As he glanced around the clearing, searching for a spot clear of snow where the sun might have pooled, warm enough to soften the earth, bracken rustled on the far slope. He recognized Tall Shadow’s black pelt moving through it. Star Flower’s fur was camouflaged among the golden fronds, but he could smell her scent—and River Ripple’s. A purr rumbled in his throat as the silver tom padded from the undergrowth.
River Ripple met his gaze solemnly. “I’m sorry to hear Quiet Rain died.”
“It was her time,” Thunder returned.
Tall Shadow padded from the bracken, Star Flower at her tail. “Have you chosen a burial spot?” She glanced across the clearing to where Jagged Peak, Sun Shadow, and Clear Sky were sliding Quiet Rain’s body softly onto the ground.
“The earth is frozen,” Thunder told Tall Shadow. “There’s no way we can dig.”
Pebble Heart was crossing the clearing, his gaze fixed on a large stone embedded in the earth. “If we can move this, we can lay her body in its place.”
Thunder stared at the rock. If it was sunk deep enough into the ground to make a grave, how could they possibly dislodge it? “We’re not strong enough.”
Pebble Heart glanced at Clear Sky and Jagged Peak. “We will be if we work together.”
Clear Sky jerked up his muzzle, his eyes shining. “I told you!” he exclaimed. “We need to unite.”
Gray Wing eyed his brother darkly. “I thought you’d forgotten all that nonsense.”
“Of course not. I—”
Tall Shadow interrupted him. “This is not the time to argue.”
River Ripple padded past her and sniffed at the rock. “We need to loosen it first,” he murmured thoughtfully.
Pebble Heart hurried to the edge of the hollow and grabbed a stick in his jaws. He carried it back and dug one end into the earth beside the stone. Holding it between his forepaws, he rocked it back and forth until it began to work its way down underneath.
River Ripple’s eyes lit up. “I’ll help.” He got another stick.
Thunder could see that they were loosening the frozen earth around the rock to make enough space for it to move. He ran to the hollow’s edge and rooted among the bracken for another stick. He found one sturdy enough not to crumble, and hurried back to the rock. Jabbing it into the dirt, he began twisting it with his forepaws, joy sparking in his belly as he saw the earth breaking around it.
“Push!” he called to Clear Sky.
Clear Sky placed his shoulder on the other side of the rock and heaved, grunting with the effort. Tall Shadow slid in beside him, pressing against the stone. Gray Wing and Sun Shadow joined them, their hind paws scrabbling against the ground as they strained at the stone.
Thunder hauled out his stick and hurried around to help them.
Pushing in between Gray Wing and Sun Shadow, he pressed his shoulder to the rock. He threw his whole weight against it, digging his claws into the earth and trembling at the effort.
With a sudden creak, the stone moved. Only a whisker, but in that tiny movement they freed it from the earth’s grip. Thunder sensed air flooding beneath it and pushed harder, feeling it shift.
Clear Sky grunted in triumph. Beside him, Sun Shadow trembled, and Gray Wing’s breath came in gasps as they all heaved against the stone.
Gradually they began to rock it back and forth until Thunder felt it roll beyond the edge of its hollow. “Push!” he yowled.
As it tumbled to one side, Thunder’s paws slid into the empty dip. He felt worms slithering around them and wood lice scuttling over his claws. Snail trails glistened on the brown earth. He hopped out and blinked at the others.
Sun Shadow lifted his gaze to meet Thunder’s, his eyes shining. “Even in the cold season, there is life here. Quiet Rain would be happy to see this and to know that living creatures move around her even while she is dead.”
“She’s not truly dead while she’s remembered.” Thunder dipped his head. “She will be remembered here.”
“And in the mountains, too.” Sun Shadow nodded solemnly.
Clear Sky and Jagged Peak were heading for her body. They nosed it onto their shoulders and brought it to the graveside. Thunder stepped away as they let her tumble into the hole.
Pebble Heart hopped in after her. Carefully, he eased her muzzle onto her forepaws and wrapped her tail across her nose so that she looked as though she were curled in sleep. Then he scrambled out and got a bracken frond to place over her.
Touched by the young tom’s kindness, Thunder padded to the bracken and bit through a brittle stem. He dragged it back and laid it with Pebble Heart’s. Sun Shadow got another, and then Gray Wing. Together they heaped a thick layer of golden leaves over her.
“We should replace the stone,” Thunder murmured. “To protect her from scavengers.”
Tall Shadow gave a small nod. “But first we must pay our respects.” She looked at Gray Wing.
The gray tom gazed down at the golden stalks. “Quiet Rain,” he whispered. “Thank you for loving us enough to let us go.”
“Thank you for holding Fluttering Bird next to your belly for as long as she lived.” Clear Sky’s mew was thick with grief.
“Thank you for traveling so far to spend your last moments with us.” Jagged Peak’s eyes clouded as he stared into the hole.
Thunder lifted his muzzle and tasted the air. As he did, a drop of water splashed his nose. Then another. A moment later, rain pattered like countless paw steps over the frozen forest floor.
River Ripple put his paws to the stone and began to push. Thunder hurried to help. Clear Sky, Tall Shadow, and Sun Shadow joined him, while Star Flower hung back and watched, and together they rolled it back into place.
“We should go home,” Tall Shadow called through the rain.
“Not yet.” Sun Shadow was trembling. He crouched beside the rock, pressing his nose to the crack between stone and earth as though breathing in the last scents of his friend. With eyes closed, he grew still.
“He’ll freeze!” Gray Wing looked in alarm at Pebble Heart.
“Let him grieve a while longer.” Pebble Heart’s mew sounded distracted. His gaze was drifting across the clearing, narrowing as though he saw something that intrigued him.
The rain fell harder. Thunder’s pelt clung to his body, and yet he did not feel cold. Familiar scents were filling the hollow. He squinted as he saw shapes in the rain, ghostly outlines moving around the clearing.
The spirit cats!
His heart soared as he recognized Hawk Swoop. Shaded Moss stood beside her, and together they dipped their heads to a new spirit.
Quiet Rain!
The old she-cat’s ghostly form moved with ease across the clearing. She reached out her muzzle to greet her old friends, her pelt sleek and her eyes as bright as though she’d never known pain.
Hawk Swoop wove around her. “Welcome, dear friend.”
“Do you see now?” A mew rang across the clearing.
Thunder blinked as he saw a brown-and-white tabby she-cat calling to them. Who is she?
Clear Sky brushed him and hurried to meet the tabby she-cat. “Bright Stream!” Joy filled his mew.
His first mate. Thunder glanced toward Star Flower. Could she see the cat who had been carrying Clear Sky’s kits when an eagle had killed her?
But Star Flower was oblivious to the spirit cats moving in the clearing. She was watching Sun Shadow, her eyes filled with pity.
Bright Stream spoke again. “The past is the past. The future is fresh. You must forget all you have known, no matter how much you loved it, and choose paths that will carry you to a new dawn.”
Clear Sky leaned forward to touch her muzzle, but the ghostly shapes were disappearing already.
Thunder jerked his nose toward River Ripple. “Did you see them?”
River Ripple purred. “Of course.”
“What did she mean?”
Clear Sky turned on Thunder, his eyes glittering. “She meant what the spirit cats have always mean
t. We should be together. We must unite!”
Pebble Heart shook his head. “That’s not what she said, Clear Sky,” he mewed softly.
Gray Wing padded to the young tom’s side. “He’s right, Clear Sky. We must choose a new beginning.”
“But . . .” Clear Sky’s eyes were shining with a mixture of hope and grief. “Surely that means every cat should join together. . . .”
Thunder felt a twinge of pity. Will he ever let this go? “I have my own camp now, and my own cats,” he told his father. “My future lies with them, not with you.” His paws pricked guiltily at the flash of grief in Clear Sky’s blue eyes. The hope was gone. Thunder dropped his gaze. “You will always be my father,” he went on softly. “But you have to let us all be the cats we want to be. I can’t come and live with you. I must find my own path.” Hesitantly, he looked up at Clear Sky, surprised to find that his father’s gaze was calmer now. Star Flower had crossed the clearing to stand beside him.
“Your father knows this, Thunder.” She glanced at Clear Sky. “It is hard for him, but he understands.”
Clear Sky nodded, his eyes brimming with emotion.
Throat tightening, Thunder dipped his head. “Take care of each other.” As he turned to leave, he glanced at Quiet Rain’s grave. Sun Shadow still lay beside it, his eyes closed. Had he even been aware of the ghostly cats in the clearing?
Thunder nodded to Gray Wing and Tall Shadow, then headed for the slope. It was time he went home. “Thanks for coming,” he meowed to River Ripple as he passed.
He bounded up through the bracken, veering at the top to head into the forest. An owl called through the rain that pounded the trees. A wind was whipping their high branches, and they clattered as he passed. He raced on, certain of the path home, following the scents of the forest until he heard mews echoing up from the ravine. He halted at the top and gazed down into the camp. Shadows swallowed the bushes and dens. Rain glinted on the stones. He jumped down them, claws stretched to keep a grip on the slippery surface. At the bottom, he squeezed under the gorse, happiness surging through his fur as he smelled the familiar scents of his friends.
“Thunder!” Lightning Tail hurried to greet him, his black pelt slick with rain. “We were just deciding whether to send out a search party.”
“Not in this weather, I hope.” Thunder stopped in the clearing. Lightning Tail was the only cat he could see. “Where is everyone?”
“In their dens!” Lightning Tail purred. “Haven’t you noticed? It’s raining!” He beckoned Thunder with a nod of his head and led him toward a large bush a few paces from the rock that towered at the end of the clearing. He ducked underneath and Thunder followed.
Beneath the low-spreading branches, paws had hollowed out the earth to make two nests. The rain pattered above them, but it was dry under here.
“Look.” Lightning Tail nodded toward the gap they’d slid through. There was a clear view to the gorse entrance. “I thought this would make a good place to sleep. It’s dry and we can keep an eye on who comes and goes.”
Thunder purred. “Which nest is mine?” Only one of the hollowed dips was lined with moss.
Lightning Tail nodded toward it. “You can have mine tonight,” he offered. “You must be tired. Tomorrow we can find fresh moss to line yours.”
Outside, the gorse rattled. Thunder stiffened, peering at the gap beneath the spiny branches. Milkweed was squeezing her way through, a mouse hanging from her jaws. Leaf followed her into the camp, carrying a vole in his.
“Night hunting?” Thunder blinked at Lightning Tail.
Lightning Tail purred. “They left Pink Eyes in charge of the kits and slipped out at dusk.”
“Together?”
“They haven’t been apart since you left.”
Thunder’s heart swelled until he thought it would burst. Above him, rain battered the bare branches. But he was dry, and his campmates were content. Tomorrow he would roam the forest with Lightning Tail and bring back fresh-kill for his cats.
CHAPTER 24
Gray Wing touched his nose to the rock that covered Quiet Rain’s grave.
Behind him, Tall Shadow was saying good-bye to River Ripple. “Tell Shattered Ice and Dappled Pelt they are missed, but we are glad they’re happy in their new home.”
River Ripple swished his tail. “It’s hard to believe I once lived alone on the island. I can’t imagine life without my campmates now.”
Gray Wing’s pelt pricked along his spine. Who are my campmates? Tall Shadow and Jagged Peak? He had lived with them so long, it would seem strange to live without them. But the thought of returning to the dark pine forest filled him with gloom. Perhaps it was just the lingering grief of Quiet Rain’s death. A bright morning, with sunlight piercing the canopy and pooling on the needle-strewn floor, might cheer him up. And Pebble Heart would be there, his determined gaze a comforting reminder of Turtle Tail.
“We should go.” Clear Sky’s mew called Gray Wing from his thoughts. His brother stood beside Star Flower, their pelts touching. “Come and visit often,” he told Gray Wing. “Especially when the kits come.” His gaze flicked toward Star Flower, glowing as she returned it.
One Eye’s daughter had shown such courage and loyalty to her mate. A pang of sorrow pricked Gray Wing’s belly. Turtle Tail had once stood beside him like that.
You shouldn’t spend the rest of your life mourning. You should have a mate and kits of your own. His mother’s words rang in his ears.
“You will come to see the kits, won’t you?” Star Flower leaned toward Gray Wing.
“Of course,” Gray Wing answered distractedly.
He watched as Clear Sky and Star Flower padded side by side toward the forest.
Tall Shadow was nudging Sun Shadow to his paws. “Come with us,” she murmured. “You’ll catch a chill if you stay here in the rain.”
Sun Shadow heaved himself to his paws, his eyes downcast.
Pebble Heart fell in beside the black tom, pressing his shoulder against his flank and guiding him toward the edge of the hollow. Jagged Peak followed, casting a final glance back at Quiet Rain’s grave.
Tall Shadow fell in behind them. “Are you coming, Gray Wing?”
Gray Wing felt rain soaking through his pelt. It dripped from his whiskers and pooled at his paws.
“Gray Wing?” Tall Shadow’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m coming.”
A fresh wind sprayed fine rain into his face as he crested the top of the slope. It carried the scent of the moor, and he breathed it in, his heart aching.
You should have a mate and kits of your own.
Pebble Heart was guiding Sun Shadow along the edge of the hollow, following the slope down toward the pine forest.
His paws suddenly heavy, Gray Wing stopped. “I can’t come with you.”
Tall Shadow jerked around, her eyes wide. “What?”
Guilt rippled through Gray Wing’s fur, but he had to speak the truth. “I can’t live among the pines.”
“But that’s what you chose!”
“I chose it because I wanted to help you build a new home.” He gazed solemnly at Tall Shadow. “But you’re settled now. You don’t need my help.”
“Is this because I accused you of trying to take over?” Tall Shadow’s tail twitched uneasily.
Jagged Peak stared at him. “We need you, Gray Wing.”
“No, you don’t.” Gray Wing turned his head and gazed across the moor. “I can hardly breathe there. You were right. While I’m among the pines, I’m not as fast as I used to be, but up here the wind seems to rush through me, and I can run without losing my breath.”
“Won’t you be lonely?” Tall Shadow looked worried.
Gray Wing’s chest tightened as he pictured Slate. “I hope not.”
Pebble Heart’s eyes shone through the darkness. He peeled away from Sun Shadow and faced Gray Wing. “You must follow the path you choose,” he murmured softly.
“Do you mind?” Gray Wing searched his g
aze, knowing he would not leave Pebble Heart if the young tom still needed him.
“I want you to be happy,” Pebble Heart mewed. “And I’ll know where to find you if I need you.”
“Where will you go?” Tall Shadow frowned. “Back to the old hollow?”
Pebble Heart didn’t shift his gaze from Gray Wing. “He’s going to Wind Runner’s camp.”
Gray Wing stared wordlessly back.
Tall Shadow glanced at Jagged Peak. “Of course.” She dipped her head to Gray Wing. “We will miss you.”
Jagged Peak padded forward and nudged Gray Wing’s shoulder with his muzzle. “Come and visit the kits,” he meowed. “They’ll miss you.”
Gray Wing nodded. “Take care of Fern.” Guilt pricked his belly. He’d invited her to join him, and now he was leaving. But she’d be safe in Tall Shadow’s camp—safer than she’d been with Slash. His belly tightened. “Be careful,” he cautioned.
Jagged Peak frowned. “Of what?”
“Don’t forget, the pines are still new territory. You don’t know what other cats might claim it as their own.” Should he warn them about Slash? No. Fern would know if the rogue had returned. She’d tell them all they needed to know. There was no need to worry them now.
Tall Shadow turned away, swishing her tail. “It’s our territory now, and we’ll fight for it if we have to.” She padded toward Sun Shadow, nudging him forward. Raindrops glistened on her pelt.
Jagged Peak followed, and Gray Wing touched his muzzle to Pebble Heart’s head. “I’m proud of you.”
“I know.” Pebble Heart ducked away and headed after his campmates.
Gray Wing turned toward the moor. He could see the clouds clearing, far beyond the moortop. Excitement rising in his belly, he broke into a run. Racing over the rain-slicked grass, he ducked into a swath of heather, enjoying the twisting path that sent him turning this way and that before it seemed to burst into an open stretch of moorside. He hardly felt the pain in his injured leg as he pounded on, smelling the scents of Wind Runner and her kits as he neared the camp. The rain had eased here on the moortop, and he shook the wetness from his pelt, relishing the wind that streamed through it. He was almost dry by the time he ducked into the heather tunnel that led to the camp.