Veil Of Shadows

Shadowsight could hardly bear to see Dovewing’s grief and anxiety. He longed to feel his mother’s comforting touch; he wanted to wake up, if only for her sake, but he wasn’t ready to rejoin his body just yet. I’ll come back soon, Dovewing, he thought, but only after I figure out who attacked me. He knew that finding the culprit was the only way to protect himself and his Clan, and to do that, he’d have to stay a spirit a little longer.

Meanwhile his father, Tigerstar, was pacing back and forth across the den, his amber eyes smoldering and his pelt alive with anger. “I know Bramblestar is behind this!” he snarled. “He didn’t like the way Shadowsight was contradicting him, so he did his best to shut him up.”

Fidgetflake shook his head. “We have no proof that Bramblestar is behind the attack,” he pointed out.

Tigerstar whipped around to face him, fixing him with a glare. “But you know it was a cat, right?” he challenged the medicine cat.

“Yes . . . I know that much,” Fidgetflake admitted. “The size and depth of his wounds show that a cat attacked him—one who knew how to inflict serious harm.”

“Then that settles it,” Tigerstar snapped.

Dovewing looked up from her place beside Shadowsight’s body. “Things aren’t always what they seem,” she told her mate. “Remember when we suspected some other Clan of poisoning our fresh-kill pile, but it turned out to be Juniperclaw? We can’t go accusing a cat—especially a Clan leader—of something so serious, without proof.”

Tigerstar lashed his tail. “Look at the way Bramblestar has been acting!” he exclaimed. “How much more proof do you need? Besides, how are we supposed to get real proof? You were going to spy on ThunderClan when you were pretending to atone, but it turned out to be much harder than we expected.” He began his impatient pacing again. “Bramblestar, or whoever he really is,” he continued, “is so demented that I fear for the life of any cat who is caught spying.”

Dovewing nodded agreement. “I’m not sure how we can get proof,” she mewed, “but the truth always has a way of coming out.”

“Fine,” Tigerstar snorted. “But meanwhile, if Bramblestar so much as raises a paw against my kin again, he will die. I’ll take care of him myself.”

Shadowsight could understand his father’s frustration. But for once, he could do something about it. As a spirit, he could visit ThunderClan and eavesdrop, just as he was doing now, and as he had done before his body was brought back to SkyClan.

Shadowsight padded out of the medicine cats’ den and across the camp, heading in the direction of ThunderClan territory. As soon as he began to imagine what he would discover in their camp, he found himself there, balancing on a narrow ledge halfway up the side of the stone hollow.

Another benefit of being a ghost, he thought with satisfaction.

Gazing out across the camp, Shadowsight spotted a couple of apprentices hauling a mass of soiled bedding toward the thorn tunnel. They passed Leafshade at the head of a hunting patrol on its way in, each cat laden with prey, which they dropped onto the fresh-kill pile. Daisy was sunning herself at the entrance to the nursery, while Alderheart appeared from his den with a bunch of leaves in his jaws and headed toward the elders.

It all looks so peaceful, Shadowsight thought. But there was a tension in the air that wasn’t usual for any Clan, and he knew exactly which cat was to blame. Bramblestar . . . I need to find out what he’s doing.

As Shadowsight watched, Stormcloud emerged from the elders’ den, swiftly glanced from side to side, then bounded over to the fresh-kill pile. He picked up a vole and headed back the way he had come. But before he had taken more than a couple of paw steps, Bramblestar slipped out from behind the warriors’ den and stood blocking his path.

“Have I chosen the prey I want to eat yet?” he demanded.

Stormcloud’s eyes widened in alarm and he dropped the vole at his paws. “No,” he replied, “but Brackenfur said he was hungry, and I just thought I would bring him—”

“You know the rules,” Bramblestar interrupted. “The leader eats first, no exceptions!”

Stormcloud cast a glance full of regret toward the elders’ den, then reluctantly picked up the vole and carried it back to the fresh-kill pile. “Sorry,” he muttered as he dropped it; Shadowsight thought he didn’t sound sorry at all.

“If you like prey so much,” Bramblestar continued, narrowing his eyes, “you can go out into the forest and sleep with it tonight. Don’t come back until you’re ready to uphold the code like a real warrior should.”

Stormcloud stared at the Clan leader for a moment and then whipped around, heading for the thorn tunnel with his head and his tail held high. Bramblestar followed him with a baleful gaze until he disappeared.