Warriors: Power Of Three 1 - Sight (26 page)

“Yes, I’ve seen her,” Yellowfang answered. “But I didn’t come here to talk about Cinderpelt.” She cleared her throat.

“You’re trying to walk in other cats’ dreams, aren’t you?”

“So what if I am?”

“You should be careful,” she warned. “A cat with big ears sometimes hears more than he should.”

“And who decides what I should and should not hear?”

Jaypaw countered.

“You do.” Yellowfang’s gaze burned into his. “But you are young, and curiosity can be dangerous. Be careful where you tread.”

Jaypaw bristled. Why was this old fleabag telling him what to do? “Leafpool knows I can walk in other cats’ dreams,” he snapped. “She told me it was a special gift.”

“It is,” Yellowfang agreed.

“Then why shouldn’t I use it?”

“You have claws?” Yellowfang’s eyes glinted as she asked him the question.

“Of course!”

“Then why don’t you silence me by shredding me with them?”

What a stupid question. “You’re a member of StarClan!” he retorted. “I wouldn’t attack you.”

“Why not?”

“It would be wrong!” What did she think he was? A weasel? “You’re my ancestor and my elder—”

“And I’m three times your size.” Amusement rumbled once more in Yellowfang’s mew.

Jaypaw stared at her. What was she trying to say?

“There are many reasons why we don’t use every power we have. Sometimes the warrior code guides us, sometimes instinct, sometimes common sense.” She leaned closer toward Jaypaw, and he tried not to shrink away from her stale breath. “You have a remarkable gift, Jaypaw, but you must think before you use it.”

Was she calling him stupid? Jaypaw lashed his tail mutinously.

Yellowfang narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Kits!” she muttered. “I’m wasting my breath.” She turned, ready to leave.

“Wait!” Jaypaw wasn’t going to lose a chance to speak with StarClan. He wanted to solve the puzzle of Mothwing. “Do you often share things with the medicine cats?”

Yellowfang glanced back at him, her eyes glittering with suspicion. “Sometimes. Why?”

“Have you spoken with Mothwing?”

Yellowfang’s ears twitched. “You want me to waste more words on answers you won’t understand?”

“I just want to know if you’ve spoken to her.”

“You are driven only by curiosity,” Yellowfang hissed.

“That is not a good enough reason.”

Jaypaw plucked at the ground with annoyance. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because,” Yellowfang growled, “if the answers are there, you will find them anyway.”

Before he could say anything else, the old cat stalked away into the grass. It quivered, then fell still, and her scent disappeared like mist in the wind.

Jaypaw itched with crossness. There was so much he wanted to know; why couldn’t StarClan just be open with him? Well, he decided, if the answers are there to be discovered, I’ll discover them!

He padded through the trees, trying to draw the scent of another medicine cat to him. A WindClan odor, earthy as moorland air, hit him.

Barkface.

Eagerly, Jaypaw followed his scent. He ducked low and crept through a clump of ferns, weaving carefully between the stems so as not to set them rustling. Peeking out the other side, he spied Barkface. The medicine cat’s eyes were shadowed with worry. Another tom stood with him—WindClan by his scent, his pelt black and white.

“How many dogs will come, Tallstar?” Barkface asked fearfully.

“I don’t know,” Tallstar replied.

“When will they reach us?”

“The Twolegs will bring them when they bring the sheep to eat the newleaf grass,” Tallstar told him. “You must be ready.”

“I will warn Onestar.”

As Jaypaw watched Barkface dip his head to the Clan leader, he felt soft fur brush his pelt. Startled, he jerked his head around.

Spottedleaf was beside him. “This is not your dream,” she mewed sharply.

Jaypaw bristled. Everywhere he went, there were cats telling him what to do! “I’m only watching,” he objected.

“You were not given this gift so you could spy on other Clans,” Spottedleaf scolded.

“Then tell me why I was given this gift at all,” Jaypaw demanded.

Before Spottedleaf could answer, another voice called his name.

“Jaypaw?”

He felt a muzzle nudging his shoulder.

“It’s time to wake up.” Leafpool’s warm breath ruffled his fur.

He opened his eyes to darkness. The forest was gone and the Moonpool lapped at his paws. He could hear the other cats stirring. Littlecloud and Barkface were padding around the Moonpool, while Leafpool stood quietly at his side.

“Did you dream?” he asked her.

“Yes.”

Jaypaw’s whiskers twitched with curiosity. Shadows were clouding Leafpool’s thoughts. “What did you dream about?”

“A medicine cat does not discuss what StarClan shares with her unless there is good reason to,” she told him.

Did that mean he couldn’t tell her about Onestar’s warning to Barkface? Then he’d tell Firestar as soon as he reached camp. It was his duty. His tail trembled with anticipation.

Firestar would be impressed.

Mothwing was yawning on the other side of the Moonpool, as though she had enjoyed her sleep. Jaypaw leaned forward, focusing on her thoughts, but he could per-ceive only a careful blankness in her mind.

Willowpaw’s excitement suddenly flitted across the Moonpool, breaking his concentration like a warm breeze disturbing fallen leaves. I bet she’s dying to pass on Mudfur’s message.

He felt her curious stare graze his pelt, and wondered if she had noticed him eavesdropping in her dream. He turned away from her quickly.

“Come on, Willowpaw!” Mothwing called. “It’s too cold to hang around.”

“We should get home,” Leafpool meowed.

“Have you got something important to tell Firestar?”

Mothwing asked.

“I want to be back in camp before the dawn patrol leaves,”

she replied. “Or they’ll waste time searching for us before they check the borders.” She turned and followed Barkface and Littlecloud to the top of the ridge. Jaypaw padded after her. At the top he glanced backward, finding only stillness and silence.

“You go first,” Mothwing meowed. She waited for him to scramble down after the others and caught up with him as he followed them down the narrow valley.

“How’s your training going?” she asked.

“Okay, I suppose,” Jaypaw replied. He thought for a moment. “The best bit is sharing with StarClan.” He held his breath, waiting to see how she would react.

“Of course,” came the unsatisfying reply. “Any tough cases?” Jaypaw noticed she changed the subject immediately.

He thought of Stormfur. “One warrior has a scratch that won’t heal.”

“What are you treating it with?”

“Honey-and-horsetail poultices,” he replied. “But he rubs them off as quickly as I put them on. His nest is sticky with honey, and there’s a trail of it over half the camp.”

“Have you tried covering the scratch with catchweed after you’ve put on the poultice?”

Jaypaw recalled the feel of the fuzzy green balls on long, clinging stems. The tiny catchweed burrs would stick to Stormfur’s thick pelt without hurting and stop the poultice from being rubbed. “Thanks,” he mewed. “I’ll try it.”

“It helps to share ideas,” Mothwing commented.

“Does StarClan give you good advice, too?” he asked inno-cently, but Mothwing appeared not to hear. She was already hurrying to catch up with Willowpaw.

Jaypaw’s mind buzzed with curiosity as they trekked to the WindClan border. Mothwing kept a few pawsteps ahead of him, until the cats paused at their meeting place.

“Good-bye,” Littlecloud meowed as he turned toward the lake.

“See you at the Gathering,” Mothwing added, dipping her head to Leafpool.

“Travel carefully,” Leafpool called as Littlecloud, Mothwing, and Willowpaw headed lakeward together. “I’ll remember to leave those herbs for you, Littlecloud.”

“Thanks, Leafpool,” the ShadowClan cat called over his shoulder.

Barkface crossed the border into his own territory. “Take care,” he meowed.

And you. Jaypaw heard the heather rattle as the WindClan cat hurried home.

Left alone with Leafpool, Jaypaw was aware that the air had grown colder. He fluffed out his pelt. Frost was forming, stiffening the grass beneath his paws. Dawn must be coming.

He padded beside Leafpool into the forest. “Do you ever know what other cats dream about?” he asked, trying to sound as if he weren’t really bothered.

“I told you,” she answered, “we don’t discuss it.”

“But all medicine cats have dreams, don’t they?” he pressed. Did she know about Mothwing?

“Each medicine cat’s relationship with StarClan is different.” Leafpool spoke carefully, like a cat picking its way through a briar patch.

“But sharing tongues with StarClan is the most important part of being a medicine cat, isn’t it? Any cat could learn to heal his Clanmates, but a true medicine cat has to be able to pass on messages from StarClan.”

“There is more to being a good medicine cat than interpreting signs,” Leafpool told him firmly. “Come on.” She broke into a run. “The dawn patrol will be heading off soon.”

She ran the rest of the way through the forest, checking to make sure Jaypaw was keeping up, but moving fast enough to keep him too busy to talk.

She knows more than she’s telling me, he thought as he followed her scent through the undergrowth.

They arrived at the camp just as the dawn patrol was preparing to leave. Brambleclaw was pacing restlessly. Ashfur kneaded the ground, and Brackenfur sat washing his paws, his eagerness to be off showing in every urgent lick. Brambleclaw halted as Leafpool and Jaypaw padded through the thorn barrier; Jaypaw sensed his father’s relief at their safe return.

“All well?” he called to Leafpool.

“Everything’s fine,” she replied as she padded away to her den.

Now was Jaypaw’s chance to share what he’d learned. He scrambled up the tumble of rocks to Highledge. “Firestar!” he called, rushing into the leader’s den.

Firestar twitched in surprise. “Jaypaw?” he meowed.

Sandstorm woke up on the other side of the cave. “What is it?”

“I had a dream about StarClan,” Jaypaw began. “WindClan is going be attacked by dogs.” He sensed Firestar’s tail bristling and went on. “This would be a great chance to take some of WindClan’s territory! They’ll be distracted at the other end of the ridge, and there won’t be any patrols around to stop us. We can take the strip of trees, the stream. . . . We could become stronger than the other Clans. ShadowClan would never dare invade us again.”

“Did StarClan tell you this?”

Why did Firestar sound so wary?

Jaypaw nodded eagerly. “About the dog attack, yes.”

Sandstorm fixed Jaypaw with her steady green gaze. “Are you sure that this is what StarClan meant? That we should use the dog attack against our neighboring Clans?”

“Why else would they let me hear Tallstar’s warning?”

Then Firestar spoke. “We will not take advantage of WindClan’s troubles,” he meowed.

“But surely StarClan let me share this so we could take advantage of it!” Jaypaw argued.

“Are you sure they didn’t just want to warn us that dogs were loose nearby?”

Jaypaw’s tail twitched with indignation. “You weren’t there!” he snapped. “How do you know what StarClan meant?”

He marched out of the den and bounded down the rocks back to the medicine den. Why don’t they believe me? he thought furiously. I’m the one who shared with StarClan! What’s the point of being a medicine cat if they don’t listen to me?

“Dog attack! Dog attack!”

Whitewing’s yowl jerked Lionpaw from his nest. Instantly awake, he scrambled to the entrance of the den. Berrypaw and Mousepaw had already shot outside. Hollypaw pressed behind him—her tail was bushed out, her ears flattened—

ready to defend her Clan.

“Can you see them?” she gasped.

“Are they near the nursery?” Hazelpaw called.

Lionpaw blinked against the rain. A steady drizzle drenched the camp, and the morning sky was gray with clouds. There was no sign of dogs.

Only cats filled the clearing, staring wildly around, their claws unsheathed. Spiderleg and Birchfall came streaking from the warriors’ den. Graystripe and Millie skidded after them as Whitewing paced urgently below Highledge.

“Where are they?” Ferncloud’s terrified mew sounded from the nursery. She crouched at the entrance, shielding Foxkit and Icekit, her eyes round with terror.

“It’s just like the badger attack!” wailed Daisy, cowering beside her.

Firestar leaped down from Highledge in one bound, Sandstorm on his heels. “Where are the dogs?”

Whitewing’s words came in gasps as she fought to get her breath back. “They’re not on ThunderClan territory,” she panted.

“Where are they, then?” Firestar demanded.

“On WindClan territory,” Whitewing reported. “I was patrolling with Thornclaw and Cloudtail near the border, and we heard dogs barking and cats shrieking from the moor.”

“Where are Thornclaw and Cloudtail now?”

“They went to investigate.”

“StarClan protect them!” Ferncloud whimpered.

Lionpaw’s heart was still pounding like a woodpecker on oak. “I hope Heatherpaw’s okay!”

Hazelpaw’s whiskers grazed his cheek. “Is Firestar going to send a patrol?”

“He must!” Hollypaw’s eyes were round. “WindClan could be wiped out.”

Leafpool rushed out of the medicine den. “Any injuries?”

Whitewing shook her head. “We didn’t see WindClan; w-we just heard them screeching, and the dogs . . .” Her ears twitched. “They were howling for blood.”

Jaypaw flashed a look of triumph at Firestar. “Do you believe me now?” he mewed, flicking his tail.

Lionpaw stared at his brother in surprise. Did he know this was going to happen?

Firestar glared at the blind apprentice. “This is not about you proving a point. Cats might die today!”

Lionpaw glanced questioningly at Hollypaw, but she looked as puzzled as he was.

“We must send a patrol to help WindClan,” Firestar decided.

Spiderleg blinked. “Have you forgotten the last time we fought dogs?”