Darkest Night

CHAPTER 8

As Alderheart stomped out of camp and headed for the lake, Jayfeather hurried to catch up with him. “I know StarClan’s prophecies are frustrating,” the blind tom mewed. “I’ve had to deal with plenty. But this one will become clear eventually, just as the others have.”

“Doesn’t it worry you that Bramblestar won’t do anything?” Alderheart glanced at him. “The last prophecy told us to find SkyClan. We only sent out one patrol. We’d never have found them if Twigpaw hadn’t disobeyed Bramblestar and gone out alone. And now Bramblestar wants to ignore this prophecy.”

Actually, what Bramblestar had said was, “If there were something I could do, then I would. But it would be foolish to act before we fully understand StarClan’s message.” Alderheart’s pelt prickled with frustration, and he wasn’t sure who he was more upset with: Bramblestar or StarClan. Why did StarClan have to be so obscure?

“Our duty is to share messages from StarClan with our leader,” Jayfeather reminded him now. “And to advise him. But he is the leader and he must make the decisions.”

“Even if he’s wrong?” Alderheart’s paws itched with anger.

“He’s Clan leader,” Jayfeather meowed. “If he went into a panic every time some cat came to him with a worry, he’d spend more time running in circles than solving the problems he can solve.”

Alderheart didn’t respond. What was the point? Jayfeather was obviously going to defend Bramblestar whatever happened. Perhaps Kestrelflight and Puddleshine would have something more helpful to say. The day before, Alderheart and Jayfeather had sent messengers to each camp to arrange this meeting.

As he broke from the trees, he could see them waiting on the shore. They stood beside the new SkyClan border, within two tail-lengths of the water, looking toward the forest.

Puddleshine lifted his tail as he caught sight of Alderheart and Jayfeather.

“They’ve seen us.” Alderheart raced ahead of Jayfeather. He leaped onto the pebbles, stumbling as they shifted beneath him. “What did Harestar and Rowanstar say about the prophecy?” He scrambled to a halt in front of them.

Puddleshine eyed him anxiously. “Rowanstar is worried that the dark sky means SkyClan. He’s decided to concentrate patrols on the SkyClan border.”

Alderheart’s pelt pricked uneasily. “But StarClan was pleased we made room for SkyClan beside the lake. They can’t be the dark sky!”

Kestrelflight flicked his ears. “Even if they are, the prophecy says that the dark sky mustn’t herald a storm, and extra patrols will mean extra tension.”

Alderheart frowned. “Do you think Rowanstar might cause the storm StarClan is warning us about?”

Jayfeather reached them. “Rowanstar doesn’t have enough cats to cause a storm. He barely has enough to cause a mild breeze.” He turned his muzzle to Alderheart. “I thought you’d be pleased that he’s taking the prophecy seriously.”

Puddleshine looked puzzled. “Why wouldn’t he?”

Alderheart shifted his paws. “Bramblestar doesn’t seem concerned by the prophecy,” he explained. “He thinks we should wait and see.”

“Harestar says that we’ve seen nothing but dark skies in the past few moons,” Kestrelflight meowed. “He fears the prophecy is warning us that the situation might get worse. He’s stepped up patrols too.”

“More tension,” Puddleshine mewed darkly.

“At least they’re doing something.” Alderheart felt a fresh prickle of irritation with his father.

“Yes, and half the Clans are on edge now,” Jayfeather mewed sarcastically. “I’m sure that will help.” He looked a little way up the shore, toward SkyClan’s stretch of forest. “I can’t scent Leafpool.”

“Perhaps we should go into SkyClan’s camp,” Alderheart suggested, “and tell her we’re heading out?”

Jayfeather gave a mew of agreement, and led the medicine cats toward SkyClan’s camp.

Alderheart followed him. “I still don’t understand why StarClan would give us a prophecy if they thought it wouldn’t help.”

“StarClan doesn’t know everything,” Jayfeather murmured.

Puddleshine caught up to them. “They must. They’re StarClan!”

“You haven’t known them as long as I have.” Jayfeather flicked his tail.

Kestrelflight seemed lost in his own thoughts. “I wonder if StarClan has shared the prophecy with Mothwing and Willowshine.”

“You said they didn’t share with you when Onestar cut WindClan off from the Clans,” Alderheart reminded him.

Kestrelflight shrugged. “Maybe they blamed me for not helping enough. The Clans were in crisis then, but things are calmer now.”

Jayfeather grunted. “There’s no point in guessing whether RiverClan knows about the prophecy. We will find out when we get there. But if we go to SkyClan to get Leafpool, we can see what Leafstar thinks.”

Alderheart slid into the lead. He knew the route to SkyClan’s camp. He’d carried herbs there for Leafpool, hoping for a chance to speak with Twigpaw. But Twigpaw had been out training with Sandynose. Would he see her this time? He had not spoken to her since she’d moved to SkyClan. He was eager to know how she’d settled into her new home, and secretly he hoped she missed him and ThunderClan a little.

He climbed the short, steep bank from the shore to the forest and padded between the trees, the other medicine cats following. He was pleased to be out of the wind. His leaf-bare pelt hadn’t grown in yet, and he felt the chill keenly. He followed the scent line until he recognized the place where he’d crossed it with Leafpool. It smelled as though Molewhisker had come this way too. He wondered how the expedition to the gorge was going, his heart lurching as a thought sparked in his mind. What if Twigpaw had gone with Violetpaw and Hawkwing? She’d be away from camp when they reached it.

Of course she’s gone with them. She left ThunderClan to be near them. Prickling with frustration, he led the way between the towering pines. He wove around a sprawling bramble and climbed a rise where boulders clustered at the top. The path between them led downhill, and before long he saw the cedar grove that marked the SkyClan camp. Following the fern wall, he found the entrance and ducked inside.

“Alderheart.” Leafstar stood beside a low-spreading juniper with Plumwillow and Bellaleaf. She blinked at the medicine cat in surprise.

“Forgive us for barging in like this,” Alderheart began.

Jayfeather pushed past him and stopped in front of the SkyClan leader. He dipped his head. “Has Leafpool shared StarClan’s prophecy with you?”

“She has.” Leafstar’s gaze flicked from Jayfeather to Kestrelflight and Puddleshine.

Jayfeather sat down and gazed sightlessly at Leafstar. “May I ask your thoughts?”

“On the prophecy?” Leafstar’s tail twitched. She turned her muzzle to the new dens where cats were busy weaving branches. “We are building a new home. I’ve had little time to think about prophecies. We are a very busy Clan right now.”

Alderheart leaned forward. “But you must have considered it.”

“‘The dark sky must not herald a storm.’”

As Leafstar quoted Echosong’s warning, Leafpool slid out of the hollow beneath an old cedar. She padded toward them. “Jayfeather!” She greeted her son warmly.

Jayfeather touched his muzzle to hers. “Did you forget about our meeting?”

“Oh!” Her eyes widened with alarm. “Oh, I’m so sorry, all of you. Things have been so busy here . . . it just completely slipped my mind.”

A prophecy slipped your mind? Alderheart thought indignantly. Is every cat too distracted to take this message seriously?

But Jayfeather didn’t seem bothered. “Well, it’s not as though you haven’t had enough to do here,” he said cheerfully. “How are Tinycloud’s kits?”

“They were born just before the patrol left for the gorge,” Leafpool purred. “Two she-kits and a tom.”

Alderheart kneaded the ground impatiently. He was pleased to hear about Tinycloud’s kits, but there were more important things to discuss. “What about the prophecy? Have you had any thoughts about what it might mean?”

“I haven’t. I’ve tried to think it through, but . . . well, we’ve been so busy.” Leafpool echoed Leafstar’s answer apologetically.

Kestrelflight padded forward. “Harestar has stepped up patrols.”

“So has Rowanstar,” Puddleshine told her.

Leafstar pricked her ears. “Does he have enough warriors?”

“He’s only patrolling your border,” Jayfeather told her bluntly. “He thinks the dark sky means SkyClan, of course. ShadowClan never did have much imagination.”

Puddleshine glanced sharply at the blind medicine cat. “Are you surprised Rowanstar’s being cautious?” he snapped. “After everything we’ve been through?”

Leafstar’s ears twitched. “We can’t change what the other Clans do. For now, we must take care of ourselves, and that means finishing our camp and finding our lost Clanmates so that we can be a real Clan again.”

Alderheart felt a pang of sympathy for the Clan leader. Until SkyClan had found their paws in their new home, they could do little except keep going.

Movement caught his eye. A brown-and-ginger tom with a short tail, still raw at the tip, shot out from the ferns. Finpaw. He was pleased to see that the tom was recovering from his accident.

Twigpaw bounced after the apprentice, her whiskers twitching happily as she knocked a pinecone ahead of her. “I found it!”

“Only because I told you where it was.”

Twigpaw! Happiness rippled through Alderheart’s pelt. It was a relief to see that she seemed at home here.

Her eyes shone as she spotted him. “Alderheart!” Racing across the camp, she cleared the stream with one jump and skidded to a halt beside him. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.” Alderheart purred. “Are you settling in okay?”

“Yeah.” She glanced back at Finpaw. “It’s great.”

“You must be getting your warrior name soon.”

Twigpaw’s pelt ruffled self-consciously. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to wait. But the other apprentices are great.”

Alderheart frowned. How strange that Leafstar was keeping her an apprentice. “I imagine you’re bored with training,” he meowed. “I’m surprised you’re not with Hawkwing’s patrol. Didn’t you want to go?”

Leafstar answered for her. “Twigpaw wanted to help her Clan build their camp.” The SkyClan leader flashed Alderheart a stern look.

He shifted his paws. Clearly the SkyClan leader didn’t want him stirring up discontent.

Finpaw called across the camp. “Hurry up, Twigpaw! It’s your turn to hide the pinecone.”

Twigpaw looked anxiously from Finpaw to Alderheart. “I’ll see you soon, okay?” she mewed to Alderheart.

He blinked at her. “Sure.” Did she want to end their meeting so quickly? Wasn’t she as eager to talk as he was? Disappointment pricked his belly. She must be settling into SkyClan better than he’d imagined.

She turned and hurried away, leaping the stream and grabbing the pinecone between her jaws before disappearing among the ferns.

Alderheart watched her go. He was glad to see her happy, but he had secretly hoped she was missing ThunderClan more.

Jayfeather whisked his tail. “Thank you for your time, Leafstar.” He nodded to his mother. “Do you still want to come with us to RiverClan? Remember, we’re going to tell Mistystar about the prophecy.”

Leafpool narrowed her eyes. “Do you think you’ll be allowed to cross the border?”

“We have to try,” Jayfeather answered. “Remember what she said at the Gathering: ‘if there is trouble, you may send a patrol to ask for help.’ Well, we’re asking for help.”

Leafpool glanced at a half-finished nest outside the apprentices’ den, and then at her medicine den, where herbs were drying outside. “I appreciate your coming, but if you four can handle it, then I’d better stay here. There’s so much to do, and with four cats gone, there aren’t enough paws to do everything.”

“Of course.” Jayfeather nodded curtly. He headed for the entrance, letting Puddleshine guide him out of the unfamiliar camp.

Alderheart hurried after them, Kestrelflight at his heels. “Do you think RiverClan will stop us from seeing Mistystar?”

“If I could predict the future, we wouldn’t need StarClan to guide us.” Jayfeather ducked through the fern tunnel that led into the forest. The browning fronds slicked his fur.

The medicine cats headed back to the shore, skirting the water where it crossed ShadowClan’s shore before heading into the marshy reed beds of RiverClan territory.

Jayfeather took the lead. Alderheart guessed that his whiskers guided him along the meandering route between the rushes, for his paws seemed to find the driest paths and the wind was always behind them. Alderheart tasted the air. The musky fish-scent of RiverClan was strong. The camp must be close. He was eager to meet Willowshine and Mothwing. Their absence from the half-moon meeting had felt strange. The bond between medicine cats felt almost stronger than the bond between Clanmates. They shared knowledge and visions warriors would never experience. Their connection with StarClan tied them to one another almost like kin.

He lifted his muzzle, peering through a clump of bulrushes. Their heads bobbed around him like birds. A heron stalked through shallow water a few tail-lengths away. Its feathers rustled as it lifted suddenly and wheeled into the air.

Jayfeather halted. “Wait.” With a flick of his tail, he signaled them to stop. Ahead, the reeds swished as a cat pushed through. Duskfur hopped onto the path ahead of them. Sneezecloud and Shimmerpelt followed. The RiverClan cats glared at them with open hostility.

“What are you doing here?” Duskfur’s greeting was a snarl.

Alderheart’s pelt prickled uneasily. Why was she being so hostile?

Jayfeather ignored the she-cat’s aggression. “We’ve come to see Mistystar.” He faced them unblinking. “We have news from StarClan.”

“What news?” Duskfur tipped her head, a sneer on her face.

Jayfeather’s tail twitched. “If StarClan wanted to share with warriors, they would.”

Shimmerpelt thrust her muzzle forward. “The border is closed!”

“Is it closed to StarClan too?” Jayfeather shot back.

Sneezecloud looked past the medicine cats, scanning the path behind them. “I don’t see any StarClan cats with you.”

Puddleshine stepped forward and stood beside Jayfeather. “They sent us.”

“We have to speak with Mistystar,” Alderheart chimed.

“Or Willowshine,” Kestrelflight added.

“Mothwing will want to speak with us,” Jayfeather meowed evenly.

Duskfur narrowed her eyes. “My orders are to stop any cat from crossing into our territory. RiverClan is rebuilding. We don’t need any distractions.”

Alderheart sighed. “That isn’t what Mistystar said at the Gathering.”

Duskfur glared at him. “It’s what she’s saying now,” she insisted. Her gaze flicked to the far edge of the reed bed. “You shouldn’t be so far inside our border.”

Shimmerpelt flattened her ears. “There’s no way we’re letting you reach the camp.”

“Then bring Willowshine or Mothwing here.” Jayfeather’s pelt bristled. “We need to share StarClan’s news.”

“If you won’t tell us what it is,” Duskfur growled, “then I guess we’ll have to wait for StarClan to bring the news themselves.”

Sneezecloud showed his teeth. “If it’s important, they’ll let us know.”

Alderheart’s chest was tight with fear. It was bad enough that Bramblestar wouldn’t act. Mistystar wouldn’t even hear them out.

Kestrelflight curled his claws into the soft earth. “Perhaps they only want to share with cats who behave like a real Clan.”

Sneezecloud hissed. “How dare a WindClan cat judge RiverClan after what Onestar did! Cats died when he closed WindClan’s borders. He deprived them of herbs that could save them, all because he couldn’t face the fact that he’d fathered Darktail.”

Kestrelflight’s hackles lifted. “This has nothing to do with Onestar. He’s dead. Harestar is our leader now.”

“So you’re a real Clan again?” Shimmerpelt curled her lip.

“We’ve learned what happens when you reject the other Clans,” Kestrelflight meowed pointedly.

Duskfur padded closer, ears flat. “Are you going to leave or do we need to drive you away?”

Jayfeather lifted his chin. “Will you tell Mistystar we came? Or do you think she might not want to hear that you have been making decisions for her?”

A menacing growl rumbled in Duskfur’s throat.

“Come on.” Alderheart slid in front of Jayfeather and guided him away. “This is in StarClan’s paws now.”

He glanced over his shoulder as he led Jayfeather, Kestrelflight, and Puddleshine back toward the shore. Duskfur paced back and forth, her brown tabby pelt bristling as the RiverClan patrol glowered at them. He felt sick. He hadn’t expected hostility here.

Alderheart trudged back through the reed beds. Worry weighed like a stone in his belly. The Clans had taken so long to obey StarClan’s command to embrace what lay in the shadows that it had almost destroyed them. They couldn’t let the same thing happen this time.

And yet RiverClan refused to hear this prophecy. Rowanstar had interpreted it as a warning about SkyClan. Harestar had stepped up patrols. Leafstar was too busy, and Bramblestar was too weary of StarClan’s visions to care. The prophecy seemed only to have shone a light on the rifts between the Clans. We must work together to figure this out. Alderheart’s thoughts were spinning. How could he make them understand when they were too wrapped up in their own problems to think clearly?