Chapter 3
"Fishstar," Mossheart yowled, "I found Hailfoot!"
The blue-gray tom leaped down from the tree. "Where? Is he okay?"
"He-"
"He's one of our best warriors," Fishstar added quietly. "I would sure hate for something to happen to him."
How can I tell him now? Mossheart thought, lashing her tail.
"Is anything wrong, Mossheart?" Fishstar asked.
"Hailfoot- he's dead. He was found murdered on the ShadowClan border."
Fishstar began to growl, deep in his throat. "I'm going to send a patrol," he snarled.
"Maybe it's a RiverClan plot," Boulderfoot suggested.
Littlepaw narrowed her eyes at the newest ShadowClan warrior. "What makes you think that?"
Boulderfoot glanced at her. "They could easily do it and blame it on ThunderClan," he pointed out.
"How would a cat get through ShadowClan territory twice?" Marshpaw pointed out. "I heard from a ThunderClan patrol that a cat killed one of their apprentices yesterday."
"Who?" Littlepaw asked, leaning forward.
"Gingerpaw," Marshpaw mewed.
"I wonder if WindClan or RiverClan have had any losses yet?" Boulderfoot wondered out loud.
"Probably not," Marshpaw growled. "If I know them, they'd have an alliance by now."
"Smokestar!" a voice yowled from outside. "It's Fishstar."
Boulderfoot looked up in alarm as the ShadowClan leader warily crossed the clearing to the tunnel.
Fishstar had already barged through. "One of your cats has killed Hailfoot!" he screeched.
Berry was on a rock. The sun was hitting his belly, and he was content.
He heard a ThunderClan patrol going by.
"We can tell everyone about him," one cat mewed.
"No cat will believe us," an apprentice added. Their voice seemed hollow.
"Gorsepaw, why would you think that?" the first cat asked.
"They probably think one of us did it. That cat, Hollyleaf, murdered one of ThunderClan's own before. The three ShadowClan cats were killed on ''our'' border," Gorsepaw pointed out.
A third cat's eyes gleamed. "That gives them no reason to blame us," he snarled. "That was at the lake."
"ThunderClan have done no wrong before that, and they didn't after, either," the first warrior pointed out. "Gorsepaw, are you ''sure?''"
"Positive," Gorsepaw replied.
Berry couldn't hear them any longer.