Sign Of The Moon

But he could see the point in making use of Leafpool’s vast knowledge of healing, so he just replied with a curt nod. “Brightheart has had some training, too,” he pointed out.

“True. Then that’s settled.” Firestar still didn’t sound happy, but Jayfeather knew that he wouldn’t go back on what he had agreed. “You can leave tomorrow.”

As Jayfeather reached the bottom of the tumbled rocks, Lionblaze padded across to him; Jayfeather picked up his mingled curiosity and excitement. You’re not going to like this, he thought. “You’re up late,” he remarked out loud.

“I spotted a hole in the barrier near the dirtplace tunnel, so I went to fix it,” Lionblaze explained. “Nothing to worry about,” he added. “Just a few loose branches. There’s no sign that any cats had tried to break in.”

Jayfeather nodded. A moon or two ago, the idea of any cats trying to break into the ThunderClan camp, deep inside their territory, would have been unthinkable. Now relations between the Clans were so strained that it was all too possible.

“Have you been talking to Firestar?” Lionblaze asked eagerly. “When do we leave for the mountains?”

“You don’t,” Jayfeather replied, bracing himself for his brother’s disappointment.

“What?”

“I’m sorry, but Firestar says he needs you here. If there’s a battle with the Dark Forest cats, then you’re the strongest warrior we have.”

“But I’m one of the Three!” Jayfeather heard his brother’s claws raking furiously in the earth, and pictured his golden neck fur bristling with anger. “Surely I have to go to the mountains as well?”

“I wish you could, but…well, I think Firestar has a point.” Jayfeather reached out with his tail to touch Lionblaze on his shoulder. “If the Dark Forest cats attack, you’re the best defense ThunderClan has.”

Lionblaze snorted. “Who is going with you, then? Dovewing, I hope.”

“Yes, and Foxleap and Squirrelflight.”

Lionblaze was silent for a moment. Jayfeather knew his brother would understand how reluctant he was to travel with the cat who had pretended to be their mother. But all Lionblaze said was “I’ll give Foxleap some extra training.”

“There’s no time,” Jayfeather told him. “We leave in the morning.”

As he spoke he felt a sudden chill; wind swirled around the hollow, making his eyes water and flattening his fur to his sides. He heard the clatter of branches high above as the blast stirred the trees at the top of the cliffs.

“Clouds across the moon…” Lionblaze murmured.

Could that be an omen? Jayfeather wondered, suppressing a shiver. “Time is running out for all of us.”

Jayfeather padded back to his den. His muscles ached with weariness, but he knew that he couldn’t sleep yet. Checking on Briarlight, who was peacefully curled up in her nest, he headed for the cleft in the rock where he kept his supply of herbs. Since he had received Rock’s message, he had gathered what he could in preparation for the time when he would be away.

“Plenty of juniper berries,” he muttered, identifying each herb by scent and touch. His stores were sparse, but at least he had more than in the previous moon. “Some catmint left…the tansy is a bit low…And lots of yarrow.” He remembered the bunch of yarrow that had been left outside the camp; he had never identified the cat who had found it. Whoever it was, they have a good nose for herbs.

Carefully he selected sorrel, daisy, chamomile, and burnet, the traveling herbs that he and his Clanmates would need for the journey, and made four leaf wraps for the morning. Then he checked on Briarlight once more. She was deeply asleep, worn out by the new exercises he had given her.

Knowing how important it was for him to get some rest before setting out, he stumbled into his nest and curled up, wrapping his tail over his nose. Instantly, as it seemed, he opened his eyes and realized that he was in StarClan. He lay in long grass on the bank of a stream that gurgled over stones. The water reflected red light; Jayfeather looked up to see the sky stained with bars of scarlet as the sun went down in a brilliant blaze. All around him the shadows of evening were gathering, and a chilly wind whispered through the grass and ruffled the surface of the stream. As Jayfeather rose to his paws and looked around, a nearby clump of bracken quivered and a cat emerged into the open. Jayfeather studied the messy, clumped gray fur and snaggly teeth.

“Yellowfang,” he greeted her.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Yellowfang rasped. “What’s all this nonsense about going to the mountains?”

Jayfeather flicked up his ears in surprise. “You know about that? Did Rock speak to you too?”

Yellowfang let out a snort of disgust. “That one doesn’t speak much to any cat.”

Jayfeather wondered how much the former medicine cat knew about Rock. “You don’t think I should go?”

“I think it’s a mouse-brained scheme,” Yellowfang replied, baring her teeth. “The Dark Forest is rising. You should stay in ThunderClan and protect your Clanmates.”

“The Tribe of Rushing Water is linked to the destiny of the Clans,” Jayfeather argued.