by Erin Hunter
“What was it?” Lionblaze leaned closer.
“StarClan froze in front of me and shattered like ice until there was nothing left. StarClan was destroyed.”
Dovepaw stared at him. “So we’re on our own?”
Jayfeather shrugged. “ThunderClan has the Three, so ThunderClan must be the one to survive.”
Lionblaze began to pace. “So I’m supposed to fight this battle for everyone?” The tip of his tail flicked angrily. “Great StarClan, why can’t I just have a normal life like any other cat?”
Dovepaw frowned. She thought Lionblaze liked being part of the prophecy. Why was he suddenly acting like he didn’t want to be so powerful? He had always encouraged her to embrace her own powers, and at last she was beginning to enjoy them. Thanks to her super senses she could hear Tigerheart wherever he was. She could hear him hunting with his Clanmates; she could listen to his breathing as he fell asleep in his nest. . . . She jerked her thoughts back. This wasn’t the time to think about Tigerheart. “But why does Ivypaw have to keep visiting the Dark Forest?” she demanded.
“We need to know what they’re up to,” Jayfeather told her.
“We know what they’re up to,” Dovepaw retorted.
“But we don’t know when they plan to strike, or if they’re behind this plan to divide the Clans.” Jayfeather leaned closer to Dovepaw. “Ivypaw could find out for us.”
Dovepaw flinched away. “You want her to spy? Don’t you think she’s in enough danger already? If Tigerstar found out she was spying, StarClan knows what he’d do to her.” Sickness welled in her throat. “No! There’s no way you’re going to put Ivypaw through that. Not even if the whole Clan depends on it!”
She spun around, spraying snow, and stormed through the bracken. Lionblaze and Jayfeather didn’t care about Ivypaw at all! She was just a way of getting what they wanted. First they wanted to use me, and now they want to use Ivypaw.
Pulsing with rage, Dovepaw raced to the top of the slope. The trees thinned at the crest, and she saw the lake below, glittering under a clear blue sky. She might as well use her anger to help her Clan. Plunging down the snowy slope, she headed for the lake. She would hunt.
Where the shore stretched toward the forest stream, Dovepaw picked up the scent of prey. She stopped, her paws aching with cold, and tasted the air.
Water vole.
She padded forward, dipping her nose to sniff the ground. She soon picked up the scent in the snow and saw tracks. Treading lightly, she followed the tiny paw prints along the shore to where the trees lined the stream as it flowed into the lake. After hopping onto the bank, she snuffled her way upstream, weaving through the trees until she spotted the vole—a small, dark shape crouched beside the water. It was focused on the morsel grasped between its front paws.
Dovepaw dropped into a hunting crouch and pulled herself across the snow, keeping her tail and belly high to stop her fur from brushing loudly against the powdery whiteness. She crept closer. The vole kept nibbling, oblivious to the danger. Dovepaw stopped above it. She waggled her hindquarters, then plunged down the bank.
The vole felt warm and fat between her paws, and she finished it off with a sharp, killing bite. Fragrant and limp, it hung in her claws. Her mouth watered from the scent. It was the best piece of fresh-kill she’d seen in days.
“Well done!” Ivypaw called from the opposite bank. Her silver-and-white fur was camouflaged against the snow. She splashed through the shallow, freezing water and scrambled onto the shore beside Dovepaw. “Nice catch.”
Dovepaw wrinkled her nose. Ivypaw’s fur was still matted with herb pulp. Then she noticed that Ivypaw’s eyes were feverishly bright. “You should be resting in camp,” she mewed. “Didn’t Jayfeather say those scratches were infected?”
Ivypaw bristled. “So?” She lifted her muzzle. “They’ve got ointment on.”
“I wasn’t criticizing,” Dovepaw mewed quickly. “I’m just worried about you.” She dropped her catch in front of Ivypaw. “Here, have a bite.” She didn’t want to argue with her sister.
Ivypaw shook her head. “That would be against the warrior code,” she pointed out.
“Just take a small bite,” Dovepaw urged. “You look starving. I’ll say it got damaged in the hunt.”
Ivypaw narrowed her eyes. “No, thank you,” she growled. “I’m not the one who likes breaking the warrior code.”
“What?” Dovepaw stared at her in surprise.
“I’m not the one who disappears at night to meet a ShadowClan warrior.”
Dovepaw’s heart seemed to drop in her chest like a stone. Ivypaw knows about Tigerheart! “How did you find out?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t smell him on you?” Ivypaw’s tail lashed. “Not very loyal, is it? Spending every night with a tom from another Clan?”
Dovepaw stiffened. “At least we’re not putting anyone in danger.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Every time you go to the Dark Forest, you betray your Clanmates.”
“That’s not true!” Ivypaw hissed. “I’m learning to be a great warrior so I can help my Clan!”
“Yeah, right!” Dovepaw snapped scornfully. “Just like Tigerstar. He was a great warrior!”
“He was!”
“He became ShadowClan’s leader. He tried to kill Firestar!” How could Ivypaw be so dumb?
Ivypaw glared at her, eyes cold as ice. “Aren’t you going to ask how I recognized his smell?”
Dovepaw blinked, confused. “What?”
“Don’t you think it’s odd how easily I recognized Tigerheart’s scent?”
Dovepaw froze, her blood draining into her paws. She remembered the look Ivypaw and Tigerheart had shared in battle.
“H-how did you know?” Dovepaw cringed beneath her pelt. She didn’t want to hear the answer. She didn’t want to hear that Tigerheart had been seeing Ivypaw, too. That he’d lied to her. That she wasn’t the only ThunderClan cat that occupied his thoughts.
“I meet him almost every night,” Ivypaw crowed.
“You can’t; he’s with me!”
“Not all night.”
Dovepaw backed away. “Don’t say that! He likes me, not you. Have you been following him? Find your own mate! Leave him alone!”
Ivypaw padded closer. “Oh, I don’t like him in that way. I’m not a soppy dove like you. I’m a warrior, and so is Tigerheart.”
Dovepaw wished she were deaf, wished she could see Ivypaw’s mouth moving without hearing the words.
“Tigerheart doesn’t spend every night cooing in your ears,” Ivypaw taunted. “He’s one of the best warriors the Dark Forest has. That’s where his loyalty lies. Not with you!”
“That’s not true! You’re just jealous!” Dovepaw shrieked at her sister. She couldn’t believe these lies. “You’re jealous that I’m a better warrior than you. I always have been and I always will be, and you can’t stand it. And now you’re jealous that Tigerheart loves me and not you! You want to destroy everything I’ve got because you’re jealous. That’s all!”
Ivypaw’s eyes gleamed. “Really? Why not ask Tigerheart?”
“Shut up!” Dovepaw scrambled up the bank. “If you tell anyone that I’m seeing Tigerheart, then I’ll tell the whole Clan you’ve been training in the Dark Forest with Tigerstar, and then you’ll have no friends. Everyone will hate you as much as I do!” She pelted through the trees.
“You forgot your catch,” Ivypaw called after her.
“You take it!” Dovepaw yowled back. “Then your Clanmates might think you’ve done something right for a change!”
She raced on, blocking out the thoughts that whirled in her head. The ShadowClan scent line was close. Its smell bathed her tongue. Had Tigerheart really betrayed the Clans by the lake? She skidded to a halt and pricked her ears. Casting out her senses, she searched for Tigerheart.
She’d done it so often that it was easy to find him. She could hear his mew, hear his paws on the forest floor. She knew their
sound—strong and certain. He was with Clanmates. She listened harder. Ratscar, Pinepaw, and Snowbird. Purrs rumbled in their throats as Pinepaw fell into a snowdrift with a soft thump.
They sounded happy. Dovepaw wished she were with them. She wished she were playing in the snow with Tigerheart, certain that he loved her. She wanted to be with him all the time.
Maybe she should join ShadowClan? The idea flashed wildly in Dovepaw’s mind, making her heart soar.
Don’t be stupid! I’m one of the Three. She couldn’t leave Jayfeather and Lionblaze to face the Dark Forest warriors alone. And deep down, she knew that she couldn’t leave Ivypaw. Pain pierced her heart like a thorn. She shouldn’t have said all those things. She’d been cruel. She’d made it sound like the Clan didn’t want her sister around.
Suddenly Dovepaw felt sick. What if Ivypaw decided to stay in the Dark Forest forever? She whirled around and raced for home. She’d apologize to Ivypaw. She’d tell her she’d been wrong.
But that wouldn’t be enough! Ivypaw would still keep visiting the Dark Forest. She didn’t understand she was being used. Dovepaw pushed harder against the frozen snow. Trees blurred beside her. Ice cracked beneath her paws.
What’s the use of all this power if I can’t keep my own sister safe?
Chapter 17
Flametail scraped snow hopefully from the roots of an old tree stump. He sighed as he uncovered leaves blackened by frost. Why wasn’t there a single herb that thrived in the season when sickness was most deadly? Littlecloud was already sick. The Clan was weakened by hunger. It was only a matter of time before whitecough threatened every den.
“Ow!” Pinepaw’s mew rang through the trees.
Tigerheart answered her. “That’s what you get for messing around.”
His brother’s hunting patrol was near. Flametail kept digging. “Mouse dung.” He cursed as he revealed more rotten leaves.
Tigerheart came bounding through the trees. “What’s up?”
Flametail shook snow from his paws. “I can’t find any fresh herbs,” he sighed. “Not even nettles.”
The rest of the patrol caught up. “Need help?” Ratscar offered.
“We’ve got time,” Snowbird explained. “The prey’s hiding, too.”
Pinepaw leaned over Flametail’s shoulder. “What are you doing?”
Flametail’s nose twitched. He smelled something green on the apprentice’s pelt. He twisted and sniffed harder.
“Do you mind?” Pinepaw ducked away. “I washed this morning!”
“Where’ve you been?” Flametail demanded.
Pinepaw jerked her head toward the trail they had left in the snow. “Near the larch.”
Tigerheart purred. “Pinepaw fell into a snow drift.”
“There were brambles underneath it,” Pinepaw complained. “I’ve got prickles in my fur.”
“Brambles beneath the snow?” Flametail felt his spirits soar. “That’s why I can smell fresh borage on your fur!”
Snowbird narrowed her eyes. “I think your littermate’s gone pigeon-brained,” she murmured to Tigerheart.
“Flametail knows what he’s doing.” Tigerheart flicked his tail at his brother. “Don’t you?”
“The brambles will have kept the snow off the borage leaves,” Flametail explained. “They won’t be frost-scorched.”
Ratscar padded forward. “I’ll show you where we were.”
But Flametail was already hurrying back along his Clanmates’ trail. “Don’t worry,” he called. “I can follow your paw prints.”
“You won’t have trouble finding where Pinepaw fell!” Tigerheart called after him. “The hole’s big enough to hide a hare.”
Flametail trotted along the tracks left by his Clanmates, his fur pricking with excitement when he saw a drift rise in front of him, the snow dented where Pinepaw had fallen into it. He burrowed through, ignoring the cold that stung his paws, until he felt the first stab of bramble. Wincing, he drew back the stems and saw, safely sheltered, the dark green leaf of unscorched borage.
Thank StarClan! He nipped off as many leaves as he could reach, then shuffled backward out of the snowy burrow. But worry still pricked his pelt. If only it had been catmint or even tansy. Borage was only good for easing fever. It didn’t drive out infection, and Littlecloud’s lungs were thick with it. What if his sickness turned to greencough? With no catmint, Flametail would be helpless.
He pushed the thought away. Enjoy StarClan’s blessings, he reminded himself.
Flametail headed for the camp. He liked the cold, crisp weather, and though it made his paws ache, he enjoyed the crunch of snow.
“Flametail!”
As he ducked through the camp entrance, Tawnypelt hurried to meet him. “You’ve found herbs!” She licked him roughly on the cheek. “Well done!”
Flametail screwed up his face, reminding himself that he was lucky to have such affectionate kin. Sometimes at Gatherings he glimpsed Breezepelt eyeing Crowfeather and Nightcloud with undisguised rage. Crowfeather and Nightcloud never noticed; they were usually too busy exchanging harsh words between themselves.
“You’re looking thin,” Tawnypelt fretted.
Flametail shrugged. His jaws were too crammed with borage to speak. Of course he looked thin. It was leaf-bare.
Tawnypelt glanced toward the medicine den. “You’d better go to him. He’s been coughing again.”
Flametail brushed his mother’s cheek with his tail as he hurried away. The medicine den smelled of infection. Flame-tail dropped the borage beside the store. “You should be in your nest.”
Littlecloud was slowly sorting leaves at the back of the den. The fresh herbs were piled on one side; the dry were pushed to the other. “There’s no feverfew at all,” he sighed.
“Let me help,” Flametail offered.
“I can manage.” Littlecloud burst into a fit of coughing, which sent the dried leaves fluttering over the den floor.
Flametail gently steered the medicine cat to his nest. “I’ll find the comfrey and take it to the elders’ den,” he promised.
“Stupid cough,” Littlecloud grumbled as he climbed into the moss. He looked relieved as he sank into its softness. “It’ll clear up in a day or two.”
“Of course.” Flametail padded to the herbs. Littlecloud had been saying the same thing for days. He’d been too sick to travel to the Moonpool again, and he was no better now.
Flametail had been secretly relieved that Littlecloud hadn’t gone to the Moonpool, because he hadn’t gone, either. Raggedstar had told them to stay away from the other medicine cats. With Littlecloud too sick to travel, Flametail could obey Raggedstar without arguing with his mentor. When half-moon had come, Flametail had gone alone into the forest and waited out the night in the shelter of a hollow log.
He started tidying the leaves that Littlecloud’s cough had scattered.
“Have you had any dreams?” Littlecloud asked suddenly.
Flametail began to roll a wad of comfrey ready for Tallpoppy. “No.”
“What about when you went to the Moonpool at half-moon?”
Flametail stiffened. “It was the same as before. We must stand alone.”
A growl sounded in Littlecloud’s throat. “Why are you lying?”
Flametail stopped rolling the comfrey. “Lying?” he echoed, trying to keep his voice calm.
“About going to the Moonpool.” Littlecloud’s nest rustled. “I’ve been waiting for a quarter moon for you to tell me the truth.” He coughed hard. “When you got back, there was no scent of water or stone or the other medicine cats on you. Only damp wood and fear.”
Flametail turned to face his mentor. “I’m sorry.” He meant it. He searched for the right words to explain what was going on. “Raggedstar told me to stay away from the other medicine cats, remember? I’ll go to the Moonpool alone if you like.”
“Why are you so sure you interpreted your vision correctly?” Littlecloud challenged.
“There was nothing to interpret!
” Flametail swallowed against the frustration rising in his throat. “Raggedstar was clear. War is coming. We must rely on our ancestors to guide us through it. No one else!”
“But Blackstar agrees with me. We must be cautious.”
Flametail flexed his claws. “I’m a medicine cat. I answer first to StarClan!”
“If war is coming, alliances may be our only hope!” Littlecloud’s mew was growing hoarse. “Joining forces with the other Clans kept us alive on the Great Journey, and before that it helped us to defeat Scourge and BloodClan.”
Flametail stared at his mentor. “That was then. This is now. Times have changed.”
“The warrior code never changes.”
“We’re not warriors!” Flametail snapped. “We’re medicine cats.”
Littlecloud stared back with wide, milky eyes. A cough seized him and shook his body. Flametail rushed to Littlecloud’s nest and began to massage his scrawny chest with both paws, trying to ease the tightness he could hear in the cough. He hated arguing with his mentor. Especially when he was sick. Littlecloud had taught him everything he knew, and he trusted him with his life. But Littlecloud hadn’t shared the vision of flame. It had been given to Flametail alone.
Flametail jerked away. Why had StarClan shared the warning only with him? He watched Littlecloud being racked with coughs. Was the old medicine cat going to die? Grief hollowed Flametail’s belly. He began rubbing Littlecloud’s back more urgently.
Gradually the coughing eased. Littlecloud lay back in his nest, fighting for breath. “You must always be honest with me,” he rasped.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about not going to the Moonpool.” Flametail smoothed Littlecloud’s clumped fur with a paw. “I didn’t want to upset you.” He met his mentor’s anxious gaze. “But I couldn’t disobey StarClan.”
Littlecloud nodded. “I understand,” he croaked. “I only ask for the truth.”
“Now you have it.” Flametail straightened. “We must stand alone. Raggedstar has made that clear, and I’m going to honor his wish.”
“Must I?” Littlecloud asked. “I’ve had no dreams. No visions. I’ve no reason to abandon old friends.” His voice was hardly a whisper.