Path Оf А Warrior

Chapter Eight

As they left Fourtrees, the ShadowClan cats bunched together, glancing nervously into the darkness that surrounded them. Shadowstar felt a pang of sadness at the looks on their faces. They’d lost confidence in the safety of the forest. Is ShadowClan already starting to fall apart?

Turning to lead her Clan toward their own territory, she caught sight of a cat waiting beneath an oak. Quick Water? she thought, alarmed, but then she caught Windstar’s scent. The WindClan leader was waiting for her.

“Raven Pelt,” Shadowstar meowed. “Lead the Clan home. I’ll catch up later.”

The black tom stopped and stared at her. “Are you mouse-brained?” he asked. “You’re not staying here by yourself.”

Shadowstar flicked an ear. “Even a deputy has to follow his leader’s instructions,” she reminded him. Pebble Heart was listening, too, his amber eyes wide and worried.

Raven Pelt pulled back his ears stubbornly. “The last time you went off by yourself, Quick Water pushed you into the path of a monster,” he protested.

Shadowstar felt a pang of grief in her heart as she remembered the last time a deputy had refused to leave her side. He ended up dead… .

“Raven Pelt,” she repeated gently. “Take the Clan back to our territory. I am trusting you with their safety. I will be fine.” She stared steadily into his eyes until he dropped his gaze.

“Okay,” he mewed. “But be careful.”

She nodded, and he called, “ShadowClan, follow me!” and hurried forward. Pebble Heart hesitated beside Shadowstar.

“You too,” she told him, brushing her tail across his back. “Some cat might have a cough or a thorn in their paw before I get back.”

Pebble Heart snorted, shaking his head. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he replied. “Let me know when you’re back in camp.”

Shadowstar nodded in acknowledgment and watched him follow the rest of their Clanmates out of sight. Then she headed for the shadowy figure beneath the oak. “Windstar.”

“Quick Water’s lying,” the brown tabby meowed immediately. “Maybe the other Clans can’t bring themselves to see it, but I can. It’s not safe to have her on Clan territory.”

Shadowstar gave a long, relieved sigh. “It’s so good to be believed by a cat outside my Clan,” she murmured.

“They’re not stupid cats,” Windstar meowed, her tail twitching in irritation. “But they’re blinded by their fondness for Quick Water. All warriors have to follow the code, no matter how much they’re liked. If not, how are we any different from rogues?”

“Exactly,” Shadowstar agreed. Windstar understood. It didn’t matter how much Quick Water was liked: By trying to kill another cat, she had put herself outside the warrior code, the rules they had all decided each Clan cat must follow for the good of every Clan. Quick Water wasn’t a Clan cat anymore. “We have to defend the code if the Clans are going to be able to live together peacefully.”

“I know.” Windstar kneaded her paws against the ground, unsure. “But what can we do?” she asked. “If we attack SkyClan, ThunderClan will back them up. Skystar and Thunderstar are united in protecting Quick Water now. We won’t be able to drive her out.”

Shadowstar hesitated. There’s only one way to be sure.

Instead of answering Windstar immediately, she looked up into the sky, where countless stars shone above them, tiny lights in the deep blackness. Which ones were warriors, she wondered? Was Sun Shadow watching over her? Were Moon Shadow and Gray Wing?

What would they think of what she was planning?

“Quick Water killed Sun Shadow,” she mewed quietly. “She cost me one of my lives. She’s put herself outside the code now. StarClan would know that killing her was just.”

Windstar drew in a shocked breath. “After the Great Battle, we all swore not to kill one another again, not even in the fiercest fight.”

“Yes.” Shadowstar looked into the brown tabby cat’s eyes, seeing a reflection of the same pain she was feeling. “But Quick Water isn’t one of us anymore. We have to make sure our Clans are safe. Even if it costs me everything.”

“What do you mean, ‘everything’?” Windstar asked uneasily.

Shadowstar hesitated. She had never wanted other cats to know how many lives she had left. It made her vulnerable. But she was choosing to trust Windstar. Maybe the WindClan leader deserved to know. “This is my last life,” she mewed finally. “The next time I die, I … I won’t come back from StarClan.”

Windstar blinked. “Maybe we shouldn’t start any fights, then,” she meowed, sounding doubtful. “We don’t know what happens to a Clan when its leader runs out of lives.”

Shadowstar shook her head. She felt like Moon Shadow, Sun Shadow, Gray Wing, all the cats she had lost over time were watching over her. This was the right thing. “I’ve named a deputy,” she said. “If I die protecting my Clan, Raven Pelt will be able to guide them. Even if this battle isn’t my last, I have a feeling this will not be a long life. And if this is the end, it’ll be okay.”

Windstar flicked her ears. “If you say so. I’d prefer to live.”

Despite the serious subject, Shadowstar’s whiskers twitched in amusement. “Always so practical.” Then she got serious. “However we do this, it should be in the open. We have right on our side; we don’t have to be sneaky. Let’s make a plan.”

The next morning, Shadowstar changed the moss and ferns that lined her nest. She’d told her Clanmates about the battle plan for tomorrow—they would confront Quick Water on SkyClan’s land—and now all there was to do was prepare. She worked methodically, carrying out the flattened, dried plants and replacing them with fresh ones, making sure her nest was as soft and cozy as it could be. This was apprentice work, really, but she wanted to do it herself. If Raven Pelt slept in the leader’s den tomorrow, he would be comfortable.

After her den was as pleasant as she could make it, she strolled around camp, speaking to her warriors. Juniper Branch was teaching Bubbling Stream a battle move.

“Throw your weight at their shoulders, right here,” she meowed, tapping the top of one of the white she-cat’s front legs. “If you can get your opponent off balance, then you can take them down.”

Shadowstar brushed her tail over Juniper Branch’s back. “You’re teaching her well,” she added. “Show that move to the other young cats. And Bubbling Stream, keep practicing. You’re becoming a fine fighter.”

She took Dusk Nose and Mud Paws out hunting, and they chased down a rabbit together. The triumph of working with her Clanmates, of taking deep breaths of the pine-scented air of their territory, of pouncing on prey that would feed their Clan, made her paws move faster and her heart fill with joy.

She went from cat to cat all day, unobtrusively offering advice and praising them. Saying good-bye, giving them a last good memory of their leader. Just in case tomorrow was the end for her.

As the sun set, they ate together. She shared a starling with Pebble Heart.

“Remember when we left the moors to start our own Clan?” she asked him softly.

Pebble Heart swallowed a bite and nodded. “I was so young,” he answered. “I didn’t think I’d be able to take care of sick cats without Cloud Spots to teach me. But he wanted to go to the forest, and I knew I didn’t belong there.”

“You did great,” Shadowstar told him. “Even that first day, you were giving Gray Wing herbs to help with his breathing, and you treated the injury on Mud Paws’s shoulder. You’ve always taken such good care of the Clan.” She shifted closer to him, his side warm against hers. “I’m glad you chose to join us,” she added. “And I’m glad you’re here to look after our Clanmates.”

Pebble Heart blinked at her affectionately, then rested his head on her shoulder. She was pretty sure he knew what she was trying to tell him.

After the Clan’s shared meal, she pulled Raven Pelt aside, sitting with him at the edge of the clearing where they wouldn’t be overheard.

“I think we’re ready,” he announced. “Every cat has been practicing battle moves, and Pebble Heart’s been out all day gathering herbs for treating wounds and spiderwebs for binding injuries. Although I hope there won’t be many injuries. Fight our fight and get out, right?” His leg was twitching with nervous energy, and Shadowstar laid her paw on it to still it.

“We are prepared,” she told him. “But I have to tell you something. This is my last life.” Raven Pelt started to speak, his eyes wide and shocked, but she spoke over him. “I want you to know that you are the right cat to lead this Clan. I chose you because you are the right cat.”

Raven Pelt was shaking his head. “No,” he meowed breathlessly. “I’ll do everything I can to protect you. You can survive this battle!”

“Whether I survive or not doesn’t really matter anymore,” Shadowstar answered sternly. “I appreciate your loyalty, but you can’t let that affect your ability to lead ShadowClan. You have to be ready to become leader if you must.”

Raven Pelt blinked sadly. “I’ll try to be ready,” he told her, sitting still and serious. “But I don’t know that I’m strong enough to take your place.”

“You are ready,” Shadowstar told him. “And you will be a strong leader. Just never forget to follow what you know is right. Never put anything—not even your own life—above your Clan. StarClan will guide you.”

Raven Pelt’s eyes were bright. “I hope that this last life of yours is a long one and I don’t have to lead for many moons. But, even if it happens tomorrow, I promise to do my best,” he vowed. “I will guide and protect ShadowClan and follow the code.”

Shadowstar touched her nose to his. “I know you will.”

By the time the moon was high in the sky, she had spoken to every one of her Clanmates. But only Raven Pelt and Pebble Heart knew this was her last life. She trusted them to keep that knowledge secret.

She looked up at the stars again. She was sure now that Gray Wing, Moon Shadow, and Sun Shadow were all watching over her, waiting to welcome her to StarClan whenever she went there for the last time. Would that be tomorrow? Would the coming dawn be the last time she woke in ShadowClan?