Leopardstar’s Honor by Erin Hunter

Author:Erin Hunter [Hunter, Erin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2021-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Leopardfur paused outside the medicine den. She didn’t want to hear more bad news. Cold weather was biting harder into the camp. In the moon since Whiteclaw had died, the fresh-kill pile had dwindled as leaf-bare tightened its grip. The Clan had gone to their nests hungry more than once as land prey grew scarce and heavy rain, then ice, made the river almost impossible to fish.

And now there was sickness. Sedgecreek, Shadepelt, and Mallowtail were already in the medicine den, and now Mudfur asked to see her. Was he going to report that another Clanmate had been stricken with the illness that seemed to be spreading like fleas through the camp?

Her father ducked out into the camp, his eyes dark.

Had she guessed right? Was another Clanmate sick? “Who is it?”

“Tanglewhisker.” Mudfur’s tail twitched uneasily. “I’ve moved him to the medicine den, but Birdsong might have already caught it. I’m keeping an eye on her.”

“Do you know yet if it’s whitecough?” Leopardfur hoped it wasn’t more serious. An outbreak of greencough could devastate the Clan.

“I’m still not sure,” Mudfur confessed. “I only know that none of my herbs can cure it.”

“Will they die?”

“I don’t know,” he mewed. “Sedgecreek has stopped taking even water. Shadepelt’s fever is getting worse. Nothing I give them seems to help.”

Leopardfur felt a fresh wave of anxiety. Mudfur spent every moment with his patients. “What if you catch it?”

“We’d better pray to StarClan that I don’t,” he mewed. “There’s no other medicine cat to look after the Clan.”

She met his gaze. She wasn’t worried about looking after the Clan. She’d find a way to do that if she had to. What scared her most was that Mudfur might die.

He seemed to read her thoughts. “I’m a survivor, don’t forget,” he mewed.

“Would it help if there were more food to eat?” Had she let her Clan down by allowing the fresh-kill pile to shrink? Guilt tugged at her belly. Could she have sent out more patrols?

Inside the medicine den, Sedgecreek started coughing. Mudfur turned to head back inside.

“Do you need more herbs?” Leopardfur suddenly felt scared of letting him out of her sight.

“Not yet,” he answered grimly and disappeared inside.

“Leopardfur!” Blackclaw’s mew made her turn. The smoky warrior was heading across the frosty clearing, Heavystep at his heels. The fur along his spine was rippling anxiously.

What now? Leopardfur hurried to meet him. “Has something happened?”

“We’ve found ThunderClan scent on our territory,” Blackclaw told her.

“Near Sunningrocks,” Heavystep added urgently. “They must want even more of our hunting grounds.”

“They must be planning an attack,” Blackclaw mewed.

Leopardfur’s tail twitched. Could there be another ambush, like the one that killed Whiteclaw? A moon ago, she’d have been bristling with rage, but now only fear pulsed beneath her pelt. “Go back and find evidence,” she told Blackclaw. “A twig or some grass with ThunderClan scent on it.”

Blackclaw’s eyes widened. “Don’t you believe us?”

“We’ll need proof to take to the Gathering,” she told him.

“We can’t wait for the Gathering,” Blackclaw argued. “We have to deal with this now.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.