Warriors: Power of Three 01 - The Sight (4 page)

“Watch out!” Lionkit warned. “There are brambles ahead.”

His senses trained only on the milk-scent, Jaykit had not noticed the spiky bush.

“I'll find a way through!” Hollykit offered. She pushed into the lead and wriggled into the branches.

“But the trail leads around it,” Jaykit objected.

“We can't afford to stay in the open,” Lionkit told him. “We can pick up the scent on the other side, once there are brambles between us and Thornclaw's patrol.”

Reluctantly Jaykit followed Lionkit as their sister found a narrow tunnel through the tangle of branches. He was relieved when he picked up the fox's scent quickly on the other side.

The trees were more widely spaced here. Jaykit could feel the wind in his fur, and sunlight reached down to the forest floor, mottling his pelt with warmth. The fox's milky scent grew stronger and as they neared a clump of bracken that shielded a small lump in the ground, Jaykit scented a new smell. The cubs?

“Wait here!” Hollykit ordered.

“Why?” Lionkit objected.

“Just wait while I take a look behind this bracken!”

“I'm coming too,” Lionkit insisted.

“We don't want the cubs to know we're here,” Hollykit mewed. “If all three of us go blundering in, they'll know something's up and we'll lose the element of surprise.”

“My golden pelt will blend in better against the bracken than your black fur,” Lionkit pointed out.

“What about me?” Jaykit mewed.

“We won't attack the den without you,” Hollykit promised. “But first, you and I will wait here while Lionkit finds the way in.”

Jaykit felt a twinge of frustration, but he knew Hollykit's plan was sensible. “Come back as soon as you find it,” he called in a whisper as Lionkit disappeared into the bracken. For the first time he wondered if taking on the fox cubs was a wise idea. But how else was he going to persuade the Clan that there was no need to treat him like a helpless kit?

He strained his ears for the sound of Lionkit returning. It seemed an age before his brother finally pushed his way out of the bracken.

“The main entrance to the den is right behind this clump,” Lionkit whispered, shaking leaves from his pelt. “But there's a smaller entrance on the other side of the lump of earth—probably an escape route—that leads into the back.”

“Are the cubs inside?” Jaykit asked.

“I didn't go in, but I could hear them crying for food.”

“They must still be young, then,” Hollykit guessed. “Otherwise they'd have come out by now.”

“It'll be easier to flush them out if we go down the escape passage,” Lionkit proposed. “If we rush them, the surprise
will be enough to get them out of the den, and then we can chase them toward the border.”

“Which way is the border?” Hollykit asked.

Lionkit snorted impatiently. “There'll be a border whichever way we drive them!” he snapped. “ThunderClan territory doesn't go on forever. Let's get on with it, before Thornclaw finds them and takes all the glory.”

He surged away into the bracken before either Jaykit or Hollykit could reply. He led them up the slope, out of the bracken, and over the top of the leaf-strewn mound of earth.

“The escape route is here,” he announced, skidding to a halt.

“It's no bigger than a rabbit hole!” Hollykit mewed in surprise.

“Perhaps that's what it used to be,” Lionkit answered. “Who cares, so long as we can fit down it?”

Thornclaw's meow sounded in the trees not far away. The warrior patrol must have given up searching the bracken near the dead fox and were heading toward the mound of earth.

“Hurry!” Lionkit hissed. “Or Thornclaw will find the cubs first!”

Taking a deep breath, Jaykit plunged into the hole. Its earthen sides pressed against his pelt as he scrabbled down it. He didn't mind that there would be no light down here; he trusted his nose to lead him to the den. He could feel Lionkit pressing behind him and pushed onward until he exploded into the foxes' den.

The air was warm and stank of fox—more than one. Jaykit
let out a threatening hiss. Lionkit, at his side in an instant, spat ferociously, and Hollykit gave a vicious yowl.

Jaykit could not see the foxes, but as soon as he heard them scramble to their paws, he realized that they were far bigger than they had expected. Fear shot through him as the cubs let out a shrieking cry.

“They're huge!” wailed Lionkit.

“Let's get out of here!” Jaykit screeched.

He turned and shot back up the escape tunnel. The hot breath of a fox cub blasted his tail fur. Were Hollykit and Lionkit trapped in the den? He could not stop and turn to find out. The fox cub's jaws were snapping at his heels as it pursued him out of the hole.

Wild with terror, Jaykit hurtled down the bank and through the bracken. “Thornclaw!” he yowled.

The warrior did not answer, and Jaykit fled toward the bramble thicket. He hoped the thorns would stop the fox, but it chased him into the bush. Thorns tore at Jaykit's nose and ears, but the fox plunged through them as though racing through grass. He floundered on, tearing free of the brambles and running for the camp. He could smell the familiar scents of the hollow and headed straight for them. The fox cub was still at his heels, growling and snapping.

I must be near the camp now!
he thought desperately, his paws skidding on the loose leaves.

Pain pierced his tail as the fox cub snapped at it with thorn-sharp teeth. Jaykit dug his claws into the ground, running faster and faster, until, without warning, the ground
disappeared from beneath his paws.

With a jolt of horror, Jaykit felt himself plunging into empty air.

I've fallen into the hollow!

Jaykit tried to move, but pain
shot through his limbs and gripped his chest like claws.

Panic flooded him.
I'm broken!

He tried to mew for help.

“Hush, little one.” Warm breath stirred his fur, and a soft nose nuzzled his flank.

He figured it must be Leafpool, though she sounded strange. Perhaps the throbbing in his head was confusing him. Jaykit knew he was in the cleft in the wall of the hollow that formed Leafpool's den. Moss softened the ground beneath him. Cold air flowed down the smooth rock walls, soft as water. Tendrils of bramble shielded the entrance. The scent of herbs filled the air; instinctively Jaykit tried to distinguish one from another. He identified juniper easily—Leafpool had fed it to Lionkit for bellyache after he had eaten too much fresh-kill. Borage he remembered from when Ferncloud had a fever after Icekit and Foxkit were born.

Where were Hollykit and Lionkit?

He couldn't smell them anywhere.

He writhed in his nest, trying to find them.

“Lie still, little one.”

Jaykit opened his eyes and saw a she-cat crouched beside him. He realized he must be dreaming. She wasn't a cat he recognized, but she had ThunderClan scent. Her image was hazy, a jumble of shapes, but he could make out the beautiful orange and brown markings on her lithe body as she sniffed along his pelt.

Her eyes were large and pale, one rimmed with darker fur than the other, and her mottled face narrowed to a soft white muzzle. “Don't look so frightened,” she told him. “You are safe.”

“What about Hollykit and Lionkit?”

“They are safe too.”

Jaykit let his head rest back into the moss as the she-cat continued to nuzzle his fur, gently touching every aching spot on his body. The parts she touched seemed to flood with heat until he felt warm all over.

“Drink now, precious,” she urged. She dragged a leaf to his mouth. It held a tiny pool of water. It was cool and sweet and made him feel sleepy. He closed his eyes.

 

When Jaykit awoke the she-cat was gone. His body still ached, but not as much as before.

“You're awake.” Leafpool's voice surprised him.

“Where is the other cat?” he asked groggily.

“What other cat?”

“The one that brought me water to drink.” He recalled the distinctive mottled markings on her body. “She was a tortoiseshell, with a white muzzle.”

“Tortoiseshell with a white muzzle?” Leafpool's mew sharpened with interest.

Jaykit couldn't understand why Leafpool was just repeating everything he said. He tried lifting his head, but his neck felt too stiff and he winced in pain.

“You'll be sore for a while,” Leafpool warned him. “But you were lucky that no bones were broken.” She rolled a ball of water-soaked moss to his muzzle. “Here, you should drink something.”

“I'm not thirsty,” Jaykit mewed. “I told you, that other cat brought me some water.”

Leafpool pawed the moss away from his mouth. “Tell me about her,” she prompted gently.

Jaykit started to feel uneasy, as if he might have done something wrong. He was puzzled by the tension in Leafpool's shoulders, and the way the tip of her tail stirred the moss-covered ground. “I'd never seen her before, but she smelled of ThunderClan and she was here in your den, so I guessed it was okay to drink the water she gave me.”

There was a long pause, then: “It was Spottedleaf,” Leafpool meowed. “One of our warrior ancestors.”

“Like in StarClan? I…I'm not dead, am I?”

“No, of course not. It must have been a dream.”

“But why would I dream of a cat I've never met?”

“StarClan works in its own way. Spottedleaf chose to come to you for a reason,” Leafpool murmured. She turned away to tidy a wrap of herbs. “Thank StarClan your ancestors took pity on you,” she told him briskly. “You could have died falling
over the cliff. You were lucky you weren't badly hurt!”

“I feel hurt enough,” Jaykit complained.

“You have no one to blame but yourself. You should never have gone hunting foxes. You're mouse-brains, the three of you! And you most of all. What were you thinking of, leaving the camp like that?”

Her irritation sparked anger in Jaykit. Ignoring his aching stiffness, he scrabbled to his paws and glared at her. “It's not fair!” he snapped. “I should be allowed to do the same things as any cat!”

“None of you should have been outside the hollow,” Leafpool pointed out. “Hollykit and Lionkit have been in serious trouble with Firestar and Squirrelflight.” Jaykit opened his mouth to defend himself, but she went on. “Thank StarClan that Thornclaw was close enough to save Hollykit and Lionkit from that den. Those fox cubs were old enough to have torn them to pieces.”

Jaykit lifted his chin defiantly. “We were trying to protect the Clan.”

“One day you will,” Leafpool promised. “But first you need to learn as much as you can, which includes learning not to go off by yourself!”

“Do you think Firestar will delay my apprenticeship because of this?” he mewed, suddenly anxious.

Leafpool drew the tip of her tail gently around his ears and said nothing.

“You do, don't you!” Jaykit wailed. “Has Firestar said anything? Tell me!”

“Dear Jaykit.” Leafpool sighed. “You must know that you can never become an ordinary apprentice like Hollykit or Lionkit.” She ran her tail along his back.

Jaykit shrugged it away. It was as though a gale had swept him up and he could hear nothing but the rushing of wind in his ears. He began to walk to the entrance of the den, but each pawstep made him wince with pain.

Leafpool called to him, sounding unhappy. “Jaykit, wait. I thought you understood….”

“Understood what?” Jaykit whipped around to face her. “That I'm not good enough to fight for my Clan?”

“This has nothing to do with not being good enough,” Leafpool meowed. “There are other ways to serve your Clan.”

But Jaykit hardly heard her. “It's not fair!” he raged. He started to push his way out through the brambles.

“Jaykit!” Leafpool's voice was firm. “Come back!”

Instinctively Jaykit paused.

“You described Spottedleaf to me perfectly. Have you always been able to see like that in your dreams?”

Jaykit tipped his head to one side. “I guess,” he mewed.

“What do you see?”

“It depends what I'm dreaming about.” Jaykit was growing impatient. How could his dreams help him become a ThunderClan warrior? The hazy images he saw while he slept were pale in comparison to the rich world his senses brought him while he was awake.

“Now tell me which herbs I used to treat you.”

Curious now, Jaykit padded back to his nest, focusing on
the pungent scents that lingered on his pelt, scents left by the herbs Leafpool had massaged into his wounds. “Dock on my scratches and comfrey where my body is stiff.”

“You have a good memory for plants. There are other ways to serve your Clan than being a warrior. You'd make a good medicine cat, for example.”

“A medicine cat!” Jaykit echoed in disbelief. Always stinking of mouse bile and cleaning up bad-smelling wounds?

“You could be my apprentice,” Leafpool urged.

“I don't want to make do with being a medicine cat!” Jaykit hissed. “I don't want to live half a life, separated from my Clanmates like you are. I want to be a warrior like Brambleclaw and Firestar.”

He turned away from Leafpool, bristling with fury. “I hate being blind. I wish I had never been born!”

Hollykit waited in the center of
the clearing, where Brambleclaw had left her. The sun was sinking behind the trees, pulling a shadow across the camp. Lionkit sat beside her, his pelt golden in the fading sunshine. Cold air drifted down into the hollow, and Lionkit shivered.

Suddenly the brambles at the entrance of the medicine den trembled, and Hollykit saw the gray-striped head of Jaykit poke out. She nudged Lionkit. “Look!”

“He's okay!” he mewed in relief.

“Thank StarClan!”

Jaykit turned around and went back into the den.

“Leafpool must be keeping him a bit longer,” Hollykit observed. She dug her claws into the ground to stop her paws from trembling. At least she knew her brother was all right. But they still had to face Firestar. How was he going to punish them this time?

She glanced around, hoping no cat was staring at them. Mousefur was leaning against halfrock, a smooth low stone that stuck out of the ground near the entrance to the elders' den. It would still be warm from the sun. Dustpelt was sharing
tongues with Whitewing beside the thornbush that formed the warriors' den. His apprentice, Hazelpaw, nodded to him before picking up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and carrying it over to the apprentices' den. Her littermates, Mousepaw and Berrypaw, were there already, eating.

Hollykit caught Mousepaw's eye. The young gray-and-white tom blinked sympathetically at her before looking away. Hollykit lifted her chin a little higher. She wasn't going to let any cat see how scared she was. She would take her punishment like a true warrior.

She watched Sorreltail carry fresh-kill to her mate, Brackenfur. The dark ginger tom was resting beneath Highledge, his breath hoarse after his bout of whitecough. Sorreltail skirted the clearing, avoiding the kits, and dropped a mouse at his paws.

“How are you?” she asked him.

“Better,” he croaked. “I'll be fine in a couple of days. Birchfall's recovered already, thanks to Leafpool.”

“Well, at least you're not in the medicine den anymore,” Sorreltail meowed gratefully.

“Leafpool needed room for Jaykit,” Brackenfur reminded her.

“Poor mite,” Sorreltail meowed. “Do you think he'll be okay?”

Hollykit felt a surge of irritation. Jaykit had been as keen to chase off the fox cubs as she and Lionkit, but he was being fussed over in Leafpool's den, while she and Lionkit had to sit here for the whole Clan to stare at.

She gave a small snort of anger.

“Have you got a tick in your ear?” Lionkit whispered.

“No, but it's just not fair!” she hissed back. “We wouldn't be in so much trouble if Jaykit hadn't fallen over the edge! Why does he have to act like he can do anything and then be so
helpless
?”

“We shouldn't have taken him with us,” Lionkit murmured.

“Can you imagine the fuss he would have made if we hadn't?” Hollykit spat. But then she pictured her brother keeping up with them, finding the milk-scent that led to the den they had been looking for, and guilt swept over her.

He could have died.

The thought pierced her heart like a thorn. The three of them always did everything together. Losing Jaykit would be like losing her tail.

She sighed ruefully. “None of us should have gone.”

“I wish you had realized that earlier!”

Firestar's meow took Hollykit by surprise. Tiny stones were still tumbling into the clearing where he had leaped down the rockfall that led from his den.

Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight followed him down and stood a little behind the ThunderClan leader. Hollykit's heart sank when she saw anger in her father's eyes and disappointment in her mother's. She stared down at her paws, remembering the disastrous ending to their assault on the fox's den. Thornclaw's patrol had arrived just in time to see her and Lionkit flee the den with two fox cubs at their heels.
Thornclaw had yowled in surprise as she sped into the trees, but she dared not stop, fearing the snapping jaws behind her, till she hurtled into Brambleclaw's patrol on its way back from the lakeshore.

“What's happening?” Brambleclaw demanded. He had grasped her by the scruff as she tried to race past. “What are you doing out here?”

Hollykit had tried to explain, but she'd been panting too hard, her heart thudding like a woodpecker on a hollow tree.

Spiderleg caught up with her. “The kits found the fox cubs,” the black warrior told Brambleclaw. “It seems they decided to organize a patrol of their own.”

Hollykit did not dare catch her father's eye.

“Where are Lionkit and Jaykit?” Brambleclaw growled.

“Lionkit's with Poppypaw,” Spiderleg reported. “He's okay. We haven't found Jaykit yet, but the fox cubs have scattered. It's going to take a while to hunt them out.”

Brambleclaw had glanced up at the sky and muttered under his breath, then escorted Hollykit and Lionkit unceremoniously back to the ThunderClan camp.

But that had not been the worst part.

When they'd reached the camp, Whitewing and Leafpool were crouching at the edge of the clearing, their fur spiked in horror. Ferncloud trembled beside them, moaning a low, mournful yowl.

Between them, Jaykit lay on the ground like a scrap of gray fur. Brambleclaw darted forward and crouched beside his son. He nudged Jaykit gently, as though he was trying to wake
him from sleep, but his eyes were frantic with fear.

“He's still breathing, and his heartbeat is steady,” Leafpool told him.

Brambleclaw stared desperately at Leafpool, then sat up. “Fetch Firestar and Squirrelflight,” he ordered Whitewing.

After that he had told Lionkit and Hollykit to wait in the clearing and carried Jaykit to the medicine den. Firestar had returned with Squirrelflight, and the three warriors had disappeared, faces grim, into Firestar's den, not even glancing at Hollykit and Lionkit.

Hollykit leaned against Lionkit as Firestar, Squirrelflight, and Brambleclaw lined up in front of them once more. She was glad she didn't have to face them alone.

“Jaykit's going to be okay,” Firestar told them.

“I know,” Hollykit answered. “We saw him—”

Firestar silenced her with a glare and went on. “But Thornclaw's patrol has not returned. Which means they are still hunting the fox cubs.”

“What possessed you to leave the hollow?” Brambleclaw demanded.

Firestar narrowed his eyes. “I know they are your kits, Brambleclaw,” he meowed, “but I'll deal with this.”

Squirrelflight's tail flicked. Hollykit guessed there were a few sharp words she wanted to share with her kits, but she held her tongue as Firestar spoke.

“We only wanted to help the Clan!” Hollykit protested.

“Then do as you are told!” Firestar growled. “What if Jaykit had died? Would that have helped the Clan?” His fierce
gaze flicked from Lionkit to Hollykit, and they shook their heads.

Firestar pressed on. “You almost led the foxes right into the camp—as it is, you have given them a scent trail they're not likely to forget!”

“We're sorry,” Hollykit whispered.

“We thought if we could find the foxes—” Lionkit began.

“If you'd thought at
all
you would have let our warriors deal with the foxes and the Clan would be safe now!” Firestar lashed his tail. “Instead we have one badly injured kit and three hungry foxes who know where our camp is!”

Hollykit glanced guiltily at the nursery.

Squirrelflight pawed the ground in small, frustrated steps. Firestar nodded for her to speak.

“I'm so disappointed in you both!” she burst out.

“What about Jaykit?” Lionkit objected. “We didn't force him to go with us!”

“We will speak to Jaykit when he's recovered,” Brambleclaw answered. “Right now, it's you two that concern us. You seem to have no more sense than hatchling chicks!”

“Are you going to stop us from becoming apprentices?” Lionkit asked in a small voice.

Hollykit's breath caught in her throat. Would their father really do that? She looked pleadingly up at him.

“If it were up to me,” Brambleclaw meowed, “I would make you wait another moon. But it is Firestar's decision.”

The Clan leader narrowed his eyes. “I'm not going to decide right now,” he told them. “Go back to the nursery.
Ferncloud and Daisy will keep an eye on you, and it is up to you to make sure one of them knows where you are at all times. If you're not where you are supposed to be, then you're clearly not ready for the responsibilities of apprenticeship.”

“We won't wander off again,” Lionkit promised.

“Hollykit?” Firestar prompted.

“I won't do anything that might stop me from becoming an apprentice,” she vowed, meaning every word.

“Very well,” Firestar meowed. “I just hope you have learned something today. True warriors think of the Clan's safety before anything else.” He turned away, padding to where Brackenfur was sharing tongues with Sorreltail.

His parting words seared Hollykit's fur. She had let her Clan down. She glanced nervously at Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight. “We're sorry,” she ventured.

“I should hope so.” Squirrelflight sighed.

“You should be setting an example,” Brambleclaw added.

Squirrelflight's gaze softened a little. She bent down and licked Hollykit and Lionkit each between their ears. “I know you thought you were doing the right thing,” she sympathized.

“We just wanted to help the Clan,” Hollykit insisted.

“Your chance will come,” Brambleclaw promised.

“Will Jaykit have to stay in the nursery, too?” Lionkit asked.

“He'll stay with Leafpool until he's recovered,” Squirrelflight told him. “Then he can rejoin you.”

“Will he be well enough in time for the naming ceremony?” Hollykit mewed.

“If there
is
a naming ceremony,” Lionkit added.

Squirrelflight drew her tail over her son's flank. “You know your brother can't become a full apprentice.”

Hollykit stared at her mother. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it would be impossible to have a blind warrior—” Brambleclaw began but Hollykit turned on him, her paws pricking with fury.

“No, it wouldn't!” she spat. “Jaykit can smell and hear and sense everything that happens in the camp!” She glanced at Lionkit for support. “It's like he
can
see things, but with his nose and ears instead of his eyes!”

She glared at her father, waiting for him to say something, but he only glanced at Squirrelflight, exchanging a look of sadness that made Hollykit tremble with indignation.

Suddenly she heard pawsteps pounding toward the camp. A voice called from beyond the barrier. It was Thornclaw. The golden brown tabby hurried through the thorns with Spiderleg, Poppypaw, and Mousepaw close behind.

Firestar left Brackenfur and Sorreltail and padded over to meet them. Brambleclaw joined him. “Any luck finding them?” the deputy asked.

“Poppypaw and Mousepaw chased one of the cubs over the border into ShadowClan territory,” Thornclaw reported. “But there's no sign of the other two.”

Hollykit's ears burned with shame.

“The cubs are old enough to look after themselves,” Thornclaw went on. “They could cause a lot of trouble in the future.”

Ferncloud pushed her way out of the nursery. “Are the fox cubs nearby?” she fretted.

“No.” Thornclaw shook his head. “We made sure of that. There's no fresh scent this side of the Sky Oak.”

Ferncloud looked a little comforted, but her ears still twitched nervously, and she hurried back to her kits, who were mewling in the nursery.

Hollykit caught Squirrelflight's eye. Her mother blinked at her sympathetically. “Don't be too hard on yourself,” she murmured. “Every cat makes mistakes. You just have to learn from them.”

“I will make it up to the Clan,” Hollykit promised.

“I know you will,” Squirrelflight assured her. “Why don't you go and visit Jaykit? I'm sure he'd love some company.”

“Can I go too?” Lionkit begged.

“I don't know if he's well enough for both of you,” Squirrelflight meowed. “You can go later. But don't forget to tell Daisy or Ferncloud before you leave the nursery. That's what Firestar said, remember?”

Lionkit lashed his short tail but didn't answer. Instead he stalked toward the nursery.

“I'll tell Jaykit you said hi!” Hollykit called after him.

“Whatever,” Lionkit grumbled, not looking back.

 

Hollykit nosed her way through the brambles into the shadows of Leafpool's den. Jaykit was lying by the pool at one side of the den. He turned his jay-feather blue eyes on her as she entered.

“Hi, Hollykit.” His mew sounded tired. His pelt was slicked flat with poultices, making him look as small as a newborn kit. Hollykit felt a stab of pain. He had nearly died.

Jaykit flicked his tail. “There's no need to feel so sorry for me,” he mewed.

Hollykit blinked. How was it that her brother always knew exactly what she was feeling? Sometimes it could be so annoying to have him sniffing out her private thoughts like an inquisitive mouse.

“I'm not going to die,” he went on.

“I never thought you would,” she lied. She padded to Jaykit's side and smoothed the fur between his ears with her tongue.

“What did Firestar say?” Jaykit asked.

“We've got to stay in the nursery until he decides if we can become apprentices,” Hollykit told him.

“
If?
” Jaykit echoed.

“If we do as we're told and stay in camp, then I think we'll be okay,” Hollykit assured him. She hoped it was true. She had never seen Firestar so angry.

“It
has
to be okay!” Jaykit struggled to his paws, then winced with pain.