Forest Of Secrets

Chapter 16

Fireheart stepped out of the ferns that enclosed the apprentices’ den and stretched out his front paws. It was just after sunrise, and the sky was already a pale eggshell blue, promising fine weather after days of cloud and rain.

In Fireheart’s opinion, sleeping in the apprentice den was the worst part of his punishment. Every time he went in there, Thornpaw and Brightpaw stared at him with huge eyes, as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Brackenpaw just looked acutely embarrassed, while Swiftpaw—encouraged by his mentor, Longtail, Fireheart guessed—openly sneered. Fireheart found it hard to relax, and his sleep was broken by dreams in which Spottedleaf bounded toward him, meowing a warning that he could never remember when he woke.

Now Fireheart stretched his jaws in a massive yawn and settled down to give himself a thorough wash. Graystripe was still sleeping; soon Fireheart would have to wake him and find a warrior to supervise them on yet another hunting patrol.

As Fireheart washed, he saw Bluestar and Tigerclaw sitting at the foot of the Highrock, deep in conversation. Idly he wondered what they were talking about. Then Bluestar gave a flick of her tail to summon him. Fireheart sprang up at once and bounded across the camp.

“Fireheart,” Bluestar meowed as he approached, “Tigerclaw and I think you’ve been punished enough. You and Graystripe can be full warriors again.”

Fireheart felt almost giddy with relief. “Thank you, Bluestar!” he meowed.

“Let’s hope it’s taught you a lesson,” growled Tigerclaw.

“Tigerclaw is going to lead a patrol up to Fourtrees,” Bluestar went on before Fireheart could respond. “In two nights the moon will be full, and we need to know if we can make it to the Gathering. Tigerclaw, will you take Fireheart with you?”

Fireheart couldn’t interpret the gleam in the deputy’s amber eyes. He didn’t look pleased—Tigerclaw never did—but there was a certain dark satisfaction, as if he would enjoy putting Fireheart through his paces. Fireheart didn’t care. He was thrilled that Bluestar was trusting him with a real warriors’ mission again.

“He can come,” Tigerclaw meowed. “But if he puts a paw wrong, I’ll want to know the reason why.” His dark coat rippled as he heaved himself to his paws. “I’ll find another cat to go with us.”

Fireheart watched him as he strode across the clearing and disappeared into the warriors’ den.

“This will be an important Gathering,” murmured Bluestar beside him. “We need to find out how the other Clans are coping with the floods. It’s important for our Clan to be there.”

“We’ll find a way, Bluestar,” Fireheart assured her.

But his confidence drained rapidly away a moment later when he saw Tigerclaw reappear from the den. The cat who followed him out was Longtail. It looked as if Tigerclaw had chosen the third member of the patrol deliberately to disadvantage Fireheart.

Fireheart felt a hard lump of apprehension in his stomach. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to go out alone with Tigerclaw and Longtail. The memory of the battle with RiverClan was still too fresh, when Tigerclaw had watched him struggling with a fierce warrior and made no move to help him. And Longtail had been his enemy ever since he had set paw in the camp.

For a moment, fearful pictures of the two cats turning on him in the depths of the forest and murdering him whirled through Fireheart’s mind. Then he shook himself. He was scaring himself like a kit listening to some elder’s tale. No doubt Tigerclaw would make unreasonable demands of him, and Longtail would enjoy every moment, but Fireheart wasn’t afraid of being challenged. He’d show them that he was a warrior equal to them in every way that mattered!

Saying a respectful good-bye to Bluestar, he raced across the clearing and followed Tigerclaw and Longtail out of the camp.

The sun rose higher, and the sky turned to a deep blue as the cats journeyed through the forest toward Fourtrees. The ferns were weighted with glittering drops of dew that clung to Fireheart’s fur as he brushed past. Birds sang, and branches rustled with freshly opened leaves. Newleaf had really come at last.

As he padded after Tigerclaw, Fireheart was distracted by tempting movements in the undergrowth as prey scurried to and fro. After a while the deputy let them stop and hunt for themselves. He was in an unusually good mood, Fireheart thought, relaxing enough to praise the flame-pelted warrior as he pounced on a particularly speedy vole. Even Longtail kept his unfriendly comments to himself.

When they went on, Fireheart’s stomach was warm and full from the vole he had eaten. His uneasy feelings vanished. On a day like this he couldn’t help feeling optimistic, sure that they would soon have good news to take back to Bluestar.

Then they reached the top of a slope and looked down toward the stream that crossed ThunderClan territory, separating them from Fourtrees. Tigerclaw let out a long, soft hiss, and Longtail yowled in dismay.

Fireheart shared their exasperation. Usually the stream was shallow enough for cats to cross easily, keeping their paws dry by leaping from rock to rock. Now the water had spread into a glistening sheet on either side, while the current churned swiftly along the original course of the stream.

“Fancy crossing that?” spat Longtail. “I don’t.”

Without a word, Tigerclaw began padding upstream, following the edge of the floodwater toward the Thunderpath. The land sloped gently upward, and before long, Fireheart could see that the shining surface was broken by tussocks of grass and clumps of bracken poking above the water.

“This isn’t as deep as when Whitestorm last reported,” Tigerclaw meowed. “We’ll try to cross here.”

Fireheart had his doubts that the water would be shallow enough, but he kept them to himself. He knew if he objected, he would just get the usual sneers about his soft kittypet background. Instead he quietly followed Tigerclaw, who was already wading into the flood. He couldn’t help noticing that Longtail’s ears twitched nervously as he splashed in beside him.

The water felt cold as it lapped at Fireheart’s legs. He picked his way carefully, tracing a zigzag course toward the nearest bank of the stream by springing from one clump of grass to the next. Drops of water glittered in the sunlight as he splashed forward. Once a frog wriggled out from under his paws, almost making him lose his balance, but he righted himself by sinking his claws heavily into a waterlogged tussock.

In front of him, the current was brown where it had stirred up mud from the streambed. It was much too wide for a cat to leap, and the stepping-stones were completely submerged. I hope Tigerclaw doesn’t expect us to swim, Fireheart thought with a wince.

Even as the words went through his mind, he heard Tigerclaw’s yowl from farther upstream. “Come here! Look at this!”

Fireheart splashed toward him. The deputy, with Longtail beside him, was standing at the edge of the stream. A branch was lodged in front of them, swept into place by the current so that it stretched from one bank to the other.

“Just what we need,” Tigerclaw grunted in satisfaction. “Fireheart, check that it’s safe, will you?”

Fireheart gazed doubtfully at the branch. It was much thinner than the fallen tree that he had used to cross to RiverClan’s territory. Twigs poked out in all directions, still with dead leaves dangling from them. Every few moments the whole branch gave a slight jerk, as if the current wanted to sweep it away again.

With any other senior warrior, or even Bluestar, Fireheart would have discussed how safe the branch was before he set paw on it. But no cat questioned an order from Tigerclaw.

“Scared, kittypet?” Longtail taunted him.

Determination burned in Fireheart’s belly. He would not show fear in front of these cats and let them have the pleasure of reporting it to the rest of the Clan. Gritting his teeth, he stepped onto the end of the branch.

Immediately it sagged under his paws, and he dug his claws in hard, fighting for balance. He could see brown water racing a mouse-length below, and for a few heartbeats he thought he would plunge straight into it.

Then he steadied himself. He began to move forward cautiously, placing his paws in a straight line one after the other. The slender branch bounced under his weight with every step. Twigs caught in his fur, threatening his balance. We’ll never get to the Gathering like this, Fireheart thought.

Gradually he drew closer to the middle of the stream, where the current was strongest. The branch tapered until it was barely as thick as his tail, making it harder to find a pawhold. Pausing, Fireheart measured the distance left; was he close enough to leap safely yet?

Then the branch lurched under him. Instinctively he gripped tighter with his claws. He heard Tigerclaw yowl, “Fireheart! Get back!”

For a heartbeat Fireheart swayed precariously. Then the branch lurched again and suddenly it was free, racing along with the surging water. Fireheart slipped sideways, and thought he heard Tigerclaw yowl once more as the waves closed over his head.