A Dangerous Path

Chapter 25

Thunderstone and Sandstorm carried Brindleface's body back to the camp, but there was no time for the mourning rituals. Apparently she had gone out hunting alone very early, and the other cats had only just noticed that she was taking a long time to return. Her burial was a hurried affair, carried out by Sandstorm and her younger kits, Fernpaw and Ashpaw, while Skyfall summoned the Clan together.

They returned as Skyfall stood at the foot of the Highrock waiting for the rest of the cats to gather. Sandstorm began pacing back and forth, her tail lashing furiously.

"Let me at Tigerstar!" she growled. "I'll scatter his entrails from here to Highstones."

"Don't forget that you're under my orders," Skyfall told her. "Right now we have to deal with the dog pack. We'll worry about Tigerstar later."

Sandstorm bared her teeth, but did not argue.

Meanwhile the rest of the Clan were huddling in a shocked and silent crowd around Skyfall. Cinderpelt appeared from Bluestar's den and limped rapidly across to her.

"Bluestar's asleep," she meowed. "Better to tell her about this when we've worked out a plan, don't you think?"

"Where's Yellowfang?"

"She's in our den sleeping. I don't think she wants to admit it but she's getting old, and weaker."

Skyfall turned to Mousefur. "Go get Yellowfang, and hurry."

Skyfall waited anxiously with Cinderpelt pressed reassuringly against her and Willowpelt, Whitestorm, and Graystripe sitting close enough to act as support. When Mousefur and Yellowfang appeared from the fern tunnel, Skyfall began to address the Clan. "Cats of ThunderClan," she began. "This morning we discovered that there's a pack of dogs on our territory, living in the caves at Snakerocks."

Murmuring broke out among the assembled cats, along with a few yowls of defiance. Skyfall guessed that they scarcely believed her, but there was worse news to come. She couldn't help turning to Darkstripe, but the dark warrior's expression was unreadable, and Skyfall had no idea how much he already knew.

"Tigerstar has been feeding the dogs," she went on, struggling to keep her voice calm, "and he has laid a trail of dead rabbits to lead them right into our camp. You all know what lay at the end of that trail." She dipped her head toward the place outside the camp where Brindleface had been buried.

She had to signal with her tail for silence as a chorus of wailing broke out. She couldn't help noticing Goldenflower crouched with her head down as she listened to what Tigerstar had done, and she looked instinctively for the two newest apprentices. Tawnypaw was staring at her with horror in her face, but Bramblepaw's face was hidden.

When she could make herself heard again, Skyfall went on: "We have tried to break the trail, but the rabbits have lain there all night, and the pack will follow the scent they left behind. We must all leave—elders, kits, everyone. If the dogs come to the camp they must not find us here."

More sounds of dismay, this time a low, anxious murmuring. Dappletail, an aged, once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat, called out, "Where shall we go?"

"To Sunningrocks," Skyfall replied. "Once you're there, climb the tallest trees you can find. If the dogs follow you, they'll think they lost the scent on the rocks, and they won't look for you."

To her relief, the Clan grew quieter now that she had given them definite orders, though the cats still crouched in grief for Brindleface. Her kits, Sandstorm, Fernpaw, and Ashpaw pressed together for comfort while her siblings, Frostfur, Longtail, and Dustpelt hung at the back of the crowd with their heads hung low.