Crouching, she slunk behind bushes until she could hear the deep murmur of the senior warriors. She slid behind a trunk and peered around. The mist cleared where the river cut through the trees. A large boulder stuck out of the mud on the shore. Ivypool flattened her ears. She had shared her first training sessions with her Dark Forest Clanmates here. Now it was circled by heavily muscled warriors. Feeling the stirrings of fear in her belly, she pushed them away. I am a warrior of the Dark Forest, she reminded herself. I am the equal of any of these cats!
Brokenstar stood on the stone, his thick, dark pelt spiked with excitement. “The time is close,” he growled.
Mapleshade lifted her fading white muzzle. “Good,” she hissed. “I’d hate to miss it.”
Hawkfrost sat and watched through narrowed eyes. Blue as ice, they followed Brokenstar’s every move. Shredtail and Thistleclaw paced while Tigerstar stood stiff-legged, his tail lashing. “Where will we strike first?” he demanded.
Brokenstar slid from the boulder and scratched a line in the muddy earth. “This is where the lake meets the land.”
Slash.
Slash.
Slash.
With deft claws he sliced more shapes into the ground. “We will come at them from here and here.” He stabbed the ground. “And while they are fighting there, another patrol will strike here.”
Ivypool stretched forward, desperate to see where he was pointing at, but Tigerstar and Shredtail blocked her view as they crowded close. Her heart pounding in her throat, Ivypool listened for clues instead.
“They’ll be weaker where the hill slopes down to the brook,” Brokenstar growled. “We can come at them from higher ground and drive them backward.”
“What if we approach from here instead?” Tigerstar jabbed the map with a claw.
Ivypool jumped as Brokenstar’s eyes lit up with interest. “At the very heart of the Clan!”
“Once the kits are dead, their mothers will have less to fight for,” Mapleshade pointed out.
“You’re right.” Brokenstar sat back on his haunches. “It’s decided, then.”
Hawkfrost looked over his shoulder, his gaze grazing the tree where Ivypool was hiding. She flattened herself to the ground, relief swamping her as Hawkfrost’s gaze swept past, missing her, and the Dark Forest warriors began to pad away from the river. As soon as the shore was deserted, she slid out from her hiding place and crept toward Brokenstar’s map. Tense as a rabbit, she glimpsed lines scored in the mud.
Suddenly, paws shook her violently. She jerked around, hissing, and lashed out at her attacker.
“Ivypool!”
Dovewing’s shocked mew brought her to her senses. Ivypool was in her nest. “You woke me up!” she snarled at her sister.
Dovewing stared at her, terror glittering in her eyes. “Ivypool? Are you okay?”
“I was dreaming!” Frustration tightened Ivypool’s throat. She was about to see Brokenstar’s plans!
“You’re awake now, though?” Dovewing asked uncertainly.
“Yes,” Ivypool muttered. “I’m awake.”
Dovewing met her gaze. “You never would have tried to shred me for waking you up before.”
“You know what happens when I dream.”
“That’s why I woke you. Your fur was on end. I was scared something was…” Dovewing suddenly narrowed her eyes. “Did you want to stay in the Dark Forest?”
Ivypool lifted her chin. Here, in the safety of her nest, the terror that had sharpened her dreams ebbed away. But the sense of danger still thrilled beneath her pelt. “I was doing something important!”
Dovewing leaned closer. “What?”
Ivypool turned away. “It’s too late now.” Brokenstar’s plans would be scuffed or washed away by tonight.
Dovewing suddenly wrinkled her nose. “You smell foul.”
Ivypool glanced down at her muddy paws and tucked them tighter beneath her. “Don’t worry. I’ll wash.”
“Good.” Dovewing squeezed past her and headed out of the den.
Ivypool glanced at Molepaw’s empty nest and Cherrypaw’s beside it. They’d already left for apprentice duties. Flexing her claws, she shouldered her way out of the den.
“Ivypool!” Bumblestripe called from the fresh-kill pile. The well-muscled gray tom had a fat blackbird at his paws.
Ivypool ignored him and ducked through the thorn tunnel, into the forest. How could she stay in camp, confined by the hollow, trapped with her Clanmates while her head still spun with the scents and sounds of the Dark Forest?
She bounded up the slope toward the ridge. Strength surged through her body. The Dark Forest had given her that power. It had trained her to be a more skillful warrior than her Clanmates, given her tactics that she would use against the Dark Forest cats when the final battle came. Ivypool’s claws sliced through brambles as she crested the slope and burst from the tree line. Below, the lake glittered beneath a pale dawn sky. Leaf-fall was beginning to tinge the treetops. The green haze that had enfolded the forests for moons was darkening to amber. Excitement surged beneath Ivypool’s pelt. There was no prey she couldn’t catch; no warrior she couldn’t defeat. Her paws itched to prove it.
Out of nowhere, a vision filled her eyes. Warriors swarmed from the shores and spilled into the forest. Torn-eared and scarred, their eyes gleamed with hate. Ferns trembled, brambles shivered as the woods seemed to heave, suddenly alive with battle-hungry cats. Shrieks echoed and Ivypool heard the thud of muscle against rock as the world shook in the claws of the Dark Forest warriors.
As the vision faded she could still taste the tang of blood and fear. Ivypool realized that she was shaking, and her pads were sweating. All the battle skills in the Place of No Stars would not be enough to stop that unrelenting tide of death.
Chapter 2
Evening was creeping into the hollow and dew dampened his fur as Jayfeather took a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and settled beside the bramble to eat.
The half-moon would be hanging in a clear, pale sky. Would the other medicine cats obey the dire warnings from their ancestors and stay away from the other Clans? Or would they travel to the Moonpool to share their dreams with StarClan?
Should I go?
He felt the moon’s tug deep beneath his fur. Ignoring it made his heart ache. But since Dawnpelt had stood at the Gathering and accused him of murdering Flametail, the Clans had ordered Jayfeather to give up his medicine-cat duties. Firestar had given him permission to continue helping his Clanmates as usual, but he had been forced to surrender all his responsibilities outside the Clan.
The moon tugged harder. The will of StarClan was stronger than any living cat. And according to the prophecy, Jayfeather was stronger than StarClan. Besides, he knew he was innocent. He’d tried to save Flametail when he fell through the ice. No other cat had tried to drag the ShadowClan medicine cat from the freezing depths of the lake. Angrily Jayfeather ripped a bite from his mouse.
The trailing brambles swished beside him as Briarlight hauled herself out of the medicine den. Her forepaws were so strong now, she could easily pull her crippled hind legs around the camp.
“Do you want some of this?” Jayfeather held up his mouse with a claw.
“No thanks.” Briarlight paused beside him. “I’m in the mood for vole.”
He felt the sleekness of her fur brush past him as she pulled herself toward the fresh-kill pile. She was the cleanest cat in ThunderClan, washing herself tirelessly, checking for ticks twice a day, and rooting out every flea. An infected bite would weaken her and she was determined to keep exercising until she was the strongest she could be, even without the use of her hind legs.