And yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. It was another accident. He’d hoped that by sharing his vision, he’d fix ShadowClan’s run of bad luck. Had he waited so long that StarClan was still angry? He pulled a leaf from the store and unfolded it. The honey he’d managed to gather a few moons earlier was still sticky. He reached in for a pawful of dock and some poppy seeds and carried them back to Pouncestep’s nest.
“You can come back later.” Puddleshine was shooing Tawnypelt and Dovewing away.
Tawnypelt eyed her denmate anxiously. “She’ll be all right, won’t she?”
“She’ll be fine,” Puddleshine told her. “She just needs to rest.”
Dovewing touched her kit’s ear with her nose. “I’ll be back soon,” she promised.
Pouncestep blinked at her gratefully. “I’ll be okay.”
As the two warriors ducked out of the den, Shadowsight tore a piece of dock leaf and chewed it up. He spat the pulp into the honey and mixed it, while Puddleshine gave Pouncestep the poppy seeds.
The gray tabby she-cat closed her eyes. “It hurts to breathe,” she whispered.
“It will for a while,” Puddleshine told her. “But you’ll be okay.”
As Pouncestep closed her eyes, Shadowsight rubbed the ointment gently into her stings. A few moments later, her breath grew deeper as she slipped into sleep.
Shadowsight glanced at Puddleshine anxiously. “Should we wake her?” He didn’t want her slipping into too deep a slumber.
Puddleshine shook his head. “Sleep will do her good.”
Shadowsight blinked at him. “I thought the accidents would stop when I shared my vision.”
“This could have happened at any time,” Puddleshine told him. “It may have nothing to do with StarClan.”
But doubt tugged at Shadowsight’s belly. “Maybe I should have shared my vision earlier,” he mewed. “Or maybe Tigerstar was right, and I shouldn’t have shared it at all.”
“It’s pointless second-guessing StarClan.” Puddleshine’s gaze was clear and round. “You can only do what you think is best.” He tipped his head. “Have you had any more visions?”
“Nothing.” Shadowsight dropped his gaze. “They’ve stopped talking to me.” He felt suddenly lost. Even during the long leaf-bare, when StarClan had been silent for the other medicine cats, they’d spoken to him. “Why are they silent now? I’ve done everything they asked.”
Puddleshine held his gaze solemnly. “Are you sure your visions have been from StarClan?” he asked suddenly.
Shadowsight stared at him. “Of course they are!” Did Puddleshine think he’d dreamed them up?
“It does seem strange that they only spoke to one cat.” Puddleshine looked thoughtful.
“They were visions, I promise,” Shadowsight mewed fervently. “I didn’t imagine them.”
“I know.” Puddleshine frowned. “But I can’t help thinking that the Clans shouldn’t act on any more visions until StarClan starts sharing with all the medicine cats again.”
Shadowsight felt queasy. “Do you think I’ve done something wrong?”
“No,” Puddleshine mewed quickly. “But every vision seems to have pushed the Clans deeper into conflict. I don’t see why StarClan would want to lead us down that path.”
Shadowsight stared at him. Did Puddleshine also believe that he should have protected ShadowClan by keeping the vision to himself? Feeling hollow, he headed for the entrance.
“Where are you going?” Puddleshine called after him.
“I have to think,” he answered. “I’m going for a walk.”
Night had fallen, and the camp was dark as he crossed the clearing. His Clanmates were sharing tongues beside their dens. He avoided their glances as he headed for the entrance and slipped into the forest.
Puddleshine’s words had unsettled him. Could it be true that he’d misinterpreted StarClan’s signs? Were his ancestors trying to send him a deeper message that he was too mouse-brained to understand? Instinctively he headed for the edge of the forest and the stream that would lead him to the Moonpool. Perhaps they’d talk to him now, if he confessed that he didn’t understand their visions and begged them to just tell him what they wanted.
The moon was high by the time he pulled himself over the lip of the hollow and followed the dimpled rock down to the pool. The black surface reflected no stars, and the dark water made him nervous. Was StarClan determined not to listen? His heart quickened as he crouched at the edge. Please, StarClan, speak to me. I only want to make things right, for you and for the Clans. Surely they’d hear the longing in his heart and respond? The Moonpool was cold, but the thawed water rippled as he touched his nose to it. He let his mind clear, waiting for the wide green meadows of StarClan to open before him and the voices of cats he’d only known in visions to speak to him.
He saw only endless darkness. The chill of the stone beneath his paws seemed to reach through him, until he felt as cold as ice. Fear trickled along his spine, and he shivered, suddenly unnerved. The weight of another cat’s gaze seemed to press into his pelt. Was some cat watching him? He lifted his head sharply and blinked open his eyes. In the silence of the night, he could sense another presence in the hollow. He fluffed out his fur, feeling suddenly vulnerable in the Moonpool’s wide stone basin beneath the endless black sky. Fear wormed beneath his pelt and, keeping low, he crept away from the water and hurried up the spiraling path to the lip of the hollow. He scrambled over the edge, relieved as the shadows swallowed him.
He had felt nothing of StarClan in the hollow, and as he padded quickly along the stream that cut through the moor and led back toward the forest, his pelt prickled with foreboding. He realized with a sense of dread that none of the visions had swept him to the sun-drenched meadows of StarClan. There had been no glittering pelts, only a single disembodied voice swathed in shadow. That voice had told him to take Bramblestar onto the moor to let him die. It had told him that the Clans must suffer until the codebreakers were punished.
Puddleshine’s words rang again in his head. Every vision seems to have pushed the Clans deeper into conflict. His mentor was right. Each time he’d shared what he’d seen, the Clans had grown more frightened and more defensive. I don’t see why StarClan would want to lead us down that path. StarClan had only ever wanted the Clans to be safe and happy. Why would they demand suffering now?
He glanced back toward the hollow, no more than a silhouette against the starry sky. He’d gone to the Moonpool to find clarity. And he had, but not in the way he’d expected. Certainty sat like a rock in his belly. The voice, which had told him to cure Bramblestar by letting him die and had shown him the codebreakers, belonged to a spirit that knew the Clans. But he knew now, with a sureness that filled him with horror, that the voice had never been the voice of StarClan.
Chapter 16
Rootpaw peered from the den entrance and tasted the damp night air. Musty forest scents bathed his tongue. The dark clearing was deserted. He pricked his ears and heard only the call of an owl far away in the forest. Anxiety fluttered in his belly as he glanced at the moon. It was already high in the raven-black sky. His Clanmates had taken ages to settle into their dens and go to sleep. I’m going to be late for the meeting!
Bracken rustled behind him, and he jerked his muzzle around, alarm sparking in his pelt. Had one of his denmates woken? In the shadows, he saw Wrenpaw curl tighter in her nest and settle deeper into the moss. Needlepaw was still snoring softly beside her.
Holding his breath, Rootpaw slipped outside, skirting the clearing as he made for the entrance. He quickened his step. Once he was out in the forest, he would only have to worry about being seen by foxes and badgers. For once, he wished that Bramblestar’s ghost were with him. He didn’t like being alone in the woods at night, and another pair of eyes would be useful. But the ghost had disappeared last night and Rootpaw hadn’t seen it since. Perhaps it had gone to keep an eye on Squirrelflight. She’d looked pretty scared when she’d found out her mate was an impostor.