Chapter 7

On the morning after the Gathering, Lionblaze returned from the dawn patrol and headed straight for Firestar’s den. The sun was shining down into the hollow, and puffs of white cloud scudded across a blue sky. The camp was filled with the noise of peaceful activity, but Lionblaze couldn’t help feeling that trouble was heading for them like a swelling storm cloud.

As he climbed up to the top of the tumbled rocks, Lionblaze heard Brambleclaw’s voice coming from Firestar’s den.

“Do you think Onestar was making all that up?” the Clan deputy meowed. “Is he looking for a fight?”

“I hope not,” Firestar replied. “But WindClan is certainly getting hostile.”

“Firestar?” Lionblaze reached the entrance to the den and poked his head inside. “Can I talk to you?”

Firestar was sitting on his pile of bedding at the back of the den, with Brambleclaw standing beside him. “Come in,” he invited with a wave of his tail. “We were just discussing Onestar’s outburst at the Gathering.”

Lionblaze padded into the den, dipping his head to Brambleclaw. “I heard what you were saying,” he began. “That’s what I wanted to discuss, too. What if WindClan is right?”

“What?” Brambleclaw’s tail-tip twitched. “You think ThunderClan cats—?”

“No,” Lionblaze interrupted. “I know that’s not true. But suppose they have seen a cat hanging around? Remember what Cherrypaw and Molepaw said they saw. We might well have a rogue wandering about in the territory.”

Firestar nodded. “That’s a very good point.”

“I’ll track it down if you like,” Lionblaze offered, “and send it on its way.” Waiting tensely for his leader’s reply, he added to himself, And then I can find out if what Jayfeather and I suspect is true.

“There’s no need for that,” Brambleclaw meowed. “We can just send out extra patrols.”

“No,” Firestar decided after a moment’s thought. “Lionblaze can go alone if he wants. There’s no need to be aggressive about this. We just need to find out if there’s any evidence of an intruder.”

Brambleclaw looked slightly puzzled, but dipped his head toward Firestar. “Fine, if you think that’s best.”

Lionblaze bade the two cats a hasty farewell, and ran down the tumbled rocks into the clearing. On his way to the thorn tunnel, he spotted Jayfeather outside his den, sniffing at the fox bite on Foxleap’s shoulder. Lionblaze veered toward him.

“That smells fine,” Jayfeather meowed to Foxleap as Lionblaze approached. “See me again tomorrow. If there are no more problems I think you can go back to warrior duties in a few days.”

“Great, thanks!” Foxleap replied, heading toward the warriors’ den.

Jayfeather turned to Lionblaze. “Well? What are you so excited about?”

Lionblaze paused for a heartbeat, still finding it odd after all this time that Jayfeather could judge his feelings so accurately without being able to see him. “Firestar has given me permission to go and look for the intruder,” he told his brother.

Jayfeather twitched his ears. “Really? You’d better be careful, then.” A heartbeat later, he added, “What will you do if we’re right?”

“I don’t know,” Lionblaze admitted, feeling a tingle in his paws. “But I don’t want any other cat finding out first.”

“True enough,” Jayfeather commented.

Leaving his littermate to return to his den, Lionblaze brushed through the thorn tunnel and headed to the slope above the hollow. Wind blew into his face and flattened his fur to his sides as he gazed out over the lake. It looked so peaceful, the water glittering in the sunlight, surrounded by rustling green leaves. Yet Lionblaze felt it was overshadowed by the Dark Forest and his knowledge of what was coming.

The acrid scent of fox dung trickled into Lionblaze’s nose. He followed it until he reached the clearing where Cherrypaw and Molepaw had been training.

Phew, what a stench! Ivypool certainly did a thorough job.

He searched along the edges of the bramble thickets until he discovered paw prints and scraps of fur clinging to the thorns, which showed him where the apprentices had hidden from the fox. Squeezing under the brambles, Lionblaze tried to work out what the young cats might have seen from their hiding place. Bramble tendrils cut off his view in most directions, but there was a gap low down, level with a scared apprentice’s sight line. Through it he could see a hazel bush a few tail-lengths away that looked like a place where the mysterious rescuer might have been crouching.

Lionblaze wriggled out from underneath the brambles, hissing with annoyance as thorns raked his fur. Underneath the hazel bush the debris was disturbed as if a cat had stood there, and a few snapped twigs lay on the ground, but there were no clear paw prints.

The cat must have been a bit smaller than me to get under there, Lionblaze thought. Too bad there are no scraps of fur left behind. And I can’t smell a thing over this awful reek of fox.

There was nothing more to be learned in the clearing. After a moment’s thought, Lionblaze headed for the border with the unclaimed forest, then turned toward WindClan, since the intruder had been seen there. Scanning the ground carefully as he padded along, he spotted a place where the leaf-mold had been churned up, as if a pounce and a brief struggle had taken place there.

Sniffing carefully all around, Lionblaze couldn’t find any signs that the prey had been eaten where it was caught. Then he stiffened, spotting tiny drag marks leading toward the border. Following them paw step by paw step, sometimes almost losing the trail among grass and leaves, Lionblaze finally reached the border. The drag marks continued; passing the ThunderClan scent markers, he found scattered feathers a few fox-lengths outside the boundary, in unclaimed forest.

So this cat killed prey, but knew enough to take it across the border before they ate it. Lionblaze’s heart started to beat faster. This is a cat who knows about the territories! It’s confident hunting and moving around here, but it doesn’t want to be found.

Lionblaze sat beside the feathers, wrapped his tail around his paws, and tried to think. If the intruder was living in this area, she had food and water, but she would need shelter, too.

Not too far from here, if they want to keep an eye on ThunderClan, but not so close that scent would stray across the border while they’re resting

Rising to his paws again, Lionblaze ventured a little farther into the unknown woods. He soon came to a bramble thicket, which looked like a possible shelter for a loner.

No, he thought, eyeing it carefully. I wouldn’t live there. It would be too hard to escape, and a cat could be on top of me before I heard them.

Searching farther, his pelt prickling with the feeling that he was very close to his quarry, Lionblaze came to a clearing where the ground was uneven and moss-covered rocks jutted out of the ground. Beneath one of the biggest boulders was a hole, like the entrance to a tunnel. Lionblaze set his paws down as lightly as if he were stalking a mouse. Reaching the hole, he stretched out his neck and took a sniff. Dampness and earth flooded his scent glands, but there was the scent of cat as well, though he couldn’t identify it among all the other scents.

He was crouching down to enter when another thought occurred to him. Wait. I wouldn’t shelter in there unless I knew there was another way out.

Still treading carefully, he slunk around the boulders, his gaze flicking from side to side in search of another hole. Finally he found it: smaller than the first, and well-hidden in a clump of ferns.

Yes!

After a moment’s thought, Lionblaze searched until he found a fallen branch, and dragged it back to the second hole, jamming it firmly across the opening.

I don’t know if the intruder is in there, but I’m taking no chances.

He returned to the first entrance, crouching down and straining to see inside. But it was impossible to make out anything in the darkness.

There’s no other choice. I’ll have to go in.

For a couple of heartbeats he hesitated. He really didn’t want to squeeze himself into the dark hole. It was too small for him, and he felt as if he would hardly be able to breathe in the cramped space. There could be anything down there… snakes… foxes

Then he gave his pelt a shake. Are you a warrior, or a mouse? Flattening himself to the ground, he began to thrust his shoulders into the narrow gap and crawl forward.

A voice spoke behind him. “Hello, Lionblaze.”

Lionblaze’s heart jumped. He whipped around, banging his head on the boulder that sheltered the hole. Then his jaw dropped open and he stared in astonishment. In front of him stood a cat that he had never expected to see again.

“Sol!”

Sol inclined his head. His mottled brown-and-black pelt gleamed in the sunlight and his whiskers arched with amusement as he looked at Lionblaze. “How appropriate that you’re the first cat that I see when I return,” he mewed, giving his chest fur a couple of licks. “After all, you were the last cat I saw before I left.”

Guilt surged over Lionblaze as he remembered how he had helped Sol escape from the ThunderClan camp, genuinely believing that he didn’t deserve to be kept prisoner.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, his mind racing.

Sol’s ears twitched in surprise. “No warm welcome for a former Clanmate?”

“You were never my Clanmate,” Lionblaze retorted, struggling to keep calm, furious with himself that Sol had caught him off-balance, with his pelt covered in soil and debris. “And you’re wrong to expect a welcome from any of us,” he went on. “We know what you did to Blackstar and ShadowClan.”

Sol’s eyes widened in a hurt expression. “I simply suggested a different way of living. The world doesn’t begin and end with the warrior code, you know.” An ominous note crept into his voice. “But I also know that the warrior code insists that you treat visitors with courtesy. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to visit old friends, is there?”

Lionblaze gritted his teeth. This cat leaves me wrong-footed whatever I say! “We were never your friends,” he muttered.

“Oh, I think you were,” Sol meowed. “After all, you helped me to escape, didn’t you?” Blinking at Lionblaze’s hiss of annoyance, he added, “Ah, I see that this isn’t common knowledge. I can’t say I’m surprised. Hardly your finest moment, was it, releasing a prisoner? Though I have to say I was never entirely sure what I was captured for.” He examined the claws on one forepaw. “So, are you going to take me to Firestar?”

Surprise rippled through Lionblaze’s pelt. “Really?”

Sol nodded. “Why not? I have no quarrel with him, even if he did imprison me for no reason. We can share stories about the old days by the lake. The vanishing sun—remember that?”

Lionblaze shuddered and looked up at the sky, remembering the unnatural darkness, chill, and silence all too clearly.

“It’s all right,” Sol purred. “I’m not going to make it disappear again. As long as I’m not treated unfairly, that is.”

Lionblaze emerged from the thorn tunnel with Sol just behind him. Most of the patrols had returned by this time, and the stone hollow was filled with cats sunning themselves, sharing tongues, or gossiping beside the fresh-kill pile. Dustpelt was crossing the clearing, heading for the dirtplace tunnel; he halted when he spotted Sol.

“I don’t believe it!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

Cloudtail and Brightheart, curled up together in a sunny spot, raised their heads and stared. “Sol! It can’t be!” Cloudtail’s voice was a yowl of astonishment.

Alerted by the noise, two or three warriors poked their heads out of their den, then slid into the open. Brackenfur, who was sharing tongues with Sorreltail just outside, took one look, sprang to his paws, and raced up the rockfall toward Firestar’s den.

“Sol!” Squirrelflight gasped, looking up from the fresh-kill pile with a vole in her jaws. “Oh, no!”

Cherrypaw and Molepaw scampered across the clearing and skidded to a halt in front of Sol, gazing at him with eyes stretched wide in wonder.

“Are you really Sol?” Cherrypaw asked. “Mousefur was just telling us about you!”

“Yeah, are you the cat who stole the sun?” Molepaw added.

Sol dipped his head. “Yes, but I gave it back again.”

“Wow!”

Lionblaze didn’t move as more of his Clanmates bounded across the clearing and surrounded him and Sol. He glanced around for Jayfeather and Dovewing, but couldn’t see either of them.

“What do you want?” Graystripe growled, pushing himself to the front of the crowd. “Every time you set paw in our territory, it means trouble.”

“Right.” Dustpelt came to stand beside Graystripe, his neck fur bristling. “If I were you, Sol, I would turn around again and go back where you came from.”

So good to meet old friends,” Sol purred, raising one paw and giving it a lick. “There’s always such a warm welcome in ThunderClan.”

Before any cat could respond, Firestar shouldered his way forward and halted in front of Sol, looking him up and down with suspicion in his green eyes.

“Why are you here, Sol?” he asked, his flame-colored pelt fluffing up.

Sol blinked. “I was just passing through. I couldn’t go on without stopping to greet my friends in ThunderClan.”

Passing through… huh! Lionblaze thought. He’s been around for several sunrises, at least.

Firestar seemed to consider Sol’s answer for a moment, the tip of his tail flicking slightly. “ThunderClan has no quarrel with you now,” he mewed at last. “But I can’t say the same about Blackstar. And you’ve already caused enough trouble by hanging around on the WindClan border. All in all, it would be better if you just left.”

Sol’s only response was to twitch an ear.

“We can make him go, Firestar,” Cloudtail growled, taking a pace forward. “Just say the word.”

But at the same moment, a loud cry of “Sol! Sol!” came from the direction of the warriors’ den. Poppyfrost came pelting across the camp and wriggled through the crowd of cats surrounding Sol.

“Sol, you saved my kits, didn’t you?” she meowed, gazing wide-eyed at him. “Above the hollow, when the fox cornered them? It was you, wasn’t it?” she went on insistently when Sol didn’t reply. “They didn’t get a good look at you, but they’d have known if it was a ThunderClan warrior.”

Lionblaze’s heart sank. Realizing that Sol must have been the cat under the hazel bush who scared away the fox didn’t change his opinion at all. He wanted Sol gone.

“And what was Sol doing, wandering around ThunderClan territory?” Dustpelt muttered.

“Yeah.” Cloudtail glared at the newcomer. “Why didn’t he come straight here if he wanted to visit, or make himself known to a patrol?”

Poppyfrost’s head swiveled and she returned Cloudtail’s glare. “He probably wasn’t sure about what sort of a welcome he’d get,” she retorted, then turned back to Sol with a deep-throated purr. “Oh, Sol, thank you so much! You’ll always be welcome here.”

“Thank you, Poppyfrost,” Sol replied. “But really, it was nothing.”

“Fighting off a fox isn’t nothing,” Berrynose meowed, coming up behind Poppyfrost and dipping his head respectfully to the visitor. “Firestar, he can stay the night, can’t he?”

Firestar looked disconcerted. Lionblaze could see that he didn’t want to let Sol back into the camp, but he could hardly turn him away now. “Very well,” he agreed, with a curt nod.

“Come over here and take your pick of the fresh-kill pile,” Berrynose invited.

The cream-colored warrior escorted Sol across the camp, and most of the other cats followed. Cherrypaw and Molepaw were already asking excited questions about Sol’s travels.

“Later,” Poppyfrost told them. “Let Sol eat and rest first.”

Lionblaze stayed where he was, near the camp entrance. I can’t believe this! Sol’s back in ThunderClan as an honored guest. He spotted Jayfeather, who had been listening at the edge of the crowd, and padded over to join him. “We were wrong,” he mewed.

Jayfeather nodded, his head turned toward the fresh-kill pile as if he could see his Clanmates gathering around Sol. “I was so sure…” he murmured.

“I don’t care how many apprentices Sol saved,” Lionblaze went on after a moment. “I don’t trust him, and I don’t think Firestar trusts him, either.”

“Neither do I.” Jayfeather gave a disdainful sniff. “There’s no way he was just passing by. He’s here for a reason, and that reason is bound to be trouble.”

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