Path Of A Warrior

“Of course,” Leaf answered amiably. “Blue Whisker, why don’t you go ahead and let Thunderstar know we’re coming?” The younger cat flicked her tail in acknowledgment and hurried off. Well, if Quick Water’s in their camp, she’ll be long gone by the time we get there, Shadowstar thought, watching her go.

When they arrived at ThunderClan’s camp, the clearing was almost empty, not just of Quick Water, but of most of ThunderClan. No cats were relaxing or sharing prey. Thunderstar sat at one end of the clearing, his deputy, Owl Eyes, and four of his toughest warriors beside him.

Shadowstar eyed them. “What’s going on?” she asked. Her pelt was prickling with apprehension, and Raven Pelt pushed closer to her, protecting her side. She had always liked Thunderstar. But then, she had always liked Quick Water, too. Is this an attack? she wondered, and then, sickeningly, Am I leading another deputy to his death?

Thunderstar flicked his ears, a friendly gesture. “Nothing’s going on,” he mewed. “I just wanted these cats to hear what you had to say. You’ve been up to check out the land by Highstones?”

Shadowstar narrowed her eyes. “We did plan to talk to you about that,” she meowed. “But right now I’m more worried about something I scented while crossing your borders. Are you … Are you sheltering Quick Water?”

The big ginger tom stiffened. “ThunderClan has the right to allow any cat we like onto our lands,” he told her. “You and Skystar can’t exile cats from our territory.”

Dropping into a crouch, Shadowstar felt her ears flatten, as Raven Pelt tensed beside her. “Do you know what Quick Water did?” she hissed. “She tried to kill me. She did kill Sun Shadow!” This must have been what Pebble Heart’s vision was about. The threat to ShadowClan—to all the Clans—wasn’t gone.

She wouldn’t tell Thunderstar that Quick Water had managed to kill her once. No other Clan needed to know, or guess, how close she was to the end of her nine lives.

At her hostility, the cats beside Thunderstar rose to their paws, but Thunderstar waved his tail at them. “Sit down,” he ordered. “Shadowstar, I know what you think happened—”

“What I think?” Shadowstar yowled, outraged. “I know what happened.”

“And I saw it, too,” Raven Pelt added. “Quick Water attacked Shadowstar.”

Thunderstar shifted his paws uncomfortably. “Quick Water says she didn’t do it, and I believe her,” he meowed. “You were probably attacked by a rogue who wanted that territory for herself, one who resembled—”

Shadowstar broke in again. “I know Quick Water and I know her scent,” she hissed. “Do you really think I would mistake a rogue for her?”

“It was raining, wasn’t it?” Thunderstar challenged her. “And with the smells from the Thunderpath, you couldn’t have caught her scent well.”

Hot rage swept over Shadowstar, and she breathed slowly, willing herself to calm down. She and Raven Pelt couldn’t win a fight against these ThunderClan warriors, not alone. “Quick Water is a danger to the Clans,” she meowed, glaring into Thunderstar’s eyes—amber, she noticed. “Even if you don’t care about my life, or the threat to ShadowClan, sheltering a cat who tried to kill me could drag all the Clans into battle. Is that what you want?”

Thunderstar flicked his tail. “Your threats won’t change my mind,” he mewed evenly. “I believe Quick Water, and, if this leads to battle, at least my conscience will be clear.” His eyes softened and his voice turned pleading. “You have to understand: I’ve trusted Quick Water all my life,” he added. “She’s lived through everything the Clans have had to face. She deserves the benefit of the doubt, doesn’t she?”

Shadowstar felt her shoulders slump. “You’ve known me just as long,” she meowed. “And I thought you trusted me.”

Thunderstar looked apologetic, but he didn’t drop his gaze. “I believe Quick Water,” he mewed again. “And I will protect her.”

Shadowstar brushed her tail across Raven Pelt’s back. Time to go. “This isn’t over,” she told Thunderstar, who nodded solemnly. She was afraid for a moment that the ThunderClan warriors would spring at her, but she and Raven Pelt left the camp unchallenged.

As they headed back toward their own territory, Raven Pelt asked apprehensively, “What happens now?”

Shadowstar felt a heavy dread settle in her gut. Her mind cast back to one of her earliest memories of Thunderstar—a time when he was known only as Thunder, and she was a cat called Tall Shadow. She’d just killed Fircone, a rogue cat, in front of him, and explained that she’d had no choice. We must fight or die.

Was she walking closer to another such day? Was it her final death she could feel right now, circling above her like a hawk?

“We can’t let Quick Water stay in the forest,” she told him. “She’s a threat to ShadowClan. If we can’t make Thunderstar see reason … we may have to fight.”

Fight or die …