Mapleshade’s Vengeance

Chapter 8

As dusk fell, bringing with it a cold, damp wind, Mapleshade jumped down from the fence into the forest and followed the boundary along the edge of Twolegplace. Raindrops pattered around her as she reached the pine trees, whose spindly trunks and whispering needles gave little shelter.

Mapleshade padded softly over the forest floor, staying well outside the ThunderClan border as she skirted the Treecutplace—silent and dark now—and plunged back into dense undergrowth. Brambles scraped her pelt and blocked her way, but Mapleshade kept pushing through, ears pricked for the first sounds of the river.

By now the rain was falling more heavily, rattling the leaves and stalks around Mapleshade’s ears. She gasped when she suddenly emerged from a clump of stiff grasses to find herself at the top of a steep bank with the river sliding past, thick and black and deadly, just a tail-length below. She scrambled backward with a hiss. For a moment she thought she saw three small shapes twisting and tumbling in the water, but it was only a reflection of starlight.

Mapleshade stared at the reeds growing on the far shore. Somewhere in there was the RiverClan camp, perched like a bird’s nest above the sodden ground. If she strained her ears past the sound of the rain, she could almost hear the murmurings of cats as they settled down for the night. Mapleshade pictured Appledusk lying in his den with Reedshine curled beside him, her orange pelt merging with his soft brown fur. The hair rose on Mapleshade’s neck and she bared her teeth. Appledusk will regret the day he met me! All those times he said he loved me, all the promises he made—they were nothing but lies! He never wanted my kits, so he let them drown. He could have saved them, I know he could have!

Behind her, the sky was lightening above the trees. Dawn was a while off, but Mapleshade felt more comfortable traveling in darkness, so instead of giving in to the urge to sleep, she picked her way downstream along the bank. There was a ridge of little stones stretching across the river down here—she had used them to cross to meet Appledusk on the other side once. There was no way

Mapleshade was going to swim across the river, but she could wade if she had to.

She reached the stones, invisible in the dark but recognizable by the way the noise of the river changed as it flowed over them. Shuddering, Mapleshade jumped down the bank and waded in. Her belly fur was instantly soaked and she gasped at the cold. She forced her legs through the current, feeling the water tug against her and splash her flanks. The river was much slower and shallower than when she had tried to cross with her kits, but she still hated every paw step, and she hissed with relief when she hauled herself onto the far bank. She lay there for a while, panting, as the water trickled from her fur. It had stopped raining but the sky was thick with clouds and the wind was growing stronger, scented with more rain to come.

Mapleshade forced herself to stand and keep going. Plunging into the reeds, stiff and springy so that they flicked her face and tripped her tired paws, she pushed forward until she detected RiverClan border marks, then retraced her steps so that she was following the edge of the territory safely out of scent-range. Dense reeds gave way to softer undergrowth dotted with low, slender-branched willow trees. Her belly rumbled but she didn’t dare hunt in case it alerted the RiverClan cats. Sounds carried too easily on this side of the river.

Gradually the ground became firmer and drier beneath her paws, and the air filled with green, leafy scents rather than the taint of fish. Mapleshade reached a dense stand of trees, leafier and sturdier than the other willows. The territory border was just close enough that she could look down from the branches and watch for passing cats. With a sigh as she recalled just how much time she had spent up a tree recently, Mapleshade clawed her way up the nearest trunk and eased her way onto one of the lower boughs. Without knowing the habits of RiverClan warriors, she hadn’t been able to think of a plan to trap Appledusk alone. She would just have to learn what she could from watching.

Mapleshade fluffed up her fur against the cold and waited. She was rewarded quite soon by a cluster of paw steps crackling nearer: an early hunting patrol, chattering and crashing through the undergrowth as if they wanted to alert all the prey to their approach. Mapleshade curled her lip, thinking of ThunderClan’s stealth. The patrol passed right under her branch without noticing her.

Before their noise had faded, more cats approached. The breeze carried a scent that made

Mapleshade’s nostrils flare. A heartbeat later, the bracken parted to reveal a pale brown cat, broad-shouldered beneath his thick, glossy fur. Appledusk! Once again, StarClan had brought Mapleshade’s prey right to her paws.

But then the stalks rustled and a plump gray apprentice bundled out. He crouched down and leaped forward, stubby front legs outstretched. Appledusk shook his head. “You need more height than that, Perchpaw,” he chided. “You must be prepared to fight full-grown warriors when you go into battle.”

The young cat’s blue eyes stretched wide. “I will get taller, won’t I?”

Appledusk purred. “Of course you will, but you still need to learn how to jump.”

“Why don’t I spring at you to show him how it’s done?” asked a voice. An orange she-cat slipped into the clearing. Mapleshade’s hackles bristled. Can’t Reedshine let Appledusk do anything on his own?

Appledusk went to meet his Clanmate and rubbed his cheek against hers. “I’m not letting you do anything,” he mewed. “Think of our kits!”

Reedshine glanced at her belly, barely swollen beneath her pelt. “I’m not sick!” she protested.

“I know you’re not,” meowed Appledusk. “But our kits are too precious to risk Perchpaw injuring you by mistake!”

Mapleshade gripped the branch so tightly that two of her claws snapped off. She barely noticed the jolt of pain. How could Reedshine be expecting kits already? How many lies had Appledusk told?

She bunched her quarters beneath her, ready to leap down the moment Reedshine and Perchpaw left Appledusk alone, but the three cats moved off together with Perchpaw earnestly discussing battle tactics.

Mapleshade crouched in the tree and seethed with rage. A cold wet figure pressed against her flank, screeching for help. Mapleshade tried to curl her tail around her last remaining kit, but there was nothing but empty air beside her. She was dimly aware of being hungry and thirsty, and exhausted after her trek through the night, but nothing mattered now except taking revenge on the cat who had destroyed her world. She would wait here for as long as she had to—for the rest of her life, if it meant she could finally silence Patchkit’s wails.

She must have dozed, because she woke with a start much later when the air was filled with misty rain and the ferns were filling up with shadows. Something was approaching through the undergrowth.

Mapleshade stiffened, wondering if StarClan would bring Appledusk to her twice in one day. Then a bundle of fur blundered into the clearing and skidded to a halt at the foot of the tree.

“Take that, ThunderClan mouse-dung!” Perchpaw squealed, slapping his paw down onto a twig.

As the twig snapped, he spun around, ears flattened. “Creep up on me, would you? You’re as fox-hearted as your Clanmate!” He lurched forward and crushed a large clump of moss. Then he straightened up and looked down at his enemy. “Oops. I could have taken that back to the elders’ den.

I’ll look for some more.”

He trotted toward Mapleshade’s tree, peering at the roots. Mapleshade let go of the branch and plummeted straight down onto the apprentice’s back, knocking him to the ground with an oof. Before Perchpaw could figure out what was happening, Mapleshade grabbed his scruff in her teeth and hauled him past the tree, across the border. Her eyes bulged with the effort; the fat apprentice weighed more than a badger!

Perchpaw yowled and thrashed but Mapleshade sank her teeth farther into his pelt until he stopped struggling. “Who are you? What do you want?” he growled.

Mapleshade placed one paw heavily on his shoulders and snarled, “Keep still or I’ll rip your throat out.”

Perchpaw blinked. “I’m a RiverClan warrior! Let me go!”

“No you’re not,” Mapleshade hissed. “You’re a stupid apprentice. It’s all right, I’m not interested in killing you. I only want you as bait.”

When Perchpaw tried to speak, she forced his face into the ground, muffling his protests. Then she squatted down, resting most of her bulk on his haunches, and waited.

“Perchpaw! Perchpaw, where are you?”

Mapleshade almost purred. A moment later, Appledusk trotted into the clearing, his eyes troubled.

“Why can’t you do what you’re told for once?” he complained, looking around. “If I find out you’ve been practicing battle moves instead of collecting moss, you’re going to be in big trouble, Perchpaw!”

Mapleshade gripped Perchpaw’s neck fur in her teeth and dragged him out from behind the tree.

She let the apprentice fall to the ground. “Is this what you’re looking for, Appledusk?”

The warrior stared at her in horror. “You were told to leave our territory!”

Mapleshade twitched the tip of her tail. “And you thought I would? You’re more mouse-brained than I thought. You killed our kits, and now you must pay.”

Appledusk bared his teeth. “What are you talking about? You killed our kits, making them cross the river. Let Perchpaw go and get out of here before I call for a patrol.”

Mapleshade jumped over Perchpaw and stood in front of the brown warrior, pelt bristling, paws planted firmly. “You can have that useless lump of fur back,” she snarled. “But you’ll have to fight me first.”