They padded towards the border in silence; Squirrelflight was still feeling too stunned to speak. How could Leafpool think of giving up her life in ThunderClan? Didn’t her kin, her friends, her work as a medicine cat mean anything to her? What about StarClan? Did Leafpool have a choice not to be a medicine cat? And what about Firestar? Squirrelflight’s pelt prickled as she wondered what she could possibly say to her father to explain where Leafpool had gone.
The sun shone down from a blue sky dotted with tiny puffs of cloud. Dew glittered on the grass and on strands of cobweb stretched precariously across thickets of bramble. New fronds of bracken were beginning to uncurl and everywhere Squirrelflight could smell the sharp, green scent of growing things. But even the rustle of prey in the undergrowth couldn’t distract Squirrelflight from her troubled thoughts.
Glancing sideways, she met Brambleclaw’s eyes and saw nothing but calm sympathy in his face. She realised he must understand part of what she was feeling because he too had lost a sister to another Clan.
“Did you feel like this when Tawnypelt left? As if nothing would ever be all right again?”
Brambleclaw waited until they had ducked beneath some low-hanging ferns before replying. “At first I felt so lonely I thought I wouldn’t be able to bear it,” he meowed. “But I knew I had to respect her decision. And we’re still friends, even though she is in a different Clan.”
But it’s not the same, Squirrelflight thought. And Tawnypelt wasn’t a medicine cat, chosen by StarClan to serve her Clanmates.
They followed the stream upward on the ThunderClan side, tasting the air every few paces for any sign of Leafpool. When the trees gave way to bare moorland Squirrelflight picked up a faint trace, but it was stale, at least from the night before, and it stopped at the edge of the stream. “She crossed here,” she meowed to Brambleclaw.
The tabby warrior nosed the grasses that overhung the water, then nodded. “It looks like it.” He raised his head and gazed across the moorland. “OK, WindClan it is.”
He led the way across the stream and Squirrelflight followed, splashing through brown peaty water that ran ice cold over pebbles. On the other side they found more of Leafpool’s scent, mingled with a second cat’s.
“WindClan,” Brambleclaw meowed. “Crowfeather, I think.”
“He must have been waiting for her.” Squirrelflight’s last hope vanished, and for the first time she realised she might have lost her sister forever.
CHAPTER 19
“We’d better go straight to the camp,” Brambleclaw decided. “And hope that Onestar is in a welcoming mood.”
“I’m not going home without talking to Leafpool,” Squirrelflight mewed determinedly.
She hoped Onestar wouldn’t try to stop them from seeing her sister. The WindClan leader had been so hostile at the last Gathering that she felt very vulnerable crossing the open moorland where they could be spotted so easily. She kept scanning the bare slopes for approaching cats, but it was still a shock when a patrol leaped out from behind a jutting rock and raced across the turf towards them.
She let out a hiss. “Look—it’s Webfoot and Weaselfur.”
They stopped and waited for the WindClan cats to reach them. As well as the two warriors, there was an apprentice Squirrelflight didn’t recognise. Her belly clenched when she saw the hostility in Webfoot’s eyes and the way his neck fur bristled as he skidded to a halt in front of them.
“What are you doing on our territory?” he snarled.
“We need to speak to Onestar,” Brambleclaw told him.
Webfoot’s tail lashed from side to side. “More ThunderClan interference? What does Firestar want this time?”
“We’ll tell that to Onestar.”
Webfoot and Weaselfur exchanged a glance. Squirrelflight wondered if they were going to have to fight their way past.
Then Webfoot let out a faint snort of disgust. “We don’t need you to tell us why you’re here. We already know. And I guess Onestar will want to hear what you have to say.”
He and Weaselfur fell back to let Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight keep going, while the apprentice watched them with hot, accusing eyes. Squirrelflight shot a questioning glance at Brambleclaw, but the tabby warrior looked as bewildered as she felt. Webfoot must have been talking about Leafpool, but it didn’t make sense that they’d be so angry about a cat wanting to join their Clan.
The two WindClan warriors flanked them all the way to the camp, one on each side. As they climbed towards the hollow, the apprentice ran ahead to warn Onestar. By the time Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw reached the edge of the hollow, Onestar was waiting for them beside the pile of rocks in the centre. His deputy, Ashfoot, and a couple of other warriors stood beside him, all looking up expectantly as Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw started to climb down into the hollow. There was no sign of Leafpool and Crowfeather, and Squirrelflight gulped. Surely Onestar wasn’t keeping them under guard?
“Here they are,” Webfoot mewed.
Onestar stepped forward, his ears flattened. “Well, I presume Firestar sent you. Have you come to explain why ThunderClan have stolen one of our warriors?”
“What?” Fury raced through Squirrelflight like flame through dry grass. She stepped forward until she was nose to nose with Onestar. “How dare you call us thieves? It’s WindClan who—”
She broke off when Brambleclaw slapped his tail across her mouth; she glared at him but his amber eyes clearly signalled a warning. Flexing her claws, she reluctantly took a pace back.
The tabby warrior dipped his head to Onestar. “ThunderClan haven’t stolen any WindClan warriors,” he meowed. “Why? Has one gone missing?”
“It’s Crowfeather, isn’t it?” Squirrelflight’s heart started pounding hard.
Onestar’s eyes narrowed, but before he could speak, Ashfoot interrupted. “Yes—do you know where he is?” She sounded desperate, and Squirrelflight remembered she was Crowfeather’s mother.
“Keep quiet!” Onestar snarled, glaring at Ashfoot, but the grey she-cat didn’t flinch.
“When did you last see him?” Brambleclaw asked, breaking the tension between the WindClan leader and his deputy. “We might be able to help.”
“We don’t want help from ThunderClan!” Webfoot spat.
Onestar silenced him with a wave of his tail. “Crowfeather did not sleep in the warriors’ den last night,” he meowed. “This morning we followed his scent trail as far as the border with ThunderClan. There his scent mingled with a ThunderClan cat’s. They obviously met there.”
Weaselfur pushed forward to stand beside his leader. “Wait a moment,” he mewed to Brambleclaw. “If you knew nothing about Crowfeather, why are you here? Do you know which ThunderClan cat he met with?”
Squirrelflight nodded. There was no use hiding the truth now. “My sister, Leafpool. She’s vanished too. We followed her scent trail to the border. ”
“But she’s a medicine cat!” Ashfoot exclaimed.
“Medicine cats have feelings just like any other cat,” Squirrelflight said, defending her sister.
Onestar let out an angry hiss. “She has broken the laws of StarClan.”
“Crowfeather must have persuaded her to go!” Squirrelflight flashed back at him.
Brambleclaw shot her a warning glance. “Onestar, you’re making a big mistake if you try to turn Firestar and ThunderClan into enemies. We have to work together and find both our missing cats.”
“How?” Onestar was clearly making a massive effort to control his anger; as it ebbed away, he just sounded bewildered. “If Crowfeather isn’t with you, then where have they gone?”
“Where could they go?” Ashfoot asked despairingly, as if she didn’t expect an answer.
“We can try to find out,” Brambleclaw meowed. “Maybe we can follow their scent trail.”
“I’ll go and look,” Ashfoot offered.
Onestar nodded. “Take another warrior with you.”
“We’ll come too,” Squirrelflight mewed. T
o her relief, Onestar didn’t object.
Ashfoot beckoned to Tornear; the four cats left the camp and headed for the place close to the border where they had last scented their Clanmates. Squirrelflight felt more anxious with every step. Would Leafpool be safe, travelling into unknown territory with only one other cat? How could they live a normal life, without the support of their Clans? We must find them, she vowed. They’re making a huge mistake!
Ashfoot was first to pick up the scent trail again. “This way!” she meowed, gesturing with her tail.
The four cats spread out with a few tail-lengths between them, noses to the ground in case the cats they were following split up again. But the two trails went on side by side, across the WindClan scent markers and on into the hills. Squirrelflight’s heart sank. Until then she had clung to a faint hope they would find Leafpool and Crowfeather hiding on the edge of the territory. Now she had to admit they were truly gone.
The lake soon vanished behind a fold of moorland. The hills grew steeper and bleaker, with rocks jutting through the scratchy grass. Squirrelflight started to feel tired and cold. She couldn’t imagine how Leafpool had found the strength to set out into this hostile country. She must have been so desperate …
At last Brambleclaw came to a halt at the top of a rise. Beyond, the ground fell away into restless grey scree, with only a few stunted thorn bushes poking out of it.
“I can’t scent them any more,” he announced.
All four cats exchanged worried glances. Unwilling to give up yet, they padded along the crest of the hill, trying to pick up the scent again. But there was nothing. Squirrelflight launched herself down the slope, splinters of rock sharp beneath her paws. But there was no scent there either, nothing to tell her which way her sister and the WindClan cat had gone.
“This is hopeless,” Tornear was mewing as Squirrelflight scrambled up to join the others. “We’re never going to find them.”
“We’d better go back,” mewed Brambleclaw.
“No!” Squirrelflight protested. “We can’t let them go like this.”
Brambleclaw waved his tail to take in the harsh rock stretching in front of them, the barren moorland, and the sky. “They could be anywhere.”
“He’s right.” Ashfoot’s eyes were dark with pain. “There’s nothing more we can do.”
Brambleclaw padded up to Squirrelflight and rested his tail on her shoulder. “We can’t track them down if they don’t want to be found,” he meowed gently.
Squirrelflight wanted to insist that they could, but deep within her fur she knew Leafpool and Crowfeather had gone. I’ll never see my sister again. She turned her head to press her cheek against Brambleclaw, letting his familiar scent comfort her. They had been through so much together to lead the Clans to their new home. She was glad he was here, helping her with this new agony.
The sun was close to sinking below the horizon when they reached the WindClan border again. Squirrelflight said goodbye to Ashfoot and Tornear and splashed wearily through the stream behind Brambleclaw. What were they going to say to Firestar?
“We’re losing all the cats who made the journey to find Midnight,” she mewed to Brambleclaw. “Feathertail, Stormfur, and now Crowfeather.” A chill rippled across her fur. “Do you think that means StarClan don’t want us to settle here after all?”
Brambleclaw shook his head. “I’m sure this is where they wanted the Clans to be. Don’t start doubting them, Squirrelflight. We never thought settling into our new homes would be easy.”
“No, but I never thought it would be this difficult,” Squirrelflight murmured as she followed him back through the shadowed forest.
Though it was dark under the trees, a few rays of sun still reached into the stone hollow, staining the clearing with blood-red light. Squirrelflight suppressed a shiver and wondered if a medicine cat would think that was a sign from StarClan.
As soon as she entered the camp, she could tell the whole Clan had noticed Leafpool’s disappearance. Ferncloud and Dustpelt were crouched beside the fresh-kill pile, their heads close together. Brackenfur, Ashfur, and their two apprentices were in an anxious huddle outside the apprentices’ den. The elders had emerged from their den underneath a twisted hazel bush, and just below the Highledge Firestar was speaking to Sandstorm, Cinderpelt, and Brightheart. Only Daisy’s kits hadn’t seemed to notice anything was wrong, scuffling happily together on the dusty ground outside the nursery.
Squirrelflight was aware of cats turning to look at her, their eyes burning into her fur as she crossed the clearing with Brambleclaw. She felt a ripple of hope go through her Clanmates like wind across grass, only to die away when they saw Leafpool wasn’t with them.
Firestar began to pad towards them, but it was Brightheart who reached them first. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she meowed. Her voice cracked with distress and her good eye was filled with guilt. “I wasn’t trying to take her place. Leafpool is our medicine cat, just like Cinderpelt.”
“I’m sure she didn’t leave because of you,” Squirrelflight replied awkwardly. She knew quite well that Leafpool had been unhappy about the way Brightheart was taking over her medicine cat duties.
“What happened?” Firestar demanded, halting in front of his daughter. “What did you find out?”
“Did you find Leafpool?” Sandstorm added.
Other cats gathered around, echoing Sandstorm’s question. Some of them mentioned Crowfeather. Leafpool’s secret wasn’t a secret any longer. Cinderpelt must have been forced to tell her Clanmates everything she knew.
It was Brambleclaw who explained. “Her scent trail led into WindClan territory, so we went to visit their camp.”
Cinderpelt limped up just then, in time to hear Brambleclaw’s words. “Did you speak to her?”
Brambleclaw shook his head. “She wasn’t there. She and Crowfeather had already left the territory. We followed their trail with a couple of the WindClan cats, but we lost it in the hills. They’ve gone.”
“No!” Cinderpelt’s voice was a rough whisper; terrible fear dulled her eyes.
Firestar and Sandstorm moved closer together until their pelts brushed. “We’ve lost her,” Sandstorm mewed softly.
“The whole Clan has lost her,” Firestar meowed.
Squirrelflight wanted to wail out loud. Leafpool had lost so much too. She must have loved Crowfeather very much to give up everything for him.
Would I do that for Ashfur? Squirrelflight wondered. Somehow, she didn’t think she would.
For Brambleclaw?
She blinked, realising that that was a question she couldn’t answer.
CHAPTER 20
Leafpool paused at the top of a ridge, trying to ignore the ache in her paws as she turned to look back. The lake and the trees were long gone; all around her stretched fold after fold of unfamiliar hills. She opened her mouth, picking up the sharp scent of moorland grass and a hint of rabbit. The sun was going down, but there was no sign of any trees or bushes where she and Crowfeather could shelter for the night.
The WindClan warrior followed her up the slope and stood close beside her. Warmth crept back into Leafpool’s tired legs as she felt his pelt brush hers. This cat could still give her courage and hope when everything else seemed strange and frightening.
And what about everything you’ve left behind? a small voice mewed inside her.
Leafpool tried to imagine what was happening in her Clan. Firestar would be furious that she’d abandoned them without saying a word. Cinderpelt would have to find a new apprentice. Squirrelflight would miss her so much … A jolt of pain shook Leafpool, almost enough to make her turn her paws back towards the lake. But how could she go back now, when every cat knew what she had done, and that Crowfeather was with her?
Nothing mattered as long as she had Crowfeather. Her love for him tingled through her from ears to tail-tip; she had to keep on believing that her decision was the right one.
“Just a bit further.” Crowfeather nosed her ear. “We need t
o find somewhere to sleep before it gets dark.”
“OK.” Leafpool forced her paws to follow him along the ridge. They had been travelling all day, even though neither of them had got any sleep the previous night, and she felt more exhausted than she had ever been in her life.
Suddenly Crowfeather stopped and pointed down with his tail. “Look!”
When she caught up, Leafpool saw that just ahead the ground fell away into a rocky hollow. A tiny pool lay at the bottom, shaded by a couple of wind-scorched thorn trees.
“Thank StarClan!” she exclaimed. “Shelter and water.”
Summoning up her last scrap of energy, she bounded down the slope, paws slipping on the loose stones, until she could crouch beside the pool and lap from it. The memory of her last visit to the Moonpool flooded her mind.
Never again, the inner voice told her. You’re not a medicine cat anymore.
But that didn’t matter either, Leafpool reminded herself. Spottedleaf had told her to follow her heart. She must be doing the right thing.
The grey-black warrior joined her beside the pool, peering into the water. “I can’t see any fish,” he commented.
His words reminded Leafpool how hungry she was. The only fresh-kill they’d had all day was a scrawny vole they had shared beside the stream not long after setting out. It seemed like moons ago now.
“You can catch us a rabbit in the morning,” she mewed, trying to ignore how faint the scent of rabbit had been. “You’re good at hunting on moorland like this. You can teach me how too.”
“Sure. You’ll soon learn,” Crowfeather replied. “But I don’t think we need to wait till morning. There must be some sort of prey around here.”
He stood with his jaws wide, tasting the air. Leafpool stood beside him, ears standing straight, until she heard the sound of a tiny creature scuffling under the thorn trees. A heartbeat later she spotted a mouse and dropped into the hunter’s crouch. With a purr of satisfaction she pounced.