Disappointment flooded Lionpaw. Jaypaw was no better than the warriors. “Why are you all obsessing over the sun?”
He lashed his tail. “It doesn’t matter. It’s back now, and we’re okay. But we still have to deal with WindClan. They’re going to come back if we don’t show them they can’t—”
Jaypaw cut him off. “It does matter,” he growled. “WindClan are nothing more than a thorn in our flesh. We can pull it out anytime we want. But the sun disappeared, and Sol knew it would happen. StarClan didn’t! Don’t you realize what that means?”
Lionpaw didn’t, but he wasn’t going to admit that. “What can we do about it?”
“We have to find Sol.”
Lionpaw leaned back in surprise. “Don’t be silly! He left yesterday. He could be anywhere by now. And Firestar’s not going to let us wander off to look for him. There’s been a battle. Half the warriors are injured, and who knows when there’ll be another invasion.”
Jaypaw flattened his ears. “Remember the prophecy!” he snapped. “We have the power of the stars in our paws! That makes us more powerful than Firestar, more powerful than StarClan! If Sol knows why the sun vanished, we have to find him!”
Chapter 19
Jaypaw wanted to claw his brother’s ears to make him listen. Please understand! “We have to find Sol!”
Squirrelflight stirred beside him. “Who?” she breathed.
She’s awake!
Jaypaw leaned down and pressed his nose to his mother’s pelt. She felt warmer. Not hot, though. No infection. He laid his pad on her flank. Her breathing was steadier, not too fast.
She was recovering from the shock of her injury.
“How’s Lionpaw?” Squirrelflight asked faintly.
“I’m right here.” Lionpaw brushed her ear with his nose.
“What about Hollypaw? Was she wounded?”
“Hollypaw’s fine too,” Jaypaw reassured her. “We’re all fine.”
The ferns rustled as Squirrelflight lifted her head. “Has the sun vanished again?”
“Look!” Jaypaw encouraged her to open her eyes. “It’s still shining.”
Squirrelflight rested her head down. “StarClan must be angry with us.”
“Not us,” Lionpaw mewed. “It’s WindClan they’re angry with.”
It’s got nothing to do with StarClan. Jaypaw patted the ferns around his mother’s head. It was like taking care of an anxious kit.
Hollypaw stirred. “Is she awake?” She jumped to her paws.
“Squirrelflight?”
“Is that you, Hollypaw?”
Hollypaw buried her nose in her mother’s fur. “I was so scared you were going to die!”
Squirrelflight managed a soft purr. “I’ll never leave you, little one,” she promised.
Paw steps scuffed toward them, and Jaypaw scented Brightheart.
“I saw her move!” The one-eyed warrior’s mew was filled with hope.
“She’s awake,” Jaypaw told her. “No sign of fever, and her breathing’s strong.”
“Shall I fetch Leafpool?” Brightheart offered.
Jaypaw shook his head. “She’s sleeping. I think we should wake her only if the bleeding starts again or Squirrelflight starts to get restless.”
“How did these feathers get here?” Squirrelflight was sniffing at the soft blanket covering her. She pawed weakly at her bedding. “And the ferns?”
“We built a nest around you,” Hollypaw told her.
“Thank you.” Pride warmed Squirrelflight’s mew. “I have such brave, kind kits.”
“You should rest, Squirrelflight,” Brightheart warned.
“You lost a lot of blood.”
“Yes,” Squirrelflight breathed, the ferns rustling around her.
“She’s closing her eyes,” Hollypaw whispered. “We should leave her to sleep.”
“You three should be resting too,” Brightheart advised. “I’ll watch Squirrelflight until Leafpool wakes up.”
Jaypaw’s fur tingled. This could be their chance to go look for Sol. “Thanks, Brightheart.” He forced his voice to sound tired. “Come on,” he called to Lionpaw and Hollypaw. “Let’s go get some sleep.”
He paused as soon as he was sure they were out of earshot of Brightheart.
“What is it?” Hollypaw stopped beside him. “You’re all jumpy.”
“We have to find Sol!”
“What?”
Lionpaw sighed. “Jaypaw’s got it into his head that this stranger knows why the sun vanished.”
“How?” Hollypaw’s breath stirred Jaypaw’s whiskers.
“Because he warned us it was going to happen!” Jaypaw didn’t wait for another of Hollypaw’s dumb questions. “We’ve got to go now, while the Clan thinks we’re sleeping.”
Lionpaw padded around his sister. “We have to go with him,” he warned. “He’ll only go by himself if we don’t.” He stopped and looked at her. “Are you fit enough?”
“Yes.” Hollypaw nodded. “My rest did me good. But wait.”
She hurried away and returned a few moments later with a stale shrew.
Jaypaw wrinkled his nose. “You’re not going to eat that?”
“I’m starving. Aren’t you?”
“No.” Jaypaw was too anxious to bother with food. He could eat later. “Just hurry up.”
Hollypaw began to gulp down her meal.
“Is Brightheart watching us?” Jaypaw asked Lionpaw.
“She’s watching Squirrelflight,” Lionpaw told him. “She’s got her back to us.”
“Who else is in the clearing?”
“No one else,” Lionpaw told him. “They’re all in their dens.” He paused. “Firestar’s on Highledge.”
“But he’s sleeping.”
Surprise bristled from Lionpaw’s pelt. “How did you know?”
“I can hear his breathing.” Jaypaw sniffed the air. Graystripe was guarding the camp entrance. “We’ll have to sneak out through the dirtplace tunnel.”
“Not again!” Lionpaw sighed. “Are you sure we really need to find this Sol?”
Jaypaw clawed the ground. “He could hold the answer to everything!”
Lionpaw leaned closer. “You mean the prophecy, don’t you?”
And StarClan. And the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Who else might share the secret? “I’m just guessing,” Jaypaw admitted. “But I’ve got to find out.”
Lionpaw nudged Hollypaw. “Are you finished?”
“Yes!” Hollypaw answered, still chewing. She belched loudly as Jaypaw led them along the thorn barrier toward the dirtplace tunnel.
Jaypaw flicked her nose with his tail. “Hush!”
“Sorry.”
“Wait!” Lionpaw warned. He pressed Jaypaw down behind a clump of grass. “Brightheart’s looking around.”
“Has she seen us?” Jaypaw whispered, heart thumping.
Lionpaw held his breath. “No,” he mewed at last. “She’s watching Squirrelflight again. It’s safe to go.” He straightened and began to pad forward.
“Wait!” Jaypaw hissed, and dragged him back by his tail.
There were more cats coming.
Lionpaw ducked down beside him. “What is it now?”
Birchfall and Berrynose were padding one after the other through the dirtplace tunnel, back into camp.
“I beat off two WindClan warriors single-pawed,” Berrynose boasted.
“They may be fast, but they’re small,” Birchfall meowed.
“Once you get hold of them, it’s easy to knock them off their paws.”
“Unlike RiverClan,” Berrynose sneered. “They must do nothing but eat. They’re more like fat, furry fish than cats!”
Jaypaw held his breath as their paw steps passed and disappeared into the warriors’ den.