Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #2: Thunder Rising (7 page)

“That was pretty scary,” Thunder admitted, beginning to sound cheerful again. “Especially when the tunnel collapsed. But Wind was brilliant, knowing how to get Jagged Peak out like she did.”

Dappled Pelt rose to her paws. “I’d better check on Jagged Peak,” she mewed. “The last thing he needs is to get sick, on top of everything else.” Weaving around her denmates, she approached Jagged Peak, who was crouched on the moss with his nose on his paws. “Come on, Jagged Peak,” she ordered. “You have to let me clean up your scratches and scrapes before it gets too dark to see them.”

For a heartbeat Gray Wing thought Jagged Peak would protest. Then he let out a long sigh. “Okay, do what you want,” he muttered.

Gray Wing watched for a moment as Dappled Pelt deftly parted Jagged Peak’s fur to examine his injuries. “I don’t think there’s anything serious,” she mewed at last, settling down beside him and beginning to lick his scratches. “But you’ll need to let me check again in the morning.”

Satisfied that Jagged Peak wasn’t badly hurt, Gray Wing signaled for Wind and Gorse to come close.

“I asked Tall Shadow if you can join us,” he murmured. “She says you can stay for tonight; after that you need to leave. But she will think about it,” he added as Gorse and Wind exchanged a disappointed glance. “She just needs time to come to the right decision and invite you to join us for good.”

Wind nodded. “I can understand that.”

“Yes,” Gorse agreed. “It’s a big step for her to take.”

“Don’t worry,” Turtle Tail murmured, touching Wind’s shoulder with her tail. “I wasn’t sure if I would be invited back. But here I am.”

Gray Wing glanced around to see Jackdaw’s Cry still telling the story of Jagged Peak’s rescue to his denmates. He beckoned them closer with a wave of his tail.

“You know Jackdaw’s Cry, of course,” he meowed to Wind and Gorse. “Have you met his mate, Hawk Swoop? And these are their kits, Acorn Fur and Lightning Tail.”

“And I’m Shattered Ice,” the white tom announced, bringing up the rear as the whole group padded up to greet the newcomers.

“Pleased to meet you,” Wind responded, with a polite dip of her head, while Gorse murmured greetings.

The two kits crowded up, their eyes shining as they gazed at Wind and Gorse. “Do you really hunt rabbits down their burrows?” Acorn Fur asked. “Will you teach us how to do it?”

“All in good time,” Gray Wing told her. He was glad to see how his denmates were welcoming the moorland cats, but he had to remind himself that they weren’t part of the group yet. “Meanwhile, I’m sure Wind will tell you all about it. And maybe you’d like to share some prey?” he added to Wind and Gorse.”

“We sure would!” Gorse replied, swiping his tongue around his jaws.

With the sun sinking below the horizon, the cats gathered together in the middle of the camp, grooming themselves or quietly talking to the newcomers. Gray Wing was pleased to see how well Gorse and Wind were fitting in, and hoped that Tall Shadow was taking notice. He was glad to see too that Turtle Tail had been accepted, and was crouching comfortably beside Rainswept Flower.

As Gray Wing watched, Rainswept Flower got up to bring out the rabbit she had caught earlier that day and Jackdaw’s Cry contributed a couple of mice. Lightning Tail and Acorn Fur fetched Gray Wing’s rabbit, which they had carried back to the camp.

“So what did you two catch today?” Cloud Spots asked Shattered Ice and Thunder. “You know, when you went off on your own.”

Gray Wing saw the two cats exchange an embarrassed glance. “I caught a shrew,” Thunder replied, “but I had to leave it behind when we heard the dogs.”

Cloud Spots sniffed but didn’t comment, only glancing around at the others as if he thought his point was made.

“And don’t you dare do anything so stupid again.” Tall Shadow gave Thunder a severe look. “No young cat should go out on the moor alone. You know how dangerous it is.”

Thunder ducked his head. “Sorry,” he meowed. “I’ll be sensible in the future.”

“And we need to talk about you leading the dogs right into our camp,” Tall Shadow went on, flicking the same hard glance toward Gray Wing. “Didn’t any of you
think
?”

“No, and I’m sorry,” Gray Wing replied. “We panicked.”

“And we haven’t lived on the moor long enough yet to know where all the safe places are,” Rainswept Flower pointed out defensively.

“That’s a fair point,” Dappled Pelt murmured. “Maybe we should do more exploring, and work out a few escape routes in case this kind of thing happens again.”

“We’ll help with that,” Wind meowed eagerly.

Tall Shadow gave her a cool nod. “I’ll think about it.” Gray Wing guessed that she didn’t want to encourage the rogue cats to get too involved with her group.

While the prey was being shared, Rainswept Flower tore off a portion of her rabbit and took it to Jagged Peak. “Won’t you come and join us?” Gray Wing heard her ask.

Jagged Peak shook his head. He bent to sniff the rabbit, hesitated, then took a small bite. “Thanks,” he muttered.

Rainswept Flower didn’t try to persuade him anymore, just touched her nose to his ear before leaving him to it. Gray Wing was reassured that at least he was eating.

Gray Wing took some of the rabbit and went to sit beside Turtle Tail and Rainswept Flower. At once Rainswept Flower gave him an amused glance, rose to her paws and padded off to join Jagged Peak. Gray Wing blinked as he looked after her.
What’s the matter with her?

“I’m so glad you’re all right,” Turtle Tail purred as Gray Wing settled down beside her. “I wanted to come and help you, but Tall Shadow said I had to think of my kits.”

“She was right,” Gray Wing responded, pressing his nose into Turtle Tail’s shoulder fur.

Twilight fell as the cats shared their stories of the day. Gray Wing told the others about the meeting with River Ripple beside the river; so much had happened since that it seemed like a long, long time ago The streaks of scarlet from the vanished sun died away, leaving an indigo sky where stars appeared one by one, glimmering peacefully above the camp.

It’s so beautiful here
, Gray Wing thought.
Who would ever imagine the danger we’ve been through
?

Gray Wing bent his head to eat his share of the rabbit. He realized that Turtle Tail was watching him with admiring eyes.

“It sounds as if you had quite an adventure,” she mewed. “Jagged Peak would have died if you hadn’t been so quick-thinking . . . and lucky.”

Gray Wing sighed. “We were very lucky,” he agreed. Hesitantly he went on, giving voice to a fear that he had kept secret for so long. “Maybe we were wrong to make our home here on these open moors. We’re too exposed. There’s nowhere to hide from dogs, or anything else that might threaten us. There were dangers in the mountains, but at least we had the shelter of the cave behind the waterfall. We were safe there.”

Turtle Tail blinked, then flicked her ears in denial. “But where else could you have used your speed to distract the dogs and lead them away?” she asked. “Where else could Thunder and Jagged Peak have found such a good hiding place? Where else could the other cats have come to the rescue so quickly when the tunnel collapsed?”

Gray Wing began to nod slowly. What Turtle Tail was saying made a lot of sense.

“This is the perfect home for us,” she went on, brushing her pelt against his. “Look at the kits,” she added, flicking her tail-tip to point across the hollow to where Acorn Fur and Lightning Tail were stuffing themselves with prey. “They’ve survived, they’re strong and healthy, and that proves this is a good place—as long as Clear Sky doesn’t spoil it. I can’t wait to see my own kits thriving here.”

The question that had been burning inside Gray Wing for many moons rose up again. “If you’re so sure we belong here, Turtle Tail, why did you leave us to live with Twolegs?”

Turtle Tail’s ears flicked up and her eyes widened; clearly she was taken aback. “That had nothing to do with not being sure that the moor was the right place for us,” she replied.

“Then why?” Gray Wing persisted.

Turtle Tail shook her head, still unwilling to talk about what had upset her. “This rabbit is delicious,” she meowed a heartbeat later, pushing the last scraps over to him. “Much fatter prey than we caught in the mountains!”

“That’s true,” Gray Wing agreed, knowing he had to accept the change of subject.
But what is she keeping from me?
he asked himself, bewildered.

He looked up at the wide stretch of stars over the moor, brilliant in the clear sky. All around him he could hear the comfortable murmur of his denmates, full-fed and sleepy.

Turtle Tail is right
, he thought.
This is home now
.

C
HAPTER
7

The moon, almost full, was riding
high, casting a silver light over the hollow. Gray Wing looked down affectionately at Thunder, who had settled at his side; the young cat’s head was drooping drowsily, but he was struggling against sleep. Hawk Swoop had bundled Lightning Tail and Acorn Fur off to bed; Gray Wing guessed that Thunder didn’t want to go with them, preferring to listen to the older cats talking instead.

Jagged Peak had crept closer, too, and lay stretched out, his eyes closed. Gray Wing was glad to see that his expression had cleared; he looked almost happy as he sank into sleep. Cloud Spots was giving himself a long stretch, while Dappled Pelt had curled up and was drowsing with her tail over her nose.

“I want to tell you more about the tunnels,” Wind began. “They’re full of rabbits, if you know where to look. There was one time, I followed a rabbit almost as far as the Twolegplace—”

“That’s enough.” Tall Shadow rose to her paws, cutting off the brown she-cat. Gray Wing guessed that she didn’t want Wind to encourage any of her cats to go near the Twolegplace, or to risk themselves down unfamiliar tunnels. “Wind, Gorse,” she began, “we thank you for your help today. But now we must say good-bye. It’s time for you to leave the hollow.”

Shattered Ice and Jackdaw’s Cry, who had been listening with intense interest, looked up indignantly.

“Surely Wind and Gorse aren’t leaving?” Shattered Ice asked. “Everyone wants them to stay. Why don’t they just spend the night here?”

The rogue cats’ eyes widened hopefully, but Tall Shadow shook her head.

“No, they have to leave,” she insisted politely. “This hollow is just for the cats from the mountains. We found it and we dug out the dens.”

Wind and Gorse seemed disappointed, but they merely dipped their heads to Tall Shadow and glanced around at the others.

“Good-bye,” Wind meowed. “Thanks for letting us stay, and for sharing your rabbit.”

“Yeah, it was great,” Gorse agreed. “We’ll see you around.”

Side by side, the two rogue cats bounded up the slope. The mountain cats watched in silence as they melted fluidly into the dark moorland. In a heartbeat they were gone.

“I don’t see why they had to leave,” Jackdaw’s Cry grumbled after a while.

“Yes, they saved Jagged Peak,” Hawk Swoop added as the cats returned to their nests. “They’d be really great cats to have with us.”

Shattered Ice sprang to his paws and confronted Tall Shadow. “I think you should explain to us why they have to leave,” he demanded, flicking his tail in the direction of the departed cats, “but Turtle Tail—who was a
kittypet
—gets to stay.”

Turtle Tail let out a shocked gasp. Her neck fur fluffed out indignantly. “What do you mean by that?” she demanded.

“Loyalty is important,” Shattered Ice replied coldly. “You shouldn’t get to leave and then stroll back in again as if nothing happened.”

“Fine!” Turtle Tail glared at the gray-and-white tom. “I’m not going to stay where I’m not welcome!” she hissed.

Appalled, Gray Wing rose to her side and curled his tail around her shoulders. “You can’t go back to the Twolegplace now, not when that would mean losing your kits!” he protested. “And you can’t survive on your own, not when they’ll be born any day now.”

He could tell from the look on Turtle Tail’s face that she didn’t really want to leave the hollow. “I don’t care,” she muttered. “I don’t have to take that from any cat.”

“Of course you care,” Gray Wing told her, realizing how deeply upset she was by Shattered Ice’s words. “You must stay,” he went on gently. “Think of your kits.”

Turtle Tail hesitated, then nodded, leaning in for a moment toward Gray Wing.

“Good,” Tall Shadow meowed. “No cat here would turn you out at a time like this. Shattered Ice, apologize.”

Shattered Ice glared at Tall Shadow, then turned to Turtle Tail. “Okay—sorry,” he muttered grumpily.

Gray Wing drew a breath of relief, hoping that the near quarrel was over, but Shattered Ice spun around again to face his leader.

“But you still haven’t answered my question. Why did you make Wind and Gorse go?” he asked. “They saved Jagged Peak’s life and probably others! You call yourself our leader, but you don’t care what we think. What makes you so special?”

Tall Shadow stiffened at the white tom’s accusing tone. “I—” she began, but Shattered Ice ignored her attempt to speak.

“All this time, while this was going on,” he continued. “You were guarding the hollow! Some bravery! Some leadership! Gray Wing was out there, saving cats. You should follow his example. In fact, we all should. Gray Wing should be our leader!”

A babble of comment and protest rose up from the other cats at Shattered Ice’s challenging words. The drowsy peace that had fallen over the camp was swept away.

“You can’t change a leader just like that,” Rainswept Flower protested. Tall Shadow looked on, her face blank with shock
. Don’t rely on Rainswept Flower to stand up for you
, Gray Wing silently willed her.
Show your authority!

“Yes!” Hawk Swoop yowled. “Gray Wing!”

“Now just a moment . . .” Cloud Spots shouldered his way forward, but anything else he might have said was lost in the rising clamor.

Tall Shadow drew herself to her full height. Her shoulder fur was bristling and her tail bushed out to twice its size. Fury snapped in her green eyes, but she still looked too stunned to say anything.

Shock pierced through Gray Wing like a bolt of lightning. The idea of taking over as leader made his fur rankle, particularly when that would mean displacing Tall Shadow.
Do they expect her to purr sweetly and start taking orders from me
?

Sudden words exploded out of Gray Wing. “Be quiet!” he ordered Shattered Ice. “Is this what we want—arguments among ourselves when there are serious dangers out there?”

“That’s exactly what we want,” Shattered Ice retorted. “Because there are dangers, we need a leader who’s capable of dealing with them. Only today, Thunder and I were stopped by some of Clear Sky’s cats in the forest. We could have ended up fighting if it wasn’t for the dogs.”

Gray Wing cast an angry glance at Thunder, who was struggling back to wakefulness as the argument erupted in the hollow.
You never told me about that!
But speaking to his young kin would have to wait. “Tall Shadow is the leader we need,” he meowed sharply to Shattered Ice.

Shattered Ice lashed his tail. “I say she is
not
!”

Several gasps of astonishment followed, and Tall Shadow took a pace forward, a low growl coming from her throat. Gray Wing realized that she was within a heartbeat of attacking Shattered Ice.

Before Gray Wing could move or speak, Cloud Spots pushed his way between the two hostile cats. “Do you really want a leader who led
dogs
into our camp?” he asked Shattered Ice.

Fury pierced through Gray Wing. “What would you have done, flea-brain?” he demanded.

“Gray Wing was brave!” Thunder’s voice was raised in protest. “He saved Jagged Peak.”

Gray Wing realized that he should have kept his temper. Thunder was fully awake now, on his paws with his shoulder fur fluffed out as he glared at Cloud Spots. Guilt stabbed through Gray Wing and he tried to calm himself.
I shouldn’t behave like this in front of younger cats
.

“I want a leader who’ll
do
something,” Shattered Ice retorted to Cloud Spots, ignoring Thunder’s interruption. “Not sit around in the camp all day. And if you think any different, you’re more flea-brained than I thought!”

“Who’re you calling flea-brained?” Cloud Spots growled.

For answer, Shattered Ice leaped at him, his claws out, and caught him a blow over one ear. Cloud Spots reared up on his hind paws and hurled himself on top of Shattered Ice with a snarl.

Gasps of shock and loud protests arose from the other cats. For a heartbeat Gray Wing stood frozen, appalled at the sight of two of his denmates attacking each other.

“Stop!” he yowled.

He sprang forward, grabbed Cloud Spots by the scruff, and hauled him off Shattered Ice. Shoving Shattered Ice away, he stood panting between the two furious cats.

“That’s enough,” he meowed. “How can you raise your claws against each other, after all we’ve been through together? We must be united, or what hope do we have?”

Gradually both the toms grew calmer, their bristling fur beginning to lie flat on their shoulders. “Sorry,” Cloud Spots muttered. Shattered Ice just glared, breathing hard.

Before Gray Wing could say any more, Tall Shadow bounded across the hollow and sprang up onto her rock. “Listen!” she yowled. “Shattered Ice,” she continued when every cat was giving her their attention. “You have no right to talk to
any
cat as rudely as that, much less your leader. And then to attack one of your denmates! You—”

“But he has a point,” Jackdaw’s Cry interrupted. “Things have to change.”

“Have to?” Tall Shadow gave him an icy glare. “We belong to each other and look out for each other, no matter what. That doesn’t change.” Her glance raked across the assembled cats. “I’m
sorry
if some of you felt offended because I was guarding the hollow. Next time I’ll let the dogs sneak up on us without warning.”

“That’s a good excuse.” Jagged Peak struggled to his paws. “It meant you didn’t have to do anything when Thunder and I were in danger. You just left us to the dogs.”

“Foolish creature!” Tall Shadow hissed at him. “You wouldn’t have
been
in danger if you hadn’t gone off without telling any cat.”

With a last furious look flung at Shattered Ice, she leaped down from the rock and stalked off into the darkness. Before she disappeared, she glared over her shoulder at Gray Wing, the accusation in her eyes making him feel like a traitor.

But I didn’t ask for this!
he protested silently.
I didn’t ask for any of it
.

The voices of his denmates rose again around Gray Wing, continuing the argument in hushed tones. Gray Wing hesitated, knowing that he had to intervene, but not certain what he should say.

“Jackdaw’s Cry,” he began at last, trying to keep his anger under control, “there was no need for you to take Shattered Ice’s side.”

“There was every need,” Jackdaw’s Cry responded swiftly. “Tall Shadow is making a mistake by forcing us to live like we did in the mountains. She’s set in her ways. Now is the time for change—and that change is you! You should be our leader, Gray Wing. What do you say?”

Hawk Swoop nodded, moving closer to her mate. “Things are changing in spite of Tall Shadow,” she agreed. “For one thing, there weren’t other cats in the mountains! Now, we’re scrambling for space to hunt, and dogs are attacking us.”

“That’s true,” Dappled Pelt put in. “Prey was scarce up there, but at least it was all ours.”

“There’s plenty of prey for every cat here,” Cloud Spots pointed out. “We don’t need to be fighting over it. All these arguments about hunting rights are ridiculous. We should all be able to hunt where we want.”

“Tell that to Clear Sky,” Shattered Ice flashed back at him. “He’s the one setting boundaries. At least he’s making sure that all his cats are well fed.”

“Do we really want a leader like him?” Rainswept Flower countered. “If you ask me, we’re better off as we are.” She flicked a glance at Gray Wing. “I’m sorry. That’s just how I feel.”

Gray Wing felt Turtle Tail press up against him. “How can they talk like this?” she whispered.

“I told you things weren’t perfect here,” Gray Wing responded in a murmur before striding into the center of the circle. “Don’t apologize to me, Rainswept Flower,” he meowed. “I didn’t ask to be leader—that’s the foolish idea of other cats.” He waited for the yowls of protest to die down and didn’t dare make eye contact with Shattered Ice. He knew he would pay later for such a statement, but for now . . .
I need these cats to know that I won’t lead them, and I won’t see Tall Shadow undermined
.

He padded around, gazing at the collected cats. “Is this what we all want?” he asked. “Arguing among ourselves over a visit from two rogue cats? We all ought to be glad to be alive tonight—instead we’re turning on each other. I think we should retire to our nests and think hard about what’s gone on this evening. Then, tomorrow morning, we can apologize to whichever cats we offended. But please don’t ask me to lead you again. That’s not the way things are meant to be. Tall Shadow led us here, and she’ll carry on guiding us along the right path. You need to have faith.”