Fire and Ice

Chapter 23

RiverClan and ShadowClan had not yet arrived, but WindClan was waiting in the clearing. Tallstar greeted Bluestar with a respectful nod.

Skyfall spotted Onewhisker easily and bounded over to meet him. "Hi!" she meowed. It had been over two moons since she saw the small brown tabby who fought at her side against RiverClan.

"Where's Graystripe?" Onewhisker asked. "Is he okay?"

Skyfall could tell he was thinking about Whiteclaw. "He's fine," Skyfall answered. "He's over there with the others. How's Morningflower?"

"Happy to be home," replied Onewhisker. "Her kit is growing quickly now." Skyfall purred at the news. "The whole Clan is well," Onewhisker added. He glanced at Skyfall with an amused gleam in his eyes. "It's great to eat rabbit again. I hope I never have to taste another rat as long as I live!"

Skyfall could smell new groups of scents closing in. RiverClan was coming. She could smell ShadowClan, too. She scanned the ridge that circled the clearing. Sure enough, RiverClan cats were streaming down one side. On the opposite side, she could see the silhouettes of the ShadowClan cats prepared to plunge down as well. The lean figure of Nightstar was barely seen at the head of the group.

"At last," growled Onewhisker. He'd spotted them as well. "It's too cold to be hanging around tonight."

Skyfall nodded absently. She was searching the RiverClan cats as they merged with the crowd, searching for Silverstream. She recognized the pale gray she-cat immediately. She skidded to a halt at the base of the slope, then followed her father, Crookedstar, as he exchanged reserved greetings to the cats of the other Clans.

Skyfall quickly turned her head in search of Graystripe. Would he really try speaking with Silverstream tonight? The gray warrior had his back to Silverstream as he spoke with a WindClan warrior.

Skyfall was watching Graystripe so closely that she hadn't noticed Deadfoot approaching. "Good evening, Skyfall," meowed the WindClan deputy. "How are you?"

Skyfall turned. "Hello," she meowed. "I'm fine, thank you."

Deadfoot nodded. "Good," he meowed, turning to limp away.

"Wait! Deadfoot," Skyfall blurted before he could get far. Deadfoot turned back around.

"My apprentice, Cinderpaw, has a twisted hind paw from an accident. I was wondering if I could get any tips to get her ready for training now that she's fully awake," Skyfall meowed hesitantly.

"This is not a conversation for a Gathering to begin. We will talk later," Deadfoot replied before limping away.

Bluestar's yowl sounded from the Great Rock. Skyfall turned, surprised. The leaders didn't usually start the meeting so soon. Crookedstar and Nightstar were standing close on one side of the rock. Bluestar waited beside Tallstar for the cats to gather. It was the first time Skyfall had seen the WindClan leader since the mission.

Skyfall and Onewhisker followed the other cats silently as they settled beneath the rock. Skyfall looked up expectantly, waiting for Bluestar to welcome WindClan back, but the ThunderClan leader was clearly in no mood for friendly words.

"RiverClan has been hunting at Sunningrocks," she began angrily. "Our patrols have scented you warriors many times, Crookedstar. Sunningrocks belongs to ThunderClan!"

Crookedstar met Bluestar's gaze steadily. "Have you forgotten how recently one of our warriors was killed defending our territory from ThunderClan?"

"You had no need to defend your territory," Bluestar answered. "My warriors were not hunting there. They were returning home after finding WindClan. It was a mission we all agreed on! According to the warrior code, they should not have been attacked."

"You speak of the warrior code?" spat Crookedstar. "What about the ThunderClan warrior who has been spying on our territory since then?"

Bluestar stopped, her eyes going wide. "Warrior?" she echoed. "Have you seen him?"

"Not yet," Crookedstar hissed. "But we find his scent so often, it won't be long before we do."

Skyfall had to stop herself from turning to Graystripe. She knew only too well which warrior had been detected in Crookedstar's territory. Would any of the RiverClan warriors recognize his scent?

Tigerclaw's deep growl sounded from the base of the Great Rock. "We have scented ShadowClan in our territory as well as RiverClan this past moon. And not just one warrior, but a whole patrol, always the same cats."

The old ShadowClan leader's eyes flashed with indignation. "ShadowClan has not been in your territory. Clearly your warriors can't tell the difference in the scents of cats outside their own Clan. You have been smelling the scent of rogue cats. They have been stealing prey from our territory as well!"

Tigerclaw snorted in disbelief and Nightstar hissed down at him. "Do you doubt the word of ShadowClan, Tigerclaw?" The crowd murmured uncomfortably as Tigerclaw glared back at Nightstar.

From beside Bluestar, Tallstar spoke, his tail twitching. "My warriors have also found strange scents within WindClan borders. They seem to be ShadowClan."

"I knew it!" Tigerclaw snarled. "RiverClan and ShadowClan have united against us!"

"Us? What do you mean by us!" spat Crookedstar. "I think it's you and WindClan that have formed the alliance! Is that why you were so keen to bring them back? So you can use them to invade the rest of the forest?"

Tallstar's fur bristled. "That's not why we returned, and you know it. We have kept to our own hunting grounds these past moons."

"Then why have we found strange warrior scents in our territory?" Crookedstar growled.

"They don't belong to WindClan!" hissed Tallstar. "They must be rogue cats, as Nightstar says."

"But rogue cats would be a convenient excuse for invading our territories, would they not?" Bluestar murmured. She was staring furiously at the RiverClan and ShadowClan leaders, her fur standing on end.

Crookedstar raised his hackles and Nightstar arched his back. With a flash of alarm Skyfall found herself stalking toward the Great Rock with Tigerclaw, every muscle tensed. Would the leaders really fight when there was supposed to be a truce?

At that moment the light in the valley disappeared. The cats fell silent as they were plunged into darkness. Skyfall looked up, trembling. A huge cloud had covered the moon, completely hiding its light.

"StarClan has sent the darkness!" Skyfall could recognize the familiar meow of Halftail.

The ShadowClan medicine cat called in agreement. "StarClan is angry. These meetings are supposed to be held in peace."

"Runningnose is right!" It was Yellowfang. "We shouldn't be fighting among ourselves, especially during leaf-bare. We should be worried about keeping our Clans safe!" Her voice echoed through the silent valley. "We must listen to StarClan."