The Raging Storm

CHAPTER 19

Alderheart was glad to reach the ShadowClan border. There would be better shelter on the other side, where oak turned to pine and the canopy grew thicker. The rain was harder than ever, streaming along branches and down trunks so that the springy forest floor squelched beneath his paws.

He paused and glanced along the scent line. When he didn’t see a patrol, he crossed it. If any cat challenged him, he would tell them he was on his way to check on Puddleshine’s wounds. There was no need to admit that he wanted to ask the ShadowClan medicine cat a few questions about his Clanmates.

Bramblestar had dismissed his worries about how Sparrowpelt had come to be poisoned, but Alderheart couldn’t forget it so easily. Even though the victim had recovered and was gone, there was still a cat living among them who was willing to murder another cat. That was dangerous. Alderheart had brought deathberries into the ShadowClan camp, and the trail seemed to lead from there to SkyClan. Had Puddleshine seen anything suspicious while he was ill? Had he heard gossip since SkyClan had left? Some cat in ShadowClan must know more than they were saying.

The ditches that cut into the earth here like claw marks were brimming with water. Alderheart had never seen them full before. He shuddered. If parts of ShadowClan territory were underwater, what must RiverClan be like? Yesterday, the evening patrol had brought news of flooding around the river. After another night of heavy rain, the flooding must be worse now. StarClan, protect them, he prayed, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that StarClan would have little sympathy for the stricken Clan. They tried to warn us. Alderheart picked his way past the flooded ditches. Five saplings must stand together. Mistystar had chosen to ignore the warning. Did she expect to be unaffected by the storm now that SkyClan had gone?

Pelts, slicked by rain, moved in the shadows ahead. Alderheart halted and lifted his tail. If it was a patrol, they would pick up his scent and come to question him. He waited as eyes flashed through the gloom.

“Alderheart?” Cloverfoot hailed him through the rain. “What are you doing here? Is everything all right?”

She hurried toward him. Berryheart and Juniperclaw were with her.

“I’ve come to check Puddleshine’s wounds,” he called.

Berryheart blinked at him warmly as she reached him. Cloverfoot dipped her head in greeting. “Puddleshine is doing great,” she told him.

“That’s good to hear, but I’d still like to see his wounds,” Alderheart insisted. “He had an infection I’d never seen before. I’d like to see how it’s healing.”

“That’s kind of you.” Cloverfoot looked at Juniperclaw.

The ShadowClan deputy narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure Puddleshine can take care of his own wounds.”

“Some are hard to reach,” Alderheart meowed lightly. “Since I’ve come this far, I might as well take a look.”

Cloverfoot and Berryheart looked at Juniperclaw expectantly. The black tom nodded curtly. “Okay.”

“Thanks.” Quickly, Alderheart padded toward the camp. He didn’t want Juniperclaw to change his mind. He glanced back as he neared the bramble wall. Berryheart and Cloverfoot were heading away, but Juniperclaw was still watching him, his eyes slitted.

Alderheart shook out his pelt and ducked into the camp.

Rain drenched the clearing where the trees opened to the sky. Snaketooth and Grassheart huddled outside the nursery. Stonewing was hurrying Cinnamonpaw around the edge of the camp, keeping to the shelter of the bramble wall. Strikestone was carrying a robin toward the warriors’ den. The brown tabby eyed him with surprise. He dropped the robin on the wet ground. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to check on Puddleshine,” Alderheart told him quickly. “I saw Juniperclaw outside. He said it was okay.”

Strikestone nodded. “You’ll probably be welcome there.” He jerked his muzzle toward the medicine den. “Shadowkit’s had another fit.”

Alarm flashed beneath Alderheart’s pelt. He remembered Shadowkit’s last fit and the prophetic dream that had accompanied it. Shadowkit had seen himself drown. And Dovewing had told Alderheart that her kit’s seizures were only getting worse. Could that mean his vision was about to come to pass? Alderheart tried not to think about the flooded ditches so close to the ShadowClan camp as he raced across the clearing and pushed his way into the den.

Puddleshine leaned over a nest at the far end. Tigerstar and Dovewing crouched beside him, their eyes dark with worry. They turned as Alderheart entered.

“Is Shadowkit okay?” Alderheart hurried to the nest and looked in. Shadowkit was limp at the bottom. His pelt was wet where Puddleshine had swabbed him with moss.

“The seizure’s just passed.” Puddleshine met Alderheart’s gaze. The ShadowClan medicine cat looked relieved to see him.

“I brought him here as soon as it started,” Dovewing told him.

“I’m glad I was in camp.” Tigerstar’s pelt was spiked with worry.

“Shadowkit will need thyme for the shock,” Alderheart meowed, but Puddleshine had already turned toward his herb store. He fetched a few sprigs and laid them on the side of the nest as Dovewing took the moss and ran it gently over Shadowkit’s flank.

The kit stirred and opened his eyes. He looked up weakly and tried to purr as he saw Dovewing.

“It’s okay.” She reached her nose to his cheek softly. “You’re safe.”

Puddleshine beckoned Alderheart away. “What do you think? Will he always have these fits?” he whispered.

Alderheart glanced at Dovewing and Tigerstar. They were leaning into the nest, comforting Shadowkit. “I don’t know,” he admitted, his head drooping. “Hopefully, he will grow out of them.”

Puddleshine shifted uneasily. “He told me about his last vision.”

“About the rain?” Alderheart stifled a shiver.

Puddleshine’s gaze was dark. He clearly understood the vision’s deadly meaning. “Do you think it will come true?”

Before Alderheart could answer, Shadowkit called to him weakly from the nest.

Alderheart hurried to answer. “I’m here.”

Relief showed in Shadowkit’s gaze. “I’m glad.” As he struggled to sit up, Dovewing hopped into the nest and tucked him against her flank. “It was the same vision,” he breathed. “Just like before.”

Alderheart swallowed. “Sometimes nightmares come back,” he mewed gently.

He avoided Dovewing’s gaze, but he could tell by the pricking of her pelt that she didn’t think it was a nightmare any more than he did.

Tigerstar puffed out his chest. “It’s just a dream, Shadowkit,” he meowed brightly. “Nothing bad is going to happen.”

“But I’ve had visions before and they’ve come true,” Shadowkit mewed.

“This one won’t,” Tigerstar promised. “I won’t let it.”

Alderheart glanced at the ShadowClan leader and glimpsed dread in his eyes. He changed the subject. “Have you been helping Puddleshine since I’ve been gone?” he asked Shadowkit.

“Yes.” Shadowkit lifted his chin. “Grassheart’s wound is better. She’s back in the warriors’ den now.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“Tawnypelt had a bellyache,” Shadowkit told him. “And Scorchfur twisted his paw. And Puddleshine has been collecting fresh herbs and I’ve been helping him sort them.” The kit was brightening quickly. “Puddleshine says I’m more help than a whole patrol of warriors.”

“I expect you are,” Alderheart purred, relieved to see Dovewing relax a little too.

Shadowkit’s ears twitched. “Cloverfoot has been collecting herbs for us. She says she likes to be useful. She even made Scorchfur join her. But Juniperclaw hasn’t come back to help.”

Come back to help? Alderheart stiffened. He didn’t remember Juniperclaw helping in the medicine den while he’d been in the camp. “Did Juniperclaw help before?” he meowed lightly.

“He came into the den one time while you’d gone to make dirt,” Shadowkit explained. “I woke up and he was digging over there.” Shadowkit nodded toward the edge of the den, where Alderheart had buried the deathberry seeds. “When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was getting rid of the seeds so they wouldn’t hurt anyone. He must have gotten rid of them all, because he hasn’t been back since.”

A chill ran along Alderheart’s spine. Had Violetshine been right? Was ShadowClan’s deputy responsible for Sparrowpelt’s poisoning? He glanced at Tigerstar. The ShadowClan leader looked uneasy. Alderheart poked the thyme sprigs. “Shadowkit seems much brighter,” he told Puddleshine. “But he should swallow these, just to be sure.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Puddleshine began to strip the leaves from their twigs. Dovewing dabbed them onto her paw and held them close to Shadowkit’s muzzle. As the kit wrinkled his nose, Alderheart padded away from the nest. He beckoned Tigerstar with his tail. “We need to talk,” he whispered.

Tigerstar eyed him distrustfully, but he followed as Alderheart led the way out of the den, fluffing his fur out against the rain.

“This way.” Tigerstar padded past him to a sheltered spot where a rowan stretched low branches over the camp wall.

Alderheart hurried after him. “Remember the Gathering!” he hissed urgently. “Violetshine said she saw Juniperclaw by the SkyClan fresh-kill pile. Now Shadowkit says he saw him digging up deathberry seeds.” He stared at Tigerstar. Surely the ShadowClan leader had to take Sparrowpelt’s poisoning seriously now?

Tigerstar squared his shoulders. “No ShadowClan cat would do something so fox-hearted!” Anger sharpened his mew.

“Not even Juniperclaw?” Alderheart pressed. “He turned rogue once, remember?” Juniperclaw had left ShadowClan to follow Darktail and his rogues when he’d been an apprentice. He’d returned only after Darktail had revealed himself to be a ruthless enemy of the Clans.

“Are you questioning my judgment?” Tigerstar’s hackles lifted.

“No.” Alderheart stood his ground. Even if Tigerstar was covering for his deputy, he wouldn’t be frightened into silence. This was too important. “You’re probably right to believe he’s loyal now. But did you think about how far he might go to prove his loyalty?”

Doubt flickered for a moment in Tigerstar’s eyes. Alderheart felt a glimmer of relief. He felt sure that the ShadowClan leader hadn’t known about Juniperclaw’s plan. Tigerstar blinked. “I don’t care what you think Juniperclaw might or might not have done. It’s a question of trust. ShadowClan cats trust their Clanmates. Besides, this is between SkyClan and ShadowClan, and SkyClan is gone. The matter is closed.”

“But if Juniperclaw is capable of doing something—”

Tigerstar cut him off. “What does it have to do with you?” He thrust his muzzle closer to Alderheart. “Why is a ThunderClan cat sticking his nose into ShadowClan’s affairs?”

Alderheart held his gaze. “Don’t you care that you may have a murderer in your Clan?”

“No cat has been murdered.” Tigerstar pulled back slowly. “Did Bramblestar put you up to this?”

“Bramblestar told me to forget it, just like you,” Alderheart told him.

But Tigerstar wasn’t listening. “Bramblestar has always been an interfering old buzzard. ThunderClan should learn to keep its whiskers out of other cats’ prey.”

“Even if it means letting a cat break the warrior code?” Alderheart stared at him. Tigerstar couldn’t let Juniperclaw get away with this.

“I think you should leave now.” Tigerstar’s mew was cold.

“But I haven’t checked Puddleshine’s wounds.”

“Puddleshine is fine. You saw that for yourself.” Tigerstar signaled to Snaketooth and Grassheart with a flick of his tail. As they hurried across the clearing, he jerked his nose toward Alderheart. “I want you to make sure Alderheart reaches the border,” he told them. “It’s time he went home.”

Alderheart searched Tigerstar’s gaze. Was he really going to ignore this? His heart sank as Tigerstar looked away. Tail drooping, he followed Grassheart and Snaketooth to the entrance.

Grassheart glanced at him. “What did you say? Tigerstar looked pretty angry.”

“I thought he was going to claw your pelt off,” Snaketooth mewed.

“It was nothing,” Alderheart mumbled. Frustration itched beneath his fur. Why wouldn’t any cat take the poisoning seriously? As he reached the entrance, the brambles trembled.

Juniperclaw emerged from the tunnel. He looked at Alderheart. “Are you leaving already?” There was a suspicion in his gaze.

Alderheart glared at him without answering.

“Tigerstar asked us to escort him to the border,” Grassheart told the ShadowClan deputy

“Really?” Juniperclaw narrowed his eyes.

“He wants to make sure I’m safe,” Alderheart grunted.

“Cats are always safe on ShadowClan land.” Juniperclaw looked away. “As long as they’re allowed to be there.”

Alderheart reached camp, his paws itching to tell Bramblestar that Shadowkit had seen Juniperclaw take the deathberry seeds. His father would have to do something, surely? A Clan’s deputy mustn’t be capable of cold-blooded murder.

As he hurried through the dripping tunnel, he scanned the camp. Bramblestar was crouched in the shelter of the camp wall, sharing a mouse with Brackenfur. Twigbranch was pacing beside them, her eyes glittering excitedly. She glanced urgently at Bramblestar, as though willing him to finish eating. Beside them, Thornclaw was nosing through the bedraggled fresh-kill pile, while Ivypool called to Thriftkit, Flipkit, and Bristlekit from the nursery.

“Come inside!” she ordered.

They looked at her from the edge of the puddle beside the clearing.

“We’re pretending to be RiverClan cats!” Flipkit waded into the muddy water.

Bristlekit splashed after him. “Look! I can swim!” The water barely covered her paws.

“Me too!” Thriftkit squeaked.

“You look like drowned mice!” Ivypool ventured a little way into the rain, her pelt prickling as the rain touched it. She hurried to the puddle and grabbed Bristlekit by the scruff. Lifting her off her paws, she carried her to the nursery, whisking the other two along with her tail.

Water streamed down the cliff behind the medicine den. It dripped from the Highledge. Graystripe looked out miserably from the elders’ den and turned back inside with a snort.

“Bramblestar.” Alderheart hurried toward his father.

As Bramblestar looked up from his mouse, the camp entrance rustled and Lionblaze raced in. Cherryfall and Bumblestripe were on his heels. They hurried past Alderheart and stopped, panting, in front of Bramblestar. The ThunderClan leader scrambled to his paws.

“We traveled around the lake, as you ordered,” Lionblaze puffed. “RiverClan has been flooded out of their camp. They’re sheltering with WindClan.”

Twigbranch darted forward and stared imploringly at Bramblestar. “That makes it easy!” she mewed. “You have to let me fetch them back!”

Bramblestar waved her away with his tail and nodded to the patrol. “How are they all doing?”

Alderheart padded closer, curiosity prickling in his pelt, as Lionblaze carried on with his report. “They’re wet and miserable, but they seem safe. Mistystar was very upset, though.”

“She says StarClan was right and we should have listened to them,” Cherryfall told him.

“Actually, both she and Harestar say the same thing,” Bumblestripe chimed in. “If we’re to survive this storm, we need SkyClan back.”

Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “Are they willing to give up land, then, as I’ve said ThunderClan would do?”

Cherryfall twitched her whiskers anxiously. “Not exactly,” she said.

“But they both said they would be willing to discuss it further,” Lionblaze added. “I think they might be convinced.”

Twigbranch pushed herself forward again. “We have an opportunity, then,” she urged. “StarClan clearly wants all the Clans to stay together. What if I take cats from each of the Clans, and we try to persuade SkyClan that they are wanted here?”

Hope soared in Alderheart’s chest. “It can’t hurt,” he urged. “But . . . the biggest obstacle remains: Tigerstar.”

“Tigerstar will have to accept StarClan’s will,” Bramblestar growled.

“What if he still refuses to give up land?” Bumblestripe asked.

“Then he will have to answer StarClan alone.” Bramblestar nodded to Twigbranch. “Take the warriors you need from ThunderClan, and recruit as many cats as you can from the other Clans. Find Leafstar and persuade her to come back.”

Twigbranch’s eyes shone. She lifted her muzzle, ignoring the rain, and purred. “I’ll bring SkyClan back,” she promised.

As she headed toward the warriors’ den, Alderheart tried to catch his father’s eye. He still had to speak to him about Juniperclaw.

“Go with Twigbranch,” Bramblestar told Lionblaze. “Help her recruit volunteers for her patrol and tell Mistystar and Harestar what we’ve decided.”

As Lionblaze dipped his head and turned away, Alderheart padded forward. “I need to talk to you.” He blinked expectantly at his father.

Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “You look worried. Do you think it’s too late to bring SkyClan home?”

“It’s not about SkyClan.” Alderheart jerked his nose toward the Highledge. “Let’s talk over there.” He led Bramblestar away from the crowded fresh-kill pile, relieved to find shelter beneath the jutting rock.

Bramblestar gazed at him anxiously.

“We have to help ShadowClan,” Alderheart told him.

“Help them?” Bramblestar looked puzzled.

“Shadowkit saw Juniperclaw take deathberries from the medicine den,” Alderheart told him quietly. “Violetshine says Juniperclaw was beside the SkyClan fresh-kill pile just before Sparrowpelt got sick.”

“So you really think Juniperclaw poisoned Sparrowpelt?”

“I know he did,” Alderheart insisted. “He told me that every cat is safe on ShadowClan territory as long as they’re allowed to be there. As far as ShadowClan is concerned, SkyClan wasn’t allowed to be on ShadowClan land. It’s obvious—he poisoned Sparrowpelt as a warning. He wanted SkyClan gone, and he saw a way to drive them away without a battle.”

Bramblestar’s gaze darkened. “Tigerstar should never have trusted him,” he growled.

“But he did!” Alderheart blinked expectantly at his father. What was Bramblestar going to do about it?

Bramblestar looked away. “This is Tigerstar’s problem. We can’t interfere with another Clan.”

“But you must! I spoke to Tigerstar. He won’t accept that one of his warriors would break the warrior code. He’s not going to do anything.”

“And what would you have me do? Accuse his deputy of murder?” Bramblestar shifted his paws uneasily. “It’s not my place to interfere.”

Alderheart held his father’s gaze. “ShadowClan is in danger. Juniperclaw was a rogue once. We saw what happened last time ShadowClan let a rogue tell them what to do. They could abandon the warrior code again—and once a Clan abandons the warrior code, it stops being a Clan.”