Эрин Хантер - Shattered Sky

Meanwhile, Onestar was continuing with his story. “When Alderheart arrived on his quest, Darktail got the information that he had been seeking for so long: where I and the other Clans had gone after we left the forest territories. And just like that, he got the chance he’d always craved: to wreak revenge on me—the father who had rejected him—and our whole way of life.”

“I’m beginning to understand why you behaved as you did,” Mistystar remarked.

Onestar hesitated for a moment, as if he wasn’t sure whether the RiverClan leader was expressing sympathy. “When the rogues attacked us here, in WindClan territory,” he meowed at last, “and the fighting spilled into ThunderClan—that was the first hint I got that Darktail was my own kit. When he attacked me, he whispered, ‘I will destroy you, and all of the Clans, for what you did to me.’ At once, I understood the threat that Darktail posed to all of us, and to WindClan in particular. That’s why I wanted you, Rowanstar, to drive him out of your territory.”

Rowanstar snorted. “It would have helped if you’d told the truth from the start. I might have understood why you were so furious when I hesitated.”

“I know,” Onestar admitted. “But I couldn’t. All I could do was close my borders. And then,” he added, “Bramblestar convinced me to join with the other Clans to expel the rogues from ShadowClan. But in that battle…”

Onestar’s voice died away. He hunched his shoulders and his tail drooped; Violetpaw thought she had never seen a cat look so ashamed.

“What happened?” Mistystar demanded. “You wanted the rogues off Clan territory so badly, but suddenly you retreated with all of your warriors. Why?”

“I’m not proud of what I did,” Onestar replied. “But when I was grappling with Darktail—and I’ve never battled an enemy with strength so vicious—this cat who was my son leaned into me and whispered something…”

“What?” Squirrelflight asked tensely.

“He said… ‘What do you think will happen to a cat who rejected, and then killed, his own son? Surely that cat would end up in the Dark Forest. Think of that when you are on your last life!’ But what Darktail didn’t know was that I am on my last life. He made me so afraid…”

A gasp went up from all the assembled cats. Violetpaw knew how shocking it was for a leader to refer openly to being on his last life, and even more shocking to admit that he was worried about where he would go after death. She saw Kestrelflight, the WindClan medicine cat, wince and close his eyes briefly.

“You must be joking!” Rowanstar exclaimed incredulously. “The Dark Forest is not for a leader who saves his Clan from a terror such as Darktail—no matter whose kin he is!”

“That’s true,” Kestrelflight agreed. “The Dark Forest is for cats who have given themselves to evil. That isn’t you, Onestar. I could have told you that long ago, if you’d trusted me enough to be honest with me.”

Onestar looked down at his paws. “Maybe,” he sighed. “I admit that it was a selfish fear. But… well, things look a bit different when a leader is on his final life. I started to worry that StarClan would judge me harshly for my mistakes—and StarClan knows, I have made many of those.”

Silence followed the end of Onestar’s confession. Violetpaw couldn’t help feeling sympathy for him: it must have been hard to stand up in front of his Clan and his fellow leaders to admit what he had done. At the same time, she knew—perhaps better than many cats—what disasters had followed Onestar’s flight from the battle.

If WindClan had kept fighting with us, we could have defeated Darktail back then. He would never have been able to attack RiverClan. So many cats who are dead would still be alive.

Needletail wouldn’t have had to die…

As the silence dragged on, Onestar raised his head again. Suddenly he looked firmer, more decisive—more like a Clan leader.

“We all have the same problem,” he meowed. “The rogues go on attacking us, stealing territory, threatening vulnerable cats and kits. I know this problem is of my making, and I’m very sorry that I turned away from my friends. I won’t do that again; I’m no longer afraid. Darktail and his rogues need to be dealt with, no matter what happens to me—otherwise, they will keep on coming back, and more good cats will perish.”

“Then—” Bramblestar began.

“Yes,” Onestar affirmed. “WindClan will fight with the other Clans, to drive Darktail off our territory once and for all.”

Alderheart crouched at the edge of the Moonpool, ready to touch his nose to the water. The sky was still streaked with the last light of sunset, and there was a reddish tinge to the surface of the pool. He hoped that was not a bad omen.

This may be too soon for us to visit StarClan again, he thought. But we have to try.

After Bramblestar and the others had returned to the ThunderClan camp, word of Onestar’s confession had spread rapidly through the rest of the Clans. Every cat knew that they would soon be advancing into ShadowClan territory to confront Darktail and his Kin.

This time we’ll defeat him, Alderheart mused, but even so, Clan cats will be injured… Some of us may be killed.

But before that battle could take place, all the medicine cats from the four lakeside Clans had gathered at the Moonpool to show StarClan that they had carried out their last instructions. All five Clans had reunited.

It’s a pity SkyClan has no medicine cat, Alderheart reflected. That’s something we’ll have to deal with as soon as possible.

His thoughts were interrupted by Jayfeather, who shook out his pelt irritably. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

Alderheart closed his eyes and touched his nose to the surface, bracing himself against the chill. But this time the water was warm and caressing, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in a forest glade, with sunlight dappling the ground.

All the other medicine cats stood there with him, except for Mothwing. Around the edges of the clearing, under the trees, the cats of StarClan were assembled, their pelts shining with a frosty light and their eyes gleaming. A shiver of mingled relief and excitement passed through Alderheart as he gazed at them: relief because he sensed that they approved of what the Clans were doing, and excitement because there were many cats among them whom he had never seen before.

Can this be…?

“SkyClan ancestors!” Leafpool’s delighted mew answered for him. “Now that SkyClan has returned to us, the spirits of their warrior ancestors can walk these skies with our own StarClan.”

Alderheart’s gaze devoured the newcomers; he knew that each of them would have a story to tell, and he wondered whether he would ever know what those stories were. In particular, he noticed a mottled she-cat who fixed him with an intent look, as if she wanted to ask him something, though she didn’t speak.

The air tingled with the happiness that surged through his fellow medicine cats, and for a few moments Alderheart relaxed, content just to enjoy it.

Firestar padded into the middle of the clearing, beckoning with his tail for the medicine cats to join him there. As he stepped forward, Alderheart saw that the flame-colored tom was standing beside a five-pointed leaf that had the same flame color as his pelt. One of the points of the leaf was bent backward.

“Do you know what this means?” Firestar asked, pointing to the bent point with one paw.