The Blazing Star
Page 23
Wearily Sun Shadow headed toward his family’s sleeping hollows at the side of the cave. His half brothers and sister, Falling Dusk, Morning Star, and Melting Ice, were already awake, wrestling together and trying to see who could jump the highest. Dewy Leaf sat beside her hollow, grooming herself and watching the kits play.
“Are you okay?” she asked as Sun Shadow approached. “Does your face still hurt?”
“No, it’s fine,” Sun Shadow replied, settling down beside her.
Dewy Leaf gave him a sideways glance. “You don’t have to tell me how you got injured,” she meowed after a few moments. “I just want you to be safe—do you understand?”
I don’t want to be safe. But she’ll only get angry if I tell her that. Sun Shadow didn’t know how to reply, so he said nothing.
Dewy Leaf shifted uncomfortably, pausing as she drew her paw over one ear. “I’m sorry Sharp Hail is so hard on you sometimes,” she went on. “It’s just . . . oh, you really worry me, Sun Shadow! You’re so much like your father! Sometimes I don’t know what to do with you.”
Sun Shadow pricked up his ears at the mention of Moon Shadow. “How am I like my father?” he asked, his voice cracking with his need for an answer.
Dewy Leaf gazed at him affectionately. “You’re curious and brave,” she replied. “And sometimes reckless and selfish. And smart and cunning . . . Maybe I’m afraid that you’ll leave, like Moon Shadow did,” she finished quietly. “Maybe that’s why I hold you so close.”
Sun Shadow felt an ache in his heart at his mother’s words. He wanted to reassure her, but he couldn’t. Maybe she’s right. Maybe someday I will leave.
Suddenly he didn’t want to go on talking about his father. And there was something more urgent pressing on his mind. “Dewy Leaf,” he began, “what would happen to us if Stoneteller died?”
Fear flashed into Dewy Leaf’s eyes. “Why are you asking?” she meowed. “Is Stoneteller . . . ?”
“She’s fine,” Sun Shadow replied abruptly, staring at his paws, as if Dewy Leaf could read in his face his weird experience in Stoneteller’s den. “But what if . . . ?”
Daring to look up, he saw confusion in his mother’s face. “We’d go on as we always have,” she told him. “Some other cat would step up to lead us.”
She glanced toward the other side of the sleeping hollows. Sharp Hail had appeared and was teaching the young kits how to pounce.
Sun Shadow felt something shrivel inside him. Sharp Hail could never be our leader. He just couldn’t!
“But none of the other cats have visions like Stoneteller,” he objected.
“Not all leaders have visions,” Dewy Leaf told him. “In fact, Stoneteller was the first. There are other ways to lead.”
Sun Shadow nodded, aware that he knew exactly how Sharp Hail would lead. Even the bit of freedom I’ve got would be taken away from me.
“I should get back to Stoneteller,” he meowed, rising to his paws and heading for the back of the cavern.
“Don’t you want something to eat?” Dewy Leaf called after him, but Sun Shadow didn’t reply, increasing his pace until he could plunge out of sight down the tunnel.
When Sun Shadow emerged into the old cat’s den, he found Stoneteller awake, sitting beside one of the pools and watching the reflections of the clouds scudding across the sky. He padded up to her and dipped his head respectfully.
“Sharp Hail sent me to look after you,” he meowed.
Stoneteller looked up to meet his gaze. In spite of her age, her green eyes were sharp and full of wisdom. “That was kind,” she responded.
Kind? Sharp Hail? Sun Shadow bit back the words. “Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked.
Stoneteller thought for a moment. “You might freshen up the bedding in my sleeping hollow,” she mewed.
“Of course.” Sun Shadow padded over to the leader’s nest and began to stir up the moss and feathers that lined the hollow, wondering whether he would need to go out and find more. He noticed that one of the hunters had brought prey for Stoneteller: a small bird whose limp body lay beside the nest. There was no sign that Stoneteller had even touched it.
A sharp cry from behind him made Sun Shadow whirl around, to see Stoneteller had moved a few paw steps away from the pool. She had collapsed on her side with a look of agony in her eyes.
Swiftly Sun Shadow ran to her. “What is it?” he asked, fear and anxiety swelling inside him. “How can I help?”
Stoneteller let out a long, shaken breath. “Please . . . bring me some water.”
Sun Shadow grabbed a mouthful of moss from the nest and went to soak it in the pool. It seemed so little that he could do for the old she-cat. I’ll do anything I can to protect her . . . but what can any cat do? He wished he didn’t have so much faith in Stoneteller’s predictions. If her visions tell her that she’s going to die, then she’ll die.
“Thank you,” Stoneteller murmured as Sun Shadow laid the soaking moss down beside her. She sighed as she stretched out her tongue to lap. “That tastes so good.”
Sun Shadow watched her for a moment, then went back to the nest and fetched the bird. “Look, some cat has left this for you,” he meowed.
Stoneteller shook her head. “I’m not hungry,” she responded. “I haven’t been able to keep food down for days.”
Even more worried, Sun Shadow pushed the bird a little closer to her. “You should at least try,” he coaxed her.
Once more Stoneteller raised her head and fixed him with her brilliant green gaze. “You cannot save me,” she declared.
Sun Shadow felt his lower jaw beginning to tremble. “You—you are going to die, then,” he stammered.
“Yes, it’s my time.” Stoneteller reached out her tail and laid it reassuringly on Sun Shadow’s shoulder. “And my death will bring a time of great change for the mountain cats. But all will be well,” she went on at Sun Shadow’s gasp of apprehension. “A new leader will be chosen, and every cat will survive.”
Sun Shadow nodded, feeling his fears recede a little.
“But you will not be part of the Tribe by the time the new leader is named,” Stoneteller went on.
A bolt of understanding, fierce as lightning, passed through Sun Shadow at Stoneteller’s words. He stared at her in surprise.
“You knew that—didn’t you?” Stoneteller asked gently.
Sun Shadow felt as if his throat was as dry as a sun-baked rock. “Where—where will I go?” he rasped.
“That is for you to decide,” Stoneteller replied, though Sun Shadow sensed she could have said more if she had wished to.
“I could try to find my father,” he mewed eagerly, his heart beginning to pound with excitement at the thought of meeting Moon Shadow.
Stoneteller didn’t respond. Her jaws gaped wide in a yawn. “I’m tired,” she murmured. “I need to sleep.”
She staggered to her paws and Sun Shadow let her lean on his shoulder until she reached her nest. She sank down into the moss and feathers with a sigh and closed her eyes. Almost at once her regular breathing told Sun Shadow that she was asleep.
Once he was certain she was resting, Sun Shadow turned away and padded out of the cave. He tried not to think about how still and lifeless Stoneteller’s small, curled form looked, sunk among the bedding.
It’s too much like she’s . . .
Sun Shadow cut off the thought. He bounded across the floor of the main cavern, then padded along the narrow path that led behind the waterfall, until he emerged onto the rocks that overlooked the pool. Finding a flat boulder to sit on, he gazed around him at the mountain peaks that surrounded his home.
At first he hoped that he could make out some kind of destination to aim for when he was ready to leave. But everything looked so vast and frightening: a huge expanse of gray rock and scree, with only the occasional scrubby bush to break the monotony, or narrow streams winding their way down steep valleys.
How will I ever find my father in such a big, wide—messy—world?
Before Sun Shadow could find an answer to his own question, he felt a shadow fall on him. Looking up, he felt claws of terror gripping his chest. A hawk was hovering over him, its wide wingspan blocking out the sunlight. Frozen by panic, Sun Shadow watched as the bird swooped down, its talons extended to clutch and tear.
No! A horrible realization swept over Sun Shadow. Is this what Stoneteller meant? Is this why I won’t be part of the Tribe any longer?
Sharp Hail’s contemptuous words came back into Sun Shadow’s mind. A scrawny thing like you would never stand a chance against a hawk. Sun Shadow let out a whimper of fear. Is this my end? he wondered. Why?
The huge bird was almost upon him, letting out a harsh screech of triumph. The sound woke some deep instinct within Sun Shadow. I have to try to fight it!
He scrambled clear of the reaching talons, half jumping, half falling off the flat rock, and lashed out at the hawk with claws extended. But his blow missed the huge bird and instead he struck at the rock wall, letting out a yowl of pain.
There was no time to check if he had lost a claw. The hawk had mounted into the sky for a few wingbeats, then aimed for him again in a lethal dive.
Sun Shadow’s heart was pounding, and his whole body shook from ears to tail-tip. He bunched his muscles against the tremors and reared up, bringing his forepaws together to strike out at the hawk again.
This time his blow landed, catching the hawk and slamming it down on the ground. He caught a glimpse of its yellow, glaring eyes as it tried to slash at him with its beak. Sun Shadow dug his claws in harder, but the bird tore itself away with a frightened shriek. Kicking and flapping, it struggled back into the sky and flew off; a few feathers drifted down onto the rock beside Sun Shadow.
Panting hard, Sun Shadow watched the hawk until it faded to a dot in the distance. Triumph was gushing through him. I drove the hawk away!
Feeling more confident, Sun Shadow surveyed the landscape again. But then he remembered that he was supposed to be looking after Stoneteller.
What if she wakes up and needs me, and I’m not there? What if . . . ?
Sun Shadow ran quickly back along the path behind the waterfall and bounded across the cave.
“Hey, Sun Shadow!” Melting Ice called out. “Come and play with me!”
“Later!” Sun Shadow called back, waving his tail at his young half sister. I haven’t got time to play now.
He plunged into the tunnel that led to Stoneteller’s den, and found her facing the entrance, sitting with her tail curled around her paws. She was watching him with a clear gaze, as if she had been expecting him to appear.
“You know now, don’t you?” she mewed. “You’re ready.”
Sun Shadow instantly understood. “Yes, I’m ready to leave,” he replied. “I drove off a hawk out there, and that means I’ve proved myself.” Then sadness flooded over him as he realized where his paws were leading him. “I can’t leave you, Stoneteller,” he added. “Not like this!”
Stoneteller dipped her head gently. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve lived a long life, and soon I’ll be among friends. It’s time for you to find your own life, your own friends who will greet you when at last you make the journey to the stars.”
Sun Shadow blinked and dared to touch his nose to the old she-cat’s. “Thank you,” he purred.
That night, when his Tribemates had settled down to sleep and the cavern was quiet, Sun Shadow slid out of his sleeping hollow. He hesitated for a few heartbeats, looking down at his family. Sharp Hail, sleeping a little to one side. The three kits, nestled cozily within the curve of Dewy Leaf’s body.
Dewy Leaf . . .
Sun Shadow’s heart came near to breaking at the thought of leaving his mother. He knew how sad she would be when she realized that he was truly gone.
But I know her life is here, with Sharp Hail and my half brothers and half sister.
Sun Shadow bent over his sleeping mother and gently touched his nose to hers, not wanting to wake her. “I’ll be okay,” he promised in a whisper.
He drew back silently and padded across the cavern floor toward the waterfall. But before he reached the opening that led out onto the mountain, a meow sounded from behind him.
“Where are you going?”
Gulping, Sun Shadow whirled around to see Quiet Rain watching him from the top of a rock beside the cave wall, her eyes wide with alarm.
“Just—just out for some air,” he stammered.
Quiet Rain blinked. “Please, Sun Shadow. I’m not stupid. You were saying good-bye back there.”
Claws of desperation gripped Sun Shadow’s heart. “Don’t tell them!” he begged, padding up to Quiet Rain. “Don’t try to stop me. I need to do this.”
Quiet Rain jumped down from her perch, landing neatly on all four paws beside Sun Shadow. Though she didn’t speak, there was determination in her gaze.
She’s going to tell Sharp Hail! Sun Shadow thought, anguished.
He opened his jaws to beg Quiet Rain once more to let him go, but before he could speak a piercing cry came from the tunnel leading to Stoneteller’s den. Quiet Rain turned toward the sound, and while she was distracted Sun Shadow slipped out onto the path that led behind the waterfall.
Stoneteller is dying!
His paws were tugging at him to go back and do what he could to ease the old cat’s last moments, but he knew that if he did that, he would never get away.
I’m doing what she wanted. . . .
Sun Shadow emerged from the end of the path and began to scramble down the rocks, his paws sliding where the surface was slick from the spray of the waterfall. Down and down into the darkness . . . Sun Shadow’s heart was pounding, and he had no idea where he was going, only that he had to get away from the cave as fast as he could. Sharp stones poked into his pads, and once he almost hurled himself over a precipice because he didn’t see the curve in the path in time.
Sun Shadow drew back, shivering against the rock wall, trying to block out his glimpse of the dizzying depths. As he was gathering himself to go on, he heard paw steps approaching him from farther up the rocks.
Springing up, Sun Shadow tried to pick up the pace, to escape from the cat who was pursuing him.
“Wait!” a voice yowled from behind him.
Sun Shadow realized that the sound came from a she-cat. He halted in surprise and turned. Has my mother followed me to say good-bye? Then he spotted Quiet Rain only a few tail-lengths behind him on the path.
“I’m not going back!” he blurted out, his shoulder fur bristling.
“Of course you’re not,” Quiet Rain replied. “But we’d better hurry. Stoneteller has died, and Sharp Hail is waking all the cats.”
Even though he had known what was happening, Sun Shadow felt a pain gripping at his heart when he heard the news of Stoneteller’s death. Then as he fought with his grief, he realized what Quiet Rain had said.
“We?” he repeated.
“I’m coming with you,” Quiet Rain hissed, squeezing past him on the narrow path. “Now let’s hurry. The Sun Trail is long, and we don’t know what dangers we’ll face. . . .”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ERIN HUNTER is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior. She is also the author of the bestselling Seekers and Survivors series.
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BOOKS BY ERIN HUNTER
Book One: Into the Wild
Book Two: Fire and Ice
Book Three: Forest of Secrets
Book Four: Rising Storm
Book Five: A Dangerous Path
Book Six: The Darkest Hour
THE NEW PROPHECY
Book One: Midnight
Book Two: Moonrise
Book Three: Dawn
Book Four: Star
light
Book Five: Twilight
Book Six: Sunset
POWER OF THREE
Book One: The Sight
Book Two: Dark River
Book Three: Outcast
Book Four: Eclipse
Book Five: Long Shadows
Book Six: Sunrise
OMEN OF THE STARS
Book One: The Fourth Apprentice
Book Two: Fading Echoes
Book Three: Night Whispers
Book Four: Sign of the Moon
Book Five: The Forgotten Warrior
Book Six: The Last Hope
DAWN OF THE CLANS
Book One: The Sun Trail
Book Two: Thunder Rising
Book Three: The First Battle
Book Four: The Blazing Star
Warriors Super Edition: Firestar’s Quest
Warriors Super Edition: Bluestar’s Prophecy
Warriors Super Edition: SkyClan’s Destiny
Warriors Super Edition: Crookedstar’s Promise
Warriors Super Edition: Yellowfang’s Secret
Warriors Super Edition: Tallstar’s Revenge
Warriors Super Edition: Bramblestar’s Storm
Warriors Field Guide: Secrets of the Clans
Warriors: Cats of the Clans
Warriors: Code of the Clans
Warriors: Battles of the Clans
Warriors: Enter the Clans
Warriors: The Ultimate Guide
Warriors: The Untold Stories
Warriors: Tales from the Clans
MANGA
The Lost Warrior
Warrior’s Refuge
Warrior’s Return
The Rise of Scourge
Tigerstar and Sasha #1: Into the Woods
Tigerstar and Sasha #2: Escape from the Forest
Tigerstar and Sasha #3: Return to the Clans
Ravenpaw’s Path #1: Shattered Peace
Ravenpaw’s Path #2: A Clan in Need
Ravenpaw’s Path #3: The Heart of a Warrior
SkyClan and the Stranger #1: The Rescue
SkyClan and the Stranger #2: Beyond the Code
SkyClan and the Stranger #3: After the Flood
NOVELLAS