He blinked at Tigerheart. “I thought I smelled you.”
Tigerheart tried to hide his eagerness at seeing the brown tom. “I wanted to show you where the new traps were.”
Growler glanced at Tuna. “For some reason, you’re the only cat who’s allowed to know.”
“You can come too if you like.” Tigerheart forced his shoulders to loosen. He wanted to look relaxed. “You’d better hurry, though. It looks like rain.”
Growler flicked his tail. “Let Tuna get wet. I’ve got scraps to finish.”
As the black-and-white tom disappeared into the bushes, Tigerheart beckoned Tuna closer with a flick of his muzzle. “I have to talk to you,” he whispered.
Tuna frowned but followed him to the closest slab. “Is something wrong?”
“You want to go back to your old camp, right?”
Tuna eyed Tigerheart warily. “If there are no foxes.”
“I’ve got a plan to get rid of them,” Tigerheart told him. “But I need you to show me where to go.”
Tuna narrowed his eyes. “Why should I do that?”
“Because, surely, you can’t be so mouse-brained as to not realize that this would be good for every cat?” Tigerheart stared at him pleadingly. “If you don’t help, the Twolegs and their traps are going to drive us all away from here.”
“Okay.” Tuna hunched tighter against the cold wind. “Tell me your plan.”
The next morning, before dawn, Tigerheart crept out of the guardian cats’ den. The night sky was swathed in cloud. He narrowed his eyes against the rain that was gently misting the city. Fierce, Cobweb, and Ant followed as he padded across the grass. Shivering in the cold, he fluffed out his fur. Orange Twoleg light reflected eerily off the wet stone. The towering dens slept in shadow except for occasional patches of light, which showed in their walls where Twolegs were beginning to stir for the day. Tigerheart quickened his step. The foxes would have spent the night scavenging and would be heading back to their den before Twolegs took over the city. The walkways and Thunderpaths were empty now. There would be no better time to lead the foxes to the traps.
He smelled fear-scent on the guardian cats and wanted to reassure them. But he couldn’t make any promises. They’d traced out two routes yesterday with the help of Tuna. With any luck, they could split the fox pack and lead them to the gathering place in two groups. The fewer foxes each patrol had to manage, the better.
“Tigerheart!” A whispered mew sounded through the rain. A dark shape bounded toward them. It was Tuna. “I’m coming with you.”
Tigerheart felt a surge of gratitude. Not all city cats were rogues after all. “You don’t have to risk your pelt.”
“I want to help.” Tuna stopped in front of him, his eyes shimmering in the strange Twoleg light.
Ant shrugged. “It can’t do any harm.”
Tigerheart saw doubt in Fierce’s gaze.
“Can we trust him? What if he tries to confuse the foxes?” she demanded.
“Why would he do that?” Tigerheart countered. “We’re going to get his old home back.”
“And he knows the routes even better than we do,” Cobweb pointed out.
Fierce stared at Tuna for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”
Tigerheart hesitated, unsure which cat should take the lead. It was his plan, and Fierce claimed that the guardian cats had no leader, but he knew the others respected her authority and he didn’t want to challenge it. Suddenly he felt like a deputy again. With a pang he thought of Rowanstar. Had his father finally found his paws and taken firm leadership of ShadowClan?
“Come on.” Tuna surprised him by heading first into the yellow light pooling beneath a pole at the side of the Thunderpath. As the brown tom passed through the light and into the shadow beyond, the others followed, glancing nervously at one another. Tigerheart fell in behind.
No cat pushed ahead of Tuna as he led the winding way through alleys and streets to the dilapidated part of the city where his camp had been. He picked his way along a crumbling wall, which edged an open space between two broken Twoleg dens. Twoleg clutter littered the site.
“My nest was in there.” Tuna nodded to gap beneath a slab of wood. “There’s a fox nest inside now.”
Tigerheart padded softly along the wall, weaving past Cobweb, Ant, and Fierce. He stopped beside Tuna and tasted the air. The fox scent was strong, but stale after the night’s rain. “They’re not back yet.” He scanned the dark camp. No Twoleg light flickered here, and he strained to see through the gloom.
Overhead, the pale clouds were showing the first signs of dawn. “Let’s stay out of sight until they come.” Tigerheart hopped off the wall and crouched behind it. Silently, Cobweb, Ant, Fierce, and Tuna followed. “You remember the plan?” he whispered.
They nodded.
“Which group will Tuna be in?” Ant asked.
“He’ll come with me and Cobweb.” He glanced at Cobweb. The gray tom dipped his head in agreement. He looked small, his long fur slicked against his body by the rain.
They crouched in the shelter of the wall. Fear fluttered like a trapped bird in Tigerheart’s belly. The stone beneath his pads was slippery. What if one of the cats lost their footing while leading the foxes through the twisting route they’d picked out? “Keep your eye on your partner,” he warned Fierce, Ant, and Cobweb. “If you fall, call for help. Leave no cat behind to face the foxes alone.” He blinked at Tuna. “Agreed?”
“Agreed.” Tuna’s tail twitched nervously.
Ant and Cobweb eyed each other doubtfully.
“What?” Tigerheart glared at them. This was no time to start questioning orders.
“Aren’t you scared?” Cobweb ventured.
“Of course I’m scared,” Tigerheart told him. “But this needs to be done.”
“Maybe it would just be easier to find a new home after all,” Ant murmured.
Tigerheart stiffened. “Not after—”
Fierce cut him off. “We’re not leaving.” She looked sternly from Cobweb to Ant. “A cat can spend her whole life running, or she can make a stand and defend her home.”
Warmth washed Tigerheart’s pelt. Fierce was sounding like a leader.
Ant blinked in surprise. “You’re starting to sound like Tigerheart.”
Fierce sniffed. “I like our den, that’s all. Do you really think we could find a better place to spend the rest of ice-chill?”
“I guess not,” Ant conceded.
Cobweb shifted his paws. “Is this what it’s like to be a warrior?” he asked Tigerheart.
“Not all the time,” Tigerheart told him. “But we’re prepared to take risks to defend what’s ours, when we have to.”
Tuna’s whiskers twitched wryly. “I’m guessing warriors aren’t used to change.”
Tigerheart frowned. “What do you mean?”
“In the city, it’s rare to have anything long enough to need to defend it.” He nodded toward his old camp. “This was swarming with Twolegs before I was born. Now it’s swarming with foxes. Fog was raised beside the trash field. Then she lived under a bridge. Growler moved here when his Twolegs abandoned him.”
Tigerheart felt a twinge of pity for these strays, but they didn’t seem downhearted. They were watching him with interest, as though trying to make sense of him.
“Don’t you get bored of fighting for the same territory?” Tuna asked. “Don’t you ever just want to move on and find a new way to live?”
Fierce answered for him. “He’s here, isn’t he? He left one life to make a new life here.”
“Then why does he act like he’s still a warrior?” Tuna asked.
“Because I am!” Tigerheart bristled. Did these cats think he’d left the Clans because he was tired of Clan life? Did they think he wanted to be like them? To stay here forever?