River Of Fire

Yarrowleaf stared at her, dazed, until the horrible idea began to sink in. “Oh, StarClan!” she wailed. “Sleekwhisker has my kits! Where is she taking them?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll find out,” Violetshine mewed grimly. Glancing around, she spotted Rowanclaw and Macgyver, who were sharing a squirrel beside the fresh-kill pile, and beckoned them over with a whisk of her tail.

“What’s going on?” Rowanclaw asked. “Why is Yarrowleaf so upset?”

Violetshine explained how Yarrowleaf had been put to sleep with poppy seeds, and how Sleekwhisker and the kits were missing. “We have to find them,” she finished.

“We will,” Rowanclaw meowed. “We’ll follow their scent trail.”

He led the way out of camp, with Violetshine and Macgyver just behind him. Yarrowleaf came too, still a bit unsteady on her paws, but determined to keep going until her kits were safe again.

Violetshine was first to pick up Sleekwhisker’s scent, heading off in the direction of the old ShadowClan camp. The kits’ scent was there, too.

“That proves she took them,” Rowanclaw meowed as they began to follow. “She must have told them some sort of story to make them go with her.”

“They were both eager to get out into the forest,” Yarrowleaf responded. “If Sleekwhisker suggested going, they’d think it was okay. Oh, StarClan,” she continued, “I hope she doesn’t hurt them!”

“She hasn’t yet,” Violetshine comforted her. “There’s no fear-scent at all.” And no blood, or tiny limp bodies, she added to herself. Why did we ever trust Sleekwhisker? She was one of the worst of Darktail’s Kin! I should have known!

After a little while the trail veered away from the direct route to ShadowClan, heading toward the Twolegplace where Loki and Zelda lived.

They can’t be going there, Violetshine thought. They won’t want to mess with Twolegs, and anyway, it’s too far for the kits.

Then Macgyver, who had been padding along to the side of the scent trail, suddenly halted. “I can smell other cats!” he announced.

Violetshine bounded across to him, and picked up the new scent trail he had discovered. “You’re right,” she mewed. “There are two . . . no, three cats. I don’t recognize two of them, but the third . . . oh, Rowanclaw, it’s Tawnypelt!”

“What?” Rowanclaw hurried to join Violetshine and Macgyver, worry and confusion in his eyes. “You’re right,” he muttered, beginning to follow the new trail with his nose close to the forest floor.

The trail joined up with Sleekwhisker’s trail a few fox-lengths ahead. From there all the cats went on together.

“Tawnypelt!” Yarrowleaf spat, pure hatred in her eyes. “She never wanted to let us back into the Clan.”

“No,” Rowanclaw meowed hoarsely. “I don’t believe it. Whatever she thought about you and Sleekwhisker, she would never hurt kits.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t,” Violetshine agreed. “Tawnypelt is an honorable warrior. She would never do anything against the warrior code.” So what is she doing here?

Violetshine wished desperately that Tree were with them, but he had gone with Leafstar to RiverClan, in case any trouble arose between the two Clans. He would know what to do now, she thought miserably.

“You know,” Rowanclaw went on when they had followed the trail for several more fox-lengths, “I feel I ought to know the scent of these two other cats, but I just can’t place it.”

“They’re not two of Darktail’s rogues, are they?” Macgyver asked. “I heard they weren’t all killed.”

Violetshine took another deep sniff of the two scents, then shook her head. “No. I would know them,” she replied with a shudder, remembering the terrible time she had spent living with Darktail and his Kin.

She had noticed a tang of blood mingled with the scents, and hoped desperately it hadn’t come from the kits. It’s cat blood, not prey, she thought. Maybe these strange cats fought. Or maybe Tawnypelt . . .

Her pondering broke off as Rowanclaw suddenly halted, staring into the trees. “Now I get it!” he exclaimed.

“Get what?” Yarrowleaf asked.

“I get where we’re going. This is the way to the Twoleg nest in the old ShadowClan territory. And now I recognize those scents. They come from those two crow-food-eating kittypets!”

Macgyver looked puzzled. “Sleekwhisker is taking the kits to Twolegs?”

Yarrowleaf let out a wail, only for Rowanclaw to slap his tail over her mouth.

“Quiet, mouse-brain!” he hissed. “Do you want them to know we’re here?”

“Oh, I’m sure you don’t.” An amused voice came from somewhere overhead. “That would be a really bad idea.”

Violetshine looked up to see a huge black-and-white tom sprawled on the lowest branch of a pine tree. He had a torn ear and a fresh scratch over his nose, and powerful claws that dug into the tree bark.