Long Shadows

Chapter 26

It was the afternoon before the Gathering. Hollyleaf felt as if her whole world was crumbling around her. She had thought that once they got rid of Sol, life in the Clans would return to normal, but instead the terrible threat of Ashfur hung over them like a tree about to fall. He’s going to ruin everything!

Her paws itching with restlessness, Hollyleaf slipped out of the camp and wandered into the forest. She felt completely powerless, now that she knew she wasn’t one of the three: Her belief in the prophecy had made her feel that she could do anything, but Ashfur had torn that belief away from her. A cat with the power of the stars in her paws would have been able to stop one cat from speaking words that would tear his Clan apart. But plain Hollyleaf, no longer Firestar’s kin, could do nothing.

A hot flood of fury swept through Hollyleaf and she paused, digging her claws into the sodden ground. More than anything, she wanted to be one of the three; she wanted to be special, to have a destiny beyond that of any other cat. I deserve to! Her need tore at her belly like sharp pangs of hunger. I’d work harder than any cat to be a great leader, and leave my paw print on all the Clans. I can’t let Ashfur destroy all my plans.

Choking down her rage, Hollyleaf padded on. Since the storm, more rain had fallen, and she had to pick her way across boggy ground and leap over tiny new streams that scoured through the sodden earth. Bracken fronds released showers of raindrops onto her head and shoulders as she brushed by. Her fur became splashed and muddy, but she carried on, scarcely aware of where she was.

The strong scent of a ThunderClan cat brought her to a halt.

She jumped as Ashfur appeared around the trunk of a gnarled oak tree. “Don’t creep up on me like that!” she snapped.

“I’m not creeping,” Ashfur retorted. “If you must know, I’ve been checking out the fox trail near the WindClan border. That fox Brackenfur scented is still around.”

Hollyleaf didn’t reply. She and Ashfur faced each other; Ashfur’s blue eyes were wide and wary. “What do you want?” he demanded.

“How do you know I want anything?” Hollyleaf replied.

For a moment Ashfur looked disconcerted. “Aren’t you going to try to make me change my mind, like Squirrelflight and your littermates?”

“No.” Hollyleaf felt a stab of satisfaction at the startled look in the gray warrior’s eyes. “I know there’s nothing I can do. It’s your decision to betray your own Clan.”

“Betray?” Ashfur’s neck fur bristled and his claws slid out.

“I’m betraying no cat. Squirrelflight’s the traitor, because she lied.”

“And it’s not betrayal when you weaken ThunderClan in front of the other Clans, so soon after the Great Battle?”

Hollyleaf spat in disgust.

Ashfur stretched his neck toward her, his lips drawn back in a snarl. “If you’re trying to scare me, it’s not working.”

Hollyleaf stood her ground. “And you don’t scare me, either,” she declared. “Nothing scares me more than the thought that you’re not afraid of what will happen after you’ve spoken out.”

Ashfur’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll purr over what will happen after I’ve revealed the truth,” he promised. Without waiting for a reply, he spun around and headed off through the forest.

The sun was sinking behind a ragged band of cloud as Firestar called his cats together to go to the Gathering. Shadows crept into the clearing, and the first warriors of StarClan were beginning to emerge into a sky stained with scarlet.

“Where’s Ashfur?” Firestar asked, looking around.

Hollyleaf exchanged a glance with Lionblaze. The other cats chosen for the Gathering—Brambleclaw, Dustpelt, Ferncloud, Graystripe, Cloudtail, and Cinderheart—were already clustered around their leader, while Leafpool and Jayfeather were padding across the clearing to join them.

But there was no sign of the gray warrior.

Firestar’s tail twitched with annoyance. “He specifically asked to come tonight, and now he’s not here. I asked Squirrelflight to come, too, and she’s not here either.”

“We’ll be late if we wait for them,” Dustpelt pointed out.

Tension churned in Hollyleaf’s belly. She didn’t want to think about Ashfur, much less stand around waiting for him.

If he didn’t turn up at the Gathering, so much the better for every cat. As for Squirrelflight… Hollyleaf didn’t care if she never saw her again.

“Maybe Ashfur went on ahead,” Graystripe suggested.

“Well, if he did, he should have told one of us,” Firestar replied. “Let’s go.”

He led the way through the barrier of thorns. Hollyleaf brought up the rear with Lionblaze and Jayfeather.

She knew that both her brothers would be desperate to know where Ashfur was. She could almost see their anxiety crackling off their fur like lightning. But none of them spoke his name.

The cats had barely left the tunnel when Squirrelflight came bounding breathlessly up to them. Her pelt was clumped and soaking, and splashed with mud. “Sorry,” she panted. “I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

Brambleclaw gave her ear a quick lick. “What have you been doing?”

“Looking for herbs for Leafpool, near the ShadowClan border,” Squirrelflight explained. “The bank of the stream was muddy, and I slipped in.”

“Mouse-brain,” Brambleclaw murmured affectionately.

“You should be more careful. Are you okay? You don’t have to come to the Gathering if you’d rather rest.”

“I’m fine,” Squirrelflight insisted. “And I’m not going to miss this Gathering. I haven’t been to one in moons.”

“Come on, we’re wasting time,” Firestar called from the front of the group.

He set off toward the lake; the forest floor was still sodden from the recent rain, and the cats had to scramble through muddy hollows or over branches that fell in the storm. Hollyleaf barely noticed the mud or the small streams her paws splashed through. She felt as though she was looking down a long tunnel into a future dark with fear and betrayal. She asked herself how far a cat should go to preserve the warrior code. And what happens if the code was broken no matter what you did?

The ThunderClan cats emerged from the trees and padded down to the edge of the lake, turning toward the WindClan border. A full moon already floated high in the sky, turning the surface of the water to silver. Looking up, Hollyleaf saw that clouds were drifting close to it, though none of them touched the shining silver disk yet. She swallowed. Were the spirits of their ancestors about to show their anger?

Firestar waved his tail. “Let’s hurry. The other Clans will be waiting for us.” Clear of the forest, he set a brisk pace, until his warriors were bounding along the edge of the lake.

Hollyleaf, still near the back of the group with Lionblaze and Jayfeather, saw Firestar halt suddenly on the bank of the stream that marked the border with WindClan. Graystripe, hard on his paws, let out a startled yowl.

Terrible foreboding filled Hollyleaf from ears to tail-tip.

She put on a spurt until she was racing along, her belly fur brushing the pebbles and her tail streaming out behind her.

Lionblaze kept pace with her.

Reaching the bank, she pushed through the cats who were clustered there, staring down into the stream. Wedged behind a rock just below her paws, the lifeless body of a cat floated in the swollen water, his fur dark and sodden. His tail streamed out into the current, waving as if he were still alive.

Dustpelt was the first to speak. “It’s Ashfur.”