Stormfur crouched on a jutting spur of rock and looked down into the valley a couple of tail- lengths below. The sun was going down on the fourth day since he and his friends had come to the cave of the Tribe cats. Although the thought of what was happening in the forest hung over their heads like a swollen rain cloud, they had been unable to move on. Tawnypelt's shoulder was healing again, thanks to the herbs Stoneteller had given her, but it was still too stiff for her to walk.
Meanwhile, Stormfur was beginning to think he had gotten used to most of the Tribe's ways. After they returned from hunting, Stoneteller assigned them to mentors. Stormfur and Brambletuft were the only cave-guards, while everyone else were prey-hunters. Sheer Path was a great mentor, and probably the most patient cat he'd ever met. Stormfur found he liked being a cave-guard much more than hunting with the others, even Small Brook.
His ears pricked as he caught the faint sound of fluttering wings, and he peered down into the shadows. A bird had landed just below his group and was pecking at the ground. Instantly, a prey-hunter called Silver Creek sprang. Her claws sunk into the feathers and the bird's shrill call was silenced by Silver Creek breaking its neck.
"Great catch," Stormfur called down, following the other cave-guards to join Silver Creek.
Silver Creek turned to him, her green eyes glowing. "You as well, you're turning out to be a wonderful cave-guard."
Stormfur nodded his thanks to her, but Silver Creek's words made him slightly anxious; did she think he was getting too comfortable here? The other cave-guards seem to assume that Stormfur and his friends intended to stay with the Tribe for good.
When they reached the pool, Stormfur set down another catch for a brief rest before climbing the rocks and negotiating the ledge behind the waterfall. The sun had set and the peak was outlined against a sky the color of blood. Stormfur shivered, trying not to picture blood being shed back home in the forest. However happy he felt to be helping the Tribe, they had to move on as soon as they could.
But his mind flashed back to what happened the day prior.
He and his friends were calmly sharing fresh-kill, a few Tribe cats joining them, when the loudest sound Stormfur's ever heard erupted from the other side of the waterfall. Every Tribe cat stiffened, and Shadowed Wings quickly left Squirrelpaw's side to shove her kits into a small tunnel. The other Tribe cats circled the sides of the walls, their fur bristling and their claws extended. A few of the to-bes, Stone Tooth and Rising Sun, herded Squirrelpaw and the other apprentices as far back as they could, while cave-guards rushed over to stand protectively in front of the rest of the forest cats, effectively hiding them behind their massive bodies.
"What's going on?" Brambletuft demanded.
"No time," Sheer Path replied, his eyes fixed on the waterfall. "Danger is here."
"What danger?" Feathertail asked, pushing forward. "Sheer Path, please, what danger is here?"
Before the cave-guards could respond, a group of prey-hunters and a few cave-guards burst into the cave, prey dragging behind them but they all looked just as frightened as the others.
Stoneteller padded forward to meet the head prey-hunter. "Is everyone back?" he rasped.
Raven's Wing, a black she-cat, shook her head, her head hanging low. "It took Black Rabbit," she mewed.
Stoneteller dipped his head, and every Tribe cat followed.
Whatever happened, Stormfur was sure they were soon to meet what was frightening the Tribe cats and—killing them.
Stormfur shook his head. Now was not the time to think about what had happened. In the cave, he carried the catch over to the fresh-kill pile and went to find his friends. He found them clumped together near their sleeping hollows and padded over to join them, nearly avoiding a pair of to-bes training with a cave-guard. They were running up and climbing the wall as high as they could, trying to go higher with each try. Stormfur remembered his own training with both Stonefur and his father, and wondered if he'd get his own apprentice one day.
The other cats were gathered around Tawnypelt, who was on her paws, twisting her head to examine her shoulder. Feathertail's tongue rasped busily over her fur.
"It's much better," she meowed. "There's no swelling at all, and the wound's healing cleanly. How does it feel, Tawnypelt?"
The ShadowClan warrior flexed the injured shoulder, then dropped into a hunter's crouch and crept a few tail-lengths along the cave floor. "Stoneteller certainly knows his stuff," she reported. "I don't know the herbs he used, but they're just as good as burdock root. The shoulder's a bit stiff, that's all," she added, springing up again. "It'll be fine if I keep exercising it. I just wish I could get my claws on that rat!"
"Then it's time we were leaving," Brambletuft mewed. "I'll have a word with Stoneteller, and we'll set off first thing tomorrow. And hopefully we'll avoid whatever that thing was yesterday."
"Right," Crowpaw growled. "They'd better not try to stop us."
"They won't." Feathertail pressed her nose comfortingly against his ear. "I'm sure you're worrying about nothing. The Tribe cats have been nothing but kind to us ever since we got here."
"They'll probably be glad to see the back of us, especially with leaf-bare coming," Squirrelpaw agreed cheerfully. Then she hesitated, and her eyes flashed over to the group of kits. "Though, I'm going to miss Shining Snow and Wild Snow. And Heron's Wing. Even Leaping Wolf, and he's even grumpier than Dustpelt is."
Swiftpaw nodded. "Silver Creek was a fine mentor, though we never did get to see their full moon tradition, and Stone Tooth is close to becoming a full cave-guard."
"I suppose we'll all miss something from the Tribe," Brambletuft meowed.
It was at this moment that Crowpaw spotted Stormfur approaching.
"There you are!" he exclaimed, his lip curling unpleasantly. "Decided to join us, have you? Gotten bored of your new Tribe friends?"
"Crowpaw. . ." Squirrelpaw murmured, flicking him with her tail.
Stung, Stormfur stalked up to the WindClan apprentice. "If he's got something to say, let him say it."
"Only that you spend all your time with them. Maybe you'd like to stay here for good. After all, things are going to be pretty tough when we get back to the forest."
"Don't be stupid. We've all grown close to the Tribe cats," Stormfur retorted. Turning his back on Crowpaw, he saw that all the others were looking at him gravely, as if they half agreed with what the WindClan cat had said. "Come on," Stormfur went on, alarmed. "What have I done any different from the rest of you? I've only accompanied them on a few hunts, no more than you all. You said it yourself, Brambletuft, that we need to catch our own prey. What makes you think that I care any less than you about what happens to the forest?"
"No cat thinks that," Feathertail mewed soothingly.
"He does." Stormfur twitched his ears at Crowpaw. "This isn't about the dreams, is it? Just because I wasn't chosen by StarClan. . . You haven't had more dreams, have you, and not told me?"
He unsheathed his claws, hating that they scraped against stone rather than soft riverside earth or a tangle of reeds. Crowpaw he could understand; the apprentice had always been difficult, and he would fight with StarClan themselves. But that the others might think him less than loyal—even his own sister. . . It was almost as bad as the time when Tigerstar had merged two Clans together, and he and Feathertail had nearly been killed for being halfClan. Feathertail, above all, should remember that and understand. Stormfur stifled a flash of guilt as he thought about how comfortable he had felt among the Tribe, but he was determined to remain loyal to RiverClan.
"No, we haven't had any more dreams," Brambletuft replied. "Settle down, Stormfur, and Crowpaw, stop annoying him. We have problems enough without that."
"It's that waterfall," Tawnypelt meowed unexpectedly. "The noise of it, day and night, is driving me mad. StarClan could be sending us every sign under the sun, but we'd never hear them. I'll be glad when we're out in the open again, and well away from this place."
There was a soft snarl in Crowpaw's voice. "We need to go back to the forest, and defend it like warriors should. Stormfur can come or not."
"Oh, shut up, mouse-brain." Squirrelpaw leaned back on her hind legs and rested her forepaws on Crowpaw's head, pushing it closer to the ground. She seemed oblivious to the dark apprentice's furious hisses. "Stormfur's just as loyal as you."
Stormfur blinked gratefully at her. "Of course I'm coming with you," he meowed.
"Then let's eat, and get a good night's sleep," Brambletuft growled. "It might be our last chance for a while."
Stormfur looked up and flinched, surprised to see that while they had been talking several of the Tribe cats had gathered and were watching them with serious faces.
Sharp Cliff stepped forward. "Why do you talk about leaving?" he meowed. "You'll never make it through the mountains in the season of frozen-water. Stay with us until the sun returns."
"We can't do that!" Squirrelpaw exclaimed. "There's trouble back home—we told you that when we arrived."
"We're grateful for the offer," Brambletuft meowed much calmer, brushing his tail across Squirrelpaw's mouth to silence her, only to grunt when she bit down on it. "But we have to go."
The Tribe cats glanced at one another, their neck fur starting to bristle. Suddenly they looked threatening. Several of the powerful cave-guards that had once protected them now moved to stand between them and the entrance, and Stormfur saw Shadowed Wings and Heron's Wing herding their kits toward the nursery tunnel. The meaning was clear; Stormfur knew that if they tried to leave now they would have a fight on their paws.
Spotting Small Brook near the back of the group, he thrust past a cave-guard to stand in front of her. "What's going on?" he demanded. "Why are you treating us like prisoners?"
Small Brook would not meet his gaze. "Please. . ." she murmured. "Are you so unhappy here that staying is such a terrible thing? Don't you like it here with me?"
"That's not the point! We told you multiple times that we were sent on a mission from StarClan, what part of that did you not understand? We need to leave; we don't have a choice." Stormfur whirled around to question Sharp Cliff, but the cave-guard avoided his gaze, and he knew that their budding friendship was being brushed aside out of loyalty to the Tribe, for reasons he could not begin to guess. He had believed that the Tribe cats liked them for who they were, and the pain at their betrayal tore him like an eagle's talons.
"Fox dung to this!" Crowpaw muttered, trying to force his way past the massive cave-guards.
Sharp Cliff raised his paw, and another cave-guard thrust Crowpaw back with a furious hiss. The WindClan apprentice's bristling fur and lashing tail showed that he was ready to attack both of them at once. Almost like his movements were a signal, Squirrelpaw and Swiftpaw padded to his sides, their own fur bristling as they prepared to lunge. Squirrelpaw's gaze shot to the side, and Stormfur followed it to see Shining Snow had crept from his tunnel and was watching.
"Wait," Feathertail murmured, pushing between the apprentices and the cave-guards. "Let's find out what all this is about."
"It means trouble," Crowpaw snarled. "No cat is going to stop me from leaving."
He shouldered his way past Feathertail and leaped on Sharp Cliff, bowling the huge cave-guard over. Sharp Cliff's hind paws battered his belly, but before the fight could go any further, Brambletuft fastened his teeth into Crowpaw's scruff and dragged him off.
The apprentice spun around to face him, eyes blazing. "Get off me!" he snarled.
"Then stop being so mouse-brained!" Brambletuft hissed, just as furious. "These guards could turn you into crowfood. We have to find out what they want."
Stormfur hated to admit defeat, but if they fought their way out tonight—even supposing they could—they would have to face a cold night on an unfamiliar mountainside. And looking around at the burly, well-muscled cave-guards, barely out of breath from the tussle with Crowpaw, Stormfur knew they could not hope to survive a fight without injury, and that would make their journey harder than ever. Why didn't Midnight foresee this? he wondered desperately. Or had she foreseen it, and kept it hidden from them?
He saw that Stoneteller had emerged from his tunnel. Now perhaps we'll get some answers, he thought.
The cave-guards stepped back to allow their leader to come closer to the Clan cats; Brambletuft padded forward to face him."I think there must be some misunderstanding," he began. Stormfur could see his efforts to stay calm. "We have to leave tomorrow, and your Tribe doesn't seem to want us to go. We're grateful for your help and shelter, but—"
He broke off; Stoneteller wasn't listening. His eyes glimmered like pebbles on a streambed as he gazed around the group of cats. Raising his voice, he meowed, "I have received a sign from the Tribe of Endless Hunting. It is time for a Telling."
"A Telling? What's that?" Squirrelpaw mewed.
"Maybe it's like a Gathering," Stormfur murmured.
"But there aren't any other Tribes to meet with."
"Then maybe it's like when our medicine cats receive omens from StarClan." In spite of his fears that they would not be allowed to leave the cave, Stormfur couldn't help feeling curious about discovering more of the Tribe's different beliefs.
The cave-guards gathered more closely around the Clan cats and began to herd them toward the tunnel from where Stoneteller had just emerged.
"Back off!" Tawnypelt snapped at one of them. "Where are you taking us?"
Stormfur wondered that too. Until now he had assumed that the second tunnel just led to Stoneteller's private den.
"To the Cave of Pointed Stones," Stoneteller replied. "There, many things will be made clear to you."
"And what if we don't want to go?" Without waiting for a reply, Crowpaw launched himself at the nearest cave-guard, a dark gray tom, who was more than twice his size. The cave-guard casually swatted him away with a huge paw, sending him half stunned to the floor of the cave. Feathertail and Squirrelpaw immediately leaped to his defense, spitting and lashing out, claws extended. Squirrelpaw had even managed to land a hit above the cave-guard's eye, leaving a trickle of blood to drip down into his eye. The cave-guard turned to her, his eyes narrowed menacingly.
"No!" A high-pitched voice exclaimed. Stormfur turned to see Shining Snow and Wild Snow scampering over as quickly as they could with Shadowed Wings behind them. "Don't hurt Squirrelpaw, Jagged Rock!"
The cave-guard, Jagged Rock, twisted his head to stare disbelieving at the kits. At the same time, Crowpaw and Feathertail took place on one side of Squirrelpaw, while Swiftpaw and Tawnypelt leaped to the other. Only Stormfur and Brambletuft remained calm.
"Don't hurt her?" Jagged Rock snarled. "Do you not see my eye?"
"Squirrelpaw is fun," Wind Snow argued. "She's not boring like you are!"
Jagged Rock's narrowed gaze turned back to Squirrelpaw. "I hope you're happy, forest cat. You've turned my own kits against me," he growled.
"At least your kits don't go around batting cats like they're moss," Squirrelpaw retorted.
"Enough!" Brambletuft thrust his way between the Clan cats and Jagged Rock. "If we want to get an explanation, there will be no fighting. Then we'll decide what to do. Do you hear me, Crowpaw, Squirrelpaw?"
The apprentices only curled their lips at him, turning their backs. Shining Snow and Wild Snow wriggled themselves between their legs, nearly tripping them as they walked but neither of them said a word.
"Get a move on," growled another guard.
Stormfur stumbled, almost losing his balance as the nearest guard butted him toward the tunnel. It took all his self-control to move on quietly. Then he realized that Small Brook was beside him. There was something like relief in her eyes as she mewed, "Don't worry. Everything will become clear soon."
"I'm not worried." Stormfur's voice was cold. He had thought they were friends, and she betrayed him. "You can't keep us here forever."
He was almost pleased when she winced. "Please. . ." she whispered. "You don't understand. It's for the sake of the Tribe."
Stormfur curled his lip and turned away. He padded after Tawnypelt into the passage, with a couple of cave-guards close behind.
In the darkness he heard Stoneteller's voice raised in a soft chant. "When the Tribe of Endless Hunting calls, we come to listen."
More voices answered him from behind Stormfur, not just the cave-guards, but the rest of the Tribe cats pressing into the tunnel. "In rock and pool, in air and light on water, through fall of prey and cry of kit, through scrape of claw and beat of blood, we hear you."
The voices echoed through the shadows. Stormfur saw moonlight filtering in from some- where ahead, and Tawnypelt's pricked ears outlined in gray. He stepped out into another cave, and for a moment all his fears and frustrations vanished and he stood with his mouth dropped open in awe.
This cave was much smaller than the one they had just left. A jagged rift high in the roof let in a shaft of moonlight that bathed the floor in watery gray light. Stormfur was standing amid a forest of pointed stones, many more than in the main cave; some of them grew up from the floor while others hung down above his head. A few of them had joined together as if they were propping up the roof, pale yellow and rippled with tiny streams of water trickling down to pool on the hard stone floor.
Earlier that day rain had fallen through the hole to leave a pattern of puddles around Storm- fur's paws. The roar of the waterfall, so loud in the outer cave, had sunk to a whisper, faint enough that he could hear drops of water falling from the roof.
All the Clan cats were silent, the same awe, which Stormfur felt, shining in their eyes. The place reminded Stormfur of Mothermouth; as well as being in a moonlit cave, there was the same sense of being in the presence of something greater than himself. But this was not the home of StarClan, but the Tribe of Endless Hunting, and would they even care about cats from territories far away? A shiver went through him and in his mind he formed a prayer to StarClan. Guard us and guide us, even here.
The cave-guards nudged the Clan cats farther into the cave, while Stoneteller stalked ahead of them until he stood in the center of the forest of stones. There he turned to face the rest of the cats. "We stand in the Cave of Pointed Stones," he meowed; his voice was high and expressionless. "Moonrise is here, caught in rock and in water as it has always been and always will be. It is time for a Telling. We call on the Tribe of Endless Hunting to show us their will."
"Show us your will," the other Tribe cats responded in chorus. Almost all of them had pushed into the cave behind the Clan cats; the air was growing warm with their bodies and damp, misty breath.
Moving like a shadow, Stoneteller padded to and fro, peering into the puddles. His eyes shone in the moonlight, and the mud on his fur looked more sinister and stone-like than ever. Small Brook had told Stormfur that her leader had been given special abilities by the Tribe of Endless Hunting, just as the Clan leaders were given nine lives by StarClan, but he had found it hard to believe until now. Outlined in watery light and surrounded by strange points of rock, Stoneteller looked in possession of more power than all the forest cats put together.
At last the header of the Tribe paused beside one of the biggest pools, and murmured, "We greet you, Tribe of Endless Hunting, and we thank you for your mercy in saving us at last from Sharptooth."
"We thank you," the Tribe cats murmured in response.
Stormfur tensed. Exchanging glances with his friends, he saw his own confusion in their eyes. What did Stoneteller mean? What was Sharptooth, and why did the Tribe need to be saved from it? Was it the thing that took Black Rabbit?
"Why is—" Squirrelpaw began, only to be reduced to silence by a hiss from a nearby cave-guard.
Stoneteller went on. "Tribe of Endless Hunting, we thank you for sending the promised cat."
"We thank you," the Tribe cats responded again, their voices growing stronger.
Raising his head, Stoneteller commanded, "Let him stand forth."
Before Stormfur could protest, two of the largest cave-guards thrust him forward. Taken by surprise, he slid sideways into a puddle, shattering the moonlight into glittering splinters. A gasp of shock rose from the Tribe, and he heard a cat murmur, "An evil omen!"
Fighting to stay calm, he shook the water off his paws and walked forward until he stood beside Stoneteller in the center of the pointed stones.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
Stoneteller raised a paw for silence. His eyes glowed in the moonlight with unconcealed triumph as he murmured, "Do not question. This is your fate."
Glancing around, Stormfur saw that all the Tribe cats were gazing at him with the same expectation in their eyes and a kind of joy, as if he were the most wonderful sight they had ever seen. "It is your fate," they repeated.
He had been right all along. The Tribe had singled him out as special, and now he was going to find out why.
"The time has come," Stoneteller intoned solemnly. "The promised cat is here, and at last we will be saved from Sharptooth."
"I don't understand!" Stormfur burst out. "I've never even heard of Sharptooth."
As if his words had broken a spell, his friends pressed forward to stand beside him, only to be shoved back by the cave-guards. Squirrelpaw swiped with unsheathed claws, Swiftpaw spat, and both Crowpaw and Tawnypelt flexed their claws on the cold stone, but Brambletuft snarled for them to stop. The cave-guards clearly didn't want to fight; they kept their claws sheathed, only shouldering the forest cats into a tight group.
"Sharptooth is a huge cat," Stoneteller began, his voice hushed with fear. "He lives in the mountains, and makes the Tribe his prey. For many seasons now he has picked us off, one by one."
"He looks like a lion," Sharp Cliff added, and asked, "Do you know of lions?"
"We have legends of LionClan," Stormfur replied, still wondering what Sharptooth could possibly have to do with him. "Lions are known for their strength and wisdom, and they have a golden mane like the sun's warm rays."
"Sharptooth has no mane," Stoneteller meowed. "Perhaps he lost it because he is so evil. He is the enemy of our Tribe." His voice was bleak, his eyes shining cold with memories. "We feared that he would not rest until every cat of the Tribe had been killed."
"But then the Tribe of Endless Hunting sent us the promised cat," Stormfur's head whipped around as he heard Small Brook's voice. She had drawn close to him, and was gazing at him, her eyes filled with hope and admiration. "Stormfur, you're the chosen one. You'll save us all. I know you will."
"How can I?" A slow anger had begun to burn inside Stormfur, replacing his bewilderment. "What do you expect me to do?"
"Before the last full moon, the Tribe of Endless Hunting sent a prophecy to us," Stoneteller explained. "They said that a silver cat would save us from Sharptooth. We knew as soon as we saw you by the pool that you must be the cat who was promised to us."
"But I can't be," Stormfur protested. "My fur is gray, not silver, and I come from a forest a long way away. I've never even seen this Sharptooth."
"That's true." Brambletuft padded forward to stand beside Stormfur. "We're sorry that Sharptooth is threatening you, but our Clans at home are in danger too."
"Maybe even worse danger," Feathertail added anxiously. "We have to go."
Stoneteller flicked his ears. Without a word, the cave-guards surrounded the forest cats and began thrusting them back toward the cave entrance—all except Stormfur, who was surrounded by a separate patrol. Feathertail desperately tried to break through to her brother, but the nearest cave-guard bowled her over with a swipe of his paw.
"Take your paws off her, you piece of fox dung!" Crowpaw spat, hurling himself at the cave- guard and raking his claws over the Tribe cat's ears. Squirrelpaw and Swiftpaw quickly joined in, tackling cats of their own as they fought to get to Stormfur. Tawnypelt had almost jumped in as well, until Brambletuft put a paw in front of her.
"Not now," he meowed. "It won't help any cat if we all get ripped to shreds."
Squirrelpaw, having paused her wrestling match with her own cave-guard, twisted her neck to snarl furiously at him. "How dare you! You—you coward! How can you let them take Stormfur like that?" She didn't wait for Brambletuft to reply before she was bounding over to him and swiped an unsheathed claw at his face.
Every cat stopped, watching with wide eyes as blood dripped down Brambletuft's face, similar to Jagged Rock.
Squirrelpaw breathed heavily. "I knew I never should've trusted you," she growled. Turning sharply, she stalked out of the cave with her tail lashing. When Heron's Wing tried to say something, she snarled, "Don't ever speak to me again, you traitor."
Stormfur thought he'd never seen a cat look so pained until he saw Heron's Wing. The kit- mother looked as if she'd lost one of her own kits when Squirrelpaw called her a traitor.
Crowpaw and Swiftpaw turned to follow her, snarling at any cat who dared step close to them.
"Come back!" Brambletuft called, shaking his head to clear some of the blood.
Swiftpaw turned his head to glare over his shoulder. "Real warriors die for their Clans," he hissed. "You're nothing but a coward who will show their belly to any cat."
"StarClan, help us," Feathertail choked out as she was forced out of the cave.
"Do not fear," Stoneteller meowed reassuringly. "This is the will of the Tribe of Endless Hunting."
Stormfur felt as though he were falling into deep, dark water as he saw his friends forced away from him. His heart hurt that Squirrelpaw had injured cats for him, all the while looking pained. He, too, felt pained that his friends were getting hurt for him. When he tried to follow, Sharp Cliff and Sheer Path moved to block his way.
"Over there," Sharp Cliff meowed, pointing with his tail to the other end of the Cave of Pointed Stones. "You'll find a sleeping hollow ready for you." As Stormfur faced him with blazing eyes and curled lips, Sharp Cliff added awkwardly, "It won't be so bad. You'll kill Sharptooth for us—the Tribe of Endless Hunting says so—and then you can leave if you still want to."
"Kill Sharptooth!" Stormfur exclaimed, remembering the rank scent and thunderous roar he'd heard before. That must have been Sharptooth, hunting close to the cave entrance where it caught Black Rabbit, no wonder the Tribe cats looked so frightened. "How can I do that, if all of you have failed? This is a mouse-brained idea. You're all mad."
"No." That was Stoneteller again, padding up to stand at Stormfur's shoulder. "You must have faith in the Tribe of Endless Hunting. The sign was clear, and you came, just as they promised."
"My faith is in StarClan," Stormfur snarled, his claws scraping against the stone. "Not some dead cats who tell their followers to keep other cats prisoner when they did nothing to deserve it!"
"Go to your sleeping hollow," Stoneteller meowed. "We will bring you fresh-kill. Your coming has been long awaited, and you need have no fear that we will ill-treat you."
But you didn't deny that you're holding me prisoner, Stormfur thought scornfully. He padded to the back of the cave to find the sleeping hollow Sharp Cliff had indicated and found it warmly lined with dried grass and feathers. A couple of tail-lengths away was another scoop in the rock, also lined with bedding, where he guessed Stoneteller slept.
Stormfur lapped water from the nearest pool and then lay down with his head on his paws to try to figure out how to escape. But it was hard to think, with the pain of betrayal throbbing through him. He had really believed that the Tribe cats liked him, without any of the questions that shadowed his RiverClan friendships about his parentage or his loyalty. Instead, they only wanted him to fulfill their prophecy.
A few moments later Small Brook appeared, a rabbit in her jaws, and set it down timidly in front of him. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Is it really so bad, to stay here with the Tribe? I. . . I want to be your friend, Stormfur, if you will let me." She hesitated, and then added, "I'll stay with you now, if you like. It is our way to groom each other's fur, especially in times of hardship. We call it the giving of close comfort."
She must mean sharing tongues, Stormfur realized. Not long before, he would have been delighted at the thought of sharing tongues with Small Brook. Now the idea outraged him. Did she really think he would want to be close to her, when she had betrayed and lied to him?
"Stormfur. . .?" Small Brook's eyes shone with compassion, but their glow was like a fire searing Stormfur to the heart. He turned his back to her without saying anything.
He heard a faint gasp of pain from Small Brook, and then her pawsteps vanished down the tunnel. When she had gone, he turned back to prod the rabbit with one paw. He had been hungry at the end of the day's hunting, but now the thought of eating made him feel sick. Still, he forced himself to choke down the fresh-kill, because he knew that whatever happened next, he would need all his strength.
He curled up in the sleeping hollow and lay staring at the tunnel where his friends had disappeared. Sharp Cliff and Sheer Path were on duty at the entrance, and as Stormfur watched, Stoneteller emerged from the shadows and slipped between the guards, back to the main cave. Be- tween them and Stormfur lay pools of shimmering water, lit by the cold moonlight. They reminded Stormfur of the river, but he missed its endless murmuring and the glitter and splash of moving water.
As he closed his eyes and tried to sleep he reflected sadly that he need never have come on this journey at all. He hadn't been chosen by StarClan, had never been summoned by a dream. But right now he would have given anything for the whole adventure to have been a dream, if only he could wake up in the morning to find himself back home in RiverClan.