“Why are you sorry?” Yellowfang asked, springing to her paws. “Just tell me how I can change things!”
Silverflame shook her head. “You can’t. The tide has turned already.”
“But there must be something I can do!” Yellowfang protested.
“Knowing something is going to happen does not give us the power to change it,” Silverflame mewed, so softly that Yellowfang could only just hear her. “Now, lie down and rest while you can. Your Clan needs you more than ever.”
In spite of her desperate anxiety, Yellowfang let the she-cat’s steady lapping soothe her, and closed her eyes. After a little while, two tiny tongues joined in with Silverflame’s, and Yellowfang smelled the heartbreaking scent of her daughters.
I must be strong for my Clan, she told herself. But StarClan, why do you make it so hard?
A moment later Yellowfang felt a cat nudging her in the side. She opened her eyes to meet the curious gaze of Featherwhisker. The moonlight was gone, and dawn light trickled in through the gap in the roof of the cave.
“Are you okay?” the ThunderClan medicine cat inquired. “What did you see?”
The ghastly vision of battling kits flooded back into Yellowfang’s memory. Ignoring Featherwhisker’s question, she yelped, “I have to get back to the camp!”
Leaving the other medicine cats behind, Yellowfang raced up the tunnel and hurled herself down the steep slope outside, her paws skidding and sliding on the pebbles. She ran all the way back to the ShadowClan camp and arrived, panting, at cold, crisp sunhigh.
Bursting through the brambles, she headed toward Raggedstar’s den. He has to know what I saw!
But before Yellowfang could reach the Clan leader’s den, he rushed out to meet her. “I must talk to you,” he meowed urgently.
Raggedstar spun her around and thrust her back through the tunnel and into the trees, away from the camp. When they were beyond the hearing of their Clanmates, he halted and faced her.
“I had a dream,” he told her, his voice shaking. “Kits fighting! Killing one another, way beyond their strength! The ground ran with blood, and I could do nothing to stop them. Yellowfang, what does it mean?”
Chapter 35
Sheer horror choked Yellowfang’s words before she could speak. “I had the same dream,” she managed to whisper at last.
Raggedstar stared at her in dismay. “Great StarClan, why would we both have this vision? I would never send kits into battle! It’s against the warrior code!”
“I know you wouldn’t,” Yellowfang assured him.
Just then, the sounds of battling cats drifted through the trees. A screech split the cold, bright air, followed by Brokentail’s voice, loud and hectoring.
“No, Deerfoot, not like that! I’ve seen rabbits that could fight harder than you! And don’t snigger, Tangleburr. You’re just as feeble. Let me see that move again, and put some strength into it this time!”
Yellowfang met Raggedstar’s gaze. The Clan leader opened his jaws to speak, only to break off when they heard another vicious growl from Brokentail.
“You’re soft, all of you! Will you stop in the middle of a battle to lick your wounds? If you get hurt, you’ll learn more quickly how to avoid getting hit.”
“I’ve made a terrible mistake, haven’t I?” Raggedstar murmured. “Our son wants to do nothing but lead ShadowClan into battle. I should never have made him deputy! What can we do to stop him?”
A flash of rage pulsed through Yellowfang. “He’s our son now, is he?” she snarled. “I have never been allowed to be his mother! You said you would only keep my secret if I never called him my son. What can I possibly do to change him? Brokentail is your problem, Raggedstar.”
“But—” The Clan leader tried to interrupt.
Yellowfang ignored him. “You have told me too many times that I am nothing more than a medicine cat. I heal my Clan, that’s all. You are responsible for what your warriors do.”
Raggedstar blinked, shocked to silence.
Yellowfang glared at him for a heartbeat, then spun around and stormed off. How dare he expect me to have any influence over Brokentail now? There was never anything I could do.
As she returned to the camp, she tried to calm herself. She took deep breaths and forced her paws into a dignified walk.
“Yellowfang!” Fernshade came rushing across to her from the warriors’ den. “You’ll never guess—I’m going to have Wolfstep’s kits!”
Yellowfang just looked at her.
“I know I’m a bit old to be having my first litter,” Fernshade chattered on happily, “and with leaf-bare approaching, it isn’t the best time, but after all, the Clan needs young blood!”
At the mention of young blood, Yellowfang froze, seeing again the scarlet tide that had risen around her from the battling kits. No! she wanted to screech aloud. Don’t have these kits! They can’t be born! Terrible things lie ahead!
Instead she forced herself to mew, “That’s great. Come with me and I’ll give you some herbs to help with your strength.”
Yellowfang was relieved to see Runningnose in their den, and she passed Fernshade’s care over to him.
“Kits!” Runningnose exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with delight. “Fernshade, that’s wonderful. Lie down here and let me check how they’re doing.”
Yellowfang watched as Runningnose ran his paws over Fernshade’s barely swollen belly, then leaned close to press his ear against the smooth curve. “Hi, little kits,” he purred. “Can you hear me in there? Make sure you grow big and strong so you’ll be good warriors for your Clan.”
Fernshade let out a little mrrow of happiness. “I’m sure they’ll be fine, with both of you to look after them.”
Yellowfang fetched burnet leaves, which were good for all expectant queens, and Fernshade swallowed them obediently.
“Come back every day for more,” Runningnose instructed, “and make sure you get enough to eat. Don’t be afraid of taking as much fresh-kill as you need. It’s important for your kits that you feed well.”
Yellowfang was distracted by voices chattering outside the den.
“I couldn’t believe what Raggedstar did!” That was Deerfoot, sounding shocked, though Yellowfang had a feeling that he was enjoying passing on gossip.
“What happened?” Tangleburr prompted.
“He interrupted our battle training and tried to tell Brokentail how to run the session! He thought Brokentail was being too hard on us.”
“Well, Raggedstar is Clan leader,” Tangleburr pointed out. “He has the right to tell any cat what to do, even his deputy.”
“He’s got no right to mess up Brokentail’s battle training!” Deerleap retorted hotly. “Brokentail is tough, sure, but he’s made me a better warrior already!”
“So what did Brokentail say?”
“He did what Raggedstar told him. He’s a loyal deputy. But I could tell he wasn’t happy…”
The young cats began to move off, and Yellowfang couldn’t hear any more of their conversation, but she felt a stir of concern in her belly. Will Brokentail start to defy his Clan leader when he knows that he has the support of the warriors?
After Fernshade had left the den, Yellowfang tracked down Raggedstar near the fresh-kill pile. “Is everything okay?” she asked, bounding over to join him.
“Fine,” Raggedstar replied. “I spoke to Brokentail and asked him to be a bit less fierce in training.”
And you trust him to do that? Yellowfang didn’t voice her doubts out loud.
“In three moons, Featherstorm’s and then Newtspeck’s kits will be ready to be apprenticed,” Raggedstar went on, “but until then Brokentail needs to focus on keeping the Clan fed and fit through the cold season.”