Sign Of The Moon

Chapter 7

As Jayfeather emerged from the barrier of thorns, he located Firestar heading for his den, side by side with Sandstorm. Though Jayfeather was tired, he knew that he had to talk to his Clan leader right now. He had spent too long wondering what he could say to get Firestar to agree to another journey. He sprinted ahead and caught up to Firestar at the bottom of the tumbled rocks.

“Firestar, I need to speak to you,” he called.

He could sense his leader’s surprise. “Now? Can’t it wait until morning?”

“No.”

Firestar hesitated for a heartbeat, then replied, “Okay. Come up to my den.”

“I’ll go check on Poppyfrost and her kits,” Sandstorm mewed tactfully. “They had bellyache last night from eating too much squirrel.”

“I gave them watermint,” Jayfeather meowed after her as she padded toward the nursery. “Call me if they need more.”

Firestar was already climbing the rocks; Jayfeather followed, careful to let his pelt brush the cliff so that he didn’t stray too close to the edge of the path.

“What’s so urgent that it can’t wait?” Firestar’s voice came from his nest at the back of his cave.

Jayfeather slipped inside to join him. “I have to go to the mountains,” he announced. “I’ve been summoned.”

“By StarClan?”

“No, another cat.”

“Oh?” Curiosity radiated from Firestar; Jayfeather could feel it as if he was sitting in a beam of sunlight. “What other cat?”

“That’s…sort of hard to explain,” Jayfeather confessed. Would the ThunderClan leader believe that he had been able to speak with such an ancient cat? “But it’s not something I can ignore.”

Firestar let out a sigh of exasperation; Jayfeather pictured the tip of his ginger tail twitching. “We can’t go on helping the Tribe,” he meowed at last. “StarClan knows, I have a lot of sympathy for them, but they have their life and we have ours.”

“This isn’t about helping the Tribe,” Jayfeather told him. “It’s about discovering something from the past that’s important for the future. Our future, not the Tribe’s.”

“You couldn’t be a bit vaguer, could you?” Firestar’s claws scraped on the floor of the den. “Honestly, Jayfeather, you expect me to—”

“I’m sorry, Firestar,” Jayfeather interrupted. “I’m telling you everything I can. You have to trust me because of the prophecy.”

“No.” There was an edge to Firestar’s voice. “I trust you because you’re a loyal medicine cat who serves his Clan above all else.”

Jayfeather took a breath. “And as a loyal medicine cat, I’m asking you to let me go to the Tribe of Rushing Water, because I believe it’s in our best interests.”

Firestar was silent, though Jayfeather could almost hear the turmoil of thoughts whirling through his leader’s mind. “You need an escort,” he mewed at last. “And I’m not happy about leaving ThunderClan without its best warriors or its medicine cat when we’re bracing ourselves for an attack.”

Though the ThunderClan leader didn’t mention the Dark Forest, Jayfeather knew that was where his thoughts lay. And he’s right. But I have to do this!

“Are you sure this cat isn’t trying to lure you away?” Firestar added.

Jayfeather shook his head. “I’m positive.” Rock is the last cat who would be involved in a Dark Forest plot. “I trust the cat who gave me this message,” he went on. “He isn’t interested in our battles. He doesn’t care who wins. He just knows that this is our destiny, and he has to make it happen.”

“Very well,” Firestar meowed. “You can go. And I’ll choose some warriors to go with you—but you can’t have Lionblaze.”

“What?” Jayfeather’s feeling of triumph was swallowed up in outrage. “But Lionblaze has to go. He’s one of the Three!”

“You can have Dovewing.” Firestar’s tone was uncompromising. “But Lionblaze stays here. He’s our greatest asset in a battle. And you’re not going to the mountains to fight, are you?”

“How do we know that?” Jayfeather muttered mutinously. He was well aware that there was no point in trying to argue when the ThunderClan leader had made up his mind. “Okay,” he meowed aloud. “But I don’t like it.”

“No cat is asking you to,” Firestar retorted. “You can have Dovewing, as I said, and…let’s see…Foxleap and Squirrelflight.”

“Squirrelflight!” Jayfeather didn’t want to travel with the cat who had lied to him and his littermates season after season, the cat he had believed was his mother.

“I don’t care what you think about Squirrelflight’s actions in the past,” Firestar growled as if he could read Jayfeather’s mind. “What’s done is done. She knows the mountains better than any of us, and she has friends in the Tribe.”

Jayfeather dipped his head. “Okay, Firestar.” He sighed.

“And while you’re away,” Firestar went on, “I’ll ask Leafpool to step in as medicine cat. Just in case there are any emergencies. If there is a battle, we’ll need her trained paws.”

Jayfeather felt his neck fur bristle at the mention of the other she-cat who had betrayed him and his littermates. Yeah, right… Like StarClan will ever speak to Leafpool again, after what she did.

But he could see the point in making use of Leafpool’s vast knowledge of healing, so he just replied with a curt nod. “Brightheart has had some training, too,” he pointed out.

“True. Then that’s settled.” Firestar still didn’t sound happy, but Jayfeather knew that he wouldn’t go back on what he had agreed. “You can leave tomorrow.”

As Jayfeather reached the bottom of the tumbled rocks, Lionblaze padded across to him; Jayfeather picked up his mingled curiosity and excitement. You’re not going to like this, he thought. “You’re up late,” he remarked out loud.

“I spotted a hole in the barrier near the dirtplace tunnel, so I went to fix it,” Lionblaze explained. “Nothing to worry about,” he added. “Just a few loose branches. There’s no sign that any cats had tried to break in.”

Jayfeather nodded. A moon or two ago, the idea of any cats trying to break into the ThunderClan camp, deep inside their territory, would have been unthinkable. Now relations between the Clans were so strained that it was all too possible.

“Have you been talking to Firestar?” Lionblaze asked eagerly. “When do we leave for the mountains?”

“You don’t,” Jayfeather replied, bracing himself for his brother’s disappointment.

“What?”

“I’m sorry, but Firestar says he needs you here. If there’s a battle with the Dark Forest cats, then you’re the strongest warrior we have.”

“But I’m one of the Three!” Jayfeather heard his brother’s claws raking furiously in the earth, and pictured his golden neck fur bristling with anger. “Surely I have to go to the mountains as well?”

“I wish you could, but…well, I think Firestar has a point.” Jayfeather reached out with his tail to touch Lionblaze on his shoulder. “If the Dark Forest cats attack, you’re the best defense ThunderClan has.”

Lionblaze snorted. “Who is going with you, then? Dovewing, I hope.”

“Yes, and Foxleap and Squirrelflight.”

Lionblaze was silent for a moment. Jayfeather knew his brother would understand how reluctant he was to travel with the cat who had pretended to be their mother. But all Lionblaze said was “I’ll give Foxleap some extra training.”

“There’s no time,” Jayfeather told him. “We leave in the morning.”

As he spoke he felt a sudden chill; wind swirled around the hollow, making his eyes water and flattening his fur to his sides. He heard the clatter of branches high above as the blast stirred the trees at the top of the cliffs.

“Clouds across the moon…” Lionblaze murmured.

Could that be an omen? Jayfeather wondered, suppressing a shiver. “Time is running out for all of us.”

Jayfeather padded back to his den. His muscles ached with weariness, but he knew that he couldn’t sleep yet. Checking on Briarlight, who was peacefully curled up in her nest, he headed for the cleft in the rock where he kept his supply of herbs. Since he had received Rock’s message, he had gathered what he could in preparation for the time when he would be away.

“Plenty of juniper berries,” he muttered, identifying each herb by scent and touch. His stores were sparse, but at least he had more than in the previous moon. “Some catmint left…the tansy is a bit low…And lots of yarrow.” He remembered the bunch of yarrow that had been left outside the camp; he had never identified the cat who had found it. Whoever it was, they have a good nose for herbs.

Carefully he selected sorrel, daisy, chamomile, and burnet, the traveling herbs that he and his Clanmates would need for the journey, and made four leaf wraps for the morning. Then he checked on Briarlight once more. She was deeply asleep, worn out by the new exercises he had given her.

Knowing how important it was for him to get some rest before setting out, he stumbled into his nest and curled up, wrapping his tail over his nose. Instantly, as it seemed, he opened his eyes and realized that he was in StarClan. He lay in long grass on the bank of a stream that gurgled over stones. The water reflected red light; Jayfeather looked up to see the sky stained with bars of scarlet as the sun went down in a brilliant blaze. All around him the shadows of evening were gathering, and a chilly wind whispered through the grass and ruffled the surface of the stream. As Jayfeather rose to his paws and looked around, a nearby clump of bracken quivered and a cat emerged into the open. Jayfeather studied the messy, clumped gray fur and snaggly teeth.

“Yellowfang,” he greeted her.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Yellowfang rasped. “What’s all this nonsense about going to the mountains?”

Jayfeather flicked up his ears in surprise. “You know about that? Did Rock speak to you too?”

Yellowfang let out a snort of disgust. “That one doesn’t speak much to any cat.”

Jayfeather wondered how much the former medicine cat knew about Rock. “You don’t think I should go?”

“I think it’s a mouse-brained scheme,” Yellowfang replied, baring her teeth. “The Dark Forest is rising. You should stay in ThunderClan and protect your Clanmates.”

“The Tribe of Rushing Water is linked to the destiny of the Clans,” Jayfeather argued.

“That’s not your responsibility,” Yellowfang snapped.

“But what if it is?” Jayfeather insisted. Yellowfang might change her opinion if she knew that Jayfeather had traveled back to the time of the ancient cats who had once lived beside the lake.

But she doesn’t know, and I’m not going to tell her. Not yet. Not here.

Yellowfang let out a sigh. “Come, walk with me,” she meowed, abandoning the argument.

Jayfeather padded at her shoulder as she led him along the bank of the stream beside thick clumps of bracken and herbs. Jayfeather breathed in their scents, trying to identify each one, and wishing with all his heart that he could take some of them back with him to ThunderClan.

Comfrey…celandine…marigold. And I’m trying to cope with a few dried-up leaves!

Other cats brushed through the undergrowth, dipping their heads as they passed. Some of them looked strong, their colors as vivid as if they were still alive. Others were pale, like wisps of vapor, as if the next stiff breeze would blow them into nothingness. Jayfeather spotted Lionheart and Whitestorm from ThunderClan, sharing tongues in the shadow of an elder bush. A beautiful white she-cat, unknown to Jayfeather, was with them, and a tiny kit frolicked around her paws. He would have liked to stop and talk but Yellowfang stalked on with nothing more than a passing nod.

Crookedstar, the former RiverClan leader, was sitting beside the stream, staring down into the water. As Jayfeather watched, he flashed out a paw and hooked a gleaming silver fish. It flapped helplessly on the bank until Crookedstar killed it with a single bite.

“Well caught,” Yellowfang remarked.

“Come and share?” Crookedstar invited her.

“Maybe later.” Yellowfang didn’t look back.

A little farther on, Jayfeather spotted Barkface, the old WindClan medicine cat; his heart gave a leap of sorrow when he saw that the cat with him was Flametail. They stood beside a clump of thyme; Barkface was pointing something out to the younger cat.

“Hey, Jayfeather, come and join us!” Flametail called.

Jayfeather’s paws were tugging him toward the medicine cats, but Yellowfang let out an annoyed hiss, and he had to follow her. “Sorry!” he replied. “Another time.”

As he turned back to follow Yellowfang, Jayfeather spotted a gray tom running swiftly through the trees. He halted, staring; as if aware of his gaze the other cat stopped and glanced back over his shoulder, returning Jayfeather’s stare with burning blue eyes. Then he turned and ran on, vanishing behind a clump of hazel saplings.

“Ashfur!” Jayfeather exclaimed, spinning around to face Yellowfang. He felt cold to the tips of his claws. “He’s here?”

“Why not?” The old cat’s voice was steady. “His only fault was to love too much.”

Jayfeather let out a snort of disbelief. “Hardly. He tried to push us off the cliff!”

“But he didn’t,” Yellowfang pointed out. “Squirrelflight stopped him—and maybe her only fault is that she loved too much, as well.”

“What do you mean?”

Yellowfang shrugged. “Work it out for yourself, mouse-brain. And get a move on. I haven’t got all day.”

Sighing in exasperation, Jayfeather followed her along a winding track that climbed through the trees until they emerged at the foot of a grassy hill. Yellowfang bounded up the slope and waited for Jayfeather to join her, panting, at the top.

“You need more exercise,” she commented, giving him a prod with one paw.

“I’ve been on my paws all night,” Jayfeather retorted. “StarClan cats might not get tired, but I do. What are we doing here, anyway?”

“Just look.” Yellowfang waved her tail at the scene below them.

Jayfeather gazed over the tops of the trees. StarClan’s forest looked open and inviting, dotted with clearings and lighter-colored trees, and cut through by a sparkling river. Cats were playing in the shallows, throwing up spray and splashing one another with the shining droplets. Jayfeather recognized the strong bodies and sleek pelts of RiverClan.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Yellowfang prompted after a few moments.

“Yes,” Jayfeather whispered.

The old medicine cat padded so close to him that their pelts brushed. “All this depends on you, Jayfeather,” she mewed. “You’re not just protecting ThunderClan now but all the Clans, including this one.”

Me? Jayfeather wanted to wail out loud like a lost kit, but he forced himself to stand still, looking across the peaceful landscape. “You don’t want me to go to the mountains because you’re scared of what will happen to the Clans.”

The old cat bowed her head. “Sometimes the right choice can be the hardest one,” she rasped.

Scenes flashed through Jayfeather’s mind, and he realized that he was seeing her memories: a younger Yellowfang, suckling a dark brown tabby kit; the same kit, big enough now to be an apprentice, fighting savagely with a young black she-cat; then muscular and full-grown, brushing through bracken with a terrified, mewling kit in his jaws; older now, with scarred, blinded eyes, crouched against a thorny barrier with a much younger Dustpelt guarding him. Last of all, Yellowfang herself, casting glances at the dark tom and snagging a scarlet deathberry on one claw.

Jayfeather shivered. Yellowfang’s life was so hard, but she faced it with courage.

“I’m sorry,” he mewed gently. “I understand how you feel, but I have to go to the mountains. It’s the right thing to do. I’ll come back, I promise.”

Yellowfang didn’t reply, just gazed at him with scared and sorrowful eyes as she began to fade from Jayfeather’s sight. Her gray fur seemed to melt into one enormous shadow, as the last of the light left the sky above StarClan’s forest. As darkness swallowed Jayfeather’s vision, he blinked open his eyes and found that he was in his den, with a frond of bracken from his nest tickling his nose.

Sneezing, Jayfeather sat up. A sharp dawn breeze ruffled his fur, and he could hear the sound of early-rising cats beginning to move around the clearing. Briarlight was stirring, too; Jayfeather rose to his paws and padded over to her.

“I’m so tired,” she complained, her words muffled by an enormous yawn. “Do I have to do my exercises today?”

“Of course you do! You can’t miss a single day!”

“Okay.” Briarlight sounded surprised that he was so vehement. “Just let me wake up a bit first.”

Jayfeather heard her scramble upright in her nest and start to groom her fur. “Briarlight, there’s something I have to tell you,” he mewed more quietly. “I have to go away for a while.”

“No!” Briarlight stopped grooming; her voice was terrified. “You can’t!”

“I have to,” Jayfeather repeated. “But it won’t be for long, I promise. Brightheart and Millie will take good care of you.”

“It’s not the same,” Briarlight whispered. “What if…?”

Her voice trailed off. Jayfeather understood very well what she was too scared to ask. “I wouldn’t go if I thought you were going to die,” he meowed bluntly.

He could feel Briarlight relaxing a little. “That’s why you’ve given me all these new exercises,” she murmured. “I will do them, I promise.”

“Good.” Jayfeather touched her ear with his nose. “Look, I’ve made four leaf wraps of traveling herbs, they’re at the entrance to the store. Show the other cats where they are when I send them in.”

“Okay.”

Leaving her to start her exercises, Jayfeather brushed past the brambles and padded into the clearing. Blossomfall was hurrying past him on her way to join a patrol; Jayfeather checked her with his tail.

“Have you seen Foxleap?”

“Yes, he’s still in the warrior’s den,” the young tortoiseshell replied. “Sleeping like a dead hedgehog. He’s not on early patrol.”

“Get him for me, would you?”

“But I’m—” Blossomfall began to protest, then sighed. “Okay.”

Jayfeather heard her bounding off. A few moments later Foxleap staggered up to him, yawning widely. “What is it, Jayfeather? I thought I’d catch up on my sleep after the Gathering.”

Yes, wouldn’t that be nice? “You’re going on a journey,” Jayfeather announced.

“A journey?” Foxleap suddenly sounded wide awake. “Where?”

“To the mountains.”

“Really? Me?” Excitement made Foxleap’s voice quiver and he gave a little bounce of anticipation. “You mean I get to meet the Tribe of Rushing Water, like the cats who made the Great Journey? Wow! I promise I’ll protect you, Jayfeather. I’ll be the best warrior you can imagine. I’ll stay on watch all night—”

“No need to overdo it,” Jayfeather murmured, suppressing a small mrrow of amusement. “I’ve made some leaf wraps of traveling herbs in my den,” he continued. “Briarlight will show you where they are.”

“You mean we’re going right now?” Foxleap sounded as if he was about to burst with excitement. At Jayfeather’s nod he bounded off toward the medicine cat’s den.

Firestar’s scent drifted over Jayfeather as the Clan leader padded up. “I see you’ve told Foxleap,” he meowed. “What about Squirrelflight and Dovewing?”

“I haven’t seen them yet.”

Firestar paused, then called out, “Hey, Squirrelflight! Over here a moment.”

“I’m just going to lead the dawn patrol.” Squirrelflight’s voice came from the direction of the thorn barrier.

“No, you’re not,” Firestar corrected her.

“What’s all this about?” Squirrelflight bounded up.

“Jayfeather had a sign,” Firestar began. He explained how he wanted her to go with Jayfeather on a journey to the mountains.

“That’s great!” Squirrelflight’s enthusiasm bubbled over. “I’ll be glad to lead the patrol, Firestar. It’ll be a chance to catch up with my friends in the Tribe. I can’t wait to see Stormfur and Brook again!”

And who said you were leading the patrol? Jayfeather asked himself sourly. But he couldn’t say anything aloud: Squirrelflight was the oldest cat to be chosen, and by far the most experienced in the mountains. It made sense for her to take the lead.

“Who else is going?” Squirrelflight asked. “Lionblaze, I suppose, and—”

“No, Lionblaze is staying here,” Firestar interrupted. “You don’t need him, because you’re not going to fight. Jayfeather’s omen didn’t give him any reason to expect trouble.”

“Hmm…” Squirrelflight sounded surprised, and not too pleased. “You know best, I suppose. But I hope you don’t expect Jayfeather and me to trek all that way by ourselves.”

“No,” Firestar told her. “Foxleap is going with you, and Dovewing.”

“What? Me!”

Jayfeather jumped as an excited squeal sounded behind him. More cats were beginning to gather around to hear what was going on, and he hadn’t noticed Dovewing’s approach. He turned and explained quickly what had been decided.

“That’s so cool!” Dovewing exclaimed. “I’ve heard so many stories about the mountains, and now I’m really going there! Can Ivypool come, too?”

“No,” Jayfeather retorted. Great StarClan, any cat would think those two were joined at the tail!

“Why not?” Dovewing hissed close to his ear. “Don’t you trust her?”

“That’s not the issue at all,” Jayfeather answered through gritted teeth. “And we can’t discuss it now, not in front of every cat. It’s just the four of us and that’s all.”

“Okay.” Dovewing’s disappointment made her voice bitter.

“Come on,” Jayfeather mewed briskly. “I’ve prepared traveling herbs for all of us. Let’s go and get them.”

“You mean, we’re going right now?” Squirrelflight asked, astonished.

“There’s nothing to wait for,” Firestar began.

“Hey, Squirrelflight! Dovewing!” Brambleclaw’s voice cut across Firestar’s as the deputy came bounding up. “Why haven’t you joined your patrols? And why is every cat standing around here?”

It was Squirrelflight who replied. “Firestar is sending us to the mountains. Jayfeather has had a sign.”

“I see.” Brambleclaw’s voice was level. “Firestar, I hope you’re not sending too many cats. All of our warriors may be needed here.”

“No, just these three and Foxleap,” Firestar replied.

“Brambleclaw, do you have any messages for the Tribe?” Squirrelflight asked hesitantly. “I could say hi to Stormfur and Brook for you.”

Jayfeather heard something else beneath her words, something she dared not ask for out loud. She wants Brambleclaw to wish her luck, or tell her to be careful…anything to show that he still cares about her.

But all Brambleclaw said was “Sure. Tell them they’re missed in ThunderClan.”

Jayfeather could almost taste Squirrelflight’s disappointment. Brambleclaw doesn’t seem to feel anything. Has he forgotten that he once thought he was our father?

Several cats were circling them by now, excitedly asking questions. The dawn patrols hadn’t left, and more warriors were pushing their way between the branches of their den.

“What’s all the racket about?” Dustpelt asked irritably. “Can’t a cat get a wink of sleep around here?”

“Going to the mountains?” That was Cinderheart’s voice, filled with longing. “Oh, I wish I were going. I can just imagine it…bare peaks, the endless blue sky with eagles swooping like specks in the air, and the water so cold and clear…”

Jayfeather blinked at the vivid picture her words called up. Of course, Cinderheart has seen it, he thought. She just doesn’t know she’s remembering.

“I remember hunting with the Tribe,” Cloudtail meowed. “When we passed through there on the Great Journey. I’d like to hunt eagles again.”

“So would I,” Sandstorm agreed. “Lionblaze, you’re so lucky!”

“I’m not going,” Lionblaze replied, still sounding disgruntled. “Firestar wants me to stay here and help guard the camp.”

“Oh, bad luck,” Sandstorm sympathized.

Jayfeather’s nostrils twitched at the scent of herbs as Foxleap padded back into the group. He was passing his tongue across his jaws, over and over again. “Why do the traveling herbs have to taste so yucky?” he complained.

Jayfeather jumped as a paw prodded him in the shoulder and he picked up Purdy’s scent. “So you’re off on your travels again, young’un,” the old loner rasped. “I wish I could go back wi’ you and see my old home.”

Jayfeather tensed. Please, StarClan, not that!

Purdy let out an amused snort. “No need to look so shocked. I don’t reckon my old paws would carry me that far. Mind you, I could tell you a thing or two—”

“There isn’t time, Purdy,” Jayfeather interrupted. “We’re leaving now.”

“Oh.” Purdy hesitated, then added, “Well, mind you stay clear of that farm where your littermates an’ that nuisancy WindClan apprentice met the dogs.”

“We will, Purdy, don’t worry,” Jayfeather assured him. Leaning closer to Purdy, he added in an undertone, “Take care of Mousefur while I’m gone.”

“Sure I will.” Jayfeather heard the pride in Purdy’s voice. “You can rely on me.”

Jayfeather beckoned with his tail to Dovewing and Squirrelflight, and led them to his den to give them their traveling herbs. Sudden misgivings seized him as he licked up the leaves.

Am I doing the right thing, taking these cats all the way to the mountains, leaving the rest of my Clan vulnerable? Can I really trust Rock?