Veil Of Shadows

A moment before, Shadowsight had thought the stranger’s laugh was frightening, but now he found that the grim, determined look in his cold blue eyes was so much worse. He forced himself not to back away as the impostor slowly drew closer, stretching one long paw out in front of him.

“You shouldn’t ask what became of Bramblestar,” he responded in a husky voice. “Not unless you want the same thing to happen to you. That cat won’t ruin my plans again . . . and neither will you.”

Shadowsight couldn’t tear his gaze away from that blue, malignant stare. He summoned all his courage, desperate not to let the stranger, whoever he might be, intimidate him. “You can’t just take over his life,” he insisted. “There’s only one Bramblestar!”

The spirit cat nodded slowly. “You’re right,” he mewed. “And it’s me. If Bramblestar wants his body back, he’ll have to fight me for it.”

The stranger let out a loud hiss, raising himself onto his hind paws. Shadowsight braced himself, expecting that the false Bramblestar would pounce on him. Instead he dropped back to the ground, arched his glowing back, and gave his pelt a shake. His breathing slowed, and a heartbeat later he spoke again.

“I knew you weren’t faithful enough as a medicine cat to pass on the codebreaker vision properly. You are a codebreaker, just like the rest!”

With a shock as if he had just plunged into an icy pool, Shadowsight realized where he had heard this cat’s voice before. The memory overwhelmed him. “It was you!” he yowled. “You’re the voice I heard at the Moonpool, telling me about the codebreakers! It was never StarClan that spoke to me—it was you. And you’ve been possessing Bramblestar ever since the night he died on that hill.”

The strange cat nodded, looking almost pleased to have his clever deception recognized.

“You stole Bramblestar’s body,” Shadowsight accused him. “You deceived me and tried to kill me. Is there no end to your evil?”

For response, the stranger merely licked one forepaw and drew it over his ear.

“How did you do all this?” Shadowsight continued. “If you’re a spirit—like me—and you know the Clans . . . then you should be in StarClan. Or the Dark Forest.”

Light glinted from the impostor’s bared teeth. “There are ways to move between those worlds, if one is clever enough,” he replied.

With a fresh flood of horror, Shadowsight understood that without knowing it, he had been this cat’s accomplice. If he hadn’t followed the orders he had believed came from StarClan, Bramblestar might have survived instead of being left to die on the snow-swept hill. He shuddered, overwhelmed by racking guilt. I was right to doubt my visions. They were all a lie.

Summoning every scrap of his courage, Shadowsight took a pace forward to confront the impostor. “What’s happened to the real Bramblestar’s spirit?” he demanded. “Have you destroyed it altogether?”

The glowing cat let out a mrrow of amusement. He’s enjoying this, thought Shadowsight. But as he waited for the impostor’s response, he felt a tug in his gut, stronger and more insistent than before, pulling him back to SkyClan.

My body . . . How long have I been gone? He realized that he had no idea, except that it was too long. He wanted to finish this encounter with the false Bramblestar, but if he didn’t leave right away, he might be lost forever.

“This isn’t over,” he told the intruder, then raced out of the den into the night, focusing all his thoughts on the body he had abandoned.

A heartbeat later, Shadowsight found himself back in the SkyClan medicine cats’ den, where his mother was curled up asleep beside his unconscious form.

Spiresight stood beside them, shaking his head as he saw Shadowsight. “You’re cutting it close,” he mewed. “Where have you been? Who were you with?”

Shadowsight realized that he had no idea how to answer that question.

Chapter 14

Gusts of wind swept across the SkyClan camp, carrying a spatter of rain and ruffling Rootpaw’s pelt. He ignored the chilly drops as he stood with his head held high, staring at the group of SkyClan cats around him. His parents, Violetshine and Tree, were standing nearby; he felt warmed as he met their proud gaze. Dewspring was there, too, and Rootpaw’s sister, Needleclaw, had pattered up, so close that their pelts were brushing.

A little farther away, Frecklewish and several of the SkyClan warriors were joining the circle. Even Tigerstar had appeared, peering out of the medicine cats’ den where he and Dovewing were visiting Shadowsight. He was shifting from paw to paw, showing Rootpaw how anxious he was to get back inside, where his son still lay unconscious. It would be dangerous to move Shadowsight, Rootpaw knew, so he would remain in the SkyClan den until he woke, or until . . .

No, Rootpaw told himself firmly. I won’t think about that.