The Raging Storm

Tigerstar’s eyes narrowed. “This peace would suit ThunderClan very well. You keep your land and we lose ours. You grow fat while we grow thin.”

Below, Juniperclaw flattened his ears. “Why should ShadowClan alone suffer?”

Leafstar’s eyes blazed. “How dare you say ShadowClan is the only one to suffer! We have suffered as much as any Clan, and we go on suffering because of ShadowClan.” She nodded at Frecklewish. “Tell them what ShadowClan has done!”

The SkyClan medicine cat narrowed her eyes. “Sparrowpelt has been poisoned.”

“So?” Scorchfur stared at her from the crowd. “What does that have to do with us?”

“He vomited deathberry seeds,” Frecklewish answered evenly. “I recognized them at once. Some cat must have given them to him.”

As the Clans shifted uneasily, Tigerstar gazed from the Great Oak. “Are you accusing ShadowClan of feeding your Clanmate deathberries?” He snorted scornfully. “He clearly ate them by accident.”

Harestar narrowed his eyes. “Would any cat eat deathberries by accident?”

Mistystar tipped her head. “Had SkyClan ever seen deathberries before they came to the forest?” She eyed Frecklewish inquiringly.

Frecklewish shifted her paws. “No. They didn’t grow near the gorge.”

“Then isn’t it possible a SkyClan cat could eat deathberries by mistake?”

Hawkwing bristled beside Juniperclaw. “Why would any cat eat a berry when they are surrounded by warm, juicy prey?”

Tigerstar met his indignant gaze. “Sparrowpelt must have eaten one. How else could he have swallowed the seeds?”

“He was poisoned!” Sandynose lashed his tail.

Plumwillow’s hackles lifted beside him. “We know that Alderheart was treating Puddleshine with deathberries. There were deathberries in the ShadowClan camp. And now one of our warriors has been poisoned by them.”

Around her, the SkyClan cats murmured angrily.

“It’s just a coincidence!” Tigerstar’s gaze flicked to Alderheart. “Did any of your berries go missing?”

“No . . .” Alderheart’s fur prickled along his spine, his eyes darting this way and that. He was clearly walking through his memory. “I kept a close eye on all of them, but . . .” He began shifting uneasily, his claws digging into the earth.

Leafstar leaned her head toward him from her perch. “But what?”

“I can’t be sure that none of the seeds I buried were taken.”

Tigerstar’s hackles lifted. “Are you accusing ShadowClan of using your seeds to poison Sparrowpelt?”

As the Clans whispered nervously to one another, a small voice sounded at the edge of the crowd. “I saw Juniperclaw near our fresh-kill pile.”

Twigbranch’s whiskers twitched with surprise as she saw Violetshine meet Tigerstar’s gaze.

“He was there on the night before Sparrowpelt got sick.” Violetshine’s mew trembled as she called out across the heads of her Clanmates.

“But you have no proof that Juniperclaw poisoned him!” Outrage hardened Tigerstar’s yowl. He glared venomously at Violetshine. Twigbranch’s heart lurched as Tigerstar raged on. “A cat becomes sick and you blame us? Grassheart is lying in our medicine den now, injured by a wound inflicted by SkyClan. She was attacked! She didn’t just happen to get sick after one of your patrols passed by.”

“‘Passed by’?” Leafstar bristled. “You invaded our camp!”

“And you attacked our patrol!” Tigerstar shot back.

“You were on our territory!” Leafstar showed her teeth to the ShadowClan leader.

Bramblestar slid between them. His gaze flashed toward Tree. “Can you do nothing to mediate here?”

The yellow tom shifted in the shadows at the back of the crowd. He padded into the moonlight and met Bramblestar’s gaze. “How can I mediate? No cat will listen to me. I have tried to make peace between ShadowClan and SkyClan, but neither side is willing to compromise.” He looked around at the cats gathered in front of him. “Tigerstar was right when he said you were warriors. I don’t think there can ever be peace between you.”

Twigbranch saw defeat in the loner’s eyes. Had he given up? Violetshine was staring at Tree, her eyes glittering with fear. She’s scared he’ll leave the lake. He’d admitted that he was powerless to bring peace to the Clans. Surely he had no place here now?