Firestar’s eyes darkened. “I just hope destiny is enough to save us.”
Sunlight pierced the leaves and lit the forest floor.
Jayfeather was still yawning from his nap as Dovewing followed her Clanmates out of the hollow. Her belly churned. Suddenly the coming battle felt real. She could almost hear the screech of warriors and taste the stone tang of blood.
“Squirrel!” Lionblaze tasted the air a moment before a gray flash shot up a birch tree beside them.
“There’ll be fresh-kill when we return,” Firestar told him. “Brambleclaw’s sending out extra hunting patrols. I want the pile fully stocked.”
Dovewing followed her Clanmates through the woods, swerving as she raced in their paw steps. The warm sun was driving mist from the lake, making the surface glitter like a fish. As Dovewing leaped from the bank and landed on the shore, she tasted the scents of forest and water mingling on her tongue. Pebbles scattered behind her as she charged onward. Firestar skirted the water’s edge, his gaze fixed on the island. He slowed the pace and Dovewing, relieved, caught her breath. By the time they reached the tree-bridge, she was hardly panting. She pulled up beside Lionblaze as Firestar sprang onto the fallen tree and crossed the water. Jayfeather followed, landing neatly on the far shore.
“Go on.” Lionblaze flicked his muzzle toward the tree and Dovewing jumped up, digging her claws into the rotting bark as she padded carefully across.
The island clearing was empty. Lionblaze paced, his tail twitching, while Jayfeather sat in the center beside Firestar. Dovewing padded nervously around them until the grass swished and Onestar slid out. Kestrelflight was at his side.
The WindClan leader circled the clearing, keeping his distance from the ThunderClan warriors. “It seems that our medicine cats are in charge of the Clans now.”
Firestar dipped his head. “They know things we don’t.”
Kestrelflight crossed the clearing and sat beside Jayfeather. “We have seen our enemy,” he explained to his leader. “You have not.”
“Not yet,” Firestar added grimly.
Lionblaze sniffed the undergrowth at the edge of the clearing, ears pricked. “There’s some ShadowClan scent here.”
Onestar glanced at him. “Probably left over from last full moon.”
Lionblaze narrowed his eyes. “Probably.” He padded back across the clearing.
Dovewing moved aside to let him sit beside Firestar. She pricked her ears and listened. Mistystar was coming, Willowshine and Mothwing beside her. Their paw steps crunched on the shore near the tree-bridge. Blackstar and Littlecloud were already rustling through the long grass on the island. Dovewing listened harder. The RiverClan camp buzzed like a beehive while ShadowClan chattered inside their bramble walls like starlings. She reached for WindClan and heard anxious whispers whipped away by the wind.
“They shouldn’t have gone alone.”
“What’s Firestar up to this time?”
“It must be a trap.”
“But Firestar is a noble warrior.”
“Firestar wants to rule all the Clans. He always has.”
They were scared of him! Dovewing twitched, surprised. But he’s your last hope!
Blackstar emerged from the grass. Littlecloud padded after him, chin high.
The ShadowClan leader’s gaze narrowed when he saw Lionblaze. “Why have you brought warriors?”
Firestar wrapped his tail over his paws. “I’ll explain when Mistystar gets here.”
Blackstar glanced over his shoulder at the trembling grass.
Mistystar padded out, leading Willowshine. “Willowshine insisted I come,” she growled. “She says the Dark Forest warriors are planning to invade Clan territory.” Her eyes glittered with disbelief. “Has she gone mad?”
Mothwing nosed her way from the grass. “Willowshine has never been wrong before.”
“But how can the dead threaten the living?” The RiverClan leader halted in the middle of the clearing.
Blackstar stayed near the edge. “Littlecloud told me they’ve learned to cross into our territories.”
“That’s impossible.” Onestar circled his medicine cat.
Jayfeather’s tail whipped from side to side. “How dare you question your medicine cat?” His gaze swept like fire over the leaders. “Do you think we’d lie?”
Mistystar shifted her paws. Onestar flattened his ears. Only Blackstar replied. “StarClan and the Dark Forest have always been beyond our reach. Now you tell us we are part of a war between them?”
“Not just between them,” Firestar growled. “The Dark Forest has declared war on all the Clans. We must unite against them.”
Onestar scowled. “Is that why you brought warriors with you? To force us to join you?”
“I brought them because they’re part of a prophecy,” Firestar explained. “Many moons ago I was told that the kin of my kin would be born with the power of the stars in their paws. For a long time I didn’t know what that meant. Now I do.” He nodded toward Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Dovewing. “The time has come. These are the kin of my kin, and each has a special power that will lead them to fulfill the prophecy.”
Blackstar leaned closer, flattening his ears. “What power?”
Lionblaze lifted his chin. “I cannot be defeated in battle.”
“I can sense thoughts and walk in dreams,” Jayfeather told him.
Dovewing’s breath quickened as all four leaders turned to her. “I—I can hear things that are far away.”
“What do you mean?” Mistystar demanded.
Dovewing felt her tail droop. This felt more like an admission of guilt. “I could hear your Clanmates now if I tried.”
Mistystar’s pelt bushed. “You’re a spy!”
“I would never spy!”
Blackstar showed his teeth. “Really?”
Littlecloud darted forward. “You’re missing the point!”
Jayfeather backed him up. “They were given powers to save the Clans, not harm them.”
Blackstar wove around Lionblaze, a growl rumbling in his throat. “So you can never be defeated, eh?” He stopped and stared at the golden warrior. “Rowanclaw told me he shredded you.”
“I let him!” Lionblaze snapped. The muscles beneath his shoulders rippled.
Blackstar backed away and looked at Firestar. “Suppose we believe you about this prophecy?” he growled. “What is it all for?”
“Why have you kept this secret from us until now?” Onestar put in.
“The time was not right before,” Firestar snapped.
Blackstar flexed his claws. “And what makes it right now?”
Willowshine padded to Dovewing and touched her shoulder with her muzzle. “Can you hear as far as the Dark Forest?” she whispered.
Dovewing stiffened. “I—I don’t know.”
“Will you try?”
Dovewing nodded and stretched her ears till the tips ached.
Blackstar narrowed his eyes, staring at her. “What’s she doing?”
Willowshine met his gaze. “She’s showing you your enemy.”
Dovewing’s throat tightened. What if her power failed her? She reached out from the island, letting her hearing spread in every direction at once. The murmurings of the Clans swept over her; every movement and word crashed in like waves but she kept reaching farther, past the Clans and into the darkness at the edges. Slowing her breath, she forced herself to relax, opening her senses and letting whatever lay beyond the darkness seep in.
A distant yowl sounded from far away. Tensing, Dovewing focused her hearing on the cry and rushed toward it, every sense raw. She gasped as trees blurred at the edges of her vision. The sounds of the forest formed images in her mind, which sharpened and strengthened as she hunted deeper. Spindly undergrowth grew in tangled heaps. An eerie light glowed just strong enough to make them out. She glanced up and saw only darkness. The Place of No Stars!