Veil Of Shadows

Now Shadowsight’s Clanmates bounded up to him and crowded around him, letting out yowls of greeting and brushing against his pelt to welcome him home. Shadowsight’s heart lifted to realize how glad they were to see him. I missed them, and my camp, so much. It’s good to be home!

His mother, Dovewing, appeared from her den and raced across the camp to nuzzle him close. “I’m so, so relieved that you’re okay,” she purred. “Come on, let’s get you to Puddleshine.”

As soon as Shadowsight set paw in the medicine cats’ den, Puddleshine was there to greet him.

“I’ve never been so glad to see any cat!” his former mentor exclaimed, ruffling up Shadowsight’s nest with his forepaws. “Come and lie down; I’ve put extra moss in here for you.”

Shadowsight let out a sigh of gratitude as he sank into the deep, soft bedding. “That feels so good,” he murmured. “I’m glad to be home.”

Puddleshine stood over him, his whiskers drooping and a look of distress in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Shadowsight,” he meowed. “I should have looked harder for you. If I’d known you were alive, suffering somewhere . . .”

Shadowsight realized that he had been crazy to ever suspect that Puddleshine might have been involved in his attack. The medicine cat was clearly full of remorse.

“If you had found me, I might not have discovered what I did about Bramblestar,” he pointed out.

“What was that?” Puddleshine asked.

Tigerstar, who had supported his son as far as the den and still stood in the entrance, let out a growl. “You might find it hard to believe. I did—but I do believe it now.”

Shadowsight explained how he had visited the ThunderClan camp as a spirit, and how the spirit of another cat had emerged from Bramblestar’s body. “It was his voice I heard, warning the Clans about codebreakers,” he finished, “and not StarClan’s at all.”

Puddleshine listened to the story with wide, horrified eyes. “This is terrible!” he breathed out. “Rootspring showed us Bramblestar’s ghost, but to realize that whoever is controlling his body is so vicious, and has been plotting this for so long?”

“And planning to control all of us,” Tigerstar snarled. “It leaves us with no option but to go into battle. We can’t wait any longer for the other Clans to join us. The only way to solve this is to kill whatever is living inside Bramblestar.”

Shadowsight half started up; every hair on his pelt tingled with fear at his father’s determination. “No!” he protested. “Please, you have to listen to me! You can’t attack Bramblestar—not until I can find out what has happened to the real Bramblestar’s ghost!”

Chapter 17

Rootspring crouched beside the stream in the exiles’ camp on ShadowClan territory. Thick clouds covered the sky, hiding the moon and stars, and scarcely a glint of light touched the dark water beside him. He could hear the quiet gurgle of the current and the soft paw steps of cats as they brushed through the grass and ferns to gather for the meeting. Rootspring caught glimpses of their shining eyes as they settled down, and he picked up the mingled scents of all the Clans, but as yet there was no sign of Tigerstar.

A familiar voice spoke behind him. “Greetings, Rootspring.”

The young tom swung around to see Squirrelflight, with Spotfur at her shoulder, and a pace farther back another cat whose pale pelt glimmered in the uncertain light.

“Greetings, Squirrelflight, Spotfur.” Rootspring peered harder at the third cat. “And—great StarClan, is that Berrynose?”

The cream-colored tom ducked his head awkwardly. “Greetings,” he muttered.

Before Rootspring could get over his surprise, another cat strode up: Tigerstar, who halted face-to-face with Berrynose. Anger and mistrust were rolling off him like the scent of fox.

“What do you want here?” he demanded. “Aren’t you Bramblestar’s deputy?”

“Not anymore,” Squirrelflight explained, resting a calming tail-tip on Tigerstar’s shoulder. “Crowfeather found him wandering in the forest earlier today. It seems Bramblestar exiled him for not being quick enough in his defense when the young warriors attacked.”

“Not being quick enough!” Tigerstar repeated with a lash of his tail. “We’ve just finished burying Conefoot. It seems like Bramblestar’s defenders were quite effective.”

“You don’t have to convince me,” Squirrelflight responded calmly. “But clearly Bramblestar sees it differently. He’s made Bristlefrost deputy.”

Rootspring couldn’t suppress a gasp of shock.

“Bristlefrost!” Tigerstar’s voice was raised in a yowl. “That very young cat who’s been coming to the rebel meetings? I didn’t think she’d even had an apprentice.”

“She hasn’t,” Squirrelflight told him. “She’s a good cat, but yes, she’s very young.”

“She shouldn’t be deputy,” Berrynose hissed, clearly furious at being supplanted. “It’s against the code!”

“True,” Squirrelflight agreed. “It’s just another sign that Bramblestar is losing touch with reality.”