The Silent Thaw

She hesitated. Rootpaw clearly wanted her to go along with this story. Tree was staring at her too. There had to be a good reason why they were lying about which one of them could see the ghost. She swished her tail. “He’s telling the truth,” she mewed.

Frecklewish narrowed her eyes. “What message did you give her?” she asked Rootpaw.

“What did the ghost want to tell her?” Whorlpelt added.

Bristlefrost glanced at Rootpaw. She remembered the message as though it were burned into her thoughts.

Rootpaw was staring solemnly at Whorlpelt. “He wanted to tell her that he didn’t know who was in his body, but it wasn’t him.”

The gathered cats exchanged glances, unease glittering in their eyes.

“She didn’t believe it at first,” Bristlefrost added. “But with how strangely Bramblestar’s been acting, she couldn’t deny it for long.”

Breezepelt tipped his head thoughtfully. “But even if she believes it now, she can’t just get rid of him. She’d need the support of her Clanmates. It could be dangerous.”

Stemleaf nodded. “We don’t want our Clanmates fighting one another,” he agreed.

“And we can’t risk Bramblestar getting hurt,” Spotfur chimed. “Bramblestar’s ghost will want his body back.”

Stemleaf gazed around at the other cats. They swapped anxious glances as silence filled the hollow.

Bristlefrost puffed out her chest, frustrated. “We have to do something,” she pressed. “The impostor tried to kill Sparkpelt.”

Twigbranch’s pelt spiked. “What?”

“The dogs that attacked her weren’t there by accident,” Bristlefrost looked around at the other cats. “Bramblestar sent Sparkpelt to search for catmint beside the abandoned Twoleg den on our land,” she explained. “She was attacked by dogs while she was looking for it. I went to investigate and found that some cat had been storing fresh-kill inside the old den. I think it was Bramblestar. I think he’d been luring dogs there for days before he sent Sparkpelt to fetch the catmint.”

“How do you know it was Bramblestar?” Frecklewish asked.

“Who else could it have been?” Bristlefrost blinked at her. “He was angry with her because she’d tried to find Lionblaze. So he sent her there even after Alderheart told him that catmint wouldn’t be growing yet.”

Twigbranch padded closer to Finleap, her tail twitching nervously. “Are any of us safe?”

“I don’t think so.” Bristlefrost blinked at her. “That’s why we have to persuade Squirrelflight to join us. I don’t think it will be hard. She must want the real Bramblestar back, too.”

Spotfur’s gaze glittered warily. “Why should we believe you really want to help? You could be spying for Bramblestar.”

“Why would I spy for an impostor?” Bristlefrost squared her shoulders. “You have to trust me. I only tried to help Bramblestar before I knew what he was. But now that I know he’s not Bramblestar, I want to protect my Clan. I’ll do anything you ask.”

Stemleaf eyed her suspiciously. “Do you think you can persuade Squirrelflight to join us?”

“Of course!” Bristlefrost blinked at him eagerly.

Spotfur pricked her ears. “Joining us isn’t enough. She has to tell the other leaders that Bramblestar’s an impostor.”

“I can ask her.”

“You have to convince her,” Spotfur pressed. “It’s the only way we can save the Clans from Bramblestar.”

“I’ll try.” Bristlefrost’s paws pricked excitedly. She was going to help make everything okay again.

Spotfur looked around at the cats. “If Squirrelflight tells the other Clans what’s going on, they’ll have to help us.”

Frecklewish’s ears twitched uneasily. “What if they don’t believe her?” she mewed. “After all, she’s one of the codebreakers.”

Sneezecloud nodded. “Bramblestar has only been trying to make sure the Clans follow StarClan’s message about the codebreakers. It’s going to be hard convincing every cat that he’s an impostor when StarClan’s on his side.”

“We have to have faith in our Clanmates,” Stemleaf told the RiverClan warrior. “They’ll recognize the truth when they hear it, just like Squirrelflight did. And the more Clans that know the truth, the less power he’ll have.”

Breezepelt grunted. “Won’t it just seem like she’s stirring up trouble?”

“Trouble has already been stirred up!” Spotfur glared at him. “Do you want to stand by while this impostor banishes some poor cat forever, or tries to send more of his Clanmates to their deaths?”

Breezepelt whisked his tail. “Of course not. But we can’t think this is going to be easy.”

Bristlefrost lifted her muzzle. “Squirrelflight can do it.”

Frecklewish’s gaze darkened. “I hope so.”

Dawn was already lighting the edge of the sky by the time Bristlefrost reached camp. She’d trailed behind Stemleaf and Spotfur, keeping her distance, unsure if they’d forgiven her for helping Bramblestar. Besides, the other two warriors were so close now, she felt awkward around them. She’d put her feelings for Stemleaf aside, but it didn’t mean that seeing him and Spotfur together didn’t hurt. They’d gone to their nests by the time she reached the hollow, and she crouched below the Highledge and waited for her Clanmates to wake up.