Veil Of Shadows

Spiresight took a step toward Shadowsight, his expression sympathetic but grim. “I know that’s what you believe. Yet until this happened to you, I’m sure you would have sworn that no cat in any of the Clans would have hurt you, but clearly one of them did. So don’t be naive. Think—really think—about who had the opportunity to do this to you. Was Puddleshine there, and did he leave you behind?”

Shadowsight stared at him. “Yes, but I—” He broke off. He couldn’t imagine Puddleshine hurting any cat, but he had to admit that he had been there on the night of the attack, and they had gotten separated. But I can’t believe he was part of a plot to kill me! ShadowClan had had its share of conflict and trouble, but nothing would make him lose faith in his Clanmates, or his mentor. He felt guilty for even entertaining the thought. “Puddleshine would never hurt me,” Shadowsight repeated, and this time his tone left no room for doubt.

Spiresight sighed. “Fine. I’ll have to take your word for it. But there is still a problem.”

“What’s that?” asked Shadowsight.

“There are only certain Clan cats I can communicate with,” Spiresight replied. “And that means we don’t have many choices. There’s a young SkyClan cat who seems to see me. I’ve never spoken to him, but it’s worth a try. His name is—”

“Rootpaw?” A warm feeling spread through Shadowsight at the thought of the young tom. He didn’t know Rootpaw well, but he had always been kind. And he had shown great courage and good sense in the way he’d responded to seeing Bramblestar’s ghost. He seems like a trustworthy cat.

“Yes,” he mewed to Spiresight. “Rootpaw is definitely the cat we need. Let’s go.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Spiresight responded brusquely. At Shadowsight’s stricken look, he went on, “Getting a living cat—even one who is sensitive to spirits—to see me may take some time. Time that you may not have. You’ve already been separated from your body for too long.”

“But—” Shadowsight started to argue.

“Trust me. I’ll go now, and when I return, it will be with a cat who can help.” Spiresight seemed to concentrate for a moment, then vanished.

Shadowsight stared at the spot where he had been. Even though he wanted to be back in his body again, he reflected that there were advantages to being a ghost. But I’m not ready to become one just yet, he thought. You’d better hurry, Spiresight.

Chapter 11

Rootpaw crept between two boulders, keeping his claws sheathed so they wouldn’t scrape on the hard surface. He could just make out the gray fur of the cat in front of him, who seemed unaware of his presence. Drawing his hind legs up beneath him, Rootpaw plunged forward in a pounce; at the same moment he let out a blood-curdling yowl.

He landed squarely on the back of the gray cat, who slid to one side, trying to shake him off. But Rootpaw’s claws were too securely embedded in his fur. Finally, he spoke.

“Okay, you can let go now.” When Rootpaw didn’t move, he added, “Let me get up, you daft furball!”

Rootpaw sprang to his paws, every hair on his pelt glowing with triumph. His mentor, Dewspring, scrambled up and shook debris from his fur. He gave Rootpaw an approving nod. “Not bad.”

Not bad? It was brilliant! Rootpaw couldn’t believe how good it felt to be a warrior apprentice again. In his hunt with Dewspring that morning he had caught two voles, and now his battle moves were better than ever. This beats learning the difference between tansy and comfrey!

“Okay,” Dewspring continued. “You’ve done well so far, but I did hear you creeping up. You breathe like a badger! This time, I want you to sneak up on me without me hearing a thing.”

He padded off for several paces and sat down with his back to Rootpaw, pretending to be very busy cleaning dirt out of his claws. Rootpaw examined the ground between them; it was littered with dead leaves, dry twigs, and odd-shaped pebbles. He knew that if he laid a paw on any of them, they would give him away by rustling or snapping or rolling over the earth.

I need to be clever.

Glancing around, he spotted a fallen tree that had lodged against the hillside at a steep angle. He realized that if he could reach the tree he could pad quietly to the other end and surprise Dewspring from above.

Rootpaw raised his head so that his whiskers could test the wind, and he was satisfied to find that it was blowing away from his mentor, who wouldn’t be able to scent him until it was too late. All he needed to do was to land on the tree trunk without making a sound.

I’ll only have one chance; I can’t miss when I make the leap.