Tall Shadow didn’t shift her gaze from Holly’s den, where they could just make out the group of cats a tail-length back from the entrance. Pebble Heart was tending to Holly, smoothing her fur with one paw and licking her ears. Cloud Spots stood beside him, supervising; he had only just returned from treating Petal’s kits in the forest. Jagged Peak was crouching beside Holly, too, murmuring words of encouragement into her ear. Though she was responding to the Blazing Star, Thunder knew it was still very dangerous for her to be giving birth so soon.
For several heartbeats Tall Shadow did not speak, and when she did, it was not in reply to Thunder. “Who would have thought Jagged Peak would have ended up being such a wonderful mate and father?” she mewed.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Thunder retorted.
Before Tall Shadow could respond, a high-pitched wailing came from Holly, a sound that made every hair on Thunder’s pelt prickle with anticipation.
Tall Shadow leaped to her paws. “The kits are coming!”
All Thunder’s instincts told him to race across to Holly’s nest and see what was happening. But he knew that too many cats crowding around would be bad for Holly and her kits. Tall Shadow seemed to feel the same, and she paced impatiently in tight circles.
The next moments were the longest of Thunder’s life, but at last Cloud Spots broke away from the cluster of cats in the mouth of the den, and bounded over to them.
“Holly’s kits are here!” he announced triumphantly. “Three of them—all well, and Holly is fine too! This is as good as we could possibly have hoped for.”
Thunder felt a loud purr rising in his throat, but Tall Shadow twitched her tail anxiously. “But how is Holly really?” she asked. “I’ve seen illness before, and it doesn’t just vanish in a couple of heartbeats. Will she make it through the night?”
“We’ve given her another dose of the Blazing Star,” Cloud Spots replied, his elation fading.
“Now all we can do is watch and wait.”
By now the last of the sunlight had vanished and twilight covered the moor. Thunder stifled another massive yawn and said good night to Tall Shadow and Cloud Spots before withdrawing to his den.
Sleep? I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to rest my bones!
Some cat had renewed the moss and bracken in his nest, and Thunder sank into the soft bedding with a weary sigh. He began grooming his pelt, running his tongue over the scratches he had received in the battle with One Eye. But his tongue moved more and more slowly, and his eyelids were growing heavy.
I’ll just sleep for a bit…
Thunder felt a paw on his shoulder, gently shaking him. He opened his eyes and made out the figure of Gray Wing, his gray pelt turned to silver by the moonlight that shone through the entrance to the den.
“It’s time,” Gray Wing mewed.
Thunder stifled a yawn, feeling utterly confused. “Time for what?” he mumbled.
“To go to the four trees,” Gray Wing replied. “Can’t you feel it?”
Struggling back to full wakefulness, Thunder turned his attention inward. Waves of energy were surging through his body, growing stronger with every heartbeat. He could hear faint voices calling in the distance, and he realized that he recognized them.
Rainswept Flower… and Turtle Tail!
Thunder locked his gaze with Gray Wing’s and spotted a flutter of grief in his kin’s face at the sound of his dead mate’s voice. He rose to his paws. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
Taking the lead out of the camp, Thunder almost tripped over Mouse Ear, who was sleeping in the open, curled up in the shadow of a rock. But the tabby tom didn’t stir. Thunder drew a breath of relief. We don’t want any cat asking us where we’re going.
Thunder and Gray Wing were silent as they headed for the clearing with the four great oaks. The air was mild, not at all like a night on the edge of leaf-bare. Thunder could hardly feel the long grasses brushing against his pelt, and the speed of his own movement surprised him. It was almost as though they were floating, not walking at all.
When they arrived in the clearing Thunder saw that more cats were already assembled there, sitting in a ragged half circle in front of the rock: Tall Shadow, River Ripple, Wind Runner, and Clear Sky. They acknowledged the newcomers by dipping their heads, but no cat spoke.
Thunder looked around for Turtle Tail and Rainswept Flower, and spotted them on top of the rock. Their pelts glimmered with starlight and frosty sparkles shone from their eyes. They too dipped their heads in greeting.
“You heard us call to you,” Rainswept Flower meowed. “You came.”
At the sight of the two beautiful she-cats, Thunder felt himself choking with emotion, his throat so tight that he could scarcely breathe. Why were they taken from us? Why did we have to be parted in the first place?
“Because now we can see everything you see, and more.” Turtle Tail responded as if she was reading his thoughts. “Because we can help you. Are we really parted, when we can send you messages in your dreams?”
Thunder’s eyes stretched wide in shock. This is a dream! Now I understand! That’s why I never disturbed Mouse Ear, and why we seemed to float over here, and why I don’t feel the night cold.
Glancing at Gray Wing, he saw that the older cat shared his astonishment. “We’re sharing the same dream!” he whispered. His breathing sounded easy, without the problems that had plagued him ever since the forest fire.
“And so are we,” River Ripple added. His eyes were full of wonder, so different from his usual amused detachment. “All the leaders.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Turtle Tail warned them. “Now—think. Can you remember what we told you when we last spoke with you?”
Thunder nodded. “You said we had to unite or die, and you were right. We united against One
Eye and defeated him. And we shared the Blazing Star to fight off the sickness.” He paused, and when neither of the spirit-cats spoke, he continued. “What now?” For the first time he realized that he didn’t know what the future held. “Why did you summon us in our sleep?”
Rainswept Flower’s blue eyes shone with star-fire as she gazed down at him. “What else did we tell you?” she asked.
Almost overwhelmed by the strangeness of what was happening to him, Thunder struggled to remember. It was Gray Wing who spoke up. “That to survive we must grow and spread like the Blazing Star.”
Rainswept Flower gave him a nod of approval. “That’s right. You cannot forget those words.
They will help you in the coming seasons.”
Thunder exchanged a bewildered glance with Gray Wing, then shrugged. Why can’t these star cats ever tell us something so we can understand it?
“Can you give us any more of a clue as to what that means?” Tall Shadow asked.
“Yes.” Wind Runner flicked her tail, sounding irritated. “Why bring us here and then speak to us in riddles?”
Turtle Tail held up her paw, the pads facing the living cats, and extended her claws. “The Blazing Star has five petals, just as a cat’s paw has five claws.”
It’s like she’s teaching kits, Thunder thought, frustrated. “Yes, but so what?”
“Grow and spread… grow and spread…” Turtle Tail and Rainswept Flower spoke in chorus, repeating the same phrase over and over.
As Thunder gazed up at them, still bewildered, the starry forms of the spirit-cats began to fade.
Their voices grew fainter, too, as if they were calling out from an immense distance.