She glanced across the clearing to where Jagged Peak, Sun Shadow, and Clear Sky were sliding Quiet Rain’s body softly onto the ground.
“The earth is frozen,” Thunder told Tall Shadow. “There’s no way we can dig.”
Pebble Heart was crossing the clearing, his gaze fixed on a large stone embedded in the earth. “If we can move this, we can lay her body in its place.”
Thunder stared at the rock. If it was sunk deep enough into the ground to make a grave, how could they possibly dislodge it? “We’re not strong enough.”
Pebble Heart glanced at Clear Sky and Jagged Peak. “We will be if we work together.”
Clear Sky jerked up his muzzle, his eyes shining. “I told you!” he exclaimed. “We need to unite.”
Gray Wing eyed his brother darkly. “I thought you’d forgotten all that nonsense.”
“Of course not. I—”
Tall Shadow interrupted him. “This is not the time to argue.”
River Ripple padded past her and sniffed at the rock. “We need to loosen it first,” he murmured thoughtfully.
Pebble Heart hurried to the edge of the hollow and grabbed a stick in his jaws. He carried it back and dug one end into the earth beside the stone. Holding it between his forepaws, he rocked it back and forth until it began to work its way down underneath.
River Ripple’s eyes lit up. “I’ll help.” He got another stick.
Thunder could see that they were loosening the frozen earth around the rock to make enough space for it to move. He ran to the hollow’s edge and rooted among the bracken for another stick. He found one sturdy enough not to crumble, and hurried back to the rock. Jabbing it into the dirt, he began twisting it with his forepaws, joy sparking in his belly as he saw the earth breaking around it.
“Push!” he called to Clear Sky.
Clear Sky placed his shoulder on the other side of the rock and heaved, grunting with the effort.
Tall Shadow slid in beside him, pressing against the stone. Gray Wing and Sun Shadow joined them, their hind paws scrabbling against the ground as they strained at the stone.
Thunder hauled out his stick and hurried around to help them.
Pushing in between Gray Wing and Sun Shadow, he pressed his shoulder to the rock. He threw his whole weight against it, digging his claws into the earth and trembling at the effort.
With a sudden creak, the stone moved. Only a whisker, but in that tiny movement they freed it from the earth’s grip. Thunder sensed air flooding beneath it and pushed harder, feeling it shift.
Clear Sky grunted in triumph. Beside him, Sun Shadow trembled, and Gray Wing’s breath came in gasps as they all heaved against the stone.
Gradually they began to rock it back and forth until Thunder felt it roll beyond the edge of its hollow. “Push!” he yowled.
As it tumbled to one side, Thunder’s paws slid into the empty dip. He felt worms slithering around them and wood lice scuttling over his claws. Snail trails glistened on the brown earth. He hopped out and blinked at the others.
Sun Shadow lifted his gaze to meet Thunder’s, his eyes shining. “Even in the cold season, there is life here. Quiet Rain would be happy to see this and to know that living creatures move around her even while she is dead.”
“She’s not truly dead while she’s remembered.” Thunder dipped his head. “She will be remembered here.”
“And in the mountains, too.” Sun Shadow nodded solemnly.
Clear Sky and Jagged Peak were heading for her body. They nosed it onto their shoulders and brought it to the graveside. Thunder stepped away as they let her tumble into the hole.
Pebble Heart hopped in after her. Carefully, he eased her muzzle onto her forepaws and wrapped her tail across her nose so that she looked as though she were curled in sleep. Then he scrambled out and got a bracken frond to place over her.
Touched by the young tom’s kindness, Thunder padded to the bracken and bit through a brittle stem. He dragged it back and laid it with Pebble Heart’s. Sun Shadow got another, and then Gray Wing. Together they heaped a thick layer of golden leaves over her.
“We should replace the stone,” Thunder murmured. “To protect her from scavengers.”
Tall Shadow gave a small nod. “But first we must pay our respects.” She looked at Gray Wing.
The gray tom gazed down at the golden stalks. “Quiet Rain,” he whispered. “Thank you for loving us enough to let us go.”
“Thank you for holding Fluttering Bird next to your belly for as long as she lived.” Clear Sky’s mew was thick with grief.
“Thank you for traveling so far to spend your last moments with us.” Jagged Peak’s eyes clouded as he stared into the hole.
Thunder lifted his muzzle and tasted the air. As he did, a drop of water splashed his nose. Then another. A moment later, rain pattered like countless paw steps over the frozen forest floor.
River Ripple put his paws to the stone and began to push. Thunder hurried to help. Clear Sky, Tall Shadow, and Sun Shadow joined him, while Star Flower hung back and watched, and together they rolled it back into place.
“We should go home,” Tall Shadow called through the rain.
“Not yet.” Sun Shadow was trembling. He crouched beside the rock, pressing his nose to the crack between stone and earth as though breathing in the last scents of his friend. With eyes closed, he grew still.
“He’ll freeze!” Gray Wing looked in alarm at Pebble Heart.
“Let him grieve a while longer.” Pebble Heart’s mew sounded distracted. His gaze was drifting across the clearing, narrowing as though he saw something that intrigued him.
The rain fell harder. Thunder’s pelt clung to his body, and yet he did not feel cold. Familiar scents were filling the hollow. He squinted as he saw shapes in the rain, ghostly outlines moving around the clearing.
The spirit cats!
His heart soared as he recognized Hawk Swoop. Shaded Moss stood beside her, and together they dipped their heads to a new spirit.
Quiet Rain!
The old she-cat’s ghostly form moved with ease across the clearing. She reached out her muzzle to greet her old friends, her pelt sleek and her eyes as bright as though she’d never known pain.
Hawk Swoop wove around her. “Welcome, dear friend.”
“Do you see now?” A mew rang across the clearing.
Thunder blinked as he saw a brown-and-white tabby she-cat calling to them. Who is she?
Clear Sky brushed him and hurried to meet the tabby she-cat. “Bright Stream!” Joy filled his mew.
His first mate. Thunder glanced toward Star Flower. Could she see the cat who had been carrying Clear Sky’s kits when an eagle had killed her?
But Star Flower was oblivious to the spirit cats moving in the clearing. She was watching Sun
Shadow, her eyes filled with pity.
Bright Stream spoke again. “The past is the past. The future is fresh. You must forget all you have known, no matter how much you loved it, and choose paths that will carry you to a new dawn.”
Clear Sky leaned forward to touch her muzzle, but the ghostly shapes were disappearing already.
Thunder jerked his nose toward River Ripple. “Did you see them?”
River Ripple purred. “Of course.”
“What did she mean?”
Clear Sky turned on Thunder, his eyes glittering. “She meant what the spirit cats have always meant. We should be together. We must unite!”
Pebble Heart shook his head. “That’s not what she said, Clear Sky,” he mewed softly.
Gray Wing padded to the young tom’s side. “He’s right, Clear Sky. We must choose a new beginning.”
“But…” Clear Sky’s eyes were shining with a mixture of hope and grief. “Surely that means every cat should join together…”