“You can’t be apprentices until you’re six moons old,” Firestar explained.
“But that’s ages away!” Rock complained, lashing his stumpy black tail.
Firestar exchanged a glance with Sandstorm, seeing amusement glimmering in her green eyes.
“All right,” he meowed, beckoning with his tail. “Come here. You can’t be apprentices yet, but you can have Clan names.”
The three kits dashed toward him, falling over their own paws in their eagerness. When they stood in front of him, quivering with excitement, Firestar touched each with his tail on the top of the head. “From now on, these kits will be known as Rockkit, Bouncekit, and Tinykit.”
“Rockkit! Bouncekit! Tinykit!” Leafdapple called, and the rest of the Clan echoed her with warm purrs of affection.
The three kits marched back to their mother, their tails high in the air.
“What about a Clan leader?” Sharpclaw asked. “You’re not going to stay here forever, are you?”
Firestar wondered if Sharpclaw was nurturing hopes of being SkyClan’s new leader. He was strong, he knew the area well, and he wasn’t afraid to take authority. But Firestar didn’t feel confident about deciding which cat should lead the new Clan—that was a job for their warrior ancestors, surely?
“It doesn’t work like that,” he told Sharpclaw. “It’s not my job to choose a leader. StarClan will do that.”
Sharpclaw’s eyes narrowed and his voice was disbelieving as he asked, “How?”
“They’ll send us a sign,” Firestar explained.
Sharpclaw let out a snort, but didn’t say any more.
“Now I have one more name to give,” Firestar announced, relieved that the question of leadership was over for the moment. He turned to where Sky sat in the shade of the cliff.
“Sky, come here, please.”
The old cat rose to his paws and padded forward. When Sky stood in front of him, Firestar bowed his head in respect for everything the old cat had done to preserve the memory of SkyClan.
“I, Firestar, leader of ThunderClan and mentor to SkyClan, call upon his warrior ancestors to look down upon this cat,” he meowed. “He has served the warrior code throughout his life, and it is thanks to him that this Clan stands here today. For that reason, I ask no promise from him, for he is already a true warrior. Sky, from this day forward you will be known as Skywatcher, in memory of your faith and your dedication to SkyClan.”
A glow of delight flared in the old cat’s pale eyes.
“Skywatcher! Skywatcher!”
Skywatcher gazed deep into Firestar’s eyes. “Thank you. I never dreamed this would happen. I… I hope my ancestors can see me now.”
“I’m sure they can,” Firestar told him.
Drawing closer, Skywatcher murmured in his ear, “Come to my den tonight. There’s something I must tell you.”
Moonlight silvered the rocks as Firestar padded up the gorge. He couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease, but this time it had nothing to do with sensations of hostility or a glimpse of bright, cold eyes in the undergrowth. What did the old cat want to tell him that couldn’t have been said at the meeting by the Rockpile? Why had he insisted on returning to his den under the tree roots, instead of moving in with the Clan, where he could be treated with all the respect that an elder deserved?
He found the twisting path behind the boulder and began to follow it up the side of the gorge. A chill breeze ruffled his fur, a reminder that the warm days of greenleaf must soon come to an end. As he padded up the steep path, he spotted the blur of a gray pelt beneath the thorn tree, and found Skywatcher crouching at the mouth of his den with his paws tucked under him.
“You asked me to come.”
For a few heartbeats Skywatcher held him with eyes like deep pools of water. “I want to thank you,” he meowed solemnly. “You have rebuilt the lost Clan.”
“There’s no need for thanks,” Firestar replied. “I did only what I had to.”
Skywatcher nodded, blinking thoughtfully. “Do you think you have been a good leader for ThunderClan?”
The question startled Firestar, and at first he wasn’t sure how to reply. “I don’t know,” he mewed at last. “It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve always tried to do what is right for my Clan.”
“No cat would doubt your loyalty,” Skywatcher agreed.
“But how far would it go?”
Puzzled, Firestar stayed silent. Why was Skywatcher asking him about ThunderClan?
“There are difficult times ahead,” Skywatcher went on, “and your loyalty will be tested to the utmost. Sometimes the destiny of one cat is not the destiny of the whole Clan.”
Firestar tipped his head to one side. Nothing Skywatcher said was making sense. Was ThunderClan in trouble? He had left them in peace, but that was several moons ago. What would happen to a leaderless Clan with rivals like ShadowClan around?
Skywatcher rose to his paws; his eyes blazed with reflected moonlight. For a heartbeat Firestar was sure he could see the glitter of stars tangled in his fur. The old cat’s voice was soft, but charged with power, stronger than it had been before.
“Your Clan is safe for now. But there will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws.”
Firestar stared at the old warrior. “I don’t understand. Why are you telling me this?”
There was no reply, except for a slight twitch of Skywatcher’s ears.
“You must tell me more!” Firestar protested. “How can I decide what I should do if you don’t explain?”
The old cat took a deep breath, but when he spoke it was only to say, “Farewell, Firestar. In seasons to come, remember me.”
He waved his tail, a clear indication that Firestar should go.
Firestar gazed at him helplessly for a moment longer before turning and stumbling down the path away from the den. His whole body felt cold. Skywatcher’s words had the unmistakable ring of a prophecy from StarClan, but Firestar had no idea what they referred to.
There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws.
Firestar had no kin in ThunderClan except for Cloudtail, so who could the three be?
As he approached the Rockpile, listening to the unending murmur of the river, he paused and raised his eyes to Silverpelt. In the forest, the light of his warrior ancestors was a comfort to him, but he could not even be sure that they walked these strange skies.
“Can you hear me?” he whispered. “Bluestar, Spottedleaf, Yellowfang, if you are listening, please help me keep ThunderClan safe from what lies ahead.”
Chapter 26
Firestar slept fitfully and woke at dawn to find that clouds had covered the sky. A stiff breeze was blowing, and a few leaves whirled down from the bushes on the cliff top. Leaf-fall could not be far away. Giving himself a quick grooming, he tried to forget his fears from the night before. The meaning of Skywatcher’s prophecy was hidden in the moons to come. He could do nothing about it now.
Clovertail and her kits had finally settled in the nursery, leaving room for the new SkyClan warriors to share the big cave with Firestar and Sandstorm. Restless to be doing something, Firestar padded across the cave and prodded Sharpclaw with one paw.
“Wha…?” Sharpclaw raised his head, blinking.
“Time for a dawn patrol,” Firestar announced.
Sharpclaw groaned, then hauled himself out of his nest and shook scraps of moss and fern from his pelt while Firestar roused Leafdapple.
“We’ll fetch Cherrypaw and Sparrowpaw and patrol the borders,” he explained.
Leafdapple looked puzzled. “We haven’t got any borders.”