The Last Hope

Was she saying they should live as one Clan? Jayfeather frowned. “But we need boundaries,” he argued. “To grow strong. You said so.”

“Perhaps,” Brambleberry conceded. “When the sun shines.” She leaned closer. “But a great darkness is coming.”

Jayfeather shifted his paws. “But I don’t want to become mixed up with ShadowClan, or WindClan, or RiverClan.”

Brambleberry gazed at him softly. “You’re already half-Clan.”

Jayfeather’s fur spiked. “I’m ThunderClan from nose to tail. And my heart is loyal only to them.”

“It was you who fixed your heart on ThunderClan,” Brambleberry insisted. “But you’re half-WindClan, just as Graystripe and Silverstream’s kits were half-RiverClan. And Stormfur’s heart beats for the Tribe now. Who knows where Feathertail’s loyalties would lie if she’d lived?” The old medicine cat dipped her head. “Loyalty makes Clan cats strong. But no Clan has pure blood running beneath every pelt.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Jayfeather’s tail twitched. “Being half-Clan isn’t a sign of strength. It’s what happens when cats are disloyal.” He unsheathed his claws. “It’s what happens when they betray the warrior code!”

Brambleberry’s gaze hardened. “Are you listening to me?” she growled. “Or are you too busy worrying about whether your blood smells of forest or moorland?” She snorted. “The Clans must unite! Don’t look for boundaries that aren’t there. Look for the ones that are.”

Wind spiraled down into the hollow and set the Moonpool rippling. Jayfeather turned and saw its surface color and change until it reflected a landscape. A circle of water shone at its center, surrounded by hills and trees.

“It’s the lake!” he gasped. “And there’s ThunderClan territory!” He gazed at the bright green forest. This must be how an eagle would see the Clans’ territories. Jayfeather squinted, trying to make out more detail.

“Are you looking for the scent lines?” Brambleberry flicked her tail. “Can you see them?”

“It’s too far away.” Jayfeather could only see one landscape blending into another, the gentle slope of valleys and glittering trails cut by rivers and streams.

“This is how StarClan sees your home,” Brambleberry explained. “We see the beauty of it and the richness. We don’t see which tree belongs to which Clan. Don’t look for boundaries that aren’t there…”

“…look for the boundaries that are.” Jayfeather echoed her words, searching the landscape again. “But where are they?”

Brambleberry touched his cheek with her tail-tip, guiding his gaze back to her. “The only true borders lie between day and night, between life and death, between hope and loss.”

Jayfeather stared at the medicine cat. “So why is StarClan telling us to stay inside our territories, to listen only to our Clanmates?” he asked.

Brambleberry shifted her paws. “We can’t see your lands anymore,” she confessed. Her gaze flashed toward the pool. “It’s all dark to us now and we are frightened.”

Jayfeather whisked his tail. “What can I do?”

“Make them see!”

“The Clans?”

“StarClan!”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“I wasn’t born with the power of the stars in my paws!” Brambleberry turned and began to follow the curving path out of the hollow. “Make them understand that the Clans must fight together or die divided.”

“Wait!” Jayfeather dashed after her. “How can I convince them?”

Brambleberry glanced back. “You already know the answer.” Her voice echoed as she reached the edge of the hollow. “Three must become four to save all the Clans.”

Jayfeather stared as her white pelt vanished into the darkness. He glanced back at the Moonpool. It reflected only the starlit sky. Blinking, he tried to wake from his vision, and the hollow disappeared. Relieved, Jayfeather welcomed back his blindness.

Then something flashed at the edge of his vision.

I’m not blind! I’m still dreaming!

Shapes moved around him. Trees towered on every side. Darkness clung to everything.

“You won’t see us coming,” a voice whispered in his ear.

Jayfeather jerked away. A pelt brushed against him from the other side. Terrified, he turned, trying to see who was there. But the shapes kept moving, too dark to make out.

A growl sounded behind him. “Your death will come slowly and painfully.”

Jayfeather spun around, straining his eyes into the trees.

“There is nothing you can do to prevent it.”

I know that voice! He tasted the air, the scent curling his tongue. He’d met this cat before, in the Dark Forest with Yellowfang. “Brokenstar?”

A shadow froze in front of him. Amber eyes gleamed from the darkness. Jayfeather jumped backward.

“Scared yet?” Brokenstar taunted.

Jayfeather lifted his chin. “We’re ready for you!”

“Really?” The eyes blinked. “I think some of your Clanmates are more ready than you know.”

“What do you mean?” Jayfeather stiffened against the shiver that clawed his spine.

“Listen.”

Jayfeather pricked his ears.

“Line up!” Somewhere in the trees, a tom was hissing orders. “Unsheathe your claws and prepare to attack!”

“They’re training,” Brokenstar explained.