Warriors: Omen of the Stars #6: The Last Hope (31 page)

“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.

“Can I help?” She slid through the brambles. “When the battle’s finished, there are going to be a lot of injured warriors.” Her whiskers were trembling. “I—I’d like to help. Even if it’s just carrying wet moss to thirsty patients.”

“Moss?” Jayfeather frowned.
Moss! Of course!

“I realize that I have no right to ask but—”

“I’d completely forgotten about moss.” Jayfeather jumped to his paws. “We’ll need pawfuls. I’ll send a patrol out to find some.” He brushed past Leafpool, heading for the entrance.

“Everyone’s training or hunting,” Leafpool reminded him. “Can I get some?”

Jayfeather paused. “Collect moss?” He felt her flinch, ready for rejection. “That would be a waste of your skills,” he mewed briskly. “Molepaw and Cherrypaw can collect some when they get back. I need you working here.”

“Really?” Shock sparked from Leafpool’s pelt.

“You have as much experience as me,” Jayfeather told her. “It’d be dumb not to use you. You said it yourself—there are going to be a lot of injured warriors. I’ll need you to help treat them.”

“B-but what about StarClan?” Leafpool stuttered. “They told me I was no longer a medicine cat.”

Jayfeather growled. “Things have changed, Leafpool. We have to do what we think is right for the Clan. And if that means going against StarClan, then we must.”

Leafpool padded closer. “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?”

Jayfeather returned to bundling herbs. “There’s nothing to forgive,” he sniffed. “You did what you thought was best. No cat can blame you for that.” He pushed a pile of borage toward her. “Start gathering herbs like I’m doing. I want plenty of cobweb in each bundle. And remind me to ask Molepaw and Cherrypaw to collect more when they go for moss.”

Aching relief spilled from his mother as she sat beside him and began picking herbs from the piles. Jayfeather brushed against her as he reached for another pawful of marigold. He felt stone scrape beneath his claws. “We’re running out.”

Leafpool purred. “I’ll remind you to ask Molepaw when he gets back.”

They worked in silence until a yowl split the air outside the den. “They’re gone!” Cloudtail pounded into camp. “We can’t find them anywhere!”

Jayfeather scrambled out of his den. “Who?”

“Birchfall, Blossomfall, and Mousewhisker.” Cloudtail was pacing in front of Brambleclaw. Molepaw and Rosepetal panted behind him.

“Are you sure you’ve looked everywhere?” Brambleclaw demanded.

“We’ve had the whole Clan scouring the forest,” Cloudtail reported. “There’s no sign of them.”

Jayfeather crossed the clearing, his mind whirling.
Dovewing!
He tasted the air, searching for her. She was resting beside her den.

“Listen for them!” He hurried toward her. “Find out where they are.”

She sat up, trembling. “Okay.”

Jayfeather reached into Dovewing’s mind as she stretched her senses across the forest.
Where are you?
His heart began to pound as Dovewing’s hearing ranged beyond the lake and the forest and reached into darkness. She was venturing back into the Dark Forest.

“Has the battle begun?” Blossomfall’s anxious mew sounded from the shadows. Dovewing focused in. The tortoiseshell warrior was following a twisting path through slimy bracken. Birchfall paced beside her.

Behind them, Mousewhisker stared into the trees. “How will we know when to attack?”

Blossomfall was shivering from cold or fear. “Don’t worry, we’ll know. Brokenstar promised, remember? There’s no way he’s going to let us escape from fighting alongside him.”

The voices vanished as Dovewing’s senses jerked back to the clearing. Reeling, Jayfeather straightened up.

“Where’s Ivypool?” Dovewing wailed. “She has to go after them, bring them back before the battle starts.”

Jayfeather shook his head. “There isn’t time,” he told her heavily. “They’ll have to save themselves now.” He turned his head, listening to the sounds of preparation for battle going on all around him.

It’s all any of us can do, to defend ourselves against the vengeance of the Dark Forest.

They’ll have to save themselves now.

Jayfeather’s words turned Dovewing cold with fear. She tasted the air, searching for Ivypool, then darted to the apprentices’ den. Ivypool was curled in her nest, eyes tight shut, ears twitching.
She’s trying to dream herself into the Dark Forest to find Blossomfall, Birchfall, and Mousewhisker.

Dovewing padded closer.
But they know she’s a spy! What if they’ve already betrayed her to Tigerstar?
Suddenly, a voice sounded at the edge of her hearing.

“The time has come.”

It was Brokenstar’s rasping mew, ringing from the Dark Forest.

Cats crowed their approval, their yowls echoing through leafless branches. Dovewing closed her eyes and searched out the sound. She cast her senses between shadowy trees and heard the sluggish wash of water over slimy banks. A little farther along the river, a legion of cats jostled for position around a blackened tree stump.

“This is the last night you’ll spend in this stinking forest!” Brokenstar declared from the stump. His amber eyes gleamed as he surveyed the sea of bristling pelts.

“What does he mean,
the last night?”

Dovewing recognized Blossomfall’s whisper. The tortoiseshell crouched at the edge of the crowd with Mousewhisker and Birchfall huddled beside her.

Tigerstar leaped onto the tree stump and nudged Brokenstar aside. “Tonight we will sweep away the warrior code that has robbed the Clans of true honor for so long. For too many moons, the Clans have nurtured the weak and rejected the strong.” He swung his broad head around to take in all the cats below him. “But tonight we will rage through the Clans like a storm until only the strong remain. We will build a new Clan where strength and victory are prized above weakness and failure!”

“No more warrior code!” yowled a battered tabby.

“The Dark Forest will rule the Clans!” Cries rose from the crowd.

“Follow me tonight!” Tigerstar lifted his voice. “And I promise you more power and freedom than you have ever known.”

The Dark Forest warriors’ cheers rang in Dovewing’s ears. With a gasp, she spotted Sunstrike of WindClan and Minnowtail from RiverClan. They were staring at Tigerstar, their eyes wide with shock. Not far away from them, Mousewhisker was backing toward the trees.

“The Clans have been flawed for too long.” Hollowflight stretched up among the Dark Forest warriors. The RiverClan tom’s eyes shone. “We have to show them that only the strongest will survive.”

Dovewing felt sick.
How can a Clan cat believe in such cruelty?

Icewing’s white pelt flashed at the corner of her vision. The RiverClan she-cat nudged Mousewhisker back toward Blossomfall and Birchfall. With a flick of her tail, she beckoned Furzepelt and Harespring of WindClan closer. “Don’t let Tigerstar see you’re afraid,” she hissed. “Keep quiet and do exactly what he says or you’ll never see your home again.”

Birchfall started to object but a ragged tortoiseshell turned to face him, eyes narrow. “I don’t hear you cheering for our leader,” she growled.

Icewing met her gaze. “We’re planning our strategy, Mapleshade,” she meowed. “Don’t forget we have the edge when it comes to fighting the Clans. Our Clanmates
trust
us.”

“Really?” Mapleshade sounded unconvinced. “Let’s hope you’re prepared for the battle of your lives.” She leaned closer to Icewing. “Because fighting alongside us is the only way you’ll survive.”

A thin, black tabby tom pushed his way from the crowd and stopped beside Mapleshade. “How are our recruits doing?” he sneered.

“Darkstripe.” Mapleshade greeted him with a curt nod. “They’re scared as kits.”

Darkstripe’s gaze swept over the Clan cats. “Don’t be,” he snapped. “You’re on my patrol and I’ll make sure you fight like heroes.” His eyes narrowed suddenly. “Where’s Ivypool?”