Sunrise

In the dim light that filtered through the twigs, he saw Sol curled up in a mossy nest, his tail wrapped over his nose and his sides heaving with the rhythmic breathing of sleep. Lionblaze crept over to him and prodded his shoulder. Sol’s eyes flew open, and for a heartbeat Lionblaze thought he saw surprise flicker in their amber depths. His jaws opened, but Lionblaze slapped his tail over the loner’s muzzle before he could utter a sound.

“Quiet!”

Sol nodded, and Lionblaze took his tail away.

“I’m sorry, Lionblaze. For a moment I thought you were that snake.” Sol was composed once more, his hushed voice barely reaching Lionblaze’s ears. “What can I do for you?”

“I…I need to talk to you.” Now that Lionblaze had succeeded in coming face-to-face with his Clan’s prisoner, it was harder than he had expected to say what he had to say. “I’ve found out that my mother isn’t who I thought she was, and I need to figure out if it affects the prophecy.”

“Good,” Sol mewed softly. He sat up and began to groom moss out of his fur. “You can start by helping me get out of here.”

“I—I can’t do that!” Lionblaze only just remembered to keep his voice down.

“Of course you can. You must have climbed down the cliff to get here without Birchfall seeing you. You can show me the way to get back up. I didn’t kill Ashfur. You know I didn’t.”

“As far as ThunderClan is concerned, you’re the only cat it could have been,” Lionblaze retorted. He wasn’t sure what he thought himself. He couldn’t forget how Sol had promised to help him fulfill the prophecy—and how much he needed that help now—but he also shrank from betraying his Clan by letting the loner escape.

“Why should I help you if you won’t help me?” Sol gave Lionblaze a long look from glowing amber eyes, then calmly licked one paw and started to wash his face.

Lionblaze stared at him in frustration. I can’t make him talk, but I can’t show him the way out, either!

“Okay,” he muttered. “I’m leaving. I can’t help you escape, it would cause too much trouble.”

“For you?” Sol queried.

“For my Clan,” Lionblaze hissed. It was too easy to imagine what the other Clan leaders would think when they heard Sol was on the loose. They’d blame ThunderClan, that was for sure. He flattened himself to the ground so he could wriggle out under the thorn branches.

“Wait! Don’t you want to know who your father is?”

Lionblaze stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “You know that?”

“Of course.” Sol passed his paw over one ear.

“So who is he?” Lionblaze asked, his belly churning.

Sol’s eyes glinted with amusement. “Nothing for nothing, Lionblaze. I’ll tell you the truth when you get me out of here.”

“And how do I know I can trust you?” The words came out louder than Lionblaze had intended; he froze as a scuffling sound came from outside the den.

“Sol?” Birchfall called. “Are you okay?”

Sol paused, his whiskers twitching. Ants crawled through Lionblaze’s pelt and he held his breath as he waited to be discovered. Firestar will strip my pelt off and throw it out for the crows!

“Sol?” Birchfall’s voice came again, sounding more anxious.

“I’m fine, Birchfall,” the loner replied. “Just talking to myself.”

“Okay, good night.”

Lionblaze relaxed as he heard Birchfall settling down again, though his pelt still felt hot with tension.

“How do you know you can trust me?” Sol went on. He sounded amused. “You don’t. But knowledge is power, Lionblaze, and right now I have more knowledge than any of the Clan cats.”

“All right,” Lionblaze mewed slowly. “I’ll show you how to get out. But you must promise to tell me about my father…and advise me about the prophecy.”

Sol dipped his head. “You have my word.”

Whatever that’s worth…“Okay, follow me,” Lionblaze whispered. “Put your paws where I put mine. It’s a tricky climb, and it’ll be ten times harder because we mustn’t be spotted.”

He pushed his way out through the thorns with Sol hard on his paws and began to haul himself up. The cliff seemed to stretch above his head forever, and Lionblaze couldn’t believe that no cat would see them splayed out against the rock in the bright moonlight. But no accusing yowls came from the clearing, and at last he pulled himself up to the cliff top and turned to wait for Sol to join him.

The loner huffed out a breath as he hauled himself over the rim of the hollow, then gestured with his tail for Lionblaze to follow him away from the edge. He halted a few fox-lengths away.

“Well?” Lionblaze demanded. “You’re free. What about your part of the bargain?”

“Not here,” Sol replied. “It’s too dangerous. Besides, if you stay away too long, some cat might notice you’re missing. You should get back to the warriors’ den.”

“But you promised!”