Darkness Within

by Erin Hunter

  Rootspring met her gaze. “You’re right,” he mewed. “But we thought the Sisters would understand more than any cat how important the dead are to the living.”

  Snow narrowed her eyes. “Surely these lost spirits have simply moved on to the next place.”

  Bristlefrost stretched her muzzle forward. “We can’t find out,” she mewed. “We’ve lost contact with StarClan.”

  “That’s where your ancestors go, right?” Snow tipped her head to one side.

  “Yes,” Bristlefrost mewed.

  Spotfur shifted beside her. “Where do your ancestors go?” she asked Snow.

  “Some of them stay around for a while,” Snow told her. “Watching over the cats they’ve cared for in life. But others disappear. Perhaps they know where they want to be. Perhaps they’ve always known.” The white she-cat shrugged. “But, if they have, they’ve never shared it.”

  Spotfur’s eyes glistened for a moment before she looked away. Rootspring guessed that she was thinking about Stemleaf, wondering where he had gone if StarClan was beyond reach.

  Snow’s gaze flitted over the gray-and-white she-cat’s wounds. “Let us treat your injuries,” she mewed softly.

  Spotfur lifted her muzzle. “They’re not deep,” she told the white she-cat. “They’ll heal by themselves.”

  Snow didn’t press but stared at Spotfur with interest, and Rootspring wondered for a moment if the white Sister had guessed, as Leaf had, that the Thunderclan warrior was carrying kits. Snow dipped her head, as though bowing to Spotfur’s pride, and changed the subject. “What do you want from us?” she asked, looking back at Rootspring.

  “We were hoping you’d come with us and help find Bramblestar’s spirit.” Rootspring searched her gaze. Would she help?

  “We can’t go anywhere right now.” Snow nodded toward a plump cream she-cat. “Sunshine is expecting kits.”

  Rootspring could see that the queen’s flanks were swollen and wondered how close she was to kitting. “Some of you could come with us, and the rest could stay behind,” he suggested.

  Sunshine blinked brightly. “The kits won’t be born for another half-moon,” she assured Snow. “I can still travel.”

  Tempest twitched her tail stiffly. “Why should we help the Clans? They drove us from our camp before Moonlight’s kits had even opened their eyes.”

  “They didn’t know Moonlight was kitting.” Furze blinked at her campmate. “And they took us in when they realized what they’d done.”

  Moon, the youngest she-cat, nodded. “One of their queens fed me and my littermates,” she mewed. “If they hadn’t, we’d have died.”

  She must have shared a nest with Needleclaw and me. Rootspring couldn’t remember her, but he tasted the air, wondering if he’d recognize her scent. When he didn’t, he shook out his pelt, disappointed.

  Furze’s pelt bristled along her spine. “If their Clans hadn’t killed Moonlight, you wouldn’t have needed their milk,” she mewed sharply.

  Snow met the ginger she-cat’s gaze. “Moonlight was killed by a rockfall.”

  “It killed one of their campmates too,” Hawk added. “Leafpool died alongside her.”

  Sunrise’s eyes were dark with distrust. “Perhaps it’s good that Bramblestar is gone,” she muttered.

  Bristlefrost stiffened. “Why?” She sounded as though she couldn’t believe her ears.

  “When I was injured, he refused to let his medicine cats treat me,” Sunrise told her. “I would have died if Leafpool hadn’t gone against his orders.” She stared at Bristlefrost. “Thunderclan may be better off with a new leader.”

  Rootspring saw Bristlefrost flex her claws and shot her a warning look. They couldn’t afford to offend the Sisters.

  Moon narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps we could help in exchange for something.”

  Rootspring shifted his paws self-consciously. The Clans had been clear that the Sisters would be tolerated but not welcomed. There was no way they would give the Sisters anything in exchange.

  Moon went on. “Do they have catmint?” she mewed. “Perhaps they could share some with us.”

  Snow sniffed. “If we help, we will do it out of honor,” she mewed. “Not for herbs.”

  “I’d like to see SkyClan again,” Furze ventured.

  Hawk nodded. “Squirrelflight was as brave as a Sister,” she mewed. “I’d like to pay my respects to her.”

  Hope prickled beneath Rootspring’s pelt as the Sisters exchanged glances, interest replacing the distrust in their eyes. Were they going to come? He lifted his chin. First he had to tell them of the conditions the Clans had put on their visit. His mouth felt dry. Asking for help had been hard enough. Telling the Sisters that they must follow the Clans’ rules if they came felt like an insult. But he’d promised Leafstar that he’d do it. He cleared his throat. “I’m afraid you’ll only be allowed on SkyClan land,” he mewed apologetically. He wouldn’t tell them that ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan had forbidden them from even talking to their warriors.

  Furze’s pelt spiked with anger. Tempest flattened her ears.

  Sunrise snorted. “How dare they tell us where we can go!”

  “Do the Clans think we must serve them while they dictate rules?” Snow asked, glaring at Rootspring.

  His heart sank. There was no way the Sisters would come back with them to the lake. As he gazed imploringly at Snow, wishing he could find the words to make her understand that the Clans could be kinder than they seemed now, a shape shimmered like a heat haze at the edge of the clearing and flickered into view. He stared in surprise. A large gray she-cat was crossing the grass. She stopped in the middle. Her pelt was translucent—an apparition so fragile that a shadow might dissolve it. A spirit. Rootspring’s heart quickened, then quickened again as he saw the Sisters watching it. He wasn’t the only one who could see her.

  “Moonlight.” As Snow dipped her head to the spirit, Bristlefrost gasped. Needleclaw and Spotfur followed the white she-cat’s gaze, their eyes clouded with confusion.

  “One of their ancestors is here,” Rootspring whispered to Needleclaw.

  Needleclaw’s tail twitched nervously. “Here? Now?”

  “She’s a spirit.” Rootspring stared at Moonlight. The gray she-cat was looking around the clearing, her gaze warm as it flitted from cat to cat. It met his and he felt a jolt of excitement. “You are Tree’s kit, aren’t you?” she mewed.

  Rootspring nodded nervously.

  Moonlight purred. “I am his mother.”

  He gasped, feeling a thrill of wonder flow through him. “I didn’t think I’d ever meet you.”

  “Really?” Moonlight’s whiskers twitched with amusement. “Even though you clearly have his gift?”

  Rootspring bowed his head. “I only learned I had it recently,” he admitted. He could feel Needleclaw, Bristlefrost, and Spotfur staring at him. They must be wondering what in StarClan he was talking about.

  Moonlight turned back to Snow. “You should help them,” she mewed.

  The Sisters exchanged glances around her.

  Snow’s ears twitched. “But they sound like they haven’t changed since they drove us from our camp.”

  “Squirrelflight and Leafpool were friends to us,” Moonlight mewed. “If Squirrelflight has lost her mate, then we must help her find him again. We owe her that much. She stood up for us when no other cat would.”

  “But they say we can only set paw on SkyClan land,” Furze mewed crossly.

  Moonlight blinked at them. “The Clans love making rules,” she mewed. “Let them if they must. You will not be with them long.”

  “They don’t respect us,” Sunrise argued.

  Moonlight’s eyes sparkled playfully. “Do we need their respect?” She gazed around her campmates once again. “Aren’t you curious about what’s going on?” she asked them. “If something is stopping spirits from wandering the forests, shouldn’t we find out what it is?”

  “Yes.” Hawk nodded. “If it affects the Clans’ anc
estors, it might affect ours soon.”

  The Sisters shifted uneasily.

  Snow dipped her head. “Moonlight is right,” she mewed. “The Clans are arrogant and foolish. But their lost spirits might be important to us as well as them. We should go with these cats and find out what’s happening.”

  Rootspring’s heart lifted. “So you’ll come?” He looked eagerly around at the Sisters. They might be able to save Bramblestar where the Clans had failed.

  Flurry and Sunshine nodded. Hawk paused for a moment then said, “Yes.”

  Furze met Snow’s gaze.

  The white she-cat returned it silently.

  “We will go,” Furze told her.

  Moonlight swished her tail. “I’m glad.” She turned, purring, and blinked at Spotfur. “But first we must celebrate new life.”

  The Sisters glanced at one another, then turned toward Spotfur.

  The Thunderclan she-cat’s pelt twitched warily. “What do they want?”

  Rootspring padded to the Thunderclan she-cat’s side. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “They know you’re carrying kits. I think they’re just congratulating you.” His eyes widened as more spirits began to appear, filling the gaps between the living sisters like gleaming mist. Along with the Sisters, they moved closer, encircling Spotfur, who watched the living cats among them, fear showing in her eyes.

  Rootspring pressed against her. “They don’t want to harm you,” he told her.

  Snow stopped in front of the gray-and-white she-cat. “We call on our ancestors to bring your kits a good and long life,” Snow told her. “Your kits are very special.” Around her, the Sisters and their ghostly ancestors lifted their muzzles to the sky and purred. Their throats rumbled with warmth and love until the clearing seemed to reverberate with the sound.

  Spotfur stiffened against Rootspring, clearly unnerved by the display, but as the Sisters went on, circling now, living and dead moving together, letting their pelts brush past the Thunderclan warrior, Spotfur slowly relaxed. Her eyes began to glow with gratitude as their purrs lifted into soft yowls and they raised their voices to the sky.

  Rootspring’s fur stood on end. Their chanting seemed to resonate deep in his belly. Bristlefrost’s gaze was glistening. She padded close to her Clanmate and, with Needleclaw, raised her muzzle and joined the Sisters’ song.

  Chapter 13

  As the sun began to slip behind the alders and melt between their branches, Bristlefrost settled deeper into the grass. The Sisters’ ceremony had left her feeling calm, and while Rootspring and Needleclaw had hunted with the she-cats, she had stayed in their camp with Spotfur.

  Spotfur was calmer too, as though she had been reassured by the Sisters’ song for her kits. For the first time since Stemleaf’s death, the grief that had shadowed her gaze had softened. Maybe she was ready to accept their kits. Had she finally glimpsed the happiness they could bring? Bristlefrost hadn’t asked. Spotfur had made it clear that she wanted to sit quietly and watch the river slide past the camp.

  When the hunting patrol returned, Bristlefrost was impressed by the amount of prey they carried. The Sisters must hunt like warriors even though they didn’t look like warriors. She’d thought the heavy she-cats would be too slow to catch more than the oldest prey. But the hole was filled with juicy mice and plump birds. Rootspring and Needleclaw had returned looking happy, their pelts fluffed, their eyes bright. Now, as Needleclaw eyed the prey, Rootspring padded toward Bristlefrost.

  “How is she?” He glanced at Spotfur as the Thunderclan queen passed him, heading for the prey-hole.

  “She seems better.” Bristlefrost followed his gaze.

  Snow dropped a rabbit at Spotfur’s paws. “Eat well,” she mewed.

  Spotfur dipped her head in thanks. As she carried the rabbit to the edge of the clearing, Needleclaw took a blackbird from the pile and settled beside the queen.

  Snow carried two mice to Rootspring and laid them on the grass. “It was good to hunt with you,” she mewed. “Tree taught you well.”

  “Tree wasn’t my mentor,” Rootspring told her.

  The white she-cat blinked in surprise. “Don’t toms teach their kits how to hunt in the Clans?”

  “I guess Tree taught me some things,” Rootspring conceded.

  “But our mentors train us mostly,” Bristlefrost explained. “When we reach six moons old, we become apprentices, and we’re each assigned a warrior to train us in hunting and battle skills.”

  Snow’s eyes widened, but she didn’t comment, turning back to find her own piece of prey while the rest of the Sisters shared their catch and settled around the clearing.

  Rootspring nudged one of the mice toward Bristlefrost and sat down beside her to eat his.

  “Thanks.” She hooked it closer, happy to be near him, and let her tail rest across his as she took a bite of the mouse.

  Sunrise glanced toward them. Affection warmed her gaze as it fell on their tails.

  Bristlefrost stiffened and flicked her tail away from Rootspring’s, suddenly self-conscious.

  Sunrise blinked at her. “There’s no need to be shy.” She exchanged glances with Hawk, whose whiskers twitched with amusement. “I’m glad the kin of my kin has found someone who’s clearly so fond of him.”

  Shame washed through Bristlefrost. She could feel Needleclaw’s sharp eye burning into her pelt. “We’re just friends,” she mewed quickly.

  Sunrise eyed her indulgently, clearly unconvinced.

  Bristlefrost’s ears twitched. She liked Rootspring; she liked him a lot, but she hadn’t meant to be so obvious. Had every cat noticed? She glanced at the others. Moon’s eyes sparkled knowingly. Hawk and Tempest were focusing on the squirrel they were sharing, but she wondered if they silently agreed with Sunrise. Did every cat think they were mates? “We’re just friends,” she repeated.

  Rootspring tucked his tail tightly beside his body. “Good friends,” he mewed. “But that’s all.”

  “They can’t be anything else.” Needleclaw’s black-and-white pelt was prickling along her spine.

  Sunrise looked puzzled. “Why not?”

  “Rootspring would never be so disloyal to his Clan,” Needleclaw told her.

  Snow narrowed her eyes. “What does his Clan have to do with it?”

  Bristlefrost shifted uneasily. “Warriors can’t take mates from a different Clan.” She didn’t look at Rootspring, but she was so aware of him beside her she had to fight to keep her pelt from ruffling. “We can be friends,” she went on. “But not mates.”

  Hawk looked up from her squirrel. “But what if you fall in love with a cat from another Clan?”

  “We’re not supposed to,” Bristlefrost told her.

  Hawk stared at her. “But what if you do?”

  Needleclaw’s tail flicked crossly. “A true warrior is loyal to their Clan above all things,” she mewed. “Even love.”

  “But why?” Snow’s gaze flitted from Needleclaw to Bristlefrost.

  Bristlefrost avoided it. “How can we protect our Clanmates if our heart lies in another Clan?”

  “Each Clan has its own borders,” Needleclaw added. “We couldn’t defend them properly if cats we loved were on the other side.”

  “So you are only allowed to love what’s inside your borders?” Hawk frowned.

  “Who made such a rule?” Snow asked.

  “It’s part of the warrior code,” Needleclaw told her. “It’s part of what binds a Clan together and keeps it safe.”

  Tempest ripped a strip of flesh from the squirrel. “It sounds like it must make life harder, not easier,” she mewed, chewing.

  “The warrior code isn’t there to make life easier!” Needleclaw glared at her. “It’s to help us be the best warriors we can be.”

  Bristlefrost frowned. Would she really be less of a warrior if she loved Rootspring? How could that be? She’d fight to the death for him as well as her Clan. Didn’t that make her stronger, not weaker?

  Needleclaw hadn’t finished.
“I don’t know why you’re being so superior.” She looked challengingly at Snow. “The Sisters have rules too. You don’t allow toms to live with you at all!”

  Rootspring shot his littermate a look. Bristlefrost guessed he was warning her not to pick a fight with these cats. They had agreed to help them find Bramblestar.

  “It’s true.” Snow inclined her head. “Toms don’t live with us, but we would never tell a Sister who she can love. If one of us wants to leave and travel with a tom, we don’t stop her.” She eyed Needleclaw. “Sunrise had another littermate besides Tree, called Ice. But she left us to travel with her mate. We miss her, of course, but we’re not angry she chose him over us, and if she ever wants to return, we will welcome her without question. You make it sound like loving a tom is betraying your Clan.”

  “That’s because it is!” Needleclaw snapped.

  Bristlefrost felt she ought to defend the Clans. “Ice still had to leave the group to be with her mate. You wouldn’t allow her to stay once she’d made her choice.”

  “Exactly!” Needleclaw swished her tail triumphantly. “There’s no real difference between our rule and yours.”

  Snow returned her gaze coolly. “Except that we don’t shame one another for what’s in our hearts.”

  Spotfur suddenly looked up from her rabbit, meeting Snow’s gaze. “Warriors haven’t always followed the rules.” Bristlefrost blinked at her. She didn’t realize the queen had been listening so closely. The others jerked their muzzles toward Spotfur, as though they were surprised to hear her speak too.

  Spotfur looked around the group of cats thoughtfully. “Cats from different Clans have fallen in love before,” she mewed. “And they’ve followed their hearts. Finleap left SkyClan to be with Twigbranch in Thunderclan.”

  “That was different.” Needleclaw glared at her. “They were living in the same Clan when they fell in love.”

  Spotfur blinked at her calmly. “What about Dovewing and Tigerstar? Dovewing left Thunderclan to become his mate.”

  Needleclaw sniffed. “It just proves that you can’t love someone outside your Clan. Finleap and Dovewing abandoned their birth Clans to be with the cats they love. I doubt any cat will really think of them as true warriors again.”