The Blazing Star (13 page)

Gray Wing rested a paw on her shoulder. “My kits may be alive,” he mewed gently, “but my mate is gone, and I know grief as well as you. You cannot let the misery overwhelm you. Your other kits still need you, and you must focus on helping them.”

Wind Runner blinked and turned her head away, still trembling, but Gorse Fur gave Gray Wing a grateful nod. “We don't know what will happen,” he murmured to his mate.

Gray Wing padded away, leaving the two cats to their suffering. Then he realized that one of his kits was still unaccounted for. Beckoning to Owl Eyes, he asked, “Where's Sparrow Fur?”

“She went to find our father,” Owl Eyes replied.

Gray Wing flinched, though he tried to hide the pain he felt to hear one of the kits call Tom his father.
Even though it's true
. . . “Wait a moment,” he meowed. “Why would she go off into the forest without telling me?”

Owl Eyes scrabbled at the ground with his forepaws, not meeting Gray Wing's gaze. “Jagged Peak said it was okay. Anyway, we're all one big group now, aren't we?”

“Sort of,” Gray Wing responded, wincing as he realized he wasn't sure what the rules were anymore. He couldn't help thinking of Tom's treachery in the past—the way he had stolen the kits, and that he might have been involved in Turtle Tail's death.

“No, this isn't right,” he growled, glancing around wildly. Fear surged over him as he imagined what Tom might do to Sparrow Fur, or what other dangers the kit might encounter
alone in the forest without him or any of her denmates.
Foxes, dogs, Twolegs . . . she might meet any of them!
“We have to form a search party. We have to get her back.”

He spotted Jagged Peak, who had joined Holly and the other newcomers, and beckoned him over with a commanding flick of his tail.

“What's wrong?” Jagged Peak asked as he limped up.

“Sparrow Fur—
my
kit—went off to find Tom the kittypet, and Owl Eyes said you gave her permission!”

Jagged Peak's eyes widened with surprise. “Yes, I did. Is there a problem?”

“A
problem
?” Gray Wing was stunned. “You
let
her go? She's just a kit!”

Jagged Peak began to look uncomfortable. “I'm sorry. I thought it would be okay. After all, he is their father. And she's not a tiny kit anymore.”

Gray Wing had to admit that his brother was right. The kits were growing up.
And Sparrow Fur always knows what she wants, just like her mother.

Gray Wing's heart pounded as he thought over what Jagged Peak had just told him.
It sounds so reasonable,
he thought.
And yet
. . . “They have no mother now,” he meowed. “I'm all they have. I must protect her.”

Jagged Peak twitched his whiskers to show he understood. “That's true,” he responded gently. “But the kits are nearly grown. They aren't helpless anymore. They're old enough to make their own decisions, and all three of them
wanted
to train with Tom.”

Gray Wing shook his head. “But what if . . . what if . . .”

“What if what?” Jagged Peak asked, amusement glimmering in his blue eyes. “You can't protect them forever. You can't protect any cat forever, Gray Wing, no matter how hard you try to. That's a lesson I must learn, too.”

Gray Wing looked at him and wondered whether the young cat was talking about how Gray Wing had treated him.
It's true. I
have
always tried to protect him. But where's the harm in that?

Then he turned his head to one side, realizing what his brother had said. “What do you mean?” he asked. “A lesson you must learn?”

Jagged Peak leaned in closer to Gray Wing, his whiskers quivering with excitement. “I've got news,” he announced. “And I want you to be the first to hear it. It's very early yet, but I can't keep quiet any longer. I'm going to be a father! Soon I will have kits of my own!”

Gray Wing stepped back a pace and stared at him. In his mind, Jagged Peak was still the tiny kit who had run away from the mountain cave and needed looking after on the journey.
And now he's going to have his own kits!

“With Holly?” he asked.

“Yes, of course with Holly,” Jagged Peak responded. “We love each other. I've never felt this way before,” he admitted shyly. “She challenges me, and we keep each other on our paw tips. I just hope I can be as good a father as you've been to Turtle Tail's kits.”

Gray Wing hardly heard the last few words. He was staring at Jagged Peak, realizing that his brother looked happier than he ever had since they came from the mountains. His pelt and
his eyes shone, and he barely limped anymore. It also seemed the confidence he once had, before his fall from the tree, was back.

I promised Quiet Rain I would take care of Jagged Peak,
he thought ruefully.
And I've done my best to keep that promise. But by protecting him so fiercely, have I been holding him back?

As Gray Wing was lost in thought, Thunder stalked into the camp with Cloud Spots just behind him. Both were carrying herbs. Gray Wing looked up and remembered that Pebble Heart had told him Cloud Spots had gone out foraging, but he hadn't realized that Thunder was with him.

I slept through all of this, and no cat thought to wake me.

Thunder and Cloud Spots bounded across the hollow, carrying the herbs to Wind Runner's den. Cloud Spots stayed to examine Morning Whisker, but Thunder padded back into the center of the camp and glanced around. “Let's gather around the lookout rock,” he meowed to his denmates. “I have an announcement.”

Gray Wing followed him and sat at the foot of the rock. While the rest of the cats gathered, Thunder leaped up beside Tall Shadow, waiting until every cat was assembled.

“We must be extra vigilant about the sickness,” he began once his denmates were ready, his gaze troubled. “From now on, no cat is to touch Morning Whisker except for Cloud Spots and Pebble Heart—no, Wind Runner, not even you and Gorse Fur,” he added as the tabby she-cat opened her jaws to protest.

Gray Wing could sense Wind Runner's grief and anger
as she gazed up at Thunder with a challenge in her eyes. But Gorse Fur touched his tail-tip to her shoulder and murmured something into her ear. Wind Runner gave a reluctant nod and seemed to relax.

“And we must all be careful when we're out hunting,” Thunder went on. “No going after prey that's been near a sick animal. Better to go hungry than to bring illness back to the camp!” As the cats began to murmur among themselves, Thunder nodded, adding, “That's all,” and jumped down from the rock.

Gray Wing caught his eye and beckoned him aside. “When did Morning Whisker become ill?” he asked.

“Just after moonhigh,” Thunder replied. “You were sleeping soundly, Gray Wing, so no cat woke you. But listen,” he added, looking troubled. “Cloud Spots has never seen this sickness before. We have no cure for it. And I'm so worried about Wind Runner—she's still grieving for the first kit she lost. What do you think I should do?”

Just give her time.
Gray Wing was opening his jaws to reply when he realized that this was all wrong. Thunder should be working out what
he
wanted to do, not asking another cat for advice. “Uh . . . I'm probably the last cat you should ask,” he stammered. “I'm still grieving, too.”

Thunder brushed his tail along Gray Wing's flank. “I miss Turtle Tail,” he murmured, then padded off to check on Morning Whisker.

Gray Wing watched him go, his pelt prickling like a whole nest of ants was crawling through it.
If I stay in Thunder's camp,
and if I'm always here for Thunder to consult, will I be holding him back as a leader?

Gray Wing sighed and turned away from the group of cats clustered once more around Wind Runner's den. He knew there was nothing he could do to help Morning Whisker, and he wanted to stay out of the grieving family's way. After a moment he began padding up the slope out of the hollow, wondering whether to go hunting.

But at the edge of the camp, Gray Wing halted. In the distance he spotted a cat heading straight toward him, racing across the moor with his belly brushing the grass and his tail streaming out behind him. As Gray Wing watched, he stumbled over a tussock of grass, rolled over, then kept running. Clearly some huge need was driving him.

Only Wind Runner has that speed . . . but it's not Wind Runner.

As the cat drew nearer, Gray Wing could see how dirty and disheveled he was, his fur clumped and stained. And for all his speed, he was limping on one paw, as if he had been in a fight.

Then recognition burst over Gray Wing like a shock of icy water.

Clear Sky!

C
HAPTER
12

Gray Wing sprang a few paces
across the moor to meet his brother, who collapsed at his paws, panting. There were scratches across his face, his fur spiky where blood had dried. As Clear Sky struggled for breath, Gray Wing reflected on how strange it felt that he, who had suffered so much with his breathing since the forest fire, should be waiting for his strong, fit brother to be able to speak.

What happened to him?

Clear Sky looked up at Gray Wing, his eyes full of misery. “I've made a dreadful mistake!” he gasped. “I should never . . . I can't believe . . .”

“Just get it out!” Some cat snapped out these words from behind Gray Wing, surprising him. He turned to see that Jagged Peak had emerged from the hollow, with Holly just behind him. “What are you trying to tell us?”

A terrible sense of foreboding settled over Gray Wing, like a storm cloud heavy with rain. He could still hear Wind Runner's soft wailing from the other side of the camp.

“What's that?” Clear Sky asked, sitting up and angling his ears in that direction. “What's happened?”

“It's Wind Runner,” Gray Wing explained. “Her kit Morning Whisker is very sick.”

Clear Sky's shoulders sagged. “Then what I'm about to say will be even more difficult to hear. You have troubles enough without it.”

Gray Wing's apprehension grew and he dug his claws into the ground. “Just tell me,” he rasped.

“It's Sparrow Fur,” Clear Sky began, as if he had to force each word out. Gray Wing felt his heart clench.
What's happened to my kit?
“One Eye attacked her, and when Tom tried to intervene, One Eye killed him.” He shook his head helplessly. “I thought One Eye would help my group, teaching us his fighting moves, giving us a different way to see things—but now I realize there's something very wrong with him. He not only attacked a kit; he killed the cat who was supposed to be his friend.”

Gray Wing could barely speak. “Sparrow Fur . . .” he choked out. “Is she dead?”

Clear Sky shook his head. “No. But she was very badly wounded.”

Gray Wing immediately turned to look at Jagged Peak. He could see pain in his eyes, but it wasn't enough. Gray Wing wanted to hurt Jagged Peak the same way Clear Sky's news was hurting him.

Gray Wing lashed his tail at Holly, who'd drawn protectively close to Jagged Peak. “Leave us to talk about this in private,” he snapped.

Holly opened her jaws to retort, then clearly thought better
of it. She glanced questioningly at Jagged Peak, who gave a silent nod. After a brief hesitation Holly drew back a few paces and joined Mud Paws and Mouse Ear, who had heard the commotion and were watching from close by.

“I feel dreadful.” Clear Sky's voice was breaking as he darted glances between Gray Wing and Jagged Peak. “This is all my fault.”

Gray Wing tried in vain to stop his body from trembling, with rage as much as fear for the injured kit. He fixed an icy glance on Jagged Peak. “No,” he told Clear Sky. “It's not all your fault. Our brother here is just as much to blame as you are.”

Jagged Peak limped forward. “I am sorry, Gray Wing. I should have checked with you. But Sparrow Fur was so insistent,” he mewed defensively.