Sunrise

Brambleclaw sniffed the thing carefully and nibbled a bit from one side. “It tastes a bit like blackbird,” he reported after a moment. “I don’t think it will hurt us to eat it, and we need food.”

“I guess that means he doesn’t think we’ll catch much prey around here,” Hollyleaf whispered into Lionblaze’s ear.

Brambleclaw clawed the Twoleg prey into fair shares for each cat. Birchfall checked the rubbish again, but he didn’t find any more prey.

“This isn’t bad,” Lionblaze mumbled to Hollyleaf around a mouthful of the stuff, “if you ignore the scent of Twolegs.”

Hollyleaf was crouched over her share, eating it in neat, rapid bites. “Huh! Give me a good plump vole any day.”

With the edge taken off his hunger, Lionblaze felt stronger, but as Brambleclaw led them farther into the Twolegplace, he started to feel trapped. The red stone nests reared up on either side, closer than the walls of the hollow and higher than the trees in the forest. His pads ached from walking on the hard stone. How can any cat live here?

The orange glare from the stone trees cast the cats’ shadows huge and wavering on the wall beside them as they slunk along the edge of the Thunderpath. Suddenly Hollyleaf stiffened, flicking out her tail to touch Brambleclaw on the shoulder. “There’s something up ahead!” she hissed.

Lionblaze froze as Brambleclaw raised his tail for the patrol to halt. He half expected the roar of another monster, but nothing broke the silence except for the patter of approaching paws.

Hazeltail drew closer to his side; Lionblaze could feel her pelt quivering. “What if it’s a dog?” she murmured.

“Then we fight it.” Lionblaze flexed his claws.

He relaxed with a sigh as a small black-and-white cat appeared from around the next corner. It halted and stared at the patrol in horror, its back arched and every hair on its pelt standing on end.

Almost immediately the newcomer started to back away, its terrified gaze still fixed on the forest cats. Before it could turn and flee, Brambleclaw took a single pace forward.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” he called, lifting one forepaw to show his claws were sheathed. “We just want to talk to you.”

“That’s what he said!” The little cat looked almost frightened out of its fur. “And look what happened!”

Before Brambleclaw could ask what it meant, the black-and-white cat spun and fled back around the corner where it came from. Brambleclaw launched himself after it, with the whole patrol hard on his paws, but when they rounded the corner, the Thunderpath was empty. Nothing moved under the harsh orange light.

“Mouse dung!” Brambleclaw spoke through gritted teeth.

“What in the name of StarClan was he talking about?” Brackenfur asked, looking mystified.

Lionblaze exchanged a glance with Hollyleaf. He could see she shared the idea that had instantly flashed into his mind: Sol!

“I wonder who ‘he’ is,” Brambleclaw mused aloud, his ears twitching as he surveyed the silent Thunderpath. “Could it be Sol, do you think?”

“I bet a moon of dawn patrols it is!” Birchfall mewed excitedly.

“We don’t look anything like Sol,” Brambleclaw continued, his tone thoughtful. “But we’re strangers, just as Sol must have been.”

“And what happened?” Hazeltail shivered. “From the way that cat behaved, it must have been something bad.”

No cat replied. Lionblaze’s belly fluttered. His Clanmates were looking edgy, their eyes wide with fear, as if they expected to find Sol under the next fallen leaf.

Finally Brambleclaw broke the silence. “It’s too late to go on looking now. Let’s get some rest and start a proper search in the morning.”

He led the way back around the corner and along the Thunderpath, past the fence where the dogs had tried to attack. Everything was quiet now, though the scent of dog was still strong; Lionblaze slid out his claws, ready to rip them along the vicious creatures’ pelts. But there was no sound from behind the fence. Eventually they reached the stretch of soft grass and trees they had crossed on their way to the Twolegplace.

Lionblaze and Hollyleaf settled into a makeshift den among the roots of one of the trees; the rest of the patrol found places nearby.

“I’m so tired my paws could drop off,” Hollyleaf mumbled, stretching her jaws in a huge yawn.

“Mine, too.” Lionblaze had been afraid that his worries and the strangeness of their surroundings would keep him awake, but when his aching body curled up among the dead leaves, he felt exhaustion pressing on him like a heavy pelt. As he drifted into sleep, he could still hear the distant roaring of the sun-drown-place.

CHAPTER 9

Jayfeather woke when a cold breeze ruffled his fur. “We need more bedding in here,” he grumbled to himself as he scrambled out of his bare nest. “It’s as drafty as sleeping on top of the ridge in WindClan territory!”