Night Whispers

“Something terrible is coming.” Sagewhisker snatched Flametail’s gaze from Raggedstar. Her eyes glittered. “No Clan can be trusted. Each must stand alone if it is to survive.”

Flametail’s fur bristled. “What’s coming?”

Sagewhisker leaned closer. “We cannot be dragged down by another Clan’s treachery.”

Fear tightened Flametail’s belly. “Can’t you tell me what’s going to happen?”

As Sagewhisker shook her head, Flametail turned to Raggedstar. “What is it?” he begged.

Raggedstar glanced desperately at Sagewhisker. “Why don’t we just tell him?”

Sagewhisker growled. “If he knew, who would he trust? Suspicion could paralyze the whole Clan.”

Raggedstar dropped his gaze to his huge front paws. “This is something far beyond our control,” he murmured.

“What can be beyond your control?” Flametail stepped forward. “You’re StarClan!”

“We guide you,” Sagewhisker meowed. “We advise you. But we cannot stop events that are bound to happen.”

“So what can you tell me?”

Raggedstar nodded toward the wall of flame. “You must burn as brightly as this fire to protect your Clan. Survival is more important than the code of the medicine cats. You must forget your allegiance to them and pledge yourself only to our Clan. From now on, ShadowClan has no allies. Remember this: A time of war is coming, and your warrior ancestors will stand alongside you. No one else.”

A time of war is coming. The fire began to fade, and with it the starry ancestors. You must burn as brightly as this fire to protect your Clan.

Flametail blinked open his eyes, shivering. He was lying beside the Moonpool, the hollow dark and silent except for the breeze whispering over the water. The scent of StarClan still wreathed around him.

I’ll remember, he promised silently. I’ll protect my Clan, whatever it takes.

Chapter 9

Dovepaw sprang awake, shivering. The fern walls rustled around her, and she tensed against the icy draft. Without Bumblestripe and Blossomfall the den was colder than ever. She pricked her ears. Ivypaw was whimpering in her sleep.

What’s wrong?

“Wake up!” Dovepaw jabbed Ivypaw with her paw. What if the Dark Forest warriors were hurting her?

Whitewing poked her head through the ferns. “Is everything okay in here?”

Dovepaw turned quickly, shielding Ivypaw from their mother’s view. “Ivypaw’s having a bad dream,” she mewed. “I was just trying to wake her up.”

Whitewing opened the fern wider with a snowy paw, letting dawn light seep through. “I thought I heard her whimper—”

“Really, she’s okay.” Dovepaw cut her off.

Whitewing shrugged. “If it’s just a dream, wake her up and come out. Brambleclaw’s organizing the hunting patrols.” She ducked out of the den, and the ferns swished closed.

Dovepaw rocked Ivypaw fiercely with two paws. “Wake up!”

“W-what?” Ivypaw blinked open her eyes.

Dovepaw saw that one of Ivypaw’s eyes was bruised and swollen around the socket. “You’re hurt!”

Ivypaw turned away, hiding her injury in shadow. “It’s nothing.”

“Did that happen in your dream?” Frustration clawed Dovepaw. “You were fighting in the Place of No Stars again, weren’t you?”

Ivypaw thrust her muzzle into Dovepaw’s face. “Shut up!”

“You mustn’t go there!” Dovepaw felt heat pulsing from Ivypaw’s swollen eye.

Ivypaw pushed past her. “Keep your whiskers out of my business.”

“Why can’t you see how dangerous it is?”

But Ivypaw had barged away through the ferns.

Help her, StarClan! Help her to see that she’s wrong. And protect her. Dovepaw closed her eyes. Please, StarClan. She steadied herself with a deep breath and nosed her way out of the den.

Hazeltail, Brackenfur, and Toadstep were crowded around Brambleclaw. Bumblestripe and Blossomfall jostled at their heels, and Cloudtail and Brightheart paced while Dustpelt, Sandstorm, and Thornclaw waited quietly.

The ThunderClan deputy’s ear tips were just visible. “Dustpelt!” he called. “Take Sandstorm and see if ShadowClan has marked the new border.” He turned to Cloudtail. “Take Blossomfall and Bumblestripe hunting.” He nodded to Brackenfur. “Go out with Hazeltail and Toadstep and see what you can catch. I want another prey-hole filled by sundown.”

Where’s Ivypaw? Dovepaw scanned the camp. There was no sign of her sister’s silver-and-white pelt, but she spotted Lionblaze at the far end of the clearing. The golden warrior was deep in conversation with Squirrelflight and Spiderleg, their heads almost touching as they murmured to one another. Curious, Dovepaw focused her hearing and listened.

“How big were the paw prints?” Lionblaze sounded worried.

“Big enough,” Spiderleg reported. “A vixen, by the smell of it.”

“She’s used the track more than once,” Squirrelflight added.

Lionblaze frowned. “So she’s not just passing through.”