Darkest Night

She went on. “I looked up and saw that the blue sky had been covered by thick clouds. They were dark, as though a storm was about to break. The air around me seemed to shimmer, and the air grew darker and darker. I was so frightened. Then a cat rushed past me. I felt the wind from its fur on my pelt. It raced down the slope, and as it disappeared into the reed beds, everything turned black as though the sun had disappeared.” The medicine cat was shaking. “Then, in a blink, it was light again. The sky was blue. The sun was shining. I wondered if I’d been dreaming.”

Alderheart stared at her expectantly. Was this StarClan’s way of sharing the prophecy with her?

“The weird thing is”—Willowshine frowned, her bright green eyes clouding—“the picture that stuck in my mind was the cat’s hind paw.”

“Why?” Alderheart leaned forward eagerly.

“It had six toes.” She shifted her paws nervously. “And then a voice sounded in my mind. ‘To fend off a storm, you will need an extra claw.’”

Alderheart’s thoughts raced. What could it mean? An extra claw . . . Most cats had five claws on each paw, just as there were five Clans. Was the extra claw a sixth Clan? Was StarClan promising to help them? Were they the sixth Clan? “What did the cat look like?”

“I don’t know. It was too dark. I don’t even know if it was a tom or a she-cat. The only thing I remember is the toes. I think that’s all StarClan wanted me to see.”

Alderheart sat down. “Do you know about the prophecy?”

“Which prophecy?” Willowshine looked puzzled.

“When we shared with StarClan at the Moonpool, Echosong told us all, ‘The dark sky must not herald a storm.’ We tried to tell you, but Duskfur—”

Willowshine interrupted him, her thoughts already on the prophecy. “‘The dark sky must not herald a storm’? What does that mean?”

“We don’t know.” Alderheart shifted his weight onto his haunches. “Rowanstar thinks the dark sky must mean SkyClan. Harestar thinks something bad is coming, and he’s ordered extra patrols. Leafstar says she’s too busy building a new home to think about it.” He frowned. “Bramblestar doesn’t seem too bothered either.”

Willowshine widened her eyes. “Mistystar reacted the same way to my vision! I told her what I’d seen, and she said she had too many real things to worry about without wasting her time on stuff she couldn’t see.”

Alderheart’s pelt prickled. “Why don’t leaders understand that StarClan is their best ally?” He grunted. “Patrols and borders,” he muttered under his breath. “That’s all leaders care about.”

“We have more information now,” Willowshine pointed out. “I only had my vision and you only had yours. But if we tell them about both, then they’ll have to listen.”

Alderheart blinked at her. She was right. Her vision had given them an important clue. Now at least they knew what would help them avoid the storm. If only they knew what the cat with the six toes meant. “Come on.” He got to his paws. “We have to tell this to Bramblestar.”

“But I need to get back.” Willowshine glanced anxiously toward the lake. “I sneaked out.”

“Your Clanmates will think you’re gathering herbs,” Alderheart reassured her. “That’s what I was doing just now. That’s what all medicine cats do at the start of leaf-fall.” He didn’t give her chance to argue and began to head toward the ThunderClan camp. It had been too long since he’d heard from RiverClan. He wanted a chance to talk to her. She needed to know that Duskfur had turned them away when they’d tried to share the prophecy. If RiverClan cut themselves off from StarClan as well as the other Clans, that could only lead to trouble. “We missed you at the Moonpool meeting,” he mewed as he followed a rabbit track across the border into ThunderClan territory.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come. Mistystar ordered me and Mothwing to stay in camp.” Willowshine hurried after him, her pelt ruffling uneasily.

“I tried to visit to tell you the prophecy. Jayfeather, Kestrelflight, and Puddleshine were with me, but Duskfur wouldn’t let us cross the border.”

“I know.” Willowshine fell in beside him as he began to follow the stream that flowed down to the lake.

She knew? Alarm jabbed Alderheart’s chest. Didn’t she care?

She went on. “The patrol made their report to Mistystar loud enough for the whole camp to hear. Duskfur was furious that you tried to reach the camp. When Mothwing pointed out that medicine cats are allowed to cross borders, she wouldn’t listen.”

“Did Mistystar agree with her?” Alderheart glanced at her anxiously. He’d hoped that Duskfur’s attitude wasn’t shared by the whole of RiverClan.

Willowshine avoided his eye. “She said she was right to send you away.”