Behind him, Hawkwing could hear low murmuring from his Clanmates. One or two of them let out angry yowls, echoing his questions.
Darktail was not at all daunted by Hawkwing’s attack or the hostility of the other SkyClan cats. Rising to his paws, he dipped his head respectfully to Leafstar. There was an expression of deep sorrow on his face.
“Leafstar, you can’t imagine how bad I feel about this,” he meowed. “I really thought I had it right, and I can’t believe what happened.”
Sharpclaw let out a snort. “You really can’t tell fresh scent from stale?” he demanded, green eyes flashing with anger. “What were you thinking? You could have gotten all the patrol killed.”
“I know. It was all a mistake.” Darktail’s expression was deeply distressed. “It’s been a while since I passed through there, and I must have been confused. I was only trying to help.”
As he spoke, Hawkwing could sense that the hostility of some of his Clanmates was turning to sympathy in the face of Darktail’s obvious regret.
“Hawkwing, don’t be too hard on him,” Sandynose meowed.
“If he made an honest mistake, then we have to put Billystorm’s death down to fate.”
“Sandynose is right,” M istfeather agreed. “Darktail fought so bravely when the strange creatures attacked our camp. Why would he do that if he wanted to hurt us?”
Hawkwing couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Fate?” he sputtered, his shoulder fur bristling. “You think this is fate? How could it be fate for badgers to kill Billystorm? How could it be fate for Duskpaw to die in a fire?”
While he was speaking, Leafstar stepped forward and looked down at him from the Rockpile. Her expression was stern, but not angry, as if she understood the feelings that were flooding through him.
“Hawkwing, I can tell that you’re still grieving for your brother. And it’s hard to think clearly through the fog of sorrow. I know that as well as any cat.”
His leader’s words did nothing to calm Hawkwing. Instead, even greater outrage flamed through him, fierce as the fire that had killed his brother. “That is not what this is about!” he snarled. “We shouldn’t just assume that it’s fate when something bad happens.
This time, the bad thing happened when Darktail sent our patrol right into the path of a nest of badgers!”
Darktail pressed himself against Hawkwing’s flank. “I truly believed the badgers had moved on,” he mewed, sounding genuinely remorseful. “I didn’t know the beasts could be that sneaky.”
As more of his Clanmates murmured their sympathy and agreement, Hawkwing stepped away from Darktail with an angry glare. “We met a kittypet who told us that the badgers had lived there for seasons,” he challenged the white tom. “If a kittypet knows that, why didn’t you? And she told us that there were no
Clan cats anywhere near there.”
Darktail’s eyes widened, his expression innocent and bewildered. “I only told you what I thought was true,” he responded. “I don’t know this kittypet, and I can’t explain her words.”
“You can’t trust a kittypet to know what she’s meowing about,” Bouncefire put in. “Why bother, when your food bowl will be filled anyway?”
Hawkwing glared at Bouncefire, his lips drawn back in the beginnings of a snarl. “Even if it was an accident, it was still your stupid fault,” he hissed at Darktail.
I wish I’d never brought Darktail to camp, he added silently to himself. If I’d left him where I found him, Billystorm would still be alive.
Darktail’s head drooped and he cringed as if Hawkwing’s words had hurt him. “I’m so sorry… ,” he whispered.
“I believe Darktail,” Bouncefire announced, returning Hawkwing’s glare. He raised his voice so all the warriors could hear him. “What cat would be so evil as to lead strange cats into a badger den? We only just met him; it doesn’t make sense that he would hold a grudge against us.”
Leafstar dipped her head to Bouncefire. “I agree. I have lost more than any cat, and I too believe it was an accident.” Raising her head to gaze at the sky, she continued, “What in StarClan is happening? Why is all this misfortune falling on us now? Not just the badgers, but those strange-scented foxlike creatures, too… what did you say they were called, Darktail?”
“Raccoons,” Darktail replied. Turning to Hawkwing, he added, “I told this to Leafstar and the others after the attack. Twolegs sometimes keep them as pets, but some of them escaped, and now they live in the wild.”
“How do you know that?” Hawkwing asked suspiciously.
“I picked up their scent on the way here, and I asked some kittypets about them,” Darktail explained.
“Whatever they are called,” Leafstar went on, “let’s hope we have driven them off for good. We have other problems to deal with. Darktail, I believe you meant no harm, but the sad fact is that we’re no nearer to finding ‘the spark that remains.’ M aybe
StarClan will send us a clearer prophecy soon.”
Hawkwing’s belly churned with anger. Why aren’t we driving this rogue away? We never trust outsiders this easily. He supposed it must be because Darktail had fought bravely during the raccoon attack. But I still don’t trust him.
“I understand what you’re saying, Leafstar,” Sharpclaw meowed when the Clan leader had finished speaking. “Darktail may have had dark motives, or he may not. But it’s still a huge risk for the Clan to put our faith in cats we don’t know.”
Hawkwing was relieved that his father seemed to share his suspicions of Darktail, but a moment later his relief faded away as Leafstar refused to change her opinion.
“I won’t turn Darktail out without proof that he meant to harm
SkyClan,” she insisted. “Besides, he is the only cat among us who might know where ‘the spark that remains’ might be. StarClan wants us to follow the prophecy, and they don’t send us messages that aren’t important.”
Hawkwing flexed his claws in and out. He knew that he should keep his jaws shut, that it wasn’t his place to argue with his Clan leader, but he couldn’t stop the words from spilling out.
“Leafstar, this is a bad idea. This cat is not one of SkyClan,” he added, staring straight at Darktail. “He doesn’t understand what it means to be a Clan cat.”
“Come on, that’s a bit harsh,” Sandynose protested.
“Yes,” Bouncefire added. “Not every good cat is born to a
Clan. Even Firestar used to be a kittypet, for StarClan’s sake!”
Hawkwing’s fury was rising. He didn’t want to listen to any cat. Are they all too stupid to realize that this rogue could destroy us all? “I say we drive him out now!” he snarled.
A chorus of protest rose from the cats clustering around him and Darktail, but before Leafstar could silence the clamor there was a stir of movement at the back of the crowd, and Frecklewish thrust a path through her Clanmates to the foot of the Rockpile.
“Leafstar—” she began breathlessly.
Leafstar was instantly alert, her ears pricking forward as she looked down at the young medicine cat. “Has something happened to Echosong?” she asked anxiously.
Frecklewish shook her head. “She’s still alive—she’s fine. But she just had a vision.”
“Another one?” Leafstar’s voice was sharp. “What was it?”
“She saw a fire burning out, then blazing up again,” Frecklewish explained, managing to catch her breath. “But her voice was strained as she told me about it. She insists that SkyClan must find ‘the spark that remains’… before it’s lost forever.”