Bluestar's Prophecy

Back in camp, the leaf-gathering patrol had returned with a pile of leaves as big as a hedgehog. Sparrowpelt was organizing the weaving of the fat waxy leaves into the roof of the elders’ den. Bluepaw could see Snowpaw’s white pelt as she balanced high on the fallen tree while Rosepaw reached up to pass her another leaf.

“Goldenpaw!” Speckletail’s horrified mew sounded across the clearing. “Your beautiful ears!” She raced to her kit’s side and started lapping at Goldenpaw’s ear. The nick was now caked with dry blood, and Goldenpaw ducked away.

“It’s okay!” she protested.

“Who did this to you?” Speckletail stared accusingly at Swiftbreeze, then at Sunfall.

Bluepaw stared at the ground. “It was me,” she mewed quietly.

“How could you?” Speckletail demanded. “I thought you were training, not fighting.”

Sunfall padded to Bluepaw’s side. “We were training for battle,” he meowed. “Sometimes accidents happen.”

“But she’ll be scarred for life!” Speckletail wailed.

“Good,” Goldenpaw mewed. “My first battle scar and I haven’t even been in a battle yet!”

Speckletail closed her eyes and lifted her face to StarClan.

Another voice rumbled, “She did well not to come back with more scars if she was fighting Bluepaw.”

Bluepaw whirled and was surprised to see Stormtail watching from beside the nettle patch, his eyes gleaming.

“She’s a natural fighter,” he went on. “Moonflower would have been proud of her.”

Bluepaw stared at her father, amazed. Was he proud of her? Had he been keeping an eye on her training after all? She longed for him to say more, but he turned his head and began washing his flank.

The rattle of stones on the ravine made her jump. Paws hit the ground and pounded toward the clearing.

Something was wrong.

“Invasion!” Adderfang exploded into the camp, his pelt bristling.

Thrushpelt raced in after him. “RiverClan has crossed the ice!” he yowled.

Thistlepaw’s eyes were sparkling with excitement as he shot into the camp. “They’re trying to take Sunningrocks!”

Pinestar was out of his den in an instant. “Did you see them?” he demanded.

“They’re swarming over the rocks!” Adderfang hissed.

“Stormtail!” Pinestar called the gray warrior to him. “You head one patrol. Attack from the far side.”

“But that will mean going all the way around,” Stormtail argued. “The battle may be lost before we arrive.”

“No, it won’t.” Pinestar curled his lip. “We’ll hold them till you reach us. A second wave will finish them.”

Stormtail nodded.

“Take Dappletail, Smallear, Sweetpaw, White-eye, and Tawnyspots.”

Each cat stepped forward, pelt bristling, as Pinestar called out names.

“Go!”

On Pinestar’s word, Stormtail pelted from the camp with the patrol pounding after him.

“Adderfang, Thistlepaw, Sparrowpelt, Snowpaw, Thrushpelt, Robinwing, Leopardfoot, Sunfall, and Bluepaw!”

Bluepaw darted forward. She could feel her legs trembling.

“You come with me.” Pinestar’s green eyes shone like emeralds. “Patchpelt, Poppydawn, Rosepaw, and Goldenpaw. Wait at the top of the ravine in case RiverClan tries to attack the camp.” He gazed around his Clan. “The rest of you, defend the medicine den. This might be a revenge attack provoked by WindClan.”

Panic flashed through Bluepaw. What if the Clans had joined together to make ThunderClan suffer as WindClan had? She pushed the thought away. It was too frightening. ThunderClan could not take on more than one Clan at a time.

Pinestar was already pelting toward the gorse barrier. Bluepaw unsheathed her claws to better grip the snow. Sunfall was a whisker ahead of her, and she followed in his paw steps, running faster than she had ever run before. She had seen the WindClan battle, seen how vicious warriors could be in the heat of the action. Panic threatened to swamp her as she scrabbled up the ravine with her Clanmates pushing behind her, sending stones and snow flying as they raced for the top.

Her lungs ached for air by the time they’d raced through the forest and burst from the trees. Sunningrocks rose into the pale evening sky, the great slabs of stone turned red by the fiery sun sinking behind them. Screwing up her eyes to block the glare, Bluepaw could just make out the crest of the rock. Lined up on its summit was a row of RiverClan cats, silhouetted against the sun, heads held high and tails lashing. She searched the line for Crookedpaw, but recognized only the tawny pelt of Oakheart.

Hailstar stepped from the ranks of RiverClan, his pelt like fire in the dying sun. “An ancient wrong has been put right!” he yowled. “These rocks are ours again!”

“Never!” Pinestar hissed. “ThunderClan, attack!”

Chapter 13

ThunderClan surged forward.

Sunfall hissed to Bluepaw. “Keep close to me! And don’t take on any cat bigger than you!”