The Last Hope

Where is she? He tasted the air and finally detected Cinderheart’s scent mingled with Icecloud’s and Leafpool’s. He followed it across the clearing and out of the camp, breaking into a run as he headed up the slope. Leafpool and Icecloud were batting each other with their forepaws, practicing swipes while Cinderheart watched.

“You need to be quicker,” Cinderheart told Icecloud. “Try using shorter blows.”

“Cinderheart!” Lionblaze called from the bank.

She turned, ears pricked. “Lionblaze? What are you doing here?”

“I have to talk to you!”

She must have detected the urgency in his mew because she nodded to her Clanmates and hurried toward him. “What’s the matter?” Worry pricked her gaze.

“Follow me.” Lionblaze weaved past a clump of ferns and halted at the foot of a gnarled beech.

Cinderheart stared at him. “Is something wrong?”

Lionblaze took a deep breath. “You have a destiny,” he began. “Just like every cat. But you also have a choice.” StarClan, let her understand! “And so do I.” Cinderheart leaned forward, opening her mouth, but before she could interrupt, he pressed on. “Our destinies guide our paws, but they don’t shape every step. That’s up to us. We walk the path we choose.”

Cinderheart said nothing. Lionblaze persisted. “Whatever our destiny says, we still have to choose our own path, don’t you see? We can walk side by side if we wish.”

Cinderheart backed away, her gray pelt ruffling. “It’s not that easy!”

Lionblaze padded after her. “It is!”

“My head is so full of memories!” Cinderheart wailed. “I feel as though there are two lives inside me, not one. How can it be my choice to make? Doesn’t Cinderpelt have a choice? I can’t make her be a warrior! She was a medicine cat!”

Lionblaze pressed his muzzle closer. “She chose you,” he murmured. “She gave you the choice.”

Cinderheart began to tremble. Lionblaze could sense her mind whirling. “You can only live one life, Cinderheart. It’s your choice! This is your destiny, not Cinderpelt’s. She lived her own life.”

Cinderheart gasped. Then her pelt smoothed. She lifted her chin. “Then I choose the life of a warrior.” Her blue eyes shone. “And I choose you.”

A breeze stirred the ferns. Lionblaze glimpsed a pale gray shape appear like a shadow beside Cinderheart. Stepping back in surprise, he saw it peel away from her and drift up like a cobweb carried by the wind. A soft voice whispered, Thank you.

Lionblaze’s fur stood on end. “Did you see that?”

Cinderheart was watching the shadow disappear into the trees. “It was Cinderpelt,” she breathed. “I’ve set her free.”

Lionblaze purred loudly. “Will you fight alongside me?”

Cinderheart pressed her muzzle fiercely against his. “Always.”

Chapter 21

Ferns scraped Jayfeather’s spine as he gathered comfrey from the patch near the camp entrance. Dew was already beading on the soft leaves. Dusk was drawing nearer. The patrols from WindClan, ShadowClan, and RiverClan would be here before long. He shook out his paws. They ached from gathering herbs all afternoon while the warriors trained.

Muscle thumped against earth behind him. “Don’t forget what Ivypool taught us!” Squirrelflight called to Dustpelt. “Dark Forest warriors will go for your throat. Make sure you’re always ready to fend off a killing bite.”

Dustpelt’s fur brushed the ground as he struggled out from under Graystripe. “How can I attack properly if I have to defend myself all the time?”

Graystripe was panting. “What about leading more with your shoulders and keeping your head low?”

Jayfeather plucked a final leaf and stacked it with the rest. Bundling them between his jaws, he headed back into camp. He ducked through the tunnel and hurried around the edge of the clearing, skirting Rosepetal and Molepaw as they practiced a tricky battle move.

“Never turn your back on a Dark Forest warrior!” Ivypool yowled.

“Can we try it next?” Leafpool paced restlessly while Cloudtail plucked at the sandy earth, anticipation pricking from his pelt.

Brambleclaw sat beneath Highledge with Lionblaze and Squirrelflight. “Sorreltail, Thornclaw, and Spiderleg should go to ShadowClan,” he meowed.

“Whitewing, Berrynose, and Hazeltail could go to WindClan,” Squirrelflight suggested.

Jayfeather dropped the herbs beside his den and joined them. “Do you think we’ll be ready in time?”

“We’ll have to be,” Brambleclaw growled.

Jayfeather tasted the air. “Where’s Firestar?”

“He’s setting traps with Sandstorm and Sorreltail,” Dovewing told him. “Stretching brambles across trails and hiding rabbit holes with nettles.”

Ivypool’s mew cut in. “Use your tail to balance, Rosepetal! You need to be able to fight on two paws as well as four! These warriors want to kill you!”

“How do we kill them?” Cloudtail called. “They’re already dead!”