Secrets
Chapter 1
The next morning, Jayfeather stretched and yawned, his jaws opening wide. He listened to his clan mates waking up and stuck his head out of his den. He smelled Daisy's milk-scent as she took Rosekit and Toadkit out to stretch their legs. Even if Lionblaze said they were cute, they were still a nuisance; Toadkit was always getting into his store.
The thought of Lionblaze reminded him of his latest dream.. As soon as his brother came out of the warriors den, he would tell him about it. Jayfeather felt a pang of grief; he would never be able to tell Holly leaf about it; she would have been a great help in solving the puzzle.
He shook his head; Lionblaze had just emerged from the den. Jayfeather padded over to him.
"I need to tell you something. I've just had another dream."
Lionblaze's ears pricked up interestedly. He mewed, "Quick, over here. Tell me all about it!"
Jayfeather let his brother lead him over to a quiet area of the camp.
"Well, I was in this cave..." and Jayfeather proceeded to tell Lionblaze all about his dream. When he finished, neither of them knew what to think.
Rainfire padded slowly along the grass. He was exhausted; the clan had been walking almost the whole day. But he didn't really mind. They had almost reached the forest! They would have to walk on the meadow for just a few more minutes, and then they would never come here again. "At least, I hope not." Rainfire thought. It had been nice at first, but after awhile, the open-ness made him nervous.
He squared his shoulders, and quickened his pace. Brambletail and Squirrelheart were walking ahead of him, but he caught up.
"Hi, Squirrelheart. Brambletail." Rainfire said companionably.
"Hi," they replied.
"I'm glad we're almost there," Squirrelheart panted. "My paws feel like they're falling off."
"Yeah," Rainfire agreed. He paused to lick his sore pads. "As soon as we get there, I'm going to catch a mouse. I've hardly had anything all day!"
"A nap would be nice, too," Brambletail yawned, swishing his tail.
The three cats padded on in silence for a few minutes. Rainfire looked ahead at Tanglefur. He seemed so certain of what to do, striding beside Shinestar. Rainfire wished he could be like his father and hoped he would be deputy one day.
Then, he looked over at Squirrelheart. The pretty grey she-cat was padding along calmly in between him and Brambletail. As he watched, she touched Brambetail's shoulder with her tail and said, "Watch out for that slope".
Rainfire felt a twinge of jealousy; why hadn't Squirrelheart warned him? He shook his head, pushing the thought away. He was being silly; Squirrelheart liked him, too. Didn't she?
The meadow opened abruptly and went into a kind of rocky slope that was rather steep.
Shinestar flicked her tail, making the motion to stop. "Proceed carefully. If a cat falls, they could be badly hurt."
As Rainfire picked his way carefully down the rocky slope, followed by Squirrelheart and Brambletail ,he began to smell something awful. It was a hard, disgusting, filthy smell. It seemed to come from a large black surface.
"What on earth..." Rainfire muttered. What was that? What was if for? Why was it there? Questions swirled around in his brain.. He turned to look at his friends and saw they were just as confused as he was.
Ravenleap padded over to him. What is that thing?" he asked.
"I wish I knew," Rainfire mewed.
"Do you think Shinestar knows?" Brambletail asked. The large tom was standing beside Ravenleap.
"She's asking Mosspelt right now," Rainfire said, noticing the clan leader padding toward the elder.
"Cats of Darkclan," Shinestar announced, "This black surface is called a Dangerpath. They aren't common where we're from. Mosspelt will tell you more."
Mosspelt, an ancient, dark grey tom, was the oldest cat in the clan, and knew quite a lot. He had been a loner accepted into Darkclan as a warrior, so Rainfire wasn't surprised to hear that he knew about Dangerpaths. He waited quietly for the elder to speak.
"When I was a loner," Mosspelt began, "I sometimes came across Dangerpaths. They are Thunderbeast territory."
"What's a Thunderbeast?" squeaked Berrykit.
"Shh, Berrykit. Let Mosspelt speak," Cloverleaf murmured.
"Thunderbeasts are huge, stinking beasts that move quickly, and are very loud. Their eyes shine brightly in the night. They carry strange creatures in their bellies."
Rainfire shivered in the cold evening air. Thunderbeasts sounded terrifying, and he didn't want to cross the Dangerpath. But he looked across, and the forest was quite close. He didn't want to go all the long way back; there was no place to stay and the open meadow wasn't for him. "Besides," Rainfire thought, "it isn't really my choice. It is for Shinestar to decide."
He looked at Shinestar, who was quiet for a few moments. Then, she said, "We'll have to go in groups of three. My group will go last."
Rainfire was in the second group, along with Cloverleaf, his mother. He was carrying Berrykit and Cloverleaf had Rockkit. He waited for Shinestar to give the signal, and then he ran, Cloverleaf at his side. Soon, they were panting but safe on the other side.
Rainfire watched the rest of the clan cross, twitching his ears nervously. What if a Thunderbeast came while a group was in the middle of the Dangerpath?
Rainfire sighed. He couldn't wait to get to the forest. The Dagerpath's stench made him feel queasy, and his paws were dirty from its filth. The ground he was sitting on was uncomfortable. His stomach was growling with hunger. Rainfire couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten a mouse.
He returned his attention to the Dangerpath, where Shinestar, Willowface and Tanglefur had just finished crossing. Rainfire sighed in relief. Now the Dangerbeasts couldn't hurt them. For now, at least, they were safe.