The Forgotten Warrior

“I was Cinderpelt’s apprentice,” Leafpool went on. “I knew her well. I knew she had longed to be a warrior, a mate, and a mother, but all that was taken away from her when she had the accident on the Thunderpath. In spite of that, she was a good medicine cat, one of the best that ThunderClan will ever have. I won’t let her life be taken away from her again!”

“But the Clan has to come first,” Jayfeather argued. “More medicine cats are needed.”

Leafpool was silent for a moment. Both of them knew that she was a fully trained medicine cat quite capable of caring for her Clan, if only she hadn’t broken the medicine cat code, as well as the warrior code, by taking a cat from another Clan as her mate. But neither she nor Jayfeather mentioned that. The silence stretched out until it tingled between them as if a storm were about to break.

“Individual cats are important, too,” Leafpool went on at last. “You could take an apprentice. Briarlight is already doing a great job.”

“Oh, sure!” Jayfeather lashed his tail. “Wouldn’t that just be great? One medicine cat who can’t see, and another who can’t walk. ThunderClan would be invincible!”

“I know you see much more than the rest of us,” Leafpool stated calmly. “You can’t use that as an excuse. But I’m telling you, Cinderheart deserves a different life this time. That’s why StarClan gave her a second chance. Spottedleaf said so, in my dream. I won’t let you spoil everything for her again.”

Without giving Jayfeather a chance to respond, she rose and walked away.

Jayfeather stayed beneath the tree, thoughts swirling in his head. He had to admit that Leafpool had a point: If StarClan had interfered enough to let Cinderheart have another life, he knew there must be a very good reason for it. And Yellowfang isn’t thinking straight at the moment, he reminded himself. She’s too closely caught up in the rivalries inside StarClan, and her fear of the Dark Forest.

Jayfeather returned slowly to the camp, still unsure about what he should do. Before he had even reached his den, he picked up Cinderheart’s scent and heard her paw steps approaching.

“Birchfall said you were looking for me,” she meowed. Her voice was cheerful. “Do you need me to do something?”

As clearly as if he could see, Jayfeather was aware of Leafpool’s gaze fixed on him. He took a deep breath. “Nothing important,” he told Cinderheart. “It can wait until another day.”

Chapter 10

Ivypool slid cautiously through the Dark Forest. It seemed positively crowded now, as busy as a disturbed anthill, with clusters of cats training in every clearing, racing along every path, and splashing through the sludgy river. Anxious not to be called into a training session, Ivypool clung to the shadows, her senses alert for traces of one particular cat. Hearing voices, she dived into the middle of a clump of ferns, then poked her head out warily to spot Tigerheart and Mapleshade a few tail-lengths ahead.

Ivypool felt her heart begin to pound faster. She had been terrified of Mapleshade ever since the old she-cat had almost drowned her in the river in a so-called training exercise. Now Mapleshade looked paler than ever; Ivypool’s eyes widened as she realized that she could see the tree trunks behind the she-cat’s misty shape.

But Mapleshade’s eyes still burned as she leaned close to Tigerheart. “The Dark Forest will rise up and stamp out the Clans,” she told him, her voice a spitty, rasping hiss. “StarClan will bow down to us, and the warriors who chose not to join us will be punished beyond the end of their lives.”

Horrified, Ivypool shrank back among the ferns. Tigerheart was listening intently, nodding as the old she-cat went on.

“Every cat who ever lived will know—” Suddenly Mapleshade broke off, sniffing the air. “I smell fear,” she growled. Ivypool’s heart almost stopped as the pale she-cat’s baleful gaze swept past the ferns where she crouched, shivering. “Who has come here with insufficient courage to face their Clanmates?”

Mapleshade swung her massive, scarred head around, still sniffing. Then she hauled herself to her paws and stalked in the opposite direction from Ivypool, pushing through dead, slimy brambles. Ivypool stayed very still, trying not to let her breath stir the fern fronds around her.

“Snowtuft!” Mapleshade snarled. “I might have known! You mangy pile of dung, get back into the fight and show some mettle.” Ivypool winced at the sound of a heavy blow and a high-pitched shriek of pain.

Several heartbeats passed, and at last Ivypool realized that Mapleshade wasn’t coming back. Swallowing her fear, she emerged from the ferns and padded up to Tigerheart. The ShadowClan warrior sat grooming himself, passing one paw over his ears; he glanced up casually as she approached. “Sneaking around, Ivypool?” he mewed.