Moth Flight’s Vision

“You can’t protect every cat, Cow,” Micah reasoned. “She’s old enough to look after herself. She was traveling alone when we found her.”

“She was nearly ripped to shreds by a dog,” Cow pointed out.

Micah looked at Moth Flight. His bright green gaze burned into hers. “She has to go.”

Moth Flight nodded, her gaze flicking toward the moth. “I have to go now!”

Micah turned his gaze, softening, onto his friends. “I could go with her.”

Mouse’s eyes widened. “Go with her?”

Micah met the old tom’s gaze. “Then Cow won’t have to worry.” He turned to Moth Flight. “Can I come?”

But this is my journey! She opened her mouth, expecting the words to come out, but they froze on her tongue. “Come with me?” was all she could manage.

“You’ve been in my dreams since I can remember,” Micah told her. “I need to find out why as much as you need to find out about the moth and the spirit-cats.”

Moth Flight shifted her paws. “I think I’m supposed to do this alone.”

“Then why did you appear in my dreams?” Micah stared at her pleadingly until she felt caught in his green gaze. “Please let me come.”

She knew what he was feeling—the tug in his belly as his dreams called out to him. Now that he’d seen his dreams become reality, he couldn’t just go on with his life as though nothing had happened. Besides, she felt deep beneath her fur that they were connected in some way. Micah must be linked with the moth and the spirit-cats. Slowly she nodded. “Okay.”

The moth lifted into the air and began to zigzag toward the trees. “But we have to leave now.”

“You can’t go, Micah!” Cow’s eyes shimmered with sadness. “You’ve grown up here.”

Micah touched his muzzle to hers. “And you’ve been like a mother to me. I will always remember you. And you’ll see me again.”

Mouse’s eyes were dark. He dipped his graying muzzle.

“I’ve heard many cats say that, but once a cat wanders, they rarely come back.”

Moth Flight’s heart ached for the farm cats, but her paws itched to race after the moth. “I can’t wait,” she told Micah.

“Cow and Mouse, thank you for everything, but I need to go.

Micah, catch up with me.” She glanced at the moth. Its bright green wings were nearly camouflaged against the budding trees.

Bounding away, she chased after it, crossing the stretch of stone and leaping onto the wall at the end.

She dropped down into soft grass on the other side and began tracking the moth. She could just make it out as it flitted through the woods. She ducked into their shadow, relieved to be out of the rain.

The moth dropped low to bob over ferns that were just starting to unfurl among the trunks.

Paw steps sounded behind Moth Flight and she glanced over her shoulder. A striped yellow pelt showed between the trees.

Micah was racing after her.

He caught up to her, panting. “What’s the rush?”

Moth Flight nodded toward the moth. It had stopped, resting for a moment against the bark of a beech. “Can you see it?”

Micah followed her gaze and his eyes widened. “It’s beautiful! Is that the moth you dreamed about?”

“Yes!” Joy sparked beneath Moth Flight’s pelt. She hadn’t been sure if the moth was real, or just a trick of her imagination.

But Micah could see it too!

Micah purred. “So you know what it’s like when your dreams suddenly show up while you’re awake?” His green eyes shone as they met hers.

Before she could answer, the moth took off again, and began to weave once more among the trees. Moth Flight followed.

“Where do these woods lead?” she asked as Micah fell in beside her.

“They open onto a slope where a track leads past another Twoleg farm,” Micah told her.

Moth Flight stiffened. “More dogs?”

Micah’s pelt brushed hers as he trotted beside her. “Don’t worry,” he purred. “I can handle dogs.”

Chapter 10

The moth avoided the Twoleg farm, much to Moth Flight’s relief. As she and Micah emerged from the woods, it veered deeper into the valley. Overhead, the clouds were clearing and the drizzle eased. By sunhigh, the sky showed patches of blue, and by late afternoon, the sun shone in a cloudless, blue sky.

A chilly breeze whisked around Moth Flight and, despite the sun burning her pelt, she began to feel cold. They hadn’t eaten all day, but Moth Flight was frightened to stop and hunt in case they lost sight of the moth. Her belly rumbled and she fluffed out her fur to keep warm. As if sensing her discomfort, Micah padded closer and they shared each other’s warmth as they followed the moth.

It led them over field after field and, following the setting sun, headed closer to Highstones.

Weariness dragged at Moth Flight’s paws as they padded into the shadow of the great peaks. As the sun disappeared behind them, Moth Flight blinked, trying to adjust from bright sunshine to shade. The grass was becoming coarser beneath her paws. As they approached the foot of Highstones, it gave way to bare, rocky soil dotted with patches of heather. The land sloped steeply ahead of them and the moth lifted higher, swooping toward the sheer cliffs above.