Sunrise

A gleam of cold amusement lit in Sol’s eyes. Lionblaze knew he was enjoying the power he held over them. Suddenly he wasn’t sure that Sol knew anything about their father. Perhaps he was just taunting them, knowing they couldn’t take him back to the Clan. But he had known who they were from the start, and had offered to help….

“This is our chance to fulfill the prophecy,” Lionblaze mewed desperately, turning to his littermates. “Sol knows so much…he even knew when the sun was going to vanish!”

Neither of his littermates responded. Jayfeather just looked stubborn, while Hollyleaf had tensed her muscles as if she was about to pounce on Sol and force him to tell the truth.

No! If she lays a claw on him he’ll never tell us!

Sol’s amber gaze traveled slowly over Hollyleaf; her bristling hostility didn’t ruffle a single hair on his pelt. “Think about what I can offer you,” he meowed softly. “So much more than merely knowing your ancestors! Real power takes much more than that. Listen to me, and I’ll teach you how to truly hold the power of the stars in your paws.”

Hollyleaf let out a furious hiss and crouched to spring.

“No!” Lionblaze yowled. He leaped on his sister, gripped her by the scruff and dragged her outside, ignoring her flailing paws and her screeches of outrage. “Are you mouse-brained?” he demanded, releasing her among the dead bracken outside. “If you make Sol angry, he’ll never help us.”

“Why do we need him?” Jayfeather padded out to join them; his voice was calm, his head tilted on one side. “The prophecy doesn’t say anything about needing help. How can Sol be more powerful than we are?”

“We don’t have the power of the stars yet, do we?” Lionblaze’s belly churned as he tried to make his littermates understand. “Let him teach us what he knows. What harm can it do? And then he’ll tell us who our father is.”

Frustrated, he realized that there had been no point in coming to the Twoleg nest. Neither Hollyleaf nor Jayfeather was prepared to talk sensibly with Sol. They probably believed he killed Ashfur, like the rest of the Clan. They might as well go straight back to the hollow.

He looked back at the entrance to the nest to see Sol standing there; his glowing amber gaze swept across them. “You are not ready to listen to me yet,” he mewed. “When you are, come again. I’ll be here, waiting for you.”

CHAPTER 24

Hollyleaf’s pelt prickled with frustration as she and her brothers headed back toward their own territory. They had been so close to discovering who their father was! But Sol had enjoyed holding his knowledge out of their reach, like a juicy bit of prey that he meant to keep for himself.

I could have made him tell us, if Lionblaze hadn’t interfered!

She was so angry that she was hardly aware of her surroundings; suddenly Jayfeather nudged her hard in the side, nearly knocking her off her paws. “What—?” she began.

Lionblaze slapped his tail over her mouth. “ShadowClan!” he hissed. “Hide!”

All three cats dived for cover into a bramble thicket. Hollyleaf spat in annoyance as a thorn pierced one of her pads, and she tried to lick it out as ShadowClan scent wreathed around her.

“Ivytail, Smokefoot, and Owlpaw,” Lionblaze reported, peering out through the bramble tendrils. “They’re patroling the border. I hope they didn’t scent us.”

No challenging yowls came from the patrol, and the scents gradually died away, leaving only the smell of the border markers.

“I guess it’s safe to come out now,” Lionblaze mewed after a few heartbeats. “Let’s get back into our own territory as quickly as we can.”

He took the lead, racing over the rough grass, weaving his way around hazel thickets and clumps of fern, until they flashed past their own border markers and drew to a panting halt several fox-lengths into ThunderClan territory.

“We’d better hunt on our way back,” he told them. “That way we can pretend we went out to restock the fresh-kill pile.”

Jayfeather nodded. “And I’ll look for yarrow. If I come back empty-pawed, Leafpool will want to know why.”

Though she did as Lionblaze suggested, padding softly through the undergrowth with her ears pricked and her jaws gaping for the first scent of prey, Hollyleaf’s pelt crawled with resentment. We shouldn’t have to lie and deceive like this! Why can’t we be proud of what we can do?

While stalking a squirrel, she thought about how she could make Sol tell them the name of their father. I’d do anything. Anything! she thought fiercely. She remembered how easily her jaws had met in Ashfur’s throat….