Twilight

Chapter 23

Leafpool and Crowfeather paused beside the stepping stones that led across the stream into ThunderClan territory. Night had fallen, and a thin crescent moon rode high in the sky. They had traveled all day, only stopping at sunhigh long enough to devour a rabbit Crowfeather had caught on the moorland.

Now Leafpool’s paws were sore and her heart pounded with mounting fear.

“Good-bye,” she murmured, pushing her nose into Crowfeather’s fur. “I’ll see you again when all this is over.”

“What do you mean, ‘good-bye’?” Crowfeather demanded.

“I’m not leaving you when there are hostile badgers around.”

“But you need to warn WindClan.”

“I know, and I will. But I’ll see you to your camp first. It won’t take long.”

Seeing the stubborn light in his eyes, Leafpool knew she would only waste time by arguing. Leaping swiftly from one stepping-stone to the next, she led the way down the slope and into the shelter of the trees.

It was a relief to enter the woods after traveling for so long under the open sky, but Leafpool’s feeling of homecoming didn’t last long. Almost at once a rank scent drifted around them, masking all the other scents of the forest.

“Badgers,” Crowfeather growled.

Leafpool was too terrified to speak. Although she was exhausted from the long trek over the moors, she picked up her pace until she was racing through the trees, the gray-black warrior at her shoulder. As they drew closer to the ThunderClan camp, she heard the sound from her dream she had been dreading every pawstep of the journey: the yowls of fighting cats mingled with the deeper roars of her enemies.

Badgers had broken into the camp!

When she reached the edge of the hollow, she heard a rustling among the ferns and a cat wailing, “Not more of them! Oh, help!”

Whipping around, Leafpool saw Ferncloud and Daisy peering out from under a clump of bracken. It was Daisy who had cried out.

“Leafpool!” Ferncloud exclaimed. “What—” She broke off and added, “No, don’t stop. Go and help the Clan.”

Leafpool and Crowfeather ran on, down the slope that led to the entrance. The thorn barrier that was supposed to protect the camp had been utterly destroyed, trampled down by monstrous paws. Beyond the scattered branches, badgers filled the hollow, their thick-furred shoulders heaving as they pounced and fought. Leafpool caught a glimpse of her father, a wild light in his green eyes as he rallied his Clan with sweeping gestures of his tail.

“Follow me! Drive them out!” he yowled as he leapt at the nearest badger, a huge male with a scarred muzzle.

Dustpelt and Brambleclaw were hard on his paws.

Dustpelt hurled himself at the badger’s shoulder, scoring its pelt with outstretched claws. Brambleclaw flung himself at another creature that stood growling a tail-length away, springing up as it lowered its head and fastening his teeth in its ear.

Around the edge of the clearing, the dens that were barely two moons old were torn, their branches scattered so that Leafpool scarcely recognized her home. One massive badger was crashing through the warriors’ den in pursuit of Rainwhisker. Another rolled around a tail-length from Leafpool, locked into combat with Spiderleg while Sandstorm sank her teeth into its hind leg.

I’m too late! Leafpool thought in dismay. She couldn’t see Midnight anywhere among the badgers. Perhaps her vengeful kin had caught her on her way to ThunderClan and stopped her from warning the cats. Maybe they’d even killed her!

Throwing off the horror that froze her paws, Leafpool tore through the trampled thorns into the clearing. There must be something she could do to help her Clanmates, something more than just die at their side. She was about to hurl herself into battle when an eerie shriek rose above the rest of the clamor. It came from the nursery, the only clump of thorns that remained standing.

“Cinderpelt!” she gasped to Crowfeather.

As if her paws had wings, she streaked across the clearing, barely aware of a badger that lunged for her, only to fall back as Crowfeather flew at it, spitting and clawing. He was hard on her paws as she raced up to the nursery.

Just outside, a ginger cat was lying in the dust, a badger looming over her.

“Squirrelflight!” Leafpool yowled.

Her claws sank into the badger’s leg. Its head swung around, jaws snapping. Crowfeather thrust himself in front of Leafpool, his claws raking at the badger’s eyes. With a bellow of pain it reared back and lurched away.

Leafpool flung herself down beside her sister. Only the link that still connected them told her that her sister wasn’t dead. Relief swept through her from ears to tail-tip as Squirrelflight raised her head, blinking confusedly. “Leafpool… you came back!”

“Yes, I’m here. Are you hurt?”

Squirrelflight took in a huge, gasping breath. “Only… winded. Leafpool, in there…” Her gaze flicked to the nursery. “In there… Cinderpelt, with Sorreltail… kits coming. Badger… broke in.”

A fresh wave of terror flooded over Leafpool. I’m too late.

She plunged past Squirrelflight into the nursery. The shadows inside were filled with the sound of vicious snarling, cut through with a wail of terror. Leafpool recognized Sorreltail’s voice. “Sorreltail, it’s me, Leafpool. Where’s Cinderpelt?”

In the darkness she could make out nothing but a huge, humped shape. The stench of the badger filled the whole nursery. She hurled herself forward and collided with a solid flank covered in coarse fur. Raking her claws down the badger’s side, she gasped, “Out! Get out!” The invader turned its head toward her; she caught the gleam of bright, malig-nant eyes and knew she was living out her nightmare of the rolling black mist.

Lashing out with one paw, she scored the badger across its nose and saw blood spatter out, its hot scent mingling with the reek of badger. A paw swept up to batter her, but before the blow fell Crowfeather appeared next to her, slashing at the badger’s muzzle.

The badger let out a howl of pain. Turning, it thrust Leafpool aside and made for the nursery entrance, breaking down more of the brambles as it went. Watery shafts of moonlight filtered through the gaps, revealing the horrified faces of Squirrelflight and Ashfur looking in.

“What’s going on? Is Cinderpelt hurt?” Squirrelflight asked hoarsely.

“I don’t know yet,” Leafpool replied. Her voice shook with fear. “I’ll look after her. You stay on guard.”

Her sister nodded and went back to the entrance with Ashfur. Crowfeather touched noses briefly with Leafpool before following them. “Call me if you need me,” he meowed.

The floor of the nursery was covered with a thick layer of moss and fern. Sorreltail lay at the far side, her head raised and her eyes staring in terror. A powerful ripple passed along her belly, and Leafpool realized that her kits were about to be born. She started to cross the nursery, but stopped when her paws brushed against a broken, motionless body.

Cinderpelt lay on her side in the bed of moss, her paws and tail limp, her eyes closed. Blood spilled slowly from a gash in her side.

“Cinderpelt…” Leafpool whispered. “Cinderpelt, it’s me, Leafpool. Wake up.”

The medicine cat’s eyes twitched open and she gazed up at Leafpool. “Leafpool,” she rasped. “I prayed to StarClan you would come back.”

“I should never have left you.” Leafpool crouched beside her mentor, breathing in the familiar comforting scent. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Cinderpelt, please don’t die!”

She scooped a pawful of moss from the floor and pressed it against the wound in Cinderpelt’s side. “You’re going to be fine,” she mewed. “As soon as the bleeding stops I’ll fetch some marigold to make sure the wound doesn’t get infected, and some poppy seeds for the pain. You’ll be able to have a good long sleep, and you’ll feel much better when you wake up.”

“Stop it, Leafpool,” Cinderpelt whispered. “There’s no point.” Leafpool saw her eyes gleam dully in the shadows.

“I’m going to join StarClan.”

“Don’t say that!” Leafpool protested, clawing up more moss and thrusting it against the tide of blood that showed no sign of stopping.

The medicine cat tried to lift her head, but the effort was too much for her, and she let it fall again. “It’s all right,” she murmured. “StarClan told me they would come for me soon.

This is the fate they have laid down for me.”

“You knew?” Leafpool felt as though a dark chasm had opened up in front of her paws and she was crashing helplessly into its depths. “You knew you were going to die and you didn’t tell me?”

“It was my destiny, not yours.”

“But you knew I was meeting Crowfeather! You knew that if I went away ThunderClan would be left without a medicine cat! Cinderpelt, you should have forced me to stay.”

Her mentor blinked slowly. Her blue eyes were very bright. “I would never force you to do anything, Leafpool. I didn’t want you to stay if it was going to make you unhappy.

You must want to be a medicine cat with all your heart.”

“I do,” Leafpool whispered. “I do.” Follow your heart, Spottedleaf had said.

“You are a wonderful medicine cat,” Cinderpelt told her.

“No, I’m not. I went away and left you, and my Clan. Oh, Cinderpelt, I’m so sorry!”

The tip of Cinderpelt’s tail gave a tiny, restless twitch.

“There’s nothing to forgive. I am happy to join StarClan, knowing that ThunderClan will be cared for.”

“No!” Leafpool cried, as if by sheer force of wishing she could turn back time and prevent her mentor’s death. “This is all my fault. I should have been here. I should—”

Cinderpelt shook her head. “It would have made no difference,” she mewed. “We cannot change our destiny. We just have to have the courage to know what it is, and accept it.”

She let out a long sigh. “StarClan are waiting for me. Good-bye, Leafpool.”

Her eyes closed. Her body jerked once, then lay still.

“Cinderpelt!” Leafpool pushed her nose deep into her mentor’s fur. She felt as if all the frosts of leaf-bare were gathered in her limbs.

A few moments later she felt a warm pelt brush against her side and realized that Crowfeather was crouching beside her.

“I’m sorry, Leafpool,” he murmured. “I know what she meant to you.”

“She taught me everything, and now she’s dead,” Leafpool wailed. “I don’t know what to do. I trusted Spottedleaf. She told me to follow my heart, but she knew Cinderpelt was going to die! How could she do that?”

Crowfeather pressed closer to her and drew his tongue over her face and ears with gentle, comforting strokes. “You did follow your heart,” he meowed. “Your heart told you to come home. You could never be happy away from your Clan.”

Leafpool turned her head and saw pain glisten in his amber eyes. “But what about you?” she whispered.

Crowfeather bowed his head. “Your heart lies here. Not with me. It was never truly with me.”

Leafpool felt as though she were being torn in two, but she knew Crowfeather was right. She loved him, but not enough.

For a few heartbeats she leaned into him, feeling his warmth and strength for the last time. Then she touched Cinderpelt’s fur with her nose.

“It’s all right,” she murmured. “I’ll stay here and take good care of the Clan, I promise. One day we’ll meet again, walking among the stars.”

For a moment she thought she felt the brush of two pelts against hers, and she smelled two familiar scents as Spottedleaf and Cinderpelt wound around her.

“StarClan is with you, Leafpool,” Spottedleaf murmured, and Cinderpelt added, “We will always be watching over you.”

Then they were gone. Leafpool was crouching on the floor of the nursery, with the roar of battle still outside and Sorreltail gasping in the far corner as her kits fought their way into the world.

“Your friend needs your help,” Crowfeather meowed.

“Can I do anything?”

“Just help the others keep the badgers off.” Leafpool was amazed at how calm her voice sounded. “If you get the chance, ask some cat to show you Cinderpelt’s den and fetch me some watermint. But if you can’t, I’ll manage without it.

It’s more important to keep the badgers out of here.”

The gray-black warrior dipped his head and slipped away.

Leafpool picked her way around Cinderpelt’s body and across the mossy bedding until she reached Sorreltail’s side.

“Don’t worry,” she reassured her friend. “I’m here now.

Everything’s going to be fine.”