Erin Hunter - The Last Hope

Birchfall blinked at her, puzzled.

Redwillow scrambled up from underneath Birchfall’s paws. “It’s just a nick,” the ShadowClan warrior meowed. He showed Ivypool his ear. Blood welled from a thin scratch at the tip.

“Just be careful,” Ivypool cautioned.

“Be careful?” Hawkfrost’s snarl made her spin around. “There’s a war coming and it won’t be won with sheathed claws.” Hawkfrost curled his lip and stared at Ivypool. “I thought you were helping to train our recruits to fight like real warriors, not soft Clan cats.”

Birchfall bristled. “Clan cats aren’t soft!”

“Then why do you come here?” Hawkfrost challenged.

Redwillow whisked his tail. “Our Clans need us to be the best warriors we can be. You told us that, remember?”

Hawkfrost nodded slowly. “And you can only learn the skills you need here. ” He flicked his nose toward Birchfall. “Attack Redwillow again,” he ordered. “This time don’t stop at the first scent of blood.” He narrowed his eyes at Ivypool.

Ivypool swallowed, terrified she’d given herself away. No Dark Forest cat could ever know that she came here to spy for Dovewing, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze. Growling, she lifted her chin and barged past Birchfall. “Do it like this,” she told him. With a hiss she hurled herself at Redwillow, ducking away from his claws, and grasped his forepaw between her jaws. Using his weight to unbalance him, she snapped her head around and twisted him deftly onto his back. He landed with a thump, which she knew sounded more painful than it felt. She’d hardly pierced his fur with her teeth and her jerk was so well-timed it had knocked him off his feet without wrenching his leg.

She glanced back at Hawkfrost, relieved to see approval glinting in his eyes. He’d only seen the flash of fur and claw and heard the smack of muscle against the slippery earth.

“Hawkfrost!”

Birchfall and Redwillow stared wide-eyed as Applefur appeared from the mist. The ShadowClan she-cat’s eyes were bright, her mottled brown pelt pulsing with heat from training. “Blossomfall and Hollowflight want to fight Dark Forest warriors.”

Applefur’s apprentices padded out of the shadows. “We can fight Clan cats anytime,” Blossomfall complained.

Hollowflight nodded. “We come here to learn skills we can’t learn anywhere else.” The RiverClan tom’s pelt was matted with blood. Clumps of fur stuck out along his spine.

Haven’t you had enough? Ivypool glanced at Hawkfrost. “Are there any Dark Forest warriors close by?” she ventured, praying there weren’t.

“Of course.” Hawkfrost tasted the air.

The screech of fighting cats echoed through the mist. It had become like birdsong to Ivypool—filling the forest, so familiar that she only heard it when she listened for it. “Why aren’t we training with them tonight?” she asked. Most nights, the Dark Forest warriors couldn’t wait to share their cruel skills with the Clan cats.

Hawkfrost wove between Blossomfall and Applefur. “I want you to learn how other Clans fight.”

Ivypool shivered.

“You may be fighting side by side one day,” Hawkfrost went on.

Liar!

“You need to know your allies’ moves so you can match them, claw for claw.”

No, you’re training them to destroy one another in the final battle.

A husky growl echoed from the trees. “Four Clans will unite as one when it matters most.” Tigerstar padded from the shadows, his wide tabby head held high. “This is the law of the Dark Forest. Remember it.”

Birchfall nodded solemnly. “Four Clans will unite as one when it matters most,” he echoed.

“When will that be?” Blossomfall’s eyes were round.

“You’ll know when the time comes.” Mapleshade slunk from the trees. Her tortoiseshell pelt was so transparent now that the white patches showed the forest behind. Ivypool flinched at the reminder that she too would fade from every memory one day.

“Tigerstar?” Blossomfall was staring at the dark warrior. “Are we training for something special?”

Ivypool flinched. “Not yet,” she meowed quickly, one eye on Tigerstar. He nodded and she went on. “But you never know.” She remembered the vicious battle with WindClan in the tunnels only a quarter moon earlier. “There may be more cats like Sol ready to lead one Clan against another.”

Applefur stepped forward. “Next time a rogue tries to drive us apart, I’ll stand beside ThunderClan, not against them!”

Ivypool shifted her paws. These cats believe their loyalty to the Clans is being strengthened. She glanced at Birchfall. But who will they be loyal to when the final battle comes? Their Clanmates or the Dark Forest warriors?

Tigerstar flicked his tail. “Go back to your nests,” he ordered the Clan cats.

Hollowflight tipped his head. “But it’s early.”

“The senior warriors have a meeting.” Tigerstar nodded to Mapleshade and Hawkfrost.

“Can I come?” Ivypool asked.

Mapleshade narrowed her eyes. “No.”

“I’m a mentor now,” Ivypool pressed. She had to find out when the Dark Forest cats were planning to attack the Clans by the lake.

“While you still have the taste of living prey on your tongue, you’re not truly one of us,” Mapleshade snarled.

Tigerstar nodded. “Go back to your Clan and rest,” he ordered. “You’ll need your strength tomorrow night.” He turned and stalked into the shadows, Mapleshade hurrying after.

Blossomfall shrugged. “I guess we can practice our new moves in the forest as well as here,” she told Birchfall. Closing her eyes, she began to fade.

Ivypool watched her Clanmate vanish from the forest. She’ll take her wounds with her. And the memory of what she’s learned. Ivypool’s pelt pricked. She didn’t want those memories, these vicious skills in ThunderClan!

“Are you coming?” Birchfall flicked his tail.

Ivypool twitched her ears to send him on his way. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Hollowflight, Applefur, and Redwillow were melting into the shadows as Birchfall disappeared. As soon as they had gone, Ivypool turned to Hawkfrost. “You trust me to train cats for the Dark Forest, but not to attend gatherings of the senior warriors?”

His eyes gleamed. “Do you really want to be there?”

Ivypool nodded.

Hawkfrost leaned closer. “Tough.” He turned and padded after Tigerstar.

Ivypool flexed her claws. I’m coming whether you want me to or not! As Hawkfrost’s pelt shimmered away between the trees, she darted forward and, heart racing, began to shadow him. Keeping just enough mist and bramble between them so that he was little more than a flicker at the edge of her vision, she matched his pawsteps.

“Snowtuft?” Hawkfrost suddenly slowed.

Ivypool halted and pricked her ears.

Hawkfrost greeted his Clanmate with a growl. “Are you heading for the meeting?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for all the mice in the forest,” Snowtuft rasped. “Where are the Clan cats?”

Hawkfrost snorted. “Tigerstar sent them back to their nests.”

Snowtuft’s claws scraped the earth. “Are you sure there won’t be any hanging around the training rock?”

“Brokenstar will make sure there aren’t,” Hawkfrost growled.

The training rock! Ivypool flicked her tail. They’re meeting beside the river! She knew the Dark Forest well enough now to find her way without being spotted by Hawkfrost. She only had to follow the old stream to the hollow trunks, then aim for the riverbank.

Crouching, she slunk behind bushes until she could hear the deep murmur of the senior warriors. She slid behind a trunk and peered around. The mist cleared where the river cut through the trees. A large boulder stuck out of the mud on the shore. Ivypool flattened her ears. She had shared her first training sessions with her Dark Forest Clanmates here. Now it was circled by heavily muscled warriors. Feeling the stirrings of fear in her belly, she pushed them away. I am a warrior of the Dark Forest, she reminded herself. I am the equal of any of these cats!