Gray Wing could see bleak misery in his eyes. “You’ve had this dream before, haven’t you?” he asked.
For answer, Pebble Heart curled himself into a small ball, pressing himself against Gray Wing’s side. Gray Wing could feel his trembling. Gently he licked the kit’s pelt with strong, soothing strokes of his tongue. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “You can tell me.”
Gradually Pebble Heart’s trembling subsided. “I’ve had dreams for a while now,” he confessed. “Owl Eyes and Sparrow Fur sleep so soundly, I knew it was only me having them. And there’s something about them that makes them feel . . . well, more than dreams. Am I being mouse-brained?” he asked hesitantly.
Gray Wing shook his head. “Not at all. Tell me more about the dreams,” he mewed.
Pebble Heart’s eyes grew distant with memory. “There’s one particular dream I’ve had a few times,” he began. “I was walking down a long, dark tunnel, and there was a glittering light at the end, as if a star was shining underground.”
“And that scared you?” Gray Wing asked, stroking the kit’s back with his tail.
“Oh, no!” Pebble Heart’s eyes shone. “It was exciting! I really wanted to get to the end of the tunnel and find out what the light was. And it was weird . . . I couldn’t see any other cats, but I felt like there were cats there, trying to tell me something. Only I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I thought if I could get to the star thing, I would understand, but every time I have the dream, I wake up before I reach the end of the tunnel,” he finished, sounding disappointed.
Gray Wing couldn’t make sense of that at all. “You don’t have to worry,” he reassured Pebble Heart. “You’re not the only cat who has dreams. You remember Turtle Tail and I told you about Stoneteller and the other cats in the mountains, where we came from?” Pebble Heart nodded. “Well, Stoneteller had dreams like yours sometimes. Just the same as you.”
The little kit’s eyes were bright with interest. “Really?”
“Really. And she’s a very wise cat.” More hesitantly, he asked, “What was your dream about this time, Pebble Heart?”
“A fight—a big fight,” Pebble Heart replied, beginning to tremble again. “Cats were screeching and clawing each other. I think I saw Clear Sky there. I’ve dreamed that one before, too.”
Apprehension clawed at Gray Wing, though he took care not to let the kit see that he was worried. Has he had some kind of warning?
“It’s all right,” he soothed Pebble Heart. “You don’t have to talk about it anymore.”
Glancing toward the mouth of the den, Gray Wing noticed that Jagged Peak was crouched nearby, watching them intently. I think he’s too far away to have heard what we said, but even so . . .
Protectively Gray Wing curled his body around Pebble Heart, bending over so that both their faces were hidden. This was something that he didn’t want Jagged Peak or any other cat to see.
If Pebble Heart is special, then he needs to be kept safe, he thought.
“For now, don’t tell any other cat,” he mewed. “But let me know if you have any more—”
He broke off as a grief-stricken yowl rose up from the other side of the camp. Springing to his paws, Gray Wing saw Tall Shadow standing over the body of her brother. Other cats were already rushing toward her.
Gray Wing joined her with Pebble Heart scampering hard on his paws. Moon Shadow lay still, his legs splayed out as if in a last spasm of pain. A drying, sticky pool of blood stained the ground near his mouth.
Oh no! He must have died while the kits and I were sleeping, Gray Wing thought.
He pushed his way through the gathering crowd of cats until he reached Tall Shadow’s side. The black she-cat was rocking back and forth, her claws tearing up the ground in her anger and grief.
“It wasn’t his time to go!” she wailed.
The other cats had encircled them and stood watching, wide-eyed and silent, stunned by Moon Shadow’s death. Gray Wing realized there was only one thing left to do. He reached out a paw to touch Moon Shadow’s body; it was already cooling. A shudder of grief passed through Gray Wing. No cat’s death was ever easy to witness.
We have to bury him. Gray Wing remembered how they had laid Fluttering Bird to rest under a pile of stones, and his heart twisted. The sooner they got through this, the better. “Are you ready?” he mewed gently to Tall Shadow.
The black she-cat didn’t need to ask what he meant. She had seen too many cats die in her time.
Glancing around, Gray Wing spotted Jagged Peak, and beckoned to him with his tail. “We’re going to bury Moon Shadow,” he told his brother when Jagged Peak had limped up to him. “I want you to stay here and look after the kits. They’re too young to witness this.”
Jagged Peak stood taller, looking confident. “You can trust me, Gray Wing.”
Owl Eyes and Sparrow Fur scampered up to join Pebble Heart, who was gazing sadly at the body of Moon Shadow. Gray Wing could see that Pebble Heart knew there was nothing more he could do to help this cat.
“Jagged Peak is going to look after you while we’re out of camp,” Gray Wing meowed, gathering the kits together with his tail.
“Great! He knows really cool games,” Sparrow Fur agreed enthusiastically.
“But why can’t we come with you?” Owl Eyes argued.
“Because there are some things young kits don’t need to see,” Gray Wing told him.
“Quite right.” Turtle Tail padded up to join the group. “You kits stay here with Jagged Peak.” She hesitated and looked at Gray Wing’s younger brother. “Thank you,” she said. “We couldn’t do this now, without you.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgment, then shook himself. “Come on, kits,” he called, as he started limping away.
Once the kits had withdrawn, bouncing around Jagged Peak as he led them across the camp, Gray Wing and Tall Shadow picked up the body of Moon Shadow. It was lighter than Gray Wing had expected—clearly the injured cat hadn’t been eating well. Moving slowly and respectfully, they carried the body up the slope and out of the hollow. The other cats followed them, the soft fall of their paw steps the only sound.
As they emerged onto the moor, Gray Wing spotted Gorse Fur and Wind Runner approaching from a few tail-lengths away.
“We’ll help,” Gorse Fur offered immediately as he joined them.
“Thank you,” Gray Wing meowed gratefully.
“Okay, every cat get into a line.” Wind Runner took over immediately. “Don’t crowd Moon Shadow. Show him a bit of respect.”
There were a few startled glances at Wind Runner as she spoke, but the cats were too grief-stricken to protest. Gray Wing was thankful for her calm efficiency. She can see what’s needed because her feelings aren’t as deeply involved.
With the rest of the cats following, Gray Wing and Tall Shadow carried Moon Shadow to a quiet spot in the shelter of a rock and stood back while Wind Runner and Gorse Fur scratched away the earth and stones.
At last there was a hole deep enough for Moon Shadow’s body. Gray Wing and Tall Shadow rolled him into it; Gray Wing winced as he spotted streaks of blood in the dirt. No cat deserves to die in this way.
Moon Shadow’s belly was exposed so that every cat could see the burns on his pelt. Tall Shadow let out a wail of distress. Scrambling into the hole after her brother, she tried to turn him over so that the terrible wounds weren’t exposed. But the hole wasn’t big enough, and his body was already stiffening.
Turtle Tail padded to the edge of the hole. “Come on out, Tall Shadow,” she mewed gently. “Leave him be.”
Tall Shadow looked up with a brief flash of anger that gradually faded to quiet misery. Reluctantly she heaved herself out of the hole and watched with dull eyes as Jackdaw’s Cry and Shattered Ice piled stones and rocks until Moon Shadow had disappeared forever.
Gray Wing felt that they hadn’t done enough. This is the first burial since we came to the moor. It’s important for me to say something.
As Jackdaw?
??s Cry and Shattered Ice stood back, cleaning earth from their paws, Gray Wing turned to face the other cats. “Moon Shadow was a brave cat,” he began. “He survived so much, in the mountains and on our journey here. His death is a sign of all the changes we have experienced since we left the mountains. I know there will be more changes to come. But whatever happens, no cat will ever forget Moon Shadow. I’ll make certain of that.”
Before he had finished speaking, Tall Shadow had already turned and walked away, heading back to the camp. Gray Wing felt his heart begin to break, to see her so alone.
The rest of the cats followed. Gray Wing was the last to reach the camp. He paused for a moment at the top of the hollow, watching as the cats dispersed after the burial. As he stood there, he saw Jagged Peak come hobbling up to him. His fur was bristling and his blue eyes wide with apprehension.
“Gray Wing!” he gasped. “I’ve lost Owl Eyes!”
Gray Wing couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What do you mean, lost? All you had to do was look after three young kits!”
Guilt and shame flooded into Jagged Peak’s eyes. “I was giving them a training session, teaching them how to climb a rock. Obviously I can’t show them, but I can give them directions. I was helping Pebble Heart and Sparrow Fur, when I suddenly realized Owl Eyes wasn’t with us anymore.”
Gray Wing dug his claws into the ground in anxiety. “That’s no excuse. You’re supposed to be watching all three!”
He knew how harsh his words sounded when he saw Jagged Peak flinch, but he was too worried about Owl Eyes to care. His gaze raked the hollow. The other two kits were standing close together a couple of tail-lengths farther down the slope, their eyes wide and frightened, but there was no sign of Owl Eyes.
“Have you checked the dens?” he asked Jagged Peak.
The young cat gave a tense nod. “He’s not there.”
Turtle Tail padded up to stand beside Gray Wing. Her face and her voice were calm—too calm, Gray Wing thought—as she spoke to Jagged Peak. “You mustn’t worry,” she told him, sounding as if she could barely get the words out. “This isn’t your fault.”
Gray Wing beckoned the other kits with his tail. “Do you know anything about this?” he asked them both.
Pebble Heart shook his head. Sparrow Fur scuffled her forepaws in the soil, her head lowered.
“Sparrow Fur!” her mother mewed sharply. “If you know anything, you have to tell us!”
“Owl Eyes said he was going out to hunt a hare,” the tortoiseshell kit admitted reluctantly.
“A hare!” Turtle Tail turned to Gray Wing, her eyes wide and frightened. “He’s not big enough to tackle a hare. And on his own!”
“And there are dogs on the moor,” Gray Wing added, feeling his chest beginning to tighten again as he realized what might happen to Owl Eyes. “Why didn’t you tell Jagged Peak?” he asked Sparrow Fur, his tone harsh with fear and anger.
She flinched away. “Because I didn’t think he meant it!” she wailed. “I thought he was just boasting. I never believed he would be flea-brained enough to actually do it.”
Gray Wing paused for a heartbeat. He knew that Owl Eyes had good hunting instincts, but deciding to go out alone was one of the most reckless things he had ever heard of. “We have to go after him,” he decided.
No way am I going to leave a kit to be killed in a dog attack or a fight with a hare.
With a wave of his tail, Gray Wing called the other cats to him. “Turtle Tail, Wind Runner, you stay here and look after the kits,” he ordered, ignoring Jagged Peak’s hurt look. I can’t trust him with the kits again! “Jackdaw’s Cry, I want you with me. Gorse Fur, will you take charge of another group?”
As the cats began to organize themselves, Gray Wing padded across to Tall Shadow, the only cat who had not answered his summons. She was sitting at the foot of the tall rock, staring into the distance.
“Tall Shadow, Owl Eyes has gone out onto the moor by himself to hunt,” Gray Wing explained. “We’re going to look for him. Will you come with me?” When Tall Shadow didn’t respond immediately, he added, “I know you’re grieving for Moon Shadow, but I need you by my side now.”
Tall Shadow rose and gave her pelt a shake, as if she was trying to get rid of clinging burrs. She finally turned to look at Gray Wing, and her eyes were blazing.
“My brother is buried,” she meowed. “I won’t see another cat die. Of course I’ll help. Where do we start?”
CHAPTER 22
As Gray Wing led the way up the slope, he paused to speak to Rainswept Flower, who was watching, her eyes wide with concern. Angling his ears toward Jagged Peak, he meowed, “Look after him, will you?”
Rainswept Flower nodded. “Don’t worry, Gray Wing. I will.”
At the edge of the hollow Gray Wing sniffed around until he picked up Owl Eyes’s scent. “This way!” he exclaimed, waving his tail to beckon Tall Shadow and Jackdaw’s Cry.
But as the three cats headed across the moor, the kit’s faint scent was drowned in the reek of dogs.
“We’ll never find him at this rate,” Jackdaw’s Cry muttered.
Fear crept through Gray Wing as if the blood in his veins had turned to snowmelt. Gazing around, he realized how unlikely they were to find the kit he’d come to love as his own before he fell into danger. It could already be too late.
“He seemed to be going this way,” he meowed, setting out in the direction the scent had led.
His denmates followed as he forged onward, all his senses at full stretch to pick up the least trace of the kit. Weaving a path through a clump of gorse bushes, he spotted a smear of blood on one of the low branches. For a heartbeat his paws froze to the ground, he was so afraid that the blood belonged to Owl Eyes.
Tall Shadow padded across and sniffed at the smear. “I’m sorry,” she mewed. “The dog-scent is so strong, I can’t tell where the blood came from.”
That wasn’t much comfort for Gray Wing, but he forced himself to get moving again.
On the other side of the gorse bushes all three cats cast around to try to pick up Owl Eyes’s scent again. Eventually Tall Shadow raised her tail. “Over here!” she called out. “The trail is leading toward the forest.”
Gray Wing gazed at the line of trees in the distance. Somewhere among them was Clear Sky’s camp. Would he protect Owl Eyes if the kit was in danger?
The moor gradually sloped downward into a valley with a narrow stream trickling along the bottom. The dog-scent wasn’t as strong here, and everything seemed peaceful, but Gray Wing’s pads prickled with apprehension.
It’s too peaceful. . . .
Glancing around he realized that if they were attacked there was nowhere to hide, not a tree or bush they could scramble into. The only cover was sparse clumps of reeds and long grass by the waterside.
They were heading downstream, still following Owl Eyes’s scent trail, when Gray Wing heard a shrill voice calling his name. He stiffened, gazing across the stream, and spotted Owl Eyes’s head popping out between the reeds.
“Look what I caught!” the kit called triumphantly, tossing a dead vole into the air.
Relief surged through Gray Wing, followed by a hot rush of anger. “You stupid, stupid furball!” he yowled, leaping the stream and bounding toward the kit. His chest had begun to ache again from stress and the effort of running.
Tall Shadow and Jackdaw’s Cry crossed the stream behind him, but as they reached Owl Eyes the clouds which had been lowering over the moor for most of the day suddenly released their rain. Fat drops splashed onto Gray Wing’s pelt and stippled the surface of the water.
“Now we’ll get soaked through!” Jackdaw’s Cry grumbled.
Gray Wing’s breath was wheezing in his chest. He couldn’t face racing back across the moor to the shelter of the camp. Hunching his shoulders as the rain grew heavier, he spotted a hole in the bank of the stream above their heads. “Up there!” he snapped at Owl Eyes, thrusting the kit in front of him and following him into the
hole. “Come on!” he called to the others.
Little light filtered in from the entrance to the burrow, and there was a stale scent of rabbit. But there was enough space to move forward, Gray Wing’s pelt brushing the earthen sides. He could scent Tall Shadow and Jackdaw’s Cry following him, and when he glanced over his shoulder he could just make out Tall Shadow’s ears outlined against the dim light.
In the next heartbeat there was a slippery sound and the light was cut off, leaving the cats in pitch darkness.
“What happened?” Gray Wing called out, feeling his belly clench with the first stirrings of panic.
“The entrance collapsed,” Jackdaw’s Cry replied, sounding more annoyed than frightened. “The rain must have weakened it.”
“Then we’re trapped,” Tall Shadow rasped.
Guilt washed through Gray Wing, as overwhelming as the rain outside. He struggled to catch his breath, knowing that the others would be able to hear his wheezing in the silence. He had never felt so useless in his life. If it wasn’t for my bad chest, we would be halfway back to the camp by now.
“I . . . I’m sorry . . . ,” he choked out. “I shouldn’t have . . .” His voice was trembling too much from his sense of failure and he couldn’t finish what he wanted to say.
“It’s not your fault,” Jackdaw’s Cry meowed sturdily. “And it’s no big deal. All we have to do is keep going. There’s bound to be another way out.”
Gray Wing began to creep forward, gently pushing Owl Eyes ahead of him. “This is exciting!” the little kit squeaked, then added, “Mouse dung! I dropped my vole by the stream.”
Gradually Gray Wing realized that the darkness was giving way to a faint gray light, coming from up ahead. At the same time he began to pick up a strange scent: a strong reek that reminded him of the smell of foxes, though it wasn’t quite the same. The fur on his neck and shoulders began to prickle.
A few paces farther on, the tunnel widened into an open space where the cats could stand side by side and look around. More than one tunnel led away from the central cave where they were. Light was trickling down through small chinks in the roof, the earth held up by a tangle of roots. The floor of the cave was covered with dead leaves and bracken; Gray Wing wrinkled his nose at the smell.