Warriors: Omen of the Stars #6: The Last Hope (4 page)

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.

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.

Jayfeather sensed her fizzing excitement as she rooted through the fresh-kill pile, and her tiny jab of pleasure as she grabbed a vole from the bottom and dragged it out with sharp teeth. Nimbly she crossed the grass and settled beside Jayfeather. “Aren’t you hungry?” She poked his barely-touched mouse with her paw. “It’s half-moon. You’ll need your strength to travel to the Moonpool.”

Jayfeather growled softly. “I’ve been banned, remember?”

Briarlight scooped up her vole and took a bite. “Since when would that stop you?” she asked with her mouth full.

Brightheart’s paws scuffed the ground beside them. “Stop what?”

Jayfeather snorted. “None of your business.”

“It’s half-moon but Jayfeather isn’t allowed to go to the Moonpool,” Briarlight chipped in.

“Can’t you share dreams with StarClan in your nest?” Brightheart stroked her tail along Jayfeather’s spine.

He shook her off. “There’s more to visiting the Moonpool than sharing dreams!”

Jayfeather marched across the clearing. He ducked through the camp entrance, hissing as a thorn snagged his ear tip, and stomped into the woods.

Paws padded swiftly after him. Jayfeather tasted Firestar’s scent. The ThunderClan leader had followed him out of the hollow. “I know it’s frustrating,” Firestar began sympathetically.

Jayfeather turned on him. “Really? Do you think the Clans would believe Dawnpelt if I wasn’t half-Clan?”

Firestar stopped.

“Or if Leafpool hadn’t broken the medicine-cat code in kitting me?” He felt Firestar’s surprise. “Had you forgotten?” Jayfeather demanded.

“I don’t think about it.” There was honesty in Firestar’s mew.

Jayfeather blinked. “You don’t think about it?” he echoed. Every time he saw Leafpool or Squirrelflight or Brambleclaw, Jayfeather felt the prick of betrayal. He’d believed he was pure ThunderClan, that his parents were Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, until Hollyleaf had discovered that Leafpool was their mother and Crowfeather, a WindClan warrior, their father.

Firestar’s tail whisked over the fallen leaves. “You’re one of the Three. Your birth was meant to happen.” He padded closer. “Does it matter how you came to be born?”

“Yes!” Lit by rage, Jayfeather paced around Firestar. “I’m cursed by Leafpool’s mistake! Every cat thinks I’m unnatural because my birth broke two codes—the warrior code and the medicine-cat code! No wonder they’re so eager to think I’m a murderer. They certainly can’t think I’m blessed by StarClan.”

Firestar shifted his paws. “But we both know you
are
blessed by StarClan. More than any other cat.”

“No thanks to Leafpool!” Jayfeather clawed the ground. “Or Squirrelflight.”

“Leafpool kept your secret,” Firestar reminded him sternly. “She and Squirrelflight did the best they could for you and your littermates. It was Hollyleaf who told the truth. She believed she had to, and now what’s done is done. Squirrelflight and your mother are not responsible for the prejudices of the other Clans. And neither are you.”

“It’s not fair. Why couldn’t Leafpool have just followed the medicine-cat code?” Jayfeather pushed his way deeper into the trees. “It’s not exactly complicated!”

“And if she had?” Firestar called after him. “What then? If she’d never fallen in love with Crowfeather, where would you be? Think of the prophecy!”

Jayfeather raked the leaf mulch with his claws. “Why can’t I think about
me
for once?” With a growl he stalked away, ducking through ferns and pacing over tree roots until he sensed dusk turn to dark around him. Suddenly he felt a wall of fur blocking his path. He leaped back. “Who is it?”

As he spoke, he recognized the foul stench of Yellowfang’s breath. Her muzzle was less than a mouse-length from his nose.
“Why can’t I think about me for once
?” she mimicked.

“Leave me alone!” Jayfeather backed away but her stinking muzzle followed him.

“You’re
not important!” the old cat hissed. “Only the survival of the Clan matters! You’re one of the Three and you have to find the fourth to defeat the Dark Forest before it’s too late!”

“What do you mean, I’m not important?” Jayfeather spat back.
How dare she
? “How do you know that I’m not the
most
important one?” His anger was pulsing so hard that the words flooded out of him. “If the Clans stop me from being a medicine cat, the whole prophecy might be wasted.”

Yellowfang wreathed around him, her matted fur brushing roughly against his. “Do you think
herbs
are going to save the Clans from the Dark Forest?” she snapped.

“There’s more to being a medicine cat than herbs!” Jayfeather tried to push past her but she blocked his way.

“Like what?”

“Like sharing dreams with StarClan!”

Yellowfang’s tail swished the ferns. “What do you think you’re doing now, mouse-brain?”

Jayfeather growled. “Why are you bugging me?”

“You need to find the fourth warrior!”

“We don’t know it’s a warrior!” Jayfeather snapped. “We don’t know which Clan this cat is in. We don’t even know it is a cat!”

“Stop making excuses! You haven’t even told the others there
is
a fourth cat, have you?”

Jayfeather’s ears twitched guiltily. Memory swept his mind clear and suddenly he was back on a dark, windswept mountaintop. The Tribe of Endless Hunting surrounded him, their eyes glowing with hope. Stonetellers from ages past whispered the words that still echoed in his thoughts.

The end of the stars draws near. Three must become four to challenge the darkness that lasts forever.

“You haven’t told them,” Yellowfang repeated.

“No.” Jayfeather sat down. “I’ve been waiting for the right time.”

“Really?” Yellowfang sounded unconvinced. “I think the truth is that you don’t want there to be a fourth cat. You can’t bear the thought that you need help.”

“That’s not true!” Jayfeather’s pelt burned.
How did she guess?

“Then why keep the Tribe’s prophecy a secret when you know time is running out?”

Jayfeather closed his eyes, suddenly weary. “Aren’t our powers enough to save the Clans?”

Yellowfang’s pelt brushed his. “You’re facing the Dark Forest! You need all the help you can get! Find the fourth cat!”

“Okay!” Jayfeather snapped. “But where do I look?”

“If I knew, I’d tell you.” Yellowfang pushed away through the ferns.

“Wait!” Jayfeather dashed after her. A bramble tripped him and he stumbled. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Haven’t I done enough?” Yellowfang kept walking.

“I need you to find Flametail and tell him to visit Littlecloud.” Jayfeather bounded after her. “Flametail’s got to explain that I tried to save him from drowning, not murder him.”

Yellowfang shook her head. “Sorry, Jayfeather. StarClan is divided. I can’t cross Clan lines.”

“But you used to be ShadowClan,” Jayfeather reminded her.

She turned on him, and he felt her eyes blazing. “I am
ThunderClan!
” she hissed.

“But—” Jayfeather was pleading to empty air. Yellowfang had gone.

“Mouse dung!” Furious, Jayfeather broke into a run. Letting memory of his territory guide him, he raced up the slope till he broke free of the trees and felt the fresh, cold wind from the lake streaming over his pelt. He twitched his whiskers as he smelled another scent. “Leafpool?”

She padded out of the forest and stopped beside him. “Are you okay?”

Jayfeather tensed, ready to argue, but no words came. He felt hollow.

“Firestar seemed flustered when he came back to camp,” Leafpool meowed softly. “I was worried about you.”

Stop acting like my mother! It’s too late for that!

Leafpool moved closer without touching him. “I know how it feels, to lose your place as medicine cat.”

“Firestar says I can keep treating my Clanmates,” Jayfeather reminded her.

“Brightheart could treat the Clan,” Leafpool pointed out. “But that doesn’t make her a medicine cat.” Anger suddenly sparked from her pelt. “You need to be able to visit StarClan and share with the other medicine cats and our ancestors.”

Jayfeather jerked away from her, unnerved that she understood so clearly. “I don’t care,” he insisted. He wasn’t going to be tricked into feeling close to her.

“Go to the Moonpool.” Leafpool ignored his protest. “Share your dreams with StarClan. Find Flametail and make him tell the truth to his Clanmates.”

Jayfeather flattened his ears. “How can I go? I’m not allowed to be a medicine cat outside ThunderClan!”

“No one can stop you from visiting the Moonpool,” Leafpool argued. “Do you think any cat would risk displeasing StarClan by standing in your way? Go to them and
make
Flametail tell the truth!”