Suddenly there was a terrible shriek. All the cats jumped, their fur bushing up.
“What was that?” gasped Blossomfall.
“It sounded like a fox,” Thornclaw growled. “Let’s go!” He took off down the hill, pushing through bracken that whipped back into Dovewing’s face as she followed him. The horrific screeching continued, echoing around the woods. Whatever that fox was doing, it wasn’t happy.
They burst out into a clear, sandy space on the side of the ridge. At the far side, a she-fox crouched, her lips curled back and her back hunched in pain. Dovewing froze. Had they run straight into an ambush by this dreadful creature?
But the fox didn’t move. It pinned back its ears and snarled at them, but stayed exactly where it was.
“Great StarClan!” Thornclaw breathed in Dovewing’s ear. “It’s caught in a trap!”
Dovewing peered closer. Gleaming silver jaws gripped the fox’s foreleg, so tight that white bone could be seen through the torn flesh. Dovewing gulped. She could only imagine the pain this creature was in. The thought flashed into her mind that it could just as easily have been one of her Clanmates caught like this.
“What are we going to do?” hissed Blossomfall. “It can’t stay here!”
Ivypool was creeping across the clearing. “Come back!” yowled Dovewing, but her sister didn’t stop.
With a howl, the fox exploded to its feet and lunged at Ivypool, dragging the trap attached to its leg. Dovewing leaped at it, claws out, and landed on its neck as the fox’s jaws snapped down toward her sister. Below, Thornclaw and Birchfall launched themselves at the creature’s haunches while Blossomfall and Mousewhisker clawed its ears. The fox fought for its life. Half-crazed with pain, it thrashed and bit and lashed with its legs so that the heavy trap crashed into Thornclaw, knocking him to the ground. Ivypool darted right underneath the fox’s belly, grabbed hold of Thornclaw’s scruff and dragged him clear. Thornclaw shook his head, then leaped side by side with Ivypool at the fox once more, all teeth and claws and yowling.
Dovewing dug into the thick russet fur until she felt skin pop beneath her claw-tips. The fox flicked its head from side to side until Dovewing was dizzy, but she didn’t let go. Dimly, she was aware of movement at the edge of the clearing. She glanced up, and her momentary lapse of concentration loosened her grip. The fox flung her off like a bug and Dovewing flew through the air to land with a thud on the earth. She gasped for breath.
A golden tabby face loomed over her. “Keep still. You’ve been winded.” It was Lionblaze. “Watch her, Cinderheart,” he ordered. Then he vanished, and Dovewing heard a fresh scream from the fox.
Fuzzily, she made out Cinderheart’s features peering down at her. “We heard a commotion and came as fast as we could,” the she-cat explained. She glanced up and winced. “I’ve never seen a fox fight like that before. Oh, Lionblaze, no!”
Dovewing fought to sit up. Cinderheart propped her against her shoulder. Lionblaze was crouched on the fox’s back, sinking his teeth into its neck. Blood poured from a rip in his ear but he didn’t seem to notice the scarlet liquid pooling into his eyes. Below, Thornclaw and Mousewhisker clawed at the fox’s free front leg, while Blossomfall and Ivypool attacked its hindquarters. There was something in the way each pair of warriors moved, matching blow for blow, bite for bite, that reminded Dovewing they had trained together for a long time in skills the ThunderClan cats couldn’t dream of.
The fox twisted its head around to snap at Lionblaze. Cinderheart lunged forward. “He’s going to be killed!” she hissed.
Dovewing struggled to her feet and put out one paw to stop the she-cat. “He’s okay,” she mewed. “Let him fight.”
Cinderheart turned to face her, her blue eyes ringed with white in fear. “But he doesn’t have his powers anymore! He can be hurt now!”
“I know,” Dovewing meowed. “My powers have gone too. But he’s still the best and bravest warrior that ThunderClan has. Don’t take that away from him, Cinderheart.”
The gray she-cat held Dovewing’s gaze, then slowly breathed out. “You’re right,” she whispered.
The fox let out another unearthly screech, which was abruptly cut off. With a hideous gurgle, it spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the ground. Thornclaw and Mousewhisker only just managed to jump clear. Lionblaze leaped down from the fox’s back and stood over it, watching its flank heave one last time.
The bracken rustled and Bramblestar burst into the clearing followed by Squirrelflight, Cherrypaw, and Molepaw. The ThunderClan leader stopped dead when he saw the fox and the battered, bleeding warriors around it. “What in the name of StarClan has happened here?” he growled.
Squirrelflight bounded over to Dovewing. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” Dovewing wheezed. She stood up and gingerly tested each paw. Her ribs were bruised on one side from hitting the ground, but there was nothing seriously wrong.
Lionblaze prodded the fox with one paw. Its head lolled away from him and another gush of blood came from its mouth. “She’s dead,” the warrior announced unnecessarily.
Bramblestar walked over and looked down at the silver teeth still clutching the fox’s foreleg. “Cherrypaw and Molepaw said they found traces of a fox inside the border. Did you chase it into the trap?”
Dovewing padded forward. “No,” she mewed. “This fox was already trapped when the first patrol found it.” She stared at the apprentices. “Wasn’t it?”
Cherrypaw nodded miserably.
Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “That’s not what they told me.”
“Nor us,” Dovewing meowed. “I think they wanted my patrol to find it when it was alive and crazed with pain.”
“Why would they do that?” Squirrelflight asked.
Dovewing let her gaze travel over the shamefaced warriors to rest on her brave patrol. “Because my patrol was made up of cats who once trained with the Dark Forest. Cherrypaw and Molepaw feel no loyalty toward them, and were willing to send them into great danger.”
Bramblestar’s hackles rose. “Is she right?” he demanded.
Molepaw shifted his paws. “We didn’t know they’d attack it!” he whined. “We just wanted to scare them!”
There was a blur of movement, and suddenly Lionblaze was looming over the apprentices. “You nearly killed them!” he hissed.
Cherrypaw shrank to the ground. “We didn’t mean to!” she bleated.
“Stand down, Lionblaze,” Bramblestar ordered. “We’ll return to the hollow. All of you who fought this fox, I want Jayfeather to check you over.” He turned and stalked out of the clearing. The cats trailed after him, silent now from shame or exhaustion after the frenzy of fighting for their lives. Dovewing’s head spun and she leaned gratefully on Cinderheart’s shoulder as they pushed through the ferns and descended the slope to the camp.
Inside, Bramblestar was standing on Highledge. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a meeting!” he roared.
There was a ripple of shock as cats emerged from the dens or put down the fresh-kill they’d been eating. Bumblestripe raced over to Dovewing. “What’s happened? Are you all right?”
She breathed in his warm scent and let it comfort her. “I’ll be okay,” she mewed.
Bramblestar barely gave the cats a chance to settle before he began speaking. His words were flung into the hollow like stones into a pool. “There are brave warriors among you today,” he declared. “Cats who risked their lives to protect their Clan, who rushed into a situation without knowing what they faced but didn’t turn back. They fought the most savage of enemies, and won. We are in their debt.”
A murmur passed through the crowd and cats turned to one another in confusion. What had they missed? Had there been an attack from another Clan?
Bramblestar continued: “Ivypool, Blossomfall, Mousewhisker, Thornclaw, and Birchfall, please come to the front.”
The five cats limped to the foot of the cliff. Thornclaw’s lip was torn, an
d a scab was already forming above Ivypool’s eye. Birchfall and Mousewhisker were missing several clumps of fur.
“Some of you continue to blame these cats for the battle with the Dark Forest,” Bramblestar meowed. “You are wrong. Today, these cats saved our lives. They were tricked—yes, tricked—into taking on a wounded fox. I am pleased to report that the creature was defeated and ThunderClan is safe. If you feel anything toward these warriors, it should be gratitude, respect, and the utmost loyalty. They have proved that they are willing to lay down their lives for you. In future, you will be prepared to do the same.”
Dovewing looked around and saw that several of her Clanmates seemed uncomfortable, flattening their ears and shifting their paws. Berrynose and Poppyfrost were among them.
Bramblestar raked the Clan with his amber gaze. “Know this, warriors. The Dark Forest will win if we do not forgive those cats who were once their allies. Forgiveness is far more powerful than hatred and suspicion. United, we are as strong as we ever were. Divided, we will fall. Remember that the Dark Forest is still out there, ready to prey on our dreams. Hostility and distrust among us will give them more force than they deserve. Do you want that?”
“No!” chorused the cats.
Bramblestar tipped his head to one side. “I don’t hear you!”
“No!” ThunderClan yowled, shivering the leaves on the trees.
Bramblestar lowered his head to pray. “Great StarClan, we thank you for giving courage and strength to these warriors today. May we honor them always.”
His words were echoed by the rest of the cats, quietly like a soft breeze. There was a stir of movement near the front, and Dovewing stood on tiptoe to see Cherrypaw and Molepaw approach the cats at the bottom of the cliff.
“We’re very sorry,” Molepaw mewed. “What we did was wrong, and broke the warrior code.”
“It won’t happen again,” Cherrypaw added.
Birchfall reached out with his tail and stroked the she-cat on her flank. “I believe you,” he meowed. He paused. “Will you patrol with me tomorrow, Cherrypaw?”
She nodded vigorously. “It would be an honor to patrol with any of you.”
Dovewing let out a sigh of relief.
“I still don’t know exactly what’s gone on, but whatever you’ve done, thank you,” Bumblestripe murmured. “This means so much to me.” He gazed warmly at his sister, who was surrounded by warriors asking if she was okay after the fight with the fox.
“I know it does,” Dovewing whispered. She pricked her ears as she spotted Lionblaze padding to his den. “Excuse me,” she mewed to Bumblestripe. She trotted after the golden tabby and stopped him at the entrance to the warriors’ den. “Lionblaze, we need to talk,” she announced. “Now.”
The warrior blinked once, then nodded. “I know. Come on, let’s find Jayfeather.”
The medicine cat was waiting outside the cave. He didn’t give them a chance to speak, instead turning his sightless blue gaze to meet them and saying, “It’s time. Let’s talk outside the camp.”
The three cats padded across the clearing and out through the thorns. Jayfeather led them a little way into the trees and jumped onto a fallen tree.
“Our powers have gone,” he mewed. “I have not been able to visit other cats’ dreams since the Great Battle, nor can I see into their minds when they are awake.”
“I can be injured,” Lionblaze meowed, sounding as confused as if he had only just noticed.
“And I can’t hear or see anything,” Dovewing admitted. She raised her head to look at her Clanmates. “Why has this happened?” she wailed. “Are we being punished because the Clan didn’t unite again after the battle? Or because too many cats died? Are we still the Three described in the prophecy?”
Jayfeather flicked his tail. “I don’t know,” he growled. “But I think there is somewhere we can find an answer. Are you two fit enough for a journey?”
“Of course,” Lionblaze replied, and Dovewing mewed, “I think so.”
Jayfeather jumped down from the tree trunk. “Follow me.”
CHAPTER 10
The Moonpool gleamed like a single silver eye, reflecting starlight and the empty night sky. Dovewing caught her breath as she padded down the spiraling path, feeling her paws slot into the impressions left by cats from countless moons before. “It’s beautiful!” she breathed.
Lionblaze shivered. “It’s creepy.”
Jayfeather led them to the edge of the water, as still as polished stone. “Lie down and close your eyes,” he meowed.
“What’s going to happen?” Lionblaze asked warily.
“StarClan will come to us,” Jayfeather answered. “They alone know why we have lost our powers, and what this means for the prophecy.” He settled himself on the smooth stone and tucked his paws underneath him.
Dovewing lay down beside him, then Lionblaze on his other side. Dovewing took one last look at the starlit water and closed her eyes. Her pelt prickled with excitement. StarClan, are you there?
The sound of rushing wind filled her ears, and she opened her eyes with a start. She was standing on top of a mountain surrounded by dark, starless sky. The wind tugged at her fur and cold seeped into her paws from the hard stone. Lionblaze and Jayfeather were beside her, leaning into the gale to keep their balance.
“Is this StarClan?” Dovewing yowled above the wind. Somehow she had expected it to be more . . . peaceful.
“No!” Jayfeather yowled back. “I don’t know where we are!”
Great StarClan! This isn’t the Dark Forest, is it? Dovewing thought in alarm.
Lionblaze pointed with his tail to the edge of the rocky plateau. “Look!”
Two figures were walking toward them out of the darkness. Not ancient cats lit with the light of stars, but mismatched, lumpen figures, unsteady in their gait and with fierce glowing eyes. One shape loomed over the other, broad-shouldered and narrow-snouted. The other lurched over the stony ground, its hairless skin gleaming in the half-light.
“Midnight and Rock!” Dovewing whispered. She felt the fur along her spine lie down. Not the Dark Forest, then.
The badger and the blind, bald cat stopped in front of them. Midnight dipped her head. “Welcome you are,” she barked. “Come far you have, after difficult time. Something to ask, I think?”
“Why can’t I hear anymore?” Dovewing blurted out. “Or see?”
Rock turned his cloudy blue gaze on her. “Oh, I think you can still see,” he murmured softly.
Dovewing felt hot with embarrassment. “Yes, of course, but it’s not the same. I used to be able to see everything! Now I can only see what’s right in front of me. And it’s the same with my hearing.”
“We’ve lost our powers,” Jayfeather put in. “The powers given to the cats in the prophecy. There will be Three, kin of your kin, who will hold the power of the stars in their paws.”
“Jayfeather thought StarClan might know why we’ve changed,” Lionblaze meowed.
Midnight turned her striped muzzle toward him. “Not from StarClan came these powers. But from older forces, from earth and water and stone and air. Losing your gifts you are, yes. That I cannot change. But losing them you are because they are not needed now.”
Dovewing struggled to untangle the badger’s words. “You mean, the Clans are safe now? They don’t need us anymore?”
“Your Clan will always need you,” rasped Rock in a voice that seemed to come from the wind itself. “And sometimes, so will the other Clans. But you will never face a battle that needs these powers again. The greencough that afflicts you now? That will be hard, but your medicine cats have the knowledge to treat you. You will still fight with your neighbors, but you have the skills to deal with them. Sometimes you’ll win, sometimes you won’t. That is the way of things.”
Midnight lumbered forward and rested her muzzle on Lionblaze’s head. “Brave warrior, do not lose faith. To enter battle when injuries are certain, that is true courage.” She shuffled along to Jayfeather. ?
??Medicine cat, wise you are, and such you know. Care for your Clanmates you can without walking in their thoughts and dreams. Let those hidden be from your sight.” Midnight reached Dovewing, and she felt a blast of stinking breath around her muzzle. “Small warrior, many dangers there are in a world when you are blind and deaf. But eyes and ears you have still. Use them as your Clanmates do. Weaker than them you will never be.”
The badger stepped back and heaved a great breath, as if so much talking had tired her. Dovewing wondered just how old she and Rock were. As old as the stars?
“Your powers helped the Clans to win the Great Battle,” Rock told them. “That is what the prophecy promised, and that promise has been fulfilled. You will feel lesser warriors without the powers, but you are not. Find strength in the courage and skills shared by your Clanmates. The Great Battle has been fought and won. A new time for the Clans lies ahead.”
“Remember also, Great Battle was not won by you alone,” Midnight warned them. “All Clans, all warriors, all queens and elders and kits and medicine cats fight together. To protect them all is not for you, powers or not. More has been lost than gift of sight or strength or dreams. But power of warrior code forever lasts.”
There was a crackle of lightning overhead, making Dovewing flinch and close her eyes. When she opened them again, Midnight and Rock had vanished and for a moment a ginger cat stood in front of her, his green eyes glowing with love.
“Firestar?” Dovewing breathed, but then the vision was gone and she was standing at the edge of the Moonpool with Jayfeather and Lionblaze. The water was as still as it had ever been.
Lionblaze turned to her. “Are you all right?”
Dovewing nodded. “Better than before,” she mewed.
Beside them, Jayfeather flicked his tail impatiently. “I have sick cats waiting for me. Come on, let’s see if we can get back before dawn.” He trotted up the spiral path, his gray pelt merging with the stone. Lionblaze followed but Dovewing hung back for a moment, staring into the pool. She felt a surge of hope welling up inside her.