Dark River

Chapter 13

“It was Blackclaw’s idea to push the stones into the stream,” Willowpaw explained as they picked their way down the sandy cliff.

Hollypaw put her head on one side. “But that will stop the water flowing.”

“Exactly, so the stream above gets deeper and wider, and the island will be better protected.”

Hollypaw was impressed. “But will it be enough to keep the Twoleg kits away?”

“Once the stream’s flooded, we’re going to put up barricades of gorse.” Willowpaw stopped to catch her breath. “The Twolegs aren’t trying to hurt us. I think they’re just playing.”

She bent her head to wash the red sand from her pads.

“They’re like our kits. If we make it too hard for them to get near the island, they’ll give up and play somewhere else.”

“And then you can move back to the island!” Hollypaw guessed. RiverClan had no intention of moving onto WindClan territory. Her paws tingled. She couldn’t wait to get back to her own camp and tell Firestar. WindClan’s borders were perfectly safe, and they’d have no need to try to take any of ThunderClan’s territory. There wasn’t going to be a battle after all!

Willowpaw bounded down the rest of the slope and wove in among the reeds.

Hollypaw hurried after her. “But why didn’t Leopardstar just tell the other Clans what was going on?”

“And look weak because we’d been driven out of our home?”

“But the other Clans might have helped.”

“RiverClan can sort out their own problems!”

Hollypaw lowered her gaze. “I didn’t mean to say that you couldn’t, but—”

Willowpaw’s pelt was bristling. “It’s hard living on the island. There’s not enough fish because the boats scare them away, and we can’t hunt in the rest of our territory until we get rid of the Twoleg kits. The Clan is hungry and hungry warriors don’t win battles.”

Hollypaw remembered Mistyfoot’s dull pelt and the way Mothwing’s bones jutted out on her hips and along her spine.

“Do you really think Leopardstar can trust the other Clans not to take advantage?” Willowpaw went on, pushing her way through a clump of marsh grass. “We need all our strength to rescue our camp from the Twolegs.”

“I won’t tell ThunderClan that you’re hungry,” Hollypaw promised. “Only that you’ll be back in your old camp soon and there’s no reason to think you’ll have to leave your territory.”

Willowpaw blinked gratefully. “But first you have to get home,” she reminded her. “Your Clan must be wondering where you are.”

Hollypaw felt a twinge of guilt. Had her Clanmates noticed she was missing yet? “I’ll just go back the way I came.”

Willowpaw stretched up on her hind legs and peered above the spiky grass. “The shore’s quiet,” she announced, dropping down onto four paws. She began to weave through the marsh toward the firmer ground inland, where bushes and ferns crowded the shoreline.

“Let’s head up there,” Willowpaw suggested. “It’ll be easier to hide.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously. “And the otter dung will stop any cats from noticing your scent.”

“Wasn’t there anything else you could have used?”

“Tansy might have worked,” Willowpaw admitted. “But our supplies are a bit low.” She pushed her way past a clump of ferns, and Hollypaw padded after her.

They followed the shoreline until Hollypaw began to smell the scent of horseplace. “We’re near WindClan territory,” she whispered. “You can leave me here.”

Willowpaw’s eyes clouded with worry. “Not till we reach the border.”

The brown fences around the horseplace loomed larger and the ferns began to thin out as the lush foliage of RiverClan’s territory gave way to WindClan moorland.

Willowpaw paused behind a stunted bramble bush at the edge of a stretch of open grass lay. “There’s the border.” She pointed with her tail.

The wind raced down from the moors, tugging at Hollypaw’s pelt. She could smell the WindClan scent-line only a few fox-lengths ahead.

Willowpaw rested her tail-tip on Hollypaw’s shoulder.

“Promise you’ll be careful.”

Suddenly, stones clattered on the shore. Willowpaw whipped around.

A RiverClan patrol was haring toward them.

Hollypaw stiffened, fear shooting through her like lightning. Then she felt Willowpaw’s teeth grab her scruff and drag her behind the bramble.

“Did they see us?” Hollypaw whispered, trembling.

“I don’t know.” Willowpaw flicked her tail over Hollypaw’s mouth. “Keep quiet!”

Hollypaw peered through the leaves. Reedwhisker headed the patrol, his apprentice, Pouncepaw, racing behind him.

Voletooth was at Reedwhisker’s heels with Minnowpaw at his side. The young she-cat’s dappled fur was slicked back by the wind, her whiskers blown against her cheeks, running as though her life depended on it.

“Are they hunting?” Hollypaw asked.

Willowpaw glanced around the empty shore. “Hunting what?”

“Well, are they coming for us?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” Willowpaw replied as the patrol streaked past the bramble without even looking at it.

Hollypaw realized that the RiverClan cats’ eyes had been stretched wide with terror. Her pelt bristled. “Something’s wrong.”

Willowpaw hissed, flattening her ears. “Look!”

A rough-haired black-and-white dog was hurtling after the RiverClan patrol. Its eyes were wild, its lips drawn back to show shining white fangs.

“The horseplace dog!” Willowpaw yowled. “Run!” She pelted after her Clanmates.

Before Hollypaw could move, the black-and-white dog spotted her and skidded toward her, howling with excitement. Hollypaw shrieked and shot after Willowpaw. Her claws threw up clods of soil as she tore over the grassy slope.

The RiverClan patrol had swerved off the beach and was racing up the slope toward the WindClan border.

Reedwhisker’s eyes widened when he saw Willowpaw.

“Stay near us!” he ordered. He raced up the slope, dodging a gorse bush and leaping a low clump of heather.

Willowpaw pelted after him. She screeched over her shoulder at Hollypaw. “Hurry up!”

Hollypaw pushed harder against the peaty soil. She skidded after the RiverClan cats through a thick swath of heather and out onto the grassy slope.

“Stop!” Reedwhisker gave the command and Hollypaw scrambled to a halt with the others. Panting and terrified, she glanced over her shoulder.

The dog stood by the fence at the bottom of the slope and gazed around, tongue lolling. Then it shook itself and squeezed under the fence. Hollypaw watched it trot across the field, heading for the Twolegplace.

“It must be going home,” she guessed.

“Shh!” Willowpaw gave her a warning look but it was too late.

“What are you doing here?” Minnowpaw’s shocked mew made Hollypaw jump.

Reedwhisker stared at her, his black pelt bristling. “You’re a ThunderClan cat, aren’t you?” His stern gaze flashed accusingly at Willowpaw.

Minnowpaw wrinkled her nose. “And why do you smell so bad?”

Voletooth padded toward her and leaned in close, his tabby muzzle only a whisker from Hollypaw’s. “Are you spying on us?”

Hollypaw backed away. “No, no, I wanted to see if I could help!”

“Help?” Reedwhisker stared at her in disbelief.

“It’s true!” Willowpaw padded, tail trembling, between her Clanmates and Hollypaw. “She’s here by herself. She was worried about me after the Gathering. She just came to see if—”

“Mouse dung!” Reedwhisker’s yowl cut Willowpaw off.

The black tom was staring up the slope, his eyes round with dismay.

A WindClan patrol was streaking toward them.

Hollypaw tasted the air. The musky scent of WindClan bathed her tongue. The dog had chased them right across the border.

“Should we run?” Minnowpaw whispered, her tail stiff with fear.

“There’s no use.” Voletooth sighed. “We’ve come too far.”

“We’d better just stand our ground,” Reedwhisker meowed.

Pouncepaw stepped closer to Minnowpaw.

As the WindClan patrol neared, the deputy Ashfoot flicked her tail. Crowfeather, Heatherpaw, Whitetail, Tornear, and Breezepaw fanned out. Hollypaw felt Willowpaw’s pelt brush against her flank as the WindClan cats slowly encircled the patrol. Their eyes were blazing.

“What are you doing on WindClan land?” Ashfoot demanded.

Reedwhisker met her gaze, the fur on his shoulders twitching. “We were being chased by that mouse-brained dog from the horseplace.”

Crowfeather stepped forward. “Where is it now?”

Voletooth nodded toward the Twolegplace. “It went home.”

“And we’re meant to believe that?” Tornear sniffed the air, his whiskers quivering. “All I can smell is dung!”

Hollypaw wished she could sink into the ground. WindClan were angry enough without finding a ThunderClan cat among the intruders. What if they thought RiverClan and ThunderClan had formed an alliance? There would be a battle for sure, and it would all be her fault.

Hollypaw fought her rising panic. Breezepaw was staring at her. She lowered her gaze, praying he wouldn’t recognize her, finally grateful for the otter dung that disguised her black pelt and drowned her scent.

“What happened to you?” Breezepaw’s eyes glittered with contempt. “Don’t they teach RiverClan kits to wash?”

Rage surged in Hollypaw’s throat. She wanted to spit at the arrogant fox-face. But at least he didn’t seem to know who she was.

“Get off our land!” Ashfoot hissed. “You may have lost your own territory but you’re not having ours!”

Voletooth bristled, baring his teeth. “We haven’t lost our territory!”

“Then why are you here?” Tornear demanded.

“Looking for prey?” Crowfeather hissed.

Reedwhisker lashed his tail. “No!”

Hollypaw tensed. Every cat was bristling, ready to leap.

She unsheathed her claws. This was not her Clan, but she would fight if she had to.

Pouncepaw hopped forward, his short tabby tail flicking angrily. “We wouldn’t eat rabbit if we were starving!”

Ashfoot hissed. “Get off our land now!”

Tornear and Whitetail moved apart to let the RiverClan cats through.

Slowly, Reedwhisker and Voletooth began to back away.

Pouncepaw and Pebblepaw turned and padded uneasily past the WindClan cats. Hollypaw hurried after them, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground.

“There’ll be extra patrols along the border from now on!”

Ashfoot called after them.

“And they’ll be battle ready!” Tornear growled.

They walked slowly to the border, refusing to be rushed by the threatening hisses from the WindClan patrol.

Hollypaw crossed the scent-line with a shiver of relief. But this isn’t my territory!

“I have to get home,” she whispered.

Reedwhisker rounded on her. “No, you don’t! You have to explain what you’re doing here!”

“I did explain!” Hollypaw retorted. “I was worried about Willowpaw.”

“There’s no way we’re letting you set one paw on WindClan territory now,” Voletooth mewed. “You’ll have to come back to the island with us.”

Despair dropped like a stone in Hollypaw’s belly. She gazed across the lake. Night was falling and the ThunderClan forest looked like shadows against the distant hills. She scanned the shoreline, hoping to see the familiar shape of one of her Clanmates—Jaypaw was always fiddling around by the water—but it was too dark and too far to see anything clearly.

“Okay,” she sighed.

“But first you can wash off that awful-smelling dung!”

Reedwhisker ordered.

He walked her down to the lake and stood at the edge while she splashed around in the freezing water. Willowpaw waded in to help, rubbing Hollypaw’s pelt with her paws until it was clean.

Shivering with cold, Hollypaw padded back along the marshy shore after the RiverClan patrol. Willowpaw walked beside her.

“Sorry if I got you in trouble,” Hollypaw whispered.

“I’ll be okay,” Willowpaw pressed against her and the two friends, still dripping from the lake, shared their warmth.

Hollypaw’s pelt prickled under the curious gaze of the RiverClan cats as she followed Reedwhisker into the island clearing. Gradually, the camp went quiet as they drew closer to the Great Oak. She tried to stop her paws from trembling when she saw Leopardstar squeeze out from among the giant roots at the bottom of the oak.

“Don’t be scared,” Willowpaw murmured in her ear.

“Leopardstar’s always fair.”

Hollypaw lifted her chin and faced the RiverClan leader as bravely as she could.

Leopardstar’s eyes glowed in the twilight. “Reedwhisker tells me you’ve been spying on RiverClan territory,” she accused.

“I was just trying to help,” Hollypaw explained. “ThunderClan is worried that WindClan will attack us if you’re forced into their territory. Everyone’s preparing for battle. I just wanted to stop it.”

Leopardstar blinked. “That’s a big ambition for such a small apprentice.”

Offended, Hollypaw fluffed out her fur.

Were Leopardstar’s whiskers twitching?

“I presume Willowpaw has shown you enough to put your mind at rest?” meowed the RiverClan leader.

“Just the old camp—” Hollypaw stopped herself too late.

She had betrayed her friend.

Leopardstar’s gaze flicked to the RiverClan medicine apprentice. “You took her all the way there?”

Willowpaw dipped her head. “I only wanted to reassure her.”

Leopardstar sighed. “Well, Hollypaw,” she meowed, “you had better stay here on the island.”

Hollypaw’s heart lurched. “But my Clan will be worried about me.”

“You should have thought of that before you came here.”

Leopardstar gazed around her Clan. The RiverClan cats had gathered under the oak tree, their ears twitching with interest. “We can’t spare the warriors to escort you home and even if we could, I don’t want to antagonize WindClan or ShadowClan by crossing their territory.”

“But the warrior code says I can safely travel two fox-lengths from the lake,” Hollypaw pointed out.

“If it was time for a Gathering, I would agree,” Leopardstar argued. “But as things stand, our neighbors would want a very good reason for finding RiverClan or ThunderClan scent on their land.” She narrowed her eyes. “Plain nosiness is not good enough.”

“But—” Hollypaw desperately searched for another argument. She had to get home before her Clanmates thought something dreadful had happened to her.

Leopardstar turned away. “You can stay with Mothwing and Willowpaw until it is safe for you to return.”

“Come on.” Willowpaw nudged her. “Let’s get warm and dry in the medicine cave.”

Paws heavy as stone, Hollypaw followed her friend to the edge of the island and over the causeway to the rocky outcrop.

Mothwing was waiting with a pile of herbs beside her. “I thought I told you not to be seen,” she greeted them.

Willowpaw lowered her head. “Sorry.”

Mothwing pawed the herbs toward them. “Eat these,” she ordered. “They’ll help warm you up.”

Hollypaw’s belly rumbled. She’d prefer a fresh, juicy mouse.

“It’s all we have to spare at the moment,” Mothwing told her.

Hollypaw leaned down and began to chew one of the leaves. It was sticky and warmed her tongue as she chewed it.

“What is it?” she whispered to Willowpaw.

“Dried nettle, smeared with honey,” Willowpaw replied.

“Not bad.”

When they had finished eating, Willowpaw led her to a mossy nest at the back of the cave. They washed themselves dry and squeezed together onto the soft bedding. Hollypaw was grateful for Willowpaw’s warmth. The cave was drafty and rain was starting to batter the rocks and hiss over the lake. She yawned, suddenly feeling bone-tired. “You know Leopardstar is just keeping me here because I know too much,” she murmured.

“Yes.” Willowpaw laid her tail across her friend’s paws.

“But would Firestar act any differently?”

Hollypaw sighed. “I guess not.” She closed her eyes. How long would she have to stay here? She was going to be in big trouble with her Clanmates when they found out she was being held by RiverClan, suspected of being a spy.