The fur lifted along Squirrelflight’s spine.
Bramblestar blinked innocently at Tigerstar. “What happened?”
“The Sisters came onto ShadowClan land and attacked a patrol,” Tigerstar told him.
Squirrelflight’s paws prickled with indignation. ShadowClan had gone onto the Sisters’ land first, surely. The Sisters had only tracked them to find out why they’d come. That was what Snow had told her. With a sickening feeling, she wondered which version of the story was true.
Tigerstar went on. “They shredded Strikestone’s ear. The wound was so deep that the infection was hard to treat. He will never hear in that ear again.”
Squirrelflight stiffened. She didn’t realize Strikestone had been so badly injured. Growls of anger rose from the Clans.
“Fox-hearts!”
“They’re no better than badgers!”
Harestar leaned forward. “The Sisters are clearly a threat to the Clans.”
Tigerstar nodded. “We need to drive them away.”
Squirrelflight stared at him. “There aren’t enough of them to threaten us.”
Leafstar nodded. “We outnumber them countless times.”
“They are big cats, and dangerous.” Tigerstar stared at the SkyClan leader. “You saw that for yourself.” His gaze switched to Squirrelflight. “They could easily cross the border and pick off our patrols one by one.”
“They’d never do that!” Squirrelflight’s ears twitched with indignation. “They are peaceful.”
“They don’t look for fights,” Leafstar chimed.
“Tell that to Strikestone.” Tigerstar lashed his tail.
Yowls erupted from the ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan cats.
“The Sisters must go!”
“Drive them out!”
Thornclaw watched them, satisfaction glittering in his gaze. Twigbranch and Molewhisker exchanged uneasy glances.
Squirrelflight blinked helplessly at Hawkwing. “Why is he picking on the Sisters?” she whispered. “They couldn’t hurt us. They don’t
Hawkwing met her gaze. “They permanently wounded one of his warriors,” he murmured through the yowling of the Clans. “He has to react. And don’t forget, ShadowClan nearly fell apart only a few moons ago. Tigerstar needs an enemy to unite his Clan behind him.”
Squirrelflight blinked at him as she began to understand. “And if StarClan wants the Clans to be united, he has to pick a fight with outsiders.”
“Exactly.” Hawkwing’s eyes glittered with unease.
“You don’t think we should fight them, do you?” Squirrelflight was unnerved by the support of the other Clans for Tigerstar’s plan.
“Why fight?” Hawkwing shrugged. “They’ll be gone in a moon.”
Above them, Bramblestar shifted on the branch. His tail swished ominously behind him as he stared out at the crowd. Gradually WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan fell silent. Macgyver and Sandynose blinked up at him warily from among their Clanmates. ThunderClan’s warriors moved closer to one another, avoiding the gazes of the other Clans.
“There is no need for war,” Bramblestar yowled. “The Sisters have promised to leave soon. Why fight a retreating enemy? It’s better to let them go.”
Tigerstar flattened his ears. “It’s just like ThunderClan to defend the enemies of ShadowClan.”
“Are you sure they’re your enemy?” Bramblestar challenged.
“They attacked us. They captured Leafstar.”
Leafstar’s ears twitched. “We were trespassing on their land—”
Tigerstar pressed on. “They took your deputy hostage. They should be your enemy too.” Tigerstar stared at Bramblestar, then flicked his gaze toward the ThunderClan cats gathered below. “And yet ThunderClan is silent tonight. The Sisters were last seen heading for your territory. Their scent was detected on your border.” He narrowed his eyes as he looked back at Bramblestar. “Do you know something about the Sisters that we don’t?”
“Of course not.” Bramblestar lashed his tail.
Squirrelflight saw Thornclaw look away. Beside him, Molewhisker dropped his gaze as Bramblestar went on.
“We haven’t heard from the Sisters since they returned Leafstar and Squirrelflight to us unharmed.”
Squirrelflight flinched. She hated hearing Bramblestar lie.
Leafstar fluffed out her fur. “I’m not sure you need to declare war on them. They treated us kindly while we were with them.”
Squirrelflight nodded eagerly, relieved that Leafstar was defending the Sisters. “They fed us and treated Leafstar’s wound.”
Tigerstar huffed. “They
A breeze ruffled Harestar’s pelt. “WindClan agrees with ShadowClan,” he yowled. “StarClan has decreed that the Clans be united. So we stand with ShadowClan to honor our ancestors and strengthen our alliance.”
Mistystar nodded slowly. “We stand with ShadowClan too. Leafstar has agreed to move to new territory—”
Leafstar bristled. “That decision isn’t final!”
“And yet it would solve all the Clans’ problems,” Mistystar countered. “We need the fishing land we gave to ShadowClan. WindClan needs their moorland back.” She blinked at the SkyClan leader. “The sooner we move the Sisters from your new territory, the sooner the Clans can reestablish their rightful borders.”
