Web of Lies

ix

"Quailfern? Are you down there?" Robinflight called down the tunnel. She couldn't find him anywhere around camp, so she assumed he had just gone back down to investigate. "Quailfern?"

"What are you doing?"

Robinflight turned to see an unwelcome face, her sister, Reedspeck. She grimaced and flattened her ears, unhappy to see her sister. Reedspeck rolled her eyes and stepped forward, peering down the hole.

"You going to tell me what you were doing?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I mean, my sister looking down a suspicious hole in Coralstar's den is rather suspicious." Reedspeck sniffed and rubbed a paw behind her ear. "By the way, where did Coralstar go?"

"We still don't know where Coralstar went, but I'm thinking it has something to do with this tunnel," Robinflight replied, backing up.

"Well, what's in it?"

"Confidential deputy things."

"Then why do you think Quailfern's down there? He's not deputy," Reedspeck noted, a grin on her face. "I'm going to see what's down there."

"It's deputy and frie- Hey! Get up here!" Robinflight yelled as Reedspeck jumped down into the hole.

"Come on! This could be cool!"

"I already know what's down there, fuzzbrain! But fine, fine! I'll go!" Robinflight grumbled, leaping down into the hole. Reedspeck snickered and dashed down the tunnel, unbothered by the darkness. Robinflight, however, was more cautious, staying against the wall and keeping her head low.

"Is this what you were hiding?" Reedspeck exclaimed once they got to the cave.

"Yep," Robinflight answered, looking around at the cavern. "Here it is. Don't mess anything up. We're here to find Quailfern, not to fulfill your little adventure fantasy."

"I don't have a little adventure fantasy," Reedspeck protested, checking out the flat rock with the moss. "Is this some sort of cult?"

"A cult?" Robinflight hadn't thought about that possibility, but it didn't seem likely. "Nah, not a cult. I think it's documenting the history of-"

A crash interrupted Robinflight's sentence, making her scream and jump. She scowled at Reedspeck, who was trying to hide her snickering. Robinflight glanced over at the crash, seeing some familiar brown fur poking out.

"Quailfur!" She exclaimed, starting to dig through the rubble. Quailfur groaned and oulled himself out of the rocks, a ditzy smile on his face.

"I found another tunnel!" He announced proudly, inciting another laugh from Reedspeck. "Come on, we have to investigate!"

Robinflight bristled when she realized 'we' meant Reedspeck coming along. She didn't want to be in the same cave as her sister, much less a tunnel.

"Okay, but what if it's dangero-"

"Let's go!" Reedspeck agreed enthusiastically, shutting up her sister. Robinflight grimaced and reluctantly followed the two cats into the tunnel.

The tunnel was bigger this time, with enough space for three cats side by side. There were etches of waves along the walls, with sand sprinkled all over the ground.

"It smells like the ocean," Reedspeck noted, sniffing the air curiously.

"I wonder where this leads, or what any of this means," Quailfern wondered aloud.

Robinflight pondered all the pieces of this puzzle, trying to force them together. Why was there drawings on the cave walls? Why was there a flat rock? Why is Coralstar missing? None of them fit, until the salty scent of the ocean, the wave drawings, and sand hit her like a badger.