River Of Fire

CHAPTER 1

“Look at this tree!” Finpaw exclaimed. “It’s huge! Do you think there are squirrels up there?”

Twigpaw halted, suppressing a sigh of exasperation as she watched Finpaw scamper over to a massive oak tree and balance precariously on a thick, gnarled root. Her paws were tingling with anxiety and anticipation. She didn’t want to stop again; she wanted to be at ThunderClan’s camp.

What if they don’t want us?

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Twigpaw responded, firmly pushing her nervousness away. “But we’re not hunting now. Remember, we have to reach the ThunderClan camp before it gets dark.”

Already the sun was starting to go down, flooding the forest floor with scarlet light, barred with the long, dark shadows of trees. Twigpaw and Finpaw had spent most of the afternoon traveling from the SkyClan camp, slowed down by Finpaw’s irrepressible urge to explore.

“I can’t wait!” Finpaw leaped off the root and raced across the grass to rejoin Twigpaw. She had to step back abruptly to save herself from being knocked over. Finpaw’s tail flipped into her face.

“Hey, watch it!” she exclaimed with a glare.

“Sorry.” Finpaw veered in front of Twigpaw, and she almost fell over her own paws trying to avoid him. “Do you think they’ll be pleased to see us?”

A flutter of anticipation woke inside Twigpaw’s belly at the thought of meeting her old Clanmates again. I tried so hard to be a SkyClan warrior, she thought. But my heart is in ThunderClan. I’m so glad I made the decision to come back . . . and even happier that Finpaw decided to come with me. Surely they’ll welcome us. ThunderClan is my home.

“I’m sure they will,” she replied to Finpaw.

“Is it true what they say about ThunderClan?” Finpaw asked as the two young cats walked on side by side. He stretched his jaws into an enormous yawn. “Are they really so bossy, always telling other cats what to do?”

Twigpaw wasn’t sure how to reply. She knew that was exactly the way the other Clans sometimes viewed Bramblestar’s cats, but she had lived with ThunderClan for many moons, and she knew there was no simple answer.

Besides, she had more important things on her mind. Even though she had told Finpaw she was sure ThunderClan would be pleased to see them, she couldn’t help wondering how they would really react when she and her friend walked into their camp. They will be happy, right? Surely they’ve missed me since I chose to go with my father?

Twigpaw’s father, Hawkwing, was the deputy of SkyClan, and every cat had expected she would stay in the newly settled Clan with him and her sister, Violetshine.

But I wasn’t raised there, she told herself. It took me a while to realize how big a part ThunderClan has played in my life, right from when I was a kit.

As they rounded a bramble thicket, a familiar scent drifted over Twigpaw; she opened her jaws to taste the air more carefully.

“What is it?” Finpaw asked. “Is it prey? I’m starving!”

“No,” Twigpaw replied. “It’s the ThunderClan border scent markers. We’re almost home! Come on!”

She bounded forward, with Finpaw pelting along enthusiastically at her side. The ThunderClan scent grew stronger as they approached the border, and as they reached the line of scent markers, Twigpaw began to distinguish another familiar scent, this one of a single cat.

“That’s Sparkpelt!” she exclaimed. “You must have met her when SkyClan was living in the ThunderClan camp. She’s Alderheart’s sister. She must be somewhere around here. Sparkpelt!” she yowled, leaping up onto a small boulder that lay on the border line. “Hey, Sparkpelt!”

A clump of ferns rustled, and the fronds parted as Sparkpelt charged into the open. To Twigpaw’s amazement, her orange tabby pelt was bristling, and when she halted at the border, she arched her back and slid out her claws as if she was facing an enemy.

“Twigpaw! What’s going on here?” she demanded. “Why are you so far away from your camp, without your mentors? Has SkyClan been attacked? Is it more rogues?”

“No, no, everything’s fine,” Twigpaw meowed reassuringly, feeling almost amused at Sparkpelt’s urgent questions. “There’s no trouble in SkyClan.”

Sparkpelt relaxed slightly, her fluffed-out fur lying flat once more. But her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she glanced from Twigpaw to Finpaw and back again. “So what are you doing here?” she asked.

Once again Twigpaw felt the enormity of what she was doing, like a huge cloud gathering over her head, ready to release a storm. There’s no going back, she thought. Leafstar would never take me in again, after this. What will happen if ThunderClan sends me away?

“I’ve come home,” she replied, leaping down from her boulder. It was hard to form the words, as if her mouth were full of prey that she couldn’t spit out. “I want to be part of ThunderClan again.”

“And I’ve come with her,” Finpaw added cheerfully.

Sparkpelt’s ears twitched. “Just like that?” she meowed scornfully. “Cats can’t just defect to whichever Clan they feel like, whenever they want. That isn’t how it works. You made your decision, Twigpaw, and now you have to stick to it. And this SkyClan cat—he has no relationship to ThunderClan, so what does he think he’s doing here?”

Pain slashed deep inside Twigpaw like a massive claw. Whatever she had expected, it wasn’t this outright rejection. I thought Sparkpelt was my friend! Her head drooped, and she struggled to keep her voice steady as she responded.

“I know I must have hurt and upset some of you when I chose to go with my kin to SkyClan,” she began, praying that she would find the right words. “It was a huge mistake, and I shouldn’t have left the way I did. But surely you can understand that I was mixed up at the time?”

Sparkpelt made no reply, but the tip of her tail twitched once, then back again.

“Living with SkyClan showed me that I really am a ThunderClan cat,” Twigpaw went on desperately. “This is where I belong.”

“I’m not sure Bramblestar will see it that way,” Sparkpelt growled.

“I need to talk to him,” Twigpaw assured her. “I just want the chance to tell him how I feel. If Bramblestar doesn’t allow me back, then I’ll accept his decision.”

But what in StarClan will I do if that happens? she asked herself.

“There’s no way Bramblestar will turn away a cat like Twigpaw!” Finpaw mewed, bright and full of spirit as he always was. “Twigpaw is great!”

Sparkpelt fixed the small brown tom with a glare. “And who are you again, and what exactly are you doing here?”

“I’m Finpaw.” Sparkpelt’s aggressive stance didn’t seem to bother him at all; he faced the ThunderClan warrior with his head raised and his short tail stuck in the air. “We met when SkyClan first came to the lake—remember?”

“Now I do.” Sparkpelt’s eyes narrowed again. “That still doesn’t tell me why you’re here.”

“I’m here to be part of ThunderClan with Twigpaw,” Finpaw asserted confidently. “All the cats in ThunderClan are heroes—every cat around the lake knows that. You’re the best! I want to join you and have adventures!”

Sparkpelt seemed unmoved by Finpaw’s praise. “Well, all right,” she meowed, flicking her ears irritably. “I’ll take you to our camp. Walk a tail-length ahead of me, so I can keep an eye on you. And don’t think of putting a single whisker out of line.”

“We’re not enemies!” Twigpaw’s pelt bristled indignantly. “What do you think we’re going to do?”

“Keep your fur on!” Sparkpelt retorted. “I’m just taking the proper precautions.”

And hedgehogs fly! Twigpaw thought resentfully.

With Finpaw at her side, she crossed the border and headed in the familiar direction of the stone hollow, feeling awkward under Sparkpelt’s suspicious gaze. She was trying hard to ignore the growing heaviness in her belly, but Sparkpelt’s hostility had come as a nasty shock.

It’ll be fine once we get to the camp, she reassured herself. Bramblestar will understand. He has to!

The sun had gone down by the time the cats reached the thorn barrier that stretched across the entrance to the hollow, and twilight brought the chill of early leaf-fall. Sparkpelt pushed past the apprentices to lead the way down the tunnel.

“Follow me,” she mewed curtly.

When Twigpaw emerged into the stone hollow, the whole of ThunderClan seemed to be there. Her heart warmed as she saw so many familiar faces: Cherryfall and Molewhisker sharing a piece of prey beside the fresh-kill pile; Blossomfall sitting with Cinderheart at the entrance to the nursery while their kits frisked and play wrestled around their paws; Graystripe and Millie stretched out drowsily side by side in front of the hazel bush where they slept; Leafpool and Jayfeather earnestly discussing something beside the bramble screen that shielded their den.

With a swish of her tail Sparkpelt beckoned the two apprentices a few paces farther into the camp, then signaled for them to halt. “Wait here,” she ordered.

Twigpaw watched her as she bounded across the hollow and scrambled up the tumbled rocks to the Highledge, where she disappeared into Bramblestar’s den.

“I hope everything’s going to be okay,” Twigpaw murmured.

“Of course it will.” Finpaw nuzzled her shoulder briefly. “Bramblestar would have to have bees in his brain not to want you in his Clan.”

Before Twigpaw could reply, Sorrelstripe slid out of the warriors’ den and headed toward the thorn tunnel, only to come to an abrupt stop as she spotted Twigpaw and Finpaw.

“Hey!” she exclaimed. “Twigpaw’s here!”

Her surprised yowl alerted every cat in the camp. Cats in the open sprang to their paws, while more pushed their way out of the warriors’ den. All of them crowded around Twigpaw and Finpaw, until Twigpaw felt that she could hardly breathe in the midst of so many bright, questioning eyes and twitching whiskers.

“I thought I caught a familiar scent.” Brackenfur gave Twigpaw a friendly nod. “It’s good to see you, Twigpaw.”

“Why are you here?” Fernsong asked.

“Is there trouble in SkyClan?” Lionblaze slid out his claws. “Do you need our help?”

Twigpaw swallowed hard, her pelt prickling with nervousness. Every cat was looking at her expectantly. “No, SkyClan is fine,” Twigpaw replied. “But I’ve left them. I’ve come home to live in ThunderClan.”

Utter silence greeted her announcement for a couple of heartbeats, followed by an outbreak of astonished yowling.

“Coming home? Your home is in SkyClan now.”

“What about your kin?”

“Who is this SkyClan cat with you?”

Berrynose, at the front of the crowd, looked down at Twigpaw with a disdainful twitch of his whiskers. “You chose to leave, and now you want back in?” he demanded. “Can we ever trust you again?”

Murmurs of agreement came from several other cats.

Twigpaw wished that the ground would open up and swallow her, until she spotted movement from the medicine cats’ den. With a gasp of relief she recognized Alderheart pushing his way through the cluster of cats to stand at her side.

Thank StarClan! Alderheart practically raised me. He’ll understand.

“Of course we can trust her,” Alderheart meowed, his dark ginger pelt beginning to bristle as he faced Berrynose. “Of course we want her back! She was raised in ThunderClan, so she’s one of us.” His amber eyes were warm and supportive as he gazed at her.

Twigpaw felt as if the sun had just come out from behind a cloud when she heard Alderheart call her “one of us.” Aware that some of her former Clanmates were still hostile, she tried to hide her sudden happiness by bowing her head and studying her paws. But Alderheart’s praise made her feel warm from her ears to her tail-tip.

I’ve missed Alderheart so much since I left ThunderClan!

“Twigpaw!”

A commanding yowl rang out across the camp. Twigpaw looked up to see Bramblestar standing on the Highledge with Sparkpelt by his side. He beckoned Twigpaw with his tail. “Come up here,” he ordered. “You and I must talk.”

Twigpaw exchanged an uncertain glance with Finpaw. Will he be okay if I leave him here by himself?

Then Alderheart gave her a gentle push. “Go on,” he meowed. “I’ll look after Finpaw. Let’s find you some prey,” he added to the young tom. “You must be hungry.”

“Starving!” Finpaw agreed fervently.

Reassured, Twigpaw hurried across the camp and began to climb the tumbled rocks. Sparkpelt passed her heading downward; she said nothing, but gave Twigpaw an unfriendly stare.

“Come into my den,” Bramblestar invited Twigpaw when she reached the Highledge.

Following him inside, Twigpaw felt uncomfortable, almost unworthy, to be having a private conversation with the ThunderClan leader. To her relief, Bramblestar didn’t seem angry, but there was concern in his eyes as he stood looking down at her.

“Sparkpelt reported to me that you say you want to rejoin ThunderClan,” he said. “You must realize, Twigpaw, that it’s not usual for a cat to be so confused about where they belong.”

Something in his words woke a spark of defiance inside Twigpaw. “How many cats have grown up the way I did?” she challenged Bramblestar. “Has any other cat lost her parents and her entire Clan, been separated from her sister, and then found a father she thought was dead? I admit I was confused, but I know where I belong now. Haven’t I proved my loyalty to ThunderClan by coming back? I’m ready to become a ThunderClan warrior.”

Bramblestar’s voice was quiet as he responded. “I don’t doubt that loyalty to ThunderClan is in your heart today,” he mewed. “But it’s not always that simple. The warrior code requires us to be loyal to one Clan. If you’re moving back and forth between Clans, where does your heart really lie?”

Pausing, he settled himself in his nest and motioned with one paw for Twigpaw to sit opposite him.

“I remember when I was an apprentice, back in the old forest,” he began. “Something similar happened: Graystripe left ThunderClan for RiverClan because he had kits with a RiverClan cat named Silverstream. She died, and when RiverClan claimed the kits, Graystripe thought it was his duty to go with them and raise them.”

“Graystripe . . . ,” Twigpaw breathed out, hardly able to imagine that the sturdy, loyal elder would ever have mated with a cat from another Clan.

Bramblestar nodded. “Then, when RiverClan invaded and tried to take Sunningrocks from ThunderClan, Graystripe couldn’t fight for them against us. RiverClan drove him into exile. Bluestar, who was leader then, took him back, but it was a tense and confusing time, and no cat knew who could be trusted.”

“But it worked out in the end, right?” Twigpaw pointed out. “Every cat trusts Graystripe now. Besides,” she added, her neck fur beginning to bristle in spite of her efforts to stay calm, “SkyClan isn’t going to attack us! That’s mouse-brained!”

The words were hardly out before Twigpaw realized that a mere apprentice shouldn’t call her Clan leader mouse-brained. I’ve probably ruined my chances of getting back in!

But Bramblestar’s only response was to twitch his ears. “I know they won’t—but when you get so indignant at the very idea, it shows that you still hold some loyalty to your kin’s Clan. SkyClan is in your blood.”

“But I’ve already tried SkyClan!” Twigpaw protested. “Now I know I don’t belong there.”

Bramblestar hesitated, letting out a thoughtful sigh. “I can see you really mean it,” he mewed at last. “And I would be happy to welcome you back into ThunderClan, but . . .” His voice trailed off.

Twigpaw’s sudden flash of optimism at the Clan leader’s first words faded into uncertainty. “But?”

“This is where your story is different from Graystripe’s,” Bramblestar told her. “He was a grown warrior when he switched Clans, not an apprentice. You chose to leave ThunderClan right before your warrior ceremony rather than become a ThunderClan warrior. Twigpaw, I want to believe that you will be loyal to ThunderClan, but I think it will be the right thing for you to complete a short apprenticeship here . . . a kind of probation, to make sure you really want to be a ThunderClan warrior.”

At first Twigpaw felt hot anger gathering in her belly. She had already completed a ThunderClan apprenticeship, and then another after she left to join SkyClan. She had assumed that Bramblestar would make her a warrior right away.

More apprentice work? she thought. I bet that no cat who ever lived has ever shifted as many ticks off the elders’ pelts!

But Twigpaw knew she had to control her anger. She was too grateful for the chance that the Clan leader was offering her, and she knew that she had no choice. Leafstar would never welcome her back.

Besides, she reflected, what’s a few more moons of apprenticeship, compared to the whole of the rest of my life in ThunderClan?

“Okay, Bramblestar,” she agreed. “It’ll be good to work with Ivypool again.” Relief was spreading through her—even if she had to be an apprentice again, at least Bramblestar wasn’t going to send her away.

“Oh, no, Ivypool can’t be your mentor,” Bramblestar meowed. “She’s in the nursery now, about to have the kits she’s expecting with Fernsong. No, I’ll have to find a different cat for you. . . .”

Twigpaw waited, her paws itching with impatience. Cherryfall might be a good mentor. Or maybe Whitewing . . .

“Yes . . .” Bramblestar let out a purr of satisfaction. “I think you’ll do very well with Sparkpelt.”

Oh, StarClan, no! Twigpaw barely stopped herself from speaking the words aloud. I know Sparkpelt doesn’t want me here. Then she realized that Bramblestar might already be testing her. “Fine,” she mewed, trying to sound enthusiastic. “I promise I’ll try my hardest.”

“Good.” Bramblestar rose to his paws and beckoned with his tail for Twigpaw to follow him out onto the Highledge and down the tumbled rocks into the camp. Most of the Clan was still waiting, and a murmur of anticipation rose from them as their leader appeared with Twigpaw behind him. They gathered around in a wide circle with Bramblestar and Twigpaw at the center; then Bramblestar called for Finpaw to join them.

“Cats of ThunderClan,” their leader began. “As you can see, Twigpaw has returned to us. I have decided that she should continue her apprenticeship here in ThunderClan.”

Glancing around, Twigpaw was relieved to see that most of her Clanmates looked happy to welcome her back, though she could see uncertainty in the eyes of some of them.

“She’ll still be an apprentice?” Dewnose muttered.

Meanwhile, Bramblestar turned to Finpaw. “What are we to do with you, Finpaw?” he asked, half to himself.

Twigpaw realized guiltily that she hadn’t even asked Bramblestar about Finpaw. But surely Bramblestar won’t send him away?

Finpaw stood boldly in front of the Clan leader and met his gaze. “I want to be a ThunderClan warrior,” he declared. “I’ve heard so many tales about Firestar, and how brave and honorable you all are. This is the best Clan in the forest, and I can’t wait to be part of it.” He gave an excited little jump. “Please let me join!”

Twigpaw could hear murmurs of appreciation at the young tom’s enthusiastic words.

“Let him in, Bramblestar,” Graystripe called out. “We need eager young cats like him.”

“Yes, we can’t afford to turn any promising cat away,” Squirrelflight added; her green gaze rested on Finpaw, half amused and half admiring.

“I don’t know . . .” Thornclaw looked doubtful. “Should we really be taking in just any cat? Not every cat is right for ThunderClan, after all.”

“True,” Cloudtail meowed with a flick of his tail. “Look at what’s been happening since the Clans started taking in every cat that happens to stroll into camp.”

Listening to the senior warrior, Twigpaw couldn’t help thinking about the destruction Darktail and his rogues had caused—but also the chaos she had caused when she’d led the remains of SkyClan into the ThunderClan camp. She wondered whether Cloudtail was aiming the sly remark at her, though the white tom’s gaze was firmly fixed on his leader.

“Maybe SkyClan cats don’t understand that they can’t just jump from one Clan to another,” Brightheart said sternly. “Finpaw, you have to be sure.”

Finpaw’s eyes widened. “I am sure,” he said earnestly. “I want to be part of ThunderClan.”

“These are unusual times,” Bramblestar said thoughtfully. “With so many changes in the Clans, we have to consider making changes as well. It’s possible that StarClan has some reason to want us to welcome Finpaw to ThunderClan . . . And he does seem convinced that this is where he belongs.”

“We should keep him for now.” Cherryfall spoke up. “Let’s give him a trial and see if he shapes up.”

“Oh, I will!” Finpaw’s eyes stretched wide as his confident gaze swept around the group of cats. “I promise!”

Bramblestar nodded. “Very well. Finpaw, we’ll welcome you as an apprentice for now, but you must show loyalty to ThunderClan. Can you do that?”

Too overwhelmed to speak, Finpaw nodded eagerly.

“Then, Finpaw, from this time forward you will be a ThunderClan apprentice,” Bramblestar announced. “Larksong, you are a loyal and committed cat. You will be his mentor and pass on your skills and experience to him.”

The young black tom, looking stunned at his leader’s praise and the honor of being chosen as a mentor, took a pace forward and dipped his head respectfully. “I won’t let you down, Bramblestar.”

Finpaw skipped across the circle of cats to stand in front of Larksong, and reached up to touch noses with him. “This is going to be great!” he announced.

“Finpaw! Finpaw!” the ThunderClan cats acclaimed him. Twigpaw could see that he was going to be popular, and she couldn’t repress a tiny twinge of jealousy. Are they more excited to have Finpaw join the Clan than they are to have me back?

Her heart lurched as Bramblestar turned to her. “Do I need a ceremony?” she asked him. “I mean, what’s the point. I’ve already had one. Twice,” she added, the last word under her breath.

“You should do as you’re told,” Sparkpelt snapped at her from where she stood a couple of tail-lengths away.

Uh-oh, Twigpaw thought. She’s not going to be pleased when she finds out what Bramblestar has in mind.

“Yes, you had a ceremony with Ivypool,” Bramblestar meowed, his voice even. “And now you need one with your new mentor.”

“It’s so exciting!” Finpaw piped up. “We’ll be apprentices together.”

“Sure we will,” Twigpaw responded, wishing she could share her friend’s enthusiasm. She turned and nodded to Bramblestar, wishing too that she hadn’t protested in the first place. I don’t want to start out by being difficult.

“Then from this time forward,” Bramblestar began, “Twigpaw will be a ThunderClan apprentice. Sparkpelt,” Bramblestar continued, “you are a brave and loyal ThunderClan cat, and I know that you will pass on all you have learned to Twigpaw.”

“What?” Sparkpelt’s eyes widened and her neck fur began to fluff up as she gazed at Twigpaw. But she had enough sense not to protest her Clan leader’s decision, even though he was her father. “I’ll do my best, Bramblestar,” she added with a sigh.

Twigpaw padded over to Sparkpelt and made herself touch noses with her as she met her new mentor’s irritated gaze. I’ll show you! she resolved. I’ll be the best apprentice any cat ever had.

Once the ceremony was over, Bramblestar returned to his den, and the rest of the Clan began to disperse. Most of them headed for the warriors’ den to settle into their nests for the night.

Twigpaw found herself alone in the middle of the camp, suddenly feeling a little lost, as if she didn’t belong there after all.

I’m sure I made the right decision to come back, she insisted to herself. But I never thought it would be like this. I thought it would be better. . . .

A few tail-lengths away, Larksong was talking to Finpaw, making arrangements to take him on a tour of the territory the following day. Finpaw was bouncing up and down, hardly able to contain his excitement.

Somehow her friend’s enthusiasm made Twigpaw feel even more uncertain. Staring at him, she waited for the swell of excitement to come back to her. Instead she felt strangely flat.

Oh, StarClan! This is my home now. So why don’t I feel happier to be back among my Clan?