The Last Hope

Jayfeather frowned. Good question. “I’ve seen StarClan warriors fade when there’s no cat left to remember them,” he recalled, raising his voice to reach Cloudtail. “If StarClan can fade, perhaps Dark Forest warriors can die.” He stiffened as he sensed darkness suddenly engulf Ivypool. He reached into her mind and was plunged into the Dark Forest.

Antpelt was struggling beneath Ivypool’s paws. Her claws ripped deeper into the warrior’s throat as life ebbed out of him in a pool of blood. His shape began to fade until there was nothing left but a scarlet stain on the withered grass. Jayfeather recoiled, feeling sick. She’s killed a Dark Forest warrior! He wondered if she’d tell Cloudtail that dead cats could vanish forever, but he felt her push the thought away.

Brambleclaw carried on planning. “I’m sending Foxleap, Toadstep, and Rosepetal to RiverClan,” he decided. “They can share Ivypool’s moves with Mistystar’s warriors.”

“I wonder who she’ll send to us?” Jayfeather tried to imagine RiverClan warriors in the ThunderClan camp.

Anger flashed from Molepaw. “Are we expected to hunt for them and let them sleep in our dens till the battle begins?”

“Yes!” Brambleclaw turned on the apprentice. “If that’s what Firestar wants. They’re our allies now.”

Cloudtail bristled. “I’m not sleeping next to a ShadowClan cat.”

“Would you rather be in the patrol I send to fight alongside RiverClan?” Brambleclaw snapped. “There’s no time to worry about Clan rivalries. We’re facing the end of everything we know. We’ll fight alongside the other Clans as though they are our Clanmates, and there will be no argument.”

Lionblaze’s tail whisked impatiently. “Firestar also wants two runners to pass messages between the Clan during the battle.”

“Molepaw and Cherrypaw can do that,” Brambleclaw meowed.

“But I want to fight!” Molepaw crossed the clearing. “It’ll be my first battle.”

“And you’ll serve your Clan best as a messenger,” Brambleclaw told him. “You’re one of our fastest runners.” The ThunderClan deputy dropped his voice to a whisper as he turned back to Lionblaze and Dovewing. “We need to find out which ThunderClan warriors the Dark Forest have recruited. We might be able to stop them.”

“We could ask Ivypool.” Jayfeather glanced toward the young warrior.

Dovewing was passing on her way to the elders’ den with a piece of fresh-kill. She dropped it when she heard Jayfeather speak. “But Firestar said we didn’t need to know who—”

Brambleclaw interrupted her. “It’s better to find out who our enemy is now,” he meowed. “Ivypool!” He waited for her to reach them. “Which ThunderClan cats are training with you in the Dark Forest?”

Ivypool backed away. “I can’t betray them!” she gasped. Jayfeather felt fear pulsing beneath her pelt. “They d-don’t realize what they’re doing,” she stammered. “When the battle comes, they’ll make the right decision!”

“We can’t punish them,” Dovewing argued. “They’ve done nothing wrong yet.”

“We’re not punishing them,” Brambleclaw meowed gently. “We’re trying to save them.”

“Tigerstar lied when he recruited them,” Ivypool mewed.

“I know,” Brambleclaw assured her.

“And Brokenstar threatened to kill them if they left.”

“Then let us have a chance to protect them. Who’s training in the Dark Forest?” Brambleclaw pressed softly.

“Birchfall,” Ivypool whispered. “Blossomfall and Mousewhisker.”

“Cloudtail, Molepaw, Rosepetal!” Brambleclaw called to his Clanmates, firing orders. “Get Blossomfall. She’s training in the sandy hollow. Birchfall and Mousewhisker are hunting. Find them and bring them back to camp.”

As Cloudtail, Molepaw, and Rosepetal raced from the camp, Brambleclaw sat down. “We’ll make them understand. They can be our allies in the Dark Forest. Like you, Ivypool.”

Jayfeather let his fur smooth. After all the moons of waiting, it was a relief to face the danger head-on. He glanced toward his den. “I have to check my herb supplies.” He headed across the clearing and picked up the bundle of comfrey. Pushing through the brambles, he padded into the den. Briarlight was fast asleep. He could hear her snoring as she lay among the herb stacks.

“Briarlight?” He touched her gently with his muzzle.

She jerked awake. “Sorry!” She heaved herself up. “All that counting made me sleepy. We’re going to need more marigold and nettle.”

“Go to your nest and rest properly,” Jayfeather told her. “I’ll keep going here.”

“I can help,” Briarlight argued.

“Rest,” Jayfeather ordered.

“But—”

“Now!” He was going to need all her strength when the battle began. Briarlight’s nest rustled as she slid into it. Jayfeather pricked his ears, listening till her breathing deepened. Then he began gathering herbs from each pile and rolling them into bundles. Each bundle contained the herbs and cobwebs he’d need to treat a single injury. It would save time once the battle began.

“Jayfeather?”

Leafpool’s mew surprised him. He looked up, heady from the smell of herbs.