Night Whispers

Jayfeather shuddered as he remembered the day it had fallen. Its roots had been loosened by rainfall, and the great tree had slid from the top of the cliff and smashed down into the camp, crushing the elders’ den and demolishing the thornbush where the warriors used to sleep. Longtail had died. Briarlight had been crippled, her back broken so that she could no longer feel her hind legs. It was only Dovepaw’s powerful hearing that had prevented more cats from being killed or maimed.

For half a moon the Clan had worked to rebuild their home, clearing twigs, leaves, and branches as much as they could. They had rebuilt the elders’ den by weaving the old honeysuckle tendrils around a frame of splintered wood. The beech still spanned the camp, its trunk like a spine, its boughs a rib cage jabbing into the clearing, its roots gripping the bramble nursery like claws. Every night was filled with the sound of leaves and twigs being tugged and adjusted as the warriors worked on their nests in their new den beneath the strongest bough of the fallen tree.

Jayfeather was still finding it hard to navigate the camp, tripping on unexpected branches or piles of twigs that had been brushed to one side but not yet cleared. Longtail, the blind elder, would have struggled even more to adjust. Perhaps he was lucky to be with StarClan, luckier than Briarlight. She had a chest infection now because she couldn’t run and hunt like her Clanmates. She could only drag herself to and from the clearing, her hindquarters dead as fresh-kill.

Jayfeather shook himself. Fretting wouldn’t help. He rinsed his paws in the pool, shuddering at the chilliness of the water, then padded to the bracken pile beside Briarlight’s nest.

As Jayfeather curled into the smooth stems and closed his eyes, Ivypaw’s dream pricked his thoughts. Why had StarClan set this battle in motion? He couldn’t shake the nagging suspicion that StarClan would never share dreams with Ivypaw. Why choose her and not one of the Three?

I’ll talk to Lionblaze about it in the morning. Tired to the tip of his tail, he let his mind drift into sleep.

The stench of decay made him shudder. Blinking open his eyes, he found himself in the Dark Forest. Shadows pressed like dark pelts around him. He glanced nervously over his shoulder. What was he doing here? Was Tigerstar planning to recruit him?

No. Tigerstar was no fool.

He tasted the air. A familiar scent bathed his tongue. Stiffening, Jayfeather peered through the gloom.

“Hello!” A cheerful mew sounded in a clearing ahead.

Ivypaw?

A gruff mew answered her. “Sorry if I scared you today.”

Who is she talking to?

“You didn’t scare me at all.” Ivypaw didn’t sound frightened or even surprised to be in the Dark Forest. “I knew you wouldn’t hurt me. You’re one of the Clanmates, aren’t you?”

The Clanmates?

Crouching low, Jayfeather ducked into the mist and crept forward. Ivypaw stood a fox-length away, ears pricked, tail high. Beside her, Jayfeather recognized the broad shoulders of a dark brown tabby.

Tigerheart!

The ShadowClan warrior leaned close to the ThunderClan apprentice. “I saw you with Hawkfrost the other night while I was training with Brokenstar. I never guessed you’d be one of us.”

One of us? Jayfeather crept closer.

Tigerheart circled Ivypaw. “You’re good.” Ivypaw fluffed out her chest as Tigerheart went on. “It was a shame our Clans had to fight, though. How did that happen?”

Tell him about your dream!

Paw steps scuffed in the shadows, and cold fear traced Jayfeather’s spine as a rumbling mew interrupted the two young Clan cats.

“Come on, Ivypaw! You’re wasting time!”

Jayfeather’s breath caught in his throat as he recognized the speaker. Hawkfrost. Tigerstar’s son, endlessly furious that he had been killed by his half brother, Brambleclaw, when he was trying to take Firestar’s remaining lives and leave ThunderClan leaderless and vulnerable for his and Tigerstar’s own cruel ambition.

“You fought well today,” the former RiverClan warrior growled. “But you got the move wrong when you attacked Scorchfur. Never turn on two legs when you can manage on one!” He beckoned Ivypaw away with his tail. She followed without question, disappearing after him into the mist. Hawkfrost’s growl shot back from the shadows. “Wait there, Tigerheart. Brokenstar’s coming for you soon.”

Jayfeather stared in horror, his paws frozen to the chilly earth.