The Last Hope

Chapter 21

Ferns scraped Jayfeather’s spine as he gathered comfrey from the patch near the camp entrance. Dew was already beading on the soft leaves. Dusk was drawing nearer. The patrols from WindClan, ShadowClan, and RiverClan would be here before long. He shook out his paws. They ached from gathering herbs all afternoon while the warriors trained.

Muscle thumped against earth behind him. “Don’t forget what Ivypool taught us!” Squirrelflight called to Dustpelt. “Dark Forest warriors will go for your throat. Make sure you’re always ready to fend off a killing bite.”

Dustpelt’s fur brushed the ground as he struggled out from under Graystripe. “How can I attack properly if I have to defend myself all the time?”

Graystripe was panting. “What about leading more with your shoulders and keeping your head low?”

Jayfeather plucked a final leaf and stacked it with the rest. Bundling them between his jaws, he headed back into camp. He ducked through the tunnel and hurried around the edge of the clearing, skirting Rosepetal and Molepaw as they practiced a tricky battle move.

“Never turn your back on a Dark Forest warrior!” Ivypool yowled.

“Can we try it next?” Leafpool paced restlessly while Cloudtail plucked at the sandy earth, anticipation pricking from his pelt.

Brambleclaw sat beneath Highledge with Lionblaze and Squirrelflight. “Sorreltail, Thornclaw, and Spiderleg should go to ShadowClan,” he meowed.

“Whitewing, Berrynose, and Hazeltail could go to WindClan,” Squirrelflight suggested.

Jayfeather dropped the herbs beside his den and joined them. “Do you think we’ll be ready in time?”

“We’ll have to be,” Brambleclaw growled.

Jayfeather tasted the air. “Where’s Firestar?”

“He’s setting traps with Sandstorm and Sorreltail,” Dovewing told him. “Stretching brambles across trails and hiding rabbit holes with nettles.”

Ivypool’s mew cut in. “Use your tail to balance, Rosepetal! You need to be able to fight on two paws as well as four! These warriors want to kill you!”

“How do we kill them?” Cloudtail called. “They’re already dead!”

Jayfeather frowned. Good question. “I’ve seen StarClan warriors fade when there’s no cat left to remember them,” he recalled, raising his voice to reach Cloudtail. “If StarClan can fade, perhaps Dark Forest warriors can die.” He stiffened as he sensed darkness suddenly engulf Ivypool. He reached into her mind and was plunged into the Dark Forest.

Antpelt was struggling beneath Ivypool’s paws. Her claws ripped deeper into the warrior’s throat as life ebbed out of him in a pool of blood. His shape began to fade until there was nothing left but a scarlet stain on the withered grass. Jayfeather recoiled, feeling sick. She’s killed a Dark Forest warrior! He wondered if she’d tell Cloudtail that dead cats could vanish forever, but he felt her push the thought away.

Brambleclaw carried on planning. “I’m sending Foxleap, Toadstep, and Rosepetal to RiverClan,” he decided. “They can share Ivypool’s moves with Mistystar’s warriors.”

“I wonder who she’ll send to us?” Jayfeather tried to imagine RiverClan warriors in the ThunderClan camp.

Anger flashed from Molepaw. “Are we expected to hunt for them and let them sleep in our dens till the battle begins?”

“Yes!” Brambleclaw turned on the apprentice. “If that’s what Firestar wants. They’re our allies now.”

Cloudtail bristled. “I’m not sleeping next to a ShadowClan cat.”

“Would you rather be in the patrol I send to fight alongside RiverClan?” Brambleclaw snapped. “There’s no time to worry about Clan rivalries. We’re facing the end of everything we know. We’ll fight alongside the other Clans as though they are our Clanmates, and there will be no argument.”

Lionblaze’s tail whisked impatiently. “Firestar also wants two runners to pass messages between the Clan during the battle.”

“Molepaw and Cherrypaw can do that,” Brambleclaw meowed.

“But I want to fight!” Molepaw crossed the clearing. “It’ll be my first battle.”

“And you’ll serve your Clan best as a messenger,” Brambleclaw told him. “You’re one of our fastest runners.” The ThunderClan deputy dropped his voice to a whisper as he turned back to Lionblaze and Dovewing. “We need to find out which ThunderClan warriors the Dark Forest have recruited. We might be able to stop them.”

“We could ask Ivypool.” Jayfeather glanced toward the young warrior.

Dovewing was passing on her way to the elders’ den with a piece of fresh-kill. She dropped it when she heard Jayfeather speak. “But Firestar said we didn’t need to know who—”

Brambleclaw interrupted her. “It’s better to find out who our enemy is now,” he meowed. “Ivypool!” He waited for her to reach them. “Which ThunderClan cats are training with you in the Dark Forest?”

Ivypool backed away. “I can’t betray them!” she gasped. Jayfeather felt fear pulsing beneath her pelt. “They d-don’t realize what they’re doing,” she stammered. “When the battle comes, they’ll make the right decision!”

“We can’t punish them,” Dovewing argued. “They’ve done nothing wrong yet.”

“We’re not punishing them,” Brambleclaw meowed gently. “We’re trying to save them.”

“Tigerstar lied when he recruited them,” Ivypool mewed.

“I know,” Brambleclaw assured her.

“And Brokenstar threatened to kill them if they left.”

“Then let us have a chance to protect them. Who’s training in the Dark Forest?” Brambleclaw pressed softly.

“Birchfall,” Ivypool whispered. “Blossomfall and Mousewhisker.”

“Cloudtail, Molepaw, Rosepetal!” Brambleclaw called to his Clanmates, firing orders. “Get Blossomfall. She’s training in the sandy hollow. Birchfall and Mousewhisker are hunting. Find them and bring them back to camp.”

As Cloudtail, Molepaw, and Rosepetal raced from the camp, Brambleclaw sat down. “We’ll make them understand. They can be our allies in the Dark Forest. Like you, Ivypool.”

Jayfeather let his fur smooth. After all the moons of waiting, it was a relief to face the danger head-on. He glanced toward his den. “I have to check my herb supplies.” He headed across the clearing and picked up the bundle of comfrey. Pushing through the brambles, he padded into the den. Briarlight was fast asleep. He could hear her snoring as she lay among the herb stacks.

“Briarlight?” He touched her gently with his muzzle.

She jerked awake. “Sorry!” She heaved herself up. “All that counting made me sleepy. We’re going to need more marigold and nettle.”

“Go to your nest and rest properly,” Jayfeather told her. “I’ll keep going here.”

“I can help,” Briarlight argued.

“Rest,” Jayfeather ordered.

“But—”

“Now!” He was going to need all her strength when the battle began. Briarlight’s nest rustled as she slid into it. Jayfeather pricked his ears, listening till her breathing deepened. Then he began gathering herbs from each pile and rolling them into bundles. Each bundle contained the herbs and cobwebs he’d need to treat a single injury. It would save time once the battle began.

“Jayfeather?”

Leafpool’s mew surprised him. He looked up, heady from the smell of herbs.

“Can I help?” She slid through the brambles. “When the battle’s finished, there are going to be a lot of injured warriors.” Her whiskers were trembling. “I—I’d like to help. Even if it’s just carrying wet moss to thirsty patients.”

“Moss?” Jayfeather frowned. Moss! Of course!

“I realize that I have no right to ask but—”

“I’d completely forgotten about moss.” Jayfeather jumped to his paws. “We’ll need pawfuls. I’ll send a patrol out to find some.” He brushed past Leafpool, heading for the entrance.

“Everyone’s training or hunting,” Leafpool reminded him. “Can I get some?”

Jayfeather paused. “Collect moss?” He felt her flinch, ready for rejection. “That would be a waste of your skills,” he mewed briskly. “Molepaw and Cherrypaw can collect some when they get back. I need you working here.”

“Really?” Shock sparked from Leafpool’s pelt.

“You have as much experience as me,” Jayfeather told her. “It’d be dumb not to use you. You said it yourself—there are going to be a lot of injured warriors. I’ll need you to help treat them.”

“B-but what about StarClan?” Leafpool stuttered. “They told me I was no longer a medicine cat.”

Jayfeather growled. “Things have changed, Leafpool. We have to do what we think is right for the Clan. And if that means going against StarClan, then we must.”

Leafpool padded closer. “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?”

Jayfeather returned to bundling herbs. “There’s nothing to forgive,” he sniffed. “You did what you thought was best. No cat can blame you for that.” He pushed a pile of borage toward her. “Start gathering herbs like I’m doing. I want plenty of cobweb in each bundle. And remind me to ask Molepaw and Cherrypaw to collect more when they go for moss.”

Aching relief spilled from his mother as she sat beside him and began picking herbs from the piles. Jayfeather brushed against her as he reached for another pawful of marigold. He felt stone scrape beneath his claws. “We’re running out.”

Leafpool purred. “I’ll remind you to ask Molepaw when he gets back.”

They worked in silence until a yowl split the air outside the den. “They’re gone!” Cloudtail pounded into camp. “We can’t find them anywhere!”

Jayfeather scrambled out of his den. “Who?”

“Birchfall, Blossomfall, and Mousewhisker.” Cloudtail was pacing in front of Brambleclaw. Molepaw and Rosepetal panted behind him.

“Are you sure you’ve looked everywhere?” Brambleclaw demanded.

“We’ve had the whole Clan scouring the forest,” Cloudtail reported. “There’s no sign of them.”

Jayfeather crossed the clearing, his mind whirling. Dovewing! He tasted the air, searching for her. She was resting beside her den.

“Listen for them!” He hurried toward her. “Find out where they are.”

She sat up, trembling. “Okay.”

Jayfeather reached into Dovewing’s mind as she stretched her senses across the forest. Where are you? His heart began to pound as Dovewing’s hearing ranged beyond the lake and the forest and reached into darkness. She was venturing back into the Dark Forest.

“Has the battle begun?” Blossomfall’s anxious mew sounded from the shadows. Dovewing focused in. The tortoiseshell warrior was following a twisting path through slimy bracken. Birchfall paced beside her.

Behind them, Mousewhisker stared into the trees. “How will we know when to attack?”

Blossomfall was shivering from cold or fear. “Don’t worry, we’ll know. Brokenstar promised, remember? There’s no way he’s going to let us escape from fighting alongside him.”

The voices vanished as Dovewing’s senses jerked back to the clearing. Reeling, Jayfeather straightened up.

“Where’s Ivypool?” Dovewing wailed. “She has to go after them, bring them back before the battle starts.”

Jayfeather shook his head. “There isn’t time,” he told her heavily. “They’ll have to save themselves now.” He turned his head, listening to the sounds of preparation for battle going on all around him.

It’s all any of us can do, to defend ourselves against the vengeance of the Dark Forest.