A Forest Divided

Chapter 4

As Thunder padded away, Gray Wing became slowly aware of the cold. The numbness that had gripped him since Sparrow Fur had dropped her stone in Clear Sky’s circle eased, and he shivered, lifting his gaze to the two young cats at the gorse entrance to the camp. Owl Eyes leaped up to catch a stray snowflake. His eyes shone with excitement.

Gray Wing swallowed back grief.

Soft fur brushed his flank. He turned his head.

Pebble Heart was gazing at him with round amber eyes. “I’ve said good-bye to them. It’s your turn now.”

Gray Wing’s paws felt like stone. How could he say good-bye? He’d never imagined they’d be separated like this. He glanced at the snow clouds glowering above the camp. Was Turtle Tail watching? Had she known this would happen when she’d urged them to spread and grow like the Blazing Star? Anger surged in his chest. “They’re all I have left of her,” he breathed.

“You still have me.” Pebble Heart nudged him forward. “They won’t leave until you say good-bye.”

Did I make the right choice? Gray Wing wondered if he should be traveling to the forest. But how could he call the forest home? The hollow felt like home; it was where he had made his nest with Turtle Tail. It felt strange to be leaving it behind, but that was exactly what he had chosen. No cat had voted to stay in the hollow. It will be empty now. The thought was like a cruel claw of regret in his belly fur, but he knew he had to shake it loose. He knew he needed to stay close to Pebble Heart.

From the start, the young tom had been special. He was a gifted healer and had dreams that were often uncannily true. A deep sense of duty pulled Gray Wing toward him. He couldn’t ignore the feeling that the destiny of the cats was bound up with Pebble Heart’s fate. I must protect him.

Gray Wing tried to take a deep breath to steady himself, but his chest was tight. Since he’d breathed the smoke from the forest fire, he often struggled for air. Now the chill of leaf-bare and the strain of leaving the hollow seemed to crush his chest like a stone. He closed his eyes for a moment, pulling in a shallow breath, then headed across the camp.

“You look excited,” he meowed as he neared Sparrow Fur and Owl Eyes. Too late, he realized he’d made it sound like an accusation. “I mean… you look happy. You must have made the right choice.”

Sparrow Fur met his gaze anxiously. “We didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I’m not hurt,” Gray Wing lied.

Owl Eyes blinked at him. “You’re wheezing.”

“It’s just the cold.” Gray Wing lifted his chin. He looked from Sparrow Fur to Owl Eyes, suddenly surprised by how grown-up they looked. Their soft kitten fluff was gone. Their pelts were sleek. Delicate muscle showed beneath. Sparrow Fur had the same pretty markings as her mother’s tortoiseshell pelt, and Owl Eyes had his mother’s lean, lithe shape. “Will you remember Turtle Tail, even in your new home?”

“Of course we will!” Sparrow Fur’s mew was sharp. “We’ll never forget her.”

Owl Eyes’s tail trembled. “I can still remember her scent.”

Will you remember it even in the musty dampness of the forest? Gray Wing swallowed back a sigh. “Your mother was a brave cat,” he meowed, “and kinder than any cat I’ve ever known. She’d be proud to see you face your future with such courage.”

Owl Eyes tipped his head. “Will you be proud of us too?”

Gray Wing leaned forward and touched his muzzle to Owl Eyes’s head. “I will always be proud of you.” He licked Sparrow Fur’s ears. “If you ever need me, come and find me.”

He turned, struggling to breathe as sadness swamped him. Slowly, he walked away, feeling their gazes hot on his pelt.

“Come on, you two!” Lightning Tail’s breezy mew rang out behind him. “Let’s go!”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Clear Sky?” Sparrow Fur called back.

Clear Sky padded from beside the rock. “I’ll catch up.” He stepped into Gray Wing’s path. “I’ll look after them,” he promised.

Gray Wing narrowed his eyes. His brother had seemed so desperate when he’d begged the cats to join together. And the badger attack had clearly shaken him. But now his chest was puffed up as usual.

And yet Gray Wing thought he saw a trace of fear darken the tom’s blue gaze. He suddenly realized that he’d never seen his brother look scared before. It unnerved him. What was he scared of? He tipped his head thoughtfully. “Are you okay, Clear Sky?”

“Of course!” Clear Sky shook out his pelt.

“Are you still worried about what Fluttering Bird said?” Gray Wing understood the power their dead sister’s words must have had on Clear Sky. He alone shared the guilt of her death. If only they’d hunted better or longer, she might not have died. But we were young, he reasoned. And yet—“I’m not worried,” Clear Sky insisted. “I just wish the other cats had listened to me.”

Gray Wing didn’t argue. Clear Sky would never stop wanting to tell everyone what to do. He’d learned long ago that arguing with his brother was a waste of breath, and right now he had little breath to waste.

“Are you sure you won’t come with us?” Clear Sky urged.

Gray Wing shook his head. “I have been through so much with Tall Shadow; I can’t leave her now. And Pebble Heart needs me.”

Clear Sky dipped his head. “Very well.” He headed toward the gorse entrance. It still shivered where Lightning Tail, Sparrow Fur, and Owl Eyes had charged through.

Jagged Peak and Holly were herding their kits toward it. They stopped to let Clear Sky pass.

Jagged Peak looked over his shoulder. “Come on, Gray Wing. It smells like more snow is on the way.

The sooner we reach the pines, the better.”

Tall Shadow padded forward and scooped up Dew Nose in her jaws.

Dew Nose wriggled like a caught fish. “I want to walk!” she squeaked.

“It’s a long way,” Holly told her. “And the snow outside camp is probably deep.”

Eagle Feather stuck his nose in the air. “No one’s carrying me!”

“What about a badger ride?” Mouse Ear called.

“All the way?” Eagle Feather glanced excitedly at the burly tom.

“All the way,” Mouse Ear purred, crouching.

Eagle Feather scrambled onto his broad shoulders.

“Can I have a ride too?” Storm Pelt asked shyly.

Mud Paws trotted toward him. “Climb up!” He nosed the kit up onto his back and waited while

Storm Pelt straddled his shoulders, clinging on with his small paws and squishing low into his thick fur.

Dew Nose squealed louder, churning her paws with annoyance. “I want a ride too!”

“Okay.” Tall Shadow put her down and leaned low to let her scramble onto her back.

Gray Wing longed to help, but he knew he needed to save his breath. Jagged Peak was right: there was a scent of fresh snow in the air. The chill of it pierced his chest.

Dappled Pelt and Shattered Ice were talking in low voices beside the gorse wall of the camp.

“What if River Ripple sends us away?” Dappled Pelt asked.

“If he does, we can join another group.” Shattered Ice looked at Tall Shadow. “You’ll take us in, won’t you?”

“Of course!” Tall Shadow purred. Dew Nose was fidgeting on her shoulders.

“Come on.” Jagged Peak was the first through the entrance.

A panicked look flashed in Pebble Heart’s eyes. “What about my herbs?” He glanced toward the jutting gorse. It trembled, shaking snow from its branches, and Cloud Spots slid out. He held a wad of leaves in his jaws.

He crossed the snowy grass and dropped it at Pebble Heart’s paws. “Take these. They’ll keep you going for now. There are plenty of herbs left for you to get later.” Pebble Heart blinked at the black tom gratefully. “What about you?”

“I’ll make myself a fresh bundle.” He began to turn back to his den, then paused. “There may even be better herbs in the forest.”

Pebble Heart nodded, his eyes lighting up. “And the pines.”

“I’ll come and tell you if I find anything new,” Cloud Spots promised.

“Me too.”

Gray Wing saw them exchange a look so warm, he felt a sudden flash of jealousy. Pebble Heart was clearly fond of the tom who had taught him so much.

“Perhaps we should meet regularly to share what we’ve learned,” Cloud Spots suggested.

Pebble Heart nodded eagerly. “Next new moon? At the four trees?”

Cloud Spots swished his tail. “I’ll see you then.” He disappeared back into his den.

“Come on, Pebble Heart,” Gray Wing called to the young tom. The others were already filing out of camp.

Pebble Heart picked up the bundle of herbs in his jaws and hurried through the tunnel after Mouse

Ear. On the tabby’s back, Eagle Feather squeaked as the branches scraped his spine, and he burrowed deeper into the tom’s fur.

Gray Wing paused as he reached the entrance and looked back at the hollow. It was eerily quiet.

Only the scuffing of Cloud Spots’s paws as he rummaged in his den broke the silence.

Heart heavy, Gray Wing nosed his way through the gorse.

Outside, snow had dusted the moor. The heather rocked as the wind swept across it. Dappled Pelt and Shattered Ice were already heading toward the river. They seemed small under the great, yellowing sky.

Holly, Mouse Ear, Mud Paws, and Tall Shadow followed Jagged Peak over the grass. The tops of the pines showed in the distance, beyond the crest of the moor. Pebble Heart was running to catch up.

“Hurry, Gray Wing!” Jagged Peak called from the head of the group.

Gray Wing stopped, his nose twitching. An unfamiliar scent was tainting the snow. Rogues had passed this way, by the smell of it. And they’d lingered by the camp entrance. There was a dent in the snow where they’d sat. Why hadn’t they introduced themselves, as most rogues did, out of curiosity if not suspicion? Unease pricked at Gray Wing’s pelt. He thought he knew the scents of all the rogues who crossed the moor. But not these. What does it matter? They were leaving the hollow. Gray Wing scanned the moor. Wind Runner’s camp was nearby. Memories of One Eye flashed in his mind. If strange rogues were hanging around, her kits might be vulnerable. He decided to investigate. “I’ll follow your paw prints!” he called to Jagged Peak. “I’m going to scout for prey.” There was no need to alarm the kits.

“Don’t be long!” As Jagged Peak answered, Gray Wing sniffed the snow. Tracks led toward the river: Dappled Pelt’s and Shattered Ice’s. Another set led toward the forest: Clear Sky’s cats. A third set carried the smell of the strangers. Gray Wing followed them downhill into the wide swath of heather. As the branches closed over his head, their scent grew stronger.

Two cats.

He slowed his pace. He was still struggling to breathe deeply. He didn’t want to meet these strangers face-to-face when he felt so weak. But curiosity, and worry for Wind Runner’s kits, drew him on. He pricked his ears as a growl echoed ahead.

“I don’t have time.” There was a snarl in the tom’s voice.

An anxious mew answered it. “But I don’t want to go by myself.”

A shriek of pain sliced through the heather.

Gray Wing froze.

“You’re not a kit anymore!” the first voice snapped.

Gray Wing crept forward until he saw daylight ahead. The heather tunnel opened into a clearing, and Gray Wing spotted the ringed tail-tip of a tabby flicking over the snow.

Quickly he turned off the trail and pushed his way into the tangle of bushes. He moved slowly, slithering between the rough branches like a water snake moving through reeds. They crackled around him, their stems brittle with cold.

“What’s that?” He heard the stiff mew of one of the cats and froze.

“Probably a pheasant or a rabbit.”

“Prey?” Excitement edged the she-cat’s hiss.

“We’ll eat later,” snapped the tom. “You need to follow those cats.”

Follow those cats? Gray Wing stretched his ears. He slithered forward as lightly as he could until he was close to the edge of the heather, hoping its dusty scent would mask his own. Through the spiky branches he could make out the two cats.

A broad-shouldered brown tabby faced a black she-cat. Both were scarred, their ears nicked at the tips and their fur crisscrossed by old wounds. The tabby’s front legs were marked with a slash of white, his ears were torn, and half his whiskers were missing. The black cat’s tail was short, squared at the end as though half had been lost in an accident.

How does she balance with half a tail? Gray Wing squinted through the heather. The black cat looked young, despite her scars; her muscles were taut. The tabby’s flanks sagged with age, but experience glinted in his eyes, and Gray Wing noticed his long claws flexing as he talked. He’d be a formidable enemy, Gray Wing guessed.

The tabby went on. “I want you to follow them. Find out where they settle. I knew they’d leave this barren piece of land eventually. I need to know where they make camp, where they hunt, their habits, their weaknesses, everything!”

“But why, Slash?” The black cat’s mew quavered.

“Don’t be such a mouse-brain, Fern!” The tabby lashed out with a paw and caught her across the ear.

Fern ducked away, a low whine in her throat.

“Just do as I tell you!” Slash hissed. “Watch and wait and report back to me.”

“Why can’t you come with me?”

Gray Wing wondered why Fern wasn’t happy to be away from her vicious companion.

“I’ve got other fish to catch.” There was menace in Slash’s tone. “Don’t let me down, Fern. Star

Flower betrayed me, and she’s lucky I let her live. I won’t be so soft with you.”

“I won’t let you down,” Fern promised quickly, pressing her belly to the ground like a frightened kit.

“And don’t let them see you!” Slash showed his teeth. “When the time comes, I want to see the surprise on their soft, kitty-loving faces for myself.”

“I’ll be like a shadow,” Fern mewed.

“You’d better be, or you know what I’ll do to you.”

Gray Wing saw Fern tremble as terror shone in her gaze. “I—I know, Slash.”

“Good.” Slash straightened, then stalked away across the grass.

Fern watched him leave, the terror in her eyes hardening to hate.

Gray Wing’s tail-tip twitched uneasily. These rogues were going to be trouble, and yet their alliance was based on fear. That is their weakness. He kept still as Fern padded away. The black she-cat was heading across the slope, no doubt aiming for the Thunderpath and the pine forest beyond.

He waited until Fern disappeared behind a wide clump of gorse, then wriggled out from the heather.

Shaking crumbs of leaf from his pelt, he scanned the moorside. How long had Slash been roaming their territory? He talked as though he’d been watching the cats for a while. And he knew Star

Flower. He must have known her father, One Eye. Gray Wing’s paws pricked. These rogues were like poisonous weeds. One Eye had been killed, but Slash had grown in his place. Frustration flashed beneath Gray Wing’s pelt. Will we never find peace?

He ducked back into the heather. He had to catch up to the others without bumping into Fern. He followed an arcing route around the gorse and slid from the heather near the top of the moor. From here he could see rolling countryside sweeping toward the mountains and, ahead, a steep sharp slope down toward the Thunderpath. Shapes moved over it. Jagged Peak and the others! Bounding forward, Gray Wing hurried to catch up. He paced himself, trying to ignore the stabbing in his chest, which was tightening more as the wind chilled. Flakes of snow began to whip his flank. A thick fall was closing in, already swallowing the distant mountains. By the time he reached his friends, he could hardly see a tail-length ahead.

“Gray Wing, is that you?” Pebble Heart’s voice called through the storm. Gray Wing followed it, relieved to see the young tom and his campmates. The kits were still clinging to Mouse Ear, Mud

Paws, and Tall Shadow. Snow coated their pelts.

“There’ll be shelter in the forest!” Jagged Peak called.

Holly answered him. “We have to cross the Thunderpath first.”

The acrid tang of the black trail touched Gray Wing’s tongue. It must be close. How would they cross it when they could hardly see past their whiskers? He wove past Mouse Ear and Mud Paws and fell in beside Jagged Peak. “Perhaps we should find cover and rest before crossing.”

“No.” Jagged Peak kept his gaze fixed forward. “We’re going to keep moving until we reach the forest. There’ll be prey there and shelter, and the kits are cold and hungry.”

Gray Wing narrowed his eyes against the snow. Jagged Peak was acting like their leader. But he was right. They were close to the Thunderpath, and the pines lay just beyond. It might be a waste of time to scout the slope for somewhere to hide when they were certain that shelter lay ahead.

The wind roared in his ears, growing louder, until Gray Wing realized that it wasn’t just the wind.

He froze. “Watch out!”

As he spoke, huge eyes blazed through the snow. He cowered, blinded by their glare. A monster was pounding toward them.

“Get back!” Jagged Peak tugged Holly and scrambled backward with a yowl. He pushed Gray Wing against Tall Shadow. Dew Nose squeaked with terror as the monster roared past a tail-length ahead. Its massive black paws showed through the blizzard before it thundered away into the storm.

“That was close.” Jagged Peak straightened. He glanced back at the others. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yes.” Gray Wing was impressed by Jagged Peak’s calmness. He checked the kits. They clustered together, tails bushed, while Pebble Heart and Tall Shadow crouched beside them.

“Was that a monster?” Eagle Feather gasped.

“Yes, dear.” Holly reached up and nuzzled her kit on Mouse Ear’s back. “We have to be careful.”

“We will be,” Jagged Peak growled. “At least we know where the Thunderpath is.”

Gray Wing stared into the blizzard. “We can’t cross it now.”

“Yes we can.” Jagged Peak stepped forward, then stopped. “The last monster made the ground tremble before it reached us.” He shuffled his paws until they were deep in the snow. “I can feel when one’s coming and warn you.”

Holly blinked at him. “You can’t just stand there!” she gasped. “What if one veers off its path and hits you?”

“It won’t,” Jagged Peak told her.

He’s like a different cat. Gray Wing glanced at Tall Shadow. She was staring at Jagged Peak in surprise.

She caught Gray Wing’s eye. “I’ve never seen a cat so changed.”

Gray Wing nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Holly jerked her head around. “It’s amazing what a little love can do.”

Was that reproach in her mew?

Gray Wing felt a flash of guilt. Had he been too hard on his younger brother when all he needed was a little kindness?

Holly lifted her chin and padded to Jagged Peak’s side. “I trust you.” She touched her muzzle to his cheek, then called to Mouse Ear and Mud Paws. “Get the kits across when Jagged Peak gives the word.”

Mouse Ear nodded and padded to where Jagged Peak marked the edge of the Thunderpath.

“Wait,” warned Jagged Peak. “The ground’s trembling.” Gray Wing saw him stiffen. “Get away from the edge.”

As Mouse Ear backed away, Jagged Peak stood his ground. The wind’s roar became a monster’s howl. Gray Wing held his breath as its eyes lit Jagged Peak. Horror scorched through him as the black paws of the monster loomed from the snow. But Jagged Peak hardly flinched as the monster hurtled past.

Gray Wing struggled to take a breath. Snow froze his mouth and made his chest burn.

“Now!” Jagged Peak called.

Mouse Ear and Mud Paws raced past him, the kits squealing. Gray Wing watched, trembling, as they disappeared into the blizzard.

“It’s still safe!” Jagged Peak yowled.

Tall Shadow leaped forward. Holly raced after her, Pebble Heart at her heels.

“You too!” Jagged Peak glared at Gray Wing through the snow.

Gray Wing could hardly find the breath to answer.

Jagged Peak ran toward him. “Are you okay?”

“It’s hard to breathe in this snow,” Gray Wing rasped.

Jagged Peak pressed against him. “Lean on me.” Gray Wing felt the tom’s strong shoulder against his flank. He rested against it, suddenly weak.

“Come on,” Jagged Peak urged gently. “I can’t feel any monsters.”

Gray Wing focused on his paws, trying to sense vibrations in the earth, but he couldn’t tell whether the ground was shaking or his legs. He glanced at Jagged Peak. His brother’s gaze was fixed calmly ahead. It must be my paws. I can’t be this weak. My campmates need me!

Jagged Peak shouldered him forward. “Just keep moving,” he grunted. “Once we’re in the shelter of the pines, you’ll get more air.”

Gray Wing didn’t answer. He stared ahead, thankful for Jagged Peak’s strength. With faltering steps he padded forward, letting his brother guide him. The snow was smooth beneath his paws, the ground hard as stone beneath it. They must be on the Thunderpath. He struggled to hurry.

“It’s okay,” Jagged Peak reassured him. “The path’s clear. Take your time.”

As snow whisked past his muzzle, Gray Wing felt dizzy. “I can’t do it,” he gasped.

“You’re going to have to!” Jagged Peak growled darkly. “I can feel the ground trembling.”

Gray Wing tried to drag in air, his paws slithering beneath him.

“Hurry!” Jagged Peak shoved his shoulder harder against Gray Wing’s flank and half lifted him onward.

Gray Wing heard the roar of a monster. Lights flashed through the snow. The world seemed to tumble as Jagged Peak hurled him forward.

We’re going to die!

Gray Wing rolled, the snow soft beneath him, and slid to a halt. The monster’s howl ripped through his ear fur. Stones and ice chips blasted his pelt. Acrid smoke filled his nose. And then there was just snow.

The monster was gone.

“Jagged Peak?” Panic ripped through his pelt. “Jagged Peak!”

“I’m here!” His brother’s mew sounded triumphant in his ear. “We made it! I can see the trees.”

Weak with relief, Gray Wing let Jagged Peak nudge him to his paws and staggered blindly forward. Dark shapes swirled in front of him, darkening more until eerie silence enfolded him.

The snow had gone. The wind had dropped.

Am I dead?

Blinking open his eyes, Gray Wing gazed around. Tall trunks soared around them. Beneath his paws he could feel a soft bed of needles.

“You made it!” Holly raced from between the pines and pressed her cheek against Jagged Peak’s.

“Of course we did.” Jagged Peak nodded to Pebble Heart. “Gray Wing’s having his breathing trouble again.”

Pebble Heart dropped his bundle of herbs. “I can smell coltsfoot in here.” He unrolled the wad of leaves with his nose and picked out a dull green sprig. “It’s dried from greenleaf, but it should still work.”

Gray Wing smelled the familiar scent of the herb. Relief flickered in his belly. Pebble Heart held out a stalk between his teeth, and Gray Wing took it. “Thanks.” He chewed it carefully to release the juices from the dried old stem before swallowing it.

“Let’s rest here for a while.” Tall Shadow shrugged Dew Nose from her back.

Dew Nose squeaked as she landed. “The ground feels weird!”

Eagle Feather and Storm Pelt leaped down from Mud Paws and Mouse Ear.

“It’s all springy!” Eagle Feather bounced across the thick covering of needles.

“It must be a tail-length deep!” Storm Pelt shuffled his paws into the brown needles until they disappeared. “Look! I’ve got no paws!”

Gray Wing sat down, his chest loosening as the coltsfoot began to work. “Thanks, Pebble Heart,” he murmured.

“I just hope there’s more in this forest.” Pebble Heart scanned the trees.

The tall, straight trunks were cracked, like ancient prey dried in the sun. Shadows pooled between them. Here and there, dense patches of brambles crowded their roots. Gray Wing looked up. The sky was hidden by thick branches, green even in leaf-bare. Their tips leaned and creaked, stirred by the blizzard howling above them, but they stood firm, their roots dug deep into the peaty earth.

“What do you think?” Tall Shadow followed Gray Wing’s gaze upward.

Gray Wing whisked his tail over the needle-strewn earth. A sharp tang of pine cut through the thickness in his chest. He felt strength return to his paws. His shoulders relaxed. “I think I’m going to like it here.”

“Should we make camp?” Holly called.

“Where?” Tall Shadow glanced around.

Gray Wing stiffened as Slash’s order to Fern flashed through his mind. I need to know where they make camp, where they hunt, their habits, their weaknesses, everything! Had Fern crossed the Thunderpath yet? Was she nearby now? Gray Wing strained to see through the shadows, looking for a flicker of movement. Why couldn’t Fern have an orange pelt? It was too easy for her to hide here.

“Gray Wing?” Tall Shadow was searching his gaze anxiously. “Is something wrong? Your pelt’s pricking.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Gray Wing told her quickly. There was nothing she could do about Slash’s spy. Why spoil a pleasure she’d looked forward to for so long? “Is the forest as good as you imagined?”

Tall Shadow purred and padded around the base of a pine, her paw steps no more than a whisper on the needles. “It’s even better.” She pricked her ears. “The wind sounds so far away.”

“I can smell squirrel,” Mouse Ear meowed happily.

“Should we hunt?” Mud Paws looked at Jagged Peak. Gray Wing blinked in surprise. Mud Paws was treating him like their leader.

Tall Shadow sat down and gazed between the trees. She didn’t seem to have noticed, or if she had, she didn’t seem to care. Her green eyes shone. Her black pelt melted among the shadows as though she’d become part of her new home already.

“Tall Shadow?” Jagged Peak called to her. “Should we hunt?”

“If you like.” Tall Shadow shrugged.

Holly’s gaze followed her kits, who were scrambling over tree roots, their noses and tails twitching with excitement.

With a leap, Dew Nose hooked her claws into the bark and dangled from the trunk. “Look! I’m climbing.”

“Don’t go too high,” Holly warned.

Pebble Heart tasted the air. “Maybe we should find somewhere to build nests before we hunt.”

“Let’s split up,” Jagged Peak suggested. “I’ll hunt with Mud Paws and Mouse Ear. You, Holly, and Tall Shadow can take Gray Wing and the kits and find somewhere to rest tonight.”

Take Gray Wing and the kits! Gray Wing felt a prick of resentment. Jagged Peak was talking like he was one of them!

Storm Pelt tipped his head. “Why can’t Gray Wing hunt with you? He’s a great hunter.”

“Gray Wing’s not as fast as he used to be,” Jagged Peak answered.

Holly nodded. “He’ll be safer if he stays with you.”

Eagle Feather puffed out his chest. “I’ll look after him!”

Jagged Peak looked fondly at his kit. “Gray Wing will be grateful to have such a strong kit watching over him.”

Gray Wing flattened his ears. “I don’t need anyone watching over me!” he snapped at Jagged Peak. “Just because you saved my life doesn’t mean you get to treat me like a useless kit!”

Dew Nose bristled. “Kits aren’t useless!”

Tall Shadow stepped between them. “I’m sure Jagged Peak didn’t mean anything, Gray Wing,” she soothed.

Jagged Peak dipped his head. “Of course not. But we all know that the fire damaged your breathing. You’re not the cat you used to be.”

Anger surged though Gray Wing. He flexed his claws, wondering if he had enough breath to scratch his young brother’s ears. How dare he?

Tall Shadow flicked her tail. “Perhaps you should hunt, Jagged Peak,” she suggested diplomatically.

Gray Wing frowned. Love hadn’t made Jagged Peak confident; it had made him arrogant! “Be careful,” he muttered. “Don’t forget that you don’t know what’s out there.” Perhaps I should warn them about Fern and Slash. This wasn’t the perfect home they believed it was. There was danger lurking in the shadows. Then he glanced at Tall Shadow, worry darkening her gaze for the first time since she’d set paw in the forest, and swallowed back his anger. He wasn’t going to spoil her moment. “I’m sorry.”

He’d warn them about Slash when the time was right. Perhaps he wouldn’t need to. He might be able to find Fern and talk to her. The rogue didn’t seem to be a bad cat. She was just scared of Slash.

Gray Wing felt suddenly tired. They hadn’t even found a new camp, and trouble was already stalking them. “Come on.” He heaved himself to his paws. “Let’s find somewhere sheltered to build nests.”

As they set off, Eagle Feather scampered ahead. “Can I have my own nest?”

“When you’re older,” Holly called after him.

Gray Wing scanned the shadows beyond the kit warily. “Stay close, Eagle Feather. Until we’re sure it’s safe here.”