“Is it because we used to be kittypets?” Bella meowed. “Because Ravenpaw told us that some of your warriors are still kittypets. We’d be warriors all the time, I promise!”
Leafstar blinked. “It’s true that SkyClan has daylight warriors, but they have trained with us for many seasons, and I trust their loyalty to their Clanmates.”
“We could train too!” Riley argued; Barley hushed him with a sweep of his tail across the young cat’s muzzle.
“I cannot fault their enthusiasm,” Leafstar commented to Ravenpaw. She tipped her head to one side. “But why have you come all this way to ask if they can join SkyClan? Why couldn’t Firestar take Riley and Bella into ThunderClan?”
Ravenpaw blinked. “Because ThunderClan has gone,” he managed to say, feeling grief choke him afresh. “All the Clans have left the forest. The forest was torn up to make room for a Thunderpath, and there was nowhere for the warriors to stay. I watched them leave, but I . . . I don’t know where they are now.”
Leafstar’s eyes clouded. “Poor Firestar and Sandstorm, having to leave their home! I hope that they are safe, wherever they are.”
“I believe that they are,” Ravenpaw meowed. “StarClan would have told me if something terrible had happened, I think.” He noticed Barley shoot a sideways glance at him, and Ravenpaw felt a twinge of guilt. He rarely spoke of StarClan to his friend, and perhaps Barley had assumed that his warrior ancestors no longer meant anything to him.
Leafstar sighed. “I have tried to keep the memory of Firestar and Sandstorm alive in my Clan,” she murmured. “SkyClan owes everything to them. But many seasons have passed, and not all my warriors were there in the beginning.” She drew herself up again. “Any friend of Firestar’s is welcome to visit my Clan, but only as our guest. We will always be grateful for what Firestar and Sandstorm did. But we cannot accept unknown cats to train as warriors. I am sorry.”
She turned to leave, making it clear that her welcome to Firestar’s friends began and ended at the border to her Clan. The other cats followed, except for Plumwillow, who paused to hiss, “Don’t steal any of our prey!” before trotting after her Clanmates.
Ravenpaw stared at the disappearing warriors in dismay.
“They were mean!” Bella growled.
“They didn’t even give us a chance to show off our battle moves!” Riley muttered.
“I’m sorry,” Ravenpaw mewed. “I didn’t think she’d be like that.”
“Let’s go back to that cave in the gorge,” Barley suggested. “I don’t think we should hang around too close to the border.” He padded over to Bella, whose tail was drooping. “I’m still very proud of you,” he told her. “And you, Riley. You’ve learned so much on this journey! You’re brave and strong and smart. You’d be great warriors. Wouldn’t they, Ravenpaw?”
“Yes, of course.” Ravenpaw started to walk back down the stream. His pelt burned. Why had he raised the hopes of these young cats, all for nothing but sore paws and travel-stained fur? A sharp pain jabbed in his belly, and he stumbled.
In a heartbeat Barley was beside him, propping him up. “Are you okay?”
“Just tired,” Ravenpaw rasped. “I’ll be okay once we get to the cave.”
Barley stayed beside him, fussing, until he was settled on the dusty orange floor. Riley and Bella slumped down beside him with their chins on their paws.
“I’ll go hunt,” Barley meowed. “You stay here and rest.”
Ravenpaw slept deeply until something prodded him in his side, sending a spasm through his belly. Riley and Bella were standing in the cave beside him, their eyes huge. It was dark—Ravenpaw had slept for longer than he thought—and Barley was curled at his back.
“Something’s happening!” Bella squeaked.
Ravenpaw pricked his ears. Faint yowls and shrieks echoed along the banks of the gorge.
“Do you think SkyClan is being attacked?” whispered Riley.
“I don’t know. Whatever it is, it doesn’t sound good.” Ravenpaw stood up and walked to the mouth of the cave.
“Where are you going?” Barley rumbled, sitting up.
“To see what’s going on.”
“Not without me,” meowed Barley.
“Or us!” Riley and Bella put in.
Ravenpaw sighed. “Okay. But you’ll have to be quiet.”
“We’ll be quiet as mice,” Riley promised.
Bella put her head to one side. “Actually, mice are noisy. Always squeaking and rustling around.”
“Quieter than dead mice, then!” her brother hissed.
They padded along the stream to where the banks flattened out among the trees. The sounds of cats in distress grew louder. Ravenpaw passed the holly bush with the border mark and glanced back at the others, nodding to show that they should follow. Now they were inside SkyClan’s territory. Ravenpaw felt his fur stand on end, but he kept going, still treading quietly even though any noise they might make would be drowned out by the screeches coming from in front of them.
He reached the edge of the trees and paused. In the starlight, Ravenpaw made out a huge, dark shape looming over the stream. A rock, perhaps? Beyond it, cats flashed back and forth between sandy cliffs, shrieking in alarm and fury. Ravenpaw twitched his tail to get the others’ attention, then raced to the nearest cliff, which sloped up gently at first, then more steeply, to a huge expanse of scrubby grass. On the far side, bright yellow lights twinkled; that must be a Twolegplace, Ravenpaw guessed.
He padded to the edge of the cliff and looked down. He felt very exposed, but none of the cats in the gorge below noticed him. Barley, Riley, and Bella crept up beside him and stared in horror. Amid the crisscrossing paths that lined the valley, cats were charging back and forth, yowling in anger. A heap of soft, dark shapes went flying; from the scents that drifted up to the top of the cliff, Ravenpaw guessed that the fresh-kill pile had been scattered.
As Ravenpaw’s eyes grew used to the starlight, he realized that five or six cats were chasing the others, rousting them with shrieks and hisses. More and more cats spilled from dens in the side of the cliff, including some tiny kits who looked barely able to walk.
“Get them back to the nursery!” screeched a she-cat.
“Poor little kits, too small to be away from their mother,” jeered a familiar voice.
Ravenpaw looked at Barley. That was Pasha! He peered into the gorge again and made out the shapes of the other cats who had terrorized them the previous night. Were they taking on the whole of SkyClan?
“Warriors, to me!” yowled Leafstar, her cream patches glowing in the half-light. At last a more or less orderly line of cats formed up, and they charged at the intruders, hissing and spitting. With a chorus of mocking screeches, the kittypets whirled around and scrambled back up the cliff.
“We’ll be back!” Pasha yowled, so close to Ravenpaw that he almost stepped on him.
Ravenpaw and his companions crouched in the grass without breathing until the kittypets had thundered away. Below, the SkyClan camp fell silent apart from the whimpering of kits as they were ushered back to their nest, and the angry muttering from elders who had been disturbed from sleep.
“Three nights in a row!” hissed one of them.
Leafstar spoke soothingly. “We’ll find a way to stop them, I promise. Go back to your dens and get some rest.”
“Whoa!” breathed Bella. “Those kittypets are giving SkyClan a lot of trouble!”
Ravenpaw backed away from the edge of the cliff. His pelt smelled strongly of SkyClan, and he realized he had been lying on top of a border mark.
“Imagine having to put up with that every night!” Barley remarked.
They started to walk back down the slope to the stream.
“I don’t understand why they let those kittypets get into their camp,” Riley mewed. “SkyClan cats are warriors! They should be able to defend themselves!”
Ravenpaw shook his head. “I don’t think the kittypets were there for any real purpose. They jus
t wanted to wake everyone up and cause trouble.”
“Thankfully, it’s their trouble, not ours,” meowed Barley. “Look, here’s the cave. Come on, you two, get some sleep. We’ll start for home tomorrow. Leafstar has made it clear that there’s nothing to keep us here.” He shooed Riley and Bella inside and curled around them.
Ravenpaw lay down near the entrance, his chin on his paws. Barley was right; if Leafstar wanted them to go, there was no reason to stay here any longer. But he couldn’t forget the image of the warriors shrieking in dismay as their camp was invaded. Surely there was something SkyClan could do to stop it?
CHAPTER NINE
Ravenpaw opened his eyes to find that he was lying on smooth stone beside a still, star-filled pool. He sat up and looked around. Behind him, a pock-marked slope spiraled up to the top of the hollow. The stone beneath him was cool, but his fur felt warm. He padded to the edge of the pool and drank, feeling the water surge through him like light. He became aware of a cat standing beside him with her tail resting lightly on his back.
“Come sit with me, Ravenpaw,” Silverstream purred. She positioned herself neatly on the rock with her tail folded over her paws and waited while Ravenpaw settled himself more slowly, wincing at the ache in his belly.
Ravenpaw noticed her watching him with concern. “I’m getting old!” he joked.
Silverstream just looked at him with huge blue eyes.
Ravenpaw felt a chill creep over his pelt. “I . . . I’m not going to see my home again, am I?”
“No,” Silverstream admitted. “But you must not be afraid of dying somewhere else.” There was a catch in her voice. “All that matters is that you are not alone, and that you know you are loved.”
Ravenpaw felt a painful lump rise in his throat. “I’m afraid for Barley,” he whispered.
“Barley knows that you don’t want to leave him. He understands, and he will not love you less if he cannot see you.”
Two more cats approached the edge of the pool: one dark gray tom with glowing blue eyes, the other a broad-shouldered tom with gray-and-white fur. Silverstream stood up and nodded to them, then padded away up the spiraling path.
The dark gray tom spoke first. “My name is Skywatcher,” he meowed. “I was the last of the SkyClan warriors, until Firestar and Sandstorm came to save my Clan. There is a place for Riley and Bella in SkyClan, I promise. Be patient and you will help them find it.”
“And I am Cloudstar, leader of SkyClan when we first came to the gorge,” rasped the gray and white cat. “And before, when we lived in the forest with the other Clans.”
Ravenpaw dipped his head. “I am honored to meet you both.”
“I made the same journey as Firestar and Sandstorm, and now you and your friends,” Cloudstar meowed. “I am grateful to you for bringing new warriors to my Clan.”
“But they don’t want them!” Ravenpaw burst out. “Leafstar wouldn’t even let us cross the border!”
“Give them a chance to see what these cats can bring to the Clan,” Cloudstar countered. “SkyClan needs your help. You saw that tonight.”
Ravenpaw lashed his tail. “But SkyClan has its own strong warriors! Leafstar was quick to make that clear. What can we do that they can’t?”
Without speaking, Skywatcher moved to the edge of the pool and flicked a pebble into the water. It landed with a splash and sent starry ripples out in circles, rolling all the way to the sides of the hollow.
“Look,” Skywatcher ordered. “The stone reaches much farther than you might expect. Do you see?”
Ravenpaw watched the trembling waves and pictured SkyClan, scared and defensive inside the gorge, waiting for the kittypets to storm across the empty ground and invade their camp again. His mind cleared and he nodded. “I see,” he replied.
Cloudstar rested his muzzle on top of Ravenpaw’s head. “Please help us,” he murmured. “In the name of the Clans, and the warrior code.”
“I will,” Ravenpaw promised.
He woke as the first gray light of dawn spilled into the cave. Outside, the air was cool and scented with leaves. Ravenpaw nudged Barley. “Wake up!”
“Is it time to go home?” Bella mewed sleepily. Beside her, Riley yawned.
“We’re not going home,” Ravenpaw announced. “We’re going back to SkyClan.”
Barley stopped mid-stretch. “What? They wouldn’t even let us across the border yesterday.” He narrowed his eyes. “And you need to get back to the barn for some rest.”
“I’m okay,” Ravenpaw told him. “I dreamed of StarClan last night, and I saw something that can help deal with the kittypets.”
“Let’s go!” mewed Riley, running to the mouth of the cave. “Those fox-brained kittypets need to respect SkyClan!”
Ravenpaw felt a flash of pride at Riley’s loyalty to a Clan that had treated him like a trespasser.
Bella nodded. “If there’s anything we can do to help, then we have to go back.”
Barley sighed. “I can see I’m outnumbered,” he mewed. He brushed the tip of his tail along Ravenpaw’s spine. “But if you need to stop and rest, tell me, okay? I know something’s hurting you.”
“I will.”
Ravenpaw led them up the stream once more. They paused among the trees to hunt; Barley made Ravenpaw lie on some comfy moss while he and the young cats cornered a pigeon that was pecking at the foot of a beech tree. As soon as they had eaten and cleaned their muzzles, they continued to the edge of the woods.
In daylight, Ravenpaw could clearly see the huge, gray-brown boulder that hung over the stream. The water vanished beneath the rock, and sun-dappled ripples cast patterns of light onto the bottom of the stone. They had hardly gone past the holly bush when several figures appeared, running toward them. Plumwillow was in the lead.
“We told you to stay away!” she growled.
A ginger tom bounded beside her, his hackles raised. “Get out of here!”
“Plumwillow, Bouncefire, wait!” A silver tabby she-cat with clear green eyes sprang down from a path near the foot of the cliff and blocked their way. “Enough! These cats mean no harm.”
“We don’t know that,” Bouncefire muttered, but he stayed where he was and watched as the silver-gray cat approached Ravenpaw and his companions. Ravenpaw picked up the clean scent of herbs on her pelt and spotted a scrap of cobweb clinging to her ear.
“My name is Echosong,” she meowed. “I am SkyClan’s medicine cat. Leafstar told me about you.”
Her voice was gentle, and Ravenpaw let the fur on his spine relax. “I need to speak with Leafstar. Please, it’s important.”
Echosong studied him for a moment, then turned, her fluffy silver tail straight up. “Follow me.” She led them past Plumwillow and Bouncefire, who hissed under his breath, and up one of the narrow paths. She paused and looked back. “I’m sorry,” she mewed. “There isn’t much room in Leafstar’s den. I can take Ravenpaw to her, but would the rest of you mind staying down here?”
Barley glanced at the warriors who had started to emerge from dens and behind rocks at the bottom of the valley.
“Don’t worry, you’re quite safe,” Echosong told him. “Hawkpaw will look after you.”
A sturdy little cat with sleek gray fur and piercing yellow eyes who had just come out of a den nodded. “Absolutely,” he promised.
“Thank you,” Echosong meowed. “Let me know if Ebonyclaw arrives and needs you to do something else.” She went on to Ravenpaw, “Ebonyclaw is a daylight warrior, so she’s not here yet. Hawkpaw is her apprentice.”
“He seems very committed,” Ravenpaw remarked.
Echosong nodded. “He is. As long as we keep him away from Billystorm’s apprentice, Pebblepaw. The two of them do not get along!”
They left Barley, Riley, and Bella standing rather awkwardly with the gray apprentice and continued up the path. It led past several small caves—warrior dens, Ravenpaw guessed from the scents that wafted out—to a ledge where three cats sat: Leafstar, a ginger-and-white
tom with a broad, handsome face, and a dark ginger tom whose gaze raked Ravenpaw’s pelt as he approached.
Leafstar dipped her head. “Ravenpaw. I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” She indicated the cats beside her, the scowling dark ginger tom first. “This is Sharpclaw, my deputy. And this is Billystorm. Whatever you have to tell me, you can say in front of them.”
Ravenpaw took a deep breath and hoped the warriors couldn’t hear his heart pounding. “I want to help you with the kittypet, er . . . problem. We saw what happened last night, and I think there’s a way you could stop it.”
Sharpclaw stood up, hackles raised. “So you were trespassing?” he growled.
“We were on the cliff top, on the other side of your border marks,” Ravenpaw replied, trying not to let his paws shake.
“Sit down, Sharpclaw,” Leafstar mewed.
The ginger tom slowly folded his hind legs beneath him. “Those kittypets are a nuisance, nothing more,” he rasped. “We’re not afraid of them.”
“But they must be taught to respect your boundaries,” Ravenpaw meowed. “You cannot let them come into the heart of your camp!”
“We’re hardly welcoming them in!” Billystorm pointed out.
Leafstar raised one paw. “Do you think you know a way to keep them out of the camp, Ravenpaw?” Her tone was light, as if she was prepared to listen to him out of politeness.
Ravenpaw stood up and unsheathed his front claws to mark a shape on the sandy ledge. With a few swift lines he made a circle with ripples spreading outward, just like the pattern in the moonlit pool in his dream.
“This is your camp,” he explained, pointing to the circle in the center. “But the boundaries need to be much farther out, to keep trespassers at a safe distance.” He rested his paw on the outermost ripple. “This is the point that you need to defend, halfway across the empty ground between your camp and the Twoleg dens. If you make that your boundary, and prove to the kittypets that you will not let them cross, then your home will be safe.”
“Who are you to tell us about boundaries?” Sharpclaw huffed. “You’re not even a Clan cat.”