The Last Hope

Jayfeather crossed the den, stopping when he felt the twigs of her nest poke his forelegs. “Comfortable?” He leaned down and tugged moss up around her, secretly feeling for any fever with his muzzle. She felt cool, her muscles limp with fatigue. Satisfied, he leaned back. “Sleep well, Briarlight.”

“Are you okay?” Briarlight’s question surprised him. “It seems like there’s something on your mind.”

“It’s nothing,” he lied. “I’m just tired.” He turned away and padded to his nest. He felt Briarlight watching him for a moment, then heard her rustle deeper into her bed. Climbing into his own pile of soft moss, Jayfeather circled down and tucked his tail over his nose.

The Dark Forest flashed in his mind. Eyes blinked from the shadows. He imagined the army massing beyond his vision.

Borage leaves cure fever. Catmint cures greencough. He began listing remedies in his head to block out the nightmarish thoughts. Dock soothes scratches. Feverfew cools fever.

“Can’t StarClan guide you?”

Mapleshade’s sneer flooded his thoughts. Comfrey mends broken bones.

“We shall taste victory soon!”

He could still feel where Hawkfrost had shoved him into the mud. Mouse bile treats ticks.

“All the power of the stars in your paws?”

Jayfeather flattened his ears as though he could block out the memory of Tigerstar’s jibe.

Marigold stops infection. Coltsfoot eases breathing. Poppy seed soothes pain and shock and brings sleep. Jayfeather fixed his thoughts on the neatly stacked herbs lining the wall of his store, repeating their names over and over until the words grew hazy and jumbled and he slipped into sleep.

When he blinked open his eyes, he could see dense green forest crowded around him, thick with familiar scents. I’m dreaming. Birchfall and Spiderleg’s musky odor still clung to the bushes they must have passed on patrol. This was ThunderClan territory. Jayfeather looked up and saw stars twinkling beyond the canopy of leaves. An owl screeched nearby and branches shivered as it swooped through the forest.

The ferns behind Jayfeather rustled. He turned, tasting the air. “Dovewing? Is that you?”

The young gray she-cat slid out from between the fronds.

“Dovewing?” A second mew echoed Jayfeather’s. Lionblaze was padding along the trail toward him.

The three cats stared at one another uncertainly.

“How did I get here?” Dovewing glanced at the trees. “I was in my nest.”

“Me too.” Lionblaze halted beside Jayfeather.

“We’re dreaming,” Jayfeather explained.

Lionblaze frowned. “So you’re in my dream?”

“We’re sharing one.”

“Why?” Dovewing peered through the shadows.

Jayfeather nodded toward the short steep slope beside them. A hole yawned in the earth, and the scent of stone and water, of endless dark tunnels, drifted out. “I think we’re supposed to go down there.”

“Are you sure?” Lionblaze sounded doubtful.

Dovewing padded forward and sniffed the tunnel entrance. “Why else would our dream bring us to this part of the forest?” She padded inside and was swallowed up by the shadows.

“Wait.” Lionblaze was staring hard at Jayfeather. “You looked at the tunnel like you could actually see it.”

“I can,” Jayfeather answered evenly.

“How?” Lionblaze’s eyes widened.

“I always see in dreams.”

“So you know what I look like?” The idea seemed to shock the golden warrior.

Jayfeather narrowed his eyes. “You looked better when you weren’t covered in scratches.”

Lionblaze flicked his tail. “I’ll heal.” He ducked into the hole after Dovewing.

Jayfeather darted after them, pushing past his Clanmates in the crowded space. “I’ll lead,” he told them. “I’m used to the dark.” The floor of the tunnel was damp and muddy beneath his paws. It turned to freezing stone as he headed deeper into blackness. His pads began to ache with cold. He let his whiskers guide him along the twists of the jagged walls. “Are you two okay?” he called over his shoulder.

“Fine.” Lionblaze’s mew echoed from the stone. “Dovewing?”

“I’m right on your heels,” she answered.

Lionblaze’s muzzle touched Jayfeather’s tail-tip. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“No.” But Jayfeather felt sure-pawed as he led them farther into the tunnels. Curiosity was tempting him onward. Behind him, he heard Lionblaze tasting the air, his tongue flicking against his lips. The warrior’s mind was crowding with images of claws and blood.

“There are no WindClan cats here this time,” Jayfeather promised.

“Listen!” Dovewing halted. Fear flashed from her pelt.

Jayfeather pricked his ears. The sound of water rippled ahead of them, echoing around stone walls. Jayfeather felt his brother’s pelt slide past him as Lionblaze rushed ahead.

“I know where we are!” Lionblaze called.