Lost Stars

Bristlepaw could hardly bear to look at Stemleaf, much less talk to him, especially when he was being so kind and encouraging. It’ll be such a long time now before we can be mates, the strongest pair in the Clan. And there must be lots of other she-cats who would like to be with him.

As soon as Bristlepaw padded through the thorn tunnel into the stone hollow, she heard Flippaw let out a welcoming squeal. Both he and Thriftpaw came barreling across the camp toward her, only to skid to a halt before they reached her. Bristlepaw guessed that her expression must have shown that something had gone wrong.

“What happened?” Thriftpaw asked, her eyes wide with concern.

Bristlepaw watched Rosepetal padding across the camp on her way to tell Bramblestar about her assessment. “I failed,” she replied, not meeting her littermates’ gaze. “There wasn’t any prey. I looked and looked.”

“It’s okay,” Flippaw murmured, pressing himself against Bristlepaw’s side. “You did your best.”

“Yeah,” Thriftpaw added. “You’re still a warrior to us—the best!”

Even though Bristlepaw was still frustrated at how things had turned out, she was grateful for her littermates’ comfort. Today was going to be such a great day, she thought, and it’s turned out to be a disaster.

Chapter 7

Wind drove the clouds across the night sky, so that the waxing half-moon shed only a fitful light through the gaps. Puddleshine and Shadowpaw huddled together as they trudged forward against the blast, trying to preserve every scrap of warmth in their pelts. Shadowpaw narrowed his eyes against the harsh wind whipping into his face, and snuffed up the scent of more snow to come.

I hope we’ll be able to share dreams with StarClan this time, he thought worriedly. That would prove I’m not keeping them away.

Since the last half-moon meeting at the Moonpool, life in ShadowClan had gotten even tougher. There was never enough prey; cats were getting sick because of the cold and lack of food, and every cat’s nerves were on edge. Sooner or later, Shadowpaw knew, fights between Clanmates would become the norm.

We need StarClan to guide us, even if all they can do is promise us that this terrible leaf-bare will end soon.

The other medicine cats were already huddling for warmth by the Moonpool when Puddleshine and Shadowpaw stumbled down the spiral path.

“Greetings,” Mothwing meowed, dipping her head gracefully. “I’m sorry we didn’t wait for you outside, it’s just so cold. How is the prey running in ShadowClan?”

“It’s not running at all,” Puddleshine replied with an edge of bitterness to his tone. “I think every mouse and vole in the territory is tucked up in its hole, sniggering at us.”

“ThunderClan is just as bad,” Alderheart agreed, while Jayfeather simply lashed his tail once and did not speak.

“At least you have shelter from the trees,” Kestrelflight pointed out. “Up on the moor, the wind is strong enough to blow cats off their paws. I had to set Larkwing’s dislocated shoulder when she lost her balance and fell down into a gully.”

“And RiverClan can’t fish when the lake is frozen,” Willowshine added. “I’ve almost forgotten what fish tastes like!”

Shadowpaw saw that Frecklewish and Fidgetflake from SkyClan were looking faintly embarrassed. “I know we have it easier,” Frecklewish admitted. “The valley shelters our territory, so while prey is scarce, we’re clearly not suffering as badly as the rest of you.” She cleared her throat. “If we could help you, we would.”

Puddleshine let out a snort. “SkyClan’s most sheltered area used to be in our territory,” he grumbled, his voice low but loud enough to be heard by the SkyClan cats, who stared at their paws and didn’t respond. “We’d be in better shape now if we hadn’t given it away.”

Any more complaints that the medicine cats might have made were silenced by Jayfeather, who glared around from his sightless blue eyes. “If you’re quite finished,” he snapped, “perhaps we could make contact with StarClan. That is why we’re here, yes?”

Exchanging anxious murmurs, every cat began to move toward the edge of the Moonpool. Oh, StarClan, please don’t leave us alone, Shadowpaw prayed desperately. We need you so much!

He hadn’t looked at the Moonpool until now, and when he did, he let out a gasp of mingled shock and awe. The stream that fed the pool was frozen into a cascade of icicles that glittered when the uncertain moonlight fell upon them. The whole surface of the pool was frozen, too.