“They’re not between here and ShadowClan,” Brambleclaw told Firestar.
“That just leaves Lionblaze and the abandoned Twoleg nest,” Firestar meowed. His voice was heavy with concern. “If they don’t find them—”
He broke off as more cats emerged from the tunnel. Lionblaze was in the lead.
“I found them,” he announced.
Jayfeather tensed at the sound of his brother’s voice. Lionblaze wasn’t pleased or relieved; instead he sounded strained. Something’s wrong.
“Are Dovewing and Ivypool okay?” he called out.
“We’re fine,” Dovewing replied, pushing through the thorns after Lionblaze.
Ivypool followed her, and Whitewing bounded across the clearing to meet them.
“Where have you been?” she demanded, her furious words broken up with purrs of joy as she pressed herself against her daughters. “We’ve been frantic!”
Jayfeather could sense the young she-cats’ embarrassment.
“What’s the big deal?” Ivypool muttered. “We only went for a walk.”
Firestar rose to his paws and padded over to them. “You’re safe, and that’s the most important thing,” he meowed. His voice grew stern as he went on. “Tomorrow we’ll have a talk about letting your Clanmates know where you are at all times, especially when we’re being threatened by our neighbors.”
“Okay,” Dovewing responded in a small voice.
“We’re sorry,” Ivypool mewed.
The she-cats were heading for their den when Lionblaze spoke again. “Wait.” His voice was still strained. “That’s not all I found.”
Jayfeather heard another rustle from the entrance, followed by a gasp from his Clanmates. He strained to detect a scent. The newcomer was a cat that smelled more of earth and stones and ferns than the other warriors, but underneath there was a faint layer of ThunderClan scent.
Can it be . . . ?
“Hollyleaf!” Cinderheart gasped. There was a patter of paw steps as she rushed past Jayfeather. “You’re alive!”
Jayfeather felt as if the ground were unsteady beneath his paws, and he staggered. She’s come back! Even though he had suspected that his sister hadn’t died in the tunnels ever since he and Lionblaze had found no trace of her body, it was still a shock to have her walk into the camp. He stood back as the other cats crowded around her, the quiet air buzzing with their comments and questions.
“It’s really Hollyleaf!”
“Where have you been all this time?”
“How did you survive?”
It was a few moments before Hollyleaf could get a word in. When she spoke at last, her voice was muted and a little hoarse, as if she weren’t used to speaking.
“I lived underground,” she mewed, “and I hunted in the woods on the other side of the hills, outside the territory.”
“But the tunnel collapsed!” Poppyfrost protested.
“Not on top of me,” Hollyleaf meowed. “I found a way out.”
Jayfeather thought that she sounded tired and troubled, as if the very last thing she wanted to be doing was standing in the center of the hollow answering questions from her old Clanmates.
“Well?” Lionblaze spoke close to Jayfeather’s ear. “It looks like we were right.”
“Was it Hollyleaf who chased off the fox?” Jayfeather asked.
“It seems so,” his brother replied. “And she found Dove-wing and Ivypool in the tunnels tonight, and brought them out.”
So they didn’t just go for a walk, Jayfeather thought. Why am I not surprised?
There would be time later to question the sisters about that. “Hollyleaf could have gone much farther if she didn’t want to stay in the Clan. She must have known that we would find out she was there eventually,” he commented.
Lionblaze let out a sigh. “Perhaps that was what she wanted. Perhaps she was tired of living alone.”
“She took a risk.” Jayfeather twitched his whiskers. “What if the truth had been discovered about Ashfur’s death?”
“It must have been a risk worth taking.” Lionblaze’s voice was full of sympathy.
Jayfeather realized he wasn’t as ready as his brother to welcome Hollyleaf back. The Clan seemed to be treating her as a returning hero, and he couldn’t share that. All along he had suspected—hoped with every hair on his pelt—that his sister was alive. He had wanted her to come back because he missed her so much, but now that Hollyleaf was actually here, all he could think about was how complicated the future was going to be.
“She told all the Clans about Leafpool and Crowfeather,” he reminded Lionblaze. “It’s because of her that every cat knows we are half-Clan, and that Squirrelflight lied about being our mother.”
“That wasn’t Hollyleaf’s fault,” Lionblaze pointed out.
“But she didn’t stay here to deal with it afterward, did she?” Jayfeather hissed. “And how will the other Clans react to her? She caused a lot of trouble, there’s no getting around that. Cats have long memories.” He paused and then added, “What do you think will happen now? Will she stay?”
“I don’t know,” Lionblaze mewed. “I guess we’ll have to let her decide.”
There was a stir among the knot of cats in the center of the clearing as Leafpool pushed her way through to Hollyleaf’s side. “Oh, my precious daughter, you came home!” Her voice was quivering. “I’m so, so sorry for what happened. None of it was your fault, none of it.”
Jayfeather could tell from the tension in the air that Hollyleaf was shrinking away from Leafpool. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t want the joyous reunion that most of the Clan seemed to be expecting.
He felt another cat brush past him, heading for the warriors’ den. Brambleclaw. No wonder that he wants out of this happy gathering. Squirrelflight had lied to him, too, letting him believe that the three cats were his. Was there any part of Brambleclaw that wanted to welcome Hollyleaf home as a daughter?
Squirrelflight wriggled through the cats until she reached Hollyleaf. “I’m glad that you’re alive,” she mewed, her voice steady. “And that you’re looking so well.”
“Thanks. I . . .” Hollyleaf didn’t seem to know how to respond.
“That’s enough for now,” Firestar broke in. “It’s time we all went back to our dens. Hollyleaf, Molepaw and Cherrypaw will make a nest for you.”
“Thanks,” Hollyleaf repeated. She sounded confused as she continued, “The hollow . . . something looks different.”
“A tree fell into it!” Molepaw meowed excitedly. “Come with us, and we’ll tell you all about it . . .”
As the cats dispersed, their paw steps and their astonished comments dying into silence, Firestar padded up to Jayfeather and Lionblaze. “You too,” he ordered. “Rest now. You can spend as much time as you want with your sister tomorrow.”
I’m not sure I can face that, Jayfeather thought. I don’t know what to say to her.
Before he could leave for his den, Ivypool and Dovewing padded up, their uneasiness as plain as if they had yowled it from the Highledge.
“Firestar, we’ve got some urgent news,” Dovewing began. “When we found Hollyleaf—or when she found us—we were listening to Sol plotting with some WindClan cats to attack ThunderClan!”
“I knew we couldn’t trust Sol,” Jayfeather hissed. “Where is he now?”
“Not here.” Firestar sounded grave.
Jayfeather snorted. “What a surprise!”
“Firestar, should we attack WindClan?” Ivypool asked.
“That’s not a good idea,” Firestar responded; Jayfeather could feel his anxiety rising. “Onestar is already looking for any sign of hostility, so we’ll have to wait for him to make the first move. But we’ll be ready,” he added. “I’ll order extra patrols, and every cat must be ready for battle at a moment’s notice.”
Jayfeather heard Lionblaze working his claws into the earth of the camp floor. “It’s not that simple,” he meowed. “WindClan will attack through the tunnels
, like they did before. ThunderClan cats have no experience in fighting underground, and that means we’ll have to wait until the attackers are right in the heart of our territory.”
“We have the advantage in forests,” Firestar reminded him. “Whatever the risk, we will have to bring the battle to us.”
For the rest of the night Jayfeather slept uneasily, shifting about in his nest, the darkness broken by flashing images of places he didn’t recognize: a rocky slope; a pool by the gnarled roots of an oak; a wide river glittering in starshine. The sound of a cat brushing past the bramble screen brought him back to full wakefulness. He recognized Hollyleaf’s scent, carried on a damp dawn breeze.
“Hi.” Briarlight greeted her confidently. “I’m Briarlight; I’m Jayfeather’s assistant. I’ll wake him for you.”
Jayfeather heard the sound of Briarlight dragging herself out of her nest, followed by a surprised meow from Hollyleaf. “Oh, you can’t . . .”
“Walk?” Briarlight finished for her. “Not really. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be useful.”
“N-no, I guess not,” Hollyleaf mewed.
Jayfeather rose to his paws and padded into the middle of the den. But when he stood facing his sister, his mouth went dry. He had no idea what to say to her.
“I’m back,” Hollyleaf mewed after a long silence.
“Yes.” Jayfeather had to force out the word.
“Can we go for a walk?” Hollyleaf suggested. “Lionblaze, too? There’s . . . there’s a lot I need to tell you.”
Clouds covered the sky as Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf headed out into the forest. The air carried the scent of rain and a chilly breeze blew into their faces. But Jayfeather felt ruffled by more than just the wind. None of the three spoke until they emerged from the trees onto the grassy slope that led down to the lake and sat in the shelter of an elder bush. Then Hollyleaf took a deep breath.
“Thank you,” she mewed. “I guess you didn’t tell Firestar what . . . what I did.”
“There was no point,” Lionblaze replied. “It was much easier for every cat to think it was a rogue who killed Ashfur.”
Jayfeather couldn’t entirely agree, but he said nothing, keeping his face turned toward the lapping of waves on the shore.
“Didn’t any cat think it was odd?” Hollyleaf asked. “The timing, I mean?”
“I don’t think any cat stopped to wonder about it,” Jayfeather grunted. “There was a lot of other stuff going on, if you remember.”
“Yes, of course.” Hollyleaf’s voice was meek. “What about now? Will you tell Firestar the truth?”
“Why would we?” Lionblaze burst out. Jayfeather could imagine his brother’s golden neck fur bristling.
“Because I got away,” Hollyleaf pointed out.
“But you didn’t really,” Lionblaze meowed. “You exiled yourself from the Clan; that’s quite a punishment.”
Something about his brother’s words made Jayfeather’s pain well up and spill over like rain overflowing the edges of a leaf. “No!” he hissed. “You let us think that you were dead! How could you do that?”
For a few heartbeats Hollyleaf was silent. “I had no choice,” she murmured at last. “You were better off without me.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make,” Jayfeather told her. “And you were wrong. You’re our littermate. Nothing you could do will ever change that.”
Hollyleaf sighed. “But I’m not one of the prophecy, am I? Does that mean I’ve ruined everything? That the prophecy won’t come true?”
Jayfeather felt Lionblaze look sharply at him. He took a deep breath. “There is a third cat. You met her last night. She’s Dovewing, Whitewing’s daughter.”
Hollyleaf let out a puff of breath. “Well . . . maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that I met her in the tunnels last night. What . . . what can she do?”
“Her senses are very sharp,” Lionblaze explained. “I mean, really. She knows what’s going on in the other territories . . . and even farther away. A few seasons ago, when the lake dried up, she knew it was some animals called beavers who had built a dam way upstream.”
Hollyleaf made a small noise that sounded as if she was impressed. But Jayfeather picked up feelings of grief and envy, too . . . not a bitter jealousy that would make her Dovewing’s enemy, but a deep regret that she was excluded from something that her littermates shared.
If only Hollyleaf had been part of the prophecy, he thought. She would have taken her place in it so seriously . . . maybe it would have stopped her from doing what she did.
The words of the latest prophecy came back to Jayfeather’s mind. Three will become four . . . He wondered if Hollyleaf could be the fourth cat, even if she hadn’t been part of the original prophecy. But sensing the trouble in his sister’s mind, he decided not to say anything yet. I’ll discuss it with Lionblaze first.
“Are you going to stay?” Lionblaze asked Hollyleaf.
“I think so,” she replied. “For a while, at least. After all, you’ve got a problem with Sol. If . . . if I can help you, then I will.”
“Isn’t it great that Hollyleaf came back?” Briarlight purred as soon as Jayfeather pushed past the bramble screen into his den. “Why did she stay away for so long?”
“Maybe you should ask her,” Jayfeather grunted. “Meanwhile, you can sort out those borage leaves and take some to Sorreltail to help her milk come.”
“Okay.” Briarlight didn’t sound offended, just a bit mystified that Jayfeather didn’t want to answer.
“And after that, do your exercises,” Jayfeather went on. “I’ll be away until tomorrow. I’m going to the Moonpool.”
Until he spoke, Jayfeather hadn’t been aware that he had made the decision. But when he left the camp, after a quick word with Brambleclaw to tell him where he was going, he felt a burden lifting from his shoulders. It was good to be alone with his thoughts. His fears about the Dark Forest had receded into the background. Sol was their biggest threat.
And Hollyleaf has come back. That could change everything.
The air was growing cooler as Jayfeather slid through the bushes that ringed the Moonpool and padded down the spiral path. Though he couldn’t see, he knew that darkness was falling. His paws slipped easily into the prints left by the ancient cats, and grief welled in his heart.
Half Moon . . .
Jayfeather pushed away the thought of the cat he had loved, the cat who had been dead for seasons upon seasons. He crouched at the water’s edge and touched his nose to the surface of the pool.
After a little while the splashing of the waterfall faded and Jayfeather slept. He opened his eyes on sunlight, and rose to his paws to find himself in a clearing in StarClan territory. The grass was long and lush, and the trees that surrounded him were weighed down with damp green leaves. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized that Yellowfang wasn’t waiting for him.
But there was no sign of the cat he wanted to see, either. Choosing a direction at random, Jayfeather set out. His ears were pricked and he glanced rapidly from side to side as he headed into the trees, passing through glades and leaping over small streams. The air was fresh and clear, loaded with prey-scent, and a warm breeze ruffled Jayfeather’s fur. But his errand was too urgent for him to stop and hunt, or bask in the sun.
From time to time as he searched, Jayfeather passed other cats; some of them were old and faded, the trees visible through their misty outlines, while others were young and bright against the green ferns. They didn’t notice Jayfeather, or if they did, they didn’t recognize him.
Then Jayfeather spotted the cat he was looking for. He stood a little way off through the trees: a muscular gray warrior, his tail twitching as he scented the air for prey.
Ashfur.
Jayfeather crept closer, using the shadows of the trees for cover, then jumped in surprise as Bluestar leaped down from a branch above his head and stood in front of him.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the former ThunderC
lan leader meowed.
“I just want to talk to him,” Jayfeather retorted defensively.
“Why?” Bluestar asked.
“Hollyleaf is back,” Jayfeather replied, craning his neck to see if Ashfur was still there. “I . . . I want to know if Ashfur thinks that’s okay.” When Bluestar didn’t respond, he continued, “I mean, he’s here, so StarClan must believe he was a good cat, and that means he shouldn’t have died the way he did.”
Bluestar still stood in front of him, blocking his path, her intense blue gaze fixed on him. “But you’ve kept Hollyleaf’s secret, haven’t you?” she prompted. “You could have told Firestar or any cat the truth before now.”
“No, I couldn’t have! She’s my sister!” Jayfeather protested.
Bluestar rested her tail on his shoulders, drawing him away from the gray warrior. “You won’t learn anything by talking to Ashfur,” she mewed. “He knows who killed him, and why. Perhaps he did a lot to bring it on himself, perhaps not. It is not StarClan’s place to judge him.” As Jayfeather opened his jaws to argue, she added more sternly, “If he found his way here, then he must deserve to be here. That is what we all have to believe.”
Jayfeather sighed and shook his head. “I don’t understand . . .”
“There are some things that are beyond understanding,” Bluestar told him, sounding more sympathetic. “How can we say that Hollyleaf deserved to be in StarClan and Ashfur didn’t, or the other way around? Things are different here. Some cats even forget parts of their life that they don’t want to remember.”
“But . . . I don’t know if Hollyleaf deserves to be back in ThunderClan,” Jayfeather meowed.
“That’s not your decision, either.” Bluestar twitched the tip of her tail. “Hollyleaf has her own conscience to answer to. Ashfur paid a high price for what he did wrong—and so did she. Perhaps justice has been served.”
Chapter 15
Lionblaze opened his eyes in his nest in the warriors’ den. Gray dawn light was filtering through the branches; a breeze found its way through the gaps and probed his mossy bedding with cold claws. Lionblaze yawned and tried to blink away sleep, then sat up sharply as Cloudtail crashed into him.