The Raging Storm

Alderheart pelted past him and burst into the bramble den. Moonlight filtered through the roof, enough for him to tell Dovewing’s nest from the others. The pale gray she-cat crouched there, staring with horror at a small shape beneath her. Pouncekit and Lightkit cowered with the other kits at the side of the den. As Alderheart leaned over the edge of Dovewing’s nest, Berryheart hustled them outside.

Shadowkit was twitching at the bottom of the nest, his head flicking back and forth as spasms gripped his body.

“How long has he been like this?” Alderheart asked Dovewing.

“Not long. I sent Yarrowleaf to fetch you as soon as it started.”

“We have to hold him still until it passes.” He reached quickly into the nest and gripped the kit’s legs. “Cradle his head firmly to stop it from moving,” he told Dovewing.

Tigerstar pressed beside him. The dark tabby’s fur spiked against Alderheart’s pelt, and he could feel the ShadowClan leader trembling.

“Hold his shoulders,” he told Tigerstar.

As Tigerstar reached into the nest, Alderheart glimpsed Cloverfoot peering into the nursery. Relief swamped him. “Do you remember the thyme I showed you?” he called to her.

She nodded, her eyes wide.

“Fetch some,” he ordered. “Bring the freshest stalks.” He turned back to Dovewing. “Has he been ill? Any fever? A cough?” What could explain such a fit?

Dovewing shook her head.

“He’s had fits before,” Tigerstar growled.

Shadowkit twitched violently beneath Alderheart’s paws.

“We’ve seen this before.” Dovewing didn’t take her eyes from her kit. “When we were on our way back to the lake, he would have visions—they came with seizures like this. We had thought they were getting better.” Her voice dropped to an anxious murmur. “But, if anything, they’re getting worse . . .”

Beneath the steadying paws, Shadowkit’s spasms eased. Alderheart thrust his muzzle close, relieved to feel the kit’s breath on his nose. Heat pulsed from his thin pelt. “When he stops twitching, wash him to cool him down.” Alderheart felt Shadowkit’s legs grow still. He sat back on his haunches. “I don’t know how to prevent the seizures, but thyme will ease his shock.”

The entrance trembled as Cloverfoot slid through. She dropped two stalks of thyme beside Alderheart. Alderheart bent to nip leaves from the stems so he could chew them into a pulp that Shadowkit could swallow.

“Wait.” Tigerstar nudged him away and sniffed the leaves.

Dovewing stared at Tigerstar in disbelief. “Don’t you trust him?”

Cloverfoot edged forward. “You can trust him,” she mewed softly. “He treated Stonewing and Hollowkit earlier. He seemed to know what he was doing. I watched him. He only wants to help.”

Tigerstar narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Alderheart ignored him. “The thyme will soothe him,” he told Dovewing. “When he comes around, chew up a few leaves—”

“And make him swallow them,” Dovewing murmured. “I remember Puddleshine giving him thyme before.”

Alderheart gave a nod. “If he has fits in the future, just hold him so he’s safe and cool him down as much as you can.”

With a final twitch, Shadowkit fell limp at the bottom of the nest like a leaf coming to rest after a storm. Dovewing bent to lick him as Tigerstar shook out his pelt. The ShadowClan leader smoothed his ruffled fur with a few laps, but Alderheart could still smell the brown tabby’s fear-scent. His pelt prickled with frustration. Until I know what caused the kit’s convulsions, I can only treat the symptoms.

A small mew sounded in the nest. “Dovewing?” Shadowkit slowly opened his eyes and gazed at his mother.

She buried her nose in the soft fur behind his ear. “Are you okay?” she asked, a break in her mew. “You scared us.”

“I’ll be all right.” Shadowkit rolled onto his paws and pushed himself up. Weakly he blinked at Tigerstar. “I had another vision.”

Dovewing reached for the thyme and began chewing the leaves. “Eat this.” She held her muzzle close to Shadowkit’s.

He ducked away from her. “Not until I’ve told you about my vision.”

Dovewing and Tigerstar exchanged anxious glances.

“Go and check on the kits,” Tigerstar told Cloverfoot. He flicked his tail, and she dipped her head and left. Alderheart was burning with curiosity. Was StarClan sending a message through Shadowkit? Tigerstar looked at him. “You’d better leave too.”

Alderheart dug his claws into the needle-strewn floor. “I’m a medicine cat. I should hear this.”

Tigerstar growled. “You’re a ThunderClan medicine—”

Shadowkit cut him off. “Can he stay? He’s a medicine cat—he might know what it means.”

Dovewing nodded. “He should stay,” she agreed.

Tigerstar shifted his paws. “Okay.” His dark gaze fixed on Shadowkit. “What did you see?”