A Dangerous Path

Chapter 22

A full moon crossed the sky behind thin wisps of cloud as Bluestar led her warriors to the Gathering. Skyfall was already uneasy. In spite of her declaration of war against StarClan, Bluestar had insisted on going. "How can I trust you to lead the Clan?" she spat at her deputy when she asked her which warriors she should take. Skyfall simply bowed her head in obedience, but she could still feel the pain of knowing that her leader still suspected her of being a traitor.

She also had her doubts about including Graystripe, but her friend had begged desperately to be allowed to come. "Please, Skyfall! I'll be able to get news of Featherkit and Stormkit," he had meowed. Skyfall knew that Graystripe was inviting hostility from RiverClan by appearing so soon after the battle at Sunningrocks, and had half hoped that Bluestar would refuse. But the ThunderClan leader had merely flicked her tail dismissively. "Let him come. You're all traitors, so what does it matter?"

Now Skyfall bunched together with the other ThunderClan warriors to follow Bluestar down the slope. As they emerged into the hollow, the first thing she saw was Tigerstar and Leopardstar sitting side by side, watching approvingly as a group of their apprentices scuffled playfully with each other. Skyfall's fur crawled as she saw those two together. She still had no evidence that Tigerstar was plotting revenge on his former Clan, but Leopardstar would certainly be feeling hostile after her Clan's defeat at Sunningrocks.

"You've done a good job there," meowed Leopardstar to her companion. "Those are strong young cats, and they've learned their fighting moves well."

A purr rumbled in Tigerstar's chest. "We've made some progress," he agreed. "But there's a long way to go yet."

A pair of tumbling apprentices tolled right up to their leaders' paws and Leopardstar shifted backward to give them more room. The young ShadowClan cats were certainly muscular and well fed, Skyfall thought; she could hardly believe they were the same scrawny creatures who had almost died when the sickness swept through their Clan. She exchanged an uneasy glance with Graystripe; sooner or later, she was sure, ThunderClan would have to meet these skilled fighters in battle.

At a word from Tigerstar the apprentices stopped their playful skirmish and sat up, licking their ruffled fur. The two leaders began to make their way toward the Great Rock. Skyfall spotted Bluestar already waiting at its base, but she couldn't see Tallstar, the WindClan leader.

As the ThunderClan cats dispersed to meet with warriors in other Clans, she noticed Graystripe hurrying up to a plump bracken-colored she-cat, and caught the scent of RiverClan from her. Skyfall felt a pang of anxiety as she watched her friend. She trusted Graystripe absolutely, even though he would always have one paw in RiverClan while his kits were there. But several ThunderClan warriors would doubt her loyalty if they saw him so eager to talk to a RiverClan cat.

"Mosspelt, how are you?" Graystripe greeted the she-cat. "How are Featherkit and Stormkit?"

"Featherpaw and Stormpaw now," replied Mosspelt proudly. "They've just been apprenticed."

"That's great!" Graystripe's yellow eyes were glowing as he turned to Skyfall. "Did you hear what Mosspelt said? My kits are apprentices now." He glanced around. "They're not here, are they?"

Mosspelt shook her head. "They're too newly apprenticed for that. Maybe next time. I'll tell them you were asking about them, Graystripe."

"Thanks." Graystripe's excitement faded and was replaced by anxiety. "What did they think when I didn't come back from the battle?"

"Once they knew you weren't dead, they coped well," replied Mosspelt. "Come on, Graystripe; it wasn't much of a shock. Every cat in RiverClan knew you would go back eventually."