Bluestar's Prophecy

Chapter 15

As Bluepaw scrambled into the darkness, cold earth pressed against her flank. She could hear rabbit paws scrabbling ahead. Blind in the blackness, she followed her nose, feeling the sides of the tunnel with her whiskers. The scent of rabbit was so strong, her mouth watered. It drew her on, even though the burrow sloped downward into the dark, airless earth.

I have to catch that rabbit. Losing the squirrel still pricked her conscience. She pushed away the fear growing in her belly.

“We should go back,” Snowpaw whispered behind her, “before we get lost.”

“We can’t get lost,” Bluepaw hissed. “There’s only one tunnel.”

She padded onward, relieved when the burrow began to slope upward and the fresh scents of forest began to mingle once more with the musty odor of rabbit and soil. She could taste stone and lichen and the tart tang of pines. They were near Snakerocks.

Daylight filtered into the tunnel ahead, and she quickened her pace. Once out in the open the rabbit could head anywhere, and its scent would be hard to follow in such windy weather. Bluepaw burst from the burrow and paused to taste the air as Snowpaw popped out behind her.

“Can you see it?” Bluepaw whispered, concentrating on the flavors bathing her tongue. Her pelt pricked. She could smell rabbit.

She could also smell blood.

And the stench of fox.

“StarClan help us!” Snowpaw’s terrified gasp sounded behind her.

Across the small clearing in front of them Bluepaw saw the fox. It stood with its bony shoulders squared, the rabbit dangling dead in its jaws.

A fierce gust of wind shook the trees and the forest flashed with lightning. It lit up the fox, throwing his shadow against the dark wall of Snakerocks. Thunder cracked. The fox snarled and dropped the rabbit, turning its hungry gaze toward them.

“Run!” Snowpaw’s shriek sent Bluepaw pelting up the bank, with Snowpaw’s white pelt flashing a tail-length behind. There was no way Bluepaw was letting the fox pursue them underground, in its own territory.

They hurtled through the trees, ducking through brambles and swerving around bracken.

“It’s following us!” Snowpaw’s mew was a terrified whimper.

Bluepaw could hear the fox thundering after them, its paws shaking the ground. She didn’t dare look back. She could hear it slither on leaves, only tail-lengths behind, never pausing for a moment. The forest was lit up again as lightning flashed and thunder exploded overhead. Bluepaw shrieked as she felt hot breath on her heels and pushed on faster. The stench of fox breath bathed her, and she heard its jaws snap a whisker from her tail.

Up ahead, Snowpaw plunged over the ravine.

It would never follow them down there!

Bluepaw hurtled after, relief flashing as she sent stones rattling down the rocks. A thump sounded behind her. She glanced over her shoulder.

The fox had jumped down after them! It was racing along the trail, a tail-length behind.

“StarClan save us!” Bluepaw wailed, praying her Clanmates would hear and come to their rescue. Slithering down a boulder she crashed after Snowpaw, who ducked out of her way and pelted the last length down the tumble of stones.

“Come on!” she screeched.

But Bluepaw was already half sliding, half falling down behind her.

Nearly there!

The camp entrance was within sight. They would be safe beyond the gorse tunnel.

Panic shot afresh through Bluepaw.

What if it follows us through?

Lionpaw and Goldenpaw would be playing in the clearing. They would be easy prey for a fox.

She had led it there. She must stop it.

As Snowpaw pelted through the gorse tunnel, shrieking a warning, Bluepaw skidded to a halt and turned.

The fox leaped at her and she reared on hind legs, ready to swipe at its snarling jaws. She didn’t think about being brave or risking her life. She just knew the fox could not reach the camp.

The sky flashed and a great crack sounded tail-lengths above. Bluepaw looked up.

Lightning!

A splintered branch fell between her and the fox and crashed onto the forest floor, alive with licking yellow flames. The fox yelped in surprise as the branch barely missed it. It whirled around in panic and scrambled back up the ravine.

Her heart pounding, Bluepaw stared at the branch. It crackled in front of her nose, the heat searing her whiskers and scalding her muzzle. Frozen with shock, she stared until teeth grasped her scruff and tugged her back.

“You’ll get yourself killed!” Sunfall’s growl brought her to her senses as he spat out her neck fur.

“The gorse barrier will catch light!” Speckletail’s panicked mew sounded from behind. The Clan cats were streaming from the camp, their eyes wide with horror. The branch was burning so ferociously, Bluepaw felt her pelt tingle. If the gorse caught fire, the flames would sweep through the camp, engulfing every den.

“StarClan help us!” Smallear’s desperate cry rose above the crackling flames.

Please! Bluepaw begged silently.

The storm crashed overhead and rain pelted down, driving through the canopy, pounding the bushes, thundering on the forest floor. The branch crackled and hissed as the rain doused the flames, until nothing but a charred log fizzled in front of the astonished Clan.

“Wow!” Lionpaw’s excited mew broke the silence.

“What are you doing out here?” Speckletail shooed him inside.

“I wanted to see it burn!” he complained.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Slowly Bluepaw realized that Sunfall was talking to her. She dragged her gaze from the branch and stared blankly at her mentor. Her heart slowed as she took a huge gulp of air. It stank of smoke and made her cough.

“Come on,” Sunfall meowed. “Let’s get you to Goosefeather.”

“I’m here.” The medicine cat was standing at the entrance of the tunnel, his eyes round, the fur bristling along his spine. He seemed mesmerized by the smoke rising from the extinguished branch, and his mew sounded far away. “I’ll take her to the medicine den.” Wordlessly he escorted her to his soft, grassy clearing. “Wait here,” he murmured, disappearing into the crack in the rock.

As her shock eased, Bluepaw’s whiskers and muzzle began to sting. She backed away when Goosefeather returned holding an ointment-soaked leaf in his jaws. “Will it hurt?” she asked.

“It will soothe the pain,” he promised softly.

She held still as he gently smeared the ointment over her muzzle. His eyes seemed to be searching hers, but she couldn’t figure out what he was trying to see.

“Will I be scarred?” she asked nervously.

Goosefeather shook his head. “The fur on your nose is just singed,” he reassured her. “It’ll grow back in a moon.”

Then why were his eyes glittering with worry?

Maybe I’m imagining it.

Suddenly Goosefeather leaned closer. “Like fire, you will blaze through the forest,” he hissed.

“What?” Bluepaw flinched away. Had he gone mad?

“The burning branch was a sign from StarClan.” His eyes glittered. “You are fire, Bluepaw, and you will blaze through the forest.”

Alarmed, Bluepaw backed away. What was he talking about?

“But beware!”

She stiffened.

“Even the most powerful flames can be destroyed by water.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m telling you what the burning branch meant,” he growled.

Don’t be silly! This was the cat who had told his Clan that a vole’s fur meant they should attack WindClan, and look what had happened!

Snowpaw came bounding in. “Are you all right?” She sniffed at Bluepaw’s nose, wrinkling her own. “What did he put on it?”

“Comfrey and honey.” Goosefeather’s voice had returned to normal. “It’ll soothe the pain and stop infection.”

“You were so brave,” Snowpaw mewed. Her tail was flicking excitedly as she circled Bluepaw. “I couldn’t believe it when I ran into the camp and you weren’t with me! I thought the fox had got you. But when I came out again there you were facing it! And then the branch fell down and you didn’t move! You looked like a real warrior!”

“Hush!” Goosefeather silenced her. “Weedwhisker’s in that nest.” He nodded to a gap hollowed in the ferns. “He’s recovering from bellyache. I don’t want him to be disturbed.”

Snowpaw dipped her head. “Sorry.”

“Out, both of you!” Goosefeather ordered briskly. It was as though he hadn’t mentioned a prophecy at all. Bluepaw wondered if she’d imagined it, or if he was just playing a joke on her. She turned and followed Snowpaw from the den. As she padded down the fern tunnel, a voice sounded in her ears. “You are fire, Bluepaw. Fear water.”

She whipped around to see if Goosefeather was following, but his speckled gray back was only just visible at the far side of the clearing as he checked on Weedwhisker. Spooked, Bluepaw hurried to catch up to Snowpaw.

Stormtail was waiting for them in the clearing. His eyes gleamed as Bluepaw joined them. “You faced a fox!” He sounded genuinely pleased, but his expression darkened as he went on. “But you’re not a warrior yet, so no more fox-fighting on your own.”

Before Bluepaw could respond, Lionpaw raced over with Goldenpaw on his heels.

“I wish I’d been outside. I would have fought off that fox.” He fluffed up his fur and growled.

Snowpaw’s whiskers twitched in amusement, but Bluepaw’s mind was on Goosefeather’s bizarre prophecy. Could it really be true?

You are fire? You will blaze through the forest?

Did that mean she would one day lead ThunderClan? And how could water destroy her? She wasn’t a RiverClan cat. She would never go near water, apart from jumping the smallest stream.

Stormtail’s mew broke into her thoughts. “Adderfang’s leading a patrol to make sure the fox has gone. Stay in camp until they report back.”

Bluepaw nodded as Stormtail turned and padded away.

“Are you okay?” Snowpaw’s concerned mew broke into her thoughts. “Did Goosefeather give you anything for the shock?”

Bluepaw shook her head.

“Something’s bothering you.”

Bluepaw scanned the camp, looking for a quiet corner where they could talk. Perhaps Snowpaw could help her make sense of Goosefeather’s words.

“Come with me.” She led Snowpaw to the nursery and slipped behind it.

“What is it?” Snowpaw sat down. “Why are we hiding?”

“I wanted to ask you about something.” Bluepaw wondered how she could tell Snowpaw about the prophecy when she wasn’t even sure of it herself.

Snowpaw leaned forward, lowering her voice. “What?”

“Do…” Bluepaw searched for the right words. “Do you think…” This is impossible! “Do you think I’m…special?”

Snowpaw broke into a purr. “Well, of course! You’re the best sister in the world!”

Bluepaw shook her head, frustrated. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What else could you mean? Is there something wrong with you? Did Goosefeather find something when he checked your burns?”

Bluepaw dug her claws in the ground. She would have to be direct. “Goosefeather said the burning branch was a sign.”

“A sign?” Snowpaw’s eyes grew wide as an owl’s. “From StarClan?”

Bluepaw nodded.

“What did it mean? What did he tell you? Does Pinestar know?” Snowpaw blasted her with questions.

“He said that I would blaze through the forest like fire.”

“He’s mad as a hare!”

“But what if he’s right? Do you think it means I…stand out somehow?”

“I don’t even know what that means!” Snowpaw backed away, looking alarmed now. “And you know what his prophecies are like. It was his stupid prophecy that killed Moonflower. You don’t actually believe him, do you?”

“He also said that water would destroy me.”

Snowpaw flattened her ears. “He’s got no right to scare you like that! How dare he?” The fur rose on her shoulders. “Don’t take any notice. His prophecies are worthless. You won’t be destroyed by water! You’re not a RiverClan cat. How could water harm you? Don’t listen to a word of it!”

Shocked, Bluepaw stared at her sister. Was it really so impossible that she was special? What was wrong with believing she might one day lead the Clan? Snowpaw had seemed eager enough to hear about the prophecy until she found out it involved Bluepaw. “You don’t believe it, then?”

Snowpaw tipped her head to one side. “Goosefeather’s an idiot,” she meowed. “Take no notice. Don’t let it worry you.”

Worry me? Why couldn’t she see? If this prophecy is true, it might be the most important thing that has ever happened to me.

But Snowpaw had moved on. “There was something I wanted to talk to you about, too.”

Bluepaw blinked. “Okay.”

“It’s about Thistlepaw.”

Thistlepaw?

“I wish you would make more of an effort to like him.”

“Why? He likes himself enough for both of us.” Bluepaw stiffened. “In fact, you like him enough for the both of us.”

“Don’t be like that.”

Bluepaw was already turning away. “I don’t have to like that arrogant weasel just because you do,” she mewed.

“Bluepaw!” Snowpaw called after her, but Bluepaw didn’t want to hear. Why couldn’t they be like they were in the battle on Sunningrocks, when they had fought side by side, closer than two blades of grass, each looking out for the other? Couldn’t Snowpaw at least try to understand how Bluepaw felt about Goosefeather’s prophecy? Angrily Bluepaw padded back to the clearing. She had wanted to talk about what those words might mean, not to discuss Thistlepaw.

Am I really destined to lead ThunderClan?