Path Of Stars

Chapter 3

Gray Wing scanned the moorside, a damp wind tugging at his whiskers. His belly growled with hunger as he tasted the air. But there was no scent of prey, only the musty smell of dying heather.

Below him, Gorse Fur stalked across the slope, grass streaming around his paws. Where the moor began to dip toward the forest, Wind Runner sniffed at the edge of a swath of heather.

As she stretched her muzzle forward, Spotted Fur burst through the heather. “The prey-scents are stale even here.” Gray Wing heard the young tom’s mew on the wind.

Spotted Fur was a new member of the group—a golden brown tom whose mother had hunted with Slate in her rogue days. Spotted Fur had left his mother and littermates when they’d moved on to new territory. He’d watched the moorland cats hunting and racing through the heather and wanted to join them. Wind Runner hadn’t been keen to accept a rogue as a campmate, but Slate had vouched for him, swearing that his mother was a kindhearted cat and a good hunter. And Spotted Fur had quickly proven the gray she-cat right. He’d caught as much prey as Wind Runner, and the group leader had soon forgotten that she’d ever had doubts about the young tom.

But even Spotted Fur’s skill and enthusiasm couldn’t make prey appear where there was none.

Gray Wing narrowed his eyes, unnerved by the empty slopes. Surely the thaw should have brought the prey from their burrows by now? Had the early snowfall killed this year’s young? He shifted his paws anxiously. If it had, leaf-bare would be long and hungry. He saw Gorse Fur freeze, and stiffened. Had the gray tom spotted prey? He followed Gorse Fur’s gaze, disappointed as he saw it fall on Moth Flight.

Wind Runner and Gorse Fur’s scatterbrained kit had wandered away from the patrol again and was staring at the sky. The small white she-cat was five moons old, but she was as easily distracted as a kit half her age. Gray Wing frowned as he watched her scamper forward to sniff a withered stem poking from the grass before resuming her cloud gazing. Curiosity was natural in kits, but by now

Moth Flight should have learned to concentrate on what she was doing.

“Moth Flight!” Gorse Fur called to her. “You can watch clouds later! We’re supposed to be hunting!”

Gray Wing flicked his tail irritably. If any prey had crept from its burrow, Gorse Fur’s yowling would send it running back for shelter.

Moth Flight dipped her head apologetically and began to stalk the hillside.

Behind Gray Wing, paw steps thumped against the ground. He caught a trace of Slate’s scent a moment before she stopped beside him, her thick, soft pelt brushing his. “Caught anything yet?” She was out of breath. Her pelt still carried the warm, heathery smell of their nest.

Gray Wing glanced past her to the hollow in the hillside where the camp sheltered. She must have come from there. “There’s nothing to catch,” he told her gloomily.

“Of course there is!” Slate lifted her chin and headed toward the others.

Gray Wing’s dream flashed in his thoughts. It comforts me to see you happy. He remembered Turtle Tail’s words, fondness swelling in his chest. He was glad she didn’t begrudge the warmth

Slate had brought to his life, relieved that he wouldn’t have to spend the cold leaf-bare nights alone.

With Turtle Tail dead and her kits in different groups, he missed the closeness of family. He was lucky to be starting a new life with Slate.

He watched her walk toward Wind Runner. Spotted Fur had slid from the heather and was gazing hopefully across the hillside. Slate stopped beside them, dipping her head to the leader.

As the two she-cats exchanged greetings, movement caught Gray Wing’s eye. A rabbit had darted from behind a tussock and was speeding across the grass. It was too far away for Wind Runner and Spotted Fur to reach. But Gorse Fur had seen it and was charging up the slope. The rabbit streaked toward Moth Flight.

Moth Flight, look! Gray Wing tensed. The young she-cat was still gazing into the sky. Silently he urged her to turn her head. The rabbit was veering away, heading upslope to the safety of the moortop burrows. Moth Flight didn’t move. Couldn’t she hear its paws? Frustration surged in Gray Wing’s belly. He broke into a run. If he cut off the rabbit’s escape, he could steer it straight into Moth Flight’s path. She’d have to see it then. He ran, the damp air searing his lungs. The breathlessness he’d suffered for moons had grown worse with the coming of leaf-bare. Pain gripped his chest, but he kept running, pelt fluffed as he tried desperately to make an imposing silhouette against the skyline, enough to scare the rabbit into changing course.

It’s working! Hope surged through his fur. The rabbit’s eyes sparked with fear, and it skidded wildly away from him.

Moth Flight stood, face to the sky, and stared dreamily upward.

She must hear it’s close by now! The ground seemed to tremble with the thrumming of its paws.

Even Wind Runner, Spotted Fur, and Slate had turned to watch. Gorse Fur was still chasing, too far behind, eyes fixed on the rabbit.

“Moth Flight!” Gray Wing yowled as the rabbit streaked past her. She turned and blinked at him, oblivious as the rabbit shot past her and disappeared over a rise.

Gray Wing pulled up, his paws slithering on the wet grass, and stopped a tail-length away from Moth Flight. He glared at her. “What in all the stars are you doing?” His lungs burned as he struggled for breath.

She blinked at him anxiously. “Are you okay?” She hurried toward him and sniffed at his muzzle.

“Does your breathing hurt again?”

“I’m fine,” he gasped. Didn’t the foolish young cat even realize what she’d done?

Her eyes widened. “You should sit down and rest.”

As she spoke, Gorse Fur thundered past her, his eyes fixed on the rise where the rabbit had disappeared. He chased it, tail streaming behind.

Moth Flight stared after her father, confusion showing in her round gaze.

“Didn’t you see it?” Gray Wing puffed.

“See what?”

Anger flared in Gray Wing’s belly. “Taste the air! Its scent is everywhere.”

Obediently, Moth Flight opened her mouth, her pink tongue showing between her teeth. “A rabbit!” she gasped, her eyes widening suddenly.

Gray Wing could hardly believe his ears. “How did you miss it?”

“I’m so sorry!” She jerked her head around, scanning the grassy moorside, but the rabbit had long disappeared over the rise, followed by Gorse Fur.

Wind Runner charged toward them.

Moth Flight shifted her paws self-consciously as her mother stopped and stared at her accusingly.

“I was watching clouds,” she murmured. “One looked just like a rabbit.”

Gray Wing glanced at the sky, where the clouds were piling so thickly now that he was amazed she could make out any shape at all. “If you’d been watching the moorside, you’d have seen a real rabbit,” he snapped.

Wind Runner growled. “Moth Flight! How many times have I told you that when you’re hunting you have to concentrate?”

Moth Flight bowed her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t feed your campmates!” Wind Runner’s ears twitched.

“I’ll try harder next time,” Moth Flight promised.

“You said that last time!” Wind Runner hissed.

Gray Wing felt a sudden wave of sympathy for Moth Flight as she gazed pitifully at her mother.

Perhaps the young cat just wasn’t cut out to be a hunter. She might be more use in camp, clearing out bedding and building new dens. He flicked his tail toward the hollow. “Why don’t you see if Reed and Minnow need you to fetch more heather?” He had left the pair weaving a shelter against the camp wall, threading heather stems into the gorse to make a den. Dust Muzzle was helping them. Perhaps he should have brought Dust Muzzle on the patrol instead of Moth Flight. The young tom was a far more accomplished hunter than his sister.

Moth Flight blinked at him eagerly. “Let me follow the rabbit’s trail. Please! I have a good nose.

I’m sure I can find where it’s gone.”

Wind Runner snorted. “It’ll be deep in a burrow by now. You’re probably mouse-brained enough to follow it in and get lost. Then we’ll have to send a search party to find you.”

Moth Flight seemed to shrink inside her pelt.

Gray Wing’s heart twisted. “Perhaps we can follow its trail together—”

As he spoke, Gorse Fur appeared on the rise. The rabbit was clamped between the tom’s jaws.

“You caught it!” Gray Wing purred.

Gorse Fur slowed as he neared them, and laid the rabbit beside Wind Runner.

Moth Flight’s gaze shone with guilt. “I’m sorry for being such a mouse-brain.”

“No harm done,” Gorse Fur meowed breezily.

Wind Runner lashed her tail. “What if you hadn’t been here to fix Moth Flight’s mistakes?” She glared at her mate.

Gorse Fur met her stare calmly. “She’s still young.”

“She’s old enough to stop a rabbit when it practically trips over her,” Wind Runner snapped.

Moth Flight glanced anxiously from her mother to her father. “I promise, I won’t do it again.”

Wind Runner snorted. “You will, so long as your father keeps making excuses for you.”

“You’re too hard on her, Wind Runner,” Gorse Fur objected.

“Somebody needs to be, or she’ll never learn to hunt.”

Gray Wing turned away, leaving the family to settle their squabble in private, and headed back along the slope.

Slate padded to meet him. “Is everything okay?” She glanced toward Wind Runner.

Gray Wing kept walking. “Gorse Fur caught the rabbit.” He spoke slowly, trying to disguise his breathlessness.

Slate fell in beside him. “Wind Runner doesn’t look too pleased.”

“She thinks Moth Flight should have caught it.”

“We all make mistakes.”

“I shouldn’t have chased the rabbit right toward her,” Gray Wing murmured. “I should have known Moth Flight was unreliable.”

Slate nudged his shoulder gently with her muzzle as they walked side by side. “Don’t blame yourself for a kit’s mistake.”

He shot her a look, his worry over Moth Flight melting as he saw warmth in her gaze. “I guess she’ll grow out of her daydreaming eventually,” he conceded.

“Of course she will.” Slate glanced toward the hollow. “Should we go back to camp?” There was anxiety in her mew.

Gray Wing tensed. Had she heard him wheezing? “We should catch more prey first.”

“The others can manage without us for a while,” Slate argued. “Besides, it’s a good chance for Moth Flight to practice hunting.”

Ahead, Spotted Fur was sniffing the roots of a gorse bush. He lifted his muzzle as they neared.

“The prey-scent is so stale I can hardly smell anything.”

“Look by the high burrows,” Gray Wing suggested. He pointed his nose toward Moth Flight, her white pelt moving over the grass like a tiny cloud as she trailed behind Wind Runner and Gorse Fur.

“You can show Moth Flight how to spot fresh rabbit trails.”

Spotted Fur’s gaze lit up. “Do you think she’d like that?”

Slate purred. “I think she’ll appreciate your company.”

Spotted Fur hared away, cutting across the slope to catch up to the young she-cat.

Gray Wing realized that Slate had gently steered him onto the trail that led to the hollow entrance.

Perhaps he should rest for a while and catch his breath. He could always go out again later. Dusk often lured fresh prey from its hiding places.

As they crossed the smooth grass outside the camp entrance, familiar scents touched his nose. His pelt prickled with curiosity. Clear Sky and Tall Shadow had passed this way. What had brought them here? He quickened his step, hurrying into camp.

His brother was pacing the clearing. Tall Shadow sat at the edge, her gaze dark. Reed and Minnow were working on their den beside the wall, their gazes flicking nervously toward the visitors as they wove heather into the rough frame jutting from the gorse. Dust Muzzle sat near them, his gray tabby pelt prickling as he stared at Clear Sky from beside a pile of heather sprigs.

Clear Sky jerked his gaze expectantly toward Gray Wing. “Is Wind Runner with you? I must speak with her.” He slid past Gray Wing and peered through the gap in the gorse. “Reed told me you were hunting together.”

“She’s on the moortop,” Gray Wing told him.

Slate blinked at Clear Sky. “Should I fetch her?”

“Fetch her?” Clear Sky echoed, his thoughts clearly distracted.

Gray Wing noticed his brother’s unkempt pelt. The fur around his neck clumped in thick spikes.

Something was wrong. He nodded to Slate. “Go and get Wind Runner.” She clearly recognized the urgency in his mew and dashed from the camp. Gray Wing searched Clear Sky’s gaze, alarmed to see fear sparking in its blue depths. Something was very wrong. “What’s happened?”

“They’ve taken Star Flower!” Clear Sky kept pacing.

“Who’s taken Star Flower?” Gray Wing’s heart quickened.

Tall Shadow padded forward. “Slash and his rogues.”

Gray Wing’s thoughts whirled. Slash! The cat who had been using Fern to spy on Tall Shadow’s group! He’d left Fern in Tall Shadow’s care, though he hadn’t told the black she-cat why. He hadn’t wanted to worry her. Had he been foolish to leave one of Slash’s rogues among the forest cats?

“Where’s Fern?”

“Fern?” Tall Shadow blinked at him. “She left us soon after you did.”

Alarm pricked beneath Gray Wing’s pelt. Had she been spying for Slash all along? “Did she say why?”

“No.” Tall Shadow tipped her head curiously. “She just disappeared. I wasn’t surprised. She couldn’t seem to settle. It was like she had something on her mind. As though she was frightened.”

Why hadn’t Fern stayed with Tall Shadow’s group? Hadn’t she felt safe, even there? Fear wormed beneath Gray Wing’s pelt. Slash was clearly more dangerous than he’d imagined.

Clear Sky stepped between Gray Wing and Tall Shadow. “Why are you talking about Fern?

What’s she got to do with this?”

“She was one of Slash’s campmates,” Gray Wing explained. “I tried to help her escape from him.”

Tall Shadow shot him a look. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Clear Sky flexed his claws. “I didn’t come here to talk about Fern!” he snapped. “They’ve taken

Star Flower! Don’t you understand?”

As he spoke, Wind Runner burst into the camp, breathless. Slate and Gorse Fur skidded to a halt at her heels. “What’s happened?” Wind Runner demanded.

Clear Sky turned to her eagerly. “I need your help,” he blurted. “A gang of rogues has taken Star

Flower. They’re holding her hostage.”

Wind Runner frowned, confusion clouding her gaze. “Why?”

“They want a share of our prey for her safe return.” Clear Sky stared at her urgently.

Wind Runner narrowed her eyes. “Who are these rogues?”

Gray Wing’s ear twitched anxiously. “Their leader’s called Slash. He’s an old friend of One

Eye.”

Wind Runner bristled. “And you want us to share our prey with them?”

“Just talk to him,” Clear Sky pleaded. “He wants all the group leaders to meet with him at half-moon to discuss terms.”

Gorse Fur padded forward, ears twitching warily. “Star Flower is One Eye’s daughter,” he reminded her. “How do we know she’s not a friend of Slash?”

Wind Runner’s tail quivered. “It might be her plan.”

“Never!” Clear Sky glared at the wiry she-cat. “She loves me. She’s carrying my kits! Her loyalty lies with her campmates.”

Wind Runner’s gaze slid past Clear Sky and rested on Tall Shadow. “Do you support Clear Sky?”

Tall Shadow’s gaze was dark. “Star Flower spent time in our camp while Quiet Rain was dying. I believe she has the heart of a forest cat, not a rogue. She has turned her back on the life she knew as One Eye’s daughter.”

Gray Wing nodded. “Tall Shadow’s right. I watched Star Flower care for Clear Sky with kindness and loyalty. She’s being held against her will, I’m sure of it.”

Wind Runner glanced at him uncertainly. “That doesn’t mean we have to share our prey with this bunch of fox-hearts.”

Panic flashed in Clear Sky’s gaze. “You have to help!”

Wind Runner looked at him coldly. “We don’t have to do anything for you.”

“What if it were you?” Clear Sky demanded. “Imagine they were holding Gorse Fur hostage. I’d help you free him.”

“Really?” Wind Runner sniffed. “You’ve never helped anyone but yourself.”

“That’s not true.” Gray Wing felt a surge of loyalty toward his brother. “He rescued Holly’s kits when they went missing!”

Wind Runner kept her gaze fixed on Clear Sky. “This is your problem, not ours.”

Gray Wing blinked at her. Surely they had to help save Star Flower.

Clear Sky’s eyes widened. “You’d let harm come to Star Flower and my kits?”

Wind Runner hesitated, her fur rippling.

Gray Wing sensed a moment of doubt. “I think we should help,” he murmured softly.

Slate moved closer to Gray Wing. “It’s too risky,” she breathed. “These rogues are dangerous.”

“So are we,” Gray Wing growled.

Gorse Fur stepped forward, tail flicking. “But we can’t spare any prey!”

“We don’t have to,” Gray Wing countered. He looked at Clear Sky. “Slash just wants to meet with the group leaders, right?”

Clear Sky nodded. “After he’s met with you, he’ll return Star Flower.”

“Then it’s simple,” Gray Wing urged.

Wind Runner stared at him. “Why should we get involved?”

Gray Wing returned her gaze gravely. “It is our duty to protect Star Flower and her unborn kits.”

Slate moved beside him. “But she’s not part of our group.”

Gray Wing met her amber eyes. “If it were you and our unborn kits in danger, I’d want every cat I knew to help save you.”

Her gaze softened.

Wind Runner grunted. “I guess there are kits involved.” She dipped her head. “Very well,” she conceded. “I trust your judgment, Gray Wing. We will meet with these rogues.”

Joy burst in Clear Sky’s gaze. “Thank you!”

Tall Shadow got to her paws and shook out her fur. “I’m glad you’ve chosen to help, Wind Runner.” She began to head for the entrance.

“Are you leaving straightaway?” Wind Runner glanced at her. “Shouldn’t we come up with a plan?”

“We can do that later.” Clear Sky began to follow Tall Shadow. “First we need to speak with River Ripple.”

“Hasn’t he agreed yet?” Wind Runner’s fur pricked along her spine.

“No.” Tall Shadow paused. “But he will.”

Gorse Fur’s gaze darkened. “Has Thunder agreed to meet with the rogues?”

Clear Sky glanced at Gray Wing. “He refused.”

Wind Runner exchanged glances with Gorse Fur. “I thought Slash wanted to meet with all the leaders. What’s the point in going if Thunder won’t be there?”

Gray Wing lifted his tail. He could understand why Thunder might be reluctant to help a father who had rejected him so many times, but he knew Thunder had a good heart. He couldn’t truly want to risk harm to Star Flower and her unborn kits. “I’ll speak to Thunder.”

“Do you think he’ll change his mind?” Clear Sky lifted his chin hopefully.

“Thunder will listen to reason,” Gray Wing reassured him. Especially if I’m the one who reasons with him. But what would they do at the meeting?

Clear Sky’s eyes brimmed with gratitude. “Thank you.”

“Come on,” Tall Shadow urged as she slid out of camp.

As Clear Sky disappeared after her through the gap in the gorse, Gray Wing had an idea. That’s it!

Wind Runner frowned at him. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to meet with these rogues and promise them a share of our prey?”

Gray Wing’s whiskers twitched. “We only promised to meet the rogues. We never promised our prey.”

Wind Runner’s eyes widened. “But what will they do when we refuse—”

Gray Wing interrupted her. “They won’t be able to do anything,” he told her. “I have a plan.”