Jayfeather’s words seared through Alderpaw’s heart. Mem ories of Sandstorm flashed in his m ind. Could he have done more to help her when she got sick? Sandstorm had visited him in a dream and told him her death wasn’t his fault. But what if she was just being kind? Perhaps she hadn’t needed to die.
He was holding back a shudder, remembering how it had felt to wake up beside her stiff, cold body, when paws thundered into camp.
“Bramblestar!” Mousewhisker’s y owl cracked the air.
Jayfeather shot out of the den. Alderpaw raced after, his heart pounding. What had happened?
Mousewhisker and Cloudtail stood in the clearing, their pelts bushed as their Clanmates gathered around them. Sparkpaw left the m ouse she’d been eating and hurried closer. Brackenfur and Birchfall leaped to their paws, and Lionblaze, Poppy frost, and Rosepetal darted from the warriors’ den.
“What’s wrong?” Bramblestar leaped down from the Highledge. Fur spiked along his spine.
“There’s a fight inside our border!” Mousewhisker puffed.
“WindClan!” Cloudtail added, his flanks heaving.
Graystripe leaped to his paws, ears flat. “An invasion?”
“No!” Mousewhisker swung his m uzzle toward the elder. “WindClan cats are fighting rogues.”
Rogues? Alderpaw stiffened. What rogues?
Thornclaw lashed his tail. “If WindClan wants to fight rogues, they can do it on their own territory!”
Bramblestar stared at Cloudtail. “Couldn’t you have driven them off?”
Cloudtail shook his head. “There were too many of them. The rogues look vicious. I think
WindClan needs help.”
Alarm prickled through Alderpaw’s pelt. If there was a fight, there’d be wounds. What herbs would they need? Quickly he began running through the list in his head: marigold, oak leaf, goldenrod, comfrey.
Bramblestar nodded. “Cloudtail, Birchfall, Lionblaze, and Rosepetal. Come with m e.”
“I’m coming too.” Squirrelflight stepped forward.
“And m e!” Sparkpaw hurried to stand beside her mother.
“You two can guard the camp with the others,” Bramblestar told them. “Until we know what’s going on, keep the kits in the nursery.” He shot a look at Graystripe. “The elders too. It’s the easiest den to protect.”
Alderpaw’s thoughts whirled in confusion. Why was the fighting on their territory? Was WindClan attacking? Were the rogues invading?
“Alderpaw and I will come with y ou.” Jayfeather stared steadily at Bramblestar, his blind blue eyes calm. “There will be injuries.”
Alderpaw’s heart was racing. This was his first battle. Had he learned enough to help properly? Would the wounds be bad? Fear and excitem ent fizzed in his belly. “Should I fetch herbs?”
Jayfeather shook his head. “We can use what we find in the area and bring any injured cats back to camp.”
Bramblestar nodded curtly and raced for the thorn barrier. He disappeared through the tunnel, and Cloudtail chased after him, Birchfall, Lionblaze, and Rosepetal at his heels.
Alderpaw started after them, surprised as Jayfeather dodged past him and into the tunnel. He couldn’t im agine running blind, but Jayfeather burst from the camp without missing a paw step.
The patrol streaked up the rise. Jayfeather raced after them, his nose to Rosepetal’s tail. As though he could sense the forest, he leaped over roots and swerved around brambles. Alderpaw raced to keep up.
Ahead, shrieks and y owls rang through the trees.
Alderpaw’s chest burned as they reached the top of a rise near the edge of the forest.
Mousewhisker pulled up first, scram bling to a halt and looking downslope. Bramblestar stopped beside him and followed his gaze.
As Alderpaw caught up to them, he saw the fight below. His pelt bristled with shock as he took in Oatclaw, Emberfoot, Furzepelt, and Onestar clearly fighting for their lives. Screeches ripped through the air and fur flew like thistledown in the slanting sunshine. The scent of blood and fear soured the breeze.
“WindClan is outnumbered,” Birchfall gasped.
“By rogues?” Rosepetal sounded shocked.
Sometimes a loner or two passed through the forest, but it had been moons since a gang of rogues had dared cross Clan territory.
“Help them!” Yowling the order, Bramblestar charged downslope.
His Clanmates followed, fanning out as they neared the fighting cats. Bramblestar reached the rogues first. Their pelts were tattered, their tails bushed, but they twisted as nim bly as weasels as they fought. Their m usky stench reached Alderpaw’s nose as their m alicious snarls echoed am ong the trees. Bramblestar flung his paws out and hooked his claws into the pelt of a rogue.
With a yowl he hauled the tom away from Oatclaw.
Cloudtail threw him self between a tabby and Furzepelt. The rogue turned on him, hissing, and lunged, knocking Cloudtail’s legs from beneath him. Rearing, the tabby slam m ed his paws onto Cloudtail’s spine.
“Get off him!” Birchfall clam ped his jaws around the rogue’s scruff. Grunting with effort, he flung the tabby aside while Cloudtail flipped him self back onto his paws.
Rosepetal grappled with a m angy white she-cat while Birchfall aim ed sharp blows at a black she-cat. Lionblaze fell, hissing, onto a silver-gray tom.
Alderpaw watched, his claws itching to j oin in. But he had never learned battle m oves. He’d be no help. Guilt twisted in his belly.
Emberfoot reared up beside Bramblestar and began batting a m uscular white tom back through the tram pled ferns at the borderline.
Oatclaw found his paws and dived to help Rosepetal pin the white she-cat to the ground.
“Stop!” The white tom ducked away from a blow and glared at Bramblestar. At his com m and, the other rogues fell still.
Alderpaw froze. These were no ordinary rogues. His heart seem ed to j um p into his throat.
Darktail! He recognized the leader of the gang of cats that had driven Sky Clan from the gorge.
Bramblestar lashed his tail, his sharp gaze flitting from cat to cat. “Let them go,” he growled to his Clanmates.
Cloudtail released the tabby, and Rosepetal and Oatclaw backed away from the she-cat.
Lionblaze and Birchfall stood protectively in front of Emberfoot and Furzepelt. They stared at the rogues, who huddled together, their eyes glittering with hate.
Now that he could see them better, som e of the others looked fam iliar to Alderpaw, too. Rain, a long-furred gray tom ; Raven, a black she-cat. Beside them were a silver-gray tom and a shabby white she-cat. Beside them crouched a tabby, its ears flat. His hackles lifted. Where were the rest of the cats? There had been more in the gorge than this. He scanned the undergrowth anxiously. Had the rest of their group traveled to the lake too? Were they waiting to j oin in the fight?
“What is it?” Jayfeather j erked his m uzzle toward Alderpaw. “Do you know them?”
Alderpaw blinked at the medicine cat. “I-I’ve seen som e of them before,” he stam m ered.
“On the quest.” As he spoke, Darktail caught his ey e. The rogue leader glared at him, eyes flashing with m alice.
Alderpaw felt sick. He recognizes me. He fought the urge to back away as Darktail’s gaze bored into his.
“Jayfeather!” Bramblestar called up the slope. “We need help here. Som e WindClan cats are wounded.”
Jayfeather raced down the slope. Urgency tugging at his paws, Alderpaw broke away from Darktail’s glittering gaze and bounded after his m entor.
“Leave.” Bramblestar stepped toward the huddled rogues. “Before we rip the pelts from your backs.”
Alderpaw watched Darktail turn his gaze on the ThunderClan leader. Would he give in so easily?