Fading Echoes

“Thanks.” Pride rushed through Ivypaw as she dropped the squirrel beside Blossompaw’s blackbird. She wanted to tell Dovepaw about Hawkfrost. She glanced around the clearing. Millie and Graystripe were crowding around Blossompaw to find out how the assessment had gone, while Thornclaw and Dustpelt sheltered beneath Highledge, conferring with Firestar.

“Come with me.” Ivypaw beckoned with her tail before scooting toward the thorns.

“Why?” Dovepaw sounded puzzled as she hurried after her. “What’s going on?”

Wait till she hears how a StarClan cat taught me how to hunt!

Ivypaw was bubbling with excitement. She slid through the tunnel and waited in the clearing outside, pummeling the muddy earth impatiently till Dovepaw caught up.

“What is it?” Dovepaw’s eyes were wide.

Ivypaw glanced around, making sure no cat was listening. “A StarClan cat came to see me,” she breathed.

“When?” Dovepaw blinked away raindrops.

“In my dream!” Ivypaw explained. “He was teaching me how to hunt!”

Dovepaw leaned closer. “Tell me more.”

Suddenly Ivypaw felt self-conscious. Did Dovepaw believe her or was she humoring her? Perhaps it had just been an ordinary dream. “This cat…” She fumbled for words. “He taught me some new hunting moves…”

Dovepaw was staring at her. “Who was it?”

“It was…”

The undergrowth shivered. “What are you doing out here?” Brightheart burst from a clump of ferns, panting. She was clearly racing for the shelter of the hollow. “You’ll catch your death!” She circled them, pressing them toward the thorn tunnel. “Inside, both of you! What would Whitewing say? Or Jayfeather? We don’t want to start leaf-bare with a medicine den full of sneezing apprentices!”

Sparking with frustration, Ivypaw allowed herself to be herded into camp. Praying the apprentices’ den would be empty, she headed straight for it, beckoning to Dovepaw. Her sister kept close as they slipped into the dry den and shook the rain from their fur.

Ivypaw turned and started to explain about Hawkfrost. “He was a warrior…”

“Dovepaw!” Lionblaze was calling through the den wall.

Ivypaw unsheathed her claws. Can’t he wait?

“Sorry.” Dovepaw looked apologetic as she backed outside. Ivypaw ripped a pawful of bracken from her nest and flung it down. Dovepaw was always racing off to talk to warriors without her. Didn’t she care about her? And since when did the least experienced cats run the Clan? Couldn’t Lionblaze manage a few moments without his precious apprentice?

The yew bush shivered as Blossompaw, Briarpaw, and Bumblepaw came bouncing in, water spraying from their pelts. “We passed! We passed!”

“Great!” Ivypaw slunk into her nest. “Congratulations!” She closed her eyes, blocking her ears to the mews of excitement as her denmates congratulated one another. If she went to sleep, Hawkfrost might teach her some more hunting moves until she wasn’t just as good as her sister—she was better. Then the Clan might start paying some attention to her as well.

Chapter 11

Rain dripped at the mouth of Firestar’s den. As Jayfeather slid in, he brought a scattering of raindrops with him. Lionblaze shuffled closer to Dovepaw.

“Any news?” Firestar asked. He glanced uneasily at his den entrance, as though he was afraid they would be disturbed.

Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Dovepaw shook their heads.

“No word from StarClan,” Jayfeather mewed.

“No more ShadowClan scents on our side of the border,” Lionblaze reported.

“Dovepaw?” The ThunderClan leader gazed at the pale gray apprentice. “Have you sensed anything?”

She stared at her paws. “Nothing,” she mumbled.

Lionblaze guessed she was uncomfortable being used as a spy. It seemed that, while Jayfeather secretly relished being able to creep into other cats’ minds, Dovepaw wasn’t used to following her senses farther than any ordinary cat could go.

She’d better get used to it. She’d been given her power for a reason.

“ShadowClan is up to something,” Firestar warned. “Border incursions are bad enough, but telling lies about them is low, even for ShadowClan.”

“They’ve always been sneaky,” Lionblaze reminded him.

“We must be even more vigilant,” Firestar growled.

“Extra border patrols?” Jayfeather suggested.

Firestar shook his head. “They’ll see it as provocation.”

Outside, the haze of rain that had obscured the camp all morning was lifting; sunshine was arcing into the hollow. But the gale that had blown the clouds away was roaring through the forest and buffeting the dens. It whined at the den entrance.

Lionblaze noticed Dovepaw stiffen. “It’s just the wind,” he murmured.

She shook her head, her eyes widening. “There’s something else.”

Lionblaze leaned closer. He recognized the distant look in her eyes. “What?”