Lost Stars

“I don’t want to talk about this! Bramblestar will get better.” Her words carried clearly across the camp. “The only reason he hasn’t is that you haven’t tried everything!”

Alderheart followed the Clan deputy out of the den. Every cat in the Clan had fallen silent at Squirrelflight’s outburst, but the medicine cat remained calm. His voice as he responded was so quiet that Bristlefrost couldn’t make out the words.

“You and Jayfeather must save your leader!” Squirrelflight snapped back at him. “I have complete faith in you, so there’s nothing to discuss.” With that she turned away and stalked across the camp to the fresh-kill pile, head and tail held high.

Alderheart’s gaze followed her, and Bristlefrost noticed how devastated he looked, his muzzle tight and his tail drooping. She could imagine how difficult it must be for a medicine cat to treat his own father, especially when he wasn’t getting better. Especially when that father was Clan leader, too.

Glancing at Ivypool, Bristlefrost was grateful for the reassuring look in her mother’s eyes. “Don’t worry,” Ivypool murmured. But she still rose to her paws and went to sit at Squirrelflight’s side.

Bristlefrost finished up the last few scraps of mouse and was thinking about retiring to her den when she spotted movement at the end of the thorn tunnel. Hollytuft and Flippaw, who had been out on border patrol, appeared; Bristlefrost’s eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the cats who followed them into the camp.

Tigerstar and Shadowpaw!

Bristlefrost tensed. Could Tigerstar possibly know about the attempt to break through the ice in the Moonpool? Was he here to yell at Bramblestar? It would be a shame to get under Tigerstar’s fur when the attempt didn’t even work. . . .

Lilyheart, the third member of the patrol, brought up the rear, and Hollytuft led the way across the camp to where Ivypool was trying to coax Squirrelflight to eat a thrush.

Squirrelflight rose to her paws and faced Tigerstar where he halted beside the fresh-kill pile. Shadowpaw stood beside him, looking down at his paws; Bristlefrost could see his whiskers twitching nervously.

“Greetings, Tigerstar.” Squirrelflight’s eyes were wary, but she inclined her head coolly. “What do you want with ThunderClan?”

“I’ve come with an important message,” Tigerstar replied. “I think it would be best for me to speak in private with Bramblestar.”

“I’m sorry.” Squirrelflight’s voice was calm. “Bramblestar isn’t available at the moment. He’s . . . out hunting. So whatever you want to say, you can say in front of all ThunderClan’s warriors.”

For a moment Tigerstar looked taken aback. He hesitated; Bristlefrost guessed he was weighing the tension in Squirrelflight’s expression.

“Very well,” he meowed at last. “My message is a strange one: I know that your leader, Bramblestar, is very sick.”

Bristlefrost felt her belly clench and heard gasps of amazement rising from her Clanmates around her.

“How do you know?” Lionblaze demanded. The golden tabby tom rose and skirted the fresh-kill pile to stand beside Squirrelflight. His amber eyes blazed as he glared at Tigerstar. “Who told you?”

Tigerstar gave no sign that Lionblaze’s aggressive tone had offended him. “My son, Shadowpaw,” he began, “who as you know is a medicine-cat apprentice, told me, after he received a message from StarClan.”

“No cat has received a message from StarClan!” Graystripe put in.

Tigerstar’s gaze flicked to the elder and away again. “My son has. And, more important, he knows how to cure Bramblestar.”

Every cat’s gaze turned to Squirrelflight, who stood silent for a long moment, clearly stunned. Then she glanced at Flippaw. “Please fetch Jayfeather and Alderheart,” she requested.

The whole Clan waited in silence while the apprentice scurried across the camp and vanished behind the bramble screen at the entrance to the medicine cats’ den. Bristlefrost felt so confused that she couldn’t move, her mind racing and filling with half-formed questions. She didn’t know whether to hope that Shadowpaw really did have the answer to Bramblestar’s mysterious illness, or whether this was all some kind of ShadowClan trick to attack ThunderClan when they were vulnerable. Maybe Tigerstar did find out about the Moonpool, and this is some complicated strategy to get revenge?

When Bristlefrost felt she couldn’t wait a heartbeat longer, Jayfeather and Alderheart appeared from their den and padded over to the fresh-kill pile with Flippaw following them.

“What’s all this?” Jayfeather demanded harshly.

Instead of explaining, Squirrelflight turned to Shadowpaw. “All right,” she began, “if Bramblestar were sick, how would you cure him?”