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Dustpaw looked at Sandpaw expectantly. Fireheart guessed he was waiting for her to agree with him, like she used to, but Sandpaw wasn’t listening. Fireheart felt a small prickle of satisfaction at the irritated look on Dustpaw’s face as she meowed breathlessly, “We found out that the river’s frozen. I think Bluestar’s planning a raid on RiverClan!”
At that moment their leader’s call sounded from the Highrock, and the Clan began to gather in the clearing. The sun had reached its high point, which in leaf-bare meant that it was barely above the treetops.
“Sandpaw and Fireheart have brought good news. The river is frozen over,” Bluestar announced. “We will take this opportunity to make a raid on RiverClan’s hunting grounds, to send the message that they must stop stealing our prey. Our warriors will track down one of their patrols and give them a warning that they’ll remember for a long time!”
Fireheart winced as he remembered what Silverstream had told him about her starving Clan. Around him, the other cats raised their voices in eager yowls. Fireheart had not heard the Clan this excited for many moons.
“Tigerclaw!” Bluestar called above the din. “Are our warriors fit enough for a raid on RiverClan?”
Tigerclaw nodded.
“Excellent.” Bluestar lifted her tail. “Then we shall leave at sunset.” The Clan yowled with delight. Fireheart’s paws prickled. Was Bluestar going too? Surely she wouldn’t risk her last life on a border raid?
Fireheart looked over his shoulder at Graystripe. He was staring up at the Highrock, the tip of his tail twitching nervously. As the yowls died away, Graystripe called out, “It feels warmer today. A thaw would make the ice too dangerous to cross.”
Fireheart held his breath as the other cats turned to look curiously at Graystripe.
Tigerclaw stared down at Graystripe, his amber eyes puzzled. “You’re not usually reluctant to fight,” the dark warrior meowed slowly.
Darkstripe craned his neck and added, “Yes, Graystripe—you’re not afraid of those RiverClan fleabags, are you?”
Graystripe fidgeted uncomfortably as the Clan waited for an answer.
“Looks like he’s scared!” hissed Dustpaw from Sandpaw’s side.
Fireheart’s tail flicked angrily, but he managed to keep his voice light as he called, “Yes, of getting his paws wet! Graystripe’s fallen through the ice once this leaf-bare; he’s not keen to do it again.”
The tension in the Clan dissolved into amused purrs. Graystripe looked down at the ground, his ears flat. Only Tigerclaw kept his suspicious frown.
Bluestar waited until the murmurings had died away. “I must discuss the raid with my senior warriors.” She leaped down from the Highrock, landing so lightly that it was hard to believe that she had been fighting for her lives just days ago. Tigerclaw, Whitestorm, and Willowpelt followed her to her den, and the rest of the Clan broke away into groups to discuss the proposed attack.
“I suppose you expect me to thank you for embarrassing me!” Fireheart heard Graystripe’s angry hiss in his ear.
“Not at all,” he snapped. “But you could at least be grateful I’m still covering up for you!” He bounded away to the edge of the clearing, his fur bristling with fury.
Sandpaw ran over to join him. “It’s about time we showed those RiverClan cats that they can’t hunt in our territory whenever they like,” she meowed, her eyes shining.
“Yes, I suppose so,” Fireheart answered absently. He couldn’t take his eyes off Graystripe. Was he imagining it, or was the gray warrior edging farther and farther toward the nursery? Was Graystripe planning on slipping away to warn Silverstream?
Fireheart got slowly to his paws and began to pad toward the nursery. Graystripe glared at Fireheart as he approached, but before either warrior could speak, Bluestar’s call sounded once more from the Highrock. Fireheart stopped where he was but didn’t take his eyes off Graystripe.
“Willowpelt agrees with young Graystripe,” Bluestar declared. “A thaw is on the way.” Graystripe lifted his chin and flashed a defiant look at Fireheart, but Fireheart didn’t care. Bluestar was going to call off the raid! Now Graystripe wouldn’t have to choose between his Clan and Silverstream, and Fireheart wouldn’t have to join a raiding party against a Clan he knew was already suffering.
But Bluestar hadn’t finished. “So we will attack at once!”
Fireheart glanced sideways—Graystripe’s look of triumph had turned to one of sheer horror.
Bluestar continued, “We will leave a patrol of warriors here to guard the camp. We have to remember the possible threat from ShadowClan. Five warriors will make the raid. I will remain here.”
Good, thought Fireheart. She wasn’t planning to risk her final life after all. “Tigerclaw will lead the raiding party. Darkstripe, Willowpelt, and Longtail will go with him. That leaves one more place.”
“Can I go?” Fireheart burst out. Even though his heart felt heavy at the thought of attacking hungry RiverClan cats, it meant that Graystripe wouldn’t have to make a choice.
“Thank you, Fireheart. You may join the patrol.” Bluestar was clearly pleased by her former apprentice’s eagerness. Tigerclaw didn’t look so happy. He narrowed his eyes at Fireheart, gazing at him with undisguised suspicion. “There’s no time to lose,” Bluestar yowled. “I can smell the warm winds myself. Tigerclaw will brief you as you travel. Go now!”
Darkstripe, Longtail, and Willowpelt sped after Tigerclaw. Fireheart followed them as they thundered through the gorse tunnel and headed up the ravine, toward RiverClan territory.
They charged past Sunningrocks and reached the enemy border as the low leaf-bare sun began to dip toward the forest. Fireheart sniffed the air—Graystripe and Willowpelt had been right; he could smell warmer winds, and rain clouds were already pushing in over the treetops.
As they raced down the slope toward the river, Fireheart felt a deep sense of disquiet. Silverstream’s desperate story rang in his ears, and he fought to push away his feelings of sympathy.
The ThunderClan warriors emerged from the bracken and skidded to a stop at the edge of the river. The sight that greeted them made Fireheart weak with relief. The shining sheet of ice that Fireheart had seen earlier with Sandpaw had broken up into a rushing flow of cold, black water.
CHAPTER 20
Tigerclaw turned to his warriors, his pale eyes flashing with frustration. “We’ll have to wait,” he snarled.
The patrol turned and began to trudge home. Fireheart sent up a wordless prayer of thanks to StarClan, but there was a bitter taste in his throat. Now he would never know if he could have gone through with the raid. It wasn’t only Graystripe he didn’t trust; he didn’t even trust himself.
Fireheart kept silent all the way home. Every now and then he saw Tigerclaw flash a glance at him over his massive brown shoulder. It was a slow journey. The light of the short leaf-bare day was fading when they finally reached the top of the ravine. Fireheart waited for the other warriors to pick their way down first. By the time he padded through the gorse tunnel, Tigerclaw was already explaining to the disappointed Clan that the river had thawed.
Fireheart skirted the edge of the clearing, looking for Graystripe. He needed to know if his friend had slipped out of the camp. Instinctively he headed for the nursery. As he approached the tangled mass of brambles, he heard a familiar meow. “Fireheart!”
Fireheart felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Graystripe was actually grateful he had offered to take the final place in the raiding party? He followed his friend’s voice into the shadows behind the nursery.
Fireheart mewed quietly into the gloom, but he couldn’t see Graystripe anywhere. Suddenly something crashed into his side with a mighty thump. Fireheart spun around, all his senses alert. He saw Graystripe with his hackles raised, silhouetted in the dimness.
Graystripe lunged again. Fireheart ducked just in time as Graystripe swung a wide gray paw at his ear.
“What are you doing?” Fireheart spluttered.
Gr
aystripe flattened his ears and hissed, “You didn’t trust me! You thought I would betray ThunderClan!” He aimed another swipe. This one caught the tip of Fireheart’s ear.
Pain and fury shot through him. “I just wanted to save you from having to make a choice!” he spat. “Although it’s true that I’m not sure where your loyalties lie right now.”
Graystripe flew at him and knocked him backward. The two cats tussled, claws unsheathed. “I make my own choices,” Graystripe snarled.
Fireheart struggled free and leaped onto Graystripe’s back. “I was trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting!”
Blinded by anger, Fireheart dug his claws into Graystripe’s pelt, but Graystripe flipped Fireheart over and together they rolled out from behind the nursery.
The cats in the clearing sprang out of the way as the two young warriors bundled into them. Fireheart yowled with rage as Graystripe bit his foreleg. He thrust upward with a claw and raked Graystripe above his eye. Graystripe retaliated by lunging downward and sinking his teeth into Fireheart’s hind leg.
