RiverClan and ShadowClan had not yet arrived, but WindClan was already there. Tallstar greeted Bluestar with a respectful nod.
Fireheart spotted Onewhisker and bounded over to meet him. “Hi!” he meowed. It had been over two moons since he’d last seen the small brown tabby warrior who had battled beside him at the gorge. For the first time in ages, Fireheart recalled Whiteclaw’s death and felt the familiar bristle of horror as he pictured the RiverClan warrior disappearing beneath the rushing river.
“Where’s Graystripe?” Onewhisker asked. “Is he okay?”
Fireheart could see from the concern in his eyes that the WindClan warrior was thinking about Whiteclaw’s death too. “He’s fine,” Fireheart answered. “He’s over there with the others.” Fireheart remembered the WindClan queen whose kit he’d helped to carry. “How’s Morningflower?”
“Happy to be home,” replied Onewhisker. “Her kit is growing quickly now.” Fireheart purred with pleasure. “The whole Clan is well,” Onewhisker added. He glanced at Fireheart with an amused gleam in his eyes. “It’s great to eat rabbit again. I hope I never have to taste another rat as long as I live!”
Fireheart detected a fresh scent on the night air. RiverClan was coming. He could smell ShadowClan, too. He scanned the ridge that ran around the edge of the hollow. Sure enough, RiverClan cats were streaming down one side. On the opposite ridge, Fireheart saw ShadowClan cats poised at the top, their coats gleaming in the moonlight. The lean figure of Nightstar stood at the head of the group.
“At last,” growled Onewhisker. He’d spotted them as well. “It’s too cold to be hanging around tonight.”
Fireheart nodded absently. He was searching the crowd of RiverClan cats as they entered the clearing, looking for Silverstream. He recognized the pale gray she-cat easily. She skidded to a halt at the bottom of the slope, then followed her father as he exchanged reserved greetings with the warriors from the other Clans.
Nervously Fireheart scanned the growing throng of cats for Graystripe. Would he dare speak to Silverstream tonight? The gray warrior had his back to Silverstream while he talked with a WindClan warrior.
Fireheart was watching Graystripe so closely that he didn’t hear Deadfoot approach. “Good evening, Fireheart,” meowed the WindClan deputy. “How are you?”
Fireheart turned. “Hello,” he meowed. “I’m fine, thank you.”
Deadfoot nodded. “Good,” he meowed, and limped away.
Onewhisker gave Fireheart a friendly nudge. “You’re privileged!” Fireheart felt a small glimmer of pride.
Bluestar’s yowl sounded from the Great Rock. Fireheart turned and looked up, surprised. The leaders didn’t usually call the meeting so soon. Crookedstar and Nightstar were standing close together on the rock. Bluestar waited beside Tallstar for the cats to gather beneath them. It was the first time Fireheart had seen the WindClan leader at a Gathering, he realized with a jolt.
Fireheart and Onewhisker followed the other cats as they settled themselves beneath the rock. Fireheart looked up expectantly, waiting for Bluestar to welcome Tallstar and WindClan back, but the ThunderClan leader was clearly in no mood to waste time on friendly words.
“RiverClan has been hunting at Sunningrocks,” she began angrily. “Our patrols have scented your warriors many times, Crookedstar. Sunningrocks belongs to ThunderClan!”
Crookedstar met Bluestar’s gaze steadily. “Have you forgotten how recently one of our warriors was killed defending our territory from ThunderClan?”
“You had no need to defend your territory,” Bluestar answered. “My warriors were not hunting there. They were returning home after finding WindClan. It was a mission we all agreed on! According to the warrior code, they should not have been attacked.”
“You speak of the warrior code?” spat Crookedstar. “What about the ThunderClan warrior who has been spying on our territory since then?”
Bluestar was caught off guard. “Warrior?” she echoed. “Have you seen him?”
“Not yet,” Crookedstar hissed. “But we find his scent so often, it won’t be long before we do.”
Fireheart glanced at Graystripe in alarm. He knew only too well which warrior had been detected in Crookedstar’s territory. Would any of the RiverClan warriors recognize his scent tonight?
Graystripe sat motionless, not taking his eyes off the leaders on the Great Rock.
Tigerclaw’s deep growl sounded from the crowd. “We have scented ShadowClan in our territory as well as RiverClan this past moon. And not just one warrior, but a whole patrol, always the same cats.”
The ShadowClan leader’s eyes flashed indignantly. “ShadowClan has not been in your territory. Clearly your warriors can’t tell the difference in the scents of cats outside their own Clan. You have been smelling the scent of rogue cats. They have been stealing prey from our territory as well!”
Tigerclaw snorted in disbelief and Nightstar glared down at him. “Do you doubt the word of ShadowClan, Tigerclaw?” The crowd murmured uncomfortably as Tigerclaw stared back at Nightpelt with unconcealed distrust.
For the first time, Tallstar spoke, his tail twitching uncertainly. “My warriors have also found strange scents in WindClan territory. They seem to be ShadowClan.”
“I knew it!” Tigerclaw snarled. “RiverClan and ShadowClan have united against us!”
“Us? What do you mean by us!” spat Crookedstar. “I think it’s you and WindClan that have formed the alliance! Is that why you were so keen to bring them back? So you can use them to invade the rest of the forest?”
Tallstar’s fur bristled. “That’s not why we returned, and you know it. We have kept to our own hunting grounds these past moons.”
“Then why have we found strange warrior scents in our territory?” Crookedstar growled.
“They don’t belong to WindClan!” hissed Tallstar. “They must be rogue cats, as Nightstar says.”
“But rogue cats would be a convenient excuse for invading our territories, would they not?” Bluestar murmured. She stared dangerously at the RiverClan and ShadowClan leaders.
Crookedstar raised his hackles and Nightstar arched his back. With a flash of alarm, Fireheart saw Tigerclaw stand up and stalk toward the Great Rock, every muscle tensed. Would the leaders really fight at a Gathering?
At that moment a shadow fell over the valley. The cats fell silent as they were plunged into blackness. Fireheart looked up, trembling. A cloud had covered the full moon, completely blocking out its light.
“StarClan has sent the darkness!” Fireheart recognized the meow of Halftail, a ThunderClan elder.
The ShadowClan medicine cat yowled in agreement, “StarClan is angry. These meetings are meant to be held in peace.”
“Runningnose is right!” It was Yellowfang. “We shouldn’t be fighting among ourselves, especially during leaf-bare. We should be worrying about keeping our Clans safe!” Her voice echoed in the frightened silence. “We must listen to StarClan.”