Mystery walked along the riverbank. Her kits had been missing since yesterday, and she was worried sick. In the group that she was leading to find them was Amethyst, mother of Pearl, who was also missing, Crystal, the leader of Heal Race, coming along in case they were hurt, her own mate, Adventurous, and Silk, the leader of all the Races. She opened her mouth, trying to catch any scent of her kits. She caught a whiff of it on the wind, along with a scent that disturbed her. She shook her head decisively. "He could have been up here at any point. He probably is not connected to this in any way." And yet, wasn't he the one that had accused her of murdering his daughter? Was this a way of getting back at her? If it was, why was Pearl missing, too? There were too many unanswered questions. She heard a scream behind her, shaking her out of her thoughts. She looked behind her and realized that Silk had broken through the ice! She lunged forward, trying to grasp her leader's scruff, but missed, only to watch as the ice closed over Silk's head. She heard a yowl of alarm, and saw a bright orange cat running down the slope with a beautiful golden cat, but it didn't matter. She had failed. Her leader was dead. Then with surprise, she recognized the ginger cat as Flame! She burned a hole in the ice, and pulled Silk out!The golden cat turned to Crystal and said "Well, as you're the new leader of Heal Race, you had better take care of her." Crystal stared at the golden cat as though she was a ghost. "Sunlight?"

TO BE CONTINUED