Long Shadows

Two nights before, Brambleclaw had chosen her to attend the Gathering. Blackstar had been there, but he had said nothing at all about Sol, or his decision to let ShadowClan live by the warrior code once more. Brambleclaw had taken Firestar’s place with the three Clan leaders, telling them briefly that Firestar was sorry he couldn’t come, but without explaining why.

What else are we hiding from one another? Hollyleaf wondered.

She was reminded of one secret as the patrol was passing the Twoleg nest. Lionblaze emerged from inside, along with Honeyfern and Rosekit. The tiny cream-colored kit bounced through the opening and hurled herself into a drift of dead leaves, squealing with excitement as they crackled around her, and batting them up into the air.

“Steady,” Lionblaze mewed. “You don’t want to wear yourself out before you get back to camp.”

Rosekit sat up, a dead leaf clinging to the top of her head.

“I’m fine!” she announced. “I want to catch some prey for my mother.”

Purring, Honeyfern nudged her out of the pile of leaves and gave the tiny kit’s pelt a quick grooming. Lionblaze padded up to his sister.

“More cats going home?” Hollyleaf asked.

“That’s right,” Lionblaze replied. “There’s just Millie and Briarkit left now, and Firestar. He won’t leave until every cat is back in camp.”

“It was great that Jayfeather found that catmint,” Hollyleaf remarked, her eyes narrowing as she watched her brother’s reaction.

“Er… yeah.” Lionblaze looked uncomfortable.

His behavior convinced Hollyleaf of what she had suspected already: that there was some secret about the catmint, and both her brothers were involved in it.

Why won’t they tell me? We shouldn’t have secrets from one another.

“Everything will be fine now,” Lionblaze went on quickly as if he wanted to avoid any questions. “The catmint here is starting to sprout again, so there’s enough for Millie and Briarkit. They’re getting stronger every day.”

“That’s good. But what—”

“Hollyleaf!” Ashfur’s impatient yowl cut off her question.

The gray warrior had turned back, and was waiting for her a few tail-lengths along the old Twoleg path.

“I’ve got to go,” she meowed to Lionblaze, certain that she spotted a flicker of relief in his eyes as she spoke.

“See you later,” he replied, and headed back to camp beside

Honeyfern, with Rosekit frisking ahead of them.

Hollyleaf watched them go, then padded along the path to join Ashfur.

“You’re going to hunt today and not tomorrow?” he asked scathingly as she approached.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “I just wanted a word with Lionblaze.”

Not that it did me any good, she thought, as Ashfur snorted and led the way deeper into the forest, after the rest of the patrol.

She was still no closer to finding out what Lionblaze and Jayfeather were hiding from her.

The air had grown heavier still by the time the patrol returned to camp. A hot breeze had sprung up, folding back the leaves that still remained on the trees. Hollyleaf’s pelt was fluffed the wrong way and the scents of the prey she was carrying choked her as if she had a mouthful of crow-food.

Huge, tepid raindrops began to fall as Ashfur led his patrol through the tunnel. One of them splashed onto Hollyleaf’s nose when she emerged into the camp; she twitched her whiskers irritably to shake it off. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Good, Hollyleaf thought as she carried her prey to the fresh-kill pile. The air will be fresh again after a storm.

She glanced up, only to squeeze her eyes tight shut as a jagged bolt of lightning split the sky. Thunder crashed right overhead and suddenly rain started to pound down, splattering on the earth floor of the hollow and plastering Hollyleaf’s pelt to her sides within a couple of heartbeats.

A wail went up from the warriors’ den, and Cloudtail stuck his head out. “What’s happening?”

Too terrified to run for shelter, Hollyleaf flattened herself to the ground. She caught a glimpse of Spiderleg streaking through the rain to the warriors’ den with Mousewhisker hard on his paws.

Another bolt of lightning crackled across the sky. Hollyleaf stared in shock as a tree on the edge of the hollow burst into flames, red tongues of fire roaring upward. Even the torrents of rain couldn’t quench it. Blackened leaves fell into the hollow; with a terrible groaning sound a blazing branch tore itself free and plummeted down to land with a crash a tail-length from Hollyleaf. Yowling in fright, she leaped to one side, cannoning into Thornclaw.

“The forest is on fire!” he screeched.

Yet another claw of lightning tore the sky apart. An ear-splitting crack sounded above the roar of the thunder, and Hollyleaf saw a tree begin to topple, its roots ripped out of the earth as flames devoured its branches. Blazing leaves and twigs rained down into the clearing.