Leafpool shook her head. "No, it's that wretched piece of wood again, the one that caught Jayfeather earlier," she complained. "I was sure we'd moved it out of the way, but it must have rolled back."

"You're not badly hurt?"

"No, just annoyed," Leafpool replied. "That stick is more trouble than the mudfall!"

A stick? Bramblestar thought suddenly. A stick causing trouble? Where have I heard of a stick recently? Then he remembered. Jayfeather's Stick of the Fallen! The apprentices spotted it this morning, wedged in the branches of that oak tree. What if they've gone back to fetch it?

He glanced around, but Lilypaw and Seedpaw were nowhere to be seen.

This is ridiculous! Bramblestar told himself. You're not a medicine cat; you can't interpret omens. But uneasiness was rising inside him like the lake water, his paws itching to be on the move. Maybe I have bees in my brain, but I have to go check for myself.

Telling Leafpool to carry the troublesome branch a long way away, he headed briskly after the apprentices. They shouldn't be wandering about by themselves, even if they haven't gone to the lake. They're still very inexperienced. He tried to remember exactly where they had seen the stick, then realized he would do better to follow the apprentices' scent trail. In spite of the soaking ground and undergrowth, he soon managed to pick it up. His apprehension increased as he realized it was leading straight for the edge of the floods.

As he drew closer to the lake, the unnatural silence of the forest was split by a terrified screech.

"Help!"

Lilypaw!

Bramblestar broke into a run, crashing through the brambles, oblivious of the thorns that tore at his fur. As he broke out of a thicket beside the edge of the flood, he spotted the half-submerged oak tree and Lilypaw thrashing desperately beside it. Peering closer, Bramblestar realized that she was caught up in the ivy that twined around the tree, and she was being pulled underneath the water.

Seedpaw was crouching on the bank, and as Bramblestar charged toward her, she straightened up and leaped into the water. "I'll help you, Lilypaw!"

"Seedpaw! No!" Bramblestar yowled.

But the young cat didn't hear him. Flailing her paws, she swam toward her sister. When she reached the oak tree, she dived underwater to reach Lilypaw, who had given up struggling and disappeared.

Bramblestar pushed as hard as he could, but he felt as if he was wading through mud. Reaching the nearest point of the sh.o.r.e to the submerged tree, he plunged into the water and swam out in a frenzy of fear. Both apprentices bobbed up for a moment, then vanished again. As Bramblestar reached the tree, Lilypaw reappeared alone. Bramblestar grabbed her scruff and supported her, thrashing his paws to keep them both afloat.

"Are you still trapped?" he gasped, speaking around the mouthful of fur.

Lilypaw shook her head. Bramblestar adjusted his grip on her scruff and started to swim back toward dry land, dragging the apprentice with him. She was too exhausted to swim, and by the time Bramblestar hauled her out of the flood, her eyes were closed.

"Lilypaw! Wake up!" he begged, shaking her.

Lilypaw twitched, then rolled over and coughed up several mouthfuls of water. "Where's Seedpaw?" she rasped. "She freed me. . . . She bit through the ivy. . . ."

Bramblestar looked over his shoulder. The water around the oak tree was ruffled but there was no sign of the other apprentice. "Stay there," he ordered. "I'll get Seedpaw."

Back at the oak tree, Bramblestar dived down, barely able to see in the murky water. Unseen tendrils grappled with his legs and head and twined around one paw; he had to wrench hard to pull it free. Then he b.u.mped into a lump of sodden fur, clamped his jaws hard on it, and hauled it to the surface. Seedpaw was a dead weight, motionless and heavy as Bramblestar dragged her back to dry ground.

As he laid Seedpaw beside her sister, Bramblestar heard movement from among the trees. He looked up to see Brightheart and Cinderheart break out from the bushes.

"We heard the yowling," Cinderheart panted. "What happened?"

Brightheart said nothing, just pounced on Seedpaw and began pressing her belly with rhythmic thrusts. Every so often she paused to put her ear to Seedpaw's chest, before opening the little cat's mouth with one paw to check it was clear. Then she started pounding at Seedpaw's belly again, her face grim. Lilypaw watched, her claws flexing in the sodden ground, while Bramblestar thanked StarClan for all the times Brightheart had helped Cinderpelt, Leafpool, and Jayfeather in their medicine-cat duties.

But this time Seedpaw didn't stir. Water trickled from her jaws, but her eyes didn't open. At last Brightheart sat back, her gaze clouding. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "She's gone."

"Oh, no, no!" Lilypaw flung herself down beside her sister. "It's all my fault! It was my idea to get the stick. I just wanted to be helpful!"

"It wasn't your fault," Cinderheart told her gently. "Come with me. We'll go find your father." She urged Lilypaw to her paws and began to lead her away. Lilypaw went with her reluctantly, looking over her shoulder at the limp body of her sister.

Horror coursed through Bramblestar as he gazed down at Seedpaw. It's not Lilypaw's fault; it's mine. Why didn't I listen more carefully to Jayfeather and Leafpool? A stick that caused trouble? It should have been obvious!

A sudden yowl pierced through the air and Brackenfur came hurtling through the trees. "What's going on?" he demanded.

Lilypaw broke away from Cinderheart and flung herself at the golden-brown warrior. "It's Seedpaw!" she sobbed.

Brackenfur wrapped his tail around his daughter's shoulders. On trembling paws father and daughter approached Seedpaw's body and stood looking down at her.

"How can I bear this?" Brackenfur asked hoa.r.s.ely. "To lose her mother, and now this . . ."

"She walks with Sorreltail in StarClan now," Bramblestar murmured, but he knew that his words were no comfort at all. "I'll carry her back to camp," he added, crouching down so that Brackenfur could load Seedpaw's body onto his back.

Bramblestar walked slowly back to the tunnel, the other cats in a silent group behind him. He felt as though the weight of the whole forest was crushing down on him in Seedpaw's fragile body.

Is this the role of a Clan leader? he wondered. To watch my cats die one by one while I can do nothing to save them?

CHAPTER 14.

Another gray dawn found the grief-stricken Clan outside the tunnel, grouped around Seedpaw's body as they kept vigil for her. At length, as the light strengthened, Purdy rose stiffly to his paws. "It's time to bury her," he announced.

"I'll help you," Daisy meowed. "I know it's a duty of the elders, but you can't do it all by yourself, Purdy."

"I'll help too," Brackenfur added from where he sat at Seedpaw's head, with Lilypaw pressed close to his side.

The three cats picked up Seedpaw's body between them and gently carried her away into the trees. Sandstorm padded over to Lilypaw and sat beside her, giving her ears a comforting lick. Bramblestar saw that the little cat couldn't stop shivering.

Beckoning Leafpool, he asked, "Is Lilypaw ill?"

"I'm not sure," Leafpool replied, her eyes sorrowful as she gazed at the apprentice. "It may be the onset of whitecough, or it may just be grief. It's so hard when we can't get properly dry and warm."

"At least yesterday's patrol over the border brought back a decent haul of fresh-kill," Thornclaw put in. "I'll lead another patrol there today, if you like."

"Good idea," meowed Squirrelflight. "I'll go too."

"We have to find some dry bedding," Bramblestar declared. His pelt still p.r.i.c.kled with concern for Lilypaw, but he was aware that it was his duty to pull the Clan out of its grief and get back to normal. And if he could find the bedding they needed, it would help Lilypaw, as well as Briarlight and the other cats with whitecough.

"Where are you going to look?" Spiderleg asked. "Even if it's not underwater, it's soaked through. There's no sun to dry anything out, and it looks like it's going to rain again soon."

"Spiderleg's right," Daisy mewed. "I've looked everywhere for moss, feathers, dry leaves, even inside hollow trees, and there's nothing."

Dovewing took a pace forward, her eyes shining. "What about those pelts in the Twoleg dens, Bramblestar?" she mewed. "Remember? They were dry, and really soft, too."

For a moment Bramblestar was struck silent by Dovewing's extraordinary suggestion. Raid Twoleg dens for bedding? Then he realized that she could be right. This could be our only chance of getting dry bedding to help Briarlight-and stop the rest of the Clan from getting whitecough. But a sense of dread stirred in him, as if he were looking down into dark water. Can I really justify taking cats back into that dangerous, flooded place?

"I'll go if you want, Bramblestar," Graystripe offered, stepping up to his shoulder.

His Clanmate's courage made up Bramblestar's mind. "No, you've done it once," he meowed. "This time I'll take Poppyfrost, Lionblaze, and Cinderheart, if they're willing."

The three warriors nodded, looking somber.

"You've done it once, too, Bramblestar," Squirrelflight pointed out with an edge to her tone.

"And I'm going to do it again," he snapped.

Squirrelflight snorted. "Being Clan leader isn't just about being the bravest, you mouse-brained idiot."

Bramblestar dug his claws into the wet ground. "I'm going," he insisted stubbornly. "I can't ask my Clanmates to do something that I wouldn't do myself. Come on, the sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back."

Refusing to argue anymore, he set out with his patrol to cross ShadowClan territory. Clouds surged black and ominous above their heads, though so far that day there had been no more rain.

"I wonder where all the ShadowClan cats are," Lionblaze meowed as they headed through the deserted pinewoods. "I'd have expected to see a dawn patrol by now."

"There are no fresh scents, either," Poppyfrost added.

"Maybe they've stayed in their camp to welcome Rowanstar back from the Moonpool," Bramblestar suggested.

A stab of fellowship for the new ShadowClan leader pierced through Bramblestar as he remembered how awe-inspiring his own nine-lives ceremony had been. I had to deal with the aftermath of the Great Battle, and Rowanstar will have to deal with the flood, he thought. Great StarClan, let the water go down soon, so we can all get back to normal!

When they emerged from the trees near the small Thunderpath, Lionblaze and the others stood aghast to see how far the floodwater stretched.

"Where's RiverClan?" Cinderheart asked, her voice shaking.

"Farther away from the lake," Bramblestar replied, reminding her how he and his patrol had located the RiverClan cats on their first expedition. "They're okay, for now at least."

Though he said nothing to the others, Bramblestar was alarmed to see that the water level was no lower. If anything, the flood was a bit deeper. We'll have to be extra careful, he told himself, pushing down the stirring of fear in his belly.

He led his three Clanmates alongside the Thunderpath and showed them how they could cross using the top of the drowned monster.

"I never thought monsters could be useful for anything!" Lionblaze muttered as he launched himself into the water.

On the other side, Bramblestar took the lead along the fences until he spotted the Twoleg den where they had found Minty. He was thankful to see that the entrance was still open. "This way," he meowed, readying himself for the awkward leap from the fence. "See that thing wedging the piece of wood ajar?" he added. "Graystripe says it's called a chair. We have to jump onto it, and then we can get inside."

"What should we do if we fall in?" Poppyfrost asked nervously.

"Swim," Bramblestar told her, pushing off with a ma.s.sive effort and landing with all four paws safely on the flat, wooden surface of the chair.

He stepped aside to make room for Lionblaze to follow, and then Poppyfrost. The tortoisesh.e.l.l she-cat misjudged the distance, and though her forepaws struck the Twoleg chair, her hind paws slid into the water. For a moment she thrashed helplessly, until Lionblaze grabbed her by the scruff and pulled her on.

"Thanks!" she gasped. "I never want to see any more water as long as I live!"

Once Cinderheart had made the jump safely, Bramblestar led the way to the upper level of the den. His pelt stood on end along his spine, even though there was no sign of Twolegs, and he saw that his companions were equally wary. All their coats were bristling as they gazed around at the unfamiliar Twoleg things, and they set their paws down as lightly as if they were stalking mice.

Cinderheart was the only one of them to show anything but alarm and the need to get out of there as soon as possible. Her eyes looked ready to pop out as she studied their surroundings. "Can't we explore a bit?" she begged. "I've never been inside a Twoleg den before."

"No, we can't," Lionblaze responded before Bramblestar had the chance to reply. "Let's just do what we've come to do."

The Twoleg pelts were still heaped on the floor on the upper level, where the first patrol had found them.

"These are great!" Poppyfrost purred, kneading one with her forepaws. "So soft and dry, and the whole Clan could sleep on just one of them."

Bramblestar sniffed warily at the pelts. "They smell like sheep," he muttered. "But I can't imagine how sheep pelts would get inside a Twoleg den." Actually, I don't want to imagine. . . .

Struggling with the heavy folds, the cats dragged the pelts down to the lower level, as far as the edge of the flood.

"How are we going to carry these across the water?" Cinderheart asked. "We don't want to get them wet."

Bramblestar thought for a moment. He pictured Minty in her tub and glanced around, looking for something the same size and shape. Finally he spotted a round black object, lying on its side near the edge of the water. It had a weird smell, but when he tested it with his teeth it felt strong and slightly chewy.

"It seems okay," he commented. "Let's see if it floats."

With Poppyfrost helping, he dragged the black tub to the edge of the water and pushed it in. It bobbed on the surface, and when Bramblestar stretched out his neck to peer inside, he couldn't see any leaks.

"It's fine," he announced. "Let's get the pelts inside. We should be able to push it across the water and keep them dry."

It was an awkward job to haul the tub out again and pack the pelts inside. By now the strain of working inside a Twoleg den was beginning to get to Bramblestar. His skin crawled with nervousness, though he wasn't sure exactly what he was afraid of. The rest of the patrol felt the same, he could tell, their ears laid back and their tails twitching. Every cat jumped at the slightest sound.

"We can only fit one pelt in here," Lionblaze meowed, kneading at the fluffy folds with his paws to pack it down harder.

"Then let's leave the others and go," Bramblestar responded. He was beginning to wonder if this mission had been a good idea. I just want to get back to camp.

Nudging the tub with their paws, the cats managed to make their way across the kitchen to the den's entrance. Lionblaze took the lead to jump onto the fence, with Poppyfrost and Cinderheart following.

I guess I get to swim again, Bramblestar thought with a sigh. Taking a deep breath, he plunged into the water and began swimming behind the tub, pushing it along with his nose. The current tugged at him, while unseen things below the surface swiped at his furiously paddling legs. He had to push away the hideous memory of Lilypaw trapped in the ivy around the oak tree, and Seedpaw's pathetic drowned body lying above the waterline.

Bramblestar saw that the ground rose steeply on the other side of the Thunderpath, just beyond the row of Twoleg dens, so he pushed the tub in that direction, toward the closest stretch of dry ground. His Clanmates kept pace with him along fences and across the roofs of drowned monsters.

I wish I'd never agreed to this, Bramblestar told himself as he struggled to keep his aching legs moving. I hate swimming, and I can't see why RiverClan cats would ever want to get their paws wet.

At last he made it to the sloping ground and staggered out of the water onto the slippery, muddy gra.s.s. While he stood there, panting, his Clanmates raced over and helped him to haul up the tub that held the pelt. It was awkward to move, and tipped to one side, spilling part of the pelt out onto the ground.

"Now it's all muddy," Poppyfrost murmured, looking disappointed as she tried to brush off the sticky streaks.

"It's still more or less dry," Lionblaze pointed out, shoving the folds back into the tub as fast as he could. "It'll be fine."

"We did it!" Cinderheart exclaimed, her eyes glowing.

Glancing around, Bramblestar realized they still had a stretch of water to cross before they could reach the lakeside and follow the sh.o.r.e back to their camp. At least we can keep our paws dry for a while on this bank, he thought, bounding up to the highest point to get a good view of their surroundings.