The Silent Thaw

Chapter 9

Early morning light seeped through the medicine-den entrance as Shadowsight crept from his nest and crossed to Antfur’s. He hoped that Antfur would be his old self today. For three days, Shadowsight had padded to the injured cat’s nest in the medicine den and checked his eyes for cloudiness and asked him questions, hoping that he’d recovered enough to answer them sensibly. But each time Antfur had been confused, unsure where he was and answering questions as though he were still a guardian cat in the city.

Shadowsight’s heart seemed to beat too loudly in the quiet dawn. Snowbird was curled in her nest, eyes closed. At least the pain in her broken paw had eased enough for her to sleep through the night, and the swelling in Stonewing’s tail had gone down enough to reassure Shadowsight that he wouldn’t lose the tip. Their Clanmates were healing quickly. Shadowsight couldn’t help feeling that he and Puddleshine had done well. Scorchfur’s bruising was still tender, but Puddleshine had sent him back to his nest in the warriors’ den when he’d complained that the smell of herbs was making him queasy. “If he’s well enough to complain,” Puddleshine had said, “he’s well enough to sleep in his own nest.” Perhaps ShadowClan hadn’t been cursed with bad luck after all.

And yet, as Shadowsight stopped beside the warrior’s nest, doubt tugged at his belly. Please let Antfur be better today. He wondered if it was any use appealing to StarClan. He still wasn’t sure they hadn’t caused all this. Shadowsight leaned into the nest.

“Antfur?” He nudged the sleeping cat with a paw.

Antfur lifted his head, blinking in the half-light. He looked at Shadowsight, puzzled. “Is that you, Mittens?”

Shadowsight’s heart sank. “It’s me, Shadowsight.”

Puddleshine’s nest rustled at the back of the den as the medicine cat climbed out of it. “Why did you wake him?” Puddleshine breathed softly as he crossed the den toward Shadowsight.

“I wanted to see how he was,” Shadowsight murmured.

“Any better?” Puddleshine stopped beside him and looked at Antfur hopefully.

“He’s still confused,” Shadowsight told him.

“He just woke up.” Puddleshine peered into Antfur’s eyes. “He’s bound to be confused.”

Antfur blinked at him. “What’s happened? Is something wrong?” His gaze flicked toward the pale light at the den entrance. “Am I supposed to be on patrol?”

“No,” Puddleshine told the warrior. “You’re supposed to be resting. We’re just checking on you.” He sat back on his haunches and looked at Shadowsight. “His eyes seem clearer.”

“Do they?” Shadowsight was blocking the light from the entrance. He moved until pale sunlight fell past him and glistened in Antfur’s amber gaze. Hope flickered in Shadowsight’s chest. Puddleshine was right; the haziness that had shrouded his eyes since the branch hit him had cleared.

Antfur blinked at them. “Why are you both staring at me?”

“Do you know who I am?” Puddleshine asked him.

“Of course.” Antfur stared at him as though he’d asked if birds could fly. “You’re Puddleshine.”

He recognizes us. Shadowsight’s paws tingled eagerly. “Do you know why you’re in the medicine den?”

“I got hit by a branch,” Antfur told him.

“Who was with you?” Shadowsight pressed.

Antfur stood up and shook out his fur. “Dovewing, Scorchfur, and Stonewing.”

Shadowsight glanced at Puddleshine. Relief washed over his pelt. He’d been a bit confused when he first woke, but now Antfur seemed to be as sharp as he’d been before the accident.

Puddleshine puffed out his chest. “It’s good to see you feeling better,” he told Antfur happily.

Antfur pricked his ears. “Can I get back to my warrior duties now?”

“Maybe,” Puddleshine told him.

Shadowsight looked at his old mentor. “Are you sure? This is only the first time he’s seemed to know what’s going on. He called me Mittens earlier.”

“He’d just woken up.”

“Don’t you think we should watch him for a day or two to make sure he’s okay?”

“If he feels well enough . . .” Puddleshine’s mew trailed away as Antfur hopped out of his nest.

“I might have been confused before, but I’m fine now. I haven’t broken anything,” the warrior told him. “And my bruises are feeling a lot better.”

The den entrance shivered. Tigerstar padded in, his gaze flitting toward Snowbird’s nest first as the white she-cat lifted her head. Her eyes were bleary with sleep.

“How’s the paw?” Tigerstar padded toward her.

“Only a little better.” Snowbird lifted it with a grimace. It was still swathed in comfrey and held stiff by four smooth, straight sticks.

“Keep resting it,” Tigerstar told her brightly. “You’ll be hunting again in no time.” He crossed the den and stopped beside Puddleshine, his tail high. Shadowsight wondered if his father really felt as cheerful as he was acting. Perhaps he was just trying to keep his wounded warriors’ spirits high. “And how are you?” Tigerstar looked at Antfur.

“Ready for patrol,” the tom told him, standing up straight.

“Patrol?” Tigerstar looked surprised. “Already?”

“I think he should rest for a couple of days,” Shadowsight mewed.

Puddleshine tipped his head thoughtfully. “But going on normal patrols again could be good for him.”

Shadowsight saw Antfur’s muscular legs begin to quiver. The brown-and-black tom grimaced a little. Shadowsight darted toward him, pressing his flank against Antfur’s to steady him as he began to sway. “Are you dizzy?”

“A little,” Antfur confessed. “But that’s okay. I should get back to my warrior duties.”

“You need to rest.” Shadowsight was supporting most of the warrior’s weight as he leaned against him. Antfur seemed hardly able stand on his own four paws. How could he be ready for patrols?

Antfur pulled away from him. “I’ve already rested for three days,” he pointed out.

Tigerstar swished his tail. “He just needs some exercise. A warrior’s place is out there, in the forest.”

“Besides, Mittens was going to show me a shrew nest,” Antfur meowed eagerly.

“Mittens?” Tigerstar frowned.

Antfur frowned, clearly realizing he’d said the wrong name. He tried to correct himself. “I mean Blaze.”

Shadowsight’s paws pricked anxiously. “You mean Blazefire, right?” Had he forgotten his friend’s warrior name?

“Of course.” Antfur lifted his chin.

Tigerstar’s gaze darkened. “Perhaps you should stay in the medicine den for another day or two.”

Antfur’s eyes widened indignantly. “I don’t want to be treated like a kit, or an elder. I joined ShadowClan so I could be a warrior. I’m perfectly okay. I should be taking care of my Clanmates. They shouldn’t be taking care of me.”

Tigerstar caught Shadowsight’s eye. “What do you think?”

“I’d like to keep an eye on him.”

“Puddleshine?” Tigerstar looked at the other medicine cat.

“Shadowsight is right. Another day in the medicine den might be best,” Puddleshine mewed.

“No!” Antfur’s pelt bristled. “I’m as fit as a hare.” He padded around the den, swishing his tail. “I’m perfectly capable of hunting.” He stared at Tigerstar.

“But what if you get dizzy again while you’re out of camp?” Shadowsight felt unconvinced.

“I won’t be on my own,” Antfur told him. “I’ll have a patrol with me, and my Clanmates won’t let anything happen.”

Shadowsight still wasn’t sure. As long as he was keeping the secret of the codebreaker vision, he couldn’t let any cat take risks. If StarClan really had let Antfur get hurt to send him a message, they might decide to send another. “He should stay here.”

Tigerstar frowned thoughtfully. “But Antfur has a point,” he murmured. “He won’t be on his own.”

Puddleshine nodded. He padded around Antfur, sniffing his pelt. “There’s no swelling or stiffness. If he gets dizzy, he can rest until it passes.”

“What if he gets confused again?” Shadowsight stared at Puddleshine.

“He’ll be with his Clanmates.” Puddleshine looked decided. “They’ll help him.”

Antfur shifted his paws impatiently. “Can I go?” he asked Tigerstar. “The dawn hunting patrol will be heading out soon.”

Tigerstar nodded. “Okay, but take it easy.”

“Of course I will.” Antfur ducked out of the den.

Shadowsight watched him go. Would StarClan watch over him? Or would Antfur be in danger until Shadowsight shared the codebreaking vision with the Clans? I hear you, okay? He glanced upward, anger welling in his chest. I’m just trying to do what’s best.

As Tigerstar left the den and Puddleshine fetched herbs from the store for Snowbird, Shadowsight gazed into the pale dawn light. Perhaps the run of bad luck had nothing to do with StarClan. Antfur would be fine. Fresh air and company would make him better, wouldn’t it? He tried to push his nagging doubt away. StarClan, I know what you’re trying to tell me! Worry itched beneath his pelt. Please protect Antfur.

The morning passed slowly. Shadowsight made poultices for his Clanmates’ injuries: oak leaf and goldenrod for Stonewing’s tail, nettle for Scorchfur’s bruises, and marigold for Dovewing’s ear. He kept his ears pricked, listening for Antfur’s return. The small brown-and-black tom was probably having fun, relieved to escape the gloom of the medicine den and feeling like his old self again.

As Shadowsight crossed the clearing, his paws still green with the nettle juice he’d smeared on Scorchfur’s injuries, paw steps sounded at the entrance. A patrol was returning.

Whorlpelt and Flowerstem looked up from the mouse they were sharing. Flowerstem’s nose twitched nervously as she tasted the air. Outside the apprentices’ den, Cinnamontail dropped the brambles she’d been threading into the wall. She looked toward the entrance, her pelt ruffling along her spine.

Shadowsight followed her gaze nervously. What had put his Clanmates on edge? Through the thrumming of paw steps, he could hear fur brushing the forest floor, as though the patrol had caught a large rabbit and was dragging it back to share with their Clanmates. The entrance shivered as Snaketooth padded in. Shadowsight’s breath caught in his throat as he saw grief in the tabby she-cat’s gaze. Blazefire and Gullswoop followed her. They were hauling something behind them, their claws hooked into dark brown fur.

Shadowsight froze. Horror swamped him like ice water as he recognized the body they’d brought back. It wasn’t a rabbit. It was Antfur, and the warrior was clearly dead. He swallowed back nausea as Blazefire pulled his Clanmate’s body into the clearing and let it drop to the ground.

Cinnamontail raced from the apprentices’ den, her eyes wide with shock. “What happened?” She crouched beside Antfur and stared at Blazefire.

“We told him to say close.” The white-and-ginger tom sounded numb. “But he chased a squirrel up a tree. I followed him, but he was too fast. He’d cornered it at the top before I reached him, and he got dizzy.” Blazefire’s mew broke. “He fell.”

“There was nothing we could do.” Gullswoop stared bleakly at Antfur’s body.

Cinnamontail stared at her dead friend. Like Blazefire, she’d shared a den with the tom when they’d lived in the city, before they joined the Clan. They’d known each other since kithood. Her eyes glistened with grief. “He was injured so recently. He should never have gone out.”

“He wanted to hunt with his Clan,” Blazefire mumbled.

“He wanted to be a warrior the moment he knew what one was,” Cinnamontail wailed. “He was always first to spot prey and first to chase it. He wanted to help make his Clan as strong and healthy as it could be. And in the end, it killed him.”

Dovewing padded from her den. When she saw Antfur’s body and heard Cinnamontail’s sob, she limped across the clearing. Pressing her cheek to Cinnamontail’s, she looked at Shadowsight. He stiffened. Could she see his guilt? It was searing his belly like fire. I should have made Tigerstar keep him in camp! He dropped his gaze. Would it have changed anything? Antfur had only been hurt in the first place because StarClan was trying to send Shadowsight a message. His death proved it. This couldn’t just be a run of bad luck. Shadowsight’s paws felt as heavy as stone. It was a message from StarClan. And he knew, with a sense of dread that made the ground seem to shift beneath his paws, that the injuries and deaths would keep happening until he stopped them. He glanced guilty toward Tigerstar’s den. No matter what his father had said, he couldn’t risk keeping the secret anymore. He had to warn the other medicine cats.