Mistystar narrowed her eyes against the wind. She could just make out the pale-furred shapes of her Clanmates crouching by the long wall of stones that marked the edge of the field. “Where are the apprentices?”
“On the other side of the wall, by the Twoleg den. They’re trapped in a corner by a pair of dogs.” Reedwhisker glanced at Mistystar. “It looks pretty dangerous.”
“We have to get them out!” Mistystar exclaimed.
“Of course,” Reedwhisker meowed. “I just wanted to warn you, that’s all.”
But Mistystar was already tearing over the grass, leaping high with each stride to avoid being caught in the dense stalks. Reedwhisker caught up to her with a few bounds, and they raced side by side to the wall where the others were waiting.
“Are the dogs still there?” Reedwhisker demanded.
Graymist nodded, her eyes huge and her fur fluffed up. Mistystar jumped on top of the wall. She almost fell off again when she saw the two huge black-and-brown dogs snarling at the edge of the Twoleg den. Cowering under a tiny stone ledge were the RiverClan apprentices.
“Help, help!” shrieked Hollowpaw as one of the dogs thrust its muzzle under the ledge.
“Get back, you brute!” Rushpaw hissed, and Mistystar saw one of his paws flash out, catching the dog on its nose. The dog merely shook its head and curled its lip again. Twin strands of drool hung from its jaws.
“Great StarClan,” Mistystar whispered.
Reedwhisker appeared beside her on the wall. “You and the others distract the dogs,” he meowed. “I’ll go along that fence”—he gestured with his tail to a narrow wooden barrier running from the wall to the Twoleg den—“and lead Hollowpaw and Rushpaw out.”
“It’s too far for you to go on your own!” Mistystar gasped, studying the distance between the wooden fence and the tiny ledge of stone.
“The apprentices won’t come out on their own,” Reedwhisker meowed. “You have to trust me, Mistystar.”
Mistystar gazed at her son. “I do trust you,” she mewed. “Just be careful, please.”
“I will,” Reedwhisker promised. “I value my pelt even more than you do,” he teased over his shoulder as he turned to the warriors crouching below. “Come up here!” he called. Graymist, Mallownose, and Robinwing scrambled onto the wall and balanced beside Mistystar. Reedwhisker started to trot along the top of the stones. “When I’m almost at the Twoleg den, make some noise!” he ordered.
“Are you going to let him do this?” Graymist whispered to Mistystar.
“We don’t have a choice,” Mistystar replied grimly. Oh, StarClan, please watch over him!
The cats watched in silence as Reedwhisker picked his way along the narrow strip of wood. His black pelt looked like a shadow as he crept noiselessly closer to the Twoleg den. When he was less than a fox-length away, Mistystar lifted her head.
“Dog-breath!” she screeched. “Over here, you foulmouthed creatures!”
One of the dogs spun around, its hackles raised. It barked, and the other dog turned to join it.
“Scared of us, are you?” taunted Mallownose.
“Come on, flea-pelts! Pick on someone your own size!” yowled Robinwing.
The dogs took a pace toward the wall. Behind them, Mistystar saw Hollowpaw and Rushpaw peep out from under the ledge. They looked as tiny as kits, and even more vulnerable.
“Too scared to come any closer?” jeered Graymist, standing on her toes. “We’ll give you a proper fight!”
The dogs sprang forward, crossing the short, muddy grass in a few strides. Mistystar gripped the stone tightly to keep herself from fleeing. At the far end of the wooden fence, Reedwhisker jumped down and raced along the side of the Twoleg den to where the apprentices were hiding.
“Come on!” Mistystar heard him call. “This way, quick!”
Hollowpaw and Rushpaw started to creep out from underneath the ledge. Faster, faster, Mistystar willed them.
In the brief silence, the dogs’ attention had turned away from the cats on the wall. One of them swung its massive head back toward the Twoleg den. When it saw the three cats outlined sharply against the pale gray stone, it let out a growl. With a mad scrabble of gigantic paws, the dogs whirled around and started to hurtle back toward Reedwhisker and the apprentices.
“No!” screeched Mistystar. Without thinking, she leaped down behind the dogs. “Come back here! Take me instead!”
“Get back to the wall!” yowled Reedwhisker, who had reached the apprentices and was standing in front of them, shielding them with his tail.
“Run!” Mistystar hollered. She was almost at the dogs’ heels now; mud was splashing into her face from their racing paws, and she was almost knocked off her feet by one of their thick-furred tails. She sprang up and grabbed the end of the tail in her teeth. At once the dog skidded to a halt, jerking Mistystar forward. She braced herself and sank her teeth deeper into the fleshy tail. The dog circled, and Mistystar found herself being dragged sideways.
“Let go, Mistystar!” she heard Mallownose shout from the wall. Mistystar gritted her teeth and clung on. She could feel the dog’s breath hot on her neck and the stench was enough to make her gag, but she knew she couldn’t let go.
There was a rapid pounding of paws, and suddenly Graymist and Robinwing were beside her, rearing up on their hind legs to slash at the dog. With a yelp, it jumped backward. Mistystar lost her grip and stumbled onto her knees. Graymist shoved her up to her feet, and the three cats raced back to the wall.
“Where’s Mallownose?” Mistystar yowled, realizing that the top of the stones was empty.
“Helping Reedwhisker,” Graymist panted.
Mistystar whirled around and saw the light brown warrior clinging to the back of the other dog, distracting it while Reedwhisker pushed Hollowpaw and Rushpaw up to the top of the fence. As soon as the apprentices were clear, Mallownose sprang from the dog’s shoulders onto the fence beside them. The narrow strip of wood shuddered and buckled as the three cats clung on.
“Reedwhisker! Watch out!” Mistystar shrieked. The deputy was crouching down, waiting for the fence to stop shaking before he jumped up. Both of the dogs leaped at him, jaws bared, drool flying from their cheeks. They landed with a thud and a dreadful tearing sound. Reedwhisker let out a shriek of pain that tore Mistystar’s heart in two.
“Reedwhisker! No!”
Chapter 9
Mistystar bunched her hindquarters beneath her, ready to spring down, but Robinwing held her back.
“Wait! Mallownose has him!”
The brown warrior had dug his claws into the top of the fence and lowered himself down until he could sink his teeth into Reedwhisker’s scruff. He hauled the barely moving cat out of the dogs’ reach and carried him along the wood, with Hollowpaw and Rushpaw stumbling in front of him. The dogs sprang and snapped at them from below, but Mallownose kept going, his eyes bulging from the effort of holding his Clanmate.
Mistystar pushed the apprentices out of the way as they stood trembling on the wall, and stretched out to take her son from Mallownose. The black tom was moaning softly, and a huge gash stretched across his flank. The wound was so deep that Mistystar could see the white gleam of bone at the top of his hind leg.
“Oh, StarClan,” she whispered.
“We’re so sorry,” Hollowpaw whimpered. “We were just looking for food.”
“Kittypet food,” Rushpaw added. He hung his head. “We found some here before, and it didn’t taste too bad. We thought if we got enough to eat here, we wouldn’t have to take anything from the fresh-kill pile.”
Mistystar stared at the apprentices, resisting the urge to claw their ears off until they screamed as loudly as Reedwhisker had. They never meant for any cat to get hurt. They thought they were helping.