“This way.” Tigerstar padded past him to a sheltered spot where a rowan stretched low branches over the camp wall.
Alderheart hurried after him. “Remember the Gathering!” he hissed urgently. “Violetshine said she saw Juniperclaw by the SkyClan fresh-kill pile. Now Shadowkit says he saw him digging up deathberry seeds.” He stared at Tigerstar. Surely the ShadowClan leader had to take Sparrowpelt’s poisoning seriously now?
Tigerstar squared his shoulders. “No ShadowClan cat would do something so fox-hearted!” Anger sharpened his mew.
“Not even Juniperclaw?” Alderheart pressed. “He turned rogue once, remember?” Juniperclaw had left ShadowClan to follow Darktail and his rogues when he’d been an apprentice. He’d returned only after Darktail had revealed himself to be a ruthless enemy of the Clans.
“Are you questioning my judgment?” Tigerstar’s hackles lifted.
“No.” Alderheart stood his ground. Even if Tigerstar was covering for his deputy, he wouldn’t be frightened into silence. This was too important. “You’re probably right to believe he’s loyal now. But did you think about how far he might go to prove his loyalty?”
Doubt flickered for a moment in Tigerstar’s eyes. Alderheart felt a glimmer of relief. He felt sure that the ShadowClan leader hadn’t known about Juniperclaw’s plan. Tigerstar blinked. “I don’t care what you think Juniperclaw might or might not have done. It’s a question of trust. ShadowClan cats trust their Clanmates. Besides, this is between SkyClan and ShadowClan, and SkyClan is gone. The matter is closed.”
“But if Juniperclaw is capable of doing something—”
Tigerstar cut him off. “What does it have to do with you?” He thrust his muzzle closer to Alderheart. “Why is a ThunderClan cat sticking his nose into ShadowClan’s affairs?”
Alderheart held his gaze. “Don’t you care that you may have a murderer in your Clan?”
“No cat has been murdered.” Tigerstar pulled back slowly. “Did Bramblestar put you up to this?”
“Bramblestar told me to forget it, just like you,” Alderheart told him.
But Tigerstar wasn’t listening. “Bramblestar has always been an interfering old buzzard. ThunderClan should learn to keep its whiskers out of other cats’ prey.”
“Even if it means letting a cat break the warrior code?” Alderheart stared at him. Tigerstar couldn’t let Juniperclaw get away with this.
“I think you should leave now.” Tigerstar’s mew was cold.
“But I haven’t checked Puddleshine’s wounds.”
“Puddleshine is fine. You saw that for yourself.” Tigerstar signaled to Snaketooth and Grassheart with a flick of his tail. As they hurried across the clearing, he jerked his nose toward Alderheart. “I want you to make sure Alderheart reaches the border,” he told them. “It’s time he went home.”
Alderheart searched Tigerstar’s gaze. Was he really going to ignore this? His heart sank as Tigerstar looked away. Tail drooping, he followed Grassheart and Snaketooth to the entrance.
Grassheart glanced at him. “What did you say? Tigerstar looked pretty angry.”
“I thought he was going to claw your pelt off,” Snaketooth mewed.
“It was nothing,” Alderheart mumbled. Frustration itched beneath his fur. Why wouldn’t any cat take the poisoning seriously? As he reached the entrance, the brambles trembled.
Juniperclaw emerged from the tunnel. He looked at Alderheart. “Are you leaving already?” There was a suspicion in his gaze.
Alderheart glared at him without answering.
“Tigerstar asked us to escort him to the border,” Grassheart told the ShadowClan deputy
“Really?” Juniperclaw narrowed his eyes.
“He wants to make sure I’m safe,” Alderheart grunted.
“Cats are always safe on ShadowClan land.” Juniperclaw looked away. “As long as they’re allowed to be there.”
Alderheart reached camp, his paws itching to tell Bramblestar that Shadowkit had seen Juniperclaw take the deathberry seeds. His father would have to do something, surely? A Clan’s deputy mustn’t be capable of cold-blooded murder.
As he hurried through the dripping tunnel, he scanned the camp. Bramblestar was crouched in the shelter of the camp wall, sharing a mouse with Brackenfur. Twigbranch was pacing beside them, her eyes glittering excitedly. She glanced urgently at Bramblestar, as though willing him to finish eating. Beside them, Thornclaw was nosing through the bedraggled fresh-kill pile, while Ivypool called to Thriftkit, Flipkit, and Bristlekit from the nursery.
“Come inside!” she ordered.
They looked at her from the edge of the puddle beside the clearing.
“We’re pretending to be RiverClan cats!” Flipkit waded into the muddy water.
Bristlekit splashed after him. “Look! I can swim!” The water barely covered her paws.
“Me too!” Thriftkit squeaked.
“You look like drowned mice!” Ivypool ventured a little way into the rain, her pelt prickling as the rain touched it. She hurried to the puddle and grabbed Bristlekit by the scruff. Lifting her off her paws, she carried her to the nursery, whisking the other two along with her tail.
Water streamed down the cliff behind the medicine den. It dripped from the Highledge. Graystripe looked out miserably from the elders’ den and turned back inside with a snort.
“Bramblestar.” Alderheart hurried toward his father.
As Bramblestar looked up from his mouse, the camp entrance rustled and Lionblaze raced in. Cherryfall and Bumblestripe were on his heels. They hurried past Alderheart and stopped, panting, in front of Bramblestar. The ThunderClan leader scrambled to his paws.
“We traveled around the lake, as you ordered,” Lionblaze puffed. “RiverClan has been flooded out of their camp. They’re sheltering with WindClan.”
Twigbranch darted forward and stared imploringly at Bramblestar. “That makes it easy!” she mewed. “You have to let me fetch them back!”
Bramblestar waved her away with his tail and nodded to the patrol. “How are they all doing?”
Alderheart padded closer, curiosity prickling in his pelt, as Lionblaze carried on with his report. “They’re wet and miserable, but they seem safe. Mistystar was very upset, though.”
“She says StarClan was right and we should have listened to them,” Cherryfall told him.
“Actually, both she and Harestar say the same thing,” Bumblestripe chimed in. “If we’re to survive this storm, we need SkyClan back.”
Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “Are they willing to give up land, then, as I’ve said ThunderClan would do?”
Cherryfall twitched her whiskers anxiously. “Not exactly,” she said.
“But they both said they would be willing to discuss it further,” Lionblaze added. “I think they might be convinced.”
Twigbranch pushed herself forward again. “We have an opportunity, then,” she urged. “StarClan clearly wants all the Clans to stay together. What if I take cats from each of the Clans, and we try to persuade SkyClan that they are wanted here?”
Hope soared in Alderheart’s chest. “It can’t hurt,” he urged. “But . . . the biggest obstacle remains: Tigerstar.”
“Tigerstar will have to accept StarClan’s will,” Bramblestar growled.
“What if he still refuses to give up land?” Bumblestripe asked.
“Then he will have to answer StarClan alone.” Bramblestar nodded to Twigbranch. “Take the warriors you need from ThunderClan, and recruit as many cats as you can from the other Clans. Find Leafstar and persuade her to come back.”
Twigbranch’s eyes shone. She lifted her muzzle, ignoring the rain, and purred. “I’ll bring SkyClan back,” she promised.
As she headed toward the warriors’ den, Alderheart tried to catch his father’s eye. He still had to speak to him about Juniperclaw.