Warriors: Omen of the Stars #6: The Last Hope (27 page)

Firestar froze, blinking at him.

Jayfeather halted in front of his leader. “Come with me.”

Firestar pricked his ears. “Why?”

“The prophecy needs more than the Three. We need a fourth cat.”

“What do you mean?”

Jayfeather twitched his tail impatiently. “When I went to the mountains, the Tribe of Endless Hunting told me that the prophecy could only be fulfilled if we found another cat. Mothwing showed me an omen, a fire in the reeds by RiverClan. It’s
you,
Firestar. You are the fourth cat.”

Firestar tipped his head to one side. “Yet again, fire will save the Clan,” he murmured. “Very well. What do you need me to do?”

“Follow me.” Jayfeather turned and dived between the battling cats, racing to the edge of the wide, flat rock.

Firestar quickly caught up. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” Jayfeather drew in a breath and flung himself over the cliff, feeling a rush of air before his paws hit grass. Firestar landed beside him, eyes wide. They were on top of the hill beside the medicine cats. Below, StarClan was waiting.

“They needed to see you,” Jayfeather explained.

“Why?”

“Because the prophecy makes you part of this. The life you have left will save the Clans.” Jayfeather turned to face the ranks of StarClan. “You must follow me once more,” he yowled. “You need to see for yourselves.” Beckoning with his tail, he headed down the slope, not to Firestar’s dream battlescape, but into a dingy forest where slimy bushes choked the roots of the trees and the sunshine turned to eerie half-light. Firestar’s pelt brushed his as they crept deeper into the woods. Behind them, StarClan sparkled in the shadows, muttering.

“How can any warrior live in such darkness?”

“It smells foul.”

Jayfeather heard a battle cry echo between the trees. “Look.” He flicked his muzzle toward the shadows ahead. Dark pelts flitted through the slippery undergrowth. Agonized cries rose and fell in the darkness. Then one voice rasped louder than the others.

“Hook your claws into her spine and go for her throat!” Mapleshade loomed suddenly in front of them. Blind to the watching StarClan cats, she aimed a heavy blow at the ear of a scrawny tom and sent him reeling away.

Brokenstar stalked from the trees. “Hasn’t Shredtail mastered the death blow yet?” He scowled at the tabby, who was wiping blood from his nose. Then he yanked the tortoiseshell to her paws, blood welling on her fur where his claws pierced her pelt. “If your opponent wasn’t so useless, you’d be ripped to shreds by now. I want as many Clan cats dead as there are birds in the forest!”

“Where’s the sun?” Mosskit’s frightened whisper echoed in the darkness.

Snowfur wrapped her tail over his back. “Hush, little one!”

Creeping like prey, the StarClan cats headed back along the trail. Firestar walked heavily beside Jayfeather, his head low. “How can we fight such evil?” he murmured.

“The prophecy says we can win.” Jayfeather felt daylight dapple his pelt. The trees had thinned and StarClan were flooding back into their hunting grounds.

“We’re back!” Mosskit scampered onto the grassy slope. He turned, blinking, as StarClan streamed past him and stared at Jayfeather. “Why did you take us to see those horrible cats?”

Bluestar paused beside her kit and touched his head with her muzzle. “We have to know our enemy.”

Firestar lifted his voice to the whole of StarClan. “Now that you have seen them, have heard what they are threatening our Clans with, are you afraid to fight?”

Raggedstar bristled. “Never!”

Jayfeather saw determination hardening the gazes of the StarClan warriors. “But will you fight together?” he questioned.

Bluestar swished her tail. “We can’t fight such cruelty while we’re divided.”

Yellowfang stepped forward. “How will we know who to trust?”

“You can trust me.” Firestar straightened up, his pelt bright. “And one another.”

Raggedstar padded forward. “How could such horror have thrived?” he growled. “We should have been able to crush it before it grew so strong. After all, we have the power of the stars in our paws.”

Jayfeather met his solemn gaze. “No,” he meowed. “That is my destiny. Mine and Firestar’s.”

Beside him, Firestar nodded. “I am the fourth cat,” he declared. “The prophecy has come true.”

Jayfeather opened his eyes into blackness. The Moonpool rippled at his nose. Kestrelflight, Littlecloud, and Willowshine were waking, their pelts brushing the stone as they clambered to their paws.

Jayfeather felt blood welling on his pads. The long journey had left him grazed and aching. “StarClan is united. Now we must gather the Clans.” He pushed himself up. “We must tell them everything.”

Littlecloud’s claws scraped the rock. “Let’s bring them to the island.”

“But we don’t know which warriors to trust.” Worry edged Willowshine’s mew.

“We can trust the leaders, surely?” Kestrelflight’s tail swished.

Jayfeather nodded. “I’ll bring Firestar.”

“And I’ll bring Blackstar,” Littlecloud promised.

“I’ll bring Mistystar.”

“I’ll bring Onestar.”

Jayfeather felt determination harden beneath their pelts. “Let’s meet at sunhigh,” he decided. “We have to make them realize that the only way to win this battle is to unite the Clans.”

“Brightheart has kitted!”

Poppyfrost’s cry woke Dovewing. She jumped from her nest and darted into the clearing. The hollow sparkled with dew. Mist hung on the trees at the top of the hollow. The musty scents of leaf-fall laced the chilly air. Faces peered from dens, whiskers quivering, eyes bright.

Cloudtail was pacing outside the nursery while Mousefur hurried across the clearing on stiff legs. “How many?” the old she-cat rasped.

“Three.” Cloudtail carried on pacing. “Two toms and a she-kit.” He glanced anxiously at the bramble den as Jayfeather poked his head out of the entrance. “Is Brightheart okay?”

Dovewing’s belly tightened as she crossed the clearing. Brightheart was old to be kitting.

“She’s fine,” Cinderheart purred. “Come and see.”

Dovewing halted beside Mousefur. “It’s the first good news we’ve had for a while.”

The elder whisked her tail. “Perhaps Firestar should have sent her away to kit outside our territory.” Her eyes were dark. “They’d be safer.”

“Safer?” Graystripe padded toward them. “The safest place for any kit is at the heart of its Clan.”

Lilykit slithered out of the nursery. “No one’s sending me away!”

“Of course not.”
And you shouldn’t have been eavesdropping.
Dovewing wrapped her tail around the tiny tortoiseshell. “ThunderClan fights for its kits. They’re the heart of the Clan.” She nudged Lilykit toward the warriors’ den. “Why don’t you go and tell Sorreltail about Brightheart’s kits?”

Firestar jumped down from Highledge, Sandstorm on his tail. He weaved past Dustpelt and Squirrelflight and stopped beside Graystripe. “How many?” he asked, stretching his muzzle to peer through the entrance.

“Three.” Graystripe nudged his friend. “You always were softhearted over kits.”

Sandstorm stopped beside them. “We should have had more,” she murmured wistfully.

“It’s a dark time to be born.” Firestar narrowed his eyes. “The battle is near.”

Graystripe looked at him sharply. “We can’t be sure.”

“It won’t be long.” Dovewing heard a growl in the ThunderClan leader’s mew.

Graystripe’s ear twitched. “How do you know? Have you had a sign?”

“I had a dream last night.”

Before Graystripe could question him more, Cloudtail slid out of the nursery, bright-eyed. “They’re lively!” he purred. “Fighting over who gets to be closest to their mother’s belly.”

The thorn barrier rustled and Jayfeather hurried into camp. The ThunderClan leader padded away, calling to Cloudtail over his shoulder. “Tell Brightheart I’ll welcome her kits to the Clan later.”

Mousefur shifted beside Dovewing. “I’m glad we have Firestar to lead us.” She sat down heavily. “He has courage and strength enough for all of us.”

Graystripe nudged her. “I remember when you argued with Bluestar about bringing him into the Clan.”

Dovewing glanced at Firestar as he guided Jayfeather to the shadow of Highledge. Even though the whole Clan knew he had come from a Twoleg nest, it was hard to believe that the battle-scarred warrior used to be a pampered kittypet.

“I was wrong to argue.” The old she-cat’s eyes clouded. “I wonder if Bluestar knew that one day he would be our best hope for survival.”

Graystripe glanced up at the sky. “She’s probably watching now.”

“Get Lionblaze.” Dovewing jerked around as Firestar called to her. Heart racing, she leaped onto the beech trunk and padded to a den woven beneath a jagged stump. She stuck her nose inside. “Firestar wants us.”

Lionblaze woke, jerking his head from beneath his paw. “What’s happened?”

“Jayfeather just got back from the Moonpool and Firestar’s acting like the battle’s about to start.”

Lionblaze shot out of his nest. He jumped down into the clearing and Dovewing followed.

As she reached Firestar, she noticed Jayfeather fighting a yawn. “Shouldn’t you rest?”

“She’s right,” Firestar agreed. “There’s time for you to sleep before sunhigh.”

Lionblaze pricked his ears. “What happens at sunhigh?”

“We meet with the other leaders and medicine cats on the island,” Firestar told him. “Jayfeather has united StarClan. Now I must unite the Clans.”

“He’s the fourth cat.” Jayfeather’s eyes shone.

Firestar!
Dovewing blinked.

Lionblaze lifted his tail. “You were close, Dovewing, when you said we needed to start looking for a cat who was born with a special destiny.”

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.