The acrid tang of the black trail touched Gray Wing’s tongue. It must be close. How would they cross it when they could hardly see past their whiskers? He wove past Mouse Ear and Mud Paws and fell in beside Jagged Peak. “Perhaps we should find cover and rest before crossing.”
“No.” Jagged Peak kept his gaze fixed forward. “We’re going to keep moving until we reach the forest. There’ll be prey there and shelter, and the kits are cold and hungry.”
Gray Wing narrowed his eyes against the snow. Jagged Peak was acting like their leader. But he was right. They were close to the Thunderpath, and the pines lay just beyond. It might be a waste of time to scout the slope for somewhere to hide when they were certain that shelter lay ahead.
The wind roared in his ears, growing louder, until Gray Wing realized that it wasn’t just the wind.
He froze. “Watch out!”
As he spoke, huge eyes blazed through the snow. He cowered, blinded by their glare. A monster was pounding toward them.
“Get back!” Jagged Peak tugged Holly and scrambled backward with a yowl. He pushed Gray Wing against Tall Shadow. Dew Nose squeaked with terror as the monster roared past a tail-length ahead. Its massive black paws showed through the blizzard before it thundered away into the storm.
“That was close.” Jagged Peak straightened. He glanced back at the others. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yes.” Gray Wing was impressed by Jagged Peak’s calmness. He checked the kits. They clustered together, tails bushed, while Pebble Heart and Tall Shadow crouched beside them.
“Was that a monster?” Eagle Feather gasped.
“Yes, dear.” Holly reached up and nuzzled her kit on Mouse Ear’s back. “We have to be careful.”
“We will be,” Jagged Peak growled. “At least we know where the Thunderpath is.”
Gray Wing stared into the blizzard. “We can’t cross it now.”
“Yes we can.” Jagged Peak stepped forward, then stopped. “The last monster made the ground tremble before it reached us.” He shuffled his paws until they were deep in the snow. “I can feel when one’s coming and warn you.”
Holly blinked at him. “You can’t just stand there!” she gasped. “What if one veers off its path and hits you?”
“It won’t,” Jagged Peak told her.
He’s like a different cat. Gray Wing glanced at Tall Shadow. She was staring at Jagged Peak in surprise.
She caught Gray Wing’s eye. “I’ve never seen a cat so changed.”
Gray Wing nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Holly jerked her head around. “It’s amazing what a little love can do.”
Was that reproach in her mew?
Gray Wing felt a flash of guilt. Had he been too hard on his younger brother when all he needed was a little kindness?
Holly lifted her chin and padded to Jagged Peak’s side. “I trust you.” She touched her muzzle to his cheek, then called to Mouse Ear and Mud Paws. “Get the kits across when Jagged Peak gives the word.”
Mouse Ear nodded and padded to where Jagged Peak marked the edge of the Thunderpath.
“Wait,” warned Jagged Peak. “The ground’s trembling.” Gray Wing saw him stiffen. “Get away from the edge.”
As Mouse Ear backed away, Jagged Peak stood his ground. The wind’s roar became a monster’s howl. Gray Wing held his breath as its eyes lit Jagged Peak. Horror scorched through him as the black paws of the monster loomed from the snow. But Jagged Peak hardly flinched as the monster hurtled past.
Gray Wing struggled to take a breath. Snow froze his mouth and made his chest burn.
“Now!” Jagged Peak called.
Mouse Ear and Mud Paws raced past him, the kits squealing. Gray Wing watched, trembling, as they disappeared into the blizzard.
“It’s still safe!” Jagged Peak yowled.
Tall Shadow leaped forward. Holly raced after her, Pebble Heart at her heels.
“You too!” Jagged Peak glared at Gray Wing through the snow.
Gray Wing could hardly find the breath to answer.
Jagged Peak ran toward him. “Are you okay?”
“It’s hard to breathe in this snow,” Gray Wing rasped.
Jagged Peak pressed against him. “Lean on me.” Gray Wing felt the tom’s strong shoulder against his flank. He rested against it, suddenly weak.
“Come on,” Jagged Peak urged gently. “I can’t feel any monsters.”
Gray Wing focused on his paws, trying to sense vibrations in the earth, but he couldn’t tell whether the ground was shaking or his legs. He glanced at Jagged Peak. His brother’s gaze was fixed calmly ahead. It must be my paws. I can’t be this weak. My campmates need me!
Jagged Peak shouldered him forward. “Just keep moving,” he grunted. “Once we’re in the shelter of the pines, you’ll get more air.”
Gray Wing didn’t answer. He stared ahead, thankful for Jagged Peak’s strength. With faltering steps he padded forward, letting his brother guide him. The snow was smooth beneath his paws, the ground hard as stone beneath it. They must be on the Thunderpath. He struggled to hurry.
“It’s okay,” Jagged Peak reassured him. “The path’s clear. Take your time.”
As snow whisked past his muzzle, Gray Wing felt dizzy. “I can’t do it,” he gasped.
“You’re going to have to!” Jagged Peak growled darkly. “I can feel the ground trembling.”
Gray Wing tried to drag in air, his paws slithering beneath him.
“Hurry!” Jagged Peak shoved his shoulder harder against Gray Wing’s flank and half lifted him onward.
Gray Wing heard the roar of a monster. Lights flashed through the snow. The world seemed to tumble as Jagged Peak hurled him forward.
We’re going to die!
Gray Wing rolled, the snow soft beneath him, and slid to a halt. The monster’s howl ripped through his ear fur. Stones and ice chips blasted his pelt. Acrid smoke filled his nose. And then there was just snow.
The monster was gone.
“Jagged Peak?” Panic ripped through his pelt. “Jagged Peak!”
“I’m here!” His brother’s mew sounded triumphant in his ear. “We made it! I can see the trees.”
Weak with relief, Gray Wing let Jagged Peak nudge him to his paws and staggered blindly forward. Dark shapes swirled in front of him, darkening more until eerie silence enfolded him.
The snow had gone. The wind had dropped.
Am I dead?
Blinking open his eyes, Gray Wing gazed around. Tall trunks soared around them. Beneath his paws he could feel a soft bed of needles.
“You made it!” Holly raced from between the pines and pressed her cheek against Jagged Peak’s.
“Of course we did.” Jagged Peak nodded to Pebble Heart. “Gray Wing’s having his breathing trouble again.”
Pebble Heart dropped his bundle of herbs. “I can smell coltsfoot in here.” He unrolled the wad of leaves with his nose and picked out a dull green sprig. “It’s dried from greenleaf, but it should still work.”
Gray Wing smelled the familiar scent of the herb. Relief flickered in his belly. Pebble Heart held out a stalk between his teeth, and Gray Wing took it. “Thanks.” He chewed it carefully to release the juices from the dried old stem before swallowing it.
“Let’s rest here for a while.” Tall Shadow shrugged Dew Nose from her back.
Dew Nose squeaked as she landed. “The ground feels weird!”
Eagle Feather and Storm Pelt leaped down from Mud Paws and Mouse Ear.
“It’s all springy!” Eagle Feather bounced across the thick covering of needles.
“It must be a tail-length deep!” Storm Pelt shuffled his paws into the brown needles until they disappeared. “Look! I’ve got no paws!”
Gray Wing sat down, his chest loosening as the coltsfoot began to work. “Thanks, Pebble Heart,” he murmured.
“I just hope there’s more in this forest.” Pebble Heart scanned the trees.
The tall, straight tru
nks were cracked, like ancient prey dried in the sun. Shadows pooled between them. Here and there, dense patches of brambles crowded their roots. Gray Wing looked up. The sky was hidden by thick branches, green even in leaf-bare. Their tips leaned and creaked, stirred by the blizzard howling above them, but they stood firm, their roots dug deep into the peaty earth.
“What do you think?” Tall Shadow followed Gray Wing’s gaze upward.
Gray Wing whisked his tail over the needle-strewn earth. A sharp tang of pine cut through the thickness in his chest. He felt strength return to his paws. His shoulders relaxed. “I think I’m going to like it here.”
“Should we make camp?” Holly called.
“Where?” Tall Shadow glanced around.
Gray Wing stiffened as Slash’s order to Fern flashed through his mind. I need to know where they make camp, where they hunt, their habits, their weaknesses, everything! Had Fern crossed the Thunderpath yet? Was she nearby now? Gray Wing strained to see through the shadows, looking for a flicker of movement. Why couldn’t Fern have an orange pelt? It was too easy for her to hide here.
“Gray Wing?” Tall Shadow was searching his gaze anxiously. “Is something wrong? Your pelt’s pricking.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Gray Wing told her quickly. There was nothing she could do about Slash’s spy. Why spoil a pleasure she’d looked forward to for so long? “Is the forest as good as you imagined?”
Tall Shadow purred and padded around the base of a pine, her paw steps no more than a whisper on the needles. “It’s even better.” She pricked her ears. “The wind sounds so far away.”
“I can smell squirrel,” Mouse Ear meowed happily.
“Should we hunt?” Mud Paws looked at Jagged Peak. Gray Wing blinked in surprise. Mud Paws was treating him like their leader.
Tall Shadow sat down and gazed between the trees. She didn’t seem to have noticed, or if she had, she didn’t seem to care. Her green eyes shone. Her black pelt melted among the shadows as though she’d become part of her new home already.
“Tall Shadow?” Jagged Peak called to her. “Should we hunt?”
“If you like.” Tall Shadow shrugged.
Holly’s gaze followed her kits, who were scrambling over tree roots, their noses and tails twitching with excitement.
With a leap, Dew Nose hooked her claws into the bark and dangled from the trunk. “Look! I’m climbing.”
“Don’t go too high,” Holly warned.
Pebble Heart tasted the air. “Maybe we should find somewhere to build nests before we hunt.”
“Let’s split up,” Jagged Peak suggested. “I’ll hunt with Mud Paws and Mouse Ear. You, Holly, and Tall Shadow can take Gray Wing and the kits and find somewhere to rest tonight.”
Take Gray Wing and the kits! Gray Wing felt a prick of resentment. Jagged Peak was talking like he was one of them!
Storm Pelt tipped his head. “Why can’t Gray Wing hunt with you? He’s a great hunter.”
“Gray Wing’s not as fast as he used to be,” Jagged Peak answered.
Holly nodded. “He’ll be safer if he stays with you.”
Eagle Feather puffed out his chest. “I’ll look after him!”
Jagged Peak looked fondly at his kit. “Gray Wing will be grateful to have such a strong kit watching over him.”
Gray Wing flattened his ears. “I don’t need anyone watching over me!” he snapped at Jagged Peak. “Just because you saved my life doesn’t mean you get to treat me like a useless kit!”
Dew Nose bristled. “Kits aren’t useless!”
Tall Shadow stepped between them. “I’m sure Jagged Peak didn’t mean anything, Gray Wing,” she soothed.
Jagged Peak dipped his head. “Of course not. But we all know that the fire damaged your breathing. You’re not the cat you used to be.”
Anger surged though Gray Wing. He flexed his claws, wondering if he had enough breath to scratch his young brother’s ears. How dare he?
Tall Shadow flicked her tail. “Perhaps you should hunt, Jagged Peak,” she suggested diplomatically.
Gray Wing frowned. Love hadn’t made Jagged Peak confident; it had made him arrogant! “Be careful,” he muttered. “Don’t forget that you don’t know what’s out there.” Perhaps I should warn them about Fern and Slash. This wasn’t the perfect home they believed it was. There was danger lurking in the shadows. Then he glanced at Tall Shadow, worry darkening her gaze for the first time since she’d set paw in the forest, and swallowed back his anger. He wasn’t going to spoil her moment. “I’m sorry.”
He’d warn them about Slash when the time was right. Perhaps he wouldn’t need to. He might be able to find Fern and talk to her. The rogue didn’t seem to be a bad cat. She was just scared of Slash.
Gray Wing felt suddenly tired. They hadn’t even found a new camp, and trouble was already stalking them. “Come on.” He heaved himself to his paws. “Let’s find somewhere sheltered to build nests.”
As they set off, Eagle Feather scampered ahead. “Can I have my own nest?”
“When you’re older,” Holly called after him.
Gray Wing scanned the shadows beyond the kit warily. “Stay close, Eagle Feather. Until we’re sure it’s safe here.”
CHAPTER 5
A blustery wind shook the branches overhead. Thunder tucked his forepaws closer to his belly.
Beside him, Clear Sky huffed. “Are you cold?”
“No,” Thunder lied, bunching his muscles to hide his shivers.
They were sitting at the edge of a small clearing, not far from the camp, watching Acorn Fur train Owl Eyes and Sparrow Fur how to hunt in their new woodland home. Clear Sky wanted to see how well his recruits were adapting to forest life.
Thunder bushed out his fur. The sharpness of the leaf-bare chill had eased in the past days, but snow clouds had turned to rain, and dampness dug deep into his thick pelt.
It wasn’t raining now, but the trees still dripped from the last downpour. Fallen leaves were matted into wet clumps, making the forest floor slippery.
“Try again, Owl Eyes.” Acorn Fur had laid a dead mouse near the edge of the clearing. “You need to reach it in one pounce. There are no second chances in the forest, with so many hiding places for prey.”
As Owl Eyes crouched behind the roots of an oak, Thunder saw that the gaze he fixed on his quarry was anxious.
Sparrow Fur paced back and forth impatiently a tail-length behind him. “Hurry up!”
Acorn Fur glanced at the brown she-cat with annoyance. “Keep still, Sparrow Fur. Let your brother concentrate.”
“I want a turn,” Sparrow Fur complained.
“The mouse isn’t going anywhere,” Acorn Fur told her.
“It’ll be shredded by the time I get to stalk it.” Sparrow Fur ducked her chin sullenly.
“Owl Eyes needs to practice.” As Acorn Fur spoke, a withered leaf dropped from a branch above them and pattered onto the wet ground.
Owl Eyes’s gaze flicked toward it.
Acorn Fur whipped her tail-tip at him. “Don’t look at the leaf! Focus on the mouse!”
Owl Eyes gasped. “Sorry!”
Thunder felt a jab of pity for the young tom. Owl Eyes’s last pounce had sent him slithering past the mouse, his paws skidding on the muddy earth. If Acorn Fur made him any more nervous, his next pounce wouldn’t be much better.
“It’s good that he’s so alert,” Thunder said, standing. “You have to be wary in the forest. It’s not as easy to spot danger as on the moor.”
Acorn Fur bristled. “But he shouldn’t take his eyes off his prey every time a leaf falls!” she snapped. “He’ll never catch anything.”
Owl Eyes peered up at the shivering branches. “I’ll get used to it,” he promised. His pelt was twitching nervously. Thunder could see that he still wasn’t comfortable living beneath a tangled canopy of branches.
Thunder crossed the clearing and stopped beside Acorn Fur. “He’s young,” he murmured into her ear. “Remember how long i
t took you to learn your hunting crouch.” He winked teasingly.
“I learned it quicker than you,” she retorted.
“And quicker than Lightning Tail,” Thunder reminded her.
She purred and turned back to Owl Eyes. “You’ll be able to tell the difference between a falling leaf and a stalking fox before you know it,” she reassured him. “For now, concentrate on the mouse. I’ll warn you if I smell danger.”
Sparrow Fur snorted. “This is taking forever!”
Acorn Fur called to her. “Why don’t you see how many different scents you can detect while you wait?”
Clear Sky grunted. “Counting scents is for kits.” He marched across the clearing. “Give her something better to do! Let her hunt real prey.” He stopped beside the dead mouse and kicked it, sending it rolling across the forest floor. Owl Eyes never took his eyes off it.
Acorn Fur shifted her paws uneasily. “But she doesn’t know how to hunt in a forest yet.”
“And she never will if you don’t let her practice.” Clear Sky nodded to Sparrow Fur. “Off you go! Catch something for the other cats.”
Sparrow Fur’s eyes lit up. “Great!” She turned and headed past the bramble.
“Wait! You don’t know what’s out there.” Acorn Fur beckoned to Owl Eyes with a flick of her tail. “We’ll come with you!”
Owl Eyes was still staring at the dead mouse. “Should I pounce first?”
“Leave the mouse.” Acorn Fur’s pelt pricked. “We’ll collect it on the way back.”
Thunder saw the reproachful glance she flashed Clear Sky as she passed and gave her a sympathetic shrug.
Clear Sky didn’t seem to notice. He was gazing between the trees, narrowing his eyes. “Someone’s coming.”
Thunder pricked his ears as Acorn Fur herded Owl Eyes and Sparrow Fur past the bramble and into a swath of bracken. Paws were pounding over the forest floor toward them. He tasted the air. Lightning Tail!
His friend burst from under a low jutting branch and skidded to a halt on the wet leaves. “Where’s Acorn Fur?”
“She just left.”
“Is she still training Sparrow Fur and Owl Eyes? I promised I’d help.” Lightning Tail glanced around. “Which way did she go?”