiously at the RiverClan warrior.

  “What’s he doing here?” Blossompaw emerged from the elders’ den with a huge ball of bedding, dropped it, and bounced across the clearing to get a closer look. “Is he a prisoner?”

  “No, he had an accident,” Lionblaze explained. “He’ll go back to RiverClan once he’s rested.”

  “I don’t see why he has to rest here.” Mousefur had followed the apprentice out, guiding Longtail with her tail on his shoulder, and Purdy just behind. She gave Rainstorm a suspicious sniff. “Ugh! He smells like a rotting fish!”

  “And where’s our water?” Purdy added.

  “Is Rainstorm hurt?” Brightheart asked more sympathetically. “Jayfeather, do you need me to get some herbs?”

  “No, he’s just exhausted,” Jayfeather replied.

  Lionblaze began to explain what had happened beside the lake. He left out the fact that Rainstorm had charged at Ivypaw; he hoped that the RiverClan warrior wouldn’t really have hurt such a young apprentice, and there was no point in arousing more hostility.

  “Some cat will need to keep an eye on him,” Brambleclaw meowed when Lionblaze had finished telling the story. “We can’t have him wandering around the camp.”

  “He doesn’t look as if he’ll be wandering anywhere for a while,” Sandstorm pointed out with a flick of her ears.

  The comments died away as Firestar appeared with Thornclaw and shouldered his way through the gathering crowd of cats until he stood in front of the RiverClan warrior. Rainstorm struggled to sit up and face him, though Lionblaze could tell how much effort it took.

  Firestar dipped his head to the RiverClan tom with cool politeness. “Greetings, Rainstorm,” he meowed. “Thornclaw told me what happened.”

  “Yes, I…” Rainstorm hesitated as if the words were choking him, then added, “I’m grateful to your warriors for helping me.”

  “We would help any cat in trouble,” Firestar replied. “You’d better stay here until sunset, and then go home when it’s cooler. Lionblaze will show you a quiet spot where you can sleep.”

  “I’ll keep guard over him,” Brambleclaw added.

  “Good idea,” Firestar meowed, while several of the other ThunderClan cats murmured agreement.

  “Can he have some fresh-kill?” Ferncloud asked, her gentle gaze fixed sympathetically on Rainstorm.

  “We don’t have enough for ourselves,” Thornclaw snapped, without waiting for the Clan leader to respond. “Firestar, I had an idea while we were bringing him back here. We saved his miserable life; why shouldn’t ThunderClan get something out of it?”

  Firestar turned to look at him, a puzzled expression on his face. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, we’ve got one of RiverClan’s warriors here. Why not send a message to Leopardstar that she can only have him back if she lets us have some fish?”

  “What?” Rainstorm protested. “You can’t do that!”

  “We can do what we like, mange-pelt,” Thornclaw retorted, unsheathing his claws. “Don’t you think we deserve a reward for helping you?”

  “That’s right!” some cat exclaimed from the back of the crowd.

  “Are you mouse-brained?” Jayfeather growled, whipping his head around to face the speaker. “What do we want with RiverClan’s fish? It smells disgusting.”

  Glancing around, Lionblaze could see that several of the cats looked as if they agreed with Thornclaw, in spite of what Jayfeather had said. Why not? he thought. We’re hungry enough. But the thought of keeping a Clan warrior prisoner made his pelt prickle with uneasiness.

  “What do you think, Firestar?” Sandstorm prompted quietly.

  Firestar was silent for a moment, while Rainstorm’s gaze flickered from one cat to the next as if he could read his fate in their eyes.

  “I think Thornclaw’s right.” Spiderleg, dried mud still clinging to his pelt, pushed his way to the front of the crowd. “Maybe it would teach RiverClan to stay away from our side of the lake.”

  “And to stop telling other Clans what they can do,” Cloudtail added. “Leopardstar’s getting way too big for her fur.”

  “No, they’re just desperate,” Brackenfur argued. “This heat—”

  “It’s hot over here, too,” Mousefur snapped.

  “Firestar?” Brambleclaw raised his tail to silence the arguing cats. “What do you want us to do?”

  Finally Firestar shook his head. “I’m sorry, Thornclaw. I know you want what’s best for the Clan, and I admit that I don’t like turning down the chance of some extra food. But there’s nothing in the warrior code that allows us to use a cat from another Clan to bargain with.”

  “That’s right,” Squirrelflight added, padding up to her father’s side. “We would just be making things worse.”

  Thornclaw opened his jaws as if he was going to argue, then closed them again, shrugging. “Whatever you say, Firestar,” he muttered.

  “Brambleclaw, show Rainstorm where he can rest,” Firestar instructed. “Later, when it’s cooler, you can lead a patrol to escort him back to RiverClan.”

  Lionblaze crept into the shadow of a rock and managed to snatch some sleep. His dreams were dark and confused, and when he woke he felt almost as tired as when he had first curled up.

  Long shadows stretched across the clearing as he padded to the pitifully small fresh-kill pile, and the sky above the trees was streaked with scarlet. The scorching heat of sunhigh had faded, but the air was still heavy and stale.

  Maybe I can get some cats together for a hunting patrol.

  “Hey, Lionblaze!”

  Lionblaze swung around at the sound of Brambleclaw’s voice. The Clan deputy was bounding toward him; Rainstorm followed more slowly. The RiverClan warrior’s paw steps were firmer now, though he still looked exhausted.

  “I’m leading a patrol to take Rainstorm home,” Brambleclaw explained as he came up to Lionblaze. “I’d like you to come.”

  “Sure. Can I bring Dovepaw? It would be good experience for her.”

  At Brambleclaw’s nod, he looked around for his apprentice and spotted her outside her new den with Ivypaw and Cinderheart. When he waved his tail, all three cats came trotting over.

  Meanwhile, Brambleclaw ducked into the warriors’ den and emerged with Brackenfur and Sorreltail. Lionblaze noticed that he hadn’t chosen any of the cats who had wanted to keep Rainstorm hostage until RiverClan gave them some fish.

  “We’re going over to RiverClan with Rainstorm,” Lionblaze told Dovepaw as she approached.

  “Great!” Dovepaw gave a little bounce of excitement. “I’ll get to see some other territories.”

  “Can’t we go too?” Ivypaw asked, looking up at Cinderheart with disappointment in her eyes.

  “Sorry, no,” Cinderheart replied. “You’ll both have to get used to being separated for your duties,” she added to her downcast apprentice. “We’ll go to the training clearing instead, and I’ll teach you your first fighting moves.”

  “Great!” Ivypaw cheered up at once, her eyes gleaming. “Dovepaw, I’ll flatten you when you get back!”

  Dovepaw flicked her sister’s nose with the tip of her tail. “You can try.”

  Brambleclaw gathered his patrol together with a sweep of his tail and led the way out of the thorn tunnel. As soon as they set off into the forest, Lionblaze realized that they were heading for ShadowClan territory.

  “Wouldn’t it be safer to go the other way, past WindClan?” he suggested.

  Brambleclaw gave him a brief glance from thoughtful amber eyes. “We’ve had just as much trouble with WindClan lately,” he replied. “Besides, it’s farther that way, and I’m not sure how long Rainstorm will be able to keep g
oing. I think that if we cut straight across the mud, staying between what’s left of the lake and ShadowClan’s territory, we shouldn’t have any problems.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Lionblaze muttered.

  They emerged from the trees not far from the stream that marked the border with ShadowClan. Lionblaze shot a dismayed glance at the exposed mud at the bottom. “This stream used to be full to the brim,” he told Dovepaw as she padded up to stand beside him and peered down curiously at the empty stream. “Water flowed constantly into the lake, but now most of it is gone.”

  “Is that why the lake has shrunk?” Dovepaw asked, tipping her head to one side.

  “Partly,” Lionblaze replied.

  “So why did the stream go away?”

  “No cat knows. I suppose it must be the heat.”

  Dovepaw stared upstream to where the channel curved away, hidden beneath wilting clumps of fern. Her whiskers were quivering and her claws flexed in and out.

  “There’s nothing we can do about it,” Lionblaze told her. “Let’s keep going.”

  Dovepaw jumped as if he had startled her, though he couldn’t see what had sent her into such deep concentration.

  “What—” he began, but at that moment a yowl interrupted him. “Lionblaze! Are you with this patrol or not?”

  Brambleclaw had led the rest of the cats out onto the dried-up lake and paused, glancing back over his shoulder as he called out to Lionblaze.

  “Sorry!” Lionblaze called back. With Dovepaw scampering behind him, he raced onto the hard brown mud and fell in at the back of the patrol. “Stay beside me,” he warned Dovepaw. “And if we see any ShadowClan warriors, let Brambleclaw handle it.”

  “What if they attack us?” Dovepaw mewed; she looked excited rather than afraid.

  “I don’t think they will. But if they do,” Lionblaze warned her, “stay out of it if you possibly can. You’re not trained; a ShadowClan warrior could turn you into crow-food with one paw.”

  “Couldn’t,” Dovepaw muttered under her breath, just loud enough for her mentor to hear.