Path Оf А Warrior

Chapter Three

Shadowstar gingerly lowered her paw, shifting her weight onto her foreleg, then relaxed. It barely twinged. It had taken half a moon, but her leg was finally healed. Still, she knew Pebble Heart would insist on examining it one last time.

As she waded through ferns to the cave beneath the Clanrock where the medicine cat made his den, she could hear him treating one of her warriors.

“Hold still and I’ll soon have that out,” the gray tabby tom was saying gently. Looking through the cave entrance, Shadowstar saw Shade Pelt holding one paw in the air as Pebble Heart worked a thorn out of his paw pad.

“There,” he said cheerfully to the younger cat. “I’ll put some comfrey on to help you feel better.”

Shadowstar watched as Pebble Heart chewed the comfrey leaves into a paste and licked it carefully onto Shade Pelt’s paw. He cares so much, she thought. He’s always looking out for every member of ShadowClan.

The medicine cat’s amber eyes glinted as he looked up at Shade Pelt. “Keep off it for the rest of today.”

Shadowstar caught her breath. Amber eyes. Again she pictured the cold eyes that had watched her from the forest as she struggled and died.

Pebble Heart would never do something like that. She was quite sure that if she could trust any cat, she could trust Pebble Heart. She had known him since he was a kit, and he was a medicine cat—charged by StarClan with the duty of taking care of his Clanmates.

Shade Pelt limped out of the medicine cat’s den, dipping his head respectfully to Shadowstar as she ducked through the entrance.

“How’s the leg feeling?” Pebble Heart asked.

“Much better,” Shadowstar told him, and stood patiently as Pebble Heart felt it over.

“Not hurting at all?” he meowed at last, and she shook her head. “I think you’re fine to go back to hunting and patrolling. But let me know if it bothers you.”

“Okay,” Shadowstar replied, but she lingered, watching as Pebble Heart tidied his herbs. The medicine-cat den was the most peaceful place in camp.

“Are you okay?” Pebble Heart asked as he returned the leftover comfrey to the dried herbs at the side of his den. “You’ve been keeping to yourself lately.”

Shadowstar started to say that she was fine; but then she noticed how heavy her fur felt, and how her worries had filled her head like water. “They just keep fighting,” she sighed bitterly. “With Sun Shadow gone, some warriors seem so eager to walk in his paw steps that all they do is compete with each other.” Despite having been punished more than once, Mouse Ear and Juniper Branch were still at odds. “And now other warriors are picking sides in their argument.” She swallowed hard, her stomach an unhappy ball. “The Clan’s being pulled apart.”

Pebble Heart looked into her eyes, his own gaze steady. “Take a moment,” he told her. “Breathe deeply.” He inhaled a long, slow breath, and Shadowstar imitated him. Together they held the breath for a moment, then gradually let it out. “Again.”

After a few repetitions, Shadowstar relaxed a little.

“It’s true that not knowing who’s going to be your deputy is causing some conflict,” Pebble Heart said. “It’s been more than half a moon since Sun Shadow’s death. Maybe it’s time to name his successor?”

Shadowstar hesitated. I can tell Pebble Heart the truth, she reminded herself. “But it matters so much who I choose as deputy,” she told him. “It has to be a cat I can trust.”

Pebble Heart cocked his head, looking puzzled. “Is that any different from when you chose Sun Shadow?” he asked. “I don’t remember it being such a struggle.”

Shadowstar looked down at her paws, wondering if she could tell the medicine cat the truth.

“This is my last life,” she finally confessed, keeping her mew as quiet as she could. “My next deputy will have to be ready to lead the Clan soon, and be able to keep ShadowClan together.”

Pebble Heart looked deeply troubled. “Are you sure?” he asked after a moment. “There was the infection, and the fight with the badger … the cough, the time you drowned … that fall …”

“Er … I may have died twice without telling you,” Shadowstar confessed. “I was hit by a Twoleg monster and I fought a rogue.”

At the stormy look on Pebble Heart’s face, she added quickly, “I didn’t tell any cat. Both times, I died alone and began my new life alone. There was nothing anyone could have done. It seemed safer for the Clan if no cat knew how close I was to my last life.”

“Oh, Shadowstar.” Pebble Heart’s eyes shone with distress. “I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have been alone.”

She shrugged. “I wasn’t alone. StarClan was with me.” She brought the conversation back to what seemed most important. “Sun Shadow had been helping me lead the Clan for a long time. He was ready to lead, if he had to. How can I know if one of the others will be able to guide ShadowClan? How can I know if I can even trust … ?” She trailed off, thinking of those amber eyes that had watched her die.

“What do you mean?” Pebble Heart asked, staring at her intently.

Shadowstar told him about the eyes she’d seen watching her and Sun Shadow’s deaths from the woods. “I thought I might have imagined them, but the more I think about it, the more sure I am that there was a cat there. I don’t think it was a ShadowClan cat, although I can’t help wondering … but if it wasn’t, that’s almost as bad. What cat could watch us die without wanting to help? It makes me feel like I have an enemy … or ShadowClan does. And Gray Wing said that if ShadowClan falls, all the Clans could fall… .”

“I see.” Pebble Heart nodded. “You’re wondering how you can leave an untested leader in charge, if the Clans are in such danger.”

“Exactly.” Shadowstar felt oddly lighter. She was still worried and frightened, but she was glad that she’d told Pebble Heart what was bothering her.

“For what it’s worth, I have faith in you,” Pebble Heart mewed. “If the Clan is in danger, I think you will find that danger before your final death.” He pressed his cheek to hers. “You’ve led this Clan so well, I know you will leave us safe.”

Maybe, Shadowstar thought. I hope he’s right.

But as she thanked Pebble Heart and left his den, weaving her way past her warriors, she couldn’t help thinking of Sun Shadow’s death. She had failed him. I should have saved him. I should have made him run to safety. Then he would still be here, ready to lead the Clan when I die.

She would need to do a better job protecting ShadowClan.

Slipping into her nest below the oak tree, she shut her eyes.

I have to make sure my Clan is strong enough to survive my final death.

Shadowstar led her Clan into Fourtrees, the full moon shining above them, bathing the clearing in cold silver. Skystar and Thunderstar were already seated on the Great Rock. Skystar looked tense, his thick light gray fur bristling and his large paws shifting restlessly. Shadowstar strode toward them as her warriors greeted friends and kin from other Clans. Pebble Heart joined Cloud Spots and Acorn Fur, doubtless to talk medicine-cat business.

Leaping lightly to the top of the Great Rock, Shadowstar nodded to Skystar and Thunderstar. Skystar twitched his whiskers irritably at her. “You’re still planning to back me up, right?” he asked urgently.

“I will.” But first I have to hear what’s going on.

Thunderstar, calmer, looked down at where his and Skystar’s deputies sat near the base of the rock. “You haven’t picked a new deputy yet?”

“No.” Shadowstar tried to make it clear from her tone that she didn’t want to discuss it, but the big ginger tom only blinked at her earnestly.

“It was hard for me, too, when Lightning Tail was killed,” he confided. “But I’m glad that I chose Owl Eyes as my deputy. It’s good for the Clan to have another cat they can rely on.”

“I will name a new deputy when the time is right,” she told him coolly. Her Clan’s business was no other cat’s concern.

Thunderstar looked as if he wanted to speak again, but seemed to change his mind as Windstar and Riverstar joined them on top of the Great Rock.

“I notice you don’t have a new deputy yet,” Windstar remarked briskly to Shadowstar. “A leader needs a deputy to bear some of the weight of running a Clan.”

Shadowstar’s tail twitched with irritation, but Skystar broke in, addressing all the cats in the clearing. “Now that we’re all finally here, I need to speak. I don’t have time to tell you how our prey is running or to listen to a list of new apprentices in another Clan,” he yowled. “We have a serious problem.”

“What’s the matter?” Riverstar asked.

“I warned you all about the Twolegs,” Skystar went on. “I tried to tell you at the last Gathering, but you said not to worry, that there was nothing Twolegs wanted in the forest.”

“Oh, this again,” Windstar broke in with an irritable flick of her tail. “A few Twolegs walk across your territory, and you get all worked up.”

“It’s not ‘a few Twolegs,’” Skystar mewed indignantly. “More and more of them are coming, more often now. Sometimes they come in groups, with big Twoleg monsters. They’ve been patrolling, looking very carefully at SkyClan’s territory. I think they’re hoping to take it over as their own. If they do, what will happen to SkyClan?”

“But why would they want your territory?” Riverstar asked reasonably. “Twolegs live in those big dens like mountains. The forest isn’t their kind of place at all.”

“No, Skystar’s right,” Thunderstar broke in. “I’ve seen them, and they’re acting like the forest is theirs. Maybe they want to build some of their dens on forest land.”

“Even if that’s true,” Windstar replied, “this sounds like SkyClan’s problem, not WindClan’s.”

There was an outbreak of angry yowling from the cats gathered in the clearing below.

“So WindClan would be happy enough for SkyClan to be destroyed?” Quick Water, one of Skystar’s cats, snarled, rearing back onto her hind legs.

“We can’t turn our backs on other Clans!” Pink Eyes, a white-furred ThunderClan warrior, looked shocked.

Even Moth Flight, Windstar’s own daughter and her Clan’s medicine cat, was staring at her mother, hissing: “There must be five Clans! We have to protect one another!”

Windstar flicked her tail again, her yellow eyes darkening resentfully.

“If SkyClan lost territory, it would be every Clan’s problem,” Thunderstar meowed firmly. “We should discuss where SkyClan could go if the worst happened. Maybe we should talk about redrawing our borders.”

There was an outcry from the clearing below—cats yowling over one another—and the ginger tom hissed at them for silence.

Riverstar’s eyes narrowed, but his voice remained calm. “Are you suggesting sharing some of ThunderClan’s territory with SkyClan? It is the closest.”

Thunderstar drew back. “We’re all in this together,” he protested. “ThunderClan will change its borders only if every Clan does.”

From the base of the Great Rock, WindClan’s deputy, Gorse Fur, hissed, “WindClan will fight for the moor. We need our territory.”

“Gorse Fur is right,” Windstar agreed. “Changing our borders would mean less prey for every Clan. And prey on the moors is hard to catch—do ThunderClan and SkyClan really think they can survive by hunting rabbits like we do?”

Shadowstar could see cats in the clearing exchanging dubious looks. The warriors who had joined WindClan were the fastest in the forest—long-legged hunters who ran like the wind their leader was named after. ThunderClan and SkyClan cats were better suited to climbing trees or pouncing on smaller prey. And ShadowClan cats are better at stalking through the shadows of the pine forest, she thought, looking at her stealthy warriors. As for RiverClan …

“RiverClan cats swim for their prey,” Riverstar added, echoing Shadowstar’s thoughts. “Does any other Clan really plan to share our hunting grounds?”

Skystar’s fur bristled. “We have always been able to adapt,” he said fiercely. “When I came from the mountains, I learned to hunt on the moor and in the forest. SkyClan cats will hunt wherever they need to.”

Windstar rounded on him, showing her teeth. “So many cats fought and died to establish our boundaries,” she hissed. “Do you think changing them wouldn’t lead to new conflict?”

“So would SkyClan being made homeless!” Skystar growled. He turned to Shadowstar. “You said you’d support me with the other Clans if the Twolegs kept patrolling my land,” he reminded her. “Will you speak for me now?”

Shadowstar felt as if she’d missed her footing in the dark. Every cat’s eye was on her. Did Skystar really expect her to agree to redraw ShadowClan’s borders? “I want SkyClan to be safe,” she mewed defensively, “but I never agreed to give up territory.”

Skystar growled at her, a thick, guttural sound, his eyes flashing. “I knew ShadowClan could not be trusted,” he snarled.

The rage in his voice startled Shadowstar. She had thought that time had mellowed the angry, reckless cat Skystar had been when they were young, but maybe he had just learned to hide that fury. She thought again of those eyes watching from the forest as she died… .

Skystar had pale blue eyes, but plenty of his warriors—Acorn Fur, Quick Water, and Birch, for instance—had amber ones. How far would Skystar go? she wondered.

“I agree with Windstar.” Riverstar spoke calmly, interrupting Shadowstar’s worried thoughts. “The borders are as they are for a reason. Any cat who wants to can seek shelter with RiverClan, but we will not give up our territory.”

Skystar snarled furiously at Riverstar, but the long-furred tom blinked at him, unperturbed.

“Well, RiverClan doesn’t have to worry, does it?” Thunderstar said bitterly. “You’re across the river from SkyClan. Whatever affects us in the forest won’t touch you.”

He and Skystar—father and son—had never looked more alike than they did now, their broad shoulders tense and their long tails slashing from side to side. Thunderstar has amber eyes, too, Shadowstar noticed, feeling slightly sick.

Was she making too much of this? No, she decided. My task is to protect my Clan and to make sure they will go on without me. If I have an enemy, ShadowClan has an enemy.

Thunderstar sighed. “So even if the Twoleg threat gets worse, WindClan and RiverClan are against redrawing our borders,” he meowed. “ThunderClan and SkyClan are for it.” He turned to Shadowstar. “You say you never agreed to give up territory, but will you agree now? Your vote can break the tie.”

“It’s not a vote,” Windstar muttered, but the others ignored her, their eyes fixed on Shadowstar.

Shadowstar tucked her tail around her legs and thought. The clearing was silent, each cat straining to hear her answer. Is redrawing the borders the right thing to do? It was true that changing territories would force the cats of each Clan to learn to hunt in a new way. And there would be less prey if there was less territory.

As well, she still wasn’t sure that there really was a Twoleg threat to SkyClan. Twolegs have wandered through Clan territory before, she thought. Maybe Skystar is seeing danger where there isn’t any.

And what if Skystar or one of his Clanmates had watched the dogs attack her and Sun Shadow? Could she trust them?

She spoke carefully. “I’m not ready to make this decision. There’s a lot I need to consider.”

Skystar’s tail slashed wildly. “Like what?” he yowled. “Do you have to weigh whether SkyClan is worth saving?”

Snarls came from the SkyClan warriors in the crowd below.

“I want to see for myself what the Twolegs are doing on your territory,” Shadowstar meowed steadily. “If I agree that there’s a threat—”

“There is,” Skystar insisted.

“If I agree, then we’ll talk about new territory. Maybe there’s somewhere else nearby where SkyClan can carve out a suitable home. We should look around before we discuss shrinking every Clan’s hunting grounds.”

Skystar glared at her silently for few moments. “Three days,” he meowed. There was a yowl of protest from some of his Clanmates.

“We don’t want a new territory,” Dew Petal growled, and some of the other young SkyClan warriors meowed in agreement.

Skystar hissed them into silence. “Three days,” he repeated. “You can send a patrol to see what the Twolegs are doing, and I’ll listen to any new suggestion you—or any other Clan leader—proposes. But understand I’m not agreeing to anything.”

“Of course,” Shadowstar replied. Maybe there was livable territory near Highstones, beyond ShadowClan’s borders. Anything would be better than trying to get the other Clans to give up their territory—that would only lead to open battle.

She gazed out at the cats massed in the clearing. Every cat, no matter their Clan, looked frightened and hostile.

So many of them had amber eyes.