Hazeltail shivered. "I hope not. I knew al along we Hazeltail shivered. "I hope not. I knew al along we should never have brought him back."

Spiderleg shrugged. "He can't do any more harm.

Let him go where he likes."

"And kil more cats?" Hazeltail's neck fur rose.

"That's mouse-brained!"

"If he's here, our patrols wil find him," Birchfal reassured her, touching her shoulder with his tail.

"And Firestar-"

He was interrupted by a cal from Dustpelt, who came bounding over from the barrier around the snake's hole. "I'm alerting every cat," the brown tabby warrior meowed. "That mouse with the deathberries hasn't been touched. The snake must be stil around." He dashed off to warn Brambleclaw and his patrol, who had just appeared through the tunnel.

A sense of power thril ed through Hol yleaf from ears to tail-tip. ThunderClan had never felt so alive!

Every cat was working together to face the threats that surrounded them. There was nothing they couldn't do! And I could do anything too, if I could lead them!

"Hol yleaf." The black she-cat started as Leafpool spoke behind her; dropping her prey on the fresh-kil pile, she spun around to see the medicine cat with Squirrelflight at her side.

"We need to talk," Squirrelflight mewed.

Hol yleaf stared at Leafpool, her heart suddenly thundering in her chest. Is she going to tell the others what I did?

Then Leafpool gave a tiny shake of her head, and Hol yleaf relaxed.

"What do you want to say to us?" Lionblaze asked; he had come up to deposit his prey in time to hear what Squirrelflight had said.

"Yes, what have we got to talk about?" Jayfeather added, his chal enging tone muffled by his mouthful of yarrow stems.

"Not here," Leafpool murmured with a glance at the cats close by. "Come with us into the forest."

Hol yleaf hesitated, exchanging a glance with Lionblaze. He seemed to be waiting for her to decide. Then she nodded. "Okay. We'l talk to you."

When Jayfeather had deposited the yarrow in the medicine cats' den, Squirrelflight led the way into the forest as far as a huge oak tree with moss-covered roots.

"Wel ?" Jayfeather demanded, an edge to his tone. "What's this al about?"

Squirrelflight and Leafpool gave the three littermates a long look. Hol yleaf realized that although they were such different cats, the expression in their eyes was the same. She didn't want to recognize it; she didn't want to admit that it was love.

Final y Squirrelflight took a deep breath. "Leafpool is your mother," she began, "but I want to say that I couldn't have loved you more if I had given birth to you myself. We raised you together, and surely that's what matters."

"You raised us to believe in a lie!" Hol yleaf hissed, not giving her brothers a chance to respond.

"We have nothing to say to either of you." Ignoring the shocked looks on Lionblaze's and Jayfeather's faces, she added, "Come on. There are no mothers here. A mother would love her kits enough to tel them the truth."

She stood for a moment longer, savoring the anguish her rejection had cal ed up in the two she-cats, then whipped around and began stalking back to the camp.

"Hol yleaf, wait!" Lionblaze cal ed.

Hol yleaf glanced over her shoulder; fury surged through her and she bared her teeth in a snarl.

"Come on!"

Lionblaze bounded after her, fol owed a heartbeat later by Jayfeather. "This is mouse-brained," he protested. "We could at least talk. They might be prepared to tel us things we need to know."

"Like the name of our father?" Hol yleaf snapped, not breaking stride. "No, there's no point in asking them. We'd only get more lies." She lashed her tail, trying hard to dismiss Squirrelflight and Leafpool from her mind. "Sol wil tel us," she declared.

"Bring the moss over here," Hol yleaf directed.

"Whitewing's kits wil come soon, and she needs a real y comfortable nest." Since the disastrous meeting with Sol the day before, she had struggled to put her sense of betrayal out of her mind and concentrate on her Clan duties, but she couldn't manage it. How could she make herself a good warrior when she knew she should never have been born at al ? Every cat knew that medicine cats weren't al owed to have kits. She and her littermates were nothing more than a mistake. One that Leafpool had been too ashamed to own up to.

Maybe their real father would feel differently....

The nursery seemed ful of queens and wriggling kits as Foxpaw and Icepaw staggered through the entrance with huge bal s of moss. Whitewing was curled up nearby.

"Thanks, Hol yleaf," she mewed. "You'l make a great mentor when you have an apprentice of your own."

"I hope so," Hol yleaf replied. How can I have an apprentice? How could I teach a young cat about the warrior code, knowing what I know?

She was helping the two apprentices to spread out the moss when she was startled by a sudden yowl of alarm from the clearing. Before she could do more than look up, Rosekit shot into the nursery with every hair on her pelt fluffed up. "It's ShadowClan!"

she squealed. "ShadowClan cats are in the camp!"

While Daisy reached out to comfort the terrified kit, Hol yleaf thrust her way outside, her claws bared to fight off an attack. But once she was in the open, she relaxed. Only three cats were entering the camp, flanked by Spiderleg and Mousewhisker: Russetfur, Oakfur, and Ivytail. Firestar was already crossing the clearing to meet them, his flame-colored pelt gleaming in the scarlet light of the setting sun, while the rest of the Clan gathered behind him.

Hol yleaf padded over to join Lionblaze and Jayfeather. "What's al this about?" she whispered.

"More trouble about Sol?"

Lionblaze shook his head. "I've no idea."

"Greetings." Firestar dipped his head to the patrol. "Sol has gone."

"We're not here about Sol," Russetfur informed him curtly. "Three of your cats were spotted near the ShadowClan border yesterday-wel outside your territory. What were they doing?"

"Fox dung!" Jayfeather muttered, while Hol yleaf felt her pelt beginning to bristle. If Firestar finds out what we were doing, we're crow-food!

"Three ThunderClan cats?" Firestar asked. "Are you sure?"

"We know ThunderClan scent when we smel it,"

Russetfur retorted. "And Ivytail got a good look at them. Ivytail, point them out."

The ShadowClan she-cat stepped forward and swept her tail around to point at Hol yleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather. "Those three."

A gasp went up from the other ThunderClan cats.

Hol yleaf faced them defiantly. We weren't bothering ShadowClan! Why do they have to make trouble?

Firestar gave the three littermates a thoughtful glance. Hol yleaf felt her fur grow uncomfortably hot, and she tried not to twitch. Then the ThunderClan leader turned back to the ShadowClan patrol.

"I'm sure my warriors had a very good reason to be there," he meowed. "You should know that a medicine cat is hardly likely to be part of an invading patrol. Have you considered that they might have been looking for herbs?"

Al three cats nodded; Jayfeather added, "Yarrow," as if he was daring the ShadowClan cats to contradict him.

"Herbs..." Russetfur hissed the word just loud enough to be heard; clearly she didn't believe it, but she wasn't prepared to accuse the ThunderClan cats of lying.

"I apologize that they strayed so close to your border," Firestar continued. "It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," Russetfur retorted. Turning, she gathered her patrol together with a flick of her tail and headed toward the thorn tunnel. Spiderleg and Mousewhisker fol owed, to escort them out of the territory.

At the camp entrance, Russetfur glanced back.

At the camp entrance, Russetfur glanced back.

"Firestar, I hope you get your Clan under control again soon," she mewed, and vanished into the tunnel before any cat could reply.

Hol yleaf knew her Clanmates were staring at her and her brothers as Firestar stalked across the clearing to confront them. She forced herself to meet his searing green gaze.

"Whatever you were doing, I don't want to know."

His voice was tight with tension. "Just don't do it again. Do you think I haven't got enough to deal with right now?"

What about us? Hol yleaf thought resentful y. You have no idea what we're going through.

"Sorry, Firestar," Lionblaze mewed.

Firestar just let out a sigh before bounding off to join Sandstorm, Graystripe, and the other cats around the fresh-kil pile.

Once he was out of earshot, Hol yleaf turned to her brothers. "We'l have to-"

She broke off at a warning touch on her shoulder from Lionblaze's tail, and glanced around to see Brambleclaw padding up. Oh, great.

The deputy halted and raked the three cats with a cold yel ow gaze. "Are you going to tel me what you were doing?"

Hol yleaf clamped her jaws shut and stared mutinously at the tabby warrior. Beside her, Lionblaze and Jayfeather were silent, too.

"I don't know what's gotten into you lately."

Brambleclaw sighed. "You're al -"

"Hey, Brambleclaw!" Dustpelt interrupted from outside the warriors' den. "I'm leading the evening patrol. Which cats do you want to go with me?"

"I have to go," Brambleclaw meowed to Hol yleaf and her littermates. "Just try to keep out of trouble, okay?"

Hol yleaf watched him go, then drew her brothers into a tight huddle. "We'l go back to Sol tomorrow. I don't care what ShadowClan thinks. We have to know the truth!"

Lionblaze was gazing warily at her, as if he was wondering whether she would lose her temper with Sol again, but Jayfeather just looked thoughtful. At last he nodded. "I agree. This time, he's got to talk to us. And if he refuses, we'l make him. The prophecy belongs to us, remember. Not to him."

CHAPTER 25.

Sunhigh had come and gone by the time Hol yleaf and her brothers were able to slip away and head for the old Twoleg nest. Clouds had gathered during the night, and by the time they reached the border of their own territory, rain was hissing down steadily.

Once they had crossed the border, Lionblaze led them by a roundabout route through the spindly trees, keeping as far away as possible from the ShadowClan border. Al three cats stayed alert for any sign of a ShadowClan patrol.

There'll be real trouble if we're caught this time, Hol yleaf thought.

When they reached the old Twoleg nest, Sol was sitting in the entrance as if he had been expecting them.

"Greetings," he meowed, rising to his paws as the three cats picked their way among the dripping brambles to reach the nest. "I thought you would come today."

"Let's get this straight." Hol yleaf drew ahead of the others. "We don't want any more arguments.

We'l let you help us fulfil the prophecy, as long as you tel us the name of our father."

Sol's eyes glowed as he gazed at her, and Hol yleaf shivered. Once she had felt as if she could spend her whole life looking into this cat's eyes and hearing his voice. Even though she knew how dangerous he was, she stil wasn't quite free from the snare of his charm.

"Shal we go inside?" Sol offered, as if this was nothing more than a friendly visit.

Hol yleaf and the others fol owed him into the damp interior and shook the raindrops from their pelts before finding a place to crouch on the cracked stones.

"You might need to find a new place to stay,"

Hol yleaf warned the loner. "ShadowClan sent a patrol to report us to Firestar for being outside our territory."

"What?" Sol's fur began to bristle. "Blackstar dared to do that? Is he al owed to dictate where cats go outside his own borders?"

"Wel , he thinks he is," Jayfeather muttered.

"You were doing nothing wrong!" Sol declared, his fur fluffing up even more and his amber eyes burning.

"Blackstar is using this as a way to humiliate ThunderClan."

"I'm not sure." Lionblaze was looking uneasy. "I think Blackstar is just being a bit overly keen to prove that he's keeping the warrior code again."

Sol gave a snort of contempt. "The warrior code!

Belief in StarClan! I can't understand why you cats think al that is so important."