Veil Of Shadows

Dewspring nodded. Crouching down beside Shadowsight, he nudged his head under the injured cat’s limp body. Rootpaw hauled Shadowsight upward until he lay sprawled on Dewspring’s back, with his forepaws dangling over Dewspring’s shoulders. Now that he was so close, the terrible stench of Shadowsight’s wounds was almost too much to bear.

Slowly and carefully Dewspring stood up, managing not to dislodge Shadowsight. “Okay, let’s go,” he mewed. “Walk beside me and keep him steady.”

Transporting Shadowsight was easy until they came to the fallen boulders. Dewspring looked up, blinking. “Oh, StarClan . . . ,” he murmured, then added to Rootpaw, “Keep a grip on him so we don’t drop him. We don’t want to hurt him worse.”

He began to clamber up the rocks, trying to keep his back as level as he could. Rootpaw snagged Shadowsight’s fur in the claws of one forepaw, ready to support him if he started to slip. In one steep place Dewspring almost lost his balance, and the three cats tottered together at the edge of the rock. Rootpaw had a horrific picture of them falling and bouncing down the slope until they reached the stream again.

With poor Shadowsight squashed underneath us . . .

Then Dewspring heaved himself up, Rootpaw settled Shadowsight securely on his back again, and the climb continued.

The path made by the fallen boulders ended about a fox-length from the top of the ravine. A sheer stretch of rock separated them from level ground. “Now what?” Rootpaw asked gloomily.

“Can you leap up there?” Dewspring asked.

“I’m a SkyClan cat,” Rootpaw responded. “Of course I can leap!”

“Then do it.”

Rootpaw crouched down, gathering himself and bunching his muscles for the leap. Then he drove himself upward; his claws scrabbled in the loose soil at the top of the ravine, and he managed to heave himself over the edge.

“What now?” he asked, gazing down at Dewspring.

Dewspring stretched upward so that he was holding Shadowsight as close to Rootpaw as he could. “Reach down and grab him by the scruff,” he directed. “Don’t try to pull him up, just hold him. I’ll be with you in a heartbeat.”

Rootpaw wasn’t sure that would work, but he didn’t try to argue. Leaning down, he craned his neck until he could fasten his teeth in Shadowsight’s scruff. “Got him,” he grunted.

Dewspring slipped out from underneath Shadowsight. Even though Shadowsight was so small and frail, when Rootpaw took his weight he thought it would tip him over the edge and back down into the ravine. He dug all his claws into the loose earth and focused on holding on.

Then Dewspring was beside him, leaning over to get his own grip on the injured cat. “Pull!” he mewed around his mouthful of fur.

Together Rootpaw and his mentor edged backward, drawing Shadowsight with them until his limp body lay safely at the top of the ravine. Anxiously Rootpaw checked him over. “He’s still breathing, thank StarClan!”

“Great!” Dewspring huffed out a long breath. “Give me a moment to rest, and we’ll head back.”

And this would be just the right time for a ThunderClan patrol to appear, Rootpaw thought, warily scanning the surrounding trees. Then he realized that any ThunderClan cats would be so shocked to see Shadowsight that they might not think to ask what two SkyClan cats were doing trespassing on their territory.

But no patrol appeared. Dewspring took Shadowsight on his back again; after their struggle in the ravine, the journey home seemed to take no time at all.

As soon as they emerged into their camp, they were spotted by Plumwillow, who was on guard. She sprang to her paws, her eyes wide with shock. “Who’s that on your back?” she asked.

“It’s Shadowsight, that missing ShadowClan cat,” Dewspring explained. “We need to get him to the medicine cats.”

But as he and Rootpaw headed to find Frecklewish, more of the SkyClan cats ran across from the fresh-kill pile or emerged from their dens, gathering around and asking what had happened.

“Let us through!” Rootpaw yowled, but no cat was paying attention to him.

At last, to his relief, he spotted Fidgetflake shouldering his way through the crowd. “Shift your paws!” the medicine cat hissed at the crowd of warriors. “We have an injured cat here.” Beckoning Rootpaw and Dewspring with his tail, he added, “Bring him to our den right away.”

Violetshine bounded over to join them as Fidgetflake led the way back to his den. She padded alongside Dewspring on the opposite side from Rootpaw, helping to support Shadowsight’s limp body.

“Rootpaw, are you okay?” she asked. “I was so worried when you missed your assessment. I thought something must have happened to you. And you’re covered in blood!”

Rootpaw glanced down at himself, to where Shadowsight’s blood was smeared over his pelt. “It’s not mine,” he reassured his mother. “I’m not hurt.”