Firepaw flipped himself over and leaped to his paws. He felt jubilant. Then he saw Bluestar lying in the dirt, and for the first time remembered her wounds. Had he reopened them? He dashed to her side and stared down at her. To his relief her eyes glinted proudly back at him.
“That was much better,” she puffed. She stood and shook herself. “Now it’s my turn.”
She sprang at him, knocking him to the ground, then retreated and let him pick himself up before leaping again. Firepaw braced himself, but she bowled him over easily again.
“Look at my size, Firepaw! Don’t try to stand up against my attack. Use your wits. If you are fast enough to avoid me, then avoid me!”
Firepaw scrabbled to his feet again, preparing for her attack. This time he didn’t dig his paws into the soft ground, but stood lightly, keeping his weight on his toes. As Bluestar flew toward him, he hopped neatly out of her path, reared up onto his hind legs, and, with his forepaws, pushed her flying body onward past him.
Bluestar landed gracefully on all four paws and turned. “Excellent! You learn quickly,” she purred. “But that was an easy move. Let’s see how you deal with this one.”
They trained until sunset. Firepaw heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Bluestar meow, “That’s enough for today.” She seemed a little tired and stiff but she still leaped easily out of the sandy hollow.
Firepaw scrambled after her. His muscles were aching and his head spinning with all he had learned. As they trekked together back through the trees, he couldn’t wait to tell Graypaw and Ravenpaw about this training session. And it wasn’t until they reached the camp boundary that Firepaw realized he’d forgotten to tell Bluestar about Ravenpaw.
Chapter 20
By the time Firepaw returned, the camp was starting to look a little better. Parties of cats had clearly been patching and repairing continuously throughout the day. Frostfur and Goldenflower were still busy fortifying the nursery walls, but the outer wall looked solid and secure once more.
Firepaw trotted across the clearing to see if there was any fresh-kill around. He passed Sandpaw and Dustpaw, who were preparing to leave in the next patrol.
“Sorry,” mewed Sandpaw, as Firepaw sniffed hopefully around the eating area. “We ate the last two mice.”
Firepaw shrugged. He would catch something for himself later. He headed back to the apprentices’ den, where Graypaw was sitting with his back resting against the tree stump, licking a forepaw.
“Where’s Ravenpaw?” Firepaw asked as he sat down.
“Not back from his task yet,” replied Graypaw. “Look at that!” He held out his paw for Firepaw to inspect. The pad was torn and bleeding. “Tigerclaw sent me fishing and I stepped on a sharp stone in the stream.”
“That looks pretty deep. You should get Spottedleaf to take a look at it,” Firepaw advised. “Where did Tigerclaw send Ravenpaw, by the way?”
“Dunno, I was up to my belly in cold water,” muttered Graypaw. He stood up and limped away toward Spottedleaf’s den.
Firepaw settled down, his eyes fixed on the entrance to the camp, and waited for Ravenpaw. After overhearing the warriors’ conversation last night, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something dreadful was going to happen to his friend. His heart lurched as he saw Tigerclaw enter the camp alone.
He waited longer. The moon was high in the sky. Surely Ravenpaw should be back by now? Firepaw found himself wishing he’d spoken to Bluestar when he’d had the chance. He could see Darkstripe and Longtail guarding her den now, and he certainly didn’t want them to overhear his concerns.
Tigerclaw had brought back fresh-kill, which he was sharing with Whitestorm outside the warriors’ den. Firepaw realized he was very hungry. Perhaps he should go and hunt—he might come across Ravenpaw outside the camp. As he wondered what to do, Firepaw saw Ravenpaw trotting through the entrance of the camp. A thrill of relief raced through him, and not just because Ravenpaw was holding fresh-kill between his teeth.
The apprentice came straight over to Firepaw and dropped the mouthful of food on the ground. “Enough for all three of us!” he mewed proudly. “And it should taste extra good—it’s from ShadowClan territory.”
Firepaw gasped. “You hunted in ShadowClan territory?”
“That was my task,” Ravenpaw explained.
“Tigerclaw sent you into enemy territory to hunt!” Firepaw could hardly believe it. “We must tell Bluestar. That was too dangerous!”
At the mention of Bluestar’s name, Ravenpaw shook his head. His eyes looked hunted and shadowed with fear. “Look, just keep quiet, okay?” he hissed. “I survived. I even caught some prey. That’s all there is to it.”
“You survived this time!” Firepaw spat.
“Shhh! Tigerclaw’s looking. Just eat your share and keep quiet!” snapped Ravenpaw. Firepaw shrugged and took a piece of the fresh-kill. Ravenpaw ate quickly, avoiding Firepaw’s eye. “Shall we save some for Graypaw?” he asked after a while.
“He went to see Spottedleaf,” Firepaw mumbled through a mouthful. “He cut his paw. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
“Well, save him whatever you want,” replied Ravenpaw, suddenly sounding worn out. “I’m tired; I need to sleep.” He stood up and pushed his way into the den.
Firepaw stayed outside, watching the rest of the camp prepare for the night. He was going to have to tell Ravenpaw what he’d overheard in the forest last night. He needed to know just how much danger he was in.
Tigerclaw was lying beside Whitestorm, sharing tongues, but with one eye fixed on the apprentices’ den. Firepaw yawned to show Tigerclaw how exhausted he was. Then he got to his paws and followed Ravenpaw inside.
Ravenpaw was asleep, but Firepaw could tell from his twitching paws and whiskers that he was dreaming. He knew it wasn’t a good dream by the tiny mewls and squeaks that Ravenpaw was making. Suddenly the black cat leaped to his paws, his eyes stretched wide in terror. His fur was standing on end, and his back was arched.
“Ravenpaw!” Firepaw meowed in alarm. “Calm down. You’re in our den. There’s only me here!”
Ravenpaw looked around wildly.
“It’s just me,” Firepaw repeated.
Ravenpaw blinked and seemed to recognize his friend. He collapsed onto his bed.
“Ravenpaw,” mewed Firepaw seriously. “There’s something you need to know. Something I heard last night when I was out looking for the wild garlic.” Ravenpaw looked away, still trembling from his dream, but Firepaw persisted. “Ravenpaw, I heard Tigerclaw telling Darkstripe and Longtail that you betrayed ThunderClan. He told them you slipped away during the trip to Mothermouth and told ShadowClan that the camp was unguarded.”
Ravenpaw spun round to face Firepaw. “But I didn’t!” he exclaimed, horrified.
“Of course you didn’t,” Firepaw agreed. “But Darkstripe and Longtail believe you did, and Tigerclaw persuaded them that they should get rid of you.”
Ravenpaw was speechless, his breath coming in gasps.
“Why would Tigerclaw want to get rid of you, Ravenpaw?” Firepaw asked gently. “He’s one of the Clan’s strongest warriors. What threat are you to him?” Firepaw suspected he already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear the truth from Ravenpaw’s own mouth. He waited while Ravenpaw fumbled for words.