Shattered Sky

Light-headed after his sleepless night, Alderheart turned to his tasks in the medicine cats’ den, hoping that work would help him to push away his grief and guilt. He was helping Briarlight with her exercises, tossing a ball of moss for her to catch, when he heard yowls of outrage coming from the camp outside.

Oh, no! he thought, pausing with the moss ball in his claws. What now?

“Go on,” Briarlight urged him. “Go find out what’s happening—and then come back and tell me about it.”

Alderheart brushed past the bramble screen and emerged into the camp to see the dawn patrol padding across the stone hollow from the thorn tunnel. Lionblaze, in the lead, was limping, while blood was trickling from a scratch on Berrynose’s shoulder, and Rosepetal had lost a lump of fur on her side. All three of them were bristling with fury.

“Bramblestar!” Lionblaze yowled, gazing up at the Highledge. “We need to report!”

The Clan leader stuck his head out of his den, took one look at the ragged patrol, and raced down the tumbled rocks to speak with them. Squirrelflight spotted them from where she stood with Cloudtail and Brightheart beside the fresh-kill pile; Alderheart heard her let out a shocked meow as she bounded over to her Clan leader’s side. Brightheart and Cloudtail ran after her, and more of the Clan emerged from their dens and gathered around the patrol, shooting anxious questions at them.

“What happened?”

“Was it the rogues?”

Alderheart noticed that Rowanstar and Mistystar had also slipped out of the warriors’ den and drawn closer with a few of their own warriors around them. They said nothing, but their eyes were watchful.

Jayfeather pushed his way through the crowd and began sniffing at Berrynose’s wound. “Give me some space,” he snapped. “These cats need treatment.”

“All in good time,” Bramblestar responded, waving his tail to keep the rest of the cats back. “First we need to know what happened.”

“We ran into some rogues at the ShadowClan border,” Rosepetal began.

Bramblestar closed his eyes briefly. “Please tell me you didn’t cross,” he mewed.

“We didn’t!” Berrynose exclaimed. “But those mange-pelts crossed into our territory and attacked us.”

A murmur of indignation rose from the cats who now surrounded the patrol. Cloudtail drew his lips back in a snarl and clawed at the ground in front of him.

“They drove us off.” Lionblaze’s tail-tip was twitching furiously; Alderheart could understand the magnificent warrior’s anger at having been defeated by a bunch of rogues.

“Because we were way outnumbered,” Berrynose added. “But we did give them something to remember us by.” He swiped his tongue around his jaws as if he had tasted a particularly juicy piece of fresh-kill.

“One of them—I think it was Nettle—yowled at us,” Rosepetal meowed. “He told us that the rogues are coming for ThunderClan next. He said, ‘It’s only a matter of time.’”

“Of course it’s only a matter of time.” Rowanstar shouldered his way into the center of the circle that surrounded the patrol. “Until we drive off these rogues, we’re all in danger! How long can we go on like this?”

“You’re a fine one to talk!” Mistystar slipped up to Rowanstar’s side and glared at him, her blue eyes like splinters of ice. “This is all happening because you couldn’t manage to drive the rogues out of ShadowClan territory when they first arrived. Now they’ve not only taken over your Clan, but RiverClan as well! It’s your fault that we’re in this position, and I’m not about to risk the lives of my injured cats just to repair your pride!”

Rowanstar returned glare for glare, his neck fur bristling as he slid out his claws. “The rogues are a problem for all of us,” he hissed. “That should be obvious now.”

For a moment, the two Clan leaders stood nose to nose, their stiff limbs and fluffed-up fur making Alderheart afraid that they were about to attack each other. What hope do we have, if we fight among ourselves?

But before either of the cats could lash out, Bramblestar thrust his way between them. His amber eyes were burning with frustration. “That’s enough!” he snapped. “Things are difficult for every cat. Do you think it will help your warriors to see their leaders scrapping like kits?”

Breathing heavily, Rowanstar took a pace backward. “I don’t want a fight,” he stated, clearly struggling to be calm. “I’m only saying—again—that we have to do something. Quickly.”

Bramblestar nodded. “I agree with you, but it’s not as simple as attacking the rogues outright. Remember, we tried that once—it didn’t go well.”