The Raging Storm

PROLOGUE

As darkness shrouded the valley, the lake glittered with broken moonlight. Firestar paced the island, watching from the shore. He could smell newleaf on the wind and, with it, the promise of seasons the Clans might never see.

Blackstar shivered a few tail-lengths away as the ghostly leaders of other Clans stood around him, stars shimmering in their pelts. “Why bring us here?”

Tallstar fluffed out his thick black-and-white fur. “What needs to be said here that couldn’t be said in StarClan? It’s warm there.”

Firestar didn’t answer. Longing pulled at his belly as he saw the oak forest, covering the shore like a pelt.

Bluestar touched her tail-tip to his flank. “Tell us why we’re here,” she meowed gently.

“It’s pointless rushing him.” Crookedstar sat at the water’s edge and tucked his paws beneath his tail. “Firestar likes to think before he speaks.”

“He should have done his thinking before he brought us here,” Tallstar grumbled.

Blackstar flicked his tail impatiently. “We don’t need to stand here in the dark to know what’s waiting for the Clans.”

Firestar turned on him. “We know what is coming. But I don’t think we’ve understood how ill-prepared the Clans are to face it. They sleep while we worry.” As he spoke, a shadow moved among the pines near the shoreline. Firestar jerked his muzzle toward it. “Rowanclaw? What are you doing here?”

The ShadowClan cat’s eyes flashed in the darkness as he padded toward the others. Stars glittered in his fur. “If you came here to discuss the future of the Clans, I have a right to be part of it.”

“You’re not a leader anymore.” Reproach hardened Blackstar’s mew.

Rowanclaw growled. “I gave up my nine lives so that my Clan could survive.”

“You gave up your Clan so that you could survive,” Blackstar hissed.

“That’s not true.” Rowanclaw flattened his ears. “I died! But my Clan is a Clan once more. My son has returned. Tigerstar will lead them to greatness.”

“At what cost?” Bluestar shifted her paws. “If there’s one thing I know about ShadowClan cats, it’s that they always have their eyes on another Clan’s land.”

Rowanclaw’s eyes narrowed. “ShadowClan must never face extinction again. It needs its territory back.”

“But SkyClan cannot lose its land.” Firestar’s emerald eyes reflected starlight. His gaze seemed to see beyond the starry pelts of the other cats, and drifted toward the distant trees that marked SkyClan’s territory. “They belong beside the lake.”

“Of course they belong beside the lake,” Tallstar grunted.

Bluestar eyed Rowanclaw. “Will your son let them stay?”

“Tigerstar must do whatever it takes to make ShadowClan strong,” Rowanclaw shot back.

Firestar flicked his tail. “Rowanclaw is right about one thing: ShadowClan must grow strong. We can’t risk losing them again. Every Clan must grow strong, but not by stealing another’s territory. They must learn to live together. If the five Clans cannot live as one, the coming darkness will destroy them all.”

“We’ve survived darkness before,” Crookedstar argued.

“Not like this,” Firestar insisted. “These young cats don’t understand the danger. They’ve fought invaders, they’ve survived hardship, but they don’t yet realize how fear can weave its way like a shadow between the Clans and how greed can drive them apart.” The stars in Firestar’s pelt shimmered as his fur prickled anxiously.

Blackstar snorted. “Do you think the Clans learned nothing from Darktail?”

“I don’t think they learned enough.” Firestar met his gaze. “Look how Darktail split them. RiverClan withdrew. ShadowClan collapsed. At a time when they needed to work together, they drew apart.”

“But RiverClan has rejoined the Clans now,” Crookedstar pointed out.

“And ShadowClan has a new leader,” Rowanclaw argued. “A strong leader, who will guide his warriors well.”

“A young leader,” Firestar cautioned, “who wants above all to prove his strength and the strength of his Clan. This is no time for battles. SkyClan is still finding its paws here. Their return has tested everyone. And the test isn’t over. They must be fully accepted. If the Clans can’t learn to live peacefully together, how will they face what is to come?” His eyes darkened. Bluestar looked away. The others glanced nervously at one another, as though sharing knowledge too dreadful to speak. Firestar went on. “Together, the Clans are like a paw with five claws reaching deep into the earth. If each claw is strong, the paw will hold fast. But if just one claw releases its grip, all will be swept away by the coming storm.”

“It won’t only be the lake Clans that are lost.” Bluestar closed her eyes as the newleaf wind rippled her fur. “With no one to remember us, StarClan will disappear too.”

“So we must warn them.” Tallstar whisked his tail agitatedly from side to side.

“We can’t warn them more than we have.” Bluestar sighed. “How many times have we told them that they must face the future together?”

Firestar narrowed his eyes. “We can only point out the path. We can’t make them follow it.”

Bluestar looked across the lake. “Let’s hope they find the way. If they don’t, there will be nothing of us left, not even the warrior code.”