“How’s she doing?” she asked Dust Muzzle.
Wind Runner paused and lifted her gaze hazily. “I’m doing okay,” she rasped.
It was strange for Moth Flight to see her mother so weak. She’d always seemed stronger than any cat.
Dust Muzzle exchanged a look with Moth Flight. She saw fear flash in his eyes as he glimpsed the busy Thunderpath. “We’ll never get her across there!”
“We have to,” Moth Flight told him.
Spotted Fur narrowed his eyes. “If we get the timing right, we could just do it.”
Moth Flight looked at him hopefully.
“We might have to stop in the middle,” he added.
“Stop in the middle?” Moth Flight could hardly believe her ears.
Dust Muzzle was following Spotted Fur’s gaze. “There’s a narrow channel where the monsters pass each other. If they don’t touch each other, they won’t touch us.”
Moth Flight’s belly twisted with fear as she realized they’d have to try. It was their only chance. “Okay.” She turned toward the Thunderpath and headed slowly toward it.
She could hear her mother’s breathing as she struggled to keep up. Wind Runner was fighting for every breath. Her injured hind paw was tucked beneath her. Moth Flight couldn’t imagine the pain that compelled her to keep it from trailing along the ground.
She fixed her thoughts ahead before fear could overwhelm her. We’re going to do this!
As they neared the Thunderpath, she began to judge the gaps between the monsters once more. As the rain grew heavier, the monsters seemed to slow, the gaps between them widening.
“Come on!” They had to cross while the rain was at its heaviest. She crouched at the edge of the black stone, screwing up her eyes as a monster hurtled past. Filthy water arced like a wave over her back and sprayed Spotted Fur, Dust Muzzle, and Wind Runner as they caught up.
“Give me a moment to catch my breath,” Wind Runner growled. She slumped as Dust Muzzle stepped away, her flanks heaving.
Moth Flight leaned close to her muzzle. “I hope I can be as brave as you one day.”
Wind Runner lifted her gaze. “You already are.”
“Let’s go!” Dust Muzzle nosed Moth Flight away, pressing hard against Wind Runner. A wide gap had opened between two monsters.
This was their chance. Moth Flight hopped onto the Thunderpath, pausing to make sure Wind Runner was following. Spotted Fur and Dust Muzzle half carried the WindClan leader onto the stone. Wind Runner fought to find her paws. “I can do this!” she hissed through gritted teeth. Shaking the toms away, she limped forward. Moth Flight turned to face the oncoming monster. It pounded toward them, its eyes flaring. Another monster hurtled toward them from the other direction.
“Wait here!” Spotted Fur screeched, throwing himself against Wind Runner. Moth Flight ducked into her mother. Dust Muzzle pressed against them. Moth Flight screwed up her eyes, and her heart seemed to burst as the two monsters screamed past on either side. Foul water drenched her pelt as the ground shook beneath her paws.
“Move!” Dust Muzzle’s order was sharp.
Moth Flight opened her eyes and saw that the way to the far side was clear.
Wind Runner straightened with a groan of pain and hobbled toward the verge. Spotted Fur pushed his shoulder beneath her and urged her on. The roar of another monster screamed in Moth Flight’s ears. She turned her head, blinded by the glare of its eyes.
“Don’t look! Run!” Dust Muzzle shoved her forward and she stumbled over the edge of the Thunderpath, collapsing onto the muddy grass beyond as the paw of a monster whisked past her tail. The wind from its passing tugged her dripping fur.
“Wind Runner!” She looked around, fear shrilling through her. Wind Runner was lying on the grass a tail-length ahead.
Spotted Fur half cradled her against his belly. He struggled from beneath her. “I fell,” he grunted, shaking rainwater from his fur. Dust Muzzle hurried to help Wind Runner to her paws.
Moth Flight was on his heels. “Are you okay?” She sniffed her mother’s broken leg. The swaths of comfrey were hanging from it loosely. Wind Runner flinched as she touched it with her nose.
Moth Flight looked into her mother’s eyes, seeing agony spark in their amber depths. Then she looked back at the Thunderpath. Monsters streaked back and forth, picking up speed as the rain began to ease. The gaps closed between them. There was no way back now. They had to keep going.
“Can you do this?” She searched Wind Runner’s gaze, praying she’d say yes.
Wind Runner nodded and struggled to her paws. Dust Muzzle and Spotted Fur flanked her.
Moth Flight blinked through the rain, scanning the meadows ahead. Perhaps she’d find some poppy seeds along the way. Anything to ease her mother’s suffering.
They crossed the sodden fields slowly. Mud clung to their paws as they skirted meadows and squeezed beneath hedgerows. Every few steps, Moth Flight glanced up at Highstones, hoping each time that they’d loom larger. But it seemed that, with each paw step, the great, dark cliffs were moving farther away. We’ll never make it! Staring at the ground, Moth Flight trudged on. She could hear Wind Runner swallowing back gasps of agony. Rain thrummed her pelt as the fields around them darkened. She focused on the mud clogging her paws as she tried to block the fear churning in her belly. She flattened her ears against the pained growling of Wind Runner.
Was I wrong? Doubt sliced into her thoughts. What if she’d misunderstood her dreams? What if the moth had nothing to do with StarClan? Moths and butterflies danced across the heather all greenleaf. Why was this one special?
She lifted her head, blinking at Spotted Fur and Dust Muzzle as they helped Wind Runner squeeze beneath a hedge. She could hardly see them in the darkness. Dusk was passing and night rolling in.
Had they come all this way for nothing? She stopped, frozen with fear.
“Moth Flight?” Dust Muzzle’s call jerked her from her thoughts. She stared at him as he turned from the hedge and headed toward her. “Are you all right?”
“What if I was wrong?” she whispered.
“You’re never wrong,” Dust Muzzle told her.
Moth Flight hardly heard him. “Gorse Fur said that if she’s going to die, she should be with her Clan. And we’ve taken her away from them.”
“She’s with us.” Dust Muzzle leaned closer, keeping his mew low. “And she’s not going to die.”
Moth Flight looked past him. She could just make out the shapes of Spotted Fur and Wind Runner beyond the hedge. The WindClan leader was lying on the ground. Moth Flight darted forward, panic spiraling in her chest. She wriggled under the hedge and sniffed Wind Runner’s muzzle. Was she still breathing?
“I’m just resting,” Wind Runner grunted.
Moth Flight’s paws trembled beneath her as relief swept her pelt.
“Did you think I’d give up when we were so close?” She lifted her chin from the muddy earth and looked toward Highstones.
Moth Flight blinked in surprise. They were nearly there! As she gazed up at the sheer cliff face, green wings fluttered above her. She looked up and saw the moth bobbing toward the dark opening in the stone.
Hope flared in Moth Flight’s belly. I must trust myself more! “Come on!” She nosed Wind Runner gently to her paws. “We have to get there before the moon does.”
“Are we racing the moon?” Wind Runner glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, amusement flashing through her pain. “I always told Gorse Fur you were a strange one. . . .”
Affection opened like a flower in Moth Flight’s chest.
Then Wind Runner coughed, her paws buckling beneath her. Moth Flight smelled the scent of fresh blood. She pressed her shoulder against her mother’s as Dust Muzzle slid around the other side. Wind Runner’s fur felt warm and wet and Moth Flight guessed that her neck wound was bleeding heavily now. Please let her make it. Praying to StarClan, she began to guide Wind Runner onward. I just hope the Moonstone can save you.
CHAPTER 34
“You have to wait here.” Moth Flight gazed solemnly at Spotted Fur. She nodded to Dust Muzzle. “You too.”
They had managed to haul Wind Runner over the stone lip of the cave. Wind Runner leaned against Dust Muzzle, her eyes clouded. She murmured under her breath. “Where’s Gorse Fur? Tell him I’m coming.”
Moth Flight glanced at her mother anxiously. Wind Runner was clearly lost in a feverish world of pain.
Dust Muzzle peered into the darkness at the back of the cave. “Where’s the Moonstone?”
“It’s down a tunnel,” Moth Flight told him.
“Can you get her there alone?”
“I must.” She was their medicine cat. She alone must guide her mother to StarClan.
Spotted Fur shifted his paws uneasily. “We could help her there and then leave.”
Moth Flight hesitated. Wind Runner was exhausted. Do I really have the strength to help her though the tunnel? Outside, the clouds were clearing, revealing the night sky. Stars stretched to the distant moor. So much depends on me. Spotted Fur and Dust Muzzle were hunters—moor runners who fed the Clan. My bond with StarClan is special. Her belly hardened. She met Spotted Fur’s gaze. “I must do this alone.”
Sliding between Wind Runner and Dust Muzzle, she staggered as she took Wind Runner’s weight. “Come on,” she whispered, hoping her mother could hear her.
Wind Runner padded forward unsteadily. Moth Flight pressed her paws hard against the stone, trying to keep her balance as she steered the WindClan leader toward the back of cave. As darkness swallowed them, she became sharply aware of her mother’s rasping breath and the scuffing of their paws as they limped together into the tunnel. The air grew cold, swirling around them like freezing water. The tunnel sloped beneath Moth Flight’s paws. The dank scent of stone was masked by the iron tang of Wind Runner’s blood. A droplet smacked the tunnel floor. Moth Flight felt it spray her paws. Another drop fell, the sound ringing around the stone walls.
Moth Flight pushed on faster, heaving her mother forward with every step. Don’t die. Her heart quickened. Wind Runner’s dripping blood spattered her fur. Ignoring the fear that was tightening like bindweed around her heart, she focused on moving forward, letting her whiskers brush the cave wall where she could, carefully following the twisting tunnel deeper into the earth. Every sense was fixed ahead, every thought willing Wind Runner on. You can do it.
Her mother’s breath was growing uneven—a few short breaths, followed by the desperate drawing in of air. Moth Flight swallowed. Each breath sounded like Wind Runner’s last.
Moth Flight smelled fresh air. It felt warm on her nose after the icy chill of the tunnel.
The cave!
They’d made it.
A few more steps and the walls opened into the Moonstone cavern. Soft starlight filtered through the hole in the roof. The Moonstone rose, still and dark, from the middle of the cave floor. Grunting with effort, Moth Flight heaved her mother forward and let her collapse against it. Wind Runner gasped as she fell, then lay still.
Moth Flight backed away, heart pounding.
Her mother didn’t move.
“Wind Runner?” Moth Flight’s paws felt rooted to the stone. She stared, terror clutching her chest. Was it too late?
Suddenly the Moonstone blazed into white fire. Moth Flight flinched, screwing up her eyes. Through a slitted gaze, she saw moonlight flooding through the hole in the roof.
She strained to see her mother, and could just make out her body, a dark shadow against the glittering stone.
Please move. Desperately, she willed Wind Runner to twitch an ear, or move a paw. Show me you’re alive!
A soft mew sounded beside her ear.
Everything will be fine.
Moth Flight froze as she recognized the mew. Her breath stopped in her throat as she smelled a familiar scent. “Micah?”
Fur brushed hers and she snapped her head around, meeting his gaze a muzzle-length from hers.
Micah blinked slowly at her, his pelt sparkling with starlight. His warmth seemed to melt into her and she realized suddenly how cold and wet she was. She softened against him, letting herself lean into the familiar curve of his flank. He pressed his cheek against hers. “You’ve done so well.” His mew was thick with love.
Joy flared in her chest. “Will Wind Runner be okay?”
“You’ve done all that you can,” he breathed. “Now she belongs to StarClan.”
She stiffened. Belongs to StarClan? Was she dead?
Micah’s breath stirred her ear fur. “One day you will gather the scattered petals of the Blazing Star, but not yet.”
She drew away from him and stared into his green gaze. “What do you mean?”
He blinked at her. “Just watch,” he whispered. He turned his head toward the Moonstone.
Moth Flight followed his gaze. Around the shimmering rock, pelts were appearing, sparkling as though stars were woven into the fur.
StarClan had come.
Gray Wing stepped from among the ranks of starry cats and stopped beside Wind Runner. He turned to Moth Flight. “You are more like your mother than you imagine,” he told her gently. “It took courage to bring her here. And strength. More than you knew you had.” He dipped his head. “But it also took something even your mother does not share. You are special, Moth Flight. You can see what is hidden from ordinary cats. You can read signs and understand their meaning.”
Moth Flight glanced at her mother, slumped against the rock. Wasn’t Gray Wing going to heal Wind Runner? “Don’t waste time!”
Gray Wing’s gaze didn’t waver. “You must understand the importance of this skill.”
“Any cat can follow a moth.” Impatience prickled through Moth Flight’s fur.
“Few cats would understand which moth will lead their Clan to safety,” Gray Wing told her.
“I haven’t led my Clan anywhere.” Moth Flight’s heart began to quicken. She looked for Micah. He wasn’t behind her anymore. She glimpsed his pelt among the other spirit-cats. “I only brought you Wind Runner. You’re going to save her, right?”
“We can’t save this life.” His words echoed from the walls, ringing in Moth Flight’s ears.
She stared at him, feeling sick. “But you have to!”
Gray Wing stepped back while StarClan moved at the edges of the cave, forming a glittering ring around the blazing Moonstone.
Moth Flight’s heart seemed to stop. “Don’t let her die!”
“We can only give her our gift.” Gray Wing leaned down and touched his nose to Wind Runner’s head as she lay against the rock. “Wind Runner, with this life I give you the determination to bring unity to all the Clans.”
Wind Runner suddenly jerked, as though sharp teeth had seized her body. She shuddered, her fur bushing.
As Gray Wing stepped away, the WindClan leader lifted her head and blinked. She staggered to her paws and stood unsteadily, staring at the circle of star-flecked cats.
Moth Flight wanted to race forward and press her muzzle to her mother’s cheek, but her paws felt frozen, her body too stiff to move. She watched helplessly as another cat stepped forward. Moth Flight recognized Petal from her first meeting with StarClan. The she-cat leaned toward Wind Runner, who blinked at her, confused.
“With this life,” Petal told her, “may you learn to love friendship and loyalty above all things.” She touched her nose to Wind Runner’s and Wind Runner trembled, her ears flattening.
“Please don’t hurt her,” Moth Flight called. “She’s suffered so much already.”
Micah’s gaze flashed toward her, soft with sympathy. Moth Flight stared at him pleadingly. He blinked slowly, as though reassuring her again that everything would be fine.
Wind Runner swayed on her paws as Petal drew away. Her eyes sparked with fear as Turtle Tail took Petal’s place. She recoiled, tucking her broken leg tighter beneath her.
“Don’t be afraid, Wind Runner,” Turtle Tail soothed. “We are g
iving you a gift. A gift for all the Clans.”
Wind Runner straightened, pushing her injured leg to the ground. Moth Flight’s paws turned cold as she saw her mother grimace, as though gritting her teeth against pain.
Turtle Tail reached her head forward. “With this life, I give you stubbornness to keep going in the face of future troubles.”
Wind Runner moaned softly as Turtle Tail touched her, the fur lifting along her spine. Moth Flight felt sick. She knew her mother was suffering. She tensed as Wind Runner tensed and, as Turtle Tail stepped away, she felt limp with relief.
Wind Runner turned her head to stare at the star-pelted cats crowding the cave. She blinked as though noticing them for the first time. Then her eyes widened as a gray tom padded toward her. Her ears twitched. “What are you doing here?” There was a snarl in her mew.
Moth Flight tipped her head, curious. Who was this strange cat? She hadn’t seen him before.
The tom dipped his head as he stopped in front of Wind Runner. “I know you hate me for leaving you.”
Wind Runner hissed. “You’re a coward, Branch! You abandoned me before I could even hunt properly! There’s nothing I want from you!”
“I didn’t mean to leave you.”
“Yet you left me all the same!” Wind Runner narrowed her eyes. “It was the kindest thing you ever did for me. If you hadn’t disappeared, I’d never have met Gorse Fur. He’s a better cat than you could ever be! He has given me love and loyalty, and kits that I’m proud of.”
Moth Flight frowned. Who was this? Clearly a cat her mother had known when she was young. As she strained to recall her mother’s stories, Branch spoke.
“You deserve a cat like Gorse Fur far more than you deserved me.” He leaned forward and touched his nose to her head. “With this life, I give you the confidence to open your heart to other cats. I give you trust.”
Wind Runner jerked again, trembling as his touch sent pain searing through her. But Moth Flight didn’t flinch. This was like it had been in her dreams. Wind Runner must endure it, just as the other cats had and, when it was over . . . Moth Flight narrowed her eyes. When it was over, then what?