Midnight

Chapter 23

The group stared at her for a moment, before Feathertail lifted her nose and opened her mouth to taste the air for herself. Squirrelpaw saw her eyes brighten and energy suddenly flowed through her. The salty tang was unmistakable, and Squirrelpaw knew the other two who had their signs were recognizing it as well.

"It is salt!" Feathertail exclaimed. "We must be close. Come on!"

Squirrelpaw followed her eagerly against the wind with the sun blinding her. A swift glance behind showed that her friends were following. Even Tawnypelt had started hobbling faster. A fresh surge of energy poured into Squirrelpaw's veins, as if she could continue running forever until she was soaring through the sky with the white birds that wheeled and screamed above them.

Instead, Squirrelpaw came skidding to a halt beside Feathertail, staring terrified over the edge of a huge cliff. Steep sandy slopes fell away barely a mouse-length in front of her paws. Waves crashed at the bottom, and stretching out ahead of her was a heaving expanse of blue-green water. The sun was sinking into it on the horizon, its flames so bright that Squirrelpaw tucked her chin and narrowed her eyes against them. The orange fire burned a path like blood across the water, almost reaching the foot of the cliff.

For a moment no one did anything but stare. Then Brambletuft cleared his throat. "We've got to hurry," he meowed. "If this is the place, we need to find the cave with teeth before it gets dark."

"And then wait for midnight," Feathertail added.

The silver tabby glanced around, clearly trying to find a direction to run in. Choosing one, she led the way a safe distance from the cliff top. From time to time, they carefully crept closer to peer over the edge in search of the cave. Squirrelpaw dug her claws deep into the tough grass; all she could think about was falling and living her dream where she was pulled into the cave while fighting against the waters trying to drown her.

Gradually the land sloped down until the water was only the height of a tree below them. The cliff top jutted out so they could not see the bottom, and the almost sheer surface was deeply scored with ancient runnels of rain. As the cliff grew less steep, the cats scrabbled a little way down and made their way along closer to the water, sometimes even within reach of a salty burst of wave. Clefts, riven by ancient streams, split the rock, sometimes so wide that the cats had to leap over them, and the grass frequently gave way to hollows where a few twisted shrubs clung to the scant soil.

"There are plenty of places to shelter for the night if we don't find the cave," Stormfur pointed out.

Squirrelpaw was silently agreeing with him. The sun had sunk beneath the water by now, though great orange flares still streaked the sky. The breeze was growing colder. Tawnypelt at least could lie down, she thought, while the rest of them went on searching. The brown-and-ginger warrior had fallen behind, making Swiftpaw slow down to keep watch. Brambletuft was just bounding back to join them, skirting the edge of one of the clefts, when his paws slipped and he started sliding into the hollow. He scrabbled desperately at the loose soil but it gave way under his claws, showering him with dirt. He kept sliding, until he could see over the edge and began yowling in alarm.

"Brambletuft!" Stormfur leaped into the hollow beside him and tried sinking his claws into Brambletuft's shoulders, but they both began sliding down faster. Yowling, Squirrelpaw leaped down as well and practically threw herself over Brambletuft in an attempt to slow him down.

"No—go back!" Brambletuft choked, being showered with even more dirt. Before any of them could react, Brambletuft reached the edge of the shifting soil and fell, howling, until Squirrelpaw heard a loud thud a few heartbeats later.

Squirrelpaw peered over the edge to see him staring up, terrified, at a massive cave with teeth, just like the one from her dream. But before he could even stand, a sudden rush of water swept him off the ground. His yowl was cut off as his head went under, the salty water claiming him like he was mere prey.