“Not really.” Squirrelflight told her. “ShadowClan doesn’t know we helped her. But they are ready to declare war on you because of the fight with their patrol. One of their warriors lost his ear, and his hearing.”
Moonlight tipped her head to one side. “Do they know we’ll be moving on once my kits have been born?”
“Yes,” Squirrelflight met her gaze apologetically. “But Tigerstar doesn’t want to wait that long, and RiverClan and WindClan are willing to fight with him.”
Moonlight blinked at her. “And your Clan?”
“Bramblestar is stalling them. He says we must have the permission of StarClan.”
“They’re your ancestors, yes?”
Squirrelflight nodded.
“And they live up there?” Moonlight looked into the sky. Pale blue was showing on the horizon, but the stars were still glittering in blackness overhead. “It seems a long way to travel. Perhaps that’s why some choose to stay here.”
Squirrelflight frowned. “What do you mean?”
Snow pricked her ears. “Don’t you see them?”
“See who?” Squirrelflight shifted uneasily. The Sisters were staring at her as though she’d grown rabbit ears.
“The dead,” Moonlight told her.
Cold wormed beneath Squirrelflight’s pelt. “Only medicine cats share with StarClan.”
Moonlight looked puzzled. “Don’t the rest of you see them?”
Squirrelflight hesitated, remembering suddenly the great battle against the Dark Forest. “Once, many moons ago, our ancestors fought beside us.” Her belly tightened. “But those days are over. Since then, the warriors of StarClan only show themselves to our medicine cats.”
Moonlight met her gaze. “Perhaps it is simpler that way. The dead are all around us. They seem younger and sleeker than they did in life, as though death brings them peace.”
“Do you speak to them?” A memory stirred at the edges of Squirrelflight’s thoughts.
“Sometimes,” Moonlight told her.
Tree! Squirrelflight caught hold of the memory. The loner that SkyClan had taken in was able to see the dead. He’d brought dead warriors from the shadows to speak with their living Clanmates. “Of course! Your son Tree sees the dead too!”
“Cats born of the Sisters have this skill.” Moonlight gazed at her. “It keeps us connected to our ancestors.”
“We all see the dead,” Furze told her. “Sometimes they talk to us; sometimes they don’t. Sometimes I’m not sure they even see me.”
“I often see the same cat,” Tempest told her. “If she wants to, she speaks to me; if not, she ignores me.”
Squirrelflight wondered if the Sisters’ dead had the same powers of prophecy as StarClan. “Do they ever tell you what will happen in the future?”
Tempest narrowed her eyes. “How would they know?”
“Our dead move among us,” Moonlight explained. “They have no power to see what we cannot.”
Squirrelflight glanced at the sky, frustration pricking in her paws. What use were the dead if they couldn’t help the living? Dawn was creeping closer. She needed to get home. “Tell your dead friends to watch out for the Clans,” she warned Moonlight. “Bramblestar has stopped ShadowClan for now, but once Tigerstar gets an idea, it’s hard for him to let go.”
Moonlight swished her tail. “We are bigger and stronger than Clan cats.”
Squirrelflight gazed at her solemnly. “Maybe, but you’re heavily outnumbered. Even rats are dangerous when they come in swarms.”
Tempest and Furze exchanged nervous looks. Hawk shifted closer to her kits.
Moonlight held Squirrelflight’s gaze. “You may be right,” she conceded. “But we won’t be here for long. Try to persuade the Clans to wait. We mean no harm to them, but my kits must be born here.”
Squirrelflight dipped her head. “I will do what I can.” Even as she promised, doubt gnawed at her belly. Maybe once, with Bramblestar on her side, she could have persuaded the Clans to keep their claws sheathed, for a while at least. But their experience with Darktail had made the Clans more wary. His Kin had posed as a harmless group of rogues, too—but then they’d infiltrated ShadowClan and eventually taken it over. Before he was done, they’d taken RiverClan’s land as well, and horribly mistreated the cats in their care. Many cats died in the battle to defeat him, and ShadowClan was nearly destroyed. All the Clans had become more hostile to outsiders and less open to reason as a result. She knew the Sisters were no threat, but she wasn’t sure that she could convince the Clans to leave them in peace.
CHAPTER 12
“Stay with me.” Squirrelflight nudged Ivypool with her nose, waiting while Twigbranch and Finleap checked the clearing. She wanted to give the two young warriors a chance to guide the hunt.
In the days since the Sisters had left the camp, she’d volunteered for every patrol. She wanted to keep busy. She was leading a hunting patrol now. They hadn’t had much luck so far, finding prey scarce around the beech grove, but as they headed closer to the edge of the forest, prey-scents were becoming thicker. Ivypool paused beside her and watched Twigbranch and Finleap sniff their way through the ferns that pooled in a patch of sunlight.
Twigbranch lifted her head and called over the browning fronds. “There are squirrel scents here, but they’re stale.” She looked into the canopy. “Prey must be busy today building nests for leaf-bare.”
Ivypool padded forward, pushing between the ferns. “They have to come out to find fresh bedding, just like we do.”
Twigbranch shrugged. “If they do, they’re not looking for it here.”
Squirrelflight nodded toward the edge of the forest, where bright sunshine lit the trunks. “We could check the land beyond the stream.”
“The moorland?” Ivypool looked unconvinced.
Finleap pricked his ears hopefully. “Moorland prey might be less shy.” As he swished through the ferns, heading for the light, Twigbranch hurried after him.
“I don’t see the point of hunting on the moorland.” Ivypool fell in beside Squirrelflight as they followed the younger cats. “We’ll be giving it back soon.”
“Only if SkyClan agrees to move,” Squirrelflight told her. “And even then, we have to wait for the Sisters to leave their camp.”
“Not if Tigerstar goes ahead with his plan to chase them off,” Ivypool reminded her.
Squirrelflight’s belly tightened. “He promised to wait for word from StarClan.” Bramblestar hadn’t sent Jayfeather and Alderheart to consult with StarClan yet, and she guessed he was delaying on purpose. He didn’t want any news that would encourage Tigerstar to start a war with the Sisters. Besides, Bramblestar already knew what StarClan thought. Clouds from the mountains will make it difficult to tell friend from enemy. But if the Clans stay united, the way forward will be clear. She wasn’t surprised he hadn’t shared the message with the other Clans. It could too easily be interpreted as an order to move against the Sisters.
Had the other Clans sent medicine cats to the Moonpool? Would StarClan give them the same message? Squirrelflight couldn’t help but consider what that might mean: Whatif StarClan does want us to attack the Sisters? But how could that be? Squirrelflight knew many of the cats in StarClan; they were her own kin and Clanmates, good cats at heart. Why would they want the Clans to attack these harmless cats? For now, she decided, she was choosing to believe that wasn’t what StarClan meant.
Judging from the silence from beyond ThunderClan’s borders, Squirrelflight guessed that no message had been shared. But waiting was making her nervous. How long would Bramblestar resist the call to war against the Sisters if StarClan sent word to the other Clans?