A Dangerous Path (15 page)

“Fireheart.” Her voice was quiet; Fireheart would have been less afraid if she had yowled at him. “Tallstar couldn't have picked a more convenient time to talk to me about the prey theft than if StarClan had told him themselves. That was your doing, wasn't it? You're the only cat who knew that I was planning to attack WindClan. Only you could have betrayed us.”

She sounded as if her mind was clearer than it had been for some time, as if the instinct that had sharpened her senses on the moor had settled into hard certainty. She was behaving like the noble leader he had once respected, giving Fireheart an even more agonizing sense of what they had lost. He still believed that he had not betrayed his Clan, but he had given away the advantage of surprise, because Tallstar had been wise enough to realize that battle must be close. Would Bluestar send him into exile? Fireheart shivered at the thought of being forced to live as a rogue, stealing prey and with no Clan to call his own.

He came to stand in front of Bluestar and dipped his head. “I thought it was the right thing to do,” he meowed quietly.
“Neither of the Clans needed to fight this battle.”

“I trusted you, Fireheart,” Bluestar rasped. “You, out of all my warriors.”

Fireheart forced himself to meet her flinty gaze. “I did it for the good of the Clan, Bluestar. And I didn't tell him about the attack. I only asked him to try making peace. I thought—”

“Silence!”
Bluestar hissed, lashing her tail. “That is no excuse. And why should I care if the whole Clan had been slaughtered? Why should I care what happens to traitors?”

A wild light was growing in her eyes again, and Fireheart realized that the moment's clarity had gone.

“If only I'd kept my kits!” she whispered. “Mistyfoot and Stonefur are noble cats. Far nobler than any of this ragtag bunch in ThunderClan. My children would never have betrayed me.”

“Bluestar…” Fireheart tried to interrupt, but she ignored him.

“I gave them up to become deputy, and now StarClan are punishing me. Oh, StarClan are clever, Fireheart! They knew the cruelest way to break me. They made me leader and then let my cats betray me! What is it worth, now, to be leader of ThunderClan? Nothing! It's all empty, all…” Her paws worked furiously among the moss. Her eyes were glazed, staring at nothing, and her mouth gaped in a soundless wail.

Fireheart shuddered in dismay. “I'll fetch Cinderpelt,” he meowed.

“Stay…where…you…are.” Each word was rasped out
separately. “I need to punish you, Fireheart. Tell me a good punishment for a traitor.”

Nearly sick with fear and shock, Fireheart forced himself to reply. “I don't know, Bluestar.”

“But I do.” Now her voice was a low purr, with a strange note of amusement in it. Her gaze locked with Fireheart's. “I know the best punishment of all. I'll do nothing. I'll let you be deputy still, and leader after me. Oh, that should please StarClan—a traitor leading a Clan of traitors! May they give you joy of it, Fireheart. Now get out of my sight!”

The last words were spat out. Fireheart backed away from her, into the clearing. He felt as if he had been in a battle after all. Bluestar's despair pierced him like sharpened claws. But he couldn't help feeling that Bluestar had let him down too, by not even trying to understand his motives; she had labeled him a traitor without even considering what would have happened if they had fought WindClan.

Head down, Fireheart padded across the clearing, not even aware that another cat had approached him until he heard Sandstorm's voice.

“What happened, Fireheart? Has she sent you away?”

Fireheart looked up. Sandstorm's green eyes were anxious, though she did not move close enough to comfort him with her touch.

“No,” he replied. “She didn't do anything.”

“Then that's all right.” Sandstorm sounded as if she were forcing optimism into her voice. “Why are you looking like that?”

“She's…ill.” Fireheart couldn't begin to describe what he had just witnessed in Bluestar's den. “I'm going to get Cinderpelt to see her. Then maybe we can eat together.”

“No, I…I said I'd go hunting with Cloudpaw and Brindleface.” Sandstorm scuffled her front paws, not looking at him. “Don't worry about Bluestar, Fireheart. She'll be all right.”

“I don't know.” Fireheart couldn't repress a shiver. “I thought I could make her understand, but she thinks I betrayed her.”

Sandstorm said nothing. Fireheart saw her give him a quick glance and then look away. There was longing in her eyes, but it was mingled with uneasiness, and he remembered how she had resented deceiving Bluestar.

Does Sandstorm think I'm a traitor too
? he thought desperately.

 

After Fireheart had sent Cinderpelt to Bluestar, he headed for the warriors' den. He felt as if his legs could hardly hold him up, and he could think of nothing except sinking into the soft darkness of sleep. His heart sank when he saw Longtail stalking across the clearing toward him.

“I want a word with you, Fireheart,” he growled.

Fireheart sat down. “What is it?”

“You ordered
my
apprentice to go with you this morning.”

“Yes, and I told you why.”

“He didn't like it, but he did his duty,” Longtail meowed harshly.

That was true, Fireheart reflected. He had admired the
apprentice's courage in a tough situation, but he wasn't sure why Longtail was making such a fuss now.

“I think it's time he was made a warrior,” Longtail went on. “In fact, Fireheart, he should have been a warrior long ago.”

“Yes, I know,” Fireheart replied. “You're right, Longtail, he should.”

Longtail looked taken aback at his ready agreement. “So what are you going to do about it?” he blustered.

“Right now, nothing,” Fireheart meowed. “Don't flatten your ears at me, Longtail. Just think, will you? Bluestar is distressed at the moment. She didn't like what happened this morning, and she won't want to think about promoting apprentices. No, wait.” He flicked his tail to silence Longtail as the pale warrior opened his mouth to protest. “Leave it with me. Sooner or later Bluestar has to realize that what happened was for the best. Then I'll talk to her about making Swiftpaw a warrior, I promise.”

Longtail sniffed. Fireheart could see he wasn't happy, but he couldn't think of any reason to object. “All right,” the pale tabby warrior mewed. “But it had better be soon.”

He stalked off again, leaving Fireheart to head for his nest. As he curled into the soft moss, shutting his eyes tight against the early morning light, he couldn't help worrying about the four older apprentices. Cloudpaw, Brightpaw, and Thornpaw all deserved to be warriors as well as Swiftpaw. And the Clan desperately needed them to take on full warrior duties. But in her present mood, convinced that she was surrounded by traitors, Bluestar would never agree to give them warrior status.

Fireheart's dreams were dark and confused, and he woke to find that a cat was nudging him. A voice meowed, “Wake up, Fireheart!”

Blinking, he focused his eyes on Cinderpelt's face. Her gray fur was ruffled and her eyes wide with anxiety; Fireheart was awake in a heartbeat.

“What's the matter?”

“It's Bluestar,” Cinderpelt replied. “I can't find her anywhere!”

Fireheart sprang to his paws. “Tell
me what happened.”

“When I saw her earlier this morning, I took her poppy seeds to calm her down,” Cinderpelt explained. “But when I went to her den just now, she wasn't there, and she hadn't eaten the poppy seeds. I tried the elders' den and the nursery, but she isn't there either. She isn't anywhere in camp, Fireheart.”

“Did anyone see her leave?”

“I haven't asked yet. I came to tell you first.”

“Then I'll get the apprentices to search, and find out if—”

“Bluestar's not a kit, you know.” The interruption came from Whitestorm, who had padded into the warriors' den in time to hear Cinderpelt's news. “She might have gone on patrol. For all you know, other cats are with her.” He spoke calmly as he bared his teeth in a yawn and settled into his nest.

Fireheart nodded uncertainly. What Whitestorm said was sensible, but he would have liked to be sure. After the state Bluestar had been in that morning, she could be anywhere in the forest. She might even have gone to RiverClan in search of her kits.

“There's probably no need to worry,” Fireheart reassured Cinderpelt, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. “But we'll look anyway, and find out if any cat has seen her.”

Leaving the den, he spotted Fernpaw and Ashpaw sharing tongues near the blackened remains of the tree stump outside the apprentices' den. Quickly Fireheart explained that he had a message for Bluestar, but he wasn't sure where she was. The two apprentices dashed off willingly to look for her.

“You go and ask if any cat has seen her,” he suggested to Cinderpelt, who had followed him out of the den. “I'll go up the ravine and see if I can pick up her scent. I might be able to track her.”

Privately he didn't have much hope. While he had slept, clouds had covered the sky and a thin rain was drizzling down. It was not good weather for following scent. Before he could leave, Fireheart noticed that Sandstorm was just returning to camp, along with Cloudpaw and Brindleface. All three of them carried fresh-kill, which they went over to drop on the pile.

Fireheart raced up to them, with Cinderpelt limping behind. “Sandstorm,” he meowed, “have you seen Bluestar?”

Sandstorm swiped her tongue around her mouth to remove the prey juices. “No. Why?”

“She isn't here,” mewed Cinderpelt.

Sandstorm's eyes widened. “Are you surprised? After what happened this morning? She must feel like she's losing control of her Clan.”

That was so close to the truth that Fireheart didn't know how to answer.

“We're going out again,” meowed Cloudpaw. “We'll keep a lookout for her.”

“Okay, thanks.” Fireheart blinked gratefully at his apprentice.

The young white tom raced off again, with the two warriors following more slowly. Brindleface paused to meow, “I'm sure she'll be fine, Fireheart,” as she left, but Sandstorm didn't look back.

Fireheart's problems were about to overwhelm him, but then he felt Cinderpelt's breath soft against his ear. “Don't worry, Fireheart,” she murmured. “Sandstorm's still your friend. You need to accept that she doesn't always see things the way you do.”

“You don't either.” Fireheart sighed.

Cinderpelt let out an affectionate purr. “I'm still your friend too,” she told him. “And I know you've done what you believe to be right. Now, let's see what we can do to find Bluestar.”

 

By the time the sun set, Bluestar was still missing. Fireheart had tracked her as far as the top of the ravine, but after that, with the rain coming down more heavily, the scent was lost among the tang of charred branches and the musty smell of fallen leaves.

Too anxious to sleep, Fireheart put himself on watch. The
night was far gone, and the moon was setting when he spotted movement by the camp entrance. The last rays of moonlight picked out a silver-gray coat as Bluestar limped back into the camp. Her fur was soaked, plastered to her body, and her head was low. She looked old, exhausted, defeated.

Fireheart hurried across to her. “Bluestar, where have you been?”

The Clan leader raised her head and looked at him. A jolt ran through Fireheart; her eyes, faintly glowing in the dim light, were clear and bright in spite of her exhaustion. “You sound like a queen scolding her kit,” she rasped, an edge of humor in her voice. She jerked her head in the direction of her den. “Come with me.”

Fireheart obeyed, pausing only to snatch a vole from the pile of fresh-kill. Bluestar needed to eat, wherever she had been. When he reached Bluestar's den, his leader was seated in her mossy nest, washing herself with long, careful strokes. Fireheart would have liked to sit beside her and share tongues with her, but after their last encounter he did not dare. Instead he dropped the vole in front of her and respectfully dipped his head. “What happened, Bluestar?” he asked.

Bluestar stretched her neck to sniff the vole, half turned away from it, and then began to gulp it down as if she had suddenly realized how hungry she was. She did not answer until she had finished it.

“I went to speak with StarClan,” she announced, flicking the last traces of vole from her whiskers.

Fireheart stared. “To Highstones? On your own?”

“Of course. Which of this pack of traitors could I ask to escort me?”

Fireheart swallowed. Gently he meowed, “Your Clan are loyal, Bluestar. All of us.”

Bluestar shook her head stubbornly. “I went to Highstones, and I spoke with StarClan.”

“But why?” Fireheart was feeling more and more confused. “I thought you no longer wanted to share tongues with StarClan.”

The old cat drew herself up. “I do not. I went to challenge them. I wanted to ask how they could justify what they have done to me, when I have served them all my life and tried to do their will. And to demand an explanation for the things that are happening in the forest.”

Fireheart gazed at her in disbelief, amazed that his leader had dared to challenge the spirits of their warrior ancestors.

“I lay beside the Moonstone and StarClan came to me,” Bluestar went on. “They did not justify themselves—how could they? There is
no
justification for what they have done to me. But they told me something….”

Fireheart leaned closer. “What?”

“They said that there is evil loose in the forest. They spoke of a ‘pack.' They told me that it will bring more death and destruction than the forest has ever seen before.”

“What did they mean?” Fireheart whispered. Surely there had been enough death and destruction already, with the fire and the floods?

Bluestar lowered her head. “I don't know.”

“But we
must
find out!” Fireheart exclaimed, his mind whirling. “Perhaps they mean the dog—but a dog couldn't do damage on that scale. And what about ‘pack'? Maybe…yes, maybe they were talking about ShadowClan. You know how Tigerstar vowed to take revenge on us. Maybe he's planning an attack. Or Leopardstar,” he added, still trying to cling to his hope that Tigerstar had lost interest in harming his old Clan.

Bluestar shrugged. “Maybe.”

Fireheart narrowed his eyes. He couldn't understand why she didn't want to work out the meaning of what StarClan had told her and make plans to stop the attack if it came. “We have to do something,” he insisted. “We could set a watch on the borders, and we should increase the patrols.” He wasn't sure how he was going to that with so few warriors. “We need to make sure there's always a guard on the camp when…”

His voice trailed off as he realized Bluestar wasn't listening. She crouched motionless, her eyes fixed on her paws. “Bluestar?”

The ThunderClan leader looked up at him, her eyes bottomless pools of despair. “What is the point?” she rasped. “StarClan have decreed that death will come. A dark force walks this forest, and even StarClan themselves cannot control it. Or
will
not. There is nothing we can do.”

A shudder went through Fireheart. Was Bluestar right that StarClan were not powerful enough to avert the doom that was coming? For a few heartbeats he almost shared his leader's despair.

Then he raised his head. He felt as though he were claw
ing his way up from the depths of black water. “No,” he growled. “I won't believe that. There is always something that a cat can do, as long as he has courage and loyalty.”

“Courage? Loyalty? In ThunderClan?”

“
Yes,
Bluestar.” Fireheart tried to put all the force of his belief into his reply. “No cat but Tigerstar has ever wanted to betray you.”

Bluestar held his gaze for a moment before looking away. Her tail flicked wearily. “Do what you want, Fireheart. It won't make any difference. Nothing will. Now leave me.”

Fireheart murmured a farewell. Backing away, he noticed the poppy seeds Cinderpelt had left earlier, still lying neatly on a leaf. He nodded toward them. “Eat your poppy seeds, Bluestar,” he mewed. “You need to rest. Tomorrow everything will look better.”

He took the leaf between his teeth and carefully moved it into Bluestar's reach. Bluestar gave a disdainful sniff, but as Fireheart left the den he glanced back to see her bend over and lick up the seeds.

Outside, he gave his pelt a shake, trying to get rid of the creeping horror he had felt as Bluestar revealed the message of StarClan. His paws carried him instinctively in the direction of Cinderpelt's den. He would have to tell the medicine cat that Bluestar was back, and he wanted to discuss what his leader had told him.

Only then did he remember that more than a moon ago, Cinderpelt had told him of a dream in which she heard the words
pack, pack,
and
kill, kill
.