THE MUSTY SCENT of wounds and herbs made Spottedsong shudder. Her head still throbbed and her wounds stung underneath the thick layer of cobwebs that covered them. Foxclaw was sleeping soundly in the nest in front of her. She envied how easy it was for him to sleep so peacefully. Her dreams were usually invaded by nightmares or messages from Moonclaw.

She had come back to consciousness only half a day ago. All she remembered was the pain and the yowls that split the air before she was hit in the head. She guessed that the MoonClan cats planned to do something to her, Foxclaw, and Moonclaw. She had no idea what had happened to Moonclaw, and neither did Dovepaw or Foxclaw. But she desperately hoped that she was safe.

"Are you doing alright?" Dovepaw asked from behind her. She came back into the den from checking up on the elders; they, mostly Brownfur, had complained endlessly about aches and pains in their joints and other countless things.

"Fine, thanks," Spottedsong muttered, not wanting to meet Dovepaw's gaze. She felt bad enough about what had happened, and somehow the look that Dovepaw gave her made her feel worse, even if it was meant to be kind and caring. It was. That was how medicine cats were. But after what Spottedsong suffered through, it wasn't the same. "I'm just trying to sleep."

"Would you like poppy seeds for that? I understand wounds can keep you up all night," Dovepaw murmured sympathetically.

"Sure, I guess."

She heard Dovepaw hesitate. "Alright." She came back a moment later with a small black seed on her paw pad. "Here."

Spottedsong licked the seed off of Dovepaw's paw. "Thanks," she mewed softly, not wanting to wake the other two.

"No problem." Dovepaw turned to join Badgertooth at the herb store in the back of the den.

Spottedsong closed her eyes, curling her tail over her muzzle. She immediately slipped into a deep and comforting sleep.

After what seemed a long and relaxing expanse of a moment, she opened her eyes again in a sunny field. Great. What now? Silently she hoped that she would see Moonclaw and be assured that she was alive and well. She looked around and spotted movement in the distance. She squinted against the blazing sunlight. It was a cat, no doubt about it, but it wasn't Moonclaw. No, wait, it's a silhouette, so I can't be sure. Spottedsong ran closer. "Who's there?"

The figure turned around. Sure enough, it was Moonclaw. Why was she so far away? Was she okay? Did Spottedsong have to do something?

"Spottedsong!" Moonclaw breathed. "Thank the stars you're here. I need your help."

"Help with what?" Spottedsong realized her heart began to race and she felt hot underneath her pelt at the nervous shake in the RiverClan she-cat's voice.

"After that attack, they took me away . . . and I can't be sure where I am, but I think it's somewhere near the MoonClan camp," Moonclaw explained hastily. "Can you help me escape? They're going to kill me," she added hastily.

Spottedsong hesitated, but she felt her shoulder fur begin to bristle. "Why would I help you?"

Moonclaw gave her a thoughtful and maybe even an angry look. "Because I'm trying to help you and your Clan!"

"You can keep talking, but I won't believe you. You gave me another chance because you believed it would help me, but look what happened. I gave you your last chance. Ask someone else to help you," Spottedsong growled. Please, someone wake me up.

Moonclaw looked as if she was fighting hard to stay calm. "That was a mistake. I really did want to help you, but it went all wrong. I'll try harder this time, I promise on my life."

Spottedsong gave her a hard and long stare, thinking about the consequences. "You said that last time."

"I know! But I'll really try this time," Moonclaw insisted. "Please."

Suddenly Spottedsong began to think back on when she and Dovepaw went to visit Moonclaw and got answers from her. The young medicine cat had told them all about her past, about how she was born with her odd powers and exiled because her leader wanted to use her. "If you can get yourself out of MoonClan, you can get yourself out of there."

"I didn't get myself out of MoonClan, my leader exiled me! They're going to kill me sooner or later, so I won't take my chances."

Spottedsong sighed. "I can't go anywhere right now. That's the other problem. I'm injured, just like you. And so is Foxclaw. So if you want help, ask someone who's not injured."

"What about Frozenfang? She was my best friend before I left," Moonclaw explained.

"Nope."

Moonclaw let out a small huff of frustration. "I'll figure it out, I guess."

Good. Spottedsong felt relief wash over her when the dream faded into nothingness.

"Spottedsong," a voice hissed, "wake up."

Spottedsong suppressed a groan of annoyance and opened her eyes in the dark medicine den. There was barely a sliver of moonlight in the sky, which was always relieving for all of the cats in FrostClan in a way. Probably because if MoonClan attacked they would be weaker. But then, why would they attack at a time like this?

"Are you okay? You were muttering in your sleep," Badgertooth murmured, careful not to wake the others. His blue eyes glinted in the darkness, making it easier for Spottedsong to spot him.

"Yeah. Sorry if I woke you," Spottedsong apologized.

"No need to apologize. I'm a medicine cat to help you. If you woke me, I wouldn't mind. Would you like anything before I go back to my nest?" Badgertooth queried.

"No, thank you," Spottedsong answered politely.

"Alright." Badgertooth turned and settled down in his nest.

Spottedsong curled up again in her nest and closed her eyes. So Moonclaw is alive. And captured. Great. Just what I needed. Another problem.

***

A yowl woke Spottedsong. Her eyes shot open and she immediately lifted her head to see what was going on. Acornshade, Rosefeather, Gorseberry, and Flypaw were rushing into camp, Acornshade at the head. "We found two ThunderClan cats at the border!"

Owlheart hurried toward them. "On their territory?"

"No." Acornshade looked terrified. Spottedsong wondered what she saw. Was it another MoonClan attack? "On FrostClan territory."

"Did you get rid of them?" Owlheart pressed.

"No." Acornshade looked at the rest of the patrol. Gorseberry was comforting Flypaw, who was shaking, and Rosefeather watched Acornshade, her eyes wide. "They were dead! Something had attacked them. We have no idea who or where they went, but from the look of it, they didn't like ThunderClan one bit."

"Lead me to it," Owlheart ordered. "Gorseberry and Flypaw, you can go if you like."

It has to be MoonClan. Only they hate ThunderClan that much. They helped us when we arrived when MoonClan wanted us to perish. Spottedsong watched as Acornshade, Rosefeather, and Owlheart left the camp. Then she saw movement in the brambles at the sides of the camp, in between the medicine den and the elder's bush. "What is that?" she asked aloud.

Foxclaw looked up from where he lay. He squinted against the sunlight to where Spottedsong was looking. "It looks like a cat!" he exclaimed. "Someone needs to check that out."

Icepaw, who was walking by toward Flypaw and Gorseberry, looked up at Foxclaw. "Where?" He sounded more shy than he usually was. It must have been weird for a traitor like Foxclaw to be back in the camp.

"In the brambles. Someone needs to see to that," Foxclaw hissed, still keeping his eyes on the brambles.

"I can go check that!" Icepaw offered bravely. Before anyone could protest, he pelted toward the brambles and yowled, "Come out from there!"

Dovepaw was just coming into the den and looked at Icepaw, her blue eyes wide. "What in the world is he doing up there?" she demanded, glaring straight at Foxclaw. "Did you send him there? What were you thinking?"

"I sensed danger, and I acted appropriately. You're welcome," Foxclaw responded simply as Dovepaw limped into the den. "What would you do?"

"Send a trained warrior, of course," Dovepaw snapped. She looked at Icepaw again. She jumped when Icepaw screeched in terror and tumbled down the small hill back to the clearing. Another warrior, a glossy black MoonClan warrior, attacked him. There was a yowl from Ashbreeze as she raced forward toward her apprentice and jumped on the MoonClan warrior. Icepaw immediately scrambled to his paws and stumbled backward. "Great StarClan!" Dovepaw gasped in a breathless voice. Ashbreeze had her teeth fastened in the MoonClan cat's throat. The enemy warrior thrashed and struck Ashbreeze's chest once, but she gradually went still.

All of the cats in the camp fell silent. Frozenfang was the first to speak, her voice breathless with horror. "She—she killed her. She killed Nightwhisper."

"That's Nightwhisper?" Spottedsong had only heard of the young MoonClan she-cat. She had chased Frozenfang out of the MoonClan camp after gaining her warrior name. She had been Frozenfang's apprentice.

"Yes."

"Are you sad?" Dovepaw asked, looking dumbfounded. "Just a couple of seasons ago you said you wanted to kill her yourself."

Frozenfang looked like she wanted to take back what she said and how she said it. "I know . . . but it's not always as you expected. And this is one of those moments. I never expected to be disappointed about Nightwhisper's death." She sighed and looked at her paws.

Dovepaw's gaze softened. "Alright."

Spottedsong looked back at the scene. Icepaw stared, eyes wide with wonder, at Nightwhisper's body. "You killed a MoonClan warrior! A strong one at that!"

Ashbreeze looked dumbfounded herself. "Great StarClan . . . ," she breathed. "I didn't mean to . . ."

Icepaw didn't seem to hear. "You saved me! Oh, thank you, thank you!" He rushed up to his mentor and pressed close to her gratefully. "That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen!"

Ashbreeze looked down at her apprentice, a shocked look on her face. "Oh—you're welcome." Suddenly she began to cough painfully. Icepaw backed away, looking concerned all over again. She gasped for air. "I'm fine. I'm just getting old."

Icepaw's brow furrowed and he stepped forward to comfort his mentor. "You shouldn't have done that. You're not well."

"I'm fine. A warrior always fights, especially for their apprentice. That warrior had no right whatsoever to even get near you." Ashbreeze leaned on Icepaw as she got to her paws. She was wheezing painfully, fighting for breath.

Dovepaw rushed toward them. "Come on, Ashbreeze. Let's get you some herbs for that."

"I'm fine!" Ashbreeze insisted, glancing at both Icepaw and Dovepaw in turn. "You're both being very kind, but I promise you I'm fine."

Icepaw's eyes widened until Spottedsong could see the whites of his eyes. "You just killed a MoonClan warrior and had a coughing fit. You're not fine."

Spottedsong cringed inwardly. That was no way to talk to a senior warrior, especially Ashbreeze! She was one of the bravest warriors in the Clan!

But instead of snapping at the reckless young cat, Ashbreeze chuckled gently. "Thank you for being so concerned about me. I'll go if you really want me to."

Dovepaw nodded approvingly. Icepaw's eyes lit up. "No, thank you."

Spottedsong watched Dovepaw lead Ashbreeze into the medicine den. She gave her some kind of herb that must have been coltsfoot, a good remedy for labored breathing. Spottedsong surprised herself by knowing that.

After Ashbreeze swallowed the herb, she shuddered. "Thanks," she rasped.

Dovepaw nodded. "Come back for more if your breathing gets worse," she instructed the tabby warrior.

"Of course." Ashbreeze dipped her head and left the den.

"Wow," Foxclaw breathed immediately after she left. "Who knew any FrostClan cat had that in them?" When Dovepaw gave him a look, he added hastily, "I mean, 'That was amazing!'"

"Yeah. Very." Spottedsong still stared out of the den toward where some warriors were cleaning up the mess and carrying the body out of the camp. She knew she was going to die, right? So why come here anyway? She tried to figure out the answer, but she was still left with a question and no answer.