Warriors: Power Of Three 2 - Dark River (14 page)

Hollypaw shivered. Could he be right? Was WindClan planning to invade ThunderClan territory?

“Lionpaw!” Ashfur’s urgent call woke Hollypaw. She looked up from her nest. Lionpaw was already halfway out of the den.

“Is something wrong?” she asked. Most of the nests were already empty; only Honeypaw slept on.

“Battle training!” Lionpaw replied over his shoulder.

Hollypaw got to her paws and stretched. Brackenfur hadn’t called for her. Perhaps she’d get a chance to visit Cinderpaw before training.

Outside she could hear paw steps hurrying and excited mews. Everyone seemed very busy this morning. Intrigued, Hollypaw padded from the den. The sun was only just beginning to creep into the hollow, but the clearing was buzzing like a nest of bees. The fresh-kill pile was well stocked. Mousepaw and Berrypaw were practicing battle moves by the halfrock.

Graystripe and Millie were dragging brambles toward the half-finished den. Firestar was talking with Thornclaw and Brambleclaw below the Highledge.

Outside the elders’ den, Mousefur was stretching in the sun. Longtail sat beside her, his face lifted to the sky. “Hollypaw? Is that you I smell?” the blind warrior called across the clearing.

“Yes.” Hollypaw went over to him.

“I hear trouble’s coming.” Longtail dug his claws into the ground. “I wish I could help defend my Clan.”

“There’s no trouble,” Hollypaw answered quickly.

“RiverClan just has a few problems, that’s all.”

“Sounds like there’s going to be a new marking-out of territory,” Longtail went on. “I’d like to see any Clan try to take a piece of what belongs to us!”

He’s enjoying this! Alarm bristled along Hollypaw’s spine. She was relieved to see Brackenfur padding toward her. Surely he would be too sensible to be caught up in all this talk of battle?

“We’re going hunting,” he announced.

Good! Something normal.

Brackenfur went on. “If there’s going to be a battle, we need to be well fed.”

Hollypaw stiffened. Not Brackenfur, too! “Can I visit Cinderpaw before we leave?”

“Go ahead,” Brackenfur agreed. “But don’t be long.”

Hollypaw padded across the clearing and poked her nose through the trailing brambles that covered the medicine den entrance. “Can I come in?”

Cinderpaw was sitting up in her nest, her rush-bound hind leg stuck out awkwardly in front her. She was reaching forward to chase a ball of moss around the edge of her nest with her forepaws.

Leafpool was soaking dried horsetail stems in the pool at the side of the den. She looked around. “Hi, Hollypaw!”

Hollypaw thought she detected relief in the medicine cat’s mew. She pushed through the brambles.

“I’m glad you’re here. Cinderpaw could do with some company.” Leafpool glanced at her fidgeting patient. “She’s finding it hard to keep still.”

Cinderpaw patted the moss ball so that it flew across the den and landed beside Hollypaw. “Toss it back so I can catch it!” she pleaded.

“Don’t you dare!” Leafpool leaped over and grabbed the ball in her teeth. “You’ve got to keep still if you want your leg to mend straight!”

Hollypaw purred with amusement as Cinderpaw rolled her eyes. Then she noticed Jaypaw at the back of the den. He was busily wrapping up herbs in leaf parcels and piling them against the den wall. He seemed totally absorbed in his task and didn’t look up to greet his sister.

“What are you doing, Jaypaw?” she called across the den.

“Preparing herbs,” he muttered. “What does it look like?”

“That’s a lot of herbs.” Hollypaw could smell horsetail and marigold. She remembered enough of her medicine training to know that he was preparing for combat wounds. She felt sick. It seemed as though the whole Clan had accepted a battle was coming.

“What’s up?” Cinderpaw called from her nest.

Hollypaw padded to her side. “Has anybody told you what happened at the Gathering?”

Cinderpaw shook her head. “Leafpool and Jaypaw were whispering about something when Leafpool got back, but they haven’t said anything to me.”

“RiverClan is living on the island!”

Cinderpaw’s eyes widened with shock. “Living there?”

“They can’t use their camp for some reason and all the other Clans think they’ll have to find new territory.”

Cinderpaw gasped. “But that would mess everything up.”

“I know.” Hollypaw glanced at Jaypaw, still busy at the back of the den. “And it seems as if everyone is expecting a fight.”

Cinderpaw plucked at the moss in her nest. “I just hope I’m better in time to join in,” she mewed.

Hollypaw stared at her crossly. “There doesn’t need to be a battle!”

“But if everyone wants one—”

Hollypaw cut her off. “Everyone’s just scared about what RiverClan will do. If we can help RiverClan, then everything will go back to normal.”

She padded out of the den and stared around the clearing.

Foxkit and Icekit were play-fighting outside the nursery; Longtail and Mousefur were drawing battle plans in the sandy earth. Firestar was still talking with Brambleclaw.

She couldn’t let her Clanmates get caught up in a battle before they had tried to find a different way to solve the problem. If she could just find a way to help RiverClan, maybe there would be nothing left to fight about.

Jaypaw heard the brambles swish. “Hollypaw’s gone?” He blinked.

Hollypaw had only been in the den a few moments.

“She must’ve remembered something she had to do.”

Cinderpaw sighed.

“Oh.” Jaypaw went back to wrapping his marigold and horsetail poultices in leaves, preparing for a battle that might never happen. Why hadn’t StarClan warned him? It was not like they were shy about interrupting his dreams.

Suddenly, he felt his pelt begin to warm under Cinderpaw’s gaze. She was staring at him, her mind tingling with curiosity. Irritation made his claws itch. How long was she going to stay here? She was obviously bored and Jaypaw missed the peace and privacy of the empty medicine den. He turned and faced her. “Something wrong?” he asked.

“No.” Cinderpaw sounded oddly thoughtful. “I just think I had a dream about you, see and you could .”

Jaypaw’s ears twitched. She remembered her dream! How much? The camp in the ravine? Being Cinderpelt? He waited for sparks of alarm to flash from Leafpool’s pelt, but the medicine cat was busy soaking horsetail stems in the pool, her mind focused on her task.

Jaypaw padded forward. “What was I doing in your dream?” he asked casually.

“I don’t remember. I was just surprised you could see.”

Cinderpaw fidgeted in her nest.

“Where were we?”

Cinderpaw hesitated. “Some bit of the forest, I think. You were following me and . . . ”

“And what?” Jaypaw leaned close to her.

“I don’t remember.”

Jaypaw flicked his tail. What would happen if Cinderpaw worked out she had been Cinderpelt? Surely all the old medicine cat’s memories must be buried somewhere in the apprentice’s mind?

“Time for Cinderpaw’s medicine,” Leafpool called from the pool.

“Okay.” Excitement sparked in Jaypaw’s belly. This could be his chance to find out if any trace of Cinderpelt remained.

He darted to the back of the cave, ignoring the comfrey that would help Cinderpaw’s bones to heal, and picked up some of the sweet-smelling mallow leaves instead. The mallow would do nothing but soothe her belly. If any of Cinderpelt’s knowledge lingered inside her, she would know it was the wrong medicine and say something.

“Here you are,” he announced, dropping the mallow leaves in her nest.

“These smell nice,” Cinderpaw mewed.

“It’s mallow,” Jaypaw told her. He nudged them closer.

“Great for broken bones.” He searched her mind for any doubt, but nothing stirred except gratitude.

“Thanks, Jaypaw.”

“What are you doing?” Leafpool whisked past and snatched the mallow leaves away. He felt suspicion pricking in the medicine cat’s pelt as she brushed against him. “You should be giving her comfrey.”

“I must have picked up the wrong leaves,” Jaypaw lied.

“Be more careful next time.” Irritation flashed from Leafpool. She didn’t believe him. Had she guessed he had been testing Cinderpaw? “Get back to making poultices,” she snapped. Her voice softened as she spoke to Cinderpaw.

“Sorry, Cinderpaw. It’s not like Jaypaw to be so distracted.”

Jaypaw padded mutinously away to the back of the den. It was so unfair! Leafpool had no patience with him these days, and yet she put up with Cinderpaw’s boredom and fidgeting with unending kindness. He flicked his tail petulantly at the stems soaking in the pool. “Is that horsetail ready yet?” He knew full well that they’d need soaking overnight for the juices to be fully restored.

“Of course not!” she meowed. “Use the ones I soaked yesterday!”

“Okay!” He hooked a soggy stem from a nearby pile and began to gnaw crossly at one end.

Leafpool padded over to join him. Comfrey scent filled the air as she collected a few leaves for Cinderpaw. “What’s the matter with you?” she hissed.

“What’s the matter with you?” he snapped back.

“I’m not the one giving Cinder paw the wrong medicine.”

“I only wanted to see if she would know the difference.”

“She’s Cinder paw, not Cinderpelt!”

“But there must be something there.”

“If there is, it’s not up to us to find it!” Jaypaw felt Leafpool’s breath on his cheek. “We have to let Cinderpaw find her own destiny!”

“What’s wrong with helping her along? Surely Cinderpaw deserves to know that she’s been sent back by StarClan to be a warrior.”

“If StarClan wants her to know, they’ll tell her,” Leafpool mewed.

“So you’re happy to leave it in the paws of StarClan.”

“Of course!” She sounded shocked. “And so should you.”

Jaypaw went back to chewing. The stem’s bitter juice made his whiskers twitch. Why was Leafpool so totally in awe of her ancestors? He’d met them; they seemed no different from cats who were still alive. Did Leafpool really think that dying made a dumb cat wise? They could walk in other cats’

dreams, but so could he. That didn’t mean he knew the answer to everything.

“Jaypaw!” Cinderpaw’s mew rang around the den.

Jaypaw blinked open his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Cinderpaw sounded wide awake. Jaypaw lifted his muzzle and sniffed. It smelled as though dawn had only just arrived. Couldn’t she sleep a little longer? Or at least let him sleep a little longer?

“Leafpool’s gone to check on Foxkit,” she mewed. “I thought we could have a game while she’s gone.”

Jaypaw struggled to his paws, yawning. He could feel the lively energy coming off Cinderpaw in waves.

“I wish I could move my leg,” she complained. “I feel fine apart from that.”

“You have to keep it still if you want it to mend properly,”

Jaypaw told her.

“I know, I know.” Cinderpaw sighed. “But I’m so bored!”

Jaypaw felt a wave of sympathy for her. Newleaf had set the forest atwitter and the scent of fresh life called out like a friend begging to play. Something whistled through the air and bounced softly off his shoulder. A moss ball.

“Okay,” he conceded. “But you’re not allowed to move from your nest. I’ll throw it to you.”

“But you can’t see me.”

“Yes,” Jaypaw agreed. “But since you never shut up I can always hear exactly where you are.” He hooked the moss ball up with his paw and lobbed it at her.

Her nest scrunched as she stretched to catch it.

I must throw it lower next time.

The moss ball hissed through the air once more. Judging its distance exactly, Jaypaw leaped and dived, rolling over as he caught it.

“Wow!” Cinderpaw purred. “Impressive.” She was suddenly still. “What’s it like?”

Jaypaw tipped his head to one side. “What’s what like?”

“Being blind.”

“What does it feel like being able to see?”

“I don’t know, I guess it feels normal.”

“Well, being blind feels normal to me.”

“But isn’t it hard not being able to tell where everything is?”

“But I can tell.” Jaypaw appreciated Cinderpaw’s honesty; most other cats acted like if they didn’t talk about his lack of sight, he’d forget he was any different. “Everything smells or makes a sound, and sometimes I get a”—he searched for the right word—“a sense of things.”

“So you never get frustrated?”

“Only when I get treated like I’m different,” Jaypaw replied. “I don’t feel any different, so it’s really annoying when anyone makes a fuss about my blindness. It’s like they feel sorry for me when there’s nothing to feel sorry about.”

He flicked the ball into the air, then swiped it toward Cinderpaw. Her nest rustled under her.

“What in StarClan?” Leafpool’s furious mew sounded at the entrance. She darted across the den and whisked the moss ball into the pool, then rounded on Jaypaw. “What are you doing, making her stretch up like that?”

“It was my idea!” Cinderpaw mewed at once.

Leafpool ignored her. “You should have known better!”

Jaypaw bristled. “I told her not to move from her nest.”

“That’s not good enough! Her leg must heal properly!” Leafpool’s mew dropped to a whisper. “She must train as a warrior this time.”

“Why must she?” Anger exploded in Jaypaw’s chest. “Why would it be such a disaster if she had to take a different path?

I had to!”

Leafpool froze for a moment, then slowly replied, “You are blind.”

Jaypaw’s rage fell away. Did Leafpool think he was a lost cause? Did she only fight to save the cats who could be saved?

He turned away from her, too wretched to say anything.

Leafpool hurried away to Cinderpaw’s nest and began fussing with her cobweb binding.

Jaypaw padded out of the den. He could hear the Clan, busy in the clearing. Graystripe and Millie chatted to each other as they wove the roof of the new den into place. Lionpaw was chasing Foxkit and Icekit around the nursery. Ferncloud was sharing tongues with Dustpelt below Highledge.

I’m more than just a blind medicine cat! Jaypaw flexed his claws.

I’ll show them!

The brambles swished behind him.