Lost Stars

The fire is coming, and the flames will scatter the Clans! he realized. I have to tell them!

“Oh, it definitely means something.” Tigerstar’s tones were grave. “And that ‘something’ is not good.”

Shadowpaw was sitting with his father just outside the Clan leader’s den. He had raced back to camp as soon as he had recovered from his vision, and at once Tigerstar had called his senior warriors around him: Cloverfoot, Tawnypelt, and Dovewing, along with Shadowpaw’s mentor, Puddleshine.

“I’m most concerned about the Clans being scattered,” Puddleshine meowed. “The fire might not mean real fire; StarClan often uses symbols when they send messages. But it sounds like they’re warning us that the Clans will be torn apart and destroyed by . . . maybe some outside force.”

Shadowpaw noticed that Tigerstar was staring hard at Puddleshine as the medicine cat was speaking. Puddleshine noticed it, too. “What?” he asked.

“You just said that StarClan uses symbols,” Tigerstar pointed out. “So do you finally believe that Shadowpaw is getting these messages from StarClan?”

Puddleshine frowned painfully, then nodded. “I’m not sure there’s any other explanation,” he admitted. “Shadowpaw’s visions have always been . . . unusual. But this one seems like a clear message.”

Every hair on Shadowpaw’s pelt tingled with satisfaction. At last!

“So we have to warn the other Clans,” Dovewing meowed.

“I’ve half a mind to keep the information to myself,” Tigerstar growled, his gaze fixed straight ahead to where the forest trees crowded close. “The other Clans have made it clear they don’t want listen to us anyway.”

“But—” Dovewing tried to interrupt, but Tigerstar ignored her.

“Don’t forget,” he continued, “the other Clans have so little trust in us, they tried to break through to StarClan without us. They attacked the ice on the Moonpool! Maybe the reason Shadowpaw has been able to talk to StarClan is that we’re the only Clan StarClan isn’t angry with.”

Cloverfoot blinked thoughtfully. “This latest vision showed that the fire was dangerous to all the Clans,” she mewed. “That surely means we’ll all suffer if we’re torn apart—including ShadowClan.”

“Yes,” Tawnypelt agreed. “Hasn’t StarClan told us before? The Clans are strongest when we stand together. Our experience with Darktail taught us that.”

Tigerstar still looked undecided, flexing his claws and twitching his tail-tip irritably. “I still don’t see why we have to be responsible for saving the other Clans, after the way they’ve treated us,” he huffed.

Dovewing gazed at Tigerstar with clear green eyes. “Because we’re warriors,” she responded. “We’re loyal to ShadowClan, but we still have a code. We have honor.”

Tigerstar let out a long sigh, then nodded reluctantly. “What do you think we should do?” he asked his deputy.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about closing our borders. Instead I would call an emergency Gathering,” Cloverfoot replied. “The other leaders need to know this, and we all need to discuss what to do about this latest vision.” She turned to Shadowpaw, warmth in her gaze. “This message is so clear, even the most stubborn Clans won’t be able to ignore it—whether it comes from ShadowClan or not.”

Tigerstar rose to his paws, looking decisive once more. “Good. We’ll do it. Cloverfoot, please send out messengers to the other Clans.”

It felt strange to Shadowpaw to be approaching the Gathering island in the dark. There was no full moon, and in any case the cloud cover was so thick that very little light could penetrate it. Shadowpaw could hardly see his own paws in front of him as he made the crossing on the tree-bridge.

His belly fluttered nervously as he padded over to join the other medicine cats in the clearing, but at least he had Puddleshine by his side, and this time he knew his mentor would support him. He’d already met with the other medicine cats, just prior to this meeting, to explain Shadowpaw’s vision and what he thought it meant. All the others, even Jayfeather, greeted him when he sat beside them, and their wide eyes, the way they dipped their heads respectfully to him, suggested to Shadowpaw that at least they were willing to listen.

But the warriors aren’t going to like the content of my message, he realized with a jolt of apprehension. What if they turn even more hostile?

The Clan leaders took their places in the Great Oak. They were barely visible among the branches, except for the gleam of their eyes as they looked down at the assembled cats. Shadowpaw noticed at once that there was no sign of Bramblestar; Squirrelflight leaped into the tree to join the leaders of the other Clans.