Lionblaze blinked at her. “Who knows?”
“The other Clans! They know about the Dark Forest.”
“You’re imagining it.” Jayfeather’s eyes glinted in the moonlight. “Only we know about the Dark Forest.”
Dovepaw realized that she hadn’t actually heard any cat mention the Dark Forest. “Well, they’re scared of something,” she hissed.
“I know,” Jayfeather agreed. “I can sense it in the air. The medicine cats must have told their Clanmates about StarClan’s warning.”
“Perhaps we should tell our Clanmates,” Dovepaw suggested.
“And scare them to death?” Lionblaze dug his claws into the snow. “We can deal with whatever’s coming by ourselves.”
“Look!” Foxleap called from the edge of the water. “It’s solid all the way to the island!” The young warrior was already slithering across the frozen lake.
Dovepaw padded to the edge and put out a tentative paw. The ice burned, but as her pad grew numb, she tried another paw, and another, until she was standing on the hard white surface.
“Come back!” Sorreltail called. “It might break!”
“Don’t worry,” Foxleap yowled. “It’s shallow here.” With unsteady paws he wobbled farther out, picking up speed and falling into a clumsy skid. “Whoa!” He slithered to a halt, purring. “Try it, Blossomfall! It’s fun.”
Blossomfall hurtled after him, yowling with surprise and pleasure as she glided over the ice. Dovepaw’s heart lurched as her paws slid underneath her. Tensing to stay upright, she picked her way across. Every muscle felt stiff with fear, but it was still thrilling to be walking across the lake. She could see the dark shadow of water lapping beneath the moon-white surface. With every paw step, the ice groaned and creaked.
“Come on!” Firestar’s sharp order sounded from the island shore. “Get off there.”
Dovepaw’s claws scraped the ice as she fought to grip it, and she slithered ungraciously onto the snowy shore, relieved to feel solid earth beneath her.
Brambleclaw and Dustpelt were already pushing through the bracken toward the clearing in the pine trees. Dovepaw slipped through the crackling fronds, lost for a moment as her Clanmates disappeared around her. She followed the sound of their fur brushing stems until she slid out onto the edge of the clearing. The RiverClan warriors froze, as though trapped in ice, while they watched ThunderClan arrive.
“What’s up with them?” Rosepetal whispered.
Firestar headed for the Great Oak and climbed onto one of the snow-laden roots. The RiverClan cats drew closer to one another like fish bunching into a shoal. Dovepaw eyed them warily and padded closer to Blossomfall.
“What’s spooking them?” Blossomfall hissed.
“Who knows?” Dovepaw stared at her paws.
The bracken behind her crunched, and she turned to see WindClan flooding into the clearing. She bristled, surprised that they were here already. She’d lost track of them while she’d played on the ice. They filed around ThunderClan, hardly making eye contact. Breezepelt’s gaze grazed Dovepaw’s but quickly jerked away.
Dustpelt was pacing. “I’ve never heard it so quiet.”
“Isn’t anyone going to share tongues?” Squirrelflight gazed around, puzzled.
The ShadowClan patrol came last, tense and round-eyed. Dovepaw spotted Tigerheart’s dark brown ear tips. He didn’t look around for her, but stayed in the knot of his Clanmates. Dovepaw felt a jab of frustration. How could things change so quickly? Each Clan was acting like it was at war with the others. Was it StarClan who had sown the seeds of mistrust, or the Dark Forest warriors?
“It’s so cold; we must be quick!” Mistystar called from the lowest branch of the Great Oak. Firestar sat a little farther along the branch, Onestar and Blackstar stiff as owls beyond him.
RiverClan and WindClan gathered closest to the tree. ShadowClan hurried to take its place beside them. Dovepaw followed her Clanmates as they padded into a pool of moonlight and settled down to listen. She nosed her way past Rosepetal and Blossomfall, seeking the warmth of the crowd and settling between Thornclaw and Lionblaze.
Mistystar, huddled in the moonlight, looked like a small pool of silver. “It’s a tough leaf-bare, and with the lake frozen in the shallows, hunting has been hard.”
Nightcloud growled. “It makes a change for the fish-eaters to go hungry as well.”
Mistystar pressed on. “The bad weather has not kept us from training, and we are thankfully free of sickness.”
Onestar stood. “WindClan too is healthy, though rabbits are scarce and the snow is thick around the camp. We have improved our tracking skills and found a way to trace prey to its burrows.”
He nodded to Blackstar, who stood and gazed down at the gathered cats for several long heartbeats. “Rowanclaw has become ShadowClan’s deputy,” he announced at last, appearing to choose his words carefully. “We still mourn the loss of Russetfur. It was not her time to die.” He didn’t look at Firestar, but went on, “Hunting has been hard, and Littlecloud has been ill. But I’m pleased to report that we have found a remedy, and he will be here with us next full moon.”
Murmurs of approval rose from the ShadowClan cats. Dovepaw felt Thornclaw tense beside her and heard Lionblaze’s claws scrape the snowy ground.
Firestar stood up. His gaze was fixed on Blackstar. “And how did you find that remedy?” he challenged. Dovepaw heard breaths quicken and paws shift as the Clans tensed around her. Firestar didn’t wait for an answer. “You took one of our apprentices hostage, that’s how.”
There were muffled gasps from RiverClan and WindClan warriors.
“She was on our land!” Blackstar hissed.
“And you would have been within your rights to chase her off,” Firestar shot back. “But what true warrior takes a cat, too young to defend herself, and bargains with her like she was prey?”
Blackstar bared his teeth as Firestar pressed on. “A true warrior would have the courage to ask for what he wants.” The ThunderClan leader arched his back. “You’re lucky we didn’t strike back more harshly. We’ve beaten you once already this moon. Don’t think we wouldn’t do it again.”
Blackstar smoothed his fur. His eyes were slits. “Whatever happens,” he breathed, “ShadowClan will be ready.”
“We’re ready now!” Rowanclaw jumped to his paws, pelt bristling, at the bottom of the tree. Crowfrost and Smokefoot stood up beside him and glared into the crowd, their eyes fixed on the ThunderClan warriors.
Lionblaze curled his lip, and a growl rasped in Squirrelflight’s throat. Dustpelt flattened his ears. Gulping, Dovepaw unsheathed her claws. Were they going to fight here? She glanced at the bright, clear moon. There was no cloud in the sky to end the truce.
Dovepaw heard whispers spread through the Clans.
“Is this it?”
“Has the darkness come?”
“But the moon is still shining!”
That didn’t seem to matter. Every pelt was on end now. Eyes flashed in the moonlight as the warriors glared, half-wary, half-threatening, at the other Clans.
Mistystar got to her paws. “RiverClan! We’re going home.” She leaped down from the oak and led her Clan through the bristling warriors. Onestar jumped down after her, Blackstar following. They took their Clans out of the clearing in silence.
Dovepaw watched as Firestar scrambled down last from the oak. At the far side of the clearing, the bracken rattled and hissed as the Clans pushed their way through it.
I must speak to Tigerheart!
She raced after the departing cats, finally spotting the tip of his tail. She clawed at it, just scraping the tuft at the end, and he turned and glared at her.