Firestar's Quest (28 page)

Together the two cats strolled back to camp. Without conscious decision, their paws led them to the top of the Rockpile. Sandstorm lay down on one side, closing her eyes to slits as the sun beat down on her. Firestar sat beside her, looking down to where the river poured out. Patchfoot was sitting on a rock by the waterside, stretching down to lap. A couple of tail-lengths away, Cherrypaw and Sparrowpaw were play-fighting, while their mentors looked on and offered advice. Clovertail and her kits had crossed the river, and the kits were exploring the rocks near the water on that side.

“You know, this reminds me of Sunningrocks,” Sandstorm murmured. “The warm rock, the sound of the river…I wonder what the others are doing back home?”

“Graystripe will keep the Clan safe,” Firestar mewed. “I trust him more than any cat.”

Homesickness flooded over him. Even though he believed Skywatcher's promise that ThunderClan was safe, he wanted to see his Clan deputy and his best friend more than anything.

Sandstorm stroked his shoulder gently with her tail tip. “I wonder how Sorrelpaw is getting on with Dustpelt.” She let out a soft
mrrow
of amusement. “I'd love to watch one of their training sessions!”

Firestar echoed her
mrrow
. “Let's hope Dustpelt survives—”

He broke off at the sound of a terrified shriek from below. Springing up, he saw Clovertail standing at the edge of the river, her fur fluffed out so that she looked twice her size.

For a heartbeat he couldn't locate the kits. Then he spotted Bouncekit, struggling frantically as he was carried along in the surge of water as it flowed out of the cave. He scrabbled with his front paws, letting out a wail of terror that was cut off as his head went under.

By then Firestar was bounding down the rocks with Sandstorm hard on his paws. But Clovertail was faster. Before they reached the path on the other side of the cave she had plunged into the river; she swam strongly to where her kit had vanished and dived down under the water.

Terror stabbed through Firestar. Would he have to save the mother as well as her kit? Then Clovertail reappeared, gripping Bouncekit firmly by the scruff. Dragging him with her, she reached the side of the pool, where Firestar and Sandstorm leaned over to take the kit while Clovertail hauled herself onto dry ground.

“Bouncekit!” she exclaimed. “Bouncekit, are you all right?”

Shivering, Bouncekit let out a feeble cry and vomited up a mouthful of water. His mother nudged him into a patch of sunlight, where he flopped down like a damp leaf. Clovertail
crouched beside him and began licking him fiercely, ruffling his fur the wrong way to dry him out and get him warm again.

Firestar looked around for the other two kits and spotted them edging their way nervously along the path that led underneath the rocks to the cave where the moss grew. Emerging from the cave they pattered along the riverbank and halted in front of their mother, their eyes wide with fear.

“Will Bouncekit be okay?” Tinykit asked in a small voice.

Clovertail looked up from her licking. Already Bouncekit's fur was almost dry and he was trying to sit up.

“I don't know what the three of you were thinking of!” she hissed. “You know very well you shouldn't have gone into that cave without me.”

“But we knew you wouldn't let us—” Rockkit began.

“Of course I wouldn't let you! And now you can see why.” She gave Bouncekit a few more rough licks; Firestar could tell she was angry only because she had been so terrified. “It's dangerous under there, and you're all too small to swim properly. What if I hadn't been here?”

Bouncekit managed to scramble up and stood groggily on all four paws. “It's my fault,” he mewed. “It was my idea.”

“I don't care whose fault it was.” Clovertail rose and shook herself; drops of water spun away from her pelt, spattering Firestar and Sandstorm. “You're all to go straight back to the nursery. No more play for any of you today.”

Rockkit let out an indignant wail, then broke off as his mother glared at him. “Go on.
Now,
” she ordered.

Crestfallen, the kits turned away; then Tinykit glanced
back. “There's a cave in there, full of shining moss,” she mewed. “And there were voices talking to us.”

Startled, Firestar stepped forward. “What did they say?”

“They were so quiet that we couldn't hear,” Bouncekit replied.

“Voices, indeed!” Clovertail scolded. “Haven't you been naughty enough without making up stories?”

“But we're
not
making it up!” Tinykit protested, her white tail quivering. “We
did
hear voices—lots of them.”

“I don't want to hear any more about it,” her mother meowed. “You're never to go into that cave again, and that's the end of it.” Snorting in annoyance, she began herding her kits back toward the Rockpile.

Firestar exchanged a glance with Sandstorm. Skywatcher had told them that the SkyClan medicine cats had shared tongues with their ancestors in the cave where the river flowed out. Could the kits possibly have heard the voices of the SkyClan warriors from so long ago?

He and Sandstorm helped the three kits clamber over the Rockpile, but when they had begun to climb the trail to the nursery he held Clovertail back with his tail on her shoulder.

“Where did you learn to swim like that?”

Clovertail shrugged. “I haven't always lived in the gorge,” she explained. “I was born farther downriver, near an abandoned Twoleg nest. My mother taught me to swim for fish.”

Firestar wondered if the Twoleg nest was the one he and Sandstorm had passed on their journey.

“One of the Clans in the forest where I live is called
RiverClan,” he told Clovertail. “They swim and catch fish all the time. I've never heard of any other cats who enjoy swimming, until now. I wonder if you have RiverClan ancestry.”

Clovertail's eyes widened. “Does that mean I don't belong to SkyClan?”

The dismay in her tone encouraged Firestar. It showed that at least Clovertail
wanted
to be a member of SkyClan, and had the seeds of loyalty to her Clanmates and the warrior code.

“No,” Sandstorm meowed, touching her nose to Clovertail's ear. “You're a SkyClan cat through and through, because that's where you've chosen to live.”

“Cats can change Clans,” Firestar added, remembering how Brambleclaw's sister Tawnypelt had followed their father, Tigerstar, into ShadowClan. “It doesn't happen often, and it doesn't always work. But being a member of a Clan is about more than just blood.”

“Even more,” Sandstorm went on, “you've proved that you have warrior blood in you. You owe it to your ancestors to learn their skills of hunting and fighting so that the warrior code can live on in you.”

Clovertail blinked. “I promised that, didn't I, when I was made a warrior? I'm starting to understand now what the words mean. But I still don't think I'll be much use—not like you and Sharpclaw.”

“You were very brave today,” Firestar assured her. “
You
saved Bouncekit. You didn't need any other cat.”

Clovertail looked thoughtful. At last she nodded. “I never
thought of it like that,” she mewed. “Okay, I
will
join in the training from now on.”

“Good.” Firestar rested his tail tip on her shoulder. “You'll feel you really belong to the Clan when you give something back to it. Think about your kits—they'll become warriors one day, and you could be a great example for them.”

“We understand it's not easy,” Sandstorm told the she-cat, giving her a friendly lick. “But I promise you, it's worth it.”

“And you needn't worry about your kits,” Firestar added. “They'll be apprentices soon, and until then we'll make sure some cat keeps an eye on them while you're training. No more expeditions into that cave!”

 

On the following morning, Firestar took Sharpclaw, Cherrypaw, and Patchfoot on the dawn patrol. When they returned, he saw Sparrowpaw, Shortwhisker, and Leafdapple huddled together at the foot of the Rockpile, mewing urgently to one another. Sandstorm sat a tail-length away, a disgusted expression on her face.

Firestar glanced at Sharpclaw. “What's all that about?”

The ginger tom shrugged. “I've no idea.”

Firestar padded forward until he came up to the little group. “Hi, is everything okay?”

The cats all turned worried faces toward him.

“We were talking about the Whispering Cave,” Shortwhisker told him.

Firestar stared. “The what?”

“The cave under the rocks.” Sandstorm got up, her eyes
narrowed. “That's what they're calling it now. Those silly kits have spread the story about the voices, and—”

“There must be something down there,” Sparrowpaw interrupted. “Rockkit said he saw big shiny cats with huge claws. Their eyes glowed like the moon and their teeth were bigger than a fox's.”

Patchfoot looked horrified. “Really?”

“Kits will be kits, I know.” Leafdapple twitched her tail. “But they looked terrified! Would they really make all that up?”

“Hmm…” Firestar could tell that the kits had improved their story since their visit to the cave the day before.

“Suppose these big cats come out?” Shortwhisker mewed.

Sandstorm rolled her eyes. “Suppose hedgehogs fly!”

“If there is something in there, we ought to deal with it.” Sharpclaw flexed his claws. “We should go in and attack before they have a chance to attack us.”

Firestar lifted one paw to stall him. “We
will
go in there, but not until later on. And I don't believe there's anything to be afraid of. It's time for hunting patrols,” he went on. “Sharpclaw, you can lead one, and Leafdapple the other.”

The SkyClan cats still gave him doubtful looks as they moved away. Sandstorm lagged behind, drawing closer to him.

“What do you think is down there?” she murmured. “Skywatcher said that the SkyClan medicine cats used to share tongues with their warrior ancestors in that cave.”

Firestar nodded. “That's what I'm hoping. Every Clan needs a special place, like the Moonstone, and this cave could
be SkyClan's. It worries me that the new Clan doesn't have a medicine cat yet. Maybe if we go into the cave tonight, SkyClan's warrior ancestors will show us which cat to choose.”

Sandstorm's eyes gleamed. “Good idea. We can't stay here forever, waiting for a medicine cat to show up.”

Firestar pushed away the feeling of homesickness that threatened to cloud his thoughts. This wasn't his Clan, but he couldn't leave until he was sure they could survive without him, and finding a medicine cat was a big part of that. “SkyClan's warrior ancestors must be out there
somewhere
,” he meowed, clawing at the sandy ground.

 

When night had fallen Firestar led his Clan into the cave beneath the rocks. The moon was a thin claw scratch in the sky, and starlight dappled the surface of the river.

Every Clan member followed as he edged along the narrow path beside the water—all except Clovertail. She had stayed to look after her kits; she still refused to believe that there was anything in the cave, and had given Rockkit, Bouncekit, and Tinykit a good scolding for frightening every cat.

“Be careful!” Firestar called, glancing back over his shoulder. “Cherrypaw, no fooling about! You could easily slip on these wet rocks, and we haven't got Clovertail to pull you out!”

“There's something shining up ahead.” A quavering voice came from somewhere behind Firestar; it sounded like Shortwhisker.

He was right. Firestar could see a pale light flowing from the cave, reflecting on the surface of the water. “It's okay,” he replied. “It's not big scary cats, I promise.”

Setting his paws down carefully, he reached the flattened path that led along the side of the underground river and stood back to let the rest of the Clan file inside.

Sandstorm brought up the rear. “See?” she meowed. “It's just moss.”

“And it's beautiful,” Firestar added. “Look how the light ripples over the roof.”

The SkyClan cats gazed around, their eyes reflecting the eerie light.

“Hey!” Sharpclaw meowed. “
We're
scary cats whose eyes glow like the moon.”

Leafdapple let out a
mrrow
of amusement; Cherrypaw and Sparrowpaw exchanged glances, looking ashamed for believing the kits' story.

“Skywatcher told us that your SkyClan ancestors called this the Shining Cave,” Firestar told them. “It would have been a special place for them.”

But the Whispering Cave might be a better name,
he thought. He strained to hear any message from SkyClan's warrior ancestors, but all he could hear was the lap of the swift black water and the mews of his Clanmates.

“What was special about it?” Sharpclaw asked.

Firestar gave each of the SkyClan cats a searching glance before he replied. Skywatcher had told them that this cave was a special place for medicine cats, but Firestar didn't want
to destroy their confidence by telling the new Clanmates that they still needed a vitally important Clan member before they could be a real Clan. Instead he watched to see if any cat could hear voices; to his disappointment, they were gazing warily around, respectful, but showing no sign of understanding the cave's deeper meaning—not even Leafdapple, who had seemed sensitive enough to be a potential medicine cat.

“We'll find a use for the cave when it's needed,” he told Sharpclaw, stifling a sigh. “All in good time.”

The ginger tom gave Firestar a look from narrowed eyes, but said nothing more, only turning to lead the way along the ledge and out into the open again.

Firestar waited until every other cat had left before listening one last time for the voices the kits had heard. The hair on his pelt began to rise; perhaps, very faint and far away, there was something, but he couldn't be sure. How could he put the new Clan in touch with the spirits of the former SkyClan when he couldn't hear them either?