Erin Hunter - Long Shadows

“Thank you.” Raggedstar dipped his head once more. “Your warrior ancestors…”

His voice began to die away, as if the vision was fading, though Jaypaw could still see him and Runningnose clearly.

Bewildered, he glanced around and down, and froze with terror; he could see the rough surface of the rock through his own paws.

I’m fading!

His eyes snapped open on darkness; he was curled up beside the Moonpool, with the gentle plash of falling water in his ears and the other medicine cats waking around him.

Following Barkface, Kestrelpaw, and Willowshine down the ridge once more, Jaypaw thought about what he had seen.

Midnight had told him next to nothing, except that it was she who had given Sol his knowledge about the Clans. Had she told Sol that the sun would vanish, too? Jaypaw wouldn’t be surprised. But Midnight hadn’t said anything that would help him with the problem of ShadowClan now. She seemed to think that StarClan would be able to restore their faith, but StarClan obviously wasn’t going to do anything, except plead for help from a medicine cat apprentice.

Jaypaw paused to say good-bye to the other cats on the WindClan border. A soft breeze was blowing from the moor, bringing with it the scents of herbs and rabbits. Willowshine padded up to him and brushed his shoulder with her tail.

“StarClan walk with you, Jaypaw, until next time.”

“Thanks,” Jaypaw grunted. “You too.” She needn’t think he was going to start being friendly, not after that smart remark when they met. She was far too smug about receiving her name before him. Besides, he didn’t want to talk; he had to think.

The only way to defeat Sol was to make ShadowClan recover their belief in the power of their warrior ancestors.

How am I going to do that?

He thought back to when he had visited the Tribe of Rushing Water. He remembered how grief-stricken Stoneteller had been when he discovered that the Tribe of Endless Hunting had given up on the cats behind the waterfall. Jaypaw didn’t trust Stoneteller, but he had felt sorry for the old leader then.

Stoneteller had lied to the Tribe to persuade them to go on battling against the invaders. His lies had filled them with courage, and they had beaten the intruding cats. The Tribe of Rushing Water had been made stronger because they had faith in what their warrior ancestors wanted for them.

But there aren’t any easy lies that will convince ShadowClan , Jaypaw told himself. Or are there?

By the time he reached the stone hollow, Jaypaw could feel a freshening breeze that told him dawn was breaking, and hear birds beginning to twitter in the trees. I could do with a good fat blackbird , he thought hungrily.

His worries about Millie and Briarkit returned as he crossed the clearing, but when he entered his den he could hear the deep, regular breathing of all three cats. That’s good .

They all need sleep .

Instead of joining them, Jaypaw crept quietly out again.

He didn’t feel tired; instead, he was quivering with excitement. On the way home the beginnings of a plan had come to him, and he needed to talk to his littermates. He tasted the air, trying to find his brother and sister, and quickly tracked down Hollyleaf crouched beside the fresh-kill pile with Mousewhisker and Berrynose.

“Hey, Hollyleaf!” he called; he didn’t want to go over to her and get stuck talking to the others.

Hollyleaf came bounding over to him; his belly rumbled as he caught the scent of fresh mouse clinging to her pelt.

“Did something happen?” she asked; he could feel her urgency crackling like lightning.

“We’ve got to talk. Where’s Lionblaze?”

“Still asleep in the warriors’ den,” Hollyleaf mewed.

“Get him. I’ll meet you in back.”

Jaypaw slid into the gap behind the warriors’ den, his claws flexing impatiently until Hollyleaf and Lionblaze squeezed into the narrow space beside him.

“We’ve got to find a better place to meet,” Lionblaze grumbled. “If we get any bigger we’ll never fit in here.”

“Stop complaining,” Jaypaw snapped, wriggling to make sure he got his fair share of the space. “This is important.”

“Tell us, then!” Hollyleaf meowed.

Jaypaw told them about his dream at the Moonpool, his meeting with Midnight the badger and then with Raggedstar and Runningnose.

“StarClan asked you for help?” Hollyleaf queried, awe in her voice. “That’s amazing!”

Jaypaw gave a faint hiss of annoyance. “You don’t have to sound so surprised.”

“Do you think you can do what they want?” Lionblaze asked. “We’ll help, you know that.”

“I had an idea,” Jaypaw began. “We have to make ShadowClan believe in their warrior ancestors, right? So what they need is a sign from StarClan—a clear sign that every cat can see.”

“If StarClan could do that, wouldn’t they have done it already?” Hollyleaf asked doubtfully.

“Yes, I think so.” Jaypaw’s pelt prickled with excitement.

“So, if StarClan can’t do it, we’ll have to do it for them.”

There was a short silence. Then Lionblaze mewed, “ Make a sign from StarClan?”

“Why not?”

“I dunno.” Lionblaze sounded puzzled. “It just seems… wrong, somehow. Besides, if we’re more powerful than StarClan, why does it matter that ShadowClan believe in their warrior ancestors?”

“Of course it matters, mouse-brain!” Hollyleaf spat. Jaypaw felt all her muscles bunch as if she would have leaped on her brother for a couple of mouse tails. “All four Clans have to stick to the warrior code.”

“Okay, calm down,” Lionblaze muttered.

Hollyleaf ignored him. “Jaypaw, I don’t know how we’re going to do this, but I know we can. I’ll do whatever it takes to save ShadowClan from Sol!”

Her voice shook with intensity, and Jaypaw could imagine fire blazing in her green eyes. A shiver crept on mouse feet down his spine. It was clearer and clearer that nothing mattered to Hollyleaf more than the warrior code, and for the first time in his life he felt a little afraid of her.

The sound of coughing woke Hollyleaf. Raising her head, she peered across the warriors’ den. A few tail-lengths away, Thornclaw was sitting up, his head bent as he coughed.

His sister Brightheart pressed her muzzle into his shoulder fur. “Don’t worry,” she murmured. “I’ll fetch you something from Leafpool to make you feel better.”

“Get a move on,” Spiderleg rasped. “Then maybe the rest of us can get some sleep.”

“Yeah, it’s like trying to sleep with a monster in here,” Berrynose added.

Brightheart gave them a furious glare, her teeth drawn back in a snarl. “See if I help you if you get ill,” she snapped, and slid out between the branches.

Thornclaw coughed again. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to the stupid furballs,” Hollyleaf told him. “If they don’t like it, they can go out and do something useful.”

Both Spiderleg and Berrynose ignored her, curling up again and wrapping their tails over their ears. Thornclaw lay down, too, but a cough shook him every time he tried to breathe.

Hollyleaf was too anxious to go back to sleep. She curled up in her nest, listening to the rain beating steadily on the branches of the den. How many more cats would fall ill before Leafpool got the greencough outbreak under control?

Her thoughts jumped to what she and Lionblaze had discussed with Jaypaw the day before. Did they truly need to fake a sign to make ShadowClan believe in StarClan again?