The Fourth Apprentice

Besides, I don’t need to choose an apprentice yet. That was for older medicine cats; he felt countless moons stretching out ahead of him, thrumming beneath his paws like the ancient footprints he walked in by the Moonpool. And of course there was still the Prophecy to fulfill before it was his turn to join StarClan. There will be three…who hold the power of the stars in their paws.

The sun was well above the trees by now, beating down so that Jayfeather’s fur felt as if it were on fire. I can almost smell the smoke!

Then his nose twitched. The acrid scent tickling his nostrils really was smoke. His pelt prickling with fear, he tasted the air for a couple of heartbeats, just to be certain, and located the smell at the edge of the hollow, close to the elders’ den.

“Fire!” he yowled, launching himself toward the smell of burning.

Almost in the same heartbeat, he stumbled as Dovekit hurtled past him, her pelt brushing his as she raced out into the center of the clearing.

“Fire!” she screeched. “The Clan is on fire!”

Jayfeather was impressed that she had smelled the smoke so quickly. I thought my nose was the best in the Clan! But there was no time to think about that now. He had to find the fire and put it out before it spread to the rest of the camp.

More caterwauling broke out behind Jayfeather as he ran toward the hazel bush. He scented Brackenfur racing beside him and snapped, “Get the elders out of their den!”

The ginger warrior veered away to the entrance; Jayfeather raced on past the den, guided by the scent of smoke. As he drew closer to the rock wall he could hear the crackle of flames. A wave of heat rolled out to meet him and he halted. Frustration at his blindness swept over him, fierce as the fire. I don’t know where to attack it!

Then another cat shouldered him out of the way; Jayfeather picked up Graystripe’s scent, with Firestar and Squirrelflight just behind him.

“We need water,” the Clan leader mewed crisply. “Jayfeather, find some cats to go down to the lake.”

“That’ll take too long,” Graystripe yelped. “Kick dust on the fire, quick!”

Jayfeather heard the sound of vigorous scraping, but the smoke and flames didn’t die down. He turned away, about to obey Firestar’s order, when he heard the sound of several cats racing over toward the fire.

“Cloudtail! Lionblaze!” Firestar exclaimed. “Thank StarClan!”

Jayfeather picked up the scent of wet moss as his brother and several other cats brushed past him. There was a loud hissing sound, and the acrid smell of smoke suddenly became much stronger. It caught in his throat and he retreated, coughing.

Moments later, Lionblaze joined him. “That was close!” he panted. “If we hadn’t come just then, the whole camp could have caught fire.”

“You’re sure the fire’s out?” Jayfeather asked, blinking eyes that stung from the smoke.

“Firestar is checking.” Lionblaze let out a long sigh. “And now I suppose we’ll have to go get more water. I just hope the RiverClan cats have gone.”

“RiverClan?” Jayfeather felt his neck fur begin to bristle.

“There was a patrol out there when we arrived,” Lionblaze explained. “We nearly had to fight for a few mouthfuls of water. If the RiverClan cats are still there, they certainly won’t welcome us back.” His voice grew heavy with anger. “They looked as if they were counting every drop!”

Jayfeather’s tail drooped as he stood beside his brother among the sooty remnants of the fire. Around him, cats were beginning to carry the burnt debris out of the camp; the sharp scent made him cough again.

Will the end of the Clans be like this? he wondered. Just like the lake is shrinking? So ordinary, and frustrating, and so bitterly, painfully slow?

Lionblaze touched his nose to Jayfeather’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “Remember, we will be Three again,” he murmured. “Whitewing’s kits are Firestar’s kin, too.”

Jayfeather shrugged. “How can we be sure? Why hasn’t StarClan sent us a sign?”

“We don’t know that the prophecy came from them in the first place,” his brother pointed out.

“But they—”

A loud yowl from across the clearing interrupted what Jayfeather was about to say. “Hey, Jayfeather!”

Jayfeather’s whiskers twitched as he recognized the voice of the most annoying cat in the Clan. “What is it now, Berrynose?” he asked with a sigh, heading in his direction.

Berrynose padded up to meet him; Jayfeather detected the scent of Poppyfrost just behind him.

“Poppyfrost is having kits,” the young warrior announced importantly. “My kits.”

“Congratulations,” Jayfeather murmured.

“I want you to tell her she’s got to rest and take care of herself,” Berrynose went on. “Having kits can be dangerous, right?”

“Well…sometimes,” Jayfeather admitted.