Firestar’s Quest

These cats had stalked him through his dreams, and now they were haunting him in the waking world as well. He had to find out why, and if Cinderpelt couldn’t help him, there might be other cats who could.

He leaped down to where Graystripe was waiting for him with Sandstorm, Brambleclaw, and the rest of the ThunderClan warriors. “Graystripe, I want you and Sandstorm to lead the Clan back to camp.”

“Why, where are you going?”

Firestar took a deep breath. “I need to go to the Moonstone. I have to share tongues with StarClan.”

Graystripe looked surprised, but Sandstorm’s green gaze met Firestar’s with a look of understanding.

“I knew something’s been troubling you,” she mewed quietly, brushing her pelt against his. “Maybe you’ll feel better after you’ve spoken to our warrior ancestors.”

“I hope so,” Firestar responded.

“Shall I come with you?” Graystripe offered. “The rest of the Clan don’t need me to take them home, and you never know what might be lurking on the moors. What if that fox has come back?”

“No, thanks, Graystripe,” Firestar meowed. “I’ll go with WindClan as far as their camp, and after that I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” Graystripe gathered the rest of the ThunderClan warriors together with a sweep of his tail. “When you pass Barley’s farm, say hi to Ravenpaw for me.”

“I’ll do that.” Firestar turned to Sandstorm and touched his nose to hers. “Good-bye. I’ll be back soon.”

“Good luck.” Sandstorm blinked at him. “I hope you find some answers. It feels like you’re a long way away just now.”

Giving her ear a final lick, Firestar plunged into the bushes up to the top of the slope on the WindClan side of the hollow. Tallstar was already leading his cats onto the moor: small, dark shapes outlined against a wash of moonlight. Firestar raced after them until he overtook the cat who brought up the rear.

“Hi, Onewhisker,” he panted. “Is it okay if I travel with you? I need to go to Highstones.”

“Sure. No trouble, I hope?”

“Nothing to worry about,” Firestar replied, hoping that was true.

He said good-bye to the WindClan cats on the slope above the hollow where they camped. Dawn was breaking as he set out for Highstones, the pointed mass of rock dark against the pale sky. A chill wind ruffled the short, springy grass, pressing Firestar’s fur against his sides. Up here the sky seemed huge, without any trees for cover. The scents were unfamiliar, too: a mixture of gorse, heather, and rabbits, with a sharp tang of peaty earth.

A small, reed-fringed stream crossed Firestar’s path. He leaped it easily, startling a rabbit that jumped up under his paws and fled down the slope, its white tail bobbing.

Firestar’s paws itched to chase it, but he wouldn’t take prey on another Clan’s territory; besides, a Clan leader who traveled to Highstones to meet with StarClan at the Moonstone wasn’t allowed to eat on the journey.

The sun had risen by the time the barren moorland gave way to lush meadows bounded by hedges and Twoleg fences.

A Twoleg nest came into sight, and Firestar heard the distant barking of a dog. He looked around warily, tasting the air, but the dog scent was stale, and he reminded himself that by now the farm dogs, who were left to run loose at night, would be tied up again.

He skirted the Twoleg nest, slinking along in the shadow of a hedge. Another scent drifted toward him, stronger and fresher than the scent of dog: rats! Firestar paused, remembering how on his first journey to Highstones Bluestar had lost a life in a battle with rats very near this place. Pinpointing the source of the scent, he realized that he was downwind of it; with any luck he could pass without letting the rats know he was here.

Not far away from the Twoleg nest was a barn built of rough stone. Firestar headed for it and halted outside the door. A strong scent of cats flowed out of a gap at the bottom.

Firestar felt a purr growing in his chest. “Hi,” he mewed.

“Can I come in?”

“Firestar!” A delighted meow came from inside the barn, and a black cat’s head poked out of the gap. “What are you doing here?”

Firestar slid through the door and stood among the dusty scraps of straw on the floor of the barn. He was greeted enthusiastically by Ravenpaw, who had been a ThunderClan apprentice when Firestar first came to the forest. Ravenpaw had known too much about Tigerstar’s crimes, and Firestar had brought him to the barn before the bloodthirsty deputy murdered him to keep him quiet. Ravenpaw had been scrawny and nervous back then; now he was sleek and full-fed, his black pelt shining in the sunlight that angled through a hole in the barn roof.

“It’s good to see you again,” Firestar meowed. The last time he and Ravenpaw had met was at the battle with BloodClan, when the black cat and his friend Barley had joined in the fight with the forest cats.

“Welcome.” Ravenpaw touched noses with his former

Clanmate. “Is all well in ThunderClan?”

“Fine,” Firestar replied. “But I—”