“Have you forgotten what Sol tried to do to ShadowClan?” Blackstar hissed. “He tried to force us to stop believing in StarClan!”

And I’m a mouse! Lionblaze thought cynically. A look flashed between Graystripe and Brambleclaw, telling Lionblaze that the senior warriors shared his thought. Blackstar wasn’t prepared to admit any responsibility, though at the time he had been only too willing to listen to Sol.

“What are you going to do with him?” Leopardstar demanded.

Firestar hesitated. He was looking increasingly harried, but he kept his claws sheathed. “I haven’t decided,” he admitted. “We’re still trying to find out exactly what happened.”

Onestar’s nostrils flared and he narrowed his eyes. “Sol is too dangerous to keep anywhere near the lake. You should send him away now.”

“You should have left him where he was,” Leopardstar growled. “Any cat with a flea’s worth of sense would see that.”

“Then Ashfur’s murder would have gone unpunished,” Firestar argued.

“Vengeance isn’t everything,” Onestar spat. “You have put all our Clans in danger by bringing Sol back. Whatever happens next, you will not have our support.”

The other two leaders nodded in agreement, and a threatening murmur came from their three followers. A chill ran through Lionblaze, though hot blood was pounding in his veins; he wanted to slice his claws through the fur of these arrogant cats. They have no right to interfere in ThunderClan’s business like this!

Blackstar raised his chin. “Sol must be gone from Clan territory by the next Gathering,” he insisted. “Or we will unite our three Clans to get rid of him ourselves.”

CHAPTER 19

Jayfeather padded in Leafpool’s paw steps as she climbed to the ridge where the trees thinned out and pine needles prickled under paw. He felt the ground grow damp and his paws slipped as he scrambled down the other side into a tangle of undergrowth. As he regained his balance, he picked up the tang of yew bark and berries.

“Here we are,” Leafpool meowed. “I’m going to climb the tree and bend down a branch so you can reach it.” She nudged him forward a couple of paw steps. “Stand just there.”

Jayfeather listened to his mentor scramble up the tree, and a few heartbeats later felt the touch of the yew branch on the top of his head. His fur bristled at the overwhelming scent of deathberries.

“Reach up as high as you can.” Leafpool’s voice came from just above him. “There’s a stem with berries just there. Be very careful.”

Like you need to tell me! Jayfeather thought.

He stretched upward, his front paws lifting from the ground, until a feathery twig poked him in the face and he felt the heavy clump of deathberries touch his fur. He managed to fasten his teeth into the stem where it met the branch, and felt Leafpool’s muzzle press close to his as she helped him bite it through.

Waves of unhappiness were flooding from the medicine cat, shocking Jayfeather so much that he almost lost his balance. He had to shuffle his hind paws, wedging them more firmly among the damp pine needles, before he could go on nibbling at the twig with its deadly load. Leafpool was filled with gnawing anxiety about bringing more death into the hollow; she was saturated with sorrow, so full of grief that she could hardly move.