Long Shadows

Most of the Clan were already out in the open, though Jayfeather heard movement by the nursery as Daisy and Millie emerged with their kits. Foxpaw and Icepaw scampered into the middle of the clearing, excited rather than worried by the unexpected summons. Jayfeather caught the scent of Squirrelflight standing not far away.

“We’ve discovered more about Ashfur’s death,” Firestar began as soon as all the cats were assembled. “It wasn’t an accident. There was a gash in his throat, and that means he was deliberately killed.”

Yowls of dismay rose up from every part of the clearing.

Jayfeather’s belly churned when he heard the terrible truth put into words; he could feel Hollyleaf and Lionblaze stiffen, and picked up their sense of horror. Fear and distress swept over him from Squirrelflight.

“Did a fox do it?” Dustpelt demanded, raising his voice to be heard over the clamor.

“There was no fox scent.” The noise died down as Firestar spoke again. “And a fox would have eaten him.”

“Did he fall into the stream and cut his throat on a rock or a branch?” Squirrelflight asked; Jayfeather could tell how desperately she wanted that to be true.

“I doubt it,” Firestar told her; there was regret in his voice as if he, too, would have been comforted by that explanation.

“It was a clean wound, like a hunting warrior would make on their prey.”

“You’re saying that a cat killed him?” Cloudtail’s voice rang out disbelievingly.

“WindClan!” Thornclaw yowled. “They must have found him by the border and killed him. We should attack them now!”

Caterwauls of agreement followed his words; it was several moments before Firestar could make himself heard again.

“We mustn’t act too quickly,” he warned his Clan. “There was no WindClan scent on Ashfur’s body. In fact, there’s no evidence at all that he was killed by a cat from another Clan.”

Frozen silence filled the clearing. When Brackenfur broke it, his voice was shaking. “Are you saying that one of us killed Ashfur?”

Jayfeather’s heart thudded as he waited for Firestar’s reply. His littermates tensed beside him, and he could hear Squirrelflight trying not to gulp for air as if she were being smothered.

“Do any of you know a reason why anyone in ThunderClan might want Ashfur dead?” Firestar asked.

Beside him, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf quivered under the weight of what they knew. A little farther away, Squirrelflight held her breath altogether. Jayfeather knew they were all thinking of the scene on top of the cliff, when Squirrelflight’s terrible secret had been shared in storm and fire. That, and that alone, had to be the reason for Ashfur’s murder.

Now, for their own sakes and the sake of their Clan, they must all conspire to keep the truth hidden forever.