Dark River

Suddenly, she spotted the pelts of RiverClan warriors and apprentices weaving through the grass on either side of the stream. On the near side, she recognized the apprentices Pouncepaw and Minnowpaw. They were helping Reedwhisker and Voletooth to shift stones, pushing them toward the stream and tipping them over the edge so that they fell with a loud splash into the water.

“What are they doing?”

“Blocking the stream to make it deeper and wider,” Willowpaw replied.

Blackclaw, a muscular, broad-shouldered black tom, called from the far side of the stream. “Hurry! Grab what you can!”

He stood near the water’s edge, calling orders to warriors who were bravely leaping across the channel with wads of mossy bedding dangling from their jaws.

“We need to rescue as much stuff as we can,” Willowpaw explained. “The pine needles on the island are no good for making the nests weatherproof.”

“But why are you doing all this?” Hollypaw couldn’t understand what was going on. The old camp looked safe enough, almost as well protected by the divided stream as ThunderClan was by the cliffs of stone.

A warning yowl sounded upstream and Minnowpaw came hurtling down the bank. “They’re coming!”

Every RiverClan cat instantly dropped whatever they were carrying or pushing and scrambled away from the island, heading down toward the lake.

Hollypaw’s fur bristled. “What’s the matter?”

“You’ll see,” Willowpaw mewed.

Tramping through the grass, along the far side of the stream, came a gang of Twoleg kits. They were sweeping jagged branches through the grass and mewling loudly to one another. As Hollypaw watched, the largest of the kits hopped from the shore and onto a stone that barely broke the surface of the stream, then onto another and another. Balancing precariously on one leg, it leaned toward the island, and began to poke the bushes with its stick. The other kits yelped their approval and encouraged him by waving their hairless paws in the air.

Hollypaw stared at her friend in dismay.

Willowpaw lashed her tail. “Now do you see why we had to leave?”

Chapter 13

“It was Blackclaw’s idea to push the stones into the stream,” Willowpaw explained as they picked their way down the sandy cliff.

Hollypaw put her head on one side. “But that will stop the water flowing.”

“Exactly, so the stream above gets deeper and wider, and the island will be better protected.”

Hollypaw was impressed. “But will it be enough to keep the Twoleg kits away?”

“Once the stream’s flooded, we’re going to put up barricades of gorse.” Willowpaw stopped to catch her breath. “The Twolegs aren’t trying to hurt us. I think they’re just playing.”

She bent her head to wash the red sand from her pads.

“They’re like our kits. If we make it too hard for them to get near the island, they’ll give up and play somewhere else.”

“And then you can move back to the island!” Hollypaw guessed. RiverClan had no intention of moving onto WindClan territory. Her paws tingled. She couldn’t wait to get back to her own camp and tell Firestar. WindClan’s borders were perfectly safe, and they’d have no need to try to take any of ThunderClan’s territory. There wasn’t going to be a battle after all!

Willowpaw bounded down the rest of the slope and wove in among the reeds.

Hollypaw hurried after her. “But why didn’t Leopardstar just tell the other Clans what was going on?”

“And look weak because we’d been driven out of our home?”

“But the other Clans might have helped.”

“RiverClan can sort out their own problems!”

Hollypaw lowered her gaze. “I didn’t mean to say that you couldn’t, but—”

Willowpaw’s pelt was bristling. “It’s hard living on the island. There’s not enough fish because the boats scare them away, and we can’t hunt in the rest of our territory until we get rid of the Twoleg kits. The Clan is hungry and hungry warriors don’t win battles.”

Hollypaw remembered Mistyfoot’s dull pelt and the way Mothwing’s bones jutted out on her hips and along her spine.

“Do you really think Leopardstar can trust the other Clans not to take advantage?” Willowpaw went on, pushing her way through a clump of marsh grass. “We need all our strength to rescue our camp from the Twolegs.”

“I won’t tell ThunderClan that you’re hungry,” Hollypaw promised. “Only that you’ll be back in your old camp soon and there’s no reason to think you’ll have to leave your territory.”

Willowpaw blinked gratefully. “But first you have to get home,” she reminded her. “Your Clan must be wondering where you are.”

Hollypaw felt a twinge of guilt. Had her Clanmates noticed she was missing yet? “I’ll just go back the way I came.”

Willowpaw stretched up on her hind legs and peered above the spiky grass. “The shore’s quiet,” she announced, dropping down onto four paws. She began to weave through the marsh toward the firmer ground inland, where bushes and ferns crowded the shoreline.