Thunder Аnd Shadow

Chapter 21

Catching his breath, Alderpaw paused on the last rocky slope that led to the Moonpool. His pads burned from the clim b. Leafpool leaped ahead of him. Jayfeather stopped at his tail.

“Hurry up,” the blind medicine cat grunted. “The moon won’t stay up all night.”

Still Alderpaw hesitated. A warrior was standing on the rim of the hollow, looking down at them. Alderpaw couldn’t make out who it was, but he caught the scent of WindClan. “It looks like Kestrelflight brought an escort again,” he told Jayfeather.

“It’s Harespring.” Jayfeather pushed past Alderpaw.

“How do you know?” Alderpaw clambered after him.

“I’ve sm elled his scent all the way along the trail,” Jayfeather puffed. “I wonder why

Kestrelflight only cam e with one warrior this tim e.”

“Perhaps Onestar thinks that his deputy is as good as two ordinary warriors,” Alderpaw guessed.

“Perhaps.” Jayfeather sounded unconvinced. He nodded to Harespring as he reached the top, and padded past him.

Alderpaw followed, glancing nervously at the WindClan deputy, who watched them, betray ing no expression. After his trip to the WindClan camp with Leafpool, he didn’t trust any of WindClan. Perhaps they all shared Onestar’s rage and paranoia.

He padded down the dim pled stone path. The Moonpool shone at the bottom. The half-moon’s reflection was rippling in the wind, which spiraled down between the sheltering cliffs. It ruffled Alderpaw’s fur, but he didn’t feel cold. Newleaf had finally loosened the stone grip of leaf-bare.

The night air was fragrant with scents.

Willowshine was sitting beside Mothwing and Puddleshine, but as the ShadowClan medicine cat spotted Leafpool, he hurried forward.

“How’s Twigpaw?” he asked as she reached the pool.

“She’s fine.” Leafpool dipped her head politely.

In the day s since the ThunderClan patrol had brought her home, Twigpaw had been quiet, her thoughts drifting easily. When Alderpaw had asked her about her time with ShadowClan, she’d told him that they’d treated her well but she was glad she didn’t have to live in such a disorganized Clan. Sadness had tinged her gaze as she’d said it, and, when he’d pressed her, she’d adm itted that even though she didn’t miss ShadowClan, she wished she could still be with Violetpaw.

“It felt good to have kin close by,” she had m urm ured.

Alderpaw had touched his nose to her cheek, wishing there was som ething he could say to com fort her.

In the hollow, Puddleshine’s eyes flashed with gratitude. “Twigpaw was am azing.”

Alderpaw blinked at him as he reached the pool. What had Twigpaw done that had im pressed the medicine cat so much? “Am azing?”

“She helped m e with the sick cats,” Puddleshine explained. “She knew which herbs to give and how to make even the sickest cats swallow them.”

Jayfeather grunted. “I suppose all that time she spent getting under m y paws wasn’t entirely wasted.”

Alderpaw ignored the grum py medicine cat, relishing the pride warm ing his belly. “Twigpaw loves to help.”

Leafpool leaned forward anxiously. “How are the sick cats?”

The glow faded from Puddleshine’s gaze. Alderpaw suddenly noticed how weary he looked, his pelt dull and unwashed, his tail drooping. “Kinkfur died a few day s ago,” he mewed.

Kestrelflight shifted his paws uneasily, avoiding the ShadowClan medicine cat’s gaze. Had he known about Kinkfur’s death before the m eeting? Did he feel responsible?

Puddleshine went on. “No cat has shown signs of im provem ent. Snakekit is just fur and bones, and Rowanstar’s lives are ebbing away.” He lowered his voice, one eye on Harespring, still standing at the top of the hollow. “And now Crowfrost has been taken ill.”

Alderpaw saw Leafpool swap anxious looks with Kestrelflight. His heart lurched. ShadowClan had no leader now. They would be more vulnerable than ever.

Mothwing padded forward. “We’ve scoured RiverClan territory for lungwort, but we’ve found nothing that fits y our description.”

Willowshine pricked her ears. “We wondered if birch sap might help. There’s a young tree near the river. The bark is soft enough to score into. We can gather sap and bring it to you if y ou like. Its sweetness will give the sick cats energy when they can’t eat.”

Jayfeather tipped his head curiously. “Birch sap? Does it cure coughs?”

“We don’t know y et. We’ve only just discovered it,” Willowshine told him. “But it won’t do any harm. It might be worth try ing until Onestar changes his m ind.”

Alderpaw’s belly tightened. From what he’d seen of the WindClan leader, Onestar was never going to change his m ind. His thoughts quickened. And if he doesn’t? How many ShadowClan cats will die? Would there be any cat left? Anger surged through him. “Why don’t the Clans j oin together and make Onestar give ShadowClan the herb?”

Kestrelflight’s fur rippled uneasily.

Leafpool blinked at Alderpaw, clearly surprised by the anger in his mew.

Puddleshine’s ears twitched. “If only it were that easy.”

“It is that easy!” Alderpaw’s pelt bristled. “We need to stand up to Onestar.”

Leafpool’s tail swished over the stone. “You’re right, Alderpaw. But we need the support of our leaders. I’m not sure they are ready to start a war over this y et.”

Alderpaw growled. “They should be! Don’t they care that ShadowClan is dy ing? Aren’t all cats’ lives im portant?”

Kestrelflight glanced at Harespring. He nodded to the warrior, who turned and disappeared over the edge of the rim. “I think I have a more peaceful solution.”

The medicine cats swung their heads toward him.

Alderpaw’s heart leaped into this throat. “What?”

Kestrelflight padded to the pool. “I need to share with StarClan before I tell y ou. I need to know that what I want to do is right.”

Alderpaw watched the WindClan medicine cat crouch at the edge of the pool and touch his nose to the water. Curiosity gnawed in his belly. “What do you think he means?” he blinked at Leafpool.

“Let’s share with StarClan,” she mewed softly. “And then he can tell us.”

Alderpaw followed Leafpool as the cats fanned out around the pool. Mothwing lay down by the pool to wait. Closing his eyes, Alderpaw crouched and touched his nose to the water.

Sun-drenched m eadows opened in front of him. A warm breeze ruffled his pelt. The stone beneath his paws turned to soft grass, tickling where the wind set it rippling against his fur.

A broad-faced gray she-cat padded toward him, stars sparkling in her thick, long fur. She purred as she neared. Alderpaw dipped his head, wondering who she was.

“I am Yellowfang.” She stopped in front of him.

Yellowfang. Alderpaw had heard stories of the brave she-cat who had killed her own son to save her Clan. He blinked at her, his heart quickening. “Have you come to tell m e if Twigpaw and Violetpaw are what we were meant to find in the shadows?” He’d come to the pool with the sam e question burning in his thoughts every half-moon.

Yellowfang’s whiskers twitched with am usem ent. “Haven’t you wondered whether finding out for y ourselves might be part of the prophecy?”

Alderpaw leaned forward eagerly. “Does that mean they are?”

Yellowfang gazed at him steadily. “It means I’m not telling y ou.”

Alderpaw frowned, frustration pricking through his fur.

Yellowfang purred louder. “I’d forgotten the impatience of y outh.” She padded around him, letting her thick tail trail across his flank. “I cam e only to praise you for speaking out.”

“When?” Alderpaw m et her gaze, puzzled.

“Just now. With the other medicine cats.” She stood still. “I wondered at first if you had what it takes to be a medicine cat, but now that I see that you are willing to say what you believe, I trust that StarClan m ade the right choice after all.”

After all? Alderpaw frowned. “Didn’t you choose m e?”

“StarClan does not always speak with one voice.”

Alderpaw remembered many dream less moons. “Sometimes you don’t speak at all.”

“Would you rather we guided y our every paw step?” Yellowfang tipped her head. “Wouldn’t y ou rather walk y our own path?”

“I guess.” Alderpaw glanced past her, wondering if any other StarClan cats were here. “But there are som e paths that are too hard to walk alone. And we can’t see som e paths at all.” He thought of the missing Clan. “You never m ention Sky Clan. Do you know where they are?”

Yellowfang blinked at him, giving nothing away. Alderpaw flexed his claws irritably. “Then what about ShadowClan?” He thought of Onestar and ShadowClan and the dy ing cats. “Why tell

Puddleshine where to find lungwort without telling Onestar to let him gather it?”

“What lesson would any cat learn from that?” Yellowfang began to fade, her pelt growing translucent in the bright sunshine.

“Don’t go!” Alderpaw wanted to ask how he could help save ShadowClan. But Yellowfang was hardly more than a shim m ering heat haze above the grass.

“Speak out for what you believe.” Her mew whisked away on the breeze.

Alderpaw opened his eyes, blinking to adjust to the gloom of the hollow. The other cats were getting to their paws.

Leafpool fluffed her fur out against the night air. “Did you share with StarClan?” she asked him.

“Yellowfang told m e to speak out for what I believe,” Alderpaw whispered.

Leafpool glanced at Jayfeather, am usem ent flashing in her gaze. “That might not go down too well in the medicine den.”

Kestrelflight whisked his tail. Excitem ent was burning in his eyes. “I spoke to them!” he mewed. “I know what to do. Follow m e!” He bounded up the dim pled path to the rim of the hollow. “Harespring! It’s okay. StarClan say s it’s okay!”

Startled, Alderpaw hurried after the WindClan medicine cat. “What’s okay?”

Mothwing, Willowshine, Jayfeather, and Leafpool followed.

Puddleshine hurried at their heels. “What’s happening?”

Kestrelflight was already j um ping down the steep rocks after Harespring. The WindClan cats’ pelts were spiked. Alderpaw sm elled fear-scent. They were scared! What of? Heart quickening anxiously, he scram bled down after them, relieved when they reached a flatter part of the stream.

“It was Harespring’s idea,” Kestrelflight told him as he caught up to the WindClan medicine cat. “He insisted on being the only warrior to escort m e tonight and told m e about it on the way. I wasn’t sure. That’s why I had to ask StarClan.”

Alderpaw’s thoughts swam. What was Kestrelflight talking about?

The WindClan cat glanced over his shoulder toward the other medicine cats. “Hurry!” He beckoned them on with a flick of his tail and hurried after Harespring.

“Where are we going?” Alderpaw fought for breath as he raced to keep up with the WindClan cats.

“To the m oor.” Kestrelflight nodded to where the heather-covered slopes reached down to the stream. Harespring was already crossing the border onto WindClan territory.

As Kestrelflight followed him, Alderpaw hesitated at the scent line. “Onestar won’t want us on his territory.”

Leafpool and Puddleshine caught up to them. They blinked at Kestrelflight and Harespring, puzzled. The WindClan cats had stopped and were staring at them expectantly.

“Follow m e!” The wind whipped Harespring’s call toward them. “But hurry! We have to be quick.”

“We’re going to show you where the lungwort is,” Kestrelflight told them. “You can gather as much as you want.”

“What about Onestar?” Alderpaw stared at him.

“Onestar doesn’t know.” Harespring flicked his tail impatiently. “He can’t know. He’s wrong to let cats die. The rogues harm ed us, not ShadowClan. ShadowClan shouldn’t have to pay for other cats’ cruelty.”

Jayfeather, Mothwing, and Willowshine reached the border.

“What’s going on?” Jayfeather puffed.

“Harespring and Kestrelflight are going to let us gather lungwort. It was Harespring’s idea.”

Alderpaw nodded toward the WindClan deputy, im pressed by his com passion and sense of duty to the Clan cats bey ond his borders. His pelt bristled with excitem ent, but as he gazed across the heather-pelted slope, fear hollowed his belly. What if a WindClan patrol found them? He pushed the thought away. Who cares? ShadowClan needed the herb. And StarClan had given its permission.

Puddleshine had already crossed the scent line and was following Harespring, who was weaving between the heather bushes.

Alderpaw hurried after them, Kestrelflight at his side. “Is it far?”

“It’s just over the next rise,” Kestrelflight purred.

The chill that comes before dawn was seeping through the forest, spreading deep into

Alderpaw’s bones by the time he reached the ThunderClan camp. Leafpool carried the lungwort she’d gathered to the medicine den, nodding good night to Alderpaw as she went.

Jayfeather paused in the em pty clearing. Around them, gentle snores sounded from the shadowy dens.

“Puddleshine still has a long night ahead of him,” he mewed softly to Alderpaw.

“I wish I could have gone with him to help give the herbs to the sick cats.” Alderpaw’s heart ached with the hope that Puddleshine had gathered the herb soon enough to save his Clanmates.

“There’s been enough sneaking around tonight,” Jayfeather m urm ured.

“I hope Harespring and Kestrelflight don’t get into trouble.” Alderpaw fluffed out his fur against the chill.

“Hopefully, Onestar won’t find out,” Jayfeather mewed. “But if he does, he’d be mouse-brained to turn on his deputy and his medicine cat. He needs their support, especially if he’s being as unreasonable with his Clanmates as he is with the rest of us.”

Alderpaw’s thoughts flitted back to the fearful glances of the WindClan warriors as they’d watched their leader rage against Leafpool. “At least we m ay have saved som e lives tonight.”

“And we have our own stock of the herb in case the sickness ever reaches our forest.”

Jayfeather shifted his paws.

Alderpaw pressed back a shiver. Tiredness dragged at his bones, and he longed to head to his warm nest. But Jayfeather seem ed to have som ething on his m ind, so he waited in the dark clearing with him until, at last, the ThunderClan medicine cat spoke.

“Well done, speaking up tonight.” His blind blue gaze flashed in the moonlight. “I wondered when y ou’d finally find y our tongue.”

“I’ve spoken up before—”

Jayfeather cut him off. “Talking back to an old badger like m e is not the sam e as standing up for what you believe to cats from other Clans. I was proud of y ou.”

Alderpaw blinked, wondering if he was im agining Jayfeather’s words. Perhaps he had gone to his nest. Perhaps this was a dream.

Jayfeather turned and headed for his den. “I think you m ay be ready to become a full medicine cat.”

Alderpaw watched him go, too stunned to speak. Was it true? Was he going to get his full medicine cat name soon? Alderpatch. Alderleaf. Alderblaze. Possible names flitted through his mind as he headed for the apprentices’ den. Suddenly he hardly felt the cold. Warm th seeped through his pelt as he im agined the other medicine cats cheering his new name. He’d felt self-conscious being the only apprentice, especially when Puddleshine had been named after only two moons of training. Happily, he ducked into the den and clim bed into his nest. Perhaps I will be a great medicine cat after all.