By the time I emerge from the warriors' den, a light snow has dusted the camp. When Lightningkit bounces up to me, I roll her into the snow. She squeals in outrage and throws a pawful of snow at me.
"Guess what Blackfoot told me this morning," she meows, whiskers quivering.
"Some kit I know's about six moons old," I purr. "Who could that be?"
"I'm going to be an apprentice tomorrow!" Lightningkit cries.
"Lookin' forward to the big moment," I tell her.
My heart is light as air by the time Blackfoot gathers the special patrol, which very much isn't a two-cat mission like I feared. Most of the warriors are comin'. If only my leader wasn't inviting dangerous kit murderers onto our territory, life would be perfect.
My good feelings last until Flintfang asks where the special patrol is going. "To deal with the half-clan traitors once and for all," Tigerstar growls, taking his place at the head of our group.
The powdery snow ain't the only thing weighin' my paws down as we head for the Bonehill. What does Tigerstar have planned for Mistyfoot and the others? Surely he'll just exile them, I tell myself. He and Leopardstar must have made this decision together, and the former RiverClan leader won't kill her own cats. Exile won't be so terrible. They'd probably rather be in ThunderClan anyway, and TigerClan will be safer with them gone. I'm sure it'll be hard to leave their clanmates, but at least they'll all be together. No cat gotta go through this alone.
The moon be shinin' right on the Bonehill, givin' it an eerie, white glow. Tigerstar has already taken his place atop the pile of bones when the River warriors arrive. My heart lifts when I see Boulder's gray fur and lean frame among them. He sees me at almost the same instant, and our eyes catch and hold. A spark zips between us, a spark no other cat can see.
"Nettlethorn, I'm so glad to see you!" Boulder meows, bounding over. He starts to nuzzle my shoulder as I turn my head to touch my nose to his. We end up awkwardly bumpin' heads, which makes us both laugh.
"Are you… has Tigerstar…" Boulder don't seem able to finish the sentence.
"I ain't being punished no more. It's safe to talk to me," I tell him. Then, 'cause I don't wanna discuss why that is, I ask, "How are things in the island camp?"
Boulder shrugs and says flatly, "Fine, I guess."
Before I can press for more details, Tigerstar calls for quiet, and we gotta sit down. ShadowClan and RiverClan cats still sit separately, I notice. My eyes seek out Mistyfoot. She's near the back of the crowd, flanked by two scared-lookin' apprentices. Stonefur stands beside Leopardstar, but his head is bowed, paws dragging. I can't help but contrast him with Blackfoot, who sits proudly at the base of the Bonehill, fur sleek and posture erect. Do the half-clan cats know what's about to go down?
My dream of the Bonehill comes back to me. So much blood on the ground that it forms pools instead of soakin' in. And me standin' over Mistyfoot's body, lookin' up at Tigerstar. Ain't gonna happen, Nettlethorn. Sometimes a nightmare's just a nightmare. I wish I was actually good at foolin' myself.
"In a matter of days, there will be a full moon, and when we meet the other clans at Fourtrees, we will invite them into TigerClan. I hope to bring all cats in the forest together in peace, but ThunderClan and WindClan will likely need some... persuasion," Tigerstar meows, his claws slieing out at just the mention of the clan he hates so much.
"If they don't agree, we'll drive them out," Jaggedtooth calls.
"TigerClan must be utterly united when we face the other clans. We cannot tolerate divided loyalties. There cannot even be the slightest suspicion that any of our clanmates will betray us."
"Not this fox dung again!" Stonefur snarls. "How many times do I have to tell you that we're loyal to RiverClan? Why would we be loyal to a clan we can't remember?"
"Don't you mean TigerClan?" Tigerstar growls.
"Of course he does," Mistyfoot says, leaping to her brother's defense.
"Really?" Tigerstar manages to put a lot of sarcasm into that one word. "Do you think I'm a complete mouse-brain?"
"Of course not," Mistyfoot meows.
Tigerstar's smirk widens. "A loyal TigerClan warrior told me all about your little talk with Firestar by the river. I bet ThunderCla₦ is just waiting for your signal to attack."
Uneasy murmurs ripple through the River warriors. Stonefur flashes a glance at his sister, but Mistyfoot's blue eyes lock right onto mine. I look away, shame pricklin' my pelt like thorns. I feel the kind of dirty no amount of groomin' can wash away. I hate every bit of this.
"We will always support our clanmates!" Stonefur yowls, but he don't sound nearly as confident now.
"But you don't support TigerClan. As long as you're among us, we'll always be looking over our shoulders, waiting to get our throats clawed out," Tigerstar says.
Stonefur turns to Leopardstar, who didn't even bother tryin' to climb the Bonehill this time. "Have you forgotten our moons of service to our clan? We grew up with you, fought alongside you. You appointed me deputy before you even knew about our mother."
"Big mistake," Blackfoot growls. "She should never have picked a mange-pelt like you."
The former RiverClan leader's tail droops, but her voice is firm when she says, "TigerClan cannot be strong until we resolve this issue. Therefore, Tigerstar and I have agreed that the four of you will be imprisoned on TigerClan territory for the time being. We'll revisit this once we've subdued WindClan and ThunderClan."
"You'd imprison apprentices?" Mistyfoot demands.
"Little traitors in the making," Russetfur sneers. That ain't right. They're barely more than kits, and they haven't done nothin'.
"We're not traitors!" pipes up one of the apprentices.
Stonefur lays his tail across the younger cat's shoulders. "I know, Stormpaw," he says softly but clearly. "But this is only temporary. Soon, our clanmates will realize we'd never betray them."
At a signal from Tigerstar, Jaggedtooth, Stumpytail, and Blackfoot herd the four half-clan cats together, with the apprentices in the middle. They must've planned all this in advance, 'cause they don't waste no time figurin' out where the prison will be. We file along a narrow, muddy path. The sounds and smells of the river get fainter behind us. Eventually, the reeds give way to short grass. Halfway up a barren slope, I spot a hole that reminds me of the old badger set I rescued Lightningkit from a moon ago. Are we really gonna make the half-clan cats live down there? It seems unnecessarily cruel. Why can't they just stay in one of the camps under guard, like when ThunderClan imprisoned Brokenstar? Wrong, wrong, this is all wrong!
"What are you waiting for?" Blackfoot says, swiping at Stonefur's shoulder with unsheathed claws. "This is more of a home than you deserve."
My clanmates start yellin' insults at the prisoners. They sting my ears, like the nettles I'm named for. I shrink back, wishin' I was anywhere but here. This reminds me of the worst of BloodClan.
"You gotta say somethin'," Nightwhisper hisses in my ear.
I stare at my brother as he screeches, "Half-clan trash!"
Now Tigerstar's watchin' me too, waitin' for me to act. This be another test, I realize. My mind scrabbles desperately for some way out, like claws over smooth stone. But what are my choices? If I don't do it, I'll end up exiled, at BloodClan's mercy, or in that hole with Stonefur and the others. What good will that do any cat? I have a brother, friends. By this time tomorrow, I'll have an apprentice. Am I really gonna give up this new life I'm buildin' for four strangers? Used to be I wouldn't even give my name to a cat I didn't know. No cat can expect that of me.
"TigerClan don't want your kind," I yowl, each word a glass splinter in my throat. "There ain't no place for you here except in that hole."
Mistyfoot's the last one to disappear into whatever's waitin' down in that darkness. Please don't look back, I pray silently. But of course the former RiverClan warrior does. Her blue eyes scorch into me, makin' the ThunderClan fire feel like a cool leaf-fall breeze. The anger and sense of betrayal I can almost take. But the hurt in her face almost undoes me.
"My forest warriors will guard the prisoners, Leopardstar," Tigerstar growls, and it's clear from his voice that this is an order, not a request. "Your cats are too soft, too attached to these traitors. Flintfang and Wolfstep, you'll take the first shift."
Leopardstar's whiskers twitch uneasily, but she dips her head and says, "Very well. But I expect your warriors to feed them and treat them well. This is just a preventative measure, after all."
I'm in a daze walkin' back to camp, my clanmates' voices goin' in one ear and out the other. Mama never heard of the warrior code. But she did teach us how to act right. Even in BloodClan, where everything is all about violence and domination, she told us to be kind and help other cats when we could. When we saved ShadowClan, I thought being a warrior would give me the strength to live out them lessons. But who am I becoming now?
"I'm sorry," I whisper to Mistyfoot, to Stonefur and those two scared little apprentices, to Mama. "I'm sorry, but it's just too hard."
