Lost Stars

Chapter 20

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Pinebranch for a Clan meeting!”

Shadowpaw poked his head out of the medicine cats’ den to see his father sitting on the pine branch above his den, from which he always addressed the Clan. His paws were tucked underneath him, and his tail dangled. His father’s expression was grave.

Worry prickled beneath Shadowpaw’s pelt. “Now what’s happening?” he wondered aloud. I just hope I’m not at the center of it, for once. . . .

“Listen and you might find out,” Puddleshine told him, giving him a shove from behind. “But I’d bet a moon of dawn patrols it’s something to do with your visit to ThunderClan.”

Great. Shadowpaw thought that his mentor must be right. He cringed when he thought of how Squirrelflight had denied that Bramblestar was sick, and how no cat had believed him when he’d told them what to do to save their leader. They thought I was trying to kill him! They really thought I could be that . . . evil!

He padded out of the den with Puddleshine a paw step behind him and found a spot to sit near Lightleap and Pouncestep. Cloverfoot and Tawnypelt turned away from the fresh-kill pile and joined Dovewing near the bottom of the tree. Cloverfoot looked apprehensive; Shadowpaw guessed that Tigerstar had already confided in his deputy what he was going to say.

Oakfur emerged slowly from the elders’ den and plopped down just outside it, raising one hind leg to give himself a vigorous scratch behind his ear. Cinnamontail and Berryheart appeared from the warriors’ den with more of their Clanmates behind them, to form a ragged circle beneath the Pinebranch where Tigerstar was waiting.

The Clan leader let his amber gaze travel around his Clan before he rose to his paws and spoke. “Cats of ShadowClan, once again we have been the victim of a grave deception! A fox-hearted betrayal!” He paused. Murmurs of shock and disgust wormed their way through the crowd, but Shadowpaw felt only surprise.

Tigerstar lifted his head. “Therefore,” he went on, “I’ve decided that my only choice is to close our borders. So we’ll be doubling our patrols, and renewing our scent markers twice as often. And I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what to do with any cat who dares set paw on our territory. From now on—”

“Just a moment,” Tawnypelt interrupted, her ears flicking up indignantly. “What happened? You can’t do this without telling us why. That would be mouse-brained.”

Tigerstar narrowed his eyes as he gazed down at the tortoiseshell she-cat. Shadowpaw winced at the way she was addressing her Clan leader, then reflected that as Tawnypelt had once been deputy, she was used to expressing her opinion. Not to mention that she was the leader’s mother. And a pretty outspoken cat.

Before Tigerstar could respond, Oakfur paused in his scratching. “Things didn’t exactly go well when WindClan and RiverClan decided to close their borders recently,” he pointed out. “They just helped Darktail and his Kin to grow more powerful.”

“That’s right!” Snowbird agreed. “We need to know more before we do this.”

A chorus of yowls broke out, as more cats demanded that Tigerstar explain himself. Finally the Clan leader had to raise his tail for silence.

“I’ve just learned that the other Clans have banded together to defile the Moonpool by trying to break the ice,” he explained. “Their scheme failed, which is no great surprise . . . but, needless to say, I am disgusted by this snubbing of our Clan. The other Clans have tried to cut us off from the Moonpool because they don’t trust Shadowpaw,” he went on. “They don’t trust that a ShadowClan cat could have such a connection with StarClan. But they’re wrong about that! I know it, and soon the other Clans will know it, too. Shadowpaw has special powers. . . .”

Shadowpaw hunched his shoulders in embarrassment as his father continued to proclaim how sensitive he was, how many visions he had had, and how valuable his link to StarClan would prove for his Clan.

I’m not like that at all. I’m just a medicine-cat apprentice, and I don’t know what’s going on, any more than any cat!

Worse, he worried that his Clanmates didn’t agree with their leader. He caught the doubtful glances they were casting at him. Even Puddleshine was looking at him thoughtfully. His mentor had defended him before, but was he regretting that now?

Strikestone cleared his throat to speak first. “Shadowpaw is unusual,” he began. Tigerstar shifted and cast an angry glare at the white tom. But Strikestone lifted a paw, indicating he wasn’t done. “But he’s ours—and in my mind, there’s no doubt that a ShadowClan cat could be singled out by StarClan.”

To Shadowpaw’s surprise, this time murmurs of agreement hummed through the crowd. Yarrowleaf purred, looking at him with fond eyes. “Shadowpaw is good,” she agreed. “He and my kits grew up together. Maybe it’s unusual for StarClan to communicate with only one cat, but why shouldn’t it be Shadowpaw?”

This time cats were nodding, meowing their agreement. Other cats spoke up in support, but Shadowpaw’s mind wandered. The certainty in their voices only made him feel more unsure. He knew they loved ShadowClan . . . but did that make him right? The visions he had received were so clear, just as if he were talking to a living cat. Shadowpaw knew that StarClan didn’t usually communicate like that. But what other way was there to explain it?

If I’m not being given these visions to save the Clans, Shadowpaw wondered, then why am I having them? He remembered Spiresight, whom he had met when he was a kit living inside the big Twoleg den, and remembered too how Spiresight had been treated by the other cats who lived there. Dovewing had said that Spiresight was a medicine cat in a group that didn’t understand medicine cats. The cats who lived at the Twoleg den saw his visions as crazy and believed there was something wrong with him.

Even if my Clan believes me . . . it’s not a long distance from “medicine cat” to “crazy furball,” Shadowpaw reflected. What if I am imagining it? Spiresight was right sometimes, but he talked a lot of nonsense, too. . . .

“Exactly!” Tigerstar’s loud, assertive voice jerked Shadowpaw out of his reflections. “I’m glad we all agree. Cloverfoot, please set the new border-patrol schedules and send out hunting patrols.”

The Clan leader leaped down from the branch and disappeared into his den, leaving his deputy to carry out his orders. Meanwhile, most of the warriors drew together in little groups, talking with their heads together and glancing over their shoulders at Shadowpaw.

As he turned away from them, wanting to be alone, Shadowpaw caught Puddleshine’s eye. His mentor looked curious but didn’t call to him. He could stand to be rid of me for a while, Shadowpaw mused. Let him get some real medicine-cat work done, without worrying about me, and all the trouble I’m causing.

Leaving the camp behind him, Shadowpaw headed out into the forest. Clouds lay low over the tops of the pine trees, and the light underneath them was dim, though it was not long past sunhigh. The surface of the snow glimmered eerily in the dusk, unbroken by any traces of prey. Shadowpaw’s paws and legs grew numb with cold as he broke through the crusty surface into the powdery snow beneath.

Eventually he came to a tall rock where wind had scoured most of the snow away, and he leaped to the top of it to get away from the freezing flakes for a while. From here Shadowpaw could just make out the lake, and parts of the other territories in the distance.

“I don’t want to hurt any of you,” he murmured. “Even I don’t know if my visions are real. I wish I did. . . .”

As Shadowpaw sat there, tucking in his paws and his tail to make himself as small as he could against the cold, the view in front of him began to change. A red stain spread over the icy blue of the lake, the color intensifying until the surface was blazing with scarlet fire. Shadowpaw felt himself being lifted up, as if he were a bird, passing beyond the trees until he could look down on the whole of the lake and the territories around it.

The fire raged more fiercely, spreading out into long lines that followed the boundaries of the Clans, until each Clan was separated from the others by leaping walls of flame. Then the fire began to creep inward, greedily devouring the trees and undergrowth as it encroached on the camps.

“No . . . ,” Shadowpaw whispered, his eyes wide with horror.

There was no way for the cats to escape. Shadowpaw couldn’t see them, but he could hear their wails and screeches of terror. He could smell the smoke and hear the crackle of the flames as they roared around the rock where he crouched, trembling with fear. His head swam, and darkness swirled in front of his eyes. He coughed as ash caught in his throat and filled his lungs, gasping for breath as his senses spiraled away.

Before Shadowpaw could lose consciousness, the vision ended as quickly as it had come. Shadowpaw took in huge gulps of cold, clean air, gazing stunned at the forest, which was peaceful, snow-covered, unharmed. The lake was still frozen; even the smell of smoke had vanished.

The fire is coming, and the flames will scatter the Clans! he realized. I have to tell them!

“Oh, it definitely means something.” Tigerstar’s tones were grave. “And that ‘something’ is not good.”

Shadowpaw was sitting with his father just outside the Clan leader’s den. He had raced back to camp as soon as he had recovered from his vision, and at once Tigerstar had called his senior warriors around him: Cloverfoot, Tawnypelt, and Dovewing, along with Shadowpaw’s mentor, Puddleshine.

“I’m most concerned about the Clans being scattered,” Puddleshine meowed. “The fire might not mean real fire; StarClan often uses symbols when they send messages. But it sounds like they’re warning us that the Clans will be torn apart and destroyed by . . . maybe some outside force.”

Shadowpaw noticed that Tigerstar was staring hard at Puddleshine as the medicine cat was speaking. Puddleshine noticed it, too. “What?” he asked.

“You just said that StarClan uses symbols,” Tigerstar pointed out. “So do you finally believe that Shadowpaw is getting these messages from StarClan?”

Puddleshine frowned painfully, then nodded. “I’m not sure there’s any other explanation,” he admitted. “Shadowpaw’s visions have always been . . . unusual. But this one seems like a clear message.”

Every hair on Shadowpaw’s pelt tingled with satisfaction. At last!

“So we have to warn the other Clans,” Dovewing meowed.

“I’ve half a mind to keep the information to myself,” Tigerstar growled, his gaze fixed straight ahead to where the forest trees crowded close. “The other Clans have made it clear they don’t want listen to us anyway.”

“But—” Dovewing tried to interrupt, but Tigerstar ignored her.

“Don’t forget,” he continued, “the other Clans have so little trust in us, they tried to break through to StarClan without us. They attacked the ice on the Moonpool! Maybe the reason Shadowpaw has been able to talk to StarClan is that we’re the only Clan StarClan isn’t angry with.”

Cloverfoot blinked thoughtfully. “This latest vision showed that the fire was dangerous to all the Clans,” she mewed. “That surely means we’ll all suffer if we’re torn apart—including ShadowClan.”

“Yes,” Tawnypelt agreed. “Hasn’t StarClan told us before? The Clans are strongest when we stand together. Our experience with Darktail taught us that.”

Tigerstar still looked undecided, flexing his claws and twitching his tail-tip irritably. “I still don’t see why we have to be responsible for saving the other Clans, after the way they’ve treated us,” he huffed.

Dovewing gazed at Tigerstar with clear green eyes. “Because we’re warriors,” she responded. “We’re loyal to ShadowClan, but we still have a code. We have honor.”

Tigerstar let out a long sigh, then nodded reluctantly. “What do you think we should do?” he asked his deputy.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about closing our borders. Instead I would call an emergency Gathering,” Cloverfoot replied. “The other leaders need to know this, and we all need to discuss what to do about this latest vision.” She turned to Shadowpaw, warmth in her gaze. “This message is so clear, even the most stubborn Clans won’t be able to ignore it—whether it comes from ShadowClan or not.”

Tigerstar rose to his paws, looking decisive once more. “Good. We’ll do it. Cloverfoot, please send out messengers to the other Clans.”

It felt strange to Shadowpaw to be approaching the Gathering island in the dark. There was no full moon, and in any case the cloud cover was so thick that very little light could penetrate it. Shadowpaw could hardly see his own paws in front of him as he made the crossing on the tree-bridge.

His belly fluttered nervously as he padded over to join the other medicine cats in the clearing, but at least he had Puddleshine by his side, and this time he knew his mentor would support him. He’d already met with the other medicine cats, just prior to this meeting, to explain Shadowpaw’s vision and what he thought it meant. All the others, even Jayfeather, greeted him when he sat beside them, and their wide eyes, the way they dipped their heads respectfully to him, suggested to Shadowpaw that at least they were willing to listen.

But the warriors aren’t going to like the content of my message, he realized with a jolt of apprehension. What if they turn even more hostile?

The Clan leaders took their places in the Great Oak. They were barely visible among the branches, except for the gleam of their eyes as they looked down at the assembled cats. Shadowpaw noticed at once that there was no sign of Bramblestar; Squirrelflight leaped into the tree to join the leaders of the other Clans.

“Bramblestar is feeling unwell,” she explained. Shadowpaw caught a hint of awkwardness in her voice. Bramblestar’s illness is more than “feeling unwell”! “I will be representing ThunderClan tonight,” Squirrelflight finished.

As soon as every cat was settled, Tigerstar rose to his paws. “I have called this emergency Gathering,” he began, “because Shadowpaw has had another vision from StarClan. Shadowpaw, please tell every cat what it was you saw.”

Shadowpaw’s legs felt wobbly as he stood up to address the Clans. He was aware of some muttering after Tigerstar’s announcement.

“You mean we’ve all been dragged out here in the pitch dark to listen to an apprentice?” Berrynose of ThunderClan demanded.

Shadowpaw did his best to ignore the criticism. Catching a glimpse of Rootpaw, sitting erect with his gaze firmly fixed on him, he felt heartened knowing that at least one cat wanted to hear what he had to tell. He made his voice ring out clear and steady as he began to speak.

“I was sitting on a rock in the forest. . . .” Shadowpaw described how the lake had turned red with fire, and how the fire had spread, separating each Clan from the others and devouring the forest, the camps, and the cats themselves. “I know it was a warning that the Clans might be destroyed,” he finished. “We have to do something about it.”

Shadowpaw was encouraged by the murmurs of agreement that came from some of the other medicine cats, but the feeling died almost immediately when Harestar spoke.

“I still don’t understand why StarClan would only communicate through an apprentice. Why him, and not a real medicine cat?”

Shadowpaw’s pelt grew hot with anger, but he didn’t dare argue with the WindClan leader. To his surprise, it was Jayfeather who responded, his tone edged with sarcasm. “An apprentice is a real medicine cat, thank you very much. And it’s not for us to tell StarClan where to send their messages.”

“That doesn’t help us much, though,” Leafstar commented. “Even if this is a genuine message, it doesn’t tell us what we should do about it. If we’re not careful, we could be bringing on the destruction, not preventing it.”

“That’s true,” Mistystar responded, her pale blue-gray pelt glimmering among the branches of the Great Oak. “But this vision makes sense to me. StarClan warned us after we got rid of Darktail that it was important for all five Clans to stay together.”

Squirrelflight moved to the end of her branch so that she could look down at Shadowpaw. He gazed up at her, nervous but managing to meet her green gaze.

“Did StarClan say anything?” she asked.

Shadowpaw shook his head. “No, not a word.”

“And the fire came from the lake? Not from any one of the Clans?”

Not from ShadowClan, Shadowpaw wanted to reply, guessing what Squirrelflight was getting at. “From the very center of the lake,” he mewed aloud. “And the flames seemed to reach every Clan at the same time.”

“I see . . .” Squirrelflight let her voice die away, and when she spoke again, it was with new decision. “Bramblestar supported you at the last Gathering,” she told Shadowpaw. “I confess I’m not entirely convinced that you’ve had a true vision, but for the time being I’ll take you seriously, for Bramblestar’s sake.”

“We all believe in Shadowpaw’s vision.” Willowshine rose to her paws and spoke for her fellow medicine cats. “And we think that it couldn’t be more important. Whether the fire is real or symbolic, it could destroy all our Clans.”

“I won’t argue with that,” Jayfeather added. “But all the same, I think there’s something . . . something not quite right about this vision. Oh, I don’t think you’re lying or making it up, Shadowpaw. I just think we have to go forward very carefully.”

“Right or not, it’s all we have to go on,” Alderheart reminded his Clanmate, letting his tail rest for a moment on Shadowpaw’s shoulders. “The rest of us have tried, and failed, to make contact with StarClan for a couple of moons now. Shadowpaw’s vision is the only direction we have.”

Shadowpaw felt that most cats were moving toward accepting what he had told them. But then Tree rose to his paws from where he was sitting with a few of the other SkyClan cats.

“Yes, that’s all very well,” the yellow tom meowed. “But what exactly does it mean to believe Shadowpaw? What are we supposed to do?”

“And is this vision connected to what Shadowpaw told us last time?” Harestar asked. “About the darkness in the Clans?”

Shadowpaw looked up at his father, remembering the other part of his vision, about the codebreakers, and the shock he had felt when his vision showed him his mother, Dovewing. But Tigerstar stared straight ahead, not meeting Shadowpaw’s gaze. Shadowpaw tried not to let his expression give anything away. He decided to say nothing; he sensed that the other Clans were still a little hostile to ShadowClan and its leader.

“There is something more I must say,” Squirrelflight announced, still keeping her position at the end of the branch. She hesitated, taking a deep breath, as if she was making a momentous decision. “I have a confession to make. I lied to the Gathering.”

Gasps of shock and disbelief came from the cats in the clearing. I knew it! Shadowpaw thought.

“For that, I ask your forgiveness,” Squirrelflight went on. “The truth is that Bramblestar is sick—very sick. Our medicine cats have tried everything, all the usual herbs and treatments, and they have been unable to make him better. He is close to death, and without StarClan he may not be able to return to take up his next life, as a Clan leader should.”

Her words were greeted with a heavy silence among the Clans.

Shadowpaw could feel Squirrelflight’s gaze fixed on him as she continued. “Shadowpaw had an idea for a very unusual treatment. StarClan told him that it would make Bramblestar worse before he got better, but it would save him.”

“And you want to go ahead with this?” Jayfeather asked. “Squirrelflight, are you sure?”

The ThunderClan deputy nodded resolutely. “It’s Bramblestar’s only hope,” she meowed. “Whatever Shadowpaw’s connection with StarClan may be, none of the rest of us can reach them. And that means we can’t be sure what happens to a leader when he loses a life. I know the chance that Shadowpaw’s treatment will save Bramblestar is a slim one, but we’ve tried everything else. A slim chance is still a chance—and it may be the only one Bramblestar has.”

“Are you sure you’ve tried everything?” Mothwing asked. “I’d be happy to come and look at Bramblestar, if you want me to.”

“So would I,” Frecklewish offered, and the other medicine cats added their agreement.

Shadowpaw narrowed his eyes as he glanced at his fellow medicine cats. It sounds like they still don’t trust me, he thought.

“Squirrelflight said everything, and she meant it,” Alderheart retorted. “I’d be delighted if we could find another way, but there isn’t one.”

“And what happens if the treatment kills Bramblestar?” Reedwhisker asked, his voice filled with anxiety.

Squirrelflight heaved a long sigh. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But without it, Bramblestar is going to die. We can’t make things any worse if we try. Shadowpaw, will you come to ThunderClan?”

“Of course I will,” Shadowpaw replied, then added instantly, “if Tigerstar and Puddleshine give permission.”

“You have mine,” Puddleshine mewed, while Tigerstar announced, “It’s what I’ve wanted all along.”

“And if he recovers,” Harestar put in, “then we can decide what is meant by this vision of fire, and by the ‘darkness in the Clans’ Shadowpaw told us about before. And more important, how we can drive the darkness out.”

No cat added any objections, so Tigerstar announced that the Gathering was over. As the cats began to disperse, Squirrelflight leaped down from the Great Oak and padded up to Shadowpaw.

“Will you come with me now?” she asked. “Bramblestar may not have very much time. I’ll get warriors to help move him up onto the moor, wherever you like. We’ll do whatever you tell us.”

“We’re on our way.” It was Tigerstar who spoke, appearing suddenly at Squirrelflight’s shoulder. “I’ll be joining you.” Squirrelflight glanced at him as if she was about to object, but the ShadowClan leader gave her no chance to speak. “I’m bringing Puddleshine and Dovewing, too,” he told her. “No cat knows exactly what will happen, and I must consider my own Clan’s safety.”

A shiver passed through Shadowpaw as he realized what his father meant. Even he was afraid that the treatment wouldn’t save Bramblestar, and that if Shadowpaw failed, he might be in danger from angry ThunderClan warriors.

Shadowpaw swallowed hard as he followed Squirrelflight toward the tree-bridge. StarClan, guide my paws, he prayed.