Tigerheart’s Shadow

“She’ll be okay.” Tigerheart hoped Dovewing couldn’t hear panic in his mew. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he sniffed the small end and hooked a claw into the mesh. It was stuck firmly shut.

Fierce, Cobweb, and Dotty reached them.

“What is that?” Dotty stared in horror at the mesh cave.

“It must be some kind of Twoleg trap,” Fierce growled. “I can smell their stench on it.”

“That’s what they were doing in the night,” Cobweb gasped. “Setting this trap.”

A monster rumbled nearby. Tigerheart looked up and saw it stop at the edge of the grass. A Twoleg got out, headed toward the smooth path that led to the gathering-place entrance. Tigerheart felt sick. Was it coming to claim its trap with Pouncekit inside? Relief flickered in his chest as the Twoleg headed around the back of the gathering place. “We’ve got to hurry,” he meowed. “That Twoleg might come back.”

Dotty had pulled Lightkit and Shadowkit against her belly and was soothing them with gentle laps of her tongue, while Dovewing comforted Pouncekit through the mesh. Her eyes were still wide, but her breathing was slowing as Dovewing nuzzled her cheek.

Cobweb crouched beside Tigerheart and examined the trap. “There’s a gap,” he mewed. “Where the edges meet.” He hooked a claw into it and tugged. It shifted, but not much. He strained harder. “It’s stiff, but I think we can get it open if we can find something to wedge in.”

“A stick,” Fierce suggested. She darted away toward a tree.

Tigerheart glanced at Dovewing. Her gaze was fixed on Pouncekit as she whispered reassurance through the mesh. “Just hold still a bit longer. We’re getting you out.”

“We’ve got a plan,” Tigerheart told her.

She met his gaze, fright flashing in her eyes, then turned back to Pouncekit.

Fierce raced back, a stick between her jaws. “This end is thin,” she meowed as she dropped it beside Tigerheart. “But the other end is thick.”

Cobweb sniffed it. “If we feed the thin end through, we can wedge it open.”

Tigerheart understood, hope flaring beneath his fur. “If we push it all the way inside, up to the thick end, it might be strong enough to move the mesh.”

Fierce picked up the stick again and threaded the thin end through the gap while Tigerheart and Cobweb pulled at the mesh with their claws.

“Move out of the way, Pouncekit,” Tigerheart warned as Fierce pushed the stick deeper into the trap.

Pouncekit squeezed against the side, trembling as Dovewing nuzzled her through the mesh. She stared, wide-eyed, as the stick nudged past her. “Will it work?”

“I hope so,” Tigerheart muttered, straining at the trap. His claws burned with the effort. The stick was deep inside now, its thicker end holding the gap open wide enough to squeeze a paw through. “Pull on the stick,” he told Fierce.

Digging her paws into the grass, Fierce tugged on the stick. The thin end caught in the mesh, and she began slowly to lever the small end open.

“It’s working!” Dovewing pricked her ears as the gap widened. “Go on, Pouncekit, squeeze through. But be quick.”

Pouncekit darted to the opening and wriggled through like a mouse squeezing beneath a root. As she bundled out, the stick snapped. Fierce fell backward and the trap slammed shut.

Tigerheart got his claws out of the way just in time. Cobweb hopped nimbly to one side.

“Pouncekit!” With a gasp, Dovewing leaped to the kit’s side, her gaze flitting toward the gray kit’s tail. Tigerheart stiffened. Had the trap bitten her as it closed? His shoulders sagged with relief as Pouncekit fluffed out her fur happily.

“I’m okay!” She flung herself against her mother’s belly and nuzzled hard into her fur.

“I knew they were too young to be outside,” Dovewing fretted. “It’s dangerous.” She glared accusingly at Tigerheart. “How could you think of making them travel through a city when they’re so young?”

“I never said—” Tigerheart stared at her, searching for words. He’d only thought about the journey home. He’d never mentioned it. He held his tongue now. Dovewing had been frightened. The trap had shocked them all. With cold certainty that sat like stone in his belly, he knew that it was far too soon to make the kits travel.

Just seeing them near the dens and Thunderpaths made him realize how small and vulnerable they were. And even if they made it out of the city, fields and forests might be more dangerous. In the Clans, didn’t queens keep their kits in camp until they were six moons old to protect them from the owls and foxes that might carry them off? He returned Dovewing’s gaze evenly. “You’re right. They are too young to travel.” He blinked at Fierce, his thoughts spinning. “Have you seen these traps before?”

“Never.” Fierce poked it warily with her paw.

Lightkit looked out from below Dotty’s belly. “Are the Twolegs trying to hurt us?”