Path of Stars (25 page)

Thunder bounded after him, his paws sinking into the snow as he reached the bottom. The rogues' trail turned and followed the verge. The scents were fresh. Even as the stench of the Thunderpath soured his nostrils, Thunder could smell warmth in the rogues' tracks. They'd passed here very recently. He narrowed his eyes, straining to see through the darkness.
Where are they?

Monster eyes flashed toward him, dazzling him for a moment. Frowning, he made out dark shapes on the verge a few tree-lengths away, silhouetted against the blinding light. The rogues were beside the Thunderpath. A small shape dangled from the jaws of one.

“Black Ear!” Thunder gasped.

Clear Sky halted and followed his gaze, flinching as the monster pounded past. “I see him!”

Thunder flattened his ears against the monster's deafening
roar. Squinting, Sparrow Fur and Owl Eyes pushed between them and stared along the verge.

The rogues clustered at the edge, clearly waiting to cross, their pelts dripping from the monster's spray. Slash circled them, tail lashing, then halted as his gaze fixed on Thunder.

“He's seen us.” Thunder shuddered.

Light flashed in the distance. Another monster was bearing down the Thunderpath.

“We can't attack here,” Sparrow Fur growled. “It's too dangerous.”

“We can let them cross, then follow them into the pines,” Owl Eyes suggested.

Clear Sky frowned. “There'll be no snow under the pines. It'll be harder to follow their trail. We might lose them.”

Thunder agreed. “We have to stop them from getting to the trees.” He began to pad along the verge. Dread hollowed his belly. They were outnumbered. Snake, Slash, Splinter, Ember, and Beetle were facing them now, hackles high. Swallow padded closer to the edge of the road. Black Ear dangled from her jaws, his legs churning as he twisted in the air. The monster rolled toward them, its eyes lighting its path.

“Wait.” Sparrow Fur's mew was sharp with fear. “Wait for the monster to pass.”

“Then what?” Owl Eyes asked.

“We attack,” Clear Sky growled.

Thunder met Slash's gaze. The rogue's eyes glittered with delight for a moment; then, with a wild yowl, he hared across the Thunderpath. His campmates followed, streaming across
the wet stone. Their pelts lit up in the flaming gaze of the monster as it thundered toward them.

Thunder's heart seemed to burst in his chest. “They're getting away!”

As he spoke, Swallow stumbled. Her paws slipped in the slush and she dropped to her belly. Her gaze jerked toward the monster. It hurtled closer, letting out a scream. Scrambling to her paws, Swallow fled, chasing her campmates to the verge at the far side. In a moment they'd disappeared into the trees.

“Black Ear!” Sparrow Fur's terrified yowl drowned the roar of the monster.

Thunder followed her horrified gaze.

The kit stood in the middle of the Thunderpath as the blazing light of the monster raced toward him. Like a terrified rabbit, he stared, his pelt bushed.

Owl Eyes opened his mouth, gasping in disbelief. “The monster's going to kill him!”

Clear Sky stared at Black Ear,
half dazzled by the glare of the monster's eyes as it bore down on the tiny kit. The world grew silent. Time slowed. Bounding forward, Clear Sky moved as though invisible paws carried him. The verge blurred as he raced onto the Thunderpath. Slush splashed beneath his pads, but he hardly felt its wet chill. His gaze was fixed on Black Ear, blind to the monster thundering closer with every moment. Skimming the filthy snow, he grabbed Black Ear's scruff without stopping.

Wind slammed him like stone. It sent him tumbling toward the far edge of the Thunderpath. The monster screamed past, its paws whisking so close that grit strafed his flank. Pain shrilled through his tail and scorched his fur. Rolling onto the sludge-covered grass, he felt the tug of Black Ear's scruff between his jaws.
I got him.
Clear Sky hardly dared open his eyes. The kit wasn't moving. Clear Sky gently let go and curled himself around the tiny kit.

“Clear Sky!” Thunder's mew sounded in his ear.

Paws squelched around him. Teeth dug into his scruff, and he felt himself being dragged clear of the verge. He wrapped
his paws around Black Ear, holding him close to his belly, and opened his eyes as they reached the shadow of the pines.

“Clear Sky?” Thunder's frightened mew sounded again.

The teeth let go of his scruff. Blinking, he looked up to see Thunder, Owl Eyes, and Sparrow Fur crowding around him.

“We thought you'd been killed!” Owl Eyes stared at him, pelt bristling.

“The monster missed you by a whisker!” Sparrow Fur croaked.

Clear Sky loosened his grip on Black Ear. “Is the kit alive?” He hardly dared ask. The wind from the monster had hit them hard. Pain throbbed in his tail. His flanks were numb.

Thunder leaned down and sniffed the wet scrap of fur beside Clear Sky's belly.

Black Ear mewled softly. “I want to go home.”

Relief washed Clear Sky's aching body. He struggled to sit up, wincing at the pain in his tail, and sniffed the kit. Rogue stench bathed the tiny tom's scruff, and his pelt reeked of Thunderpath fumes. “Did the rogues hurt you?”

“They wouldn't let me go home.” Black Ear looked up at Clear Sky, eyes glistening with fear. “Is Slate okay? I saw them hurt her. Then they took me away.”

Clear Sky's throat tightened. “Slate's fine,” he promised the kit. “She just has a few scratches. Pebble Heart is taking care of her.”

“Are Silver Stripe and White Tail all right too?” Black Ear asked.

Clear Sky pressed his muzzle to Black Ear's cheek. “They're
safe and sound.” He was trembling, his pelt soaked with freezing water. But he'd saved Black Ear. As the kit scrambled shakily to his paws, he thought of Tiny Branch, safe in his nest at home. “We need to get you back to your mother.”

“First we need to get him warm and dry. Let's head for Tall Shadow's camp. It's closest.” Sparrow Fur plucked Black Ear up by his scruff.

“Ow!” The kit struggled, churning his paws. “My scruff hurts!”

“Here.” Thunder crouched in front of him. “You can ride on my back.”

Sparrow Fur laid Black Ear gently between Thunder's shoulder blades and lifted a paw to pat Thunder's thick fur around the kit. “Just make sure you hang on.”

Black Ear snuggled deeper in, curling his claws into Thunder's pelt.

Clear Sky glanced at Thunder.

Thunder looked worried. “Are you well enough to travel?”

Clear Sky ached in every limb. But he wasn't staying here. “I'm fine.” He pushed himself onto his paws and tested his legs. They seemed to hold, though he couldn't stop them shaking. The worst pain was in his tail. He hardly dared look. It felt as though the monster had shredded it. “My tail,” he croaked softly.

Sparrow Fur sniffed it. “It's injured,” she meowed. “Can you move it?”

Clear Sky tried to lift it. Pain blazed though him, but his tail remained limp. He glanced at it nervously. It drooped
behind him like a dead snake, slick with filth from the Thunderpath.

Sparrow Fur shook out her pelt. “While you go to Tall Shadow's camp, I'll fetch Pebble Heart and tell Slate and Gray Wing that Black Ear is safe. Pebble Heart might know how to fix Clear Sky's tail.”

Black Ear lifted his muzzle. “
I
want to go back to the moor!”

Sparrow Fur met the kit's gaze. “You need shelter and warmth. You've had a nasty shock. If Slate is well enough, I'll bring her back with Pebble Heart.”

“Will you bring Gray Wing, too?” Black Ear eyed the tortoiseshell hopefully.

Clear Sky frowned as he saw Sparrow Fur and Thunder exchange an anxious look. “What's wrong with Gray Wing?”

Thunder's ear twitched. “Nothing,” he mewed quickly. “He's probably still out looking for Black Ear.”

Clear Sky narrowed his eyes. Thunder was lying. He glanced at Black Ear. There was something Thunder didn't want the kit to know. He touched his nose to Black Ear's head, changing the subject. “You're lucky,” he meowed. “Not many kits get to visit another camp before they're a moon old.” He tried to ignore the pain in his tail. His pads stung, scratched by the Thunderpath.

Sparrow Fur turned toward the moor. “I'll be as quick as I can.” Nodding a farewell, she hurried away through the pines.

Owl Eyes slid in beside Clear Sky and pressed his shoulder against him. “Lean on me.”

Clear Sky stiffened, resisting help, but another spike of
pain made him gasp. Reluctantly, he let his weight rest against the young tom and limped slowly toward Tall Shadow's camp.

As they neared the bramble wall of the camp, flecks of snow drifted down from the pines. The forest floor was lightly dusted, but the trees held a heavy weight of snow. The sounds of the forest were muffled beneath them, and shadow pressed on every side. Clear Sky felt as though he were walking in a strange dream. Cold seemed to reach through his pelt and his flesh, reaching his bones until he felt himself shivering.

“Clear Sky?” Jagged Peak's surprised mew rang between the trees.

Clear Sky blinked through the darkness and made out the gray tom's shape.

Jagged Peak hurried toward them. “What happened?” He pulled up and stared, first at Clear Sky, then at the bedraggled kit on Thunder's back.

Owl Eyes pressed harder against Clear Sky. “Slash attacked Wind Runner's camp while we were at the meeting. They took Black Ear. But we got him back.”

Jagged Peak's eyes flashed with outrage. “Will we ever see the back of that fox-heart?”

Thunder growled. “I think he knows that he'd be a fool to show his pelt anywhere near us after this.” He nodded toward the camp. “We need to get Black Ear somewhere warm, and Clear Sky needs rest. He was hit by a monster.”

“It didn't hit me,” Clear Sky croaked.

“Just your tail,” Thunder grunted. He padded past Jagged Peak, heading toward camp.

Black Ear stared up into the branches from between Thunder's shoulder blades. “Is it always this dark?”

“It's not yet dawn.” Jagged Peak hurried to catch up with Thunder.

“Then why are you awake?” Black Ear asked.

“We've been waiting for news.”

“Jagged Peak?” Tall Shadow's mew sounded from the entrance. Her eyes widened as she stuck out her head and saw the party. Her gaze flicked over them quickly; then she withdrew and called across her camp. “Mouse Ear! We need your den! Clear Sky is injured. Holly! Black Ear is with them. He looks frozen to the bone.”

By the time Clear Sky had trailed through the entrance after Thunder, cats were moving around the camp. He could hardly see them, shadows against the bramble walls.

“This way.” Mouse Ear's reassuring mew beckoned them toward the edge of the clearing.

A gap opened in the thick bramble wall. Thunder ducked in first and Clear Sky stumbled after, leaving Jagged Peak and Owl Eyes outside. He smelled the warmth of Mouse Ear's nest. The tom had clearly been sleeping in it until only a few moments ago. Clear Sky padded toward it and collapsed gratefully into the softness of the moss-lined pine brush.

Thunder tipped Black Ear next to him, and the kit snuggled close for warmth as Holly slid into the den.

Holly crouched beside them and began lapping the wet kit.

Black Ear began to purr at once. “You smell like Slate, only different,” he told Holly.

Thunder shifted beside the nest. “Slate is surely on her way here,” he insisted, “with Pebble Heart.” He hoped he was right.

Holly lifted her head, her nose twitching. She glanced at Clear Sky's tail.

Clear Sky saw her wince, and his heart quickened. “Is it bad?”

“I've seen worse,” Holly meowed briskly, and returned to watching Black Ear. “This kit is freezing. Can you fetch more moss, Thunder?”

“Of course.” Thunder nodded and disappeared from the den.

Weariness swept over Clear Sky. “Will Black Ear be okay?” he asked thickly.

“He'll be fine once he's warm.” She blinked at Clear Sky. “Why don't you close your eyes and get some sleep while we wait for Pebble Heart.”

Clear Sky didn't argue. His pelt felt as heavy as dead prey. His paws stung, and the throbbing in his tail possessed every thought. Head swimming, he rested his muzzle against the side of the nest and closed his eyes.

Warm breath bathed Clear Sky's muzzle. He smelled mouse on it and wrinkled his nose. Blinking open his eyes, he saw Thunder, hazy in the half-light.

“Is the sun up?” he asked blearily.

“It's starting to set.” Thunder shifted his paws stiffly, as though he'd not moved in a while.

“Have you been here long?” Clear Sky lifted his muzzle.

“Long enough.”

“Don't your campmates need you?”

“Lightning Tail's in charge. They'll manage without me for a while. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Clear Sky pricked his ears. Was Thunder worried about him? He glanced at his tail. The pain had eased. Thick gobs of chewed herbs were smeared along it.

“Pebble Heart made a poultice,” Thunder explained, following his father's gaze. “How does it feel?”

“Better.”

“He says it's snapped in three places. The monster must have run right over it. But it will mend.”

Clear Sky gazed into Thunder's eyes, amazed by the warmth shining in their amber depths. “You're staring at me like you think I'm dying.” He looked away, self-consciously.

“You saved Black Ear,” Thunder breathed. “One moment you were beside me; the next you were running into the path of a monster. You could have been killed.”

“I couldn't let Black Ear die.” Clear Sky lifted his gaze. “Gray Wing saved my kits. It was my duty to save his.”

“It wasn't your duty to die trying,” Thunder murmured.

“But I didn't die.” Clear Sky moved in his nest, suddenly aware that Black Ear was gone. “Where is he?” Fear jabbed his belly.

“Holly took him to her nest,” Thunder told him. “She said the best thing for him was to have Storm Pelt, Dew Nose, and Eagle Feather fidgeting around him. They'd warm him up and help him forget his ordeal quicker than anything.”

Clear Sky tried to purr, but his throat was too dry.

Thunder pawed a clump of wet moss toward him.

Gratefully, Clear Sky stretched his nose toward it and pressed his tongue into the damp wad. Water streamed into his mouth. Closing his eyes, he relished the coolness on his throat. Without opening them, he spoke. “I said Gray Wing saved my kits. But I didn't mean just Tiny Branch, Dew Petal, and Flower Foot. I meant you, too.” Emotion thickened his mew, but he forced himself to go on. “I didn't look after you when you needed me. Gray Wing did. He was more of a father to you than I ever was, and I'm grateful to him for that.”

He tensed, waiting for Thunder to speak. But Thunder remained silent.

Clear Sky opened his eyes and looked at his son.