Alderheart’s belly tightened.
“I’d like to see you try to lead a Clan!” Rowanstar snapped. “Perhaps you could use the skills you learned from Darktail.”
“At least he knew how to lead!”
Tawnypelt glared at Scorchfur. “You betrayed your Clan. Now you insult your leader? Show him some respect!”
“He’s done nothing to earn it,” Scorchfur spat back. “If he’d chased Darktail off in the first place, none of us would have followed those rogues. Instead he let them hunt on our land, while our apprentices grew arrogant and reckless. He couldn’t manage to stop any of it.”
“Whatever his mistakes, he still has the blessing of StarClan!” Tawnypelt hissed.
Grassheart and Stonewing exchanged glances. Whorlpaw and Flowerpaw stared at the ground uncomfortably. Alderheart felt his belly churning as the air seemed to sour around him.
Ratscar padded forward. “We must stay united,” he rasped. “I know we have had our differences, but Alderheart is right. We must look forward, not back. There are so few of us left. If we are to remain a Clan, we must work together.”
Grassheart whisked her tail. “Let’s send out a search party and find this six-toed cat. Then we won’t have to face any more storms.”
“ThunderClan can send out search parties!” Juniperclaw called.
“Or WindClan,” Stonewing chimed. “They’ve got nothing better to do.”
Scorchfur glared challengingly at Rowanstar. “So?” he snarled. “What should we do?”
Alderheart saw hesitation in the ShadowClan leader’s gaze. He’s not sure. The thought shocked him. Bramblestar always knew what to do, even if it meant doing nothing. “I must do what’s right for the Clan,” Rowanstar meowed at last.
“Isn’t it a bit late for that?” Scorchfur curled his lip.
Tawnypelt darted forward, facing the dark gray tom. “Rowanstar has always done what’s best for this Clan!”
Scorchfur scanned the half-empty camp, contempt in his eyes. “So we have Rowanstar to thank for the state we’re in?”
“Do you think you could have done any better?” Tawnypelt hissed. “You blame Rowanstar. But it was his Clanmates’ disloyalty that killed them. If our apprentices grew arrogant, blame their mentors, not him. He cared about ShadowClan when none of you did. Rowanstar still wakes in the night, haunted by nightmares about the Clanmates he’s lost.”
Scorchfur flattened his ears. “He’s lucky. He has nine lives to dream about lost Clanmates. They only had one.”
“That’s not fair!” Puddleshine blinked anxiously at Rowanstar. “You can’t let him say that. StarClan gave you those lives because they believed in you.”
Scorchfur’s eyes narrowed to slits. “They believed in him once. Perhaps Rowanstar is the dark sky they’re trying to warn us about.”
Tawnypelt’s green eyes glittered. “If anyone’s the dark sky, it’s you!” Her gaze flicked angrily around her Clanmates. “You let the rogues take over the Clan. You let them drive Rowanstar away. Don’t blame him for your treachery.”
“And why do you think we chose a rogue over Rowanstar?” Scorchfur lashed his tail. “He was a weak leader then, and he’s a weak leader now.”
Tawnypelt’s fur bristled. Spitting with fury, she lashed out at Scorchfur, slicing her claws across his muzzle.
Alderheart backed away, his pelt bushing. What was happening here? Clanmates shouldn’t fight.
Scorchfur reared and slammed his paws onto Tawnypelt’s shoulders. Hooking his claws in, he pulled her to the ground. She flipped over and, tucking up her hind legs, clawed viciously at his belly.
He struggled free and turned on her. Face to face, they snarled at each other. With a hiss, Scorchfur lashed out, raking Tawnypelt’s eye with his claws.
Alderheart froze as she lurched away. ShadowClan gasped around him. What was Scorchfur doing? No warrior should ever attack another warrior’s eyes! Tawnypelt shook her head, blinking. With a rush of relief, Alderheart saw that Scorchfur’s claws had only sliced her cheek. Her eyes shone, unharmed. She’d been lucky.
She showed her teeth, hatred twisting her face, as she advanced on Scorchfur. “You’re no better than a rogue.”
“Stop!” Tigerheart moved at last. Fast as a fox, he crossed the clearing and pushed between the two warriors.
Rowanstar stared, his gaze stricken with shock. “We mustn’t fight.”
Alderheart backed away from the bristling cats. It’s not safe here. No one’s in control. He nudged Willowshine toward the camp entrance. Puddleshine’s light blue eyes were round with shock. He gazed imploringly at Alderheart.
There nothing I can do. Guilt squeezed Alderheart’s belly. He retreated through the entrance, beckoning Willowshine after him.
“Poor Puddleshine,” Willowshine mewed as they hurried away from the camp. “Should we have stayed?”
“It’s not our fight,” he told her. And I didn’t want to put you in danger. “I think ShadowClan needs to be alone to sort out their differences.” Alderheart padded quickly over the needle-strewn earth. ShadowClan seemed more like a group of rogues than a Clan. Fear hollowed his belly. What if they can’t recover from all that has happened to them? What if they aren’t strong enough to remain a Clan?
CHAPTER 12
The gorge was smaller than Violetpaw had imagined. Its sandy walls glowed yellow in the evening sun, but its depths were swathed in purple shadow. The scent of water mingled with the fragrant tang of the scrubby bushes that clung to the sides of the narrow canyon.
Beside her, Hawkwing stood as still as a rock. Blossomheart, Rabbitleap, and Molewhisker flanked them, their pelts dusty from the journey.
Hawkwing’s gaze was fixed on the ravine he’d called home for so long. “Listen.”
Violetpaw pricked her ears, wondering what she was meant to be listening to.
“Can you hear it?” Hawkwing’s words were hardly more than a breath.
“What?” Molewhisker blinked at him.
Blossomheart’s eyes shone. “The stream.”
Violetpaw leaned forward. Through the soft whisper of the wind, she could hear a stream echoing far below.
Hawkwing looked at her, his yellow eyes clouded. “That sound will always remind me of home.”
For the first time, Violetpaw felt distance between them. He’d seen so much that she’d not shared. She hoped that, one day, the sound of the stream in their new home would touch him the same way.
He padded to the edge, his paws showering grit into the gorge. Violetpaw could see by the stiff way he held his tail that he was anxious. She could understand why. Although she didn’t know every detail of the story, she knew that the rogues had driven SkyClan from their home many moons ago. Some cats, unable or unwilling to make the long journey in search of the other Clans, had stayed nearby. Hawkwing was hoping that some of them would have returned to the gorge.
Paw steps scuffed the ground behind them.
Violetpaw spun around. Two young cats raced toward them, ears flat, teeth showing. One was a black-and-white she-cat; the other a tan tom. She backed up against Hawkwing, her heart lurching.
The she-cat skidded to a halt in front of the patrol and glared at Molewhisker. “What are you doing here?”
“This is our land!” The tom stopped beside her and hissed.
Molewhisker glanced coolly at Hawkwing. He was clearly unruffled by the two young cats. They were hardly bigger than Violetpaw. They were certainly no match for warriors. “Are these your Clanmates?” the ThunderClan warrior asked Hawkwing.