During the next half moon, life seemed to go back to normal. Fireheart and Bluestar made frequent trips to the RiverClan border, and although Mistyfoot and Stonefur were growing thinner due to the approaching leaf-bare season, they didn't report anything that would be cause for alarm. A few days ago, Sandstorm had moved to the nursery, although she was slightly displeased with being confined to the camp. Her stomach had swollen considerably, which was a good indication that there would be several kits on their way soon.
One day, however, Mistyfoot and Stonefur didn't show up at the border when Fireheart went to speak to them. He raced home and was about to inform Bluestar of what had happened when he was intercepted by Graystripe on the way to her den.
"Fireheart, wait! I need your help," the gray warrior pleaded.
"I–but–okay, what is it?" Fireheart relented, not having the heart to deny his friend when he was obviously agitated about something.
"I've been worried about Featherpaw and Stormpaw," Graystripe admitted. "Ever since the Gathering, I haven't been able to get them off my mind. I tried going to the border a few times to see if I could get any news of them, but no one was willing to talk to me. And now that Tigerstar has essentially taken over RiverClan, my kits are in danger."
Fireheart nodded, seeing Graystripe's point. "But what do you want me to do about it?"
"I'm not asking for anything drastic," the gray tabby meowed quickly. "Just...do you think you could sneak over there with me? You know, just to check on them and make sure everything's alright. If not, I guess we can decide what to do then."
Fireheart opened his mouth to protest, then realized that this could work in his favor. If he agreed to go with Graystripe to RiverClan, he would be able to figure out if Mistyfoot and Stonefur were safe as well. Best of all, Bluestar wouldn't have to put her final life at risk.
"Alright," he agreed. "Let's get going then, before–"
He broke off, however, as Tawnypaw came stalking out of the elders' den, her head and her tail held high as she headed for the gorse tunnel. Her amber eyes blazed with fury. Bramblepaw followed behind her, clutching a bundle of bedding moss in his jaws. He looked worried. The tortoiseshell molly stalked over towards Fireheart, dropping the bundle of moss she held in her own jaws.
"He's at it again, Fireheart!" she spat.
"Who is?" Fireheart asked worriedly. What had happened that could have driven Tawnypaw into this state?
"Smallear!" Tawnypaw hissed. "Okay, so I was a little late to clear out the old bedding–and it was only a few moments, mind you–and because of that, he told me that Tigerstar never cared about the elders either and he could see that I was just like him! It's not the first time he's said things either. Yesterday, he told me that Bluestar should have handed us over to ShadowClan because it's where all traitors belong! I don't see why I should have to put up with it and I have half a mind to put yarrow in his fresh-kill!"
"He said that to you?" the ThunderClan deputy asked in disbelief. The two apprentices nodded, and Fireheart narrowed his eyes. "Oh no. This ends now. Wait here a moment, Graystripe. I'm going to have a little talk with a certain elder."
Without another word, he marched over to the elders' den, pushing his way inside. Speckletail, One-eye, and Dappletail all looked over at him curiously, while Smallear merely glared.
"What do you want?" the old tom growled. "Can't a cat get a wink of sleep around here without you barging in?"
"Actually, I came to talk to you, Smallear," Fireheart meowed in a fake, sickly pleasant voice. It was a trick he'd learned from Bluestar back when he was an apprentice. "I just had a chat with Tawnypaw. Seems something might have happened between the two of you."
"Oh, yes," Smallear replied, yawning. "The brat was late to clear out our old bedding. No respect for us, just like her father. It's easy to tell she's just like him–her and her brother. Now go away, Fireheart. I'd like to get some sleep."
"I don't give a rat's tail what you want, you miserable old bag of bones," Fireheart snarled, at once dropping all pretense of friendliness. Smallear and the rest of the elders were so shocked by his outburst that none of them bothered to reprimand him. "I've let you get away with taunting Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw for moons now, but it ends here. Who their father is has nothing to do with why Tawnypaw was late to clear out your bedding. For StarClan's sake, at least she showed up! There have been other apprentices who did worse, yet I don't see you mocking their parentage for it. And if punctuality is such a big deal to you, perhaps you should take care of your own bedding. Your mouth seems to work perfectly well; let's see if your supposedly stiff joints can handle a bit of exercise. Who knows, it might make you a halfway tolerable cat. But make no mistake, Smallear, if I ever hear that you've been giving Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw–or any other apprentice, for that matter–a hard time again, then having to wait a little longer for fresh bedding will only be the second worst thing you have to deal with."
"And how dare you suggest that Bluestar should have handed them over to ShadowClan?" he continued, lashing his tail in fury. "If there's anyone who belongs in ShadowClan, Smallear, it's you. You're cruel, heartless, self-centered, everything that describes a ShadowClan warrior. News flash, you pathetic old fool, you're not impressing anyone by constantly mocking Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw. It wasn't their choice to be Tigerstar's kits, but you're humiliating and mocking them for something they have no control over. To be quite honest, Smallear, you make me sick and I speak for everyone when I say that the day you're finally rotting underground will be cause for great celebration."
With that, he dipped his head in a farewell to the other elders and padded out of the den. Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw were lurking just outside, the expressions on their faces letting him know they had heard every word.
"I think he'll leave you alone from now on, you two," he meowed to them. "But if he doesn't, you have my permission to slip a moon's worth of poppy seeds into his fresh-kill."
"Thanks, Fireheart," Tawnypaw meowed, looking slightly more cheerful than she had a few moments ago. Fireheart nodded to her and walked back over to where Graystripe was waiting patiently for him.
"Sorry about that," he meowed. "Let's go check on your kits."
The sun had gone down by the time Fireheart and his friends reached the edge of the forest. Warning Graystripe to stay back, Fireheart crept through the undergrowth until he could look out over the river. In front of him lay the stepping stones, the easiest route into RiverClan territory. As he peered out over the cold, gray water, he caught a strong scent of cats–RiverClan and ShadowClan mixed. A patrol was making its way along the opposite bank, but he couldn't see the blue-gray pelts of Mistyfoot or Stonefur.
There was no choice now. They had to sneak into RiverClan territory. Fireheart knew the risk he was taking–if he was caught, ThunderClan would be in significant trouble–but he had to do it for his leader and his best friend.
Graystripe had crept up beside him. "What are we waiting for?" he whispered.
Fireheart angled his ears toward the patrol. A moment later, they disappeared into the reed bed and their scent slowly disappeared.
"Okay, let's go," Fireheart meowed.
Leading the way, he stepped from one stepping stone to another across the black, swiftly flowing water. He thought back to the floods of the last leaf-bare when he and Graystripe had nearly drowned saving Mistyfoot's kits. Leopardstar had clearly forgotten that old debt now, as well as how Fireheart and Graystripe had helped the starving cats of RiverClan by taking prey from their own hunting grounds.
Perhaps ShadowClan isn't the only untrustworthy Clan in this forest, he thought bitterly.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. There was no time to dwell on that now. Reaching the far bank, Fireheart slid into the shelter of a clump of reeds and checked once more that no enemy cats were near. All he could scent was the trace of the patrol, growing steadily fainter.
Suddenly, a new scent drifted on the breeze. Fireheart paused, his whiskers twitching. His eyes widened as he recognized the scent of carrion, crowfood that had rotted for days until its foul stench poisoned the air. And then, slightly fainter but still equally pungent, the smell of sick cats.
"Come on," he hissed, his fur bristling in alarm. "Let's go see what that is."
They continued padding through the reeds in the direction where the scents were coming from. Fireheart could scent Tigerstar; the dark tabby had been here recently, but he was nowhere to be seen now. So far, they had been fortunate enough not to run into any enemy warriors, but the ThunderClan deputy knew better than to push his luck too far. If they didn't move quickly, they were likely to find them facing a TigerClan patrol–or worse, Tigerstar himself.
StarClan seemed to be on their side, however, for they made it through the territory without being spotted, using the reeds to disguise their scents. The smell of sick cats and crowfood was growing stronger than ever, and Fireheart knew they must be close to whatever it was. As they headed toward the farmland on the other side of RiverClan territory, the reeds thinned out and the ground rose. When Fireheart and Graystripe came to the edge of the cover, they saw a grassy slope in front of them with an occasional clump of grass and hawthorn. About halfway up, a hole yawned in the hillside. That was where the scent of sickness had come from. Jaggedtooth, one of Tigerstar's warriors, was crouched outside it.
Suddenly, Graystripe let out a hiss. "Featherpaw and Stormpaw!" he exclaimed quietly. "I can smell them. They're inside that hole."
Fireheart was impressed that Graystripe had been able to scent his kits through the stench of sickness. Featherpaw and Stormpaw were indeed inside the hole–as were Mistyfoot and Stonefur, he realized with a feeling of dread. If there had been any doubt before, this latest discovery quashed all of them. Tigerstar must have realized that Mistyfoot and Stonefur were Bluestar's kits.
Suddenly, Blackfoot padded out of the reeds. Fireheart and Graystripe ducked down, but the ShadowClan deputy didn't seem to notice them. He strolled over to Jaggedtooth, who rose and moved forward to meet him.
"Get the prisoners out," he ordered. "Tigerstar is calling for a meeting at the Bonehill."
Jaggedtooth nodded and reached down into the hole, dragging a cat roughly out of its depths. With a sinking feeling of dread, Fireheart realized that the skinny gray pelt belonged to that of Stonefur. One of his ears was torn and bleeding and he looked as though he hadn't eaten in several days. He was stunned. Of course, the RiverClan deputy had been losing weight for a while, but Fireheart had assumed it was because of the dwindling amount of prey due to the approaching leaf-bare.
Fireheart couldn't stand by any longer. He knew the trouble he'd be inviting by appearing now, but he wasn't about to let a couple of ShadowClan rogues hurt Bluestar and Graystripe's kits–or worse. Without even caring that he was on another Clan's territory, Fireheart rose out from the reeds and strode forward toward the two ShadowClan warriors, who reared back in surprise at the sight of him. Stonefur's eyes widened and he looked at Fireheart questioningly.
"Fireheart!" Blackfoot snarled. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"I could ask the same of you," Fireheart snarled back. Graystripe came to stand beside him, glaring at the ShadowClan deputy. "So you've taken to keeping RiverClan cats prisoners, have you? What happened to everyone being one Clan?"
"We have no place in TigerClan for half-Clan filth," Jaggedtooth growled. Meanwhile, Blackfoot had dragged Featherpaw and Stormpaw out of the hole as well. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a meeting to get to."
He moved forward, but Fireheart and Graystripe blocked his path. The two ThunderClan warriors advanced on him, their tails lashing simultaneously. Jaggedtooth and Blackfoot bared their fangs, but they would not be derailed.
"You know," Fireheart growled. "I don't think I need to remind you of what happened the last time ShadowClan abused and tormented innocent cats. But it seems as though you haven't learned your lesson. Stonefur, can you still fight?"
"Always, Fireheart," Stonefur replied, his eyes burning with rage now as he glowered at the two ShadowClan warriors.
Jaggedtooth snarled at them. "If you want these prisoners, kittypet, you'll have to kill us to get them."
Fireheart narrowed his eyes. "So be it."
With a screech, Jaggedtooth launched himself at Fireheart. The two cats crashed to the ground, spitting and clawing. A few tail-lengths away, Stonefur and Graystripe were locked in a tussle with Blackfoot. Though thin, the RiverClan deputy's skills had not deserted him and Graystripe was battling with the strength of LionClan to protect his children. Within moments, Blackfoot had nearly been overpowered, giving Mistyfoot time to clamber out of the hole.
"Mistyfoot!" Fireheart managed to gasp out, dodging a blow from Jaggedtooth's claws. "Are you alright?"
"I will be!" Mistyfoot called back to him.
Fireheart nodded, then winced as Jaggedtooth's teeth clamped down on his shoulder. He wrenched himself free before scoring his claws across the other warrior's flank. His wounds from the battle against WindClan were nearly healed now, but a few more of them had split open once more. Cinderpelt was going to have his tail when he returned home.
There was no sign of Blackfoot now, and Fireheart realized that he must have fled, most likely to fetch reinforcements. He would have to end this fight with Jaggedtooth quickly. Fireheart reared up, at the same time as Jaggedtooth began to slide underneath him for an underbelly strike. But he slipped at the last moment and in an attempt to steady himself, his hind leg shot out and caught Fireheart's, knocking him over as well.
The full weight of Fireheart's body came crashing down on Jaggedtooth's throat.
Fireheart immediately climbed off the massive ginger tabby, staring in horror as he let out a horrible choking sound. His body convulsed for a few moments before lying still, his features still twisted by rage and hatred.
No...oh, StarClan, no!
He wanted to be sick. Despite Jaggedtooth's assertion that he would have to kill him to save the RiverClan prisoners, he had never intended to actually do so. Numb with shock, Fireheart barely noticed as Graystripe and Stonefur padded over to him.
"We're going back to ThunderClan now," his friend meowed. "Cinderpelt will need to see to them."
Fireheart merely nodded, following Graystripe as they crossed the border into Treecutplace before walking back to the ThunderClan camp. He didn't even look back to see if anyone had noticed that the RiverClan warriors were missing, or pay attention as Mistyfoot worriedly asked him if he was alright.
When they arrived at the gorse tunnel, just before they headed inside, Fireheart hesitated. He couldn't find the will to face his Clanmates right now. Lowering his head, he turned to face Graystripe.
"Take them to Cinderpelt, then get Bluestar and explain what happened," he meowed quietly. "I'm going to go–er, take care of a few things. I'll be back later."
"Okay," Graystripe agreed, his yellow eyes gentle with sympathy. Mistyfoot and Stonefur meowed something to him in turn as they padded through the gorse tunnel, but Fireheart was barely listening and merely nodded in response. Featherpaw and Stormpaw looked at him worriedly, then bounded after their father and mentors.
Slowly, without any clear idea of where he was going, Fireheart turned around and walked off into the forest.