Sky of Birds: Book 1: Lion's Flight

Chapter 8

Lionpaw looked over at Bearpaw. The other apprentice met his eyes. Lionpaw gave a tiny nod, so small that even if Hutch had been looking right at them he probably wouldn't have noticed.

But Hutch wasn't looking at them. He was looking around the deserted camp. "Where is everyone?" he muttered. Then, louder, he called, "Ice! Bella! Tangle!" He looked around, seeming not to understand it. "Where is everyone?" he repeated.

Lionpaw shared a glance with Bearpaw. His friend's eyes were asking permission. "Wait," Lionpaw whispered. "I have a plan."

Hutch whirled around, as if he had heard Lionpaw. His eyes narrowed as they fell on Lionpaw.

"What do you know about this?" the former SkyClan warrior hissed, his teeth bared in a snarl.

"Nothing," Lionpaw said coolly.

"Of course not," Hutch hissed. "Why would you?" And then he was on top of Lionpaw, pinning him down so that he was unable to squirm even an inch. Bearpaw shot him a look full of fear. Lionpaw shook his head.

"What do you know?" Hutch was practically yelling as he demanded answers.

"I know where you'll be able to find out more," Lionpaw said quietly, trying with all his might not to rip the nose off of the angry loner.

Hutch opened his mouth to yell again, then stopped short. "Where?" he asked curtly.

"Go to the SkyClan warrior Sharpclaw. He'll be able to tell you more." Lionpaw hoped that he wasn't making a mistake by sending the vicious loner to speak with the deputy.

Hutch hesitated, looking torn. His green eyes rested on Lionpaw, then moved to Bearpaw.

"You have to trust us!" Bearpaw said desperately. "Think about what you owe my mother! If you let us go you'll be repaying that debt! Please, Shortwhisker!"

Hutch flinched, but he didn't move. "It's been a long time since anyone called me that," he whispered. He looked back at Lionpaw, then looked at Bearpaw again. "You're right of course. I owe your mother more than I can repay…" His voice trailed off.

He looked back at Lionpaw, then stepped back, taking his paws off of Lionpaw. Lionpaw sprung up, shaking dirt from his pelt.

"We won't forget this Hutch," Lionpaw said thankfully.

"Don't mention it," Hutch muttered. "I mean it." He smiled briefly, and then his face turned serious again. "If you mention this to anyone…" He trailed off menacingly, his eyes glaring at Lionpaw.

"We won't," Lionpaw promised. "And thank you."

Hutch nodded, and stepped back. Then he turned and raced through the entrance to the camp and out into the forest.

"What do we do now?" Bearpaw asked, turning to Lionpaw.

Lionpaw turned to his friend. "We look for Bouncefoot."

Jaypaw tensed next to his mentor, wishing that he could see what was coming. Then again, he didn't really want to know…

Echosong was silent, not saying anything. Her thoughts though, were a jumble of insane ramblings and frantic thoughts.

Jaypaw needs to be— I need to get— I hope we— This won't end –

Jaypaw finally pulled away, not wanting to go insane from her more than slightly insane thoughts. Anxiety, nervousness, and weariness poured off his mentor. Jaypaw yawned, tired.

"Don't go to sleep," Echosong warned. "We need you awake and ready. Oscar's gang could get here at any time."

"I know that," Jaypaw snapped. "I'm not stupid." Yet he couldn't help but feel nervous, and not just for himself. Where was Lionpaw? Surely it wouldn't have taken this long to find Oscar's camp? Shouldn't he and Bearpaw be back by now?

Anxiety pricked at his paws as he realized that he hadn't once thought of his sister. She too could get hurt in this battle. And what if Lionpaw and Bearpaw showed up and got hurt? This was too dangerous. This was way, way too dangerous.

"Oscar's gang is here," Echosong said suddenly. "I can see him from here. He's going forward to speak with Leafstar." She paused. "Things look okay—No, never mind. Oscar just attacked Leafstar." In a lower voice, she added, "It's starting."

Jaypaw suddenly yearned to sleep. It was the only way he would be able to see what was going on. He needed to be able to see Hollypaw, and to see if Lionpaw and Bearpaw showed up. He needed to make sure that Leafstar and the other warriors were okay. He wanted to scream with frustration at his blindness. Why was he destined to be stuck with this curse?!

He didn't say anything though. He simply sat there, listening to Echosong's narration.

"Rockheart and Sagefur have a young one, apprentice age, cornered. Sparrowpelt is helping Leafstar. Sharpclaw… Sharpclaw has another a tabby tom pinned down, but it doesn't look like he's attacking. It looks like he's… talking to him." Echosong's voice was colored with surprise.

Sharpclaw… Jaypaw's paws pricked with danger. The SkyClan deputy couldn't be up to anything good, especially if he wasn't attacking the tom. Jaypaw yearned to be able to hear what he was saying.

"Leafstar and Sparrowpelt have fought off Oscar," Echosong continued. "It looks like they've chased him off, for now. No, I was right. He's circling around, going for Patchfoot. Nice one! Mintpelt and Tinytail ganged up. They've got him."

"What about Hollypaw?" Jaypaw asked worriedly.

"Hollypaw, Hollypaw…" Echosong murmured. "Oh, there she is. She and Wolfpaw are fighting a white tom. It looks like Ice, Oscar's 'deputy.' They're doing a pretty good job of it, too. Now, let's see… Oh!"

"What is it?" Jaypaw demanded. "What happened?"

"Leafstar's down," Echosong murmured. "It looks like she's losing a life."

"How many will she have left?" Jaypaw asked. It was a medicine cat's business to know how many lives his or her leader had left.

"Seven," Echosong said. "She lost one a couple of seasons ago, chasing a badger off our territory."

Jaypaw nodded, unsure whether to be reassured that Leafstar had so many lives left, or scared that she could lose them so easily.

"She's okay though," Echosong said. "Sparrowpelt is guarding her. Now, why isn't Sharpclaw doing that? Oh, that's why. He's helping Hollypaw and Wolfpaw chase off Ice."

"Jaypaw," a voice whispered. Jaypaw whipped his head around, but there was nothing. He took a deep breath, drawing the air over his scent glands. A strange scent hit his mouth. Spottedleaf!

"Spottedleaf?" he murmured, hoping Echosong wouldn't hear him.

"I am here Jaypaw," he heard the pretty medicine cat murmur. "Do you wish to see the battle?"

"Of course!" Jaypaw whispered, offended.

"I can help you," Spottedleaf said. "Close your eyes." Jaypaw did as he was told.

"Open them." Jaypaw opened his eyes and looked around. He certainly could see, but he wasn't in his own body. He could see himself sitting by Echosong, tense and scared. The medicine cat was sweeping the battle with her eyes.

"Come Jaypaw," Spottedleaf said. Turning, Jaypaw realized that she was sitting just a few pawsteps away from him. "Your brother needs your help."

"Lionpaw?" Jaypaw's voice grew shrill with anxiety. "Is he okay? Did he get hurt?"

"No, Jaypaw," Spottedleaf said. "But he needs help finding Bouncefoot."

"Then he found the camp!" Jaypaw exclaimed. "He is okay, right?"

"Of course," the pretty tortoiseshell said. "I wouldn't lie to you. Now come. We must find Lionpaw. He doesn't know where Oscar has hidden Bouncefoot."

Jaypaw nodded, and took off after Spottedleaf. It seemed that they had taken only a few steps before they were in the forest. All around them were huge, looming trees that enclosed them on all sides. These weren't trees like the trees of the ThunderClan forest. These trees seemed to be waiting for him to make one wrong move, to step a little bit too close. Jaypaw gulped, and hurried after Spottedleaf.

"This way, Jaypaw!" the StarClan she-cat called over her shoulder.

Jaypaw sped up, running after her.

Soon they found the camp. It was surrounded on all sides by thick bramble bushes. It looked impenetrable, but Spottedleaf pushed through without suffering any harm, so Jaypaw hurried after her.

Inside, Lionpaw and Bearpaw were running from nest to nest, sniffing to find any traces of Bouncefoot's scent. "Bouncefoot!" they called every now and then.

Jaypaw turned to Spottedleaf. "What do we do?" he wailed. "What can we do?"

Spottedleaf looked at him through serious amber eyes. "Go to Lionpaw. Tell him that you know where Bouncefoot is. Then follow me. Lionpaw will follow you."

Jaypaw nodded and sprinted over to his brother. "Lionpaw," he said. No response. Jaypaw's tabby brother continued to sniff the air and call Bouncefoot's name.

"Lionpaw," Jaypaw tried again, a little louder. Still no response. "Lionpaw!"

Lionpaw's head snapped up. "Jaypaw?" he asked incredulously. "Is that you?"

"Yes," Jaypaw said. "Follow me. I know where Bouncefoot is. Can you see me?"

"Yeah," Lionpaw said, "But why are you here? And how do you know where to find Bouncefoot?"

"It doesn't matter," Jaypaw said. "Just hurry. We need to find him now. There's a battle going on, and Leafstar lost a life."

Lionpaw's eyes flashed with anger. "I'll rip whoever did it to shreds! But first we have to find Bouncefoot. Let's go!"

Jaypaw turned and ran over to Spottedleaf. "We're ready," he said. Spottedleaf nodded, and sprinted off into the undergrowth.

Jaypaw took off after her, with Lionpaw and Bearpaw behind him. They ran through the undergrowth, jumping over fallen logs, weaving around trees, and avoiding huge rocks.

Finally, they reached where a small den had been dug into the ground. Bouncefoot's scent wafted out from it, mixed with the scents of blood and sickness.

"He's hurt," Jaypaw murmured to Spottedleaf.

The medicine cat nodded solemnly. "Tell Lionpaw to get him out," she instructed. Jaypaw relayed the order, and his brother and Bearpaw disappeared into the den to grab him out.

They came back with the ginger warrior hanging from their jaws. Both of them looked as if they were carrying the heaviest thing in the world. Every movement made Bouncefoot moan in pain. His leg was trailing behind him, dripping in blood. His fur was matted with sweat and dried blood, and the fur around the injury on his leg was caked with the stuff.

"We need to get him back to Echosong," Jaypaw said. He turned to Spottedleaf. "Can you take all of us back to the battle?"

Spottedleaf contemplated for a moment. "I should be able to," she said slowly. "It shouldn't be too hard."

Then she took a step, as did Jaypaw. Lionpaw and Bearpaw did as well.

Suddenly they were on the cliff again, staring down on the battle. Jaypaw looked up at Spottedleaf.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much."

"It wasn't a problem," Spottedleaf said. "Now you must return to your own body. Open your eyes, Jaypaw."

Jaypaw opened his eyes, and he couldn't see anything. Darkness settled down on him again. Jaypaw stood up and turned, tasting the air. Sure enough, Lionpaw and Bearpaw were standing there, with Bouncefoot's scent mingling with theirs.

"Echosong," Jaypaw said. He felt the medicine cat's stare on him. "Lionpaw and Bearpaw are back."

"What?" Echosong gasped, and Jaypaw knew that she had turned and seen the two apprentices and Bouncefoot.

"Oh! Jaypaw, come help me," Echosong said. Jaypaw hurried over, a bundle of the herbs he thought they'd need in his jaws.

"Marigold," Echosong said. Jaypaw pushed the leaves toward her, and the cobwebs, and the other herbs after she asked for them.

"That should be enough for now," Echosong said finally. "He should rest."

Jaypaw nodded, and stepped back. Lionpaw walked over to him.

"You're shaking," Lionpaw said with surprise. "Are you okay?"

"Just tired," Jaypaw muttered. "I'm fine."

"Get some sleep," Echosong advised. "Lionpaw and Bearpaw are here now. We'll wake you up if the fight gets too close.

Jaypaw nodded, and soon fell asleep.

End of Chapter