So there isn't going to be a BoT update this week, since its buffer is getting too small again! Sorry for any disappointment!

Chapter 18

Tinyclaw lay outside the warrior's den, the sky red as the sun declined behind the trees. It had been three days since Tinyclaw had nearly drowned, and as he washed his pelt he hazarded to taste the river water on his pelt. The pad of paws interrupted his wash, and Tinyclaw looked up to see Whitestorm before him.

"Tigerstar wants you to go to the Gathering," Whitestorm reported. "Bring Sandstorm and Graystripe, and meet us beneath the Highrock."

"Of course," Tinyclaw replied. Whitestorm turned around and padded away, towards the Highrock. Tinyclaw got to his paws and turned to look for Sandstorm and Graystripe. They were eating beside a patch of nettles, their pelts turned red from sundown light. He padded over to fetch them.

"We've been chosen to go to the Gathering," he reported. Sandstorm and Graystripe looked up from their meals. Graystripe cocked his head curiously.

"How?" he wondered. "Isn't everything flooded?"

"As far as I know, nothing's changed," Tinyclaw replied. He shifted on his paws. "I suppose Tigerstar has to try, at least – he wants to talk to us before we go. Maybe he has a plan?"

"I hope so," Sandstorm sighed, getting to her paws. She looked concernedly at the sky. "StarClan will be upset if we don't show up – or at least try."

Tinyclaw nodded in agreement, and the three of them headed for the base of the Highrock. The Gathering party was huddled inside the Highrock's growing shadow, Tigerstar at its head. Whitestorm was by his side, and before them were Mousefur, Willowpelt, and Darkstripe. Tinyclaw, Graystripe, and Sandstorm joined the group.

When they were all there, Tigerstar meowed, "As you know, the Gathering is tonight. It will be hard to make it to Fourtrees, but StarClan will expect us to try. There has to be a dry route somewhere in the forest, and we will find it – so I have chosen only warriors. No elders, queens, or apprentices on this trip. We cannot risk their safety." He looked to Darkstripe. "You led a patrol this morning, Darkstripe – report."

"The water's going down," Darkstripe reported, "but not fast enough. It's still far too deep to cross, and my patrol went all the way to the Thunderpath. We'd have to swim."

"The stream is narrower there, though," Willowpelt reasoned. "Couldn't we jump?"

Darkstripe's whiskers twitched. "If you had wings!" he snorted. "Otherwise… no."

"That has to be the best place to start, though," Whitestorm pointed out. "There's nowhere else!"

"Then we'll try there first," Tigerstar decided. He got to his paws, looking determined. His amber eyes blazed. "StarClan will lead us to a safe place, I'm sure of it." He turned, and kept his tail straight up as he led the patrol out of camp.

Twilight blurred shadow and ground into one dark blot as they padded along the familiar paths. The sun was gone behind them, and the stars were beginning to wink into existence. An owl hooted in the distance, but the cats ignored the sound as they traveled. Tigerstar took them through the woods until they reached the Thunderpath, and where the flooded stream passed beneath it in a cave of stone.

Tinyclaw shifted uncomfortably at the sight and smell of the hard path. Their usual route to Fourtrees didn't pass anywhere close to this dangerous strip, and as he looked at the surface he couldn't help but think of Brackenpaw, and how he and Cinderpaw had nearly died here.

The water rippled out on either side of the Thunderpath, spilling the banks of the strange cave and flooding several tail-lengths of lowland on either side. Darkstripe was right – no cat could jump this! The water even flooded the Thunderpath, covering part of the dark surface with a bright sheen of water.

Tigerstar gave a signal just as the ground began to rumble. The patrol ducked down into the undergrowth as a Twoleg monster rolled past, slower than usual. When it passed over the puddle it cast up a spray of water the height of a cat. The monster passed by without incident.

"Seems like they don't like it, either," Mousefur commented.

Tigerstar nodded as the patrol stood. He padded out onto the Thunderpath and sniffed at the puddle of water laying there. He tapped it with his paw, then turned to the patrol. "It's shallow enough here," he meowed. "We can follow the Thunderpath until the waters are safe."

"Is that a good idea?" asked Darkstripe, his eyes flashing in the darkness. "What about monsters?"

"They aren't traveling as fast right now, so we'll see them coming I think," Willowpelt pointed out. She stepped onto the path. "It's not ideal, but it will work."

Whitestorm nodded. He, too, padded onto the path – the others had no choice but to follow. Tinyclaw winced at the hard feeling of the stony path beneath his paws.

"But wait," Graystripe hissed. "Our territory is really low on our side! The water won't go away for a while."

"He's right," Sandstorm sighed. "This won't work, Tigerstar! Not unless we head into ShadowClan territory."

Mousefur let out a hiss at that. Tinyclaw, too, shifted on his paws. He didn't like that idea, but Tigerstar's amber eyes were determined. "We'll just have to risk it," he rumbled.

Tigerstar didn't wait for any more protest – he padded along the Thunderpath, leading the way with careful confidence. The patrol simply followed, all of them wary of monsters – but other than a monster traveling on the opposite side of the path, there was nothing, and after several paw-aching moments of walking the patrol stepped off and onto grassy land again.

Tinyclaw tensed. He could smell ShadowClan here, in this little spit of their territory. This was their path to Fourtrees, and they were trespassing – ShadowClan was well within their rights to attack if the patrol was found. Yet Tigerstar led the way down a trodden trail and towards the woods.

Before they got far, a yowl sounded in the distance. The patrol stopped, and began searching for its source. Tinyclaw spotted it – a dark streak dashing along a small hill, several other streaks behind them. When the cat came into focus, Tinyclaw recognized Nightstar, ShadowClan's leader.

Nightstar stopped before Tigerstar, blocking the patrol's path. His own cats suddenly surrounded them, their fur bristling and their eyes blazing with hostility. Cinderfur, Nightstar's deputy, stood beside his leader and locked eyes with Whitestorm, as if in challenge – but the white warrior kept his cool as Tigerstar raised his tail for peace.

"What is this?" hissed Nightstar. "What is ThunderClan doing on our territory?"

"We are only passing through," Tigerstar replied. "Our route to Fourtrees is flooded, and we have no other way to attend the Gathering."

"Fox-dung," hissed Cinderfur. "They're here to spy, Nightstar. To steal our prey and our secrets!"

"Please!" Sandstorm hissed. "We don't need either of those, and we certainly don't want them either."

Cinderfur narrowed his eyes at Sandstorm and let out a threatening hiss. Whitestorm and Willowpelt formed a defensive line with the younger warrior, their ears flattened. Tinyclaw dropped into a defensive crouch, ready to spring on any warrior or apprentice who moved to attack.

"There is a truce this night," Tigerstar growled. "The full moon means peace, Nightstar."

"At Fourtrees," Nightstar snapped back. "StarClan never said anything about the truce lasting outside of Fourtrees."

Tigerstar stepped forward. "By StarClan, we mean you no harm – let us pass!" he insisted.

Nightstar narrowed his eyes, looking at each of the ThunderClan warriors in turn. His eyes lingered, then he smiled and meowed, "Calm down, everyone. We'll let them pass."

His warriors backed down, and Tinyclaw looked at Nightstar with confusion. What was with his sudden change of heart?

Nightstar chuckled, "I want ThunderClan to be at the Gathering tonight!" He looked at Tigerstar as if he had just caught a nice piece of prey. "We'll even give them an escort through this unfamiliar territory!"

"I don't like this," Graystripe hissed into Tinyclaw's ear.

"Me, either," Tinyclaw grumbled. He looked at the warriors, trying to discern what was happening – but they had backed down and looked rather neutral as they surrounded the ThunderClan patrol. We haven't seen anything from ShadowClan since the flooding. What is their angle?

Nightstar gave a faint nod to his warriors, and then led the way to the Gathering. Tigerstar walked beside him, as if they were equals – but the ThunderClan patrol headed to Fourtrees surrounded by their enemies.

To Tinyclaw's relief, ShadowClan slipped away just before they reached Fourtrees. Down below, bathed in moonlight, were WindClan and RiverClan, waiting for the other two Clans to appear. Tigerstar led ThunderClan right into the hollow, while Nightstar entered the hollow a few fox-lengths away.

Tigerstar and Whitestorm headed immediately for the Great Rock. Tinyclaw turned to speak with Graystripe, only to find that he was already gone. Tinyclaw then spotted him with the RiverClan cats, trying to get close to Silverstream – but she was surrounded by others, and Graystripe looked flustered. Tinyclaw sighed.

"What's up?" Mousefur wondered, padding up to him.

Tinyclaw wanted to screech that Graystripe was a fool for trying to see Silverstream after such a tense situation – expecting his kits or not – but instead he managed, "I was just… thinking about what Nightstar said."

"Right," Mousefur grunted. "I know – he wants us here, but why?"

"It's not good, I can tell you," Willowpelt offered. Sandstorm was with her. Willowpelt shook her head and mewed, "I can feel it in my paws."

Sandstorm murmured in agreement. Willowpelt headed for some WindClan queens, while Mousefur went to talk to some warriors. Sandstorm stuck with Tinyclaw, and together they found a spot somewhere near the middle of the Gathering to wait for the meeting.

It didn't take long – Nightstar's yowl summoned everyone together. He stood on the Great Rock, his pelt silver in the moonlight, with Tigerstar, Crookedstar, and Tallstar just behind him. His eyes scanned the clearing as the cats gathered all around, settling down and looking up at him.

"Here it comes," Sandstorm hissed. Tinyclaw nodded grimly. Nightstar wasn't going to waste any time.

"Cats of the Clans!" Nightstar howled, "Listen close!" He paused, waiting for all eyes to turn to him. Then, he meowed, "Remember with me – until last greenleaf, ShadowClan was ruled by Brokenstar! He was -"

"Enough!" spat Tallstar. His eyes blazed. "Why do you speak such a hated name? Brokenstar is gone from the forest, for good and all."

Tinyclaw swallowed, and the gleam in Nightstar's eyes told him all he needed to know. Sandstorm tensed beside him, pressing her pale pelt into his. She knew, too. This really was nothing good.

"Hated, yes," Nightstar meowed, "and with good reason – he drove your Clan out of the forest, and he nearly destroyed ShadowClan with his bloodthirsty intentions until we – his own Clan – drove him out. But gone? Oh no, Tallstar… he is not gone."

The Clans below all collectively tensed.

Nightstar growled, "So where is he, then, you wonder? Was he left to scavenge for Twoleg scraps? Was he killed, or left to die? No!" he howled. "No! Brokenstar yet lives – lives – and the cats who have taken him in are here tonight! They are traitors to the warrior code, to every cat in the forest!"

Sandstorm shifted next to Tinyclaw, and a quick glanced showed unease in all the ThunderClan cats here tonight. But how did he know?

Nightstar raised his voice to the sky and screeched: "ThunderClan! ThunderClan is keeping Brokenstar!"