Lionblaze woke to the sound of excited mewing and movement around him. He lifted his head to see his Clanmates pushing their way out of the warriors' den and into the clearing. He staggered to his paws, wincing at the stabs of pain from his aching muscles, and shouldered his way through the branches after them.

The sky was clear, but the sun hadn't risen far enough to penetrate the hol ow. Deep shadows hung over the dens and blanketed Spiderleg in near darkness where he crouched, on watch outside Sol's nest. But even though it was so early, it looked as if most of ThunderClan was gathered in the clearing.

Daisy, Mil ie, and Whitewing were sitting outside the nursery. Lionblaze saw that they had their tails curled protectively around the kits, who gazed out across the stone hol ow with wide, scared eyes. Foxpaw and Icepaw bounded across to join the warriors, feeling the need to be close to the older, more experienced cats.

Hol yleaf was already up, standing with Hazeltail and Brackenfur. She didn't glance at Lionblaze, and somehow his paws wouldn't carry him over to her.

It's as if part of us, part of what we used to be, died with Ashfur!

Firestar emerged from his den on the Highledge and ran lightly down the tumbled rocks to join Graystripe at the bottom. At the appearance of the Clan leader, the excitement in the clearing mounted.

"Here's Firestar!"

"Now something's bound to happen!"

Lionblaze flexed his muscles, trying to work the stiffness out of them. He heard a flurry of paw steps, and the dawn patrol raced back into the camp with Thornclaw at their head.

"What's going on?" the golden brown warrior panted as he skidded to a standstil in the middle of the clearing. "Have we missed anything?"

Brambleclaw padded over to him. "What are you doing here so early?" he demanded. "You can't have been al the way along the ShadowClan border."

"Oh, everything's quiet," Berrynose mewed, peering over Thornclaw's shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about."

Brambleclaw's tail-tip twitched. "Al right," he growled. "But take longer over it next time." He turned back to the cluster of warriors outside their den. "Hunting patrols," he announced. "Sandstorm, wil you lead one, please. And Brightheart, you can -" He broke off, his tail flicking with irritation when he realized that no cat was listening to him.

He glanced frustratedly at Firestar, who padded up to him with Graystripe at his side. "They won't settle," Brambleclaw meowed. "No cat even wants to eat."

Graystripe nodded, and leaned over to murmur into Firestar's ear. Lionblaze just caught the soft words: "You may as wel get this done now."

Firestar's ears pricked.

"You're right.

Brambleclaw, go and fetch Sol."

Every cat's gaze was fixed on the deputy as he padded across to the bush where Sol had slept. He exchanged a quick word with Spiderleg, then vanished under the branches. A few heartbeats later he emerged again with Sol behind him.

As the loner padded over to Firestar, the first rays of the sun slid over the rim of the hol ow and shone on his fur. He looked as sleek as if he had spent the last moon grooming his pelt, instead of trekking through the Twolegplace and across open country to reach the camp. Lionblaze felt tired and scruffy in comparison.

As Brambleclaw escorted Sol to the center of the clearing, the ThunderClan cats drew back on either side, their eyes wide and their fur fluffed up.

What's wrong with them? Lionblaze wondered with a flash of irritation. Sol's just a cat! Why are they acting like a lot of cowardly rabbits?

they acting like a lot of cowardly rabbits?

"Sol! Wait for me!" Purdy's yowl echoed around the hol ow as he erupted from the elders' den, with Mousefur and Longtail fol owing. They halted just beyond the outer branches of the hazel bush, while Purdy lumbered farther into the clearing. His fur was sticking up on end, covered with scraps of moss, and his eyes blazed with anger.

Brackenfur intercepted him before he could reach Sol. "Take it easy, Purdy," he mewed quietly. "No cat is harming Sol. Just keep back with the others."

Purdy gaped in shock, but before he could reply, Hazeltail padded up to him and nudged him over to sit beside her and Birchfal .

Firestar stood face to face with Sol in the middle of the circle of cats. "Do you know why we've brought you here?" he asked.

Sol tilted his head to one side. "A cat has been murdered, and you think I'm responsible." He confidently met Firestar's gaze. His fur gleamed in the pale, cold sunlight.

"You kil ed Ashfur!" Thornclaw snarled at him.

"Yes," Cloudtail growled. "You were seen on the WindClan border. Don't try to deny it!"

"Why did you kil him?" Sorreltail demanded.

"What had he ever done to you?"

Sol ignored the hostile yowling and kept his gaze fixed on Firestar as the Clan leader waved his tail for silence.

"One of our warriors was found in the WindClan border stream, with bitemarks in his throat," Firestar meowed when the clamor had died down. "Do you deny it was you?"

Sol stared at him without blinking. "Think about what you are saying, Firestar. The truth wil be known when it is time."

Lionblaze caught a flash of frustration in Firestar's green eyes. Sol had neither confirmed nor denied the accusation.

"Make him confess!" some cat hissed from the back of the crowd.

Firestar ignored the fierce words, his gaze stil fixed on Sol. "What were you doing on the WindClan border?" he asked.

Sol shrugged. "How should I remember? It was many sunrises ago."

"Did you see Ashfur there?" Lionblaze could tel how hard Firestar found it to keep his voice even and calm as he questioned the loner.

"Ashfur...?"

"A powerful tom with thick grey fur." There was an edge of irritation in Firestar's tone; Lionblaze guessed that Sol knew very wel who Ashfur was.

Sol shook his head. "I didn't see any cat there."

"Did you scent any?"

Lionblaze caught a gleam of amusement in Sol's eyes, as if the mysterious loner had picked up Firestar's increasing desperation. "I scented ThunderClan and WindClan," he replied. "But I didn't recognize any particular scents."

"Did you hear any sound of fighting?"

Sol blinked slowly. "No."

Firestar paused, the tip of his tail twitching in frustration. A cold claw seemed to touch Lionblaze's bel y as he realized that even his Clan leader couldn't penetrate Sol's secrets.

"Go and get something to eat," Firestar mewed eventual y. "But don't think this is over," he warned Sol. "We wil speak of this again. Cloudtail, wil you take over guard duty, please?"

"It'l be a pleasure," the white warrior growled. He padded after Sol and Brambleclaw as the deputy escorted Sol to the fresh-kil pile and then back to the nest, and settled himself under the outermost branches of the bush, his face grim and his pelt bristling.

When Sol had gone, Brambleclaw was able to organize the hunting patrols, and cats began to leave.

"Al the cats who went to find Sol can have the morning to recover," the deputy meowed to Lionblaze. "Make sure you al get a good rest."

Lionblaze wasn't sure that would be possible. His Clanmates crowded around him and the other cats who had made the journey, demanding to know what had happened.

"Was it hard, trying to bring Sol back?" Poppyfrost asked.

"Yeah, did he try to escape?" Foxpaw added excitedly.

"No," Lionblaze replied. "He was wil ing to come.

He did exactly what we wanted."

And that's strange, he added to himself. Does he have a reason of his own for agreeing to come here? Every hair on his pelt prickled. Does he think he can do to us what he did to ShadowClan?

he can do to us what he did to ShadowClan?

"Were you scared?" Mousewhisker whispered, his eyes wide as if he was imagining al kinds of disasters. "That cat might do anything."

"You watch what you're saying, young 'un!"

Purdy's voice rang out loudly as the elder came bustling up to the group of cats. "You don't know what you're talkin' about. Sol is a good cat. He's my friend."

Mousewhisker jumped back, alarmed by the old tabby's fierce protest.

"But he was seen-" Cinderheart began.

"Sol would never hurt another cat," Purdy insisted, looming over the younger cats. "Have you al got fluff in your heads?"

"Look, Purdy," Lionblaze began, trying to think of how he could convince the old cat.

Sandstorm interrupted him. "It's okay, Purdy. No cat wil harm Sol if he's innocent. Come on, let me show you the fresh-kil pile."

Mumbling something under his breath, Purdy glared at the younger warriors before al owing the ginger she-cat to lead him away.

"Phew!" Lionblaze glanced at Hol yleaf. "I thought he was going to knock me out with his dog-breath."

Hol yleaf was more sympathetic. "Wel , he's the only one defending Sol just now. Every other cat has already decided that he's guilty."

Lionblaze opened his mouth to ask, What do you think? But Hol yleaf was already padding away, and the question remained unspoken. Thinking it over, Lionblaze wasn't sure that he wanted to know the answer.

He was heading back to the warriors' den to rest when he heard a cal from Firestar, and spotted the Clan leader at the foot of the tumbled rocks, beckoning with his tail to gather his remaining warriors around him. As he padded up to the Highledge, Lionblaze thought that Firestar looked edgy; he was flexing his claws as if he wanted action but wasn't sure what it should be.

"Leafpool," the Clan leader began, spotting the medicine cat at the edge of the group, "do you know of any way we can be sure whether Sol kil ed Ashfur?"

The medicine cat shook her head.

"What about the bitemarks?" Sorreltail suggested.

"Could we get Sol to bite on a leaf, and then measure his teethmarks against Ashfur's wound?"

"Bril iant!"

Firestar meowed, giving the tortoiseshel she-cat a warm look of approval. "I'l -"

"It won't work," Leafpool interrupted. "Ashfur has been buried for too long."

"There's something else we need to think about,"

Graystripe added. "Remember when ThunderClan kept Brokentail prisoner, back in the old forest? He ended up befriending Tigerclaw and attacking ThunderClan from within. We can't trust Sol while he's inside our camp!"

"Then we've got to punish him." Birchfal lashed his tail. "We can't let him cause any more trouble."

"Let's make him col ect mouse bile!" Poppyfrost's eyes gleamed; clearly she was remembering the tasks she had to do when she was an apprentice.

"We could make him hunt prey for the Clan,"

Brackenfur suggested.

"But then he might escape," Lionblaze pointed out.

"We can't punish him until we're sure he's guilty,"

Firestar meowed. "Al we can do is wait. Leafpool, wil you watch for any signs from StarClan? Surely our warrior ancestors know the truth." He raked his claws across the ground, leaving deep marks in the wet earth. "Why haven't they shown us something already?"

Leafpool's expression was guarded. "StarClan wil tel us what it wants us to know in its own good time."

Firestar dipped his head, accepting what his medicine cat told him. "Then Sol wil stay here under guard until we have more evidence," he decided.

With another glance at Leafpool, he added, "Until StarClan decides to help us."

In the days that fol owed, ThunderClan settled into an uneasy routine of feeding Sol, watching him stretch his legs when he was al owed out into the clearing, and escorting him to make dirt. Sol never lost his air of calm, and he treated every cat with the same friendliness.

Lionblaze waited frustratedly for the chance to talk to him alone. He was desperate to discuss the prophecy. He couldn't forget the sense of power and control he had felt when facing the dogs, which convinced him stil that he was one of the Three. But Sol was never left alone, and only the senior warriors were assigned to guard him.

The weather stayed sunny and dry, even though each morning the trees were rimmed with frost.

Sometimes it was even warm enough by sunhigh to bask on a couple of flattish rocks at the base of the cliff. Mousefur especial y liked to stretch out there, soaking up the sunlight.

"The elders should be al owed to bask here whenever we want," she had announced. "Our old bones need it." She sighed, twitching her ears.

"Back in the old forest, we had Sunningrocks. Al the Clan's cats could bask there together, if they wanted."

Since Purdy's arrival, she had taken to lying on the rocks with him. Lionblaze was surprised at their friendship, but he figured that they talked about things like how rude young cats were these days and how much tastier prey used to be.