Erin Hunter - The Fourth Apprentice

His paws were shaking so much that he had to sit down. Who sent the prophecy? he wondered, yet again. And why should we listen to it, when it causes so much pain?

“I-I’m sorry,” Dovepaw stammered. “But if it’s so hard, why don’t you ask Firestar about it?”

“Firestar has never spoken to us about it,” Lionblaze replied. “He doesn’t even know that we know he received the prophecy in the first place.”

“Then how…?” Dovepaw’s voice was bewildered.

“I walked in his dreams,” Jayfeather explained reluctantly. He could tell how his intensity was scaring the young she-cat, and how hard she would find it to accept the darkness within his powers. But something was urging him on, an inner voice that seemed to warn him there was no time to wait for her to understand. “We don’t know what the prophecy requires us to do,” he went on, trying to keep his voice calm, “but we need to be ready. And that means having the courage to face up to our powers, whatever they are.”

Dovepaw hesitated; Jayfeather could feel uncertainty coming off her in waves. “Wouldn’t StarClan want me to learn to be a warrior first?” she meowed at last.

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure that the prophecy comes from StarClan.” Jayfeather hated to admit that, but it was true; no StarClan warrior had ever confirmed the prophecy for him.

“But you’re right, Dovepaw.” Lionblaze’s voice was warm with approval. “The best thing you can do is get on with your warrior training. Let’s go and get some more hunting practice, before the other cats send out a search party for us.”

“Yes!” Dovepaw immediately sounded more cheerful. Jayfeather knew she was trying to push the prophecy to the back of her mind.

“Carry on,” he mewed. “I’ll stay here and take care of my plants. There are a few dead leaves that could do with pulling off.” He heard Lionblaze’s paw steps retreating, with Dovepaw following him; at the edge of the garden she halted and turned back.

“Jayfeather,” she began hesitantly, “I had a dream. This StarClan cat took me down to the lake, and it was full of water again.”

“What was the cat like?” Lionblaze asked.

“Scary! She had messy gray fur and yellow eyes. And her teeth were all snaggly.”

“That was Yellowfang,” Jayfeather told her. “She used to be ThunderClan’s medicine cat when the Clan lived in the old forest.”

“Firestar talks about her sometimes,” Lionblaze reassured his apprentice. “He says she’s not as scary as she looks.”

“Did she say why she came to you?” Jayfeather prompted.

“No…” Dovepaw sounded uncertain again. “If she did, I can’t remember.”

“And is this the only dream you’ve had?”

“The only one from StarClan. Do you think it’s important?” Dovepaw mewed.

“Yes, but I don’t know why.” Jayfeather scraped his paw over the damp scented soil. “Let me know if you have any more, okay? Oh, and welcome to the Three.”

Lionblaze pushed his way through the thorn tunnel and padded across the clearing toward the warriors’ den. As soon as the sun had set, Brambleclaw had called him to patrol along the ShadowClan border, to make the best use they could of the cooler evening. Now Lionblaze felt as if his paws were going to drop off. He was so tired he wasn’t even sure if he could make it as far as his den.

Moonlight washed over the clearing; Lionblaze shivered when he looked up at the sky and saw the moon swelling to the full. There’ll be a Gathering tomorrow night , he thought. It’s been a whole moon since Leopardstar laid claim to all the fish in the lake. And things are no better-they’re worse .

With a massive effort he pushed his weariness away and veered from the warriors’ den to head for the tumbled rocks that led up to the Highledge. I’ve got to talk to Firestar .

On the Highledge he paused for a moment, making sure he knew what he wanted to say, then called out softly, in case his leader was asleep. “Firestar?”

“Come in.”

Firestar’s voice was weary, and when Lionblaze stepped into the den, he was shocked to see how thin and troubled the Clan leader looked. He crouched among the moss and bracken of his nest, his green gaze fixed on his paws. He blinked slowly as he raised his head to face Lionblaze.

“I’m sorry, Firestar,” Lionblaze stammered, beginning to back out again. “You look tired, so-”

“No, I’m fine,” Firestar reassured him. “If you want to talk, this is a good time.”

Slightly encouraged, Lionblaze padded into the den, dipped his head to his leader, and sat beside the nest with his tail wrapped around his paws.

“How is Dovepaw’s training going?” Firestar asked.

“Er…fine.” Lionblaze wondered if Firestar had made the connection between Dovepaw and the prophecy. He must have heard about the story she had told earlier, about the brown animals blocking the river. Would Firestar believe her? And if he did, would he take this as a sign of great power? “She works hard. I think she’s going to be one of the best hunters in the Clan.”

Firestar nodded. “She has a good mentor,” he mewed.

Lionblaze squirmed. “I do my best.”

The Clan leader turned his brilliant green gaze on Lionblaze, moonlight reflecting in his eyes. “Just as Brambleclaw did,” he murmured, “when he raised you as his own son.”

Catching his breath, Lionblaze felt a hot core of rage beginning to grow in his belly, as if he had swallowed a burning acorn. Why is Firestar bringing that up again now? I don’t want to talk about it!

“I know you and Jayfeather are angry that you were lied to,” Firestar went on quietly. “I can understand that. But you shouldn’t forget that you couldn’t have had a better mother and father than Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. Things could have been very different.”

“I’m not mad at Brambleclaw,” Lionblaze retorted. “He’s a noble cat. I was proud when I thought he was my father. And he suffered from the lies just like the rest of us.”

“Leafpool and Squirrelflight did what they thought was best for you and your littermates,” Firestar meowed. “Would the truth have been easier to live with?”

“We have to live with it now,” Lionblaze pointed out, making an effort not to lash his tail.

“I know.” Firestar sighed. “Secrets never stay hidden forever. It takes a good deal of courage to face the truth.” He paused with a brooding look, as if he was remembering something long past. “You don’t need to punish Leafpool any more than she has already been punished,” he went on. “She has lost everything she ever loved. And Squirrelflight has lost her mate. Do you think that’s easy for her?”

They both deserved it! It took all Lionblaze’s self-control not to hiss the words aloud. His anger threatened to overwhelm him; he didn’t want to think about what Leafpool might be feeling.

“I take it that’s not what you came to talk about?” Firestar asked, tilting his head to one side.

Lionblaze seized on the change of subject, glad to speak to his leader as a warrior of ThunderClan, not Firestar’s troubled kin. “Have you heard the story Dovepaw told, about the brown animals blocking the stream that marks the ShadowClan border?”

Firestar nodded.

“I think she might be right,” Lionblaze continued.

The ThunderClan leader blinked in surprise, opened his jaws to speak, then seemed to consider the possibility more carefully. “If she is, I don’t see how she knows,” he replied. His eyes narrowed, and Lionblaze suppressed a shiver at his piercing green gaze. How much does Firestar know about us?