Fern Leaf showed her teeth. “I’ll help you,” she hissed.
As they disappeared between the orange fronds, Owl Eyes and Pebble Heart guided Gray Wing up the slope. At the top, he blinked into the icy wind that flayed the snow-covered moor. Flecks of snow stung his eyes.
The camp hollow showed in the distance, a shadow on the moonlit hillside. Wind Runner and the others raced toward it.
Gray Wing stumbled, desperate to keep up. Pebble Heart and Owl Eyes pressed closer against him, supporting him as he struggled through the deep snow. His chest burned. Darkness pressed at the edge of his vision as he struggled for breath. His thoughts focused on the camp. Please let Slate be okay! And the kits! Perhaps Slash had been bluffing, just to scare him.
His campmates streaked ahead, their dark shapes showing against the snow as they pelted uphill. They disappeared into heather, then broke from the far side.
Frustration pulsed through Gray Wing. “Faster!” he gasped.
Pebble Heart’s shoulder pressed harder against his. Owl Eyes leaned closer on his other side. Lifting him between them, they carried him over the snow. Gray Wing’s paws churned helplessly beneath him as they whisked him toward the camp.
By the time they reached the gorse entrance, the others had disappeared inside.
Gray Wing smelled blood. Heart quickening, he pricked his ears and listened for the sound of fighting. But he heard no battle cries. Only the eerie moaning of the wind over the moonlit moor.
He shook free of Pebble Heart and Owl Eyes and staggered through the entrance. Stumbling over the tussocks, he saw blood staining the snow.
Wind Runner and the others were circling around two shapes on the ground.
Hardly breathing, Gray Wing barged past his campmates and stopped.
Spotted Fur and Slate were lying like abandoned prey in the snow, their pelts glistening with blood.
Are they dead? Gray Wing’s heart seemed to stop as he stared.
Then Spotted Fur groaned and pushed himself heavily to his paws. “I tried to save them,” he croaked. With a gasp, he began to collapse as his hind legs buckled beneath him.
Pebble Heart dashed to the golden tom’s side and began sniffing his pelt anxiously.
Gray Wing hardly noticed. His gaze was fixed on Slate.
She lay unmoving while her campmates stared in horror.
Reed Tail crouched beside her and was lapping her bloody neck with urgent strokes.
Gray Wing stumbled closer. “Slate—” Her name seemed to stick in his throat. Above, the silent stars glittered. Don’t take her, he silently begged his ancestors. Were they watching? The ground swayed beneath him. Grief spread barbed claws around his heart. Not again. Wasn’t it enough he’d lost Turtle Tail?
Slate stirred. “Gray Wing?” Her mew was barely a whisper.
Gray Wing dropped to his belly beside her. As he struggled for breath, Slate opened her eyes. She stared at him blankly for a moment; then terror shot through her amber gaze. “The kits!” Fighting to stand up, she yowled across the clearing. “Silver Stripe! Black Ear! White Tail!”
Gray Wing jerked his muzzle around. Where were they?
Slate’s gaze was frantic. “We fought for them!” she gasped. “Slash came with his cats after you’d all left. We tried to drive them out of the camp. But there were too many of them.” She darted forward, scrambling this way and that across the clearing, her pelt bristling. “White Tail! Black Ear!”
“Slate?” A frightened mew sounded from the gorse wall of the camp. The branches trembled and snow showered down as a tiny dark gray tom-kit slid out. A pale gray tabby she-kit followed him, sprigs of gorse sticking out of her fur.
“Silver Stripe!” Slate ran toward them, her bloody paws staining the snow. “White Tail!”
Relief washed Gray Wing’s pelt. Two of his kits were safe.
Silver Stripe blinked at her mother as Slate stopped beside them. “We hid like you told us.”
“We hardly breathed,” White Tail whispered. Trembling, he dived beneath Slate’s belly and crouched there.
“We thought they’d killed you,” Silver Stripe wailed.
White Tail shrank deeper under his mother’s fur as Slate scooped Silver Stripe close. “You were very brave to hide when we told you to.”
“Black Ear wasn’t quick enough,” White Tail sobbed. “They saw him and grabbed him.”
Slate swung her gaze toward Gray Wing. Horror froze her face. “Black Ear!”
“I’ll find him.” Gray Wing tried to straighten, but his breath was so shallow, darkness threatened to overwhelm him.
Thunder padded to his side. “Stay here, Gray Wing. I’ll find him for you.” Determination hardened his mew.
Gray Wing gazed at him helplessly, frustration throbbing in his paws. “But they’re my kits!” he wheezed.
Thunder gazed at him solemnly. “You have done so much for me, Gray Wing. Let me do this for you.”
Gray Wing held his gaze for a moment, touched by Thunder’s warmth. “Thank you.”
Wind Runner lashed her tail. “We don’t know which way they’re headed. Thunder, Sparrow Fur, and Owl Eyes! Head toward the pines. Slash might be taking Black Ear to his old camp. Swift Minnow, you take Reed Tail and Dust Muzzle toward the river. Check the gorge and the reed beds. I’ll take Sun Shadow, Gorse Fur, and Moth Flight to the oak forest. We’ll search the woods.”
Willow Tail lifted her chin. “I’m coming with you,” she told Wind Runner.
“And me.” Fern Leaf stood next to her friend.
Wind Runner eyed them doubtfully.
Gray Wing tensed. Surely she couldn’t reject their help?
Wind Runner flicked her tail. “You’re still recovering from your wounds, Fern Leaf,” she meowed briskly. “Stay here in camp and help Pebble Heart. Willow Tail.” She dipped her head to the pale tabby. “You can join my patrol. You know the routes the rogues use. And you’re smart and strong. We’ll need you.”
Willow Tail puffed out her chest. “I won’t let you down.”
Gray Wing tried to stand again, but his paws buckled. Rage flared through him. I can’t even save my own kit!
Pebble Heart pressed against him and nodded to Fern Leaf. “Do you know what coltsfoot looks like?” he asked the young she-cat.
Fern Leaf nodded.
“It’ll be wilted by the cold,” Pebble Heart warned her. “But you should be able to find stems. Frost-burned ones will do. Bring them here. They’ll help Gray Wing’s breathing.” He turned to Slate. “Get the kits into your den and keep them warm. I’ll check on your wounds when I’ve seen to Spotted Fur.”
The world swam around Gray Wing. Paws thrummed on every side. His campmates were heading for the entrance.
Thunder’s mew sounded fiercely in his ear. “I’m going to find Black Ear,” he promised. “And I’ll bring him home safe.”
Darkness closed in as Gray Wing felt the last of his strength seep into the snowy earth.
CHAPTER 22
Thunder’s thoughts whirled as he watched Gray Wing collapse. He’s so ill! Black Ear’s missing! Everything’s gone wrong! Above, the moon shone bright in the midnight sky. It was the same moon that had shone on the naming ceremony not long before. How had so much changed so fast?
His gaze darted to the entrance. Wind Runner, Moth Flight, Gorse Fur, and Willow Tail were already haring after Reed Tail and Dust Muzzle. Sparrow Fur and Owl Eyes were waiting for him, their tails flicking impatiently.
“Go!” Pebble Heart nudged Thunder with his muzzle. “I’ll make sure Gray Wing’s okay. Just find Black Ear.”
Thunder blinked at the young tom, then bounded across the tussocks. Racing past Owl Eyes and Sparrow Fur, he led the way out of camp. Wind Runner’s brown tabby pelt showed against the snow as she headed for the oak forest. Swift Minnow charged toward the gorge.
“Can you see any tracks?” Thunder called to Sparrow Fur as the tortoiseshell caught up to him. Had the rogues left a trail?
“Here!” Owl Eyes’s yowl sounded behind him.
Thunder spun, skidding to a halt.
Owl Eyes was sniffing churned-up snow. Tracks led over a ridge and down into a dip. Thunder hurried to Owl Eyes’s side. Sniffing the tracks, he smelled rogue stench. He scrambled clumsily to the bottom of the dip.
Sparrow Fur landed beside him. Owl Eyes tumbled after. Thunder sniffed the flattened snow. “They stopped here,” he guessed. Paw prints circled and crossed. “Perhaps they were wondering where to go next.”
Sparrow Fur frowned. “Wouldn’t Slash have already planned where they were taking Black Ear?”
“Look!” Owl Eyes was following a trail up the far side of the dip. “They must have gone this way.”
“But there’s a trail here as well!” Sparrow Fur was sniffing a single track of paw prints.
Thunder frowned. “Did they split up?”
Owl Eyes looked confused. “Why?”
Thunder frowned, trying to understand. “Slash and his campmates were at the gathering. They didn’t have Black Ear with them.” He stared at Sparrow Fur. “But they must have snatched him pretty soon after we all left our camps. There wasn’t enough time for them to attack after the meeting.”
Sparrow Fur pricked her ears. “They must have taken Black Ear and hidden him somewhere.”
Owl Eyes’s tail twitched. “He’d have needed a guard.”
Thunder began to pace. “There was one rogue missing from the gathering.” He suddenly remembered the orange she-cat who had begged to go with Slash as he abandoned the marsh camp. He had not seen her among Slash’s allies at the four trees. “Swallow wasn’t there!” His thoughts quickened, but Sparrow Fur was faster.
“Swallow guarded Black Ear while Slash was at the meeting!” The tortoiseshell’s eyes widened.
“So they did split up.” Owl Eyes nodded from one set of tracks to the other. “Slash and the others went to the clearing while Swallow took Black Ear somewhere else.”
Hope flickered in Thunder’s belly. “We have to find where they hid him.”
“He won’t be there anymore,” Owl Eyes pointed out.
“But Slash and the others must have come back to fetch him,” Thunder reasoned. “That would have taken time.”
Sparrow Fur’s tail swished over the snow. “We can’t be far behind them.”
Owl Eyes shifted his paws impatiently. “Which trail do we follow?”
“This one will lead us to the hiding place.” Thunder jerked his muzzle toward the single set of tracks.
“Come on!” Sparrow Fur bounded out of the dip.
Thunder was hard on her heels as the tortoiseshell followed the trail through the snow toward the high moor. Freezing wind streamed through Thunder’s fur, blowing from Highstones and carrying the chilly scent of the mountains. Thunder quickened his pace. Black Ear was too small to be exposed to such cold. He could freeze to death out here.
The trail sliced through the smooth snow ahead. Thunder saw it was leading to a rocky outcrop jutting from the hillside. He raced past Sparrow Fur, relieved as he saw a gap between the wind-smoothed boulders. At least Swallow had had the sense to find shelter for Black Ear while she waited for Slash to return.
He spotted more tracks veering to meet the single trail. Slowing, he sniffed them and growled softly as he smelled Slash’s scent. It was fresh. They’d guessed right. Slash and his campmates had come to fetch Swallow and Black Ear after the meeting.
Sparrow Fur hared past him and dived through the gap between the boulders.
Owl Eyes raced after his sister, disappearing into the shadowy cave.
“How recently were they there?” Thunder called, following them in. Rocks closed overhead as darkness swallowed him. Fear-stench hit his nose. Swallow must have crouched here nervously. He brushed past Sparrow Fur, who was sniffing the ground.
“Black Ear was definitely here,” the tortoiseshell meowed. “I can smell his scent.”
Thunder shoved his muzzle close and smelled warm kit scent. Relief pricked though his fur. No blood-scent. The kit wasn’t injured.
Owl Eyes slid past him, his pelt brushing rock. “They’re not long gone,” he mewed excitedly. “We can catch them easily. Carrying a kit must be slowing them down.”
Thunder raised his head as fear jabbed his belly. He’d seen Slash let a campmate be mauled to death by a dog. What pity would he show a kit? “How do we get Black Ear away from them without him getting hurt?”
“We’ll cross that river when we come to it.” Sparrow Fur’s eyes glinted in the shadows.
Thunder nodded. First they had to find them.
He headed for the cave entrance.
A growl sounded outside.
Thunder froze. A familiar stench touched his nose as a shadow blocked the moonlight filtering through the gap. “Fox!”
Owl Eyes stiffened beside him. Sparrow Fur’s pelt bristled.
“It must have followed the scents,” Thunder whispered. “It’s waiting for us outside.” As he spoke, a muzzle poked through the gap. The snarling face of a fox appeared, its eyes gleaming with delight as it saw them.
Thunder retreated slowly, pressing Sparrow Fur and Owl Eyes backward.
The fox whined as it tried to push farther into the cave.
“It’s too big,” Owl Eyes breathed.
“But we have to get out!” Sparrow Fur hissed.
“We’ll drive it back,” Thunder decided. “Then make a run for it.”
“It’ll chase us.” Owl Eyes’s mew trembled.
“We might lead it to Black Ear,” Sparrow Fur pointed out.
Thunder hesitated. Rage pulsed through his paws. There wasn’t time to fight a fox. Slash and his campmates would be getting farther away with each moment they wasted. But what else could they do? “I’ll drive it away from the entrance.” He unsheathed his claws. “You slide out behind me. Owl Eyes, go for its tail. Sparrow Fur, get on its back.” They were taking a huge risk. Leaf-bare foxes were more vicious than badgers. But they had to do it. For Gray Wing. He nodded to Owl Eyes and Sparrow Fur. “Ready?”
“Ready,” Sparrow Fur growled.
Owl Eyes lashed his tail. “Ready.”
Diving forward, Thunder slashed at the fox’s muzzle.
It shrank backward, snarling.
Thunder felt Sparrow Fur and Owl Eyes barge past. Moonlit snow flashed before his eyes as the entrance cleared. He dashed outside.
The fox lunged at him, its teeth catching the fur on his shoulder and ripping it from his flesh. Screeching with pain, Thunder whipped around and swung a blow at the fox’s nose. His claws whisked over its black snout, and he threw a second blow at its cheek.
The fox’s eyes shone with rage. Thrusting its snout closer, it snapped at Thunder. Thunder backed away. It drove him against the boulder, looming so close that there was no room to swing his paws. Fear surged through his pelt. He glimpsed Owl Eyes tugging desperately at the fox’s tail. Sparrow Fur clung to its shoulders, shredding its pelt with her hind paws so that red fur fluttered over the glittering snow.
The fox didn’t seem to feel the blows. Excitement shone in its eyes as it paused and showed its glistening teeth.
It’s going to kill me! Terror raged through Thunder. He thought of Violet Dawn, waiting for him in camp. And Lightning Tail. You must be their next leader. Silently he begged his friend to take care of the cats he’d brought together.
A battle cry split the air.
The fox jerked its muzzle around, fear sparking in its gaze.
A broad-shouldered gray tom was racing toward it.
Clear Sky!
With a yowl, Clear Sky leaped, slamming his paws into the fox’s neck. The fox staggered, slithering on the snow. Sparrow Fur growled and dragged at its pelt, unbalancing the fox. Owl Eyes yanked its tail to one side, and the fox fell.
Thunder leaped on it, his flank pressing against his father’s as, side by side, they battered the fox with merciless blows.
The fox screeched,
fear sharpening its cry. It struggled beneath the spitting cats and wriggled free.
Thunder backed away as it scrambled to its paws. Flashing a terrified glance at the cats, it turned and fled across the hillside.
“Clear Sky!” Catching his breath, Thunder stared at his father. “Why did you come?”
Clear Sly was panting, his thick gray pelt ruffled. Starlight glittered in his eyes. “When I reached camp and found Star Flower safe, I guessed.” He blinked at Thunder. “Slash attacked Gray Wing’s camp, didn’t he?”
Thunder nodded. “He’s taken Black Ear.”
“Are the others okay?” Clear Sky didn’t flinch, his gaze sharp.
“Silver Stripe and White Tail are safe. Slate and Spotted Fur were wounded trying to protect them, but Pebble Heart’s with them.”
“Good.” Clear Sky turned his head, scanning the moor. “Do you know which way Slash went?”
Sparrow Fur shook out her ruffled pelt. “We were following their tracks.”
Owl Eyes darted toward the churned snow leading away from the outcrop. “Swallow hid Black Ear here while Slash went to the gathering,” he explained. “Slash and the others came to fetch them afterward.”
Clear Sky hurried to the trail and sniffed it. “It’s still fresh.”
“They can’t be far ahead. We were—”
Before Thunder could finish, Clear Sky bounded away, kicking up snow. Thunder leaped after him. They chased across the moonlit hillside, following the rogues’ trail. Owl Eyes veered downslope, his gaze flicking one way, then the other. Sparrow Fur raced fast over the snow, hardly denting it.
The moor sloped out of the moonlight and into shadow. Heather and pine stretched ahead. The trail veered around it. Sparrow Fur headed between the bushes, chasing her brother as Owl Eyes plunged through them. Thunder stayed at Clear Sky’s heels, the cold air burning his chest. Heat pulsed from his pelt. As they rounded the heather, Owl Eyes burst from the bushes ahead of them.
The gray tom stopped. His gaze followed the trail as it straightened and led toward Tall Shadow’s territory. “They’re heading for the pines.”
Thunder scrambled to a halt.
The heather trembled as Sparrow Fur darted out. She followed her brother’s gaze toward the dark wood below. “They must be trying to get to their old camp.”