“Everything is changing,” Barkface growled. “WindClan’s greatest battle is coming. We cannot let the treachery of other Clans sap our strengths.”
“We must stand alone,” Daisytail insisted.
Why? Jayfeather frowned. Four patrols could not drive the fox from our territory. Today Lionblaze sent it fleeing for its life. Was Yellowfang’s prophecy true?
“You must trust in your ancestors, not in other Clans,” Barkface warned. “The past will be your strength, not the present.”
Kestrelflight looked ruffled. “But who will this battle be against? Why must we fight alone? Tallstar never saw any weakness in allying the Clan with others to make it stronger.”
Daisytail narrowed her eyes. “Tallstar was blinded by friendships,” she mewed pointedly. Jayfeather wondered if she was referring to the long friendship between Firestar and the WindClan leader.
Kestrelflight searched Barkface’s gaze. “Is that who we’ll be fighting? Another Clan?”
“You don’t know your enemy yet,” he rasped. “But you’ll know them when the time comes.”
Jayfeather felt the fur on his neck prickle. Why not tell him? Shouldn’t he know that his Clan was going to face an army of the most dark-hearted warriors ever to have walked forest, moor, or stream?
Daisytail padded into Kestrelflight’s path, blocking his way. “Don’t tell any of the other medicine cats about this,” she warned.
Kestrelflight blinked. “Won’t they already know?”
“Betrayal could come from anywhere,” Barkface growled. “You must stand alone, knowing your ancestors walk with you, and you alone.”
Daisytail jerked her head around and tasted the air. Jayfeather ducked back behind the rock. Had she smelled him? Taking no risks, he backed away down a short, steep slope, flinching as pebbles clattered down beside him. He slid into a narrow gully and followed it quickly away from the hilltop. The rocky channel wound down, cutting ever deeper into the hillside. Jayfeather quickened his step until the slopes of the gully began to smooth into grassy banks. Soon he was following a stony path that opened onto a pebbly shore beside a stream.
Willows drooped over its banks. Ferns clustered at the water’s edge. Instinctively, Jayfeather headed for cover. This was not his dream. Keeping to the ferns, he headed downstream until he caught sight of a rock. Wide and flat, it broke from the water and split the current around it. He recognized Willowshine’s gray tabby pelt silhouetted on the rock, and beside her, Mudfur, the ancient RiverClan medicine cat. Graypool sat with them, paws rooted to the stone even when water splashed and lapped at them.
“You must stand alone,” Mudfur ordered.
Jayfeather pricked his ears harder. The rushing of the stream drowned their words.
“…ancestors will walk with you…” Graypool was staring intently at Willowshine.
Willowshine bristled. “…cats have always helped each…”
Graypool shook her head. “…have changed. We must change too…”
“Can I tell Mothwing?”
Graypool flashed a glance at Mudfur. “She won’t believe you, but you can tell her.”
Mudfur dipped his head. “She’s a good medicine cat. She will protect her Clanmates through this terrible battle.”
“Please,” Willowshine begged. “What is this battle? Who will we be fighting?”
Jayfeather saw the older cats shake their heads. The stream washed around them.
“…more terrible than your worst nightmares…”
“…darker than you can dream of…”
“…a river of blood…”
Willowshine leaned away from them, her whiskers quivering with fear.
Angry now, Jayfeather slid through the ferns, away from the water’s edge. It seemed like every cat in StarClan was in a state of panic! Did they really think that dividing the Clans and crippling them with fear would help? He must share what he knew with the other medicine cats. They faced a real enemy.
“Do you believe me now?”
Jayfeather jerked to a halt as Yellowfang blocked his path.
“All four Clans must stand alone,” she hissed. “The Dark Forest moves among them. You can’t trust anyone. Why do you think the ShadowClan cats stayed away from the Moonpool tonight? They have abandoned you already. And WindClan and RiverClan will abandon you now.”
“Not if I tell them what’s really going on.”
Yellowfang sprang at him, bowling him over. “No!” She pressed him hard to the ground. “Can’t you read the signs? Lionblaze beat the fox single-pawed!” she hissed. “If you don’t keep quiet, all four Clans will be lost to the darkness.”
Struggling, Jayfeather blinked open his eyes and found himself beside the Moonpool, his vision black once more. Fur brushed snow. Kestrelflight was heading away up the path. Willowshine was already at the top, walking quickly as if she didn’t want to speak to her companions. Was the bond between medicine cats so easily broken?
Jayfeather scrambled to his paws. He had to warn them. “The Dark Forest—”
Crackling silenced him. Ice splintered behind him, echoing around the walls of the hollow. Jayfeather turned, and his vision was flooded with starlight. The Moonpool was freezing over, ice spreading like fire through grass, reaching over the water until the whole pool was white.
Jayfeather stared around the hollow. Hope flared in his chest. Cats of StarClan lined the glittering walls. The ranks of star-pelted warriors sat silent and still. Jayfeather looked more closely. Was that Rock among them? Jayfeather recognized the ancient, hairless cat with a surge of joy. Had he come to help StarClan? Perhaps he’d changed their minds? Perhaps the cats of StarClan were going to face the Dark Forest together after all?
As he watched, pleading silently for some kind of sign, he saw the hollow start to whiten. One after another, the StarClan warriors turned to ice, their fur glistening, their whiskers stiffening, before shattering into cruel, prickling shards in the cold, dead moonlight.
Only Rock remained. He stared blankly at Jayfeather, his bulging blind eyes as frosted as the Moonpool.
Chapter 15
Ivypaw opened her eyes. Mouse dung! It was night, and she was still in the apprentices’ den. She wanted to be in the Dark Forest. She wanted to perfect the complicated move that Hawkfrost had shown her last night. She pricked her ears.
Silence. Dovepaw wasn’t in her nest.
Ivypaw sighed and rolled over. Did Dovepaw think no one was going to notice her disappearing night after night, returning just before the dawn patrol and pretending to wake in her nest as though she’d never been gone?
I know what you’re up to. Ivypaw tucked her nose under her tail. You’re sneaking off to practice by yourself in the woods. You’ve realized that I’m better than you, and you don’t like it.
It was Dovepaw’s turn to play catch-up, for a change.
Ivypaw closed her eyes and pictured Mapleshade’s move. If I put a hind paw there and a forepaw there… Her thoughts drifted into a dream.
“Get back, Thornclaw! You might get hurt.” She growled at her Clanmate and turned to face the ShadowClan patrol alone. With a single paw, she sent Oakfur flying over her shoulder, then lunged at Smokefoot, kicking out with her hind legs to scratch Crowfrost’s snapping muzzle.
Pain tore through her dream as two spiked paws gripped her shoulders. The ShadowClan warriors vanished from her thoughts. This enemy wasn’t imagined. The sting of claws in her flesh was real. Ivypaw swallowed a wail of pain as they hooked her pelt and flung her to the ground.
“That’ll teach you to pay attention!”
Thistleclaw’s rancid breath hit her nose. The Dark Forest swam into focus. With her muzzle pressed into the dank earth, she could just make out the shadowy trunks through the hanging mist.