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“I have one more piece of Clan news,” Leopardstar meowed, obviously deciding that she had waited long enough for Bluestar to speak. “One of our elders, Graypool, is dead.”
Fireheart’s ears pricked. He wondered what Mistyfoot and Graystripe had told their leader about Graypool’s death, and if he had left any of his own scent on her body. Leopardstar could possibly use that to accuse ThunderClan of killing the old cat, to give her Clan an excuse to attack.
But when Leopardstar went on, it was only to say, “She was a brave warrior and the mother of many kits.” She paused to cast a sympathetic glance at Mistyfoot and Stonefur. “Her Clan mourns her,” she finished.
Fireheart relaxed, then felt himself tense again as Tigerstar stepped forward. Would the ShadowClan leader announce what he knew about two of Graypool’s kits?
To his relief, Tigerstar made no mention of the secret. Instead he gave news of ShadowClan kits that had been made into apprentices and the birth of a new litter—details that showed how ShadowClan was beginning to recover its strength, but nothing that suggested hostility to any other Clan.
Hope flared in Fireheart again. Perhaps there really was no need to keep worrying about a threat from Tigerstar. It would be a relief to forget him and concentrate on the lurking threat of the dog in the forest. Then Fireheart remembered the ShadowClan leader’s brutal treatment of Graypool, which had led to her death, and all his suspicions returned.
When Tigerstar had finished speaking, Tallstar moved to take his place, but Bluestar thrust herself in front of the WindClan leader. “I will speak next,” she growled, giving Tallstar a hard stare.
She stalked to the front of the rock. “Cats of all Clans,” she began, her voice coldly angry, “I bring news of theft. WindClan warriors have been hunting in ThunderClan territory.”
Fireheart’s heart lurched as angry yowling broke out all over the hollow. The WindClan cats sprang to their paws, furiously denying the ThunderClan leader’s accusation.
Cloudpaw scrambled around two bigger warriors and came to a halt beside Fireheart, his blue eyes wide with shock and excitement. “WindClan!” he meowed. “What’s she talking about?”
“Be quiet!” Fireheart snapped. He glanced at Onewhisker, afraid that he might have overheard Cloudpaw’s outburst, but the tabby warrior was on his paws, yowling defiance at Bluestar.
“Prove it!” he called, his fur bristling. “Prove that WindClan have taken so much as a mouse!”
“I have proof.” Bluestar’s eyes blazed cold fire. “Our patrols found remains of rabbit scattered not far from here.”
“You call that proof?” Tallstar shouldered his way forward to stand nose-to-nose with Bluestar. “Did you see my cats on your territory? Did your patrols find WindClan scent?”
“I don’t need to see or smell thieves to know what they have done,” Bluestar retorted. “Every cat knows that only WindClan hunts rabbits.”
Fireheart’s muscles tensed, and he instinctively unsheathed his claws.
“All this is a pile of mouse dung,” Tallstar insisted. His black-and-white fur was fluffed out, and his lips were drawn back in a snarl. “WindClan have lost prey as well. We have found rabbit remains on our territory too. And there are far fewer rabbits than usual at this season. I accuse you, Bluestar, of letting your warriors hunt on our land and making false accusations to cover up the theft!”
“That seems far more likely,” Tigerstar put in, his amber eyes gleaming. “Every cat knows that prey has been scarce on ThunderClan territory since the fire. Your Clan is hungry, Bluestar, and some of your warriors know WindClan territory very well.”
Fireheart felt the ShadowClan leader’s gaze rest on him, and knew Tigerstar meant him and Graystripe.
Bluestar whipped around to face the ShadowClan leader. “Silence!” she hissed. “Stay away from me and my Clan. This is no business of yours.”
“It is the business of every cat in the forest,” Tigerstar replied calmly. “The Gathering is supposed to be a time of peace. If StarClan are angered, we will all suffer.”
“StarClan!” Bluestar spat back at him. “StarClan have turned away from us, and I will fight them if I have to. I care only for feeding my Clan, and I will not stand by while other cats steal our prey.”
Her speech was almost drowned by the shocked gasps of the cats listening below. Fireheart couldn’t help glancing up to see if StarClan would show their fury by sending a cloud to cover the moon and end the Gathering, as they had done once before. But the sky remained clear. Did that mean StarClan had accepted Bluestar’s declaration of war?
Graystripe nudged him. “What’s the matter with Bluestar? Does she want to pick a fight with WindClan? And what’s all this about fighting StarClan?”
“I don’t know what she wants,” Fireheart muttered.
“I think she’s right about the rabbits, and who cares what a stupid old tradition says about keeping the peace at the Gatherings?” meowed Cloudpaw. “Let’s face it, StarClan was just thought up by some leader to scare the other cats into being obedient.”
Fireheart shot his apprentice a disapproving glance, but there was no time to discuss his attitude toward their warrior ancestors. His heart thudded as if he were about to leap into battle. There was no way of hiding Bluestar’s madness—and ThunderClan’s vulnerability—from the other Clans now. Tallstar bristled with fury. So far Leopardstar had not joined in the argument, but she wore the expression of a cat who was about to sink her teeth into a juicy piece of fresh-kill.
When the noise in the hollow had died down, Tallstar made himself heard. “Bluestar, I swear by StarClan that no cat from WindClan has hunted on your territory.” His tail lashed from side to side. “But if you insist on fighting with us, we will be ready.” He retreated from the edge of the rock and turned his back on Bluestar, a pointed refusal to defend himself any further.
Before Bluestar could retaliate, Leopardstar stepped forward. “The fire was a terrible misfortune,” she meowed. “Every cat in the forest knows that, but yours is not the only Clan to suffer recently. Your forest will grow back as rich in prey as it ever was. But Twolegs have invaded our territory and they show no signs of leaving. Last leaf-bare the river was poisoned and cats who ate the fish fell ill. Who can guarantee it won’t happen again? I cannot speak for WindClan’s needs, but RiverClan needs better hunting ground even more than ThunderClan.”
A few RiverClan cats yowled their agreement, and Fireheart’s fur bristled with apprehension. He shot a glance at Graystripe, remembering his friend’s warning about Sunningrocks. The new RiverClan leader meant to expand her territory, and the logical direction was across the river into ThunderClan land. The gorge cut her off from WindClan territory, and all her other borders were bounded by Twoleg farms.
But Bluestar had not understood the veiled threat. When the RiverClan leader fell silent she dipped her head graciously. “You’re right, Leopardstar,” she meowed. “RiverClan has endured hard times. Yet your cats are so strong and noble that I know you will survive.”
Leopardstar looked taken aback—as well she might, Fireheart thought. The old Bluestar would never have missed the ominous promise in Leopardstar’s words.
Tigerstar took a step toward the ThunderClan leader. “Think carefully before you threaten WindClan, Bluestar,” he warned. “There will never be peace in the forest if—”
Bluestar bared her teeth and snarled at him, her fur bristling with fury. “Don’t talk to me about peace!” she hissed. “I told you to keep out of this. Unless you’re allying yourself with that thief over there.”
Fireheart watched Tallstar stalk over to Bluestar, and he guessed that the WindClan leader was barely managing not to spring at her throat. “If you want a fight, you’ll have one, Bluestar,” he growled. Not waiting for a reply, he leaped down from the rock.
Tigerstar exchanged a glance with Leopardstar and both leaders followed, leaving Bluestar alone. Fireheart glanced at the sky again, hardly able to believe there
was no sign from StarClan to show that they had seen the Gathering descend into hostility. Did that mean StarClan wanted a war between the Clans?
As Bluestar scrambled down from the rock, Fireheart looked around for the other ThunderClan warriors. “Cloudpaw,” he instructed urgently, “round up as many of our warriors as you can find and send them to the base of the Great Rock. Bluestar will need an escort.”
His apprentice nodded and slipped away into the crowd. Fireheart saw Stonefur thrusting his way through the crowd toward Graystripe.
“Are you ready?” the RiverClan deputy meowed. “Leopardstar wants to leave quickly.”
“On my way,” Graystripe mewed, springing to his paws. His voice shook as he added, “Good-bye, Fireheart.”
“Good-bye,” Fireheart replied. There was so much more he wanted to say, but once again he had to face the fact that his best friend belonged to another Clan, and the next time they met could be in battle.
Before the two RiverClan cats turned away, he sought desperately for the right words to speak to Stonefur. “Congratulations,” he stammered at last. “I was glad to hear Leopardstar chose you as deputy. ThunderClan don’t want trouble, you know.”
Stonefur met his eyes. “Nor do I,” he meowed. “But sometimes trouble comes anyway.”
