Yet her voice was steady as she mewed, “That’s it,” and Jayfeather felt the twig fall to the forest floor just beside his paws. He relaxed, rolling his shoulders to get rid of the strain of stretching, then picked up the clump of berries by the end of the twig, careful not to let any of the deathberries touch his mouth.

A light thump beside him told him that Leafpool had leaped down from the tree. “If you carry that,” she told him, “I’ll follow behind and make sure that none of the berries fall off. It doesn’t matter so much up here, but I don’t want to scatter any of them near the camp.”

When they emerged from the thorn tunnel, the clearing seemed full of cats, their voices buzzing like an angry swarm of bees. Jayfeather located Lionblaze and padded up to him, setting the deathberries down for a moment to ask, “What in StarClan’s name has happened now?”

“The other three Clan leaders were here.” Lionblaze’s voice was a low, furious growl. “They told Firestar he has to get rid of Sol by the next Gathering, or they’ll get rid of him themselves.”

“What?” Jayfeather lashed his tail. “What right do they have to tell ThunderClan what to do?”

He could feel sparks of anger coming from Lionblaze. “They don’t care that Ashfur was killed,” his brother snarled. “They’re like scared rabbits, convinced that Sol is going to leap out and tear them apart. Firestar can’t give in to them!”

Jayfeather murmured agreement, but his paws tingled with unease. He didn’t like that the other Clans knew all about Ashfur’s murder. The ripples of the gray warrior’s death were spreading farther and farther, and there was no sign that the effects would fade away.

He tried to shrug off the uneasy feeling as he heard Leafpool calling him. “Jayfeather, put the berries on this leaf. We have to make sure that all the kits know how dangerous they are.”

She set a flat leaf down in front of Jayfeather, who laid the clump of deathberries on top of it. Then he followed his mentor as she dragged the leaf across the camp to the nursery. “Fetch Foxpaw and Icepaw, too,” she added.

Jayfeather tasted the air and located the two apprentices near the cliff where Dustpelt was building the barrier. “Foxpaw! Icepaw!” he called, jerking his head. “Leafpool wants you.”

“Coming!” Icepaw called.

Jayfeather caught a grumble from Dustpelt. “I suppose we’ll get this barrier built this side of greenleaf. Come right back when Leafpool’s finished with you!” he ordered the two apprentices.

“Millie! Daisy!” Leafpool called when Jayfeather caught her up outside the nursery. “Bring the kits out here, please.”

“Why?” Daisy’s voice was drowsy from the poppy seeds.

“There’s something I need to show all of you.”

Leafpool and Jayfeather waited while the two queens herded their kits outside; Whitewing followed them, crouching in the entrance tunnel.

“Now,” Leafpool began, “do you see these berries?”