Hollyleaf shifted uneasily in the makeshift nest under the tree roots. Beside her, Lionblaze’s ears and tail were twitching, as if his sleep was disturbed by dark dreams. Hollyleaf wasn’t sure how he managed to sleep at all, so close to the Twolegplace. Even in the middle of the night, monsters growled, Twolegs shrieked, and dogs barked.
I’ve never been in such a noisy place, she thought, trying to find a comfortable spot among the dead leaves. How do the kittypets stand it?
Toward dawn she slipped into a fitful doze, only to be woken again as Lionblaze scrambled out of the nest. Yawning hugely, Hollyleaf followed him.
The orange glow in the sky above the Twolegplace had given way to the pale light of dawn; the roofs of the Twoleg dens were black outlines against the sky. A cold breeze was blowing, and every blade of grass was edged with frost. Brambleclaw and the other Clan cats stood gazing across the grass to the outlying dens of the Twolegplace.
“We need to go back into the Twolegplace,” Brambleclaw began, “and look for that cat we met last night. He has to explain what he meant.”
Hazeltail’s whiskers twitched nervously. “They obviously don’t like strangers around here.”
Birchfall touched her ear with his nose. “There are enough of us here to outnumber a few jumpy kittypets!”
Hollyleaf exchanged a glance with her brother. “I think we’re on Sol’s trail,” Lionblaze murmured, clawing at the grass. “I’ll bet you the fattest vole on the fresh-kill pile that he’s the reason that black-and-white cat was so scared of us.”
Hollyleaf nodded. Curiosity gave her more confidence as she followed Brambleclaw back across the grass and into the gap between the Twoleg nests. She could see that her Clanmates felt the same, padding along with bright eyes and tails held high. We’re warriors! she reminded herself. We don’t have to be afraid of anything.
The breeze strengthened to a bitterly cold wind that swept through the world of hard, red stone as the patrol padded deeper into the Twolegplace. There was barely enough light to make out the right direction, and no sun to melt the ice that covered the puddles beside the Thunderpath.
“I’m so thirsty!” Hollyleaf whimpered. “My tongue feels like a mouse’s pelt.”
While Brambleclaw paused to taste the air, she crouched down beside one of the puddles and touched the ice with her tongue, grateful for the tingling freshness.
“Come on,” the Clan deputy meowed. “This way.”
Hollyleaf tried to jump up, only to stop with a strangled cry of dismay. Her tongue had frozen to the ice; a sharp pain shot through it as she tried to wrench herself free.
“What’s the matter?” Lionblaze asked.
“My tongue…” Hollyleaf could hardly get the words out. “It’th thtuck!”
Lionblaze snorted as he suppressed a mrrow of laughter. Birchfall stooped down until he was nose to nose with Hollyleaf; irritation swelled inside her when she saw amusement dancing in his eyes.
“It’th not funny!” she mumbled as clearly as she could with her tongue plastered to the ice.
“Stand back.” Brackenfur’s calm voice came from behind Hollyleaf. “Let me have a look.” He leaned beside Birchfall, gently shouldering the younger cat out of the way. “Well, you’re certainly stuck,” he went on. Hollyleaf could tell that he was struggling not to laugh, too. “I suppose we could break off the ice. Then you’d have to carry it until it melts.”
“Hey, you’ve discovered a new way to fetch water for the elders!” Hazeltail put in.
Her pelt itching with frustration, Hollyleaf tried again to wrench her tongue free, only getting another stab of pain for her efforts. “It hurt-th! Do thomething!”
She pictured herself crouched on the hard ground with her tongue stretched out, and suddenly she felt laughter bubbling up inside her. I guess I do look pretty funny. She couldn’t remember the last time she had found anything to laugh at.
“Hollyleaf.” Brambleclaw was at her side; his amber eyes sparkled, but his voice was gentle as he touched his nose to her ear. “Breathe out hard. Your warm breath should melt the ice.”
He crouched down next to her and let out a long breath at the patch of ice where she was stuck. A trickle of warmth spread through Hollyleaf; it was good to be cared for. But the warm feeling turned to ice as Brambleclaw broke off to add, “You know, you’re just like your mother. She was always getting stuck in things, too.”
She’s not my mother!
Hollyleaf let out a fierce breath and tugged at her tongue again, gasping as it came free at last. The frozen puddle was glossy with melted water where Brambleclaw had breathed on it. But she wasn’t going to thank him. “Right,” she meowed, straightening up. “I’m okay. Let’s—”
She broke off as a low growl sounded behind her. Every cat spun around. A couple of fox-lengths away, a line of dogs was standing on the other side of the Thunderpath, blocking their way. There were five of them, all different shapes, from a small, rough-coated brown-and-white one to a huge black-and-tan brute. Vicious hatred glared out of their eyes.
Hollyleaf heard Hazeltail whisper, “Oh, no…”
“Back away.” Brambleclaw’s voice was quiet but steady. “Don’t turn and run.”
Fear froze Hollyleaf’s paws to the ground harder than the ice had trapped her tongue. She couldn’t move. It was too easy to imagine the dogs’ teeth ripping into her pelt, her blood streaming out….
She staggered as Lionblaze gave her a hard nudge. “Come on!” he hissed.
Suddenly Hollyleaf found she could move again. All her instincts were screeching at her to turn and flee, but she forced herself to retreat paw step by paw step; the line of dogs advanced, keeping the same distance between them and the cats. The big black-and-tan dog opened its jaws to show dripping yellow teeth. A drawn-out snarl came from its throat.
Not much farther, Hollyleaf told herself. Once we’re away from this Twolegplace, we can climb the trees.
Then every hair on her pelt stood on end as she heard another growl from behind. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that two more dogs had appeared, cutting off their escape route. They looked as vicious as the first dogs, with gaping jaws and lolling tongues.
“We’re fresh-kill,” Birchfall murmured.
At the same instant, the first set of dogs leaped forward.
“Run!” Brambleclaw yowled.
His hind legs pumping, he headed for a narrow gap with Twoleg nests on one side and a high wooden fence on the other. Hollyleaf and the rest of her Clanmates raced after him, with the dogs yelping at their paws. Hollyleaf had never been more terrified in her life, not even when Ashfur had held them prisoner on the burning cliff top. She expected sharp yellow teeth to pierce her flank at any moment. Her paws felt as if they were on fire from running on the hard stone, and her breath tore from her chest.
Lionblaze was pelting along beside her, his fur fluffed up so he looked twice his normal size. Hollyleaf knew that he wanted to turn and face the dogs. No! They’ll tear you apart!
“Don’t leave me!” she gasped between panting breaths.
Yet more dogs appeared ahead of them, crowding down the narrow alley. Brambleclaw swerved through another gap onto a path between thick hedges; his Clanmates stayed hard on his paws, but the dogs were catching up.
Hollyleaf realized that their enemies were running steadily, not putting out all their strength, as they waited for the cats to tire so they could be picked off easily. That’s how Crowfeather taught Breezepaw to catch rabbits, when we were on the journey to the mountains, she recalled. But we’re the prey now!
Suddenly Brambleclaw halted and squeezed through a narrow gap at the foot of the hedge, his hind paws scrabbling as he forced his body through. “Come on!” he panted. “They can’t follow us through here!”
Brackenfur shoved Hazeltail through next, then Birchfall. “Hollyleaf—quick!” he meowed.
Hollyleaf didn’t want to leave her brother, but there was no time to argue. She pushed her way through the prickly bushes; Brackenfur followed and Lionblaze scrambled after him, so quickly that he left some of his golden fur behind on the thorns.
“Mangy crow-food-eaters!” he yowled back through the hedge.
Her chest heaving, Hollyleaf glanced around. She was standing on a smooth stretch of bright green grass, surrounded by low-growing bushes. At one side was a Twoleg den; all the doors and windows were shut, and there was no sign of any Twolegs.
“Maybe now we can—” Brambleclaw began.
He broke off, and Hollyleaf stared in horror as she saw that the hedge stopped near the wall of the Twoleg nest, leaving just a low wooden fence to fill the gap. The dogs were leaping effortlessly over the fence, and bounding across the grass toward the patrol. Their eyes were gleaming with hunger and scorn, and their growls had changed to joyful yelping.
They’re enjoying this! Hollyleaf realized as she turned to flee.
Suddenly the door to the den burst open. A Twoleg rushed out, screeching and shaking a long stick at the dogs. Another Twoleg followed with a yowl, something shiny in his hands. He swung it toward the dogs; water cascaded out of it, but the dogs just shook it off.
The far side of the Twoleg territory was also bordered by a wooden fence. Brambleclaw raced toward it, waving his tail for the others to follow. Breathlessly they scrambled up the slippery wood. Hazeltail started to slip back; Brackenfur gave her a shove from below, and Brambleclaw grabbed her scruff to haul her the rest of the way. Hollyleaf realized as she clambered to safety that her paws had left smears of blood on the wood.
For a few heartbeats the dogs jostled one another at the foot of the fence, whining and scrabbling as they tried to reach the cats. Brambleclaw gazed down at them, his back arched and his fur bristling with a mixture of terror and anger. “Leave us alone, flea-pelts!” he hissed.
Suddenly the huge black-and-tan dog broke away from the rest and raced back across the grass to the low part of the fence near the den. The rest of the pack streamed after him and began jumping, back into the alley.
“They’re coming to get us!” Birchfall gasped.
“We can’t stay here.” Brambleclaw’s voice was tense. “Follow me.”
He leaped down as the first of the dogs appeared around the corner, and took off down the alley, his tail streaming out behind him and his belly fur brushing the stones. Hollyleaf and the others pelted after him.
We can’t keep this up much longer! Hollyleaf thought.
Brambleclaw swerved into another gap and immediately halted. The rest of the patrol piled into his back. Hollyleaf gazed ahead, terror pounding through her. This alley was a dead end. Straight in front of them was a high wall built of the same red stone as the Twoleg nests, and almost as tall. We’ll never climb that!
Brambleclaw leaped up at the wall but fell back, his straining paws nowhere near the top. Hollyleaf knew that Hazeltail would never manage it. And the hedge on either side looked too thick to get through.
“You go on,” Hazeltail mewed bravely, even though she was shaking with fear. “Don’t worry about me.”
Brackenfur touched her shoulder with his tail-tip. “We can’t keep going,” he murmured. “We’re all too exhausted. There’s nowhere left to go.”
“What about there?” Hollyleaf had spotted a group of tall, shiny objects like very smooth boulders, standing together in one corner. Scents of Twoleg rubbish hung around them. She gestured toward them with her tail. “We can hide.”
Brackenfur glanced around for other cover, but there was none. He nodded swiftly. “Go!”
Brambleclaw guided Hazeltail into hiding and shoved Birchfall after her into the narrow space beside the shiny boulders. Hollyleaf and Lionblaze followed, leaving Brackenfur and Brambleclaw to crouch on the outskirts of the space, their ears and whiskers twitching as they waited for the dogs to appear.
Hollyleaf was crowded up against Hazeltail; she could feel her Clanmate trembling and hear the whimpers of terror that she tried to stifle.
“I know I’ll never see my kits,” Birchfall murmured. “I just hope Whitewing is okay.”
Pounding footsteps and loud yelping announced that the dogs had reached the alley. Hollyleaf could smell their stink even over the scents of the Twoleg rubbish. I guess that means they’ll be able to scent us, too.
Then she felt Lionblaze pushing his way past her, toward the opening where Brackenfur and Brambleclaw were crouching. With a shock like a rush of icy water, she realized that he was going out to fight the dogs.
“No! You can’t!” she hissed.
“I can!” Lionblaze insisted, turning glowing amber eyes on her. “I won’t get hurt, you know I won’t.”
He pushed his way to the edge of the silver boulder, squeezing past Brambleclaw and Brackenfur, and ignoring the Clan deputy when he asked what in StarClan’s name Lionblaze thought he was doing.
“Lionblaze, no!” Hollyleaf screeched. “Stop!”