Lost Stars

Chapter 15

Every hair on Shadowpaw’s pelt tingled with apprehension as he pushed his way through the line of bushes at the top of the hollow and emerged above the Moonpool. The last time he had been here alone, he had been struck by lightning—unless the other medicine cats were right, and he’d imagined it somehow.

I must be flea-brained to risk that again, he told himself. I know I shouldn’t be here alone. But what else can I do?

Stronger even than his fear was Shadowpaw’s conviction that he had to find out more about the voice that had warned him about the codebreakers, and especially the vision he had seen of his mother, Dovewing. This vision was different from his other visions that had come true—it hadn’t arrived with a seizure. And it had felt less like a vision than a conversation with a cat he knew. So is it real . . . ?

He had to know whether the vision was really from StarClan and figure out what it meant.

Gazing down at the Moonpool, Shadowpaw saw that the icy covering was thicker still. Barely a glimmer of light fell on it from the heavily clouded sky. When Puddleshine had first brought him here, he had been overwhelmed by the Moonpool’s beauty. Now it seemed ominous, and it took all Shadowpaw’s courage to set his paws on the spiral path that led down to the water’s edge. But he had to be back in camp before dawn, or risk trouble from his mentor and his Clan leader. He had no time to waste.

The night was dark and silent as Shadowpaw approached the pool. Stretching out one forepaw, he cleared away the loose snow from the frozen surface and closed his eyes as he touched his nose to it.

Cold spread through Shadowpaw’s body, gripping every nerve and muscle and seeming to freeze his blood, as if he were slowly turning to ice. He bore it as long as he could, but when finally he sat up again, breaking the contact, there had been no response from StarClan. Shadowpaw wasn’t sure whether he was sorry or relieved.

But as Shadowpaw headed for the bottom of the path, ready to give up and go home, the voice spoke once again in his mind. “The codebreakers are still among you. . . .”

Shadowpaw halted, sliding out his claws to dig deep into the hard ground, then stood motionless as if he really had turned to ice.

“StarClan, you must be wrong this time!” he meowed aloud. “The cats you showed me last time are good cats.”

An image of Dovewing flashed into his mind: her sleek gray pelt, her green eyes shining with love for him or with defiance against anything that threatened her Clan or her kin.

“My mother is one of the strongest and most heroic cats in all the Clans,” he protested.

“StarClan is never wrong,” the voice responded. “And you know it, Shadowpaw. The Clans have a code for a reason. It’s supposed to be followed.” The speaker’s voice had deepened into a growl. It’s a tom, Shadowpaw realized, and fear shook him from ears to tail-tip. Who is he? What does he want?

“Or do you not believe in the code yourself?” the voice continued, mocking. “Some medicine cat you are!”

“I do believe in the code!” Shadowpaw insisted, indignation helping him to control his terror. “But I believe in my mother, too. And if I know she is a good cat, then who’s to say the other codebreakers aren’t too?”

The voice made no reply, and as the moments dragged by, Shadowpaw wondered if he had said something terrible, something that insulted this ancestral spirit who had spoken to him when all the other starry warriors had fallen silent.

I don’t know everything about StarClan yet. Maybe they don’t like being questioned or contradicted. If this voice was the only connection the Clans still had to their warrior ancestors, and Shadowpaw had chased it away . . . If that’s true, then every cat will despise me—and they’d be right to.

Then the voice spoke again. “Fine. Don’t listen to the messages at the Moonpool.” The tone was so low and menacing that ice trickled down Shadowpaw’s spine and every hair on his pelt lifted with the intensity of his fear. “Let the codebreakers live among you, until no cat respects the rules. See what happens then.”

The warning shook Shadowpaw’s conviction. “But what if cats aren’t setting out to break the code? Or what if they’ve stopped? Surely StarClan won’t punish them too severely. They won’t, will they? They can’t!”

“The code must always be respected,” the voice continued. “The ways of the Clans cannot be scattered to the wind. Soon, Shadowpaw, you will see the consequences that will befall the Clans if cats ignore the code. Bramblestar will get sick, and it will seem that nothing can cure him.”

“Bramblestar!” Shadowpaw gasped. “No! He’s a great leader. He never did anything wrong.”

“Oh, of course not.” The voice was mocking. “The wonderful, respected leader of ThunderClan! However, the trouble coming to the Clans will fall on him first.”

Shadowpaw gazed up into the darkness, wishing he could see the face of the warrior spirit who was saying these terrible things. He wanted to defy him and reject what he was saying, but he couldn’t. He believed every word of it.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” he asked, his voice quavering.

“Yes, there is a way,” the voice replied, the mocking tone giving way to reassurance. “Listen carefully, and I’ll tell you what you must do. . . .”

Shadowpaw nodded, pricking his ears to take in the StarClan warrior’s instructions. But as the plan unfolded, he grew more and more uneasy.

This sounds so dangerous . . . maybe even crazy. But who am I to question StarClan? He was only an apprentice. It would be arrogant of him to think that he knew better.

Still, the thought of going back to the Clans and reporting what he had discovered made Shadowpaw feel a little sick. Puddleshine and Jayfeather would never go along with this . . . it goes against everything a medicine cat is taught! He knew that many of the older medicine cats didn’t fully trust him. Coming back with a plan like this would only make them more convinced that Shadowpaw was crazy.

Even if I could convince Alderheart and Puddleshine . . . Jayfeather won’t go along. He thinks I’m a stupid apprentice, and it’s all in my imagination. And now it was happening again. Why am I the only cat StarClan has given this message? No way will they ever believe me!

But then Shadowpaw realized something. Bramblestar had seemed strong and healthy the last time Shadowpaw had seen him at the Gathering. If he suddenly got sick, then that would prove that StarClan’s warning was important. Then the medicine cats would listen to him. And if Bramblestar didn’t get sick, maybe Shadowpaw wouldn’t need to say anything.

“Are you a strong cat?” the voice asked him. “Are you ready to carry out my instructions?”

“Yes, I will,” Shadowpaw replied. But before I do, he added privately to himself, there’s one cat I need to talk to.

“Then go,” the voice ordered. “And remember—the future of the Clans rests on your shoulders.”

Shadowpaw flinched. Not too much pressure, there. But he dared not refuse it, and the voice said nothing more. All he could do was obey.

Exhausted by stress and fear, Shadowpaw toiled up the path that led away from the Moonpool, feeling as shaken as he had when Puddleshine had first taken him there. He had hoped that another encounter with the voice would have made him feel better. Instead he had a whole new set of worries.

The journey back to ShadowClan territory had never seemed so long, but there was still no sign of dawn in the sky when Shadowpaw staggered into camp and sneaked back into the medicine cats’ den. Puddleshine was asleep, snoring quietly, and Shadowpaw was able to curl up in his own nest without disturbing him.

He sank at once into sleep, but his worries followed him even into his dreams. He was standing in the forest, looking down at Bramblestar, who lay unconscious at his paws. The ThunderClan leader’s eyes were closed, and white flakes of snow were settling in his dark tabby fur.

Shadowpaw woke with a jerk. Gray light was shining into the den, and Puddleshine was already up and out somewhere. Gathering his courage, Shadowpaw headed across the camp and halted outside Tigerstar’s den.

To his relief, Dovewing wasn’t there. Tigerstar was awake and grooming himself when Shadowpaw stuck his head inside.

“Is something bothering you?” Tigerstar asked, looking up and beckoning with his tail for his son to enter the den. Shadowpaw nodded solemnly. “Then come and tell me what it is.”

Shadowpaw padded inside and sat next to his father. “Tigerstar,” he meowed grimly, “we have to talk.”