Lost Stars

I don’t know everything about StarClan yet. Maybe they don’t like being questioned or contradicted. If this voice was the only connection the Clans still had to their warrior ancestors, and Shadowpaw had chased it away . . . If that’s true, then every cat will despise me—and they’d be right to.

Then the voice spoke again. “Fine. Don’t listen to the messages at the Moonpool.” The tone was so low and menacing that ice trickled down Shadowpaw’s spine and every hair on his pelt lifted with the intensity of his fear. “Let the codebreakers live among you, until no cat respects the rules. See what happens then.”

The warning shook Shadowpaw’s conviction. “But what if cats aren’t setting out to break the code? Or what if they’ve stopped? Surely StarClan won’t punish them too severely. They won’t, will they? They can’t!”

“The code must always be respected,” the voice continued. “The ways of the Clans cannot be scattered to the wind. Soon, Shadowpaw, you will see the consequences that will befall the Clans if cats ignore the code. Bramblestar will get sick, and it will seem that nothing can cure him.”

“Bramblestar!” Shadowpaw gasped. “No! He’s a great leader. He never did anything wrong.”

“Oh, of course not.” The voice was mocking. “The wonderful, respected leader of ThunderClan! However, the trouble coming to the Clans will fall on him first.”

Shadowpaw gazed up into the darkness, wishing he could see the face of the warrior spirit who was saying these terrible things. He wanted to defy him and reject what he was saying, but he couldn’t. He believed every word of it.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” he asked, his voice quavering.

“Yes, there is a way,” the voice replied, the mocking tone giving way to reassurance. “Listen carefully, and I’ll tell you what you must do. . . .”

Shadowpaw nodded, pricking his ears to take in the StarClan warrior’s instructions. But as the plan unfolded, he grew more and more uneasy.

This sounds so dangerous . . . maybe even crazy. But who am I to question StarClan? He was only an apprentice. It would be arrogant of him to think that he knew better.

Still, the thought of going back to the Clans and reporting what he had discovered made Shadowpaw feel a little sick. Puddleshine and Jayfeather would never go along with this . . . it goes against everything a medicine cat is taught! He knew that many of the older medicine cats didn’t fully trust him. Coming back with a plan like this would only make them more convinced that Shadowpaw was crazy.

Even if I could convince Alderheart and Puddleshine . . . Jayfeather won’t go along. He thinks I’m a stupid apprentice, and it’s all in my imagination. And now it was happening again. Why am I the only cat StarClan has given this message? No way will they ever believe me!

But then Shadowpaw realized something. Bramblestar had seemed strong and healthy the last time Shadowpaw had seen him at the Gathering. If he suddenly got sick, then that would prove that StarClan’s warning was important. Then the medicine cats would listen to him. And if Bramblestar didn’t get sick, maybe Shadowpaw wouldn’t need to say anything.

“Are you a strong cat?” the voice asked him. “Are you ready to carry out my instructions?”

“Yes, I will,” Shadowpaw replied. But before I do, he added privately to himself, there’s one cat I need to talk to.

“Then go,” the voice ordered. “And remember—the future of the Clans rests on your shoulders.”

Shadowpaw flinched. Not too much pressure, there. But he dared not refuse it, and the voice said nothing more. All he could do was obey.

Exhausted by stress and fear, Shadowpaw toiled up the path that led away from the Moonpool, feeling as shaken as he had when Puddleshine had first taken him there. He had hoped that another encounter with the voice would have made him feel better. Instead he had a whole new set of worries.

The journey back to ShadowClan territory had never seemed so long, but there was still no sign of dawn in the sky when Shadowpaw staggered into camp and sneaked back into the medicine cats’ den. Puddleshine was asleep, snoring quietly, and Shadowpaw was able to curl up in his own nest without disturbing him.