The Darkest Hour by Erin Hunter Page A

I can’t punish Darkstripe until Sorrelkit tells us what happened.”
    If she ever does , he added silently to himself. He watched Cinderpelt and Willowpelt gently picking up the kit and carrying her toward the gorse tunnel. Sorrelkit’s head lolled limply and her tail brushed the ground. Firestar’s belly clenched as he remembered the kit bouncing around the camp. If Darkstripe had really tried to kill her, he would pay.
    â€œGraystripe,” he murmured, “go with Cinderpelt. I want you or another warrior on guard in her den until Sorrelkit wakes up. Ask Sandstorm and Goldenflower if they’ll help. I don’t want anything else to happen to Sorrelkit before she’s fit to talk.”
    Graystripe’s eyes gleamed with understanding. “Okay, Firestar,” he meowed. “I’m on my way.” He bounded down the slope and caught up with the other cats as they disappeared into the tunnel.
    Firestar was left in the ravine with Bramblepaw. “I’ve left a squirrel up there,” he meowed to his apprentice, jerking his head toward the top of the ravine. “Could you collect it for me, please? And then you can rest and eat. You’ve had a long day.”
    â€œThanks,” Bramblepaw mewed. He took a few steps up the ravine and glanced back. “Sorrelkit will be okay, won’t she?”
    Firestar let out a long breath. “I don’t know, Bramblepaw,” he admitted. “I just don’t know.”

CHAPTER 9
    Firestar made his way thoughtfully back into the camp. Glancing around, he caught sight of Darkstripe gulping down a piece of fresh-kill beside the nettle patch. Mousefur, Goldenflower, and Frostfur were eating close by, but Firestar noticed that they had all turned their backs on Darkstripe and were not looking at him.
    Graystripe must have already begun to spread the news of what had happened in the ravine. Frostfur and Goldenflower in particular, who had both raised kits of their own, would be horrified by the very suspicion that a Clan warrior would murder a kit. It was a good sign, Firestar realized, if they seemed to believe Graystripe’s version of events. It showed that his friend was becoming accepted by the Clan again, beginning to recover the popularity he had once had.
    Firestar was heading toward Graystripe when movement by the warriors’ den caught his eye. Brackenfur was just emerging from between the branches, gazing wildly around. He spotted Darkstripe, took a step toward him, and then veered away to join Firestar.
    â€œI’ve just heard!” he gasped. “Firestar, I’m sorry. He gotaway from me. This is all my fault!”
    â€œSteady.” Firestar let his tail rest a moment on the agitated young warrior’s shoulder, gesturing for calm. “Tell me what happened.”
    Brackenfur took a couple of gulping breaths, struggling for self-control. “Darkstripe said he was going out to hunt,” he began. “I went with him, but when we got into the forest he said he had to make dirt. He went behind a bush and I waited for him. He was taking a long time, so I went to look—and he’d gone!” His eyes stretched wide with dismay. “If Sorrelkit dies, I’ll never forgive myself.”
    â€œSorrelkit won’t die,” Firestar reassured him, though he was not certain that it was the truth. The kit was still very ill.
    And now there was something else to worry about. Brackenfur’s story showed that Darkstripe had realized he was being watched. He had gotten rid of his guard very neatly. He must have had a reason , Firestar reflected. What had the dark tabby meant to do, and why had he tried to kill Sorrelkit?
    â€œWhat do you want me to do now?” Brackenfur asked miserably.
    â€œStop blaming yourself, to begin with,” Firestar replied. “Darkstripe was bound to let us know where his loyalties lie sooner or later.”
    Except for his anxiety over