The Apprentice's Curse (A Shrouded Path book 1) {COMPLETE}

Chapter 12

 In the morning, Minnowpaw was surprised to hear that Nightwhisper wanted her to help Silverheart gather more feverfew. "It'll be good exercise for you," he mewed to Minnowpaw as they stood in the entrance to the medicine den, "and I don't want her going alone. I still don't trust ThunderClan."

"Don't you want to go with her?" Minnowpaw asked.

Nightwhisper shook his head. "No, I have other duties to attend to. Silverheart knows what she's doing; I just want her to have a couple warriors with her. Tawnyclaw can go as well."

Minnowpaw's mentor had just arrived, and Silverheart was slipping gracefully out of the herb store at the back of the den. Tawnyclaw dipped his head to her. "Good morning," she mewed cheerfully to the pair of them. "Ready to go?"

"Yes," Minnowpaw replied, feeling glad that she could exercise a bit. The rain had stopped early in the evening the day before, giving way to a cool night and now, a beautiful clear morning. Her paws itched to get going as the trio padded across camp to the entrance; she was one step closer to getting back to training; she could feel it.

Flamepelt and Redpaw were sitting at the entrance and greeted the group as they approached. "Good morning," Flamepelt said, his mew friendly. "Herb collecting?"

Silverheart nodded. "Feverfew. The kits all decided to get colds, so we ran out." Her eyes gleamed with amusement.

"We're just waiting on Nettlestep and Cinderpaw for training," Flamepelt explained.

"Battle training!" Redpaw corrected, eyes bright with excitement.

Flamepelt rolled his eyes at his apprentice, purring. "Don't let us keep you," he said kindly to the patrol, who then began to exit camp. On the way out, Flamepelt licked Minnowpaw's ear and said, "Be careful."

Her fur feeling warm, Minnowpaw joined Tawnyclaw and Silverheart. Her mentor's gaze was half-amused. He turned to Silverheart and said awkwardly, "Lead the way." He followed the medicine cat apprentice a tail-length behind, saying nothing. Minnowpaw was glad to see that she was able to keep stride with her mentor, but the awkward silence was killing her.

"So where does feverfew grow?" she asked Silverheart.

The silver tabby said over her shoulder, "It grows best close to water, so we'll head straight for the river. There's usually a great supply this close to greenleaf. I just hope it hasn't been damaged by all the rain."

"We'll have to be careful of the river," Tawnyclaw warned, his voice low. "It's flooded over its banks and is running very quickly."

As they neared the river, the sound of the rushing water hit Minnowpaw's ears and she gasped. How full was it? Her question was answered as she, Tawnyclaw, and Silverheart stepped out of the foliage and up to the river bank. The sight of it stopped Minnowpaw in her tracks; it was flowing with the speed of a rabbit on the moors, and was flowing two tail-lengths over the bank! She gulped. RiverClan cat or not, she'd never swim in that kind of water.

Tawnyclaw growled. "Being that full, it'll be much harder to fish."

"Or find my herbs," Silverheart put in. But her expression brightened as she said, "Let's head farther downstream; there's sure to be some feverfew somewhere!"

The three cats walked along the pebbles on the outer bank, keeping clear of the bulging river. Even then, the water lapped at their paws. Thick white foam was churning up against the edges of the river, proof of the force behind its flow. They passed the stepping stones, or where the stepping stones should have been, and saw only deep, dark water.

Silverheart grunted in frustration. "The river's too flooded," she meowed hopelessly. "If there were any good plants, they've been washed away by now."

Tawnyclaw brushed her flank reassuringly with his tail. "Let's keep looking," he encouraged her. "Like you said, there's bound to be some somewhere." He headed on downstream, and Silverheart and Minnowpaw followed.

After a while, Silverheart exclaimed, "Oh, no!" She rushed to the edge of the river, water swirling up around her paws.

"What is it?" Minnowpaw was at her side immediately, Tawnyclaw on the other.

Silverheart flicked her tail towards something moving around in the water, where the bank was beneath the swirling current. "That's feverfew, and it looks intact, but it's under the water. I don't think I can get to it."

Minnowpaw studied the fast-rippling water and finally saw a plant under it, still rooted to the ground but being pulled to the side by the current. It was nearly two tail-lengths into the water. Surely she could reach it. Minnowpaw began to take a step forward, but Tawnyclaw said, "Wait. That water is deeper than it looks, and faster. Maybe this isn't a great idea." His eyes held concern.

Silverheart looked despaired. "I don't know where else we're going to find feverfew," she meowed.

Minnowpaw sighed, unsure. "How bad do we need it? I mean, colds can be fought without herbs, can't they?"

Silverheart looked Minnowpaw in the eyes. Her gaze was dark and full of confusion and emotion. "You're right," she said slowly. "Maybe I'm being irrational, but something tells me that I need to get feverfew. I'm not sure why, but something is telling me not to go back to camp without it."

Cocking his head, Tawnyclaw thought for a few moments. At last he said softly, "Okay, we'll get it. But maybe I should do it, Minnowpaw," he added to his apprentice.

Minnowpaw gritted her teeth. Did every cat in RiverClan see her as a liability because of a single wound? "I'm fine!" she protested. "I can get it!"

Tawnyclaw looked as if he might argue with her. His eyes passed between Minnowpaw and Silverheart. He dipped his head and said, "Okay. But be careful, and quick."

Minnowpaw stepped into the water. It was freezing cold and tugged at her paws. Gulping, she realized Tawnyclaw was right; it was faster than it looked. She waded deeper, a tail-length into the overflow. The current grew stronger with every slow step Minnowpaw made, and soon the water was halfway up her legs, but she had reached the feverfew. Grappling at it with her claws, Minnowpaw was able to grasp a few stems and fling them onto the bank. Silverheart's eyes flashed gratefully. "Thank you, Minnowpaw!"

Tawnyclaw's gaze was grim. "Come on, Minnowpaw. That should be enough. Get out of there."

Minnowpaw shook her head. "There's only a few more!" she called over the rush of the water. Indeed there was only a small clump left. She reached for it, but as she did, a rock beneath her paws gave way and she slipped, tumbling head-first into the water.

Her muzzle went under and, without being able to steady herself, Minnowpaw found herself being carried into the river! The shock of the water took her breath away, but she managed to reach her head out of the water. With a gasp, she realized that she was already several fox-lengths away from her mentor and Silverheart! They were calling out to her as they began to race along the bank after her. But Minnowpaw was hurtling downstream, the quickening current flipping her over and over so that she was unable to find a footing. She kicked out wildly, hoping to make it to the bank, but as her head went under again and icy water stung her eyes, Minnowpaw realized she had no clue of knowing where she or the riverbank were.

"Minnowpaw!" Tawnyclaw's muffled cry hit Minnowpaw's ears through the waves. Her shoulder cried out as it was wrenched, and she struggled to break the surface. She was growing tired, and it seemed that the daylight above the water was growing dimmer.

No, she thought. I've got to get out of here!

She kept kicking, unsheathing her claws and flailing madly in a desperate attempt to grab ahold of something, but everywhere she reached she found only water. The current was speeding up, and with a gasp of horror Minnowpaw realized she must be close to the gorge. She couldn't be swept over!

Minnowpaw fought and fought, each kick growing feebler as she weakened under the weight of the river. Her head felt light and dizzy with the lack of air, and soon the rushing of the waves became a dull roar. She was slipping out of consciousness. All the time, Tawnyclaw was running along the bank, but the gap between him and his apprentice was growing wider. Minnowpaw caught a blurry glimpse of him through the water and tried to call his name, but no sound escaped her. She suddenly felt weightless, and a strange sensation of falling overcame her as the world blinked shut.