The Last Hope

Eyes glittered like tiny moons as the leaders flashed warning looks at one another. Dapplenose drew away from Dovewing, her gaze suddenly suspicious. Onestar’s tail was lashing. Blackstar glared accusingly at Firestar.

“Listen to what you are saying!” Firestar hissed. His green gaze swept the restless crowd. “We haven’t all been invading one another’s territories!”

“Then how do you explain the scents?” Dawnpelt challenged from the bottom of the tree.

Firestar stepped forward to the end of his branch, his shoulders rippling beneath his pelt. “If rogues have been traveling across all the territories, they could have picked up scents and spread them like fleas in their path.”

Mistystar’s fur smoothed a little. “The scents have been confusing.”

Onestar’s eyes had narrowed to slits. “If rogues could carry scents from one territory to another, then so could a Clan patrol.”

Firestar met his gaze. “Then we should all step up patrols and try to find these cats.”

“Send out more patrols!” a ShadowClan tom called from the crowd.

“We must stay alert!” a RiverClan warrior yowled.

Firestar pressed on. “And if any Clan finds evidence, we must share it with the other Clans!”

Onestar bristled. “And warn them they’ve been found out? Never!”

Mistystar backed away from the other leaders. “I protect my own Clan,” she growled. “No other.”

Dovewing gasped as a WindClan cat barged past her, heading for his Clanmates farther down the clearing. All around her, warriors were weaving closer to their denmates. Dovewing glanced over her shoulder. The knot of apprentices had broken up and Cherrypaw and Molepaw were scurrying back to the ThunderClan warriors.

Blackstar jumped down from the Great Oak. Mistystar slithered down the trunk next, while Onestar glared at Firestar before leaping into the clearing.

“Come on, Dovewing,” Whitewing meowed. “There won’t be any sharing tongues tonight.”

Dovewing stretched her head up to find Tigerheart. There was no sign of him among the streaming pelts. “I’ll catch up!” she called to Whitewing as her mother headed after Squirrelflight and Blossomfall. She felt buffeted like a leaf on a river as cats moved around her, heading for the tree-bridge, clustering close to their Clanmates.

“Dovewing?” A familiar mew sounded behind her.

She spun around, her heart leaping as she saw Tigerheart.

His tail was high. “I thought we’d been found out with all that talk of drifting scents!”

“Me too!” Dovewing saw relief in his gaze. “We have to be more careful from now on.”

Tigerheart nodded. “There’ll be more patrols.” He stretched his muzzle close to her ear. “Let’s meet outside the territories again tomorrow night,” he whispered. “At the Twoleg nest.”

As Dovewing nodded, she felt the fur bristle on the back of her neck. She looked past Tigerheart and saw Bumblestripe staring at her. Her heart missed a beat. “We were just discussing the intruders,” she told her Clanmate quickly. “Tigerheart was asking if I’d noticed anything.”

Bumblestripe’s eyes widened.

“I thought it would be a good idea to talk to other patrols, to see if the scents have been picked up on the same nights.” Dovewing realized she was chattering like a blackbird.

Bumblestripe shrugged. “You can talk to whoever you like,” he meowed. “It’s a Gathering.” He began to follow the other cats toward the tree-bridge and disappeared into the long grass.

Dovewing turned back to Tigerheart. “I’d better go.”

Tigerheart dipped his head. “Me too.” He headed away, slipping between Rowanclaw and Dawnpelt as they passed.

Dovewing bounded after Whitewing, following her scent into the grass and catching up with her as she reached the shore. Whitewing glanced sideways at her as they waited for the other Clans to pass one by one over the fallen tree. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Dovewing mewed as brightly as she could.

Whitewing didn’t answer, but moved closer to her daughter till Dovewing felt her soft pelt brush her flank. Above them, clouds rolled across the sky and the wind lifted, sending waves scudding across the lake. Dovewing wished she could tell her mother everything: about Tigerheart and how much he meant to her; how heavy the prophecy seemed and how small she felt under its weight. But she couldn’t talk about the prophecy to any cat beyond the ones already involved, and Whitewing would be devastated if she knew her daughter loved a cat from another Clan.

Whitewing pressed closer. “I’m always here if you need me.”

Rain began to fleck Dovewing’s pelt. Her vision blurred, and she told herself it was just raindrops. “Thanks, Whitewing,” she whispered.

“Come on.” Whitewing nudged her toward a gap in the stream of cats. “We’ll be home before you know it.”

Chapter 14

“Are we all here?” Brokenstar’s eyes gleamed in the darkness as he scanned the circle of cats.