Firestar's Quest (6 page)

There was a hint of desperation in her eyes; Firestar almost gave way to her, but then he remembered why he had come. If he left without an explanation, the terrified wailing would invade his dreams over and over again, and there would be no escape from visions of the fleeing cats.

“No, Bluestar,” he answered steadily. “I have to know the truth.”

“Very well.” Bluestar sighed. “The cats you have seen are from SkyClan.”

“SkyClan?”
Firestar echoed. “What is that?”

Bluestar bowed her head. “They are—they were—the fifth Clan.”

“But there have always been four
Clans in the forest!”

“Not always,” Bluestar replied. Her voice and her eyes were cold. “Once there were five. SkyClan's territory lay downriver from ThunderClan, where the Twolegplace is now. When the Twolegs built their nests, many, many seasons ago, SkyClan left the forest. There was no room for them then—and there's no room for them now.”

“Where did they go?” Firestar asked.

“I don't know. Far from these skies where StarClan walks.”

“And did StarClan never try to find them?” Firestar was shocked that Bluestar sounded so dismissive, as if the spirits of their warrior ancestors didn't care that a whole Clan had gone away.

“Their own warrior ancestors went with them,” Bluestar explained. “There was no reason why SkyClan couldn't have found another home somewhere else.”

“Then what do they want with me?” Firestar asked, bewildered. “Are they trying to tell me that they want to come back? Why would they do that, if they found another home?”

“I don't know,” Bluestar admitted. “But from the first
moment I saw you, all those seasons ago, I knew you were the fire that would save our Clan. I knew you would leave pawsteps behind you that will be remembered as long as the warrior Clans survive. Perhaps SkyClan sees this also. Perhaps they think that only you can help them.”

Firestar shivered. “Are you telling me that I have to find SkyClan and bring them back to the forest?”

“I'm not telling you anything of the kind,” Bluestar snapped. “Where is there room for another Clan?”

“But the dreams—” Firestar protested.

“Firestar, are there bees in your brain?” Bluestar's tail lashed. “You are ThunderClan's leader, and your Clan needs you. There's nothing in the warrior code that says you have to help a Clan that has been missing for so long, no living cat remembers them.”

Firestar narrowed his eyes. Bluestar was right about his responsibility toward ThunderClan, but he couldn't forget the wailing of the cats on the moor. How could he ignore them, if there was anything he could do to help? It wasn't Bluestar's dreams that were filled with the shrieks of terrified, fleeing cats; she didn't see a pleading, haunted face in every pool of water.

And yet the only reason he had found the courage to lead the forest Clans into battle against BloodClan was because he had believed his warrior ancestors when they told him there had always been four Clans in the forest. The fifth Clan was StarClan, forever protecting the four below. Had StarClan
lied
?

Bluestar rested her tail tip on his shoulder and spoke more calmly. “Your warrior ancestors are watching over you now, just as they have always done. Nothing has changed. Your duty is to your own Clan now.”

“But SkyClan—”

“Has
gone
. There is no gap where they used to be, no prey or territory waiting for them to return. The forest is perfectly divided between the four Clans who remain.”

“Then it's the will of StarClan that I just ignore these cats?” Firestar challenged her. “Don't you care that they are suffering?”

Bluestar blinked. “There are cats who would argue that there should never have been a fifth Clan in the forest at all. Why are there four oaks at Fourtrees, if not to stand for the four Clans?”

Firestar gazed up at the massive oak trees, then back at Bluestar. Fury pure as a lightning flash rushed through his body. “Are you mouse-brained?” he snarled. “Are you telling me SkyClan had to leave because there weren't enough
trees
?”

A look of shock and dismay filled Bluestar's eyes. Not waiting for her reply, Firestar whipped around and raced to the edge of the hollow. Brambles tore at his fur as he plunged through the bushes, but the pain meant nothing. Ever since he came to the forest he had trusted his warrior ancestors. But they had been lying to him all along. He felt as if he had taken a step on ground he thought was solid, only to fall into deep and bitter water.

He fought his way through the last of the bushes, but
instead of reaching the rim of the hollow, he found himself blinking awake in the cavern of the Moonstone. His breath was coming in harsh rasps. His fur felt torn and rumpled. His paws stung, and when he licked them he tasted the salty tang of blood, as if he had been running a long way over stony ground.

Far above, through the hole in the roof, clouds covered the moon and stars. The cave was utterly dark. Firestar rose to his paws and limped across the cave floor, close to panic until he stumbled into the entrance to the tunnel. When he emerged onto the side of the hill a stiff breeze was shredding the clouds like wet cobweb. Firestar caught only fitful glimpses of the moon, but stars were shining overhead once more.

He crawled onto the flat rock where he had waited earlier and collapsed there, gazing upward. He could not see the kindly eyes of his warrior ancestors in the starlight any longer. The desperate cries of the lost and tortured SkyClan echoed through his mind.
How am I meant to help them
?

All those cats must be dead by now. They had fled so long ago that no cat remembered them. But where were their descendants, the living SkyClan?

 

Firestar lay on the rock until the sky grew milk-pale with dawn. Then he made his way, pawstep by painful pawstep, down the hill and into the fields, leaving the jagged peak of Highstones behind him. A feeling of betrayal still swirled through him like a flooding river. He had always respected StarClan, trusting them to want what was best for all the
Clans. Now he had discovered that they could make mistakes, just like any living cat. If he couldn't trust them, would he ever come here to share tongues with his warrior ancestors again?

His belly felt hollow with hunger. Passing Ravenpaw's barn, he fought the temptation to go in to see his friends, to feast on their prey and rest in the soft heap of hay. But Ravenpaw was bound to ask him what StarClan had said about the strange cats, and he could not think what he would answer. Ravenpaw still clung to his faith in StarClan, even though he had left the forest; could Firestar shatter that faith by revealing how their warrior ancestors had lied to all the cats in the forest, over and over again?

Once he had left the Twoleg farm behind, Firestar stopped to hunt, swiping an unsuspecting mouse as it nibbled seeds in the shelter of a hedge. It scarcely took the edge off his hunger, but he was too exhausted to go looking for more. He curled up under a hawthorn bush and fell headlong into sleep.

When he woke it was almost sunhigh. Feeling better, Firestar set off again, skirting the edge of a field where the corn grew tall, beginning to turn golden in the sun. He spotted another mouse as it slipped between the stiff stems, pounced on it, and killed it with a swift bite to the neck. Gulping down the last few mouthfuls he headed for the moors.

The sun was going down when he limped at last into the ThunderClan camp. Red light bathed the clearing, barred with the shadows of trees. Firestar let out a long, despairing
sigh. It was good to be home, but could he really go on as Clan leader, knowing what he knew now?

As he hesitated at the mouth of the gorse tunnel, Graystripe came charging across from the warriors' den. Sandstorm glanced up from where she crouched beside the fresh-kill pile and padded more slowly to join him.

“Firestar, you're back!” Graystripe exclaimed. “It's great to see you.” Halting in front of his friend, he added more doubtfully, “Is everything okay?”

“I'm fine, thanks,” Firestar replied, every word an effort. “I'm tired; that's all.”

Sandstorm brushed her tail sympathetically along his flank. Her green eyes searched his face, and he knew she realized that it was not only weariness that troubled him. But she didn't question him, just mewed, “Then it's time you got some rest.”

“Listen, Firestar,” Graystripe went on, “the afternoon patrol just got back. They think that fox Tallstar was talking about has crossed over into ThunderClan territory. At least, they picked up strong, fresh fox scent on the border, not far from the Twoleg bridge.”

Firestar squeezed his eyes shut, trying to concentrate on what this would mean for his Clan. “Did they follow the scent?”

“They tried, but they lost it in a boggy bit of ground near the stream.” Graystripe was looking expectantly at Firestar, waiting for his leader to tell him what to do. His expression changed to alarm as the silence lengthened.

Firestar felt as if he were trying to struggle through brambles inside his head. He could understand the problem about the fox, but it felt as if it belonged to another cat, a long time ago, and had nothing to do with him.

“Firestar?” Sandstorm murmured, moving closer so that he could feel the warmth of her pelt.

The excited squeals of kits brought Firestar back to the present. In the center of the clearing Shrewkit and Spiderkit were pouncing on a bundle of moss.

“Take that, Scourge!” Spiderkit squealed. “Get out of our forest!”

“And take your Clan with you!” Shrewkit landed in the middle of the moss, paws flying, scattering the scraps in a wide circle around him.

“Hey!” Rainpaw came bounding up from the direction of the elders' den. “I just collected all that!” he protested. “How am I supposed to fix the elders' bedding if you keep messing it up?”

The two kits exchanged a glance, then scampered off side by side, back to the nursery, their tails waving in the air. Rainpaw watched them go, neck fur bristling, then began to collect up the scattered scraps of moss.

Watching the kits at play reminded Firestar that Clan life was not just about StarClan, or even the warrior code. His duty as leader was to provide for his Clanmates
now
, and make sure they lived long and happy lives in the forest. Feeling a trickle of energy begin to flow into his tired limbs, he turned back to Graystripe.

“Right—the fox. Double the patrols on that part of the border. And tell the hunting patrols to keep a lookout. We don't want it to settle here.”

“Sure.” Relief flooded into Graystripe's eyes as Firestar took control again. “I'll make sure all tomorrow's patrols know about it.” He headed toward the warriors' den.

Sandstorm stayed with Firestar. “You can tell me, you know,” she meowed quietly.

“I know. I promise I will, but not yet.”

His mate nodded. “Why don't you go to your den and rest? I'll bring you some fresh-kill.”

“Thanks, but I'd better visit Cinderpelt first. I want to check on Longtail.”

While Sandstorm went back to the fresh-kill pile, Firestar padded across the darkening camp and brushed through the fern tunnel to Cinderpelt's den.

The medicine cat was bent over Longtail, examining his eyes. As Firestar called out a greeting, the tabby warrior sat up and turned to him. Firestar stopped dead, his pelt prickling with horror. Though Longtail's eyes were open now, they were clouded and still weeping stickily.

“Can you see?” Firestar forced himself to ask, choking back an exclamation of pity. That was the last thing Longtail would want.

“A bit,” Longtail replied. “But everything's blurred.”

“His eyes are still infected,” Cinderpelt explained. She looked exhausted; her gray fur was rumpled and her blue eyes were dull with defeat. “I've tried every herb and berry I can
think of, and nothing will clear it up.”

Longtail clawed at the bracken where he sat, his head lowered. “I'm just going to be a burden to the Clan,” he growled.

“No!” Firestar exclaimed. “I won't let you say that. Look at Brightheart—she's learned to fight with only one eye.”

“At least she
has
one good eye,” Longtail hissed. “You might as well leave me in the forest for the foxes.”

“That will never happen, not while I'm leader of this Clan,” Firestar hissed back. Fury shook him, not against Longtail, but against himself for not having enough power to protect his warrior from the consequences of his injury. Trying to sound calmer, he added, “Besides, you haven't lost your sight yet. Cinderpelt will do her best to find an herb that works.”

“I'll keep trying,” Cinderpelt vowed. Beckoning Firestar with her tail, she led him over to the fern tunnel. “You'd better leave Longtail alone for now,” she advised quietly. “He's badly shocked, and he needs a while to get used to the idea that his eyes might not get better.”

Firestar nodded. “Okay.” Raising his voice, he added, “Don't worry about a thing, Longtail. You'll always have a place in ThunderClan. I'll come and see you again soon.”

Returning through the tunnel to the twilit clearing, Firestar still felt choked by pity—and fury, too, that this should happen to one of his warriors. He remembered the life that Brindleface had given him when he became Clan leader—a life for protection, the care of a mother for her kits. He had expected that life to be warm and gentle, but instead
it had entered him with the shock of fire and ice together. He had felt the raw, ravenous urge to fight and kill, to spill rivers of blood to protect young, helpless cats. Now, thinking of Longtail as he struggled to cope with losing his sight, Firestar understood more clearly what that instinct meant. As Clan leader, he would rip out all his claws to protect any one of his Clanmates.

His den under the Highrock was cool and quiet. Sandstorm had left a rabbit for him, and Firestar settled down to eat. Now that he was alone, he felt as limp as a drooping leaf. Yet he was beginning to see a way forward, a way to care for his Clan even though his trust in StarClan had been shattered.

He was curling up comfortably when a shadow fell across the den entrance. He looked up to see Cinderpelt, her head and shoulders thrusting back the screen of lichen. “Longtail's asleep now,” she explained. “So I thought I'd take the chance to come and ask what happened at the Moonstone. Did you find the answers you were seeking?”