Fire and Ice (Warriors 3)

Halftail was one of the first cats to wake. Fireheart could see the old cat moving among the shadows in the elders’ den. He glanced toward the warriors’ den at the other side of the clearing. Through the branches that sheltered the den, he recognized the broad shoulders of Tigerclaw as he slept.

At the foot of Highrock, the lichen that draped the entrance to Bluestar’s den twitched, and Fireheart saw his Clan leader push her way out. She stopped and lifted her head to sniff the air. Then she padded silently out of Highrock’s shadow, her long fur glowing blue-gray in the dawn light. I must warn her about Tigerclaw, thought Fireheart. Bluestar had mourned Redtail’s death with the rest of the Clan, believing him to have been killed in battle by Oakheart, the deputy of RiverClan. Fireheart had hesitated before, knowing how important Tigerclaw was to her, but the danger was too great. Bluestar needed to know that her Clan was harboring a cold-blooded murderer.

Tigerclaw emerged from the warriors’ den and met Bluestar at the edge of the clearing. He murmured something to her, his tail flicking urgently.

Fireheart stifled his instinctive meow of greeting. The sky was growing light, but until he knew for sure that the sun was above the horizon, he dared not break his silence. Impatience fluttered in his chest like a trapped bird. He must speak with Bluestar as soon as he could. But for now, all he could do was nod respectfully at the two cats as they passed him.

Beside him, Graystripe nudged Fireheart and pointed upward with his nose. An orange glow was just visible on the horizon.

“Glad to see the dawn, you two?” Whitestorm’s deep meow took Fireheart by surprise. He had not noticed the white warrior approaching. Fireheart and Graystripe nodded together.

“It’s all right; you may speak now. Your vigil is over.” Whitestorm’s voice was kind. Yesterday he had fought side by side with Fireheart and Graystripe in the battle with ShadowClan. There was a new respect in his eyes as he looked at them.

“Thank you, Whitestorm,” Fireheart meowed gratefully. He stood and stretched his stiff legs one at a time.

Graystripe pushed himself up too. “Brrrrr!” he meowed, shaking the chill from his fur. “I thought the sun would never come up!”

A scornful voice mewed from outside the apprentices’ den. “The great warrior speaks!”

It was Sandpaw, her pale orange coat fluffed up with hostility. Dustpaw was sitting beside her. With his dark tabby pelt, he looked like Sandpaw’s shadow. He puffed out his chest importantly and mocked, “I’m surprised such heroes even feel the cold!” Sandpaw purred with amusement.

Whitestorm shot them a stern look. “Go and find something to eat; then rest,” he ordered Fireheart and Graystripe. The older warrior turned away and padded toward the apprentices’ den. “Come on, you two,” he meowed to Sandpaw and Dustpaw. “It’s time for your training.”

“I hope he has them chasing blue squirrels all day!” Graystripe hissed to Fireheart as they headed toward the corner where a few pieces of fresh-kill remained from last night.

“But there aren’t any blue squirrels,” Fireheart mewed in confusion.

“Precisely!” Graystripe’s amber eyes gleamed.

“You can’t exactly blame them. They did begin their training before us,” Fireheart pointed out mildly. “If they’d fought in the battle yesterday, they’d probably have been made warriors too.”

“I suppose.” Graystripe shrugged. “Hey, look!” They’d reached the fresh-kill pile. “One mouse each and a chaffinch to share!”

The two friends picked up their meal and looked at each other. Graystripe’s eyes suddenly sparkled with delight. “I suppose we take it to the warriors’ side of the camp now,” he meowed.

“I suppose we do,” Fireheart purred, padding after his friend to the patch of nettles where they had often watched Whitestorm, Tigerclaw, and the other warriors share fresh-kill.

“Now what?” asked Graystripe, gulping down his last mouthful. “I don’t know about you, but I think I could sleep for half a moon.”

“Me too,” Fireheart agreed.

The two friends got to their paws and made their way toward the warriors’ den. Fireheart stuck his head through the low-hanging branches. Mousefur and Longtail were still asleep on the other side of the den.

He pushed his way inside and found a patch of moss at the edge. The smell told him it wasn’t a sleeping place already used by another warrior. Graystripe settled down beside him.

Fireheart listened as Graystripe’s steady breaths relaxed into long, muffled snores. Fireheart felt equally exhausted, but he was still desperate to talk to Bluestar. From where he lay, his head flat to the earth, he could just see the camp entrance. He stared at it, waiting for his leader’s return, but gradually his eyes began to close, and he gave in to his longing for sleep.

Fireheart could hear a roaring around him, like wind in tall trees. The acrid stench of the Thunderpath stung his nostrils, together with a new smell, sharper and more terrifying. Fire! Flames lapped at the black sky, throwing glowing cinders up into a starless night. To Fireheart’s amazement, silhouettes of cats flitted in front of the fire. Why hadn’t they run away?

One of them stopped and looked straight at Fireheart. The tom’s night-eyes glinted in the darkness and he lifted his long, straight tail, as if in greeting.

Fireheart trembled as a memory burst into his mind of the words that Spottedleaf, the former ThunderClan medicine cat, had said to him before her untimely death: “Fire will save the Clan!” Could it be something to do with the strange cats that showed no fear of fire?

“Wake up, Fireheart!”

Fireheart flicked up his head, startled out of his dream by Tigerclaw’s growl.

“You were mewing in your sleep!”

Still dazed, Fireheart sat up and shook his head. “Y-yes, Tigerclaw!” With a pang of alarm, he wondered if he had repeated Spottedleaf’s words out loud. He had dreamed like this before—dreams so vivid that he could taste them, and which had later come true. Fireheart certainly did not want Tigerclaw to suspect him of having powers that usually StarClan gave only to a medicine cat.

Moonlight shone through the leafy den wall. Fireheart realized he must have slept through the whole day.

“You and Graystripe will join the evening patrol,” Tigerclaw told him. “Hurry up!” The dark tabby turned and stalked out of the den.

Fireheart let the fur relax on his shoulders. Clearly Tigerclaw didn’t suspect anything unusual about his dream. But while Fireheart’s secret was safe, he was equally determined to expose the murderous truth about Tigerclaw’s role in Redtail’s death.

Fireheart licked his lips. Graystripe lay beside him washing his flank. They had just finished sharing a meal beside the camp clearing. The sun had set and Fireheart could see the moon, almost full now, gleaming in a cold, clear sky. The past few days had been busy. It seemed that every time they lay down for a rest, Tigerclaw sent them out on patrol or a hunting mission. Fireheart had stayed alert, looking for a chance to talk with Bluestar alone, but when he wasn’t on one of Tigerclaw’s missions, the ThunderClan leader always seemed to have her deputy at her side.

Fireheart began to wash his paw, his eyes flicking around the camp, searching hopefully for Bluestar.

“What are you looking for?” meowed Graystripe through a tongueful of fur.

“Bluestar,” Fireheart answered, lowering his paw.

“Why?” Graystripe stopped washing and looked up at his friend. “You’ve had one eye on her ever since our vigil. What are you planning to do?”

“I have to tell her where Ravenpaw is, and warn her about Tigerclaw,” Fireheart meowed.

“You promised Ravenpaw you’d tell them he was dead!” Graystripe sounded amazed.

“I only promised to tell Tigerclaw he was dead. Bluestar should know the whole story. She needs to know what her deputy is capable of.”

Graystripe lowered his voice to an urgent hiss. “But we only have Ravenpaw’s word that Tigerclaw killed Redtail

.”

“Don’t you believe him?” Fireheart couldn’t help feeling shocked by his friend’s doubts.

“Look, if Tigerclaw lied about killing Oakheart in revenge for Redtail’s death, that means Redtail must have killed Oakheart himself. And I can’t believe that Redtail would have deliberately killed another Clan deputy in battle. It goes against the warrior code—we fight to prove our strength and defend our territory, not to kill each other.”

“But I’m not trying to make accusations against Redtail!” Fireheart protested. “It’s Tigerclaw who is the problem.” Redtail had been the ThunderClan deputy before Tigerclaw. Fireheart had never met him, but he knew Redtail had been deeply respected by all the Clan.