Why do Twolegs always think you want to go to them, anyway? Like they’re so fascinating!
The roar of another monster filled the air, growing rapidly louder and then stopping abruptly. Leafstar, who was chatting with Firefern a couple of tail-lengths away, glanced up and caught Hawkwing’s gaze.
“It sounds like we have more Twoleg company,” Hawkwing remarked.
Leafstar let out an exasperated noise. “We just need to keep our distance,” she mewed.
That’s been Leafstar’s solution ever since the Twolegs appeared, Hawkwing thought. But is that even possible? There are so many of them now, swarming all over.
As the sun sank lower in the sky, the cats of SkyClan gathered around the fresh-kill pile to eat. Hawkwing basked in the scarlet light, thinking of how much he loved greenleaf. The long days and nights, the beautiful sunsets . . .
But then his thoughts flew back to Pebbleshine, and the pain of loss gripped his heart again as if powerful claws were sinking into it. The prey in his belly felt heavy as he remembered how Pebbleshine’s fur shone in sunlight. She must be close to kitting by now, he thought. Or maybe our kits are already born.
To distract himself from these dark thoughts, he turned to Plumwillow’s kits.
“Look, kits,” he meowed, scratching up some moss from the floor of the camp and patting it into a ball. “Which of you can throw this moss-ball farthest?”
“I can!”
“Can not!”
“Watch me!”
As his gaze followed the three kits, scrambling and falling over each other’s paws, shredding the moss-ball in their eagerness, Hawkwing found the ache in his heart eased.
Then a different sound reached Hawkwing’s ears, drowning the happy squeaking of the kits. That’s a dog barking—and another, and another!
Hawkwing’s belly lurched in surprise as he realized how close the dogs were. They’re normally so lazy they stay by the lake, well away from our camp. He had only a moment, just enough time to glance across at Leafstar, before four dogs burst into the camp. Their huge paws slammed against the ground, their jaws drooling as they growled. Hawkwing gagged as their scent flooded over him.
These weren’t like the dogs Hawkwing had seen with their Twolegs, lounging on the grass beside the Twoleg dens. One of those had been even smaller than a cat, wearing some weird kind of Twoleg pelt. All four of these dogs were big and fast, lean and long-legged with sleek brindled pelts. Their jaws gaped to show rows of huge, sharp teeth. Hawkwing almost thought they were some kind of wild creature, until he noticed their Twoleg collars.
As the dogs spotted the group of cats their eyes rolled in excitement. Their barking grew even louder. Without taking the time to think, Hawkwing grabbed Dewkit by the scruff and shoved Reedkit onto his back. “Run!” he mumbled to Plumwillow through his mouthful of fur as he pushed Finkit toward her.
Plumwillow grabbed Finkit but stumbled in her haste as she picked him up. One of the dogs spotted her and raced toward her. After one terrified glance Plumwillow whipped around and kept pace with Hawkwing as he scrambled up the steep slope at the far side of the camp and took off into the woods. Behind him he heard more barking, and the panic-stricken screeching of his Clanmates, but he had no time to look back.
The dogs were on their trail.
CHAPTER 30
Hawkwing fled into the trees with Plumwillow at his side, racing along until his lungs burned. He risked a glance over his shoulder and realized that only one dog was following them. But it was much bigger than they were, and Hawkwing knew they would be outmatched if it came to a fight.
The dog’s disgusting scent was all around them, and Hawkwing could hear its panting breath. It ran with its jaws open, its tongue lolling out, and it seemed tireless.
We’re not going to make it. . . . Hawkwing remembered how Echosong had prophesied that bad things would happen if they stayed beside the lake. Was I wrong not to speak up and support her? he asked himself. After all we’ve been through, is this how SkyClan will end?
Then Hawkwing spotted a gorse thicket at the bottom of a rocky slope. “Down there!” he gasped.
Together he and Plumwillow scrambled down the slope, the kits letting out shrill wails of terror. When they reached the thicket they shoved the kits deep within the thorns, followed them as far as they could, then turned to face the dog.
“It might be too big to get at us in here,” Plumwillow panted.
At first the dog whined and scrabbled around at the edge of the thicket, and Hawkwing began to hope that it would get bored and go away. But then its whines changed to snarls of frustration and it began to push its way into the gorse, ignoring the thorns that tore at its pelt.
Hawkwing slid out his claws. “Back off, mange-pelt!” he growled.
He could feel the dog’s hot breath on his face. “If it comes in, go for its eyes,” he whispered to Plumwillow.
But before the dog could attack, distant barking sounded from the direction of the camp. The dog halted, its head raised to listen, and Hawkwing caught his breath, suddenly hopeful. The barking came again; the dog swung its head around, then with a last snarl it backed out of the gorse thicket and ran off.
Thank StarClan! Hawkwing thought as he poked his head out of the bushes to watch it go.
Hawkwing’s heart was pounding and he was shaking with relief as he turned to Plumwillow. “It looks like we’re safe—for now,” he meowed.
Plumwillow was quivering with fear and tension. “Thank you, Hawkwing,” she whispered, pressing herself against his side. “You saved the kits.”
“We both did.”
The kits crept to their mother’s side, eyes still wide with shock. Plumwillow encircled them with her tail, and held them close to her and Hawkwing.
They are not my family, Hawkwing told himself. But oh, StarClan, I wish they were!
Night had fallen by the time Hawkwing limped back into the camp with Plumwillow and the kits. He found the rest of his Clan huddled beside the fresh-kill pile. Their pelts were bushed-up and ragged; their voices sounded hoarse as they discussed the dog attack.
“Hawkwing!” His sister Blossomheart sprang to her paws and ran across the camp to meet him. “Are you okay? Are the kits okay?”
“We’re all fine,” Hawkwing replied wearily, setting Dewkit down and letting Reedkit slide off his back. “A bit scratched, and I’ve got a thorn in my pad. We had to hide in a gorse thicket.”
“Thank StarClan!” Blossomheart exclaimed. “I was so worried.”
“What about the rest of you?”
“We’re okay,” Blossomheart told him. “Clovertail got bitten, and one of the dogs ripped part of Firefern’s pelt off, but Echosong has seen to them, and it’s not serious. The rest of us are just a bit bruised. But we fought the vicious brutes off,” she finished with satisfaction.
“That’s good to hear,” Plumwillow mewed, relief in her voice. “Hawkwing, I’m going to take the kits back to the nursery. They’re exhausted.”
Hawkwing nodded, seeing that she was right. The normally energetic kits could hardly put one paw in front of another as their mother herded them across the camp to the nursery. “They don’t look scared anymore,” he remarked. “They don’t understand how close we came to something terrible.”
Plumwillow sighed. “The sooner they forget, the better.”
When they had gone, Hawkwing followed Blossomheart to join his Clanmates.
“The dogs are really a problem now,” Birdwing was meowing as he padded up. “It’s not safe here.”
“Greenleaf is almost over,” Leafstar responded. “We just have to move the camp further away from the dogs.”
“Our camp was far away from the dogs,” Sparrowpelt pointed out. “Or so we thought. If we move, who’s to say that they won’t find our new camp?”
“And it’s not only the dogs!” Firefern protested, leaping to her paws. “They wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Twolegs. They’re a much greater danger!”
/>
“That’s right,” Clovertail put in. “We settled here partly because it was peaceful, safe, and free of Twolegs. Now it’s like we’re living in the middle of a Twolegplace!”
“Hey, don’t get carried away,” Macgyver mewed, sounding much calmer than the she-cats. “Yes, there are Twolegs here now. But there’s plenty of prey and unspoiled territory as well. And I’ve noticed that some of the Twolegs are packing up and leaving. Can’t we put up with them for a bit longer? Maybe they’ll all be gone by leaf-bare.”
Parsleyseed nodded vigorously in agreement. “Twolegs are better than raccoons,” he pointed out. “At least the worst they’ll do is try to pet us.”
“That’s not true!” Echosong spoke up, her voice deeply serious. “Parsleyseed, you haven’t lived long enough to see the evil Twolegs can do.”
“You’re right, Echosong,” Leafstar meowed, dipping her head to the medicine cat. “But I think Macgyver’s right, too, that the Twolegs are beginning to leave. I believe we can avoid the ones who remain by moving our camp.”
Cries of protest rose from the cats who surrounded her.
“Wherever we go, there’ll be Twolegs!”
“There’s nowhere as sheltered as where we are now!”
Echosong silenced the objections with a wave of her tail as she rose to her paws and picked her way through the crowd of cats to stand in front of Leafstar.
“I don’t know if moving our camp will help or not,” she announced. “And I don’t intend to stay and find out.”
An even deeper silence rippled through the Clan as the cats exchanged shocked glances. Leafstar was staring wide-eyed at the medicine cat, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Echosong let out a sigh; Hawkwing could see the distress in her eyes. “I’ve tried to see things your way, Leafstar,” she began. “I really have. I want the Clan to settle down and become strong again. But I’ve just had another vision of a smoldering ember. The spark that remains. We’re no closer to finding it, and now we’re not even trying!”
“Has StarClan spoken to you again?” Leafstar asked urgently.
Echosong shook her head. “StarClan has already made it very clear that we’re supposed to unite with the other Clans. The dog attack was a reminder of that—maybe even a sign. I can no longer ignore my feelings that we have turned our back on StarClan and their instructions. There’s only one way to dispel the darkness . . . and that is to find the spark that remains.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “In the morning, I will set out to search for the lake in my visions, where I believe I will find ThunderClan.”
Hawkwing felt as though a lightning bolt had appeared out of a clear sky and struck his Clan. He expected more protests, but every cat was silent, their gazes fixed on Leafstar. The unthinkable was happening, and no cat had any words.
“Why would you do this?” Leafstar asked quietly. “After we’ve lived together for so many seasons?”
“I know I have a duty to SkyClan,” Echosong replied; Hawkwing thought she was having trouble keeping her voice steady. “But I have just as great a duty to StarClan. And I believe I haven’t received any more messages from them because I’m not following their instructions.”
“And what about your Clanmates?” Leafstar demanded, anger edging its way into her voice. “Clovertail was bitten today, and Firefern had her shoulder fur torn off.” She angled her ears toward the two she-cats. “Who will look after them?”
“I thought of that, of course I did,” Echosong responded. “And I spoke to Fidgetpaw. He will stay, and take good care of SkyClan.”
“What?” Leafstar’s voice rose. “Are you serious? Fidgetpaw is smart and he’s learning quickly, but he’s still only an apprentice! What if something terrible happened, and Fidgetpaw didn’t know what to do?”
“That’s the risk we have to take.” Echosong flexed her claws, digging them hard into the ground. “Believe me, Leafstar, I’ve thought long and hard about this. But I know that drastic steps must be taken to save the Clan! And I believe that Fidgetpaw is capable. I’ve trained him as well as I can.”
Fidgetpaw ducked his head where he sat on the edge of the crowd of cats. “I’ll do my best, Leafstar,” he mewed in a small voice, as if he was overwhelmed by the thought of taking responsibility for all of SkyClan.
He must be so nervous, Hawkwing thought sympathetically. Echosong is asking a lot of him.
For a few moments that seemed to drag out for moons, Leafstar and Echosong faced each other. Hawkwing could feel the tension in the air between them.
At last Echosong bowed her head. “Leafstar, you know that I must follow StarClan’s wishes. They have saved us before.”
For a long moment Leafstar remained in thoughtful silence. Then she gave a weary nod. “I know you believe that you have to do this. I’m not happy that you’re leaving, and I have my doubts that Fidgetpaw is ready to take on this job. But if you’re right, and this is truly the will of StarClan, then perhaps—one day—we’ll be united again.”
“I hope and pray that will happen,” Echosong responded. Then she stood up straighter, letting her gaze travel around the Clan, and continued more briskly, “I would prefer not to go alone. Leafstar, will you allow some cats to come with me to find the lake I believe StarClan means us to find?”
Leafstar’s ears twitched up, and for a moment Hawkwing thought that she would refuse. Then she dipped her head in reluctant agreement. “I know some cats might feel the same as you, Echosong,” she mewed. “If any cat wants to leave with you, I will not stand in their way.”
“Thank you,” Echosong murmured.
“I’ll come,” Bellaleaf offered immediately, rising to her paws.
As she spoke Harrybrook half rose, seemed to change his mind, then got up to stand beside Bellaleaf. “I’ll come too,” he meowed. “I’m sorry!” he added, his eyes distraught as he gazed at his mother, Leafstar. “I don’t want to leave you, but I think Echosong is right, and . . . and she can’t just wander off without any warriors to take care of her!”
Leafstar’s voice was tight as she responded. “You must follow your heart, Harrybrook.”
Hawkwing felt his paws twitching. All his instincts were telling him to volunteer to go with Echosong. But there were too many arguments against it. I have duties here! I have Curlypaw to train! And I owe so much to Leafstar!
Aware of some cat’s gaze on him, he turned his head and exchanged a long look with Plumwillow. He knew that she would never leave the rest of the Clan. Besides, the kits are too young to travel.
He knew too that the old hot-headed Hawkwing—the cat who had failed all the cats he loved—would have been the first one to volunteer to leave with Echosong. But even though he was still certain that this lake was the wrong place for SkyClan, now he felt strongly that the responsible thing to do was stay.
“Is that all?” Echosong asked.
Hawkwing felt that she was staring right at him. He looked away, but that meant that his gaze fell on Leafstar. He could tell—however hard the Clan leader tried not to show it—by the tightness of her muzzle and her bristling shoulder fur just how angry and upset she felt that more cats were leaving.
“Very well,” Echosong meowed at last. “We will leave at sunrise.”
As the sun rose, SkyClan gathered at the entrance to the camp to say good-bye to Echosong and the others.
“I understand what pushed you to go,” Leafstar meowed to the medicine cat, “but it grieves me to the bottom of my heart to see the Clan split again. It was hard enough to lose Frecklewish, and the other warriors who stayed beside the gorge.”
Echosong nodded; Hawkwing thought she looked regretful, but there was no sign of wavering in her decision. “I hope this will not be forever,” she responded. “If—when—we find the other Clans, I’ll send a messenger to find the rest of you. And the cats who stayed near the gorge, too.”
Hawkwing’s throat went dry at the th
ought of seeing his lost Clanmates again. Are they okay? And what about Cherrytail and Cloudmist, back in Barley’s barn? Maybe one day I’ll see them again, too. And Pebbleshine . . . she must find her way back to us!
Echosong slipped through the group of cats, saying a personal farewell to each of them. When she came to Hawkwing, she fixed him with a clear green gaze. “You have come so far,” she murmured. As warm pride flooded Hawkwing’s pelt, she added, “But you still have far to go. Remember who you are, Hawkwing.” Then she touched her nose to his and moved on.
Startled, Hawkwing considered her words as he watched her go. Remember who I am?
But then tiny claws fastened into his pelt from behind, and he heard Dewkit squealing into his ear. “I’m a Twoleg dog! Fight me!”
I’ve found my family, Hawkwing thought. And even though Plumwillow wasn’t his true mate, that was enough to fill his heart, for now.
CHAPTER 31
Hawkwing poked his head through the ferns that sheltered the apprentices’ den, only to find it empty. There was no sign of Curlypaw, and her scent was stale. Puzzled, he drew back and padded into the center of the camp, where Blossomheart and Sagenose were waiting for him.
“There’s no sign of her,” he reported. “I wonder where she’s gone?”
Before either of his Clanmates could respond, Curlypaw came dashing through the camp entrance and skidded to a halt at Hawkwing’s side.
“Sorry,” she panted. “I had to go and make dirt.”
Her pelt had an odd, harsh tang that Hawkwing couldn’t identify, and the stale scent in her den suggested she had been away for longer than it would take to go to the dirtplace.
She’s up to something, Hawkwing thought.
But he didn’t want to question his apprentice in front of the others, and the rest of the hunting patrols had already left. “Okay,” he meowed. “Let’s go.”
I’ll talk to her later.