The Last Hope

“Not this time,” Foxleap growled. “But warriors have picked up WindClan scent this side of the stream.”

Birchfall stiffened beside Ivypool. “Have they?” he whispered.

Ivypool shrugged. “I don’t know,” she lied.

Mousewhisker’s tail flicked. “Why did Firestar have to send a patrol here now?” he grumbled.

Sunstrike stood on the edge of the small gorge cut by the stream. Foxleap faced her on the other side. Both warriors were bristling, ears flat.

Sunstrike bared her teeth. “No WindClan cat has crossed the border.”

Graystripe lashed his tail. “Are you accusing ThunderClan of crossing the scent line?”

Brackenfur dropped into a crouch—the same one Ivypool had spent the morning teaching Molepaw and Cherrypaw. Don’t attack! Guilt flooded through her. She didn’t want to start a fight. She just wanted to save her Clanmates from making a terrible mistake.

Harespring met Brackenfur’s gaze through narrowed eyes. “Onestar says we should challenge any cat we find on our land.”

“This is our land.” Brackenfur’s hindquarters twitched as he bunched his muscles.

“Stop!” Birchfall shot out from the gorse.

Foxleap spun around, his eyes wide. “What are you doing here?”

“Guarding the border.” Birchfall straightened up and signaled to Mousewhisker and Ivypool with his tail. Mousewhisker slid out from under the bush and, reluctantly, Ivypool followed.

Foxleap’s eyes narrowed. “How do you guard from inside a bush?”

“We were waiting to see if they’d cross.” Birchfall’s gaze slipped toward Sunstrike. The WindClan cats began to back away. Graystripe shifted his paws.

“No one’s crossed any borders,” Birchfall announced. “Let’s just all retreat.”

Foxleap growled. “Not till I’ve checked for WindClan scent on our land.”

Sunstrike’s ears twitched. “You won’t find any.” She turned and led her Clanmates back into the heather.

Foxleap was pacing the border sniffing every clump of grass. “There’s no sign of invasion.” He glanced expectantly at Ivypool, since she was the one who’d told him about WindClan cats crossing the border.

She looked away, relief flooding through her. “Not this time,” she murmured.

Foxleap sniffed the gorse once more, then left a scent marker. “Come on, let’s get back to camp.”

Ivypool was first into the trees. Her paws were heavy as stone and she wished she was still asleep in the sun beside the fallen beech. A pelt brushed hers and she turned to see that Foxleap had caught up with her. “Did you know they’d be there?”

She flinched. “No.”

“But there’s no sign of WindClan crossing the border.” Foxleap was frowning. “What made you call for a patrol? Did you overhear something in the tunnel battle?”

Ivypool shook her head. “It was just a hunch,” she muttered. “You know how tense it’s been between the Clans. I must have caught a whiff of WindClan scent while I was in the woods and I was just on edge—”

“…and you overreacted.” Foxleap finished her sentence.

“I suppose so.” Ivypool’s ear twitched.

“Well, it was a good guess.”

Ivypool glanced at Foxleap, her belly tightening as she saw doubt shadowing his gaze. He doesn’t believe me. Tail flicking with unease, Ivypool pushed harder against the ground and raced for home. Being a spy was forcing her to betray her own Clan after all.

How much longer will I have to live like this?

Chapter 7

Jayfeather dropped the pebble a mouse-length away from Briarlight’s nest. “Can you reach that?”

“Easy!” Briarlight leaned out, grabbed the pebble, and heaved it into her nest, the firm muscles in her shoulders curving under her pelt.

Jayfeather stuck his nose into her nest and picked up the pebble between his teeth. He strained to lift it out. He’d chosen a heavy one for today’s exercise. He dropped it half a tail-length from her nest. “What about this?”

Briarlight stretched out with her forelegs again, puffing a little this time, but she still scooped the stone back into her nest with nimble paws.

“Let me check your spine.” Jayfeather buried his muzzle into her pelt, feeling her muscles with gentle nips. They felt healthy and strong all the way down to the break. Beyond, they were lifeless and thin, but the fur covering them was sleek and shiny. “You’ve worked hard.” Jayfeather sat up. “As long as we keep up with your exercises, you’ll be fine.”

Briarlight flung the pebble out of her nest and began reaching for it again. “I want to be able to climb trees using my forepaws alone,” she puffed.