Squirrelflight's Hope

CHAPTER 23

Leafpool pushed past her and looked out. “We’ve got to stop them.”

“Don’t let them see you.” Squirrelflight nosed her away. “They mustn’t know you’re here.”

Outside, Sunrise had joined Furze, Creek, and Flurry, and they were backing toward the birthing den, backs arched, growling softly. Their gaze was fixed on the shivering dogwood at the far side of the clearing. It twitched as warriors slid out. Slowly, cats crept like shadows from the bushes, their eyes flashing in the early morning light.

Squirrelflight swallowed back panic. There was no way out. She was trapped here with the Sisters.

Tigerstar stalked into the clearing. His gaze flitted around the camp then settled on Furze. “Where’s Moonlight?”

Furze stared back wordlessly as Mistystar, Harestar, and Bramblestar fanned out around the ShadowClan leader. At the edge of the camp, their warriors bushed out their pelts menacingly. Furze flexed her claws. “You’re trespassing,” she growled.

Beside her, Flurry’s hackles lifted. “Get out of our camp.”

Harestar flicked his tail. “We’ve come to speak with your leader.” His eyes glittered with hostility.

Squirrelflight’s belly tightened. Please don’t fight! Would the Sisters try to defend Moonlight? They’d have to if the Clans didn’t back down. Moonlight couldn’t defend herself right now. She ducked away from the entrance and nodded toward the stricken queen. “We have to get her out of here.” If Moonlight was safe, the Sisters would have less reason to fight.

Moonlight lifted her head weakly. Her gaze flitted around the den. “Where are my kits?” Tempest nudged the kits toward her. With slow stumbling steps they found their mother and snuggled eagerly against her belly. Moonlight curled around them protectively. Her nose wrinkled. “What’s that stench? Have foxes broken into the camp?”

“The Clans are here.” Leafpool’s eyes were dark with fear.

Squirrelflight padded closer. “They want you to leave.”

Moonlight tried to struggle to her paws but, weak from the birth, slumped helplessly beside her kits. “They shouldn’t have come,” she growled.

“But they have,” Squirrelflight told her. “We have to get you and your kits to safety.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Moonlight swished her tail.

“If you stay here, you’ll be putting your kits in danger. And your sisters will die trying to protect them, and you.” Outside, the Sisters’ growling had hardened into warning yowls. Squirrelflight thrust her muzzle close to Moonlight’s. “You’re outnumbered! All the pride in the world won’t save you.” Before Moonlight could answer, she jerked her muzzle toward Snow. “We have to get Moonlight and her kits out of here.”

Snow stared at her. “She’s just kitted. They won’t harm her, surely?”

“Tigerstar wants this land, and he wants it now.” Squirrelflight lashed her tail. “He’s made it clear that he won’t back down. You need to get Moonlight away while I try to stop them fighting.”

“We can’t make Moonlight travel so soon.” Hawk’s eyes were wide. “It might kill her, or her kits!”

“You have to get her clear,” Squirrelflight snapped. There wasn’t time to discuss this. “If fighting breaks out, she won’t be safe here.” Daylight glinted through the branches at the back of the den. The wall was thin there. Squirrelflight hurried toward it and began to tear at the vines. “Make a hole here and take Moonlight and her kits out the back. Get them to somewhere safe.” Her thoughts whirled. Was anywhere safe now that the patrol was here? It didn’t matter. Right now, she must persuade the Sisters to leave the den. “Find somewhere you can hide.”

Tempest glanced at Snow. “The cave,” she mewed quickly.

Snow’s gaze hardened. “We can’t let them drive us away without a fight.”

Squirrelflight turned on her. “Get Moonlight somewhere safe; then think about fighting!” she snarled.

Snow held her gaze for a moment, then looked at the narrow gap Squirrelflight had torn. “Okay.” She grabbed a vine and ripped the gap wider.

“Leafpool.” Squirrelflight blinked at her sister. “I’m going to go out there and try to keep the Clans talking. You help Tempest and Snow carry the kits. Hawk can help Moonlight.”

Leafpool stared at her. “You can’t let our Clanmates see you here!”

“I have no choice.” Squirrelflight ignored the fear clutching at her belly. Will Bramblestar be surprised to see me here? Or will he have guessed? “It’s the only way to get Moonlight clear.”

“What if they attack?” Leafpool’s gaze was bright with fear.

Squirrelflight pushed the thought away. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Leafpool narrowed her eyes. “Remember, Squirrelflight,” she murmured darkly, “you’re a warrior, not a Sister. You must live among your Clanmates long after the Sisters are gone.”

Squirrelflight padded past the kits, still damp from their birth and as small as prey. “I must do what’s right.” Avoiding Leafpool’s eye, she pushed her way out of the den.

The warriors stared. Eyes widened. Pelts spiked as Squirrelflight slid between Flurry and Sunrise and squared her shoulders against the bristling warriors. They lined the clearing like a pack of hungry foxes. She could see Bramblestar at the edge of her gaze, but she avoided looking at him.

“What are you doing here?” Tigerstar stared at Squirrelflight.

Crowfeather didn’t give her the chance to answer. “She came to warn the Sisters!” He padded forward, his tail flicking ominously behind him.

Mistystar narrowed her eyes. “We know you wanted to undermine your leader,” she growled, “but we didn’t think you’d go so far as to betray him.”

“I’ve betrayed no cat!” Squirrelflight snapped. “I came to make sure Moonlight was okay.”

Flurry moved closer. “Don’t tell them about the kits,” she hissed under her breath. “They mustn’t know Moonlight is weak.”

Furze nodded. Creek flicked his tail. Squirrelflight glanced at them. “You have to,” she whispered urgently. “It’s your only chance to make them leave.”

Crowfeather’s eyes flashed with rage. “She’s plotting with the enemy!”

Squirrelflight swung her muzzle toward the WindClan deputy. “The Sisters aren’t your enemy!”

Tigerstar’s ears twitched angrily. “They maimed Strikestone!”

Flurry lashed her tail. “He nearly killed Sunrise!”

Outraged yowls exploded from the warriors.

“They invaded our territory!”

“We were just defending our border!”

Alarm spiraled in Squirrelflight’s chest. Tempers were flaring. She eyed Tigerstar. “You wanted to show the Sisters how strong the Clans are,” she yowled above the noise. “You’ve done that. You can leave now and let them decide what to do. If they have any sense, they will leave. But it’s not fair to bully them like this.”

Sunrise bristled beside her. “We can handle bullies.”

“We don’t need you to speak for us,” Flurry snarled at Squirrelflight.

Squirrelflight lowered her voice so that only the Sisters could hear. “Moonlight’s had her kits. She’s okay. Leafpool and the others are taking them away from the camp.” She could only hope that once they knew that Moonlight and the kits were safe, they wouldn’t want to fight.

Flurry narrowed her eyes. “Did the Clans tell you to send Moonlight away?”

“No!” Surprise sparked in Squirrelflight’s pelt. “I did it to protect her and the kits.”

“Bramblestar.” Tigerstar’s gaze slid toward the ThunderClan leader. “How does it feel to be wrong for a change?” He sounded pleased.

A chill ran along Squirrelflight’s spine. What was the ShadowClan leader talking about? She turned her head slowly toward Bramblestar.

He was staring, puzzled, at Tigerstar. “What do you mean?”

“You chose the wrong cat to be your deputy.” Tigerstar’s voice was as smooth as honey. “It seems that Squirrelflight prefers rogues to her own Clanmates.”

“That’s not true!” Squirrelflight’s heart lurched. She stared desperately at Bramblestar, but his gaze was fixed on Tigerstar.

“What Squirrelflight does is up to her,” he meowed coldly.

Surprised murmurs rippled from the ring of warriors.

Breezepelt’s hackles lifted. “She’s disloyal!”

“That’s not true!” Squirrelflight glared at him.

“And it’s not the first time,” Breezepelt went on. “You raised your sister’s half-Clan kits and told your Clanmates and Bramblestar they were your own! You’re a liar.”

“Liar!” Ripples of agreement spread among the warriors.

Squirrelflight flattened her ears. Did the Clans still care about that? It had been so long ago! And Leafpool’s kits had gone on to help save all the Clans.

Bramblestar eyed Breezepelt angrily. “We came here to talk to the Sisters, not rake up old bones.”

Breezepelt flashed him an accusing look. “We didn’t expect to find your deputy here, mixing with the enemy! Squirrelflight’s disloyal. She’s been disloyal before. She can’t be trusted!”

Squirrelflight hissed at Breezepelt. “You don’t get to lecture me on loyalty! Who did you fight for in the battle with the Dark Forest?” Anger pulsed in her belly.

Crowfeather padded forward, swishing his tail as he brushed past his son. “We can listen to Squirrelflight’s explanation later,” he growled. Squirrelflight forced her pelt to stay flat as foreboding wormed in her belly. He nodded to her. “Move out of the way. We’ve come to move the Sisters.”

“You came here to warn the Sisters,” Squirrelflight reminded him.

“We’ve heard your warning, and we’re not moving.” Sunrise stepped forward, her head high.

“Please don’t fight.” Squirrelflight’s mew trembled. She caught Bramblestar’s eye. He had to stop this.

He stared back at her, his gaze unreadable.

Creek bushed out his tail. “This camp is ours,” he growled. “If you want to take it, you’ll have to take it by force.” The young cat stared at Tigerstar.

He’s not even old enough to be an apprentice, Squirrelflight thought desperately. He can’t fight warriors.

Furze lifted her broad head. She was almost twice as big as some of the warriors, and, for a moment, Squirrelflight wondered if the Sisters could win this battle. How many cats would be hurt?

“Please!” She stared desperately around her fellow warriors. “Just go, and let the Sisters leave in their own time.”

“A warrior never backs down.” Harestar flattened his ears and dropped into a battle stance.

Sunrise narrowed her eyes to slits. “Neither does a Sister.” With a snarl, she leaped for the WindClan leader.

The clearing exploded into battle. Shock pulsing through her pelt, Squirrelflight backed away. Sunrise, Furze, Flurry, and Creek disappeared beneath a throng of writhing pelts. The stone tang of blood filled the air.

I promised Bramblestar that I would support him, she remembered. But how could she? Working so hard to save Moonlight’s kits had connected her to the Sisters even more. She was a ThunderClan cat—she knew that—but she couldn’t shed the blood of cats she knew meant the Clans no harm.

At the edge of the clearing, Twigbranch stared at the fighting cats as though frozen to the ground. Squirrelflight was surprised to see her. She hadn’t approved of this patrol. Had Bramblestar made her come, or had she volunteered so that she could help keep the peace? The gray she-cat’s eyes rounded with disbelief. “We weren’t supposed to fight.”

Bramblestar didn’t seem to hear her. He shouldered his way to the middle.

“No!” Squirrelflight tried to catch his eye. He mustn’t fight. He’d never forgive himself if he knew he was threatening newborn kits, hiding only a few tail-lengths away.

Harestar reared out of the swarm. Sunrise rose with him, slashing viciously at the WindClan leader’s muzzle. Trading blows, they sank beneath the sea of pelts like cats drowning. Creek rolled out from the pack, turning as soon as he was clear and hurling himself at Cloverfoot. He hooked his claws into the ShadowClan deputy’s shoulders and dragged her onto her back. Leaping on top of her, he struggled to pin her to the ground and aimed a swipe at her cheek. Cloverfoot tried to twist free, but, straining with every hair on his pelt, the young tom held her fast. As his paw swung toward her, Crowfeather leaped from beside his Clanmates and slammed into Creek’s side. He sent Creek crashing into a bramble and leaped after him, paws flailing. Breezepelt, Scorchfur, and Gorsetail raced to help him.

You’ll kill him! Squirrelflight stared in horror as Creek disappeared beneath a swarm of warriors. Please stop!

Twigbranch’s pelt flashed past her. “Wait!” Squirrelflight hooked her claws into her Clanmate’s pelt and dragged her away from the fighting.

Paws churning, Twigbranch wrestled free from her grip. She turned on Squirrelflight. “What in StarClan—” Her mew trailed away as she saw Squirrelflight.

“We can’t let this happen.” Squirrelflight stared pleadingly at the young warrior. “Moonlight has just kitted. She’s very weak, and the kits have hardly taken their first breath. Their first memory can’t be a battle! Help me stop them!”

Twigbranch glanced around the camp. “Where are the kits?”

“Leafpool and the others have taken them somewhere safe. Flurry, Furze, Sunrise, and Creek are on their own.”

Twigbranch nodded. “I’ll tell Blossomfall and Mousewhisker,” she promised. “I’ll make them stop.” She turned and pushed her way between Emberfoot and Yarrowleaf, who were scrabbling to get deeper into the fray. Squirrelflight began to nose her way between Oatclaw and Duskfur. She had to find Bramblestar and explain about the kits. He’d see why the Sisters had to fight. They were defending their young. As she ducked past Oatclaw, Sunrise flashed past her. Squirrelflight spun as the she-cat broke free of the patrol and fled across the clearing.

“Retreat!” Sunrise called to her campmates. “We can’t win here!”

Furze ripped herself free from Shimmerpelt and Petalfur and raced after her, yowling over her shoulder. “Creek! Flurry! This way!”

The battle seemed to stumble to a halt as the Clan patrol realized that their enemies were on the run. Creek leaped to his paws and hared after his campmates, speeding over the grass like a bird. Together, they crashed through a bramble and disappeared.

Tigerstar watched them go, his eyes narrowing with determination. “Let’s make sure they’re gone!” Like a pack of wolves, the warrior patrol gave chase.

As the clearing emptied, Squirrelflight stared shakily at the bloodstained grass. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Flurry, lying on the ground. Her ginger-and-white pelt was matted. Scratches crisscrossed her muzzle. Squirrelflight hurried toward her, heart pounding. She crouched beside the wounded cat. Was she dead?

“You care more about the Sisters than your Clanmates.”

Bramblestar’s mew took her by surprise. Squirrelflight turned. He was staring at her.

She met his gaze. “I care about any injured cat,” she mewed.

“Even an enemy?”

“A life is a life.” She got to her paws and faced him.

“Why are you here?” Confusion clouded his gaze.

“Last night I dreamed a kit was in trouble,” she told him. “Leafpool dreamed it too. We had to come.” She padded closer. “Moonlight needed help. She was having trouble kitting and she needed a medicine cat. Leafpool saved her and her kits. She finished kitting just before the patrol arrived.”

Bramblestar blinked at her. “Where is she?”

“Leafpool and the others have taken her and the kits somewhere safe.”

Bramblestar stiffened as yowls echoed from the head of the valley. “Where?”

Squirrelflight shrugged. “A cave. I’ve never seen it before, but it can’t be far.”

Bramblestar blinked at her. “Do you think that’s where the others have fled?”

Alarm pricked in Squirrelflight’s paws. Get Moonlight somewhere safe; then think about fighting! “They might think they can defend it from the Clans.”

Just then, a breathless Crowfeather appeared at her side. “Did you say Leafpool is in a cave?” His blue eyes were wide with alarm, and concern. Of course he was concerned, Squirrelflight realized—they had once been forbidden mates. And while both cats had moved on with their lives, Squirrelflight knew that those feelings never completely went away.

“They’ll be trapped,” Bramblestar growled, digging his claws into the earth. “Tigerstar and the others will have them cornered.”

“Then we have to stop them fighting!” She glanced at Bramblestar, but his gaze had flitted behind her. Something was moving across the grass toward them. As she turned, ginger-and-white fur flashed at the edge of her vision. With a snarl, Flurry knocked her aside. As she staggered to keep her balance, Squirrelflight saw the she-cat crash into Bramblestar. Hissing, Flurry sank her teeth into Bramblestar’s neck. He stumbled beneath the huge she-cat’s massive weight, screeching as she pressed hard into his neck. He dropped onto his belly and rolled onto his back. Tucking his hind legs under her, he began to kick out, grunting with pain. Flurry let go and, pressing a forepaw into his chest, swiped his cheek with her other paw. Bramblestar’s muzzle was knocked sideways. He struggled to escape, but Flurry pinned him down and struck him again and again.

Squirrelflight’s pelt spiked with horror. Flurry was trying to kill him! She unsheathed her claws and leaped.

“They’ve trapped the kits!” Twigbranch burst from the bushes and hared across the clearing toward her.

Squirrelflight’s leap jerked into a stumble. Struggling to keep her balance, she spun to meet Twigbranch’s horrified gaze.

“The kits?” Flurry jerked her muzzle toward the young warrior. In an instant she was off Bramblestar and pelting across the clearing. Tail bushed, she plunged through the gap where the others had fled.

Squirrelflight darted to Bramblestar’s side. “Are you okay?” Her heart seemed to miss a beat as he lay limp. She lapped his bloody cheek urgently. “Bramblestar!”

With a groan, he nudged her away. Staggering to his paws, he looked at her, his eyes clouded with pain. “Were you going to let her kill me?”

“No! I was—”

Before she could finish, Bramblestar limped after Flurry. “Come on. It sounds like the kits are in trouble.”

Squirrelflight followed him as he tracked the patrol through ragged undergrowth. “I was going to pull her off.”

He ignored her. Angry mews sounded ahead. She pricked her ears. The kits. She broke into a run. As she burst from the bushes, she saw the warrior patrol lined at the edge of a rough clearing. Ahead, a sheer cliff rose like an open wound in front of them. A landslide had stripped away the stone, and now raw earth glowed red in the early morning light. At the bottom, large boulders formed a cave, roofed by the branches and rubble that had recently fallen from the cliff. Flurry and Sunrise stood inside, staring out from the shadows.

“That’s no place to hide kits,” Bramblestar stopped beside her.

Twigbranch was with him. She followed his gaze. “It’s no more than a pile of rubble.”

Bramblestar peered past Flurry and Sunrise. “Are the kits in there?”

Twigbranch nodded. “With Moonlight and the rest of the Sisters.”

“Where’s Leafpool?” Squirrelflight narrowed her eyes as she tried to see past Flurry.

“She’s in there too.”

Squirrelflight glanced along the line of warriors. They were staring at Flurry and Sunrise, their hackles up.

Tigerstar padded forward. “Are you ready to leave yet?” he snarled at the Sisters.

A shape moved in the cave behind them. Moonlight limped slowly from the shadows and stood between her campmates. Her eyes were hollow with exhaustion. Squirrelflight’s heart quickened. The gray she-cat was in no state to fight. Moonlight looked along the line of warriors and curled her lip. “We stay,” she croaked.

Harestar narrowed his eyes. “But you’re outnumbered.”

“We can defend this cave for as long as we have to,” Moonlight hissed.

“Then we’ll flush you out.” Tigerstar nodded to Cloverfoot and Scorchfur. “Climb on top of the cave and start digging.”

“Be careful!” Squirrelflight hurried forward as Cloverfoot and Scorchfur leaped up and began to pick their way across the debris piled on top. Soil began to rain down across the opening.

Flurry glanced up, narrowing her eyes against the dirt. Sunrise growled at the warriors, her pelt bristling with rage. Moonlight showed her teeth.

Bramblestar padded to Tigerstar’s side. “We could starve them out.” He glanced nervously at the warriors on top of the cave as they began to dig. “There’s no need to endanger the kits like this.”

Tigerstar jerked his muzzle toward the ThunderClan leader. “Kits? No one mentioned that the kits had been born.”

As he spoke, Moonlight lunged forward. “Attack!” The Sisters streamed from the cave, pelts bushed, ears flat. They hurled themselves at the line of warriors. Squirrelflight ducked away as Moonlight smashed into Tigerstar and sent him crashing into a bramble. Shrieks exploded around her. Hawk leaped onto Duskfur’s back. Flurry swung a heavy blow at Snaketooth. Tempest hooked Reedwhisker’s pelt with her claws and dragged him to the earth. At the entrance to the cave, Thornclaw and Creek tumbled across the ground, paws churning as they tore at each other’s pelts.

Squirrelflight stared at them desperately. This battle could end only in blood. She froze as a rumble sounded from the cave. A branch moved, creaking ominously as the wood began to split. She saw the roof shift. It was crumbling. Dirt showered the entrance. Stones rolled from the edges. The cave was collapsing, with Leafpool and the kits inside!

Squirrelflight hared toward the opening. “Landslide!” She barged past Creek and Thornclaw and plunged into the shadows. A branch split above her head, showering splinters of wood over her. “Leafpool!” Her shriek echoed in the darkness. Blindly, she stumbled over stones. “The roof’s caving in!”

“Over here!” Leafpool’s mew echoed from the back of the cave as pebbles showered onto Squirrelflight’s back. Squirrelflight blinked, desperately trying to adjust her eyes to the dark. She could just make out Leafpool. “Where are the kits?”

Leafpool lifted a small bundle and hurried toward her. She thrust it at Squirrelflight. “The others are at the back.” Earth was falling like rain. Stones tumbled, thumping and cracking onto the ground. Squirrelflight grasped the kit and turned. She smelled Hawk’s fear-scent in the darkness and felt the she-cat in front of her. Hawk must have seen the roof crumbling too. She swung the kit toward her. Hawk grabbed it and Squirrelflight turned back for the next.

She could hear Leafpool scrabbling in the dirt. “I can’t find them!” Leafpool wailed.

Squirrelflight darted to her sister’s side, ears pricked as the roof rumbled ominously above them. She felt something soft against her paw. “I’ve found one.” The kit mewled pitifully, and she bent to scoop it up. Narrowing her eyes against the falling dirt, she carried it toward the entrance.

Hawk was back, silhouetted against daylight as stones fell around her. She hurried forward and took the kit from Squirrelflight.

“Leafpool’s looking for the last one,” Squirrelflight told her quickly and turned back. Her pelt bristled in panic as she peered through the darkness. She could just make out her sister’s pelt. “Have you found it?”

Leafpool didn’t reply. She was digging frantically through the earth piling against the back of the cave. Squirrelflight glanced around, trying to see through the haze of falling dirt and stones. The acrid scent of wet earth filled her nose. Had the kit managed to find its way to the entrance? Perhaps one of the Sisters had already carried it out. Blood roared in Squirrelflight’s ears. A creak sounded above her and she looked up. A thick branch that was holding back rocks shifted. Shards of wood exploded from it as it began to split. “Leafpool!” Panic jolted through her pelt. “The roof’s collapsing!”

“I’ve found it!” Leafpool hauled a small body from the earth and swung it toward Squirrelflight.

“Let’s get out of here.” Squirrelflight took it from her and darted toward the entrance. Hawk was there. Squirrelflight jerked the kit toward her, relief swamping her as Hawk took it and hared out of the cave. She turned back. “Leafpool!” Squirrelflight saw her sister’s eyes flash in the shadows as a deafening crack split the air. The branch snapped and, with a roar, dirt and rocks thundered down. Earth cascaded around her. Terror seared Squirrelflight’s belly as the falling dirt pressed her to the ground.

“Leafpool!” She strained to see through the deluge. “Where are you?”

A hard blow slammed against the back of her head and flung her into blackness.