Warriors: Omen of the Stars #6: The Last Hope (24 page)

Littlecloud’s gaze flicked to the orange medicine cat. “Where have you been? I’ve been searching for you.”

Flametail dipped his head. “I’ve been staying out of sight since I died,” he meowed apologetically.

“But now I know you’re safe with our ancestors.” Littlecloud touched his Clanmate’s cheek with his muzzle.

Spottedleaf nosed between them. “We can’t stay here. We have to tell all the medicine cats while they’re still sharing dreams with StarClan. Littlecloud, come with us.” She turned to Flametail. “What’s the quickest way to WindClan’s part of the hunting grounds?”

“Out of the pines and head for the gorse.” Spottedleaf nodded and raced away.

Jayfeather paused before following her. He held Flametail’s bright blue gaze for several long heartbeats. There was so much he could say, but he had a feeling Flametail knew what it was already. “Thank you,” he murmured.

Flametail nodded. “For the Clans,” he meowed.

“For the Clans,” Jayfeather echoed. Then he spun around and sent pine needles spraying behind him as he dashed after Spottedleaf. He heard Flametail and Littlecloud racing after him, their paws ringing hollow on the damp earth.

They broke from the pines onto a hillside crowded by heather; it rose toward a glowering, purple-gray sky. Spottedleaf plunged through a gap between the bushes and disappeared. Jayfeather raced after her, Flametail and Littlecloud at his heels. The path wound steeply upward, walled by prickly bushes on either side. Jayfeather sensed they were not alone: Pelts flashed between the stems, eyes shining in the shadows, but no cat stopped them.

As they neared the summit, a thick swath of gorse blocked their path. Zigzagging frantically, Jayfeather spotted an opening and darted through. He exploded out onto a rocky plateau.

Spottedleaf burst out after him. “There he is!” She raced toward a lone figure that sat at the edge of the rock. Kestrelflight turned to face them, his ears flat.

Spottedleaf scrambled to a halt beside him. “We need to talk to you!”

Jayfeather skidded on the smooth stone, gasping as he saw the ground drop away. He dug in his claws and stopped just in time. Kestrelflight’s front paws were curled over the edge of a steep cliff. Far below, a wide valley rolled toward a distant horizon where it was swallowed by billowing cloud.

Kestrelflight frowned. “What’s going on?”

“We need Willowshine!” As Littlecloud and Flametail caught up, Spottedleaf scanned the valley. “Is that RiverClan land down there?”

“There’s no need to go there.”

A voice sounded behind them. Willowshine was stalking across the hilltop toward them. “I saw you and wondered what you were doing.” She stared at Jayfeather. “Are you here because of Mothwing? She said you’d visited RiverClan today.”

“Yes.” Jayfeather could hardly get his breath. “There was a sign for me.”

Willowshine nodded. “That’s why she told me to share dreams with StarClan tonight. I thought it was strange. She doesn’t usually mention StarClan.”

Panic flashed through Jayfeather as he realized that the RiverClan medicine cat was beginning to fade. Willowshine was being pulled away from StarClan. Kestrelflight was growing paler, too. And Littlecloud. Jayfeather looked down at his front paws and saw gray stone where his toes should have been.

“The sun is rising over the lake! The medicine cats are leaving us.” Spottedleaf gazed at Flametail. “Quick, tell them!”

“Jayfeather didn’t kill me!” Flametail blurted out the truth. “I drowned. Jayfeather was trying to save me. But I was too heavy and the current was too strong. My death was not his fault!”

“Thank you, Flametail.” Jayfeather dipped his head as the landscape around began to swirl. “You have fulfilled your destiny.”

The flame-colored ShadowClan medicine cat lifted his head.
He must be the fourth cat.
Jayfeather looked around at the other medicine cats. They were almost transparent. “Let’s meet at the Moonpool tomorrow.”

“Yes!” Kestrelflight called.

“I’ll be there!” Willowshine promised.

“Me too!” Littlecloud’s mew was no more than a whisper as he disappeared.

Flametail’s orange pelt burned against the fading rock. “How strange that I had to wait until I died to fulfill my destiny.” He stared at Jayfeather. “Thank you for coming to find me.” Peace flooded his gaze. “Whatever happens now, I’ll stand side by side with the Clans. All of them.”

“Jayfeather.” As the world disappeared, Spottedleaf’s breath brushed his ear fur. “He’s not the fourth cat.”

“He must be!” Jayfeather shifted in his nest.

“No! You have to keep looking!” Spottedleaf’s voice echoed in his mind as Jayfeather woke, opening his eyes into blackness.

Lionblaze paced the clearing. Rain dripped
from the dens, though the clouds had cleared to reveal a clear dawn sky. The Clan was beginning to stir. Nests rustled and the honeysuckle shivered as Purdy padded yawning from the elders’ den.

“You’re up early, young ’un!” the old tom called across the clearing.

“I’m waiting for the dawn patrol,” Lionblaze told him. His claws itched with worry. Would they return with news of more strange cat scents?

“You should be resting.” Firestar bounded down from Highledge. “You were out on moonhigh patrol!”

Lionblaze halted. “So were you.” They’d crossed the whole territory with Brackenfur and Sandstorm and found cat scent in every gully and hollow.

Sandstorm poked her head out of the leader’s cave. “How can any cat sleep knowing the woods are filled with enemies!”

“Hush!” Firestar shot back at her, lashing his tail.

Sandstorm scrambled down the rock tumble and wove around her mate. “Sorry,” she murmured. “But shouldn’t the Clan know?”

Firestar dug his claws deep into the soil. “Not until I decide how we tackle this.” His gaze met Lionblaze’s.

How will he explain it to the Clan?
Were they ready to know that the Dark Forest was preparing to launch an attack that could destroy all the Clans? Lionblaze shivered. It had been shocking to smell Ivypool’s scent among the others. Had Firestar guessed that the young warrior had been with the Dark Forest cats?
He might just think it was stale scent from a hunting patrol.

The brambles at the entrance to the medicine den trembled and Jayfeather pushed his way out. “Lionblaze.” He trotted to his brother’s side. “I shared dreams with StarClan,” he whispered in Lionblaze’s ear.

Lionblaze steered Jayfeather toward the far edge of the clearing. “Did they tell you anything?” he hissed.

“I found Flametail!” Jayfeather’s sightless eyes were bright. “He told the other medicine cats the truth about his death. We’re meeting at the Moonpool tonight.”

“What if it’s too late?” Lionblaze mewed grimly. If the Dark Forest cats were leaving scents so casually in the lakeside territories, the final battle must be near.

“We have to believe it’s not!” Jayfeather hissed. “If the medicine cats are willing to join together once more, they might be able to get their leaders to do the same!”

“We still need to find the fourth cat,” Lionblaze reminded him. What good was uniting if the prophecy was still unfulfilled?

“It’s not Flametail,” Jayfeather announced.

Lionblaze stared at his brother in surprise. “What made you think it was?”

“Mothwing showed me an omen,” Jayfeather explained. “A reed was burning with a flame that the rain couldn’t put out. I thought it meant Flametail might be the fourth cat. But Spottedleaf told me he wasn’t.”

Lionblaze whisked his tail, frustrated. “I don’t suppose she told you who it was?”

Jayfeather shook his head. “I don’t think she knows.” He paced around Lionblaze. “We have to find out for ourselves.” He stopped.

Paw steps were thundering toward the thorn barrier. Lionblaze tasted the air.
Brambleclaw.
The dawn patrol was returning.

The barrier rustled as Brambleclaw exploded into the camp. “WindClan has reset the borders and put a permanent watch at the stream.” Fur ruffled, he headed for Firestar. “We should do the same.”

Graystripe and Millie followed the ThunderClan deputy into camp, with Molepaw, Rosepetal, and Dovewing right behind.

“I should have stayed at the border,” Graystripe growled.

“What could you have done alone?” Millie argued.

Firestar narrowed his eyes. “Go back,” he ordered Graystripe. “Don’t start anything, but warn us if there’s trouble.”

Sorreltail poked her head out of the warriors’ den. “Is WindClan planning to invade?”

“We’re not sure,” Firestar told her. “But it’s better to be prepared.” He signaled to Brambleclaw with his tail and the two warriors scrambled up the rocks to his cave.

Molepaw bounced around Rosepetal. “Can I go with Graystripe?” he begged. “My hearing’s sharper than his. I’ll know if they’re coming
way
before him.”

Rosepetal gazed sternly at her apprentice. “Graystripe has the experience to know the difference between the sound of threat and the sound of action.” She nudged him toward the fresh-kill pile. “We don’t want any false alarms. Now go and eat.”

As Molepaw stomped away, Dovewing joined Lionblaze and Jayfeather. “WindClan is furious,” she warned. “They’ve found enemy scents all over the moorland, especially ThunderClan scent.”

Has Ivypool been there too?
Lionblaze’s tail twitched.

Jayfeather narrowed his eyes. “At this rate the Dark Forest won’t need to invade,” he muttered. “The Clans will tear one another to pieces on their own.”

“We have to find out exactly what Brokenstar’s planning.” Lionblaze leaned closer to Dovewing. “Get Ivypool. It’s time she told us what’s going on in the Dark Forest.”

“She must be sleeping.” Dovewing glanced at the apprentice den. “I don’t like to wake her.”

“I don’t care,” Lionblaze hissed. “Go get her!”

As Dovewing headed for the yew bush, Lionblaze nudged Jayfeather toward the fallen beech. Poppyfrost was stretching outside the warriors’ den. Berrynose pushed past her and headed for the fresh-kill pile, where Foxleap and Toadstep were already rooting through yesterday’s catch.

“Has Brambleclaw organized the patrols?” Foxleap hooked a shriveled shrew with his claw. “We’re going to need something fresher than this.”

“I should think so.” Ferncloud padded from the nursery. “Brightheart’s hungry and she won’t want to eat stale mouse. With the kits coming soon, her appetite is fussier than ever.”

“I’ll go hunting!” Molepaw offered.

Rosepetal sat down. “We just got back from patrol!”

Foxleap rubbed his nose with his paw. “I’ll take Molepaw and Cherrypaw out while you rest,” he told the dark cream she-cat.

“Thanks,” Rosepetal breathed.

The yew bush shivered and Dovewing emerged. Ivypool followed, her eyes bleary with sleep. Lionblaze signaled to them with his tail, huddling deeper into the shadow of the beech.

“What is it?” Ivypool yawned as she reached him.

Jayfeather shifted his paws. “You have to tell us what’s happening in the Dark Forest,” he hissed.

Lionblaze beckoned Ivypool closer with a flick of his muzzle. “There are Dark Forest scents all over Clan territory.” He fixed her gaze with his. “And yours.”