Bristlefrost stared at her leader in shock. What is he talking about? She didn’t know the young ShadowClan medicine cat well, but she knew enough to believe there was no way he would have left his Clan—and his kin—willingly.
Bramblestar paused, gazing down at his Clan, and his voice grew warmer, trickling from his jaws like honey. “But of course, you, cats of ThunderClan—you are stronger. Those of you who need to atone will do so, and those who resist will be punished. In this way, we will set an example for the other Clans.”
The Clan grew quiet and thoughtful as they listened to the impostor’s words. Glancing around at her Clanmates, Bristlefrost thought that some of them seemed cowed, with their heads bowed, staring at their own paws, while others exchanged uneasy glances. She guessed they might be thinking of their past mistakes.
But Stemleaf and Spotfur, Bristlefrost noticed, had a glint of anger in their eyes, though they stayed silent and their shoulder fur remained smooth and flat.
Bristlefrost looked for Jayfeather and Alderheart. Did they know what had really happened to Shadowsight? She spotted them at the entrance to their den; Jayfeather leaned over to Alderheart and muttered something into his ear.
But the blind cat hadn’t muttered quietly enough. Bristlefrost caught the word nonsense, and from his sudden sharp look she guessed that the false Bramblestar had heard it, too. Her belly cramped with fear.
Before Bramblestar could speak, Alderheart sprang to his paws, dipping his head to Bramblestar with the deepest respect. “Jayfeather says it’s nonsense for a cat to have any reason to fear your orders, or try to escape atonement,” he explained.
Oh, sure he does, Bristlefrost thought. From the look of anger in Bramblestar’s eyes, and the snort he let out, she was pretty sure that he shared her skepticism.
But to her relief, Bramblestar said nothing. Instead he drew himself up, standing tall and straight, and let his gaze travel once again over his Clan. “Shadowsight’s cowardice has convinced me that we must act swiftly and openly,” he meowed. “We must deal with the codebreakers. I am not afraid to show StarClan that ThunderClan wants to make up for their mistakes. Therefore . . .”
He paused, and Bristlefrost’s belly clenched again in fear for what was coming.
“Therefore,” Bramblestar went on, “Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Twigbranch, step forward.”
Jayfeather rose to his paws at once and took a pace forward, his tabby fur bristling with a kind of angry pride. Lionblaze and Twigbranch hesitated for a few heartbeats, glancing at each other uncertainly, before stepping out from the crowd of their Clanmates and facing Bramblestar where he stood on the Highledge.
“I haven’t broken the code,” Lionblaze protested.
“Maybe not,” Bramblestar responded. “But you and Jayfeather are half-Clan cats. The result of codebreaking. And while you live in ThunderClan, your very existence displeases StarClan.”
“What?” Jayfeather snarled. He took another pace forward, his tail lashing in fury. “How am I to blame for the way I was born? I wasn’t around to be given a choice!”
Alderheart slipped to his side and rested a tail-tip on his former mentor’s shoulder, but if he had hoped to restrain Jayfeather, the gesture was useless. Jayfeather shook him off, all his attention still focused on the false Bramblestar.
“We all know,” he continued, “that my mother, Leafpool, who deceived the Clan about our birth, is in StarClan now. If my so-called codebreaking existence bothers StarClan so much, why did they forgive the cat who was actually responsible?”
For a moment Bramblestar seemed to be caught off guard. Bristlefrost watched, fascinated, as his jaws flapped like a gasping fish. “StarClan works in mysterious ways,” he mumbled at last. “I know very well that they don’t always explain themselves clearly.”
“I know more about StarClan than you ever will!” Jayfeather retorted. “And I know that you’re lying. You’re not even—”
Bristlefrost’s ears twitched forward. Does Jayfeather know that Bramblestar isn’t really Bramblestar? Ice-cold panic flooded through her, as she realized that Jayfeather might be about to reveal the truth to the whole Clan. She recalled that Rootpaw and Tree were meant to tell the medicine cats about Bramblestar’s ghost at last night’s half-moon meeting. But the resistance had discussed the danger of letting all the Clan cats know too soon, before they had evidence to prove it. It would be a rash step to accuse a leader of being an impostor. I can’t imagine the chaos. . . .
“I don’t always understand StarClan’s meaning,” she mewed, feeling awkward at interrupting the medicine cat in front of the whole Clan. “They can be confusing sometimes.”
Jayfeather shot her a sour look and muttered something too softly for Bristlefrost to catch.
But she was pleased to see a look of surprise spread over Bramblestar’s face, and to hear some of her Clanmates yowl their agreement.
“StarClan!” Mousewhisker exclaimed. “Why can’t they just say what they mean?”
“Half the time, even the medicine cats don’t understand them,” Sparkpelt added.
“I’m just repeating what the young medicine cat told all of us,” Bramblestar told Jayfeather sternly. “However it happened, you and your brother are half-Clan, which means you are codebreakers. As for you, Twigbranch,” he continued, turning his attention to the young she-cat, “you changed Clans several times, and you even convinced a SkyClan-born cat to come with you. That is how you violated the code. All three of you were named in Shadowsight’s vision, and you must be exiled.”
Jayfeather let out an angry hiss as the whole Clan gasped in consternation at Bramblestar’s decree. Lionblaze took a step back, angry resignation in his face, drawing level with his mate, Cinderheart, who gazed at him, stricken and worried. Twigbranch, however, sank down on her belly and gazed up at the Clan leader pleadingly.
“Please let me atone instead,” she begged. “I know I’m a ThunderClan cat in my heart. That’s why I came back. I’ll prove my loyalty any way I can!”
Bramblestar hesitated. Bristlefrost thought he was enjoying the sight of Twigbranch prostrated in the mud in front of him. “Very well,” he meowed at last. “But your atonement will be very difficult, because I have to be hard on you to please StarClan.”
“I’ll do anything!” Twigbranch promised eagerly.
“Then I want you to spend half a moon away from the Clans,” Bramblestar went on, “and when you come back, you must bring twenty pieces of prey to feed your Clanmates.”
What? Bristlefrost stifled a gasp of astonishment. Every cat praises my hunting skills, but I can’t imagine catching all that on my own.
“Twenty!” Twigbranch exclaimed. “I know it’s newleaf, but I’ll be working alone. . . .”
“If that’s the only way to prove to StarClan that you’re a loyal warrior,” Bramblestar responded, his eyes hard and implacable, “surely you can make it happen.”
Twigbranch let out a long sigh, then scrambled to her paws, her head hanging. “I’ll do it, Bramblestar,” she mewed. She stepped back, trembling, mud dripping from her belly fur, and her mate, Finleap, pressed himself against her side and nuzzled her shoulder comfortingly.
“Half a moon isn’t very long,” he whispered.
Meanwhile Alderheart had padded forward to stand below the Highledge and face Bramblestar. “How can it be StarClan’s wish for cats to be punished for their parents’ mistakes?” he asked. “If that’s true, is any cat innocent?”
Though Alderheart hadn’t named any names, Bristlefrost could hear murmurs of understanding coming from some of her Clanmates. She understood, too. Though Bramblestar’s own father, the first Tigerstar, had died long before she was born, she had heard stories about him from her father, Fernsong. In his quest for power, Tigerstar had betrayed his Clan and almost destroyed them all. He had left his son Bramblestar a terrible heritage.