The Forgotten Warrior

Every sacrifice I make is for the good of my Clan—and for the other Clans around the lake. Even if that means sacrificing myself.

Chapter 19

Lionblaze brushed through the barrier of thorns and headed into the forest, his ears pricked for the sound of intruders. Hazeltail and Rosepetal followed him, and Cinderheart brought up the rear. As he led the way down toward the shore where the WindClan border stream flowed into the lake, Lionblaze heard muttered conversation behind him.

“Who’d have thought that Hollyleaf killed Ashfur?” Hazeltail whispered. “Isn’t it awful? How did she ever keep it a secret?”

“Well, she left soon after,” Foxleap pointed out. “Do you think she was brave or a coward to run away like that?”

There was a heartbeat’s pause before Hazeltail replied. “She must have been brave, because she came back…”

Her voice trailed off as Lionblaze swung around and fixed his two Clanmates with a glare. Hazeltail exchanged a quick glance with Foxleap before giving her chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks.

So you’ve just remembered that Hollyleaf is my sister, Lionblaze thought, but he said nothing.

By the time they reached the WindClan border and headed upstream, both Hazeltail and Foxleap were fully alert, their ears swiveling, their gaze flicking back and forth along the undergrowth, and their jaws parted to pick up the tiniest trace of WindClan scent on ThunderClan territory. Watching them with approval, Lionblaze couldn’t help noticing how distracted Cinderheart was, drifting along as if she weren’t seeing or scenting anything in the forest. When he warned the others about a bramble stretching across their path, and heard Foxleap passing the message back, Cinderheart still managed to get tangled in it.

“Are you okay?” Lionblaze asked her.

“Fine!” she snapped, pulling herself free and leaving tufts of fur behind.

Lionblaze blinked at her uncharacteristically sharp tone. For a heartbeat he wished he had been put on a different patrol, or even ordered to fetch bedding for the elders. But then his concern for Cinderheart overwhelmed his brief annoyance. If she was behaving like this, there must be something wrong.

A few fox-lengths farther upstream, Lionblaze noticed that Cinderheart had wandered away from the border and was standing belly-deep in long grass, her eyes wide and unfocused. He let the others go ahead and padded through the grass toward her.

“WindClan patrol ahead!” he hissed.

Instantly Cinderheart was alert, her neck fur fluffing up as she gazed around. “Where?”

“Nowhere,” Lionblaze meowed. “I was just testing to see if you were awake.”

Cinderheart’s fur bristled even more. “You’re not my mentor,” she growled. “You don’t have to keep checking on me.”

Lionblaze opened his jaws to ask her what was wrong, but the anger in her eyes told him to keep quiet. Instead he walked on, noticing that at least Cinderheart seemed to be concentrating now.

By the time they reached the stretch of territory where the hidden tunnels emerged, there had been no sign of WindClan or Sol. Without warning the others, Lionblaze slipped away briefly to check the tunnel entrances. No need to tell every cat where they are. Some of them might be mouse-brained enough to mount an attack on WindClan from our side.

As he sniffed at the tunnel openings, he thought of Heathertail, and wondered if she knew about Sol’s plotting. Would she use her knowledge of the tunnels to help in her Clan’s attack? Did Heathertail have any trace of loyalty to Lionblaze, or would she take delight in hurting his Clan because the friendship they once shared had turned to dust?

Returning to his patrol, Lionblaze looked at Cinderheart and sighed. Why do relationships have to be so complicated?

Sunhigh was approaching as the patrol returned to camp, with nothing to report. As they came in sight of the hollow, Lionblaze heard shrieks and wailing coming from the clearing.

“Something’s wrong!” he yowled.

With his patrol hard on his paws he raced for the entrance. Are WindClan warriors attacking? Now, when the patrols are out and the camp is almost empty?