“For now, don’t tell any other cat,” he mewed. “But let me know if you have any more—”
He broke off as a grief-stricken yowl rose up from the other side of the camp. Springing to his paws, Gray Wing saw Tall Shadow standing over the body of her brother. Other cats were already rushing toward her.
Gray Wing joined her with Pebble Heart scampering hard on his paws. Moon Shadow lay still, his legs splayed out as if in a last spasm of pain. A drying, sticky pool of blood stained the ground near his mouth.
Oh no! He must have died while the kits and I were sleeping, Gray Wing thought.
He pushed his way through the gathering crowd of cats until he reached Tall Shadow’s side. The black she-cat was rocking back and forth, her claws tearing up the ground in her anger and grief.
“It wasn’t his time to go!” she wailed.
The other cats had encircled them and stood watching, wide-eyed and silent, stunned by Moon Shadow’s death. Gray Wing realized there was only one thing left to do. He reached out a paw to touch Moon Shadow’s body; it was already cooling. A shudder of grief passed through Gray Wing. No cat’s death was ever easy to witness.
We have to bury him. Gray Wing remembered how they had laid Fluttering Bird to rest under a pile of stones, and his heart twisted. The sooner they got through this, the better. “Are you ready?” he mewed gently to Tall Shadow.
The black she-cat didn’t need to ask what he meant. She had seen too many cats die in her time.
Glancing around, Gray Wing spotted Jagged Peak, and beckoned to him with his tail. “We’re going to bury Moon Shadow,” he told his brother when Jagged Peak had limped up to him. “I want you to stay here and look after the kits. They’re too young to witness this.”
Jagged Peak stood taller, looking confident. “You can trust me, Gray Wing.”
Owl Eyes and Sparrow Fur scampered up to join Pebble Heart, who was gazing sadly at the body of Moon Shadow. Gray Wing could see that Pebble Heart knew there was nothing more he could do to help this cat.
“Jagged Peak is going to look after you while we’re out of camp,” Gray Wing meowed, gathering the kits together with his tail.
“Great! He knows really cool games,” Sparrow Fur agreed enthusiastically.
“But why can’t we come with you?” Owl Eyes argued.
“Because there are some things young kits don’t need to see,” Gray Wing told him.
“Quite right.” Turtle Tail padded up to join the group. “You kits stay here with Jagged Peak.” She hesitated and looked at Gray Wing’s younger brother. “Thank you,” she said. “We couldn’t do this now, without you.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgment, then shook himself. “Come on, kits,” he called, as he started limping away.
Once the kits had withdrawn, bouncing around Jagged Peak as he led them across the camp, Gray Wing and Tall Shadow picked up the body of Moon Shadow. It was lighter than Gray Wing had expected—clearly the injured cat hadn’t been eating well. Moving slowly and respectfully, they carried the body up the slope and out of the hollow. The other cats followed them, the soft fall of their paw steps the only sound.
As they emerged onto the moor, Gray Wing spotted Gorse Fur and Wind Runner approaching from a few tail-lengths away.
“We’ll help,” Gorse Fur offered immediately as he joined them.
“Thank you,” Gray Wing meowed gratefully.
“Okay, every cat get into a line.” Wind Runner took over immediately. “Don’t crowd Moon Shadow. Show him a bit of respect.”
There were a few startled glances at Wind Runner as she spoke, but the cats were too grief-stricken to protest. Gray Wing was thankful for her calm efficiency. She can see what’s needed because her feelings aren’t as deeply involved.
With the rest of the cats following, Gray Wing and Tall Shadow carried Moon Shadow to a quiet spot in the shelter of a rock and stood back while Wind Runner and Gorse Fur scratched away the earth and stones.
At last there was a hole deep enough for Moon Shadow’s body. Gray Wing and Tall Shadow rolled him into it; Gray Wing winced as he spotted streaks of blood in the dirt. No cat deserves to die in this way.
Moon Shadow’s belly was exposed so that every cat could see the burns on his pelt. Tall Shadow let out a wail of distress. Scrambling into the hole after her brother, she tried to turn him over so that the terrible wounds weren’t exposed. But the hole wasn’t big enough, and his body was already stiffening.
Turtle Tail padded to the edge of the hole. “Come on out, Tall Shadow,” she mewed gently. “Leave him be.”
Tall Shadow looked up with a brief flash of anger that gradually faded to quiet misery. Reluctantly she heaved herself out of the hole and watched with dull eyes as Jackdaw’s Cry and Shattered Ice piled stones and rocks until Moon Shadow had disappeared forever.
Gray Wing felt that they hadn’t done enough. This is the first burial since we came to the moor. It’s important for me to say something.
As Jackdaw’s Cry and Shattered Ice stood back, cleaning earth from their paws, Gray Wing turned to face the other cats. “Moon Shadow was a brave cat,” he began. “He survived so much, in the mountains and on our journey here. His death is a sign of all the changes we have experienced since we left the mountains. I know there will be more changes to come. But whatever happens, no cat will ever forget Moon Shadow. I’ll make certain of that.”
Before he had finished speaking, Tall Shadow had already turned and walked away, heading back to the camp. Gray Wing felt his heart begin to break, to see her so alone.
The rest of the cats followed. Gray Wing was the last to reach the camp. He paused for a moment at the top of the hollow, watching as the cats dispersed after the burial. As he stood there, he saw Jagged Peak come hobbling up to him. His fur was bristling and his blue eyes wide with apprehension.
“Gray Wing!” he gasped. “I’ve lost Owl Eyes!”
Gray Wing couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What do you mean, lost? All you had to do was look after three young kits!”
Guilt and shame flooded into Jagged Peak’s eyes. “I was giving them a training session, teaching them how to climb a rock. Obviously I can’t show them, but I can give them directions. I was helping Pebble Heart and Sparrow Fur, when I suddenly realized Owl Eyes wasn’t with us anymore.”
Gray Wing dug his claws into the ground in anxiety. “That’s no excuse. You’re supposed to be watching all three!”
He knew how harsh his words sounded when he saw Jagged Peak flinch, but he was too worried about Owl Eyes to care. His gaze raked the hollow. The other two kits were standing close together a couple of tail-lengths farther down the slope, their eyes wide and frightened, but there was no sign of Owl Eyes.
“Have you checked the dens?” he asked Jagged Peak.
The young cat gave a tense nod. “He’s not there.”
Turtle Tail padded up to stand beside Gray Wing. Her face and her voice were calm—too calm, Gray Wing thought—as she spoke to Jagged Peak. “You mustn’t worry,” she told him, sounding as if she could barely get the words out. “This isn’t your fault.”
Gray Wing beckoned the other kits with his tail. “Do you know anything about this?” he asked them both.
Pebble Heart shook his head. Sparrow Fur scuffled her forepaws in the soil, her head lowered.
“Sparrow Fur!” her mother mewed sharply. “If you know anything, you have to tell us!”
“Owl Eyes said he was going out to hunt a hare,” the tortoiseshell kit admitted reluctantly.
“A hare!” Turtle Tail turned to Gray Wing, her eyes wide and frightened. “He’s not big enough to tackle a hare. And on his own!”