Squirrelflight waited a few moments more to let all the Clan, especially the apprentices, get a good look at the white bird. Then she raised her voice to make herself heard throughout the clearing. "Come on, all of you! There's enough prey here for every cat!"

That night Bramblestar found it hard to rest. Wind bl.u.s.tering around the Highledge disturbed him, and when he did manage to s.n.a.t.c.h a few moments of sleep he was a.s.saulted by strange dreams of salty water and falling down holes on top of badgers.

A paw prodding him in the side woke him. The faint light of dawn was trickling into his den, and he just managed to make out the features of Jayfeather. The medicine cat was wide-eyed and agitated.

"Wha . . . ?" Bramblestar muttered. "Did I call out in my sleep and wake you?"

Jayfeather shook his head. "No. I went out before dawn, because I was concerned about the new plants in the wind. And I found something . . . something awful. Come and see, Bramblestar!"

Shaking off the last remnants of sleep, Bramblestar followed Jayfeather out of his den and down the tumbled rocks to the floor of the hollow. Jayfeather led the way into the forest at a run, sure-pawed as always in spite of his blindness, while Bramblestar blundered after him in the near darkness.

The two cats followed the disused Thunderpath until they came to the abandoned nest. By now there was enough light for Bramblestar to see more clearly. He stopped, his fur bushing up in dismay. The plants that Leafpool and Jayfeather had tended so carefully had been destroyed by a branch from a nearby ash tree. Wind had blown it across the patch of earth, churning up the ground and flattening the young herbs. Torn leaves had blown everywhere.

"Well, it's bad, but it should be possible to repair it," Bramblestar meowed. "Some of the roots must have survived. I'll send you a patrol later today, to help clear up the mess and look for new plants in the forest."

"You don't understand," Jayfeather told him, his voice somber. "This is an omen. Something terrible is going to happen. Darkness and destruction and tragedy are closing in on our Clan once more."

Bramblestar felt an icy trickle of fear run down his spine. "Not the Dark Forest again?"

"No," Jayfeather replied, and his voice sounded far away, and somehow older. "Something different from the Great Battle. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it coming on the wind."

CHAPTER 7.

Dawn had scarcely broken by the time Bramblestar and Jayfeather returned to the hollow. But their Clanmates were already awake and restless, pacing around the clearing with their fur blown the wrong way and their ears turned inside out. The trees clattered overhead as the wind gusted through them.

"I don't like this," Squirrelflight muttered as she joined Bramblestar in the center of the camp. "It reminds me too much of the time the tree fell, when Longtail died and Briarlight was injured."

Bramblestar nodded, knowing that terrible day must be in the mind of every cat. A couple of fox-lengths away Dovewing was standing with her claws dug into the earth as if she were trying to take root. Her head was raised, and Bramblestar knew she was struggling to listen for falling trees.

Dovewing's mother, Whitewing, emerged from the warriors' den and padded up to her daughter. "This isn't doing any good," she murmured, giving Dovewing's ear a gentle lick. "Come and share a vole with me."

Dovewing hesitated, then allowed her mother to coax her over to the fresh-kill pile.

"I'm worried about Dovewing," Bramblestar confided to Squirrelflight.

"I know," Squirrelflight responded. "It was hard for all three cats to lose their powers."

"But Dovewing seems to be suffering most of all," Bramblestar mewed.

Lionblaze and Cinderheart pushed their way into the camp through the thorn barrier. Lionblaze looked ruffled, and was speaking over his shoulder to Cinderheart.

"It's mouse-brained, trying to hunt in this!" he complained. "That branch from the beech tree whacked me right on the head!"

"Honestly, Lionblaze," Cinderheart purred. "It was only a twig! You have to get used to being injured."

Bramblestar sent Squirrelflight to round up the senior warriors. "We still have to send out patrols," he began when they were gathered around him. He had to raise his voice to make himself heard above the bl.u.s.tering wind. "I don't want any cat injured by falling trees-"

"Right," Lionblaze muttered, rubbing the top of his head with one paw.

"But we need to restock the fresh-kill pile," Bramblestar went on. "And I wouldn't put it past ShadowClan or WindClan to take advantage of all this noise and chaos to cross the border. Especially WindClan, chasing those storm-blown white birds."

Blossomfall nodded. "I'd bet a moon of dawn patrols that they'd have crossed our border after the bird we caught, if we hadn't been there."

"So who will lead a patrol?" Bramblestar asked.

"I will," Squirrelflight offered immediately.

"And me," Dustpelt and Ivypool added in chorus.

"I will, too," b.u.mblestripe meowed. "Except . . . Dovewing, will you be okay if I leave you?"

"I'll be fine," Dovewing replied, though she was working her claws agitatedly into the ground.

Bramblestar could see that she was in too much of a state to be sent out on patrol. She was still trying to use her far-senses, even though she had lost them right after the battle. She feels like she's deaf and blind, and she can't bear it!

"I'll keep an eye on her," Whitewing promised, leading her daughter back to the warriors' den.

"Four patrols, then," Bramblestar ordered. "Ivypool, take the WindClan border, and Dustpelt, take ShadowClan. b.u.mblestripe and Squirrelflight, your patrols can hunt. I'll go with b.u.mblestripe."

"Which cats should we take with us?" Dustpelt asked.

"Choose your own," Bramblestar responded. "Have one cat in each patrol to watch out for danger-wind-blown branches, creaking trees, whatever. And if that cat says run, run!"

As b.u.mblestripe began to look around for other cats, his apprentice, Seedpaw, scampered up. "Can I come?" she chirped.

b.u.mblestripe shook his head. "It's too dangerous out there for apprentices."

"But-"

"No buts," Bramblestar interrupted. "You and the others can help by clearing up any debris that gets blown into the camp. Tell your denmates I said so. You are responsible for keeping the camp tidy and safe, okay?"

Seedpaw lifted her head proudly. "We can do that, Bramblestar." She dashed off toward the apprentices' den.

The leaders of the patrols quickly found other cats to go with them and headed into the forest. Mousewhisker and Cherryfall had joined b.u.mblestripe's patrol. Both of them seemed spooked by the wind, darting uneasy glances around at every paw step, and starting at each unexpected noise.

Bramblestar took on the duty of keeping watch for danger. Though the trees were thrashing in the wind, none of them looked ready to fall. But the noise of the gusts and creaking branches was so loud that there was little chance of picking up tiny prey sounds, while the strong gusts scattered scents everywhere.

"I think we ought to hunt in places where prey might go to shelter," b.u.mblestripe suggested. "Like a bramble thicket, or maybe the abandoned Twoleg nest."

"Great idea!" Cherryfall agreed. "Let's go to the nest."

Anything to get out of this wind for a bit, Bramblestar thought.

He brought up the rear as b.u.mblestripe led the patrol along the old Thunderpath. Now they were battling into the wind, their eyes watering and their pelts pressed flat to their sides. Every paw step was a ma.s.sive effort, as if the wind was trying to pluck them up and send them crashing into the trees.

When the Twoleg nest came in sight, b.u.mblestripe and the others halted, staring in dismay at the fallen branch and the damaged plants.

"Leafpool worked so hard over that!" Cherryfall gasped.

"And she and Jayfeather will put it right again as soon as this wind drops," Mousewhisker rea.s.sured her.

Bramblestar couldn't share Mousewhisker's optimism. His memory of Jayfeather's ominous omen was too strong, and he glanced around with his ears p.r.i.c.ked. But all the trees within sight had their roots firmly fixed in the ground.

Bramblestar followed b.u.mblestripe and the others into the tumbledown den. Cherryfall puffed out a sigh of relief as she stepped inside. "Sheltered from the wind at last!" she mewed, smoothing her whiskers with one paw.

"Keep quiet and listen for prey," b.u.mblestripe ordered.

In a brief moment of silence when the wind dropped, Bramblestar picked up a strong scent of mouse and heard the patter of their tiny feet above his head, where strong, straight, Twoleg-crafted branches were supporting the roof.

b.u.mblestripe had heard it, too. "Up there," he whispered, pointing with his tail.

"I'll go!" Cherryfall lightly climbed the wooden slats that were fixed to the far wall. From the top she made a graceful leap onto one of the branches.

"Be careful!" Bramblestar warned.

The young she-cat stalked along the branch. Farther along, in the shadows, Bramblestar could just make out a flicker of movement that told him a mouse was there.

But as Cherryfall was readying herself to pounce, a powerful gust of wind hit the den. One of the flat stones that formed the roof was torn free and clattered away. Cherryfall jumped in shock and lost her balance. Yowling in terror, she fell, her body twisting in the air. She just managed to snag the bulky wood with one claw before she plummeted to the ground.

"Help!" she wailed.

"Can you climb back up?" Bramblestar yowled.

Cherryfall stretched up with her other forepaw, but she couldn't grasp the smooth surface. "I'm slipping!" she gasped.

"Mousewhisker, go after her," Bramblestar ordered. "And for StarClan's sake, watch where you're putting your paws."

Mousewhisker bounded up the wooden slats and leaped neatly onto the end of the branch. Balancing carefully in the center, he headed toward Cherryfall.

"Come on," Bramblestar meowed to b.u.mblestripe. "Let's collect dead leaves, debris, anything to break her fall if she loses her grip."

Together they sc.r.a.ped up the earthy litter that lay on the floor of the den, then darted outside to find more. b.u.mblestripe tore up moss from the side of the den, while Bramblestar sc.r.a.ped up a clump of yarrow that grew near the door. The pile was growing, but agonizingly slowly, while Cherryfall dangled above it.

Mousewhisker had reached the point on the branch where his Clanmate was hanging. He stretched down, trying to grab her scruff, but it was just out of reach. While he strained, he brushed against Cherryfall's leg, dislodging her precarious grip. She uttered a wild screech as she fell.

Bramblestar darted forward just in time to break her fall. She slammed into him, knocking him to the ground, and his head cracked against the stone floor. Darkness sparkled over Bramblestar's vision. Voices echoed around him, seeming to come from a long way off. Am I losing a life? he wondered.

Then the voices sounded more clearly and he recognized the tones of Cherryfall and Mousewhisker.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry I let you fall."

"Oof-all the breath's knocked out of me! But I'm fine, I think."

Then another voice, more distant, joined them. "What's going on in there?"

Bramblestar sat up groggily. His vision cleared and he saw Ivypool peering through the entrance to the den, with her patrol cl.u.s.tered anxiously behind her.

"Cherryfall fell off the branch up there," b.u.mblestripe explained. "Bramblestar was great-he broke her fall."

Ivypool's eyes stretched wide. "Are you hurt?" she mewed. "You should go straight back to camp and let Jayfeather check you out."

"There's no need," Bramblestar protested, rising to his paws. The walls of the den whirled around him.

"And hedgehogs can fly," Ivypool retorted. "You can barely stand. And don't try to hide your paw from me, Cherryfall. I can see the blood on it."

"It's only a ripped claw," Cherryfall muttered.

"It needs treating!" Ivypool hissed.

Bramblestar sighed. "Okay, Ivypool, keep your fur on. We'll go back. But I still want that mouse caught. Mousewhisker and b.u.mblestripe, you can stay here and try again."

b.u.mblestripe nodded. "We'll get it, don't worry."

Bramblestar led the way out of the den with Cherryfall limping behind him. Ivypool and her patrol flanked them as they returned to the camp.

"Any sign of WindClan on the border?" Bramblestar asked Ivypool.

"Not a sniff," the silver-and-white tabby told him. "As far as we can scent anything in this wind. We didn't spot any more of those white birds, either."

Back in the hollow, Bramblestar sent Cherryfall to her nest, then headed for the medicine cats' den. Both Jayfeather and Leafpool were there, sorting piles of herbs.

"How am I supposed to keep my stocks tidy when the wind is this bad?" Jayfeather was grumbling as Bramblestar brushed past the bramble screen. "I no sooner put a stem down, when it's gone."

"We need to do this as fast as we can, and then shove everything down to the bottom of the cleft," Leafpool meowed.

Jayfeather snorted. "And what do you want?" he asked, looking up at Bramblestar with his intense blue gaze. "Not another skirmish with WindClan?"

"No," Bramblestar replied. He explained what had happened at the Twoleg nest. "Cherryfall has a ripped claw," he finished. "I sent her to rest in the warriors' den. Leafpool, I thought you could take a look at her there."

Jayfeather's eyes narrowed. "Are you the ThunderClan medicine cat, Bramblestar, or am I?" He sighed. "Okay, Leafpool. Better take some marigold, if it hasn't all blown away."

When Leafpool had slipped out carrying the herbs, Jayfeather faced Bramblestar again. "Go on, then," he meowed. "What do you want to talk about?"

"How do you know I-"

"You sent Leafpool away deliberately, right? Don't waste my time, Bramblestar."

"It's about the omen," Bramblestar began. "Was this the disaster we were warned about? I saved Cherryfall-does that mean I defeated the omen?"

Jayfeather looked thoughtful. "I don't know," he admitted. "With all this wind, it's impossible to think straight."