Gray Wing frowned, confused. “Who are Juniper and Willow?”
“Just campmates.” Fern shrugged.
“Why do they care about Star Flower and her kits?” They’d helped hold her captive, hadn’t they?
Fern lifted her chin indignantly. “We’re not all fox-hearts, you know!”
Gray Wing shifted his paws, even more confused. “Then why do you stay with Slash?”
Fern narrowed her eyes. “Why do you give him your prey?”
“He steals it!”
“Why not fight for it?” Fern pressed.
“He…” Gray Wing hesitated. He didn’t want to admit that Slash’s rogues outnumbered them.
“Slash knows how to make other cats do what he wants,” Fern growled. “If you go against Slash, you take a big risk. It’s easier to go along with whatever he says.”
“But you could leave.”
“I tried that, remember?” Fern glared at him. “I couldn’t sleep at night. Every time I heard a rustle in the brambles, I thought it was Slash coming to get me. He doesn’t like disloyalty.”
Gray Wing stared at her, his heart twisting as he realized what a huge risk she was taking just by talking to him.
She went on. “He also doesn’t like it when his plans are ruined. He’s been all wound up since you rescued Star Flower. He keeps going on about making you all pay.”
“We guessed,” Gray Wing growled darkly. “He’s been stealing our prey again.”
“I know.” Fern dropped her gaze. “I’ve never eaten so well.”
“We’re going hungry.”
Fern stared at him, her eyes widening with worry. “He won’t stop, you know. Not until he’s driven you out.”
“No one’s driving us out,” Gray Wing growled.
“Are you going to fight him?
“If we have to.” Gray Wing held her gaze. “But we need to know how many cats we face.”
Fern glanced away.
“I understand if you don’t want to help us.” Gray Wing guessed that she was scared of telling him anything that would make her campmates vulnerable. “But if we just had some idea of how many we were fighting…”
Fern turned back, her gaze intent. “If you stood up to Slash, some of us might stand up to him too.”
“Really?” Gray Wing’s pelt prickled with hope. “Do you think your campmates would actually help fight him?”
Fern drew away. “It’s hard to say. He has some loyal friends, but a lot of us think it was cruel to hold Star Flower in her condition. He risked the lives of unborn kits. A cat who’d do that is capable of anything. We’re scared to stay but even more scared to leave. Who knows what he’d do if he ever found us again?”
“Will you fight with us?” Gray Wing pressed.
Fern looked away. “I can’t promise anything. Slash is powerful. And he’s hungry for revenge.
Standing up to him means risking our lives. None of us want to die.”
Gray Wing’s heart sank. “Especially for cats you’ve never met.”
Fern glanced up at him. “I wish I could promise to help you, but I can’t even do that. I just wanted you to know that Slash may not be as powerful as he thinks.”
“I understand.” Gray Wing wished he could persuade this young cat to leave with him. He felt sure he could keep her safe. But it wasn’t enough for him to believe it. She needed to believe it too.
Fern was gazing at him with frightened eyes. “If your groups fight together, you’ll outnumber us,” she confessed. “But Slash is determined and cruel, and he will make us pay for cowardice and disloyalty with our own blood. If there is a battle, it will be a hard one. Slash will fight to the death, and he’ll expect us to do the same.”
“What if we just waited?” Gray Wing suggested hopefully. “Do you think he might move on?”
Fern snorted. “Slash enjoys his anger. He’ll hold on to it for as long as it makes him feel powerful and he gets your prey.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I think he wants a battle, and if stealing your prey doesn’t make you fight him, he’ll find another way to start it.” She shrugged apologetically.
“Either way, you’re going to lose.”
“Not if some of your campmates join us.”
“I can’t promise that. If it looks like a battle you can’t win, none of us will dare join you.”
The owl hooted again.
Fern’s tail quivered. “I should get back. If anyone notices I’m missing, they’ll want to know where I’ve been.”
Gray Wing gazed at her. “Come with me.”
She shook her head. “I have kin here who will suffer if I leave.”
Gray Wing blinked. “Why would your kin suffer?”
“He’ll blame my sister for my disloyalty.” Fern turned to leave. “Be careful, Gray Wing. Slash is determined to make you pay.”
“What for?” Helplessness swamped Gray Wing.
Fern stared at him blankly. “For being happy, I guess.”
He watched her disappear between the trees. Is that how our groups seem to Slash? Happy? He thought of the hollow on the moor and his nest. Slate would be there, staring into the darkness as she waited for his return. A purr rumbled softly in his throat. He couldn’t imagine any cat waiting hopefully for Slash. His campmates lived in fear of him. He stole to feel powerful. No cat who lived like that could be happy.
Gray Wing wove between the willows, quickening his pace as he slipped from the copse and began to cross the marshland. Breaking into a run, he raced for the pines, relieved to slip into their shadow. He skirted Tall Shadow’s camp and headed for the moor. His chest tightened with every step. But he had to get home. Slate would be worried. Ignoring his wheezing, he pushed on. Anger surged beneath his pelt. Why couldn’t he breathe?
It must be the cold night air, he reasoned. With a sudden pang, he longed for the days when he could race from forest to moor and back again with ease.
By the time he reached the hollow, he was struggling for every breath. He slowed as he crossed the grass outside the entrance. He wanted to catch his breath before he padded into camp. He glanced at the forest behind him. The treetops were turning pink beneath the rising sum.
“Gray Wing!” Slate’s call took him by surprise. She darted from the camp and wove around him, purring loudly. “I was so worried.”
“I told you I’d be okay,” he puffed.
“You need to rest.” Slate began to guide him into camp.
“I have to talk to Wind Runner first.” He struggled to speak.
“Did you find Fern?”
“Yes.” He headed for Wind Runner’s den.
The brown she-cat slid out as he neared, her eyes bright. “What did she say?”
“She…” Gray Wing stopped, panting for air.
“Wait until you get your breath back,” Wind Runner ordered.
Gray Wing sat down, feeling the moments pass as he willed his chest to loosen.
Slate settled beside him, her eyes clouding with worry. Wind Runner paced around them, the fur pricking around her neck.
At last, Gray Wing found breath enough to speak. “Fern says that if the groups join together, we’ll outnumber them. And she says that Slash’s campmates fear him. They might not fight for him if there was a battle.”
Wind Runner’s eyes lit up. “Then we can beat him?”
Gray Wing shook his head. “She couldn’t promise that they’d betray him. They’re scared of him, and with good reason. Slash is out for revenge, and he’s dangerous. We need to be on guard.”
Slate pressed against Gray Wing. “Is he going to attack?”
“She said he might,” Gray Wing told her. “We must have patrols watching the camp at all times.