Эрин Хантер - Eclipse

“I’ll eat once the fresh-kill pile’s been restocked,” Firestar replied.

Sandstorm stared at him, then glanced down at the morsel she’d offered. “You need your strength as much as any cat.”

Firestar sat down, his shoulders sagging, and took the piece of rabbit. “Thank you.”

Brambleclaw was sitting uncomfortably, the thorn stab in his side clearly hurting. Lionpaw swallowed the growl rising in his throat. No other cat was going to suffer because of Heatherpaw’s betrayal! He sat down. Now they would plan revenge on WindClan and RiverClan. The cowards! Their sneaky attack wasn’t worthy of true warriors. ThunderClan would make them pay for what they’d done.

“Do you think it’ll disappear again?” Dustpelt’s tail was bushed out.

Ashfur hadn’t washed the blood from his paws yet. He scored a line in the dust with one red-stained claw. “This might just be the start.”

“We mustn’t panic,” Firestar meowed, swallowing. “We have to believe this was simply a message, nothing more.”

Is that all they’re going to talk about? The vanishing sun? Lionpaw could hardly believe his ears.

“But what if it wasn’t a message?” Dustpelt argued. “What if the sun is starting to fail?”

“It’s never failed before,” Sandstorm argued. “Why should it fail now?”

“It’s never disappeared before,” Ashfur pointed out. “But it just did.”

“Surely it must just have been StarClan’s way of warning us to stop fighting?” Brambleclaw meowed.

“Why warn us ?” Dustpelt growled. “We didn’t start the battle!”

“Perhaps it was just a strange cloud that hid it,” Cloudtail reasoned. Lionpaw knew the warrior had been born in a Twoleg nest and had never really believed in StarClan.

“Where did the cloud come from?” Ashfur challenged.

“Where did it disappear to? The sky was clear.”

Cloudtail shrugged. “There must be some explanation.”

Dustpelt flicked his tail. “StarClan,” he insisted. “Who else could it be?”

What does it matter? Lionpaw’s belly churned with fury. The battle with WindClan hadn’t been won. It had to be finished once and for all if they were ever to sleep soundly in their dens. The sun didn’t matter. Enemies had to be dealt with.

He scraped the ground with his claws.

“Have you got something to say?”

Lionpaw realized that Brambleclaw was staring at him.

I’ve got plenty to say! He got to his paws. “We need to teach WindClan a lesson!” he declared. “They can’t invade us without suffering the consequences.”

Brambleclaw shook his head. “Enough blood has been spilled, Lionpaw.”

“The battle’s finished,” Firestar agreed. “We need to find out what the vanishing sun means.”

“Will Leafpool go to the Moonpool and share tongues with StarClan?” Sandstorm asked.

Firestar glanced at Squirrelflight on the far side of the clearing. “Once our wounded cats are well enough to manage without her.”

“I hope that’s soon,” Dustpelt muttered.

Ashfur’s pelt smoothed. “The sooner the better.”

Lionpaw pawed the ground. Why wait to find out if their ancestors knew the answer? This wasn’t the time for questions. This was the time for action! There was a battle to be fought. A betrayal to avenge. “Why can’t we just—”

He stopped.

He’d interrupted Sandstorm. She was staring at him with her mouth open.

“Sorry.” Lionpaw backed away, suddenly conscious that he was only an apprentice.

“Perhaps you should rest,” Firestar suggested gently.

Lionpaw nodded and turned away, leaving the circle of warriors to fret and worry without his interruptions. He kicked sand out behind him with every paw step. One day they’d listen to him.

Hollypaw and Squirrelflight were sleeping. He stopped beside them, watching their flanks rise and fall together as though they shared a single breath. Jaypaw had gone. The ferns beside Squirrelflight were crumpled where he’d slept.

As though summoned by Lionpaw’s thoughts, Jaypaw emerged from the medicine cat’s den. He was carrying dripping moss. Lionpaw watched him pick his way from the den to his mother’s side and press the wet moss to Squirrelflight’s lips.

“Will she live?” Lionpaw whispered.

“I think so.” Jaypaw didn’t look up. “There’s no sign of infection.”

“Did StarClan warn you she’d be injured?” Did they warn you about any of this? Lionpaw’s heart quickened as he waited for an answer.

Jaypaw put down the moss. “No.” He smoothed down a frond of fern curling near Squirrelflight’s nose. “And before you ask, they said nothing about the vanishing sun or the battle, either.”

Lionpaw narrowed his eyes. He knew when his brother had something on his mind. “You don’t think this has anything to do with StarClan, do you?”

Jaypaw sat down. “No.”

Well? Why did Jaypaw have to be so mysterious about everything?

“I think…” Jaypaw began tentatively.

“What?”

He looked up. “I think I know someone who can give us answers.”

The fur along Lionpaw’s spine lifted. Jaypaw’s pale blue eyes seemed to be watching him, as though he could actually see.

“We need to find Sol,” Jaypaw meowed. “He predicted that the sun would vanish. He told Leafpool a great darkness was coming, and the sun would disappear. I think he would have told us more, but Firestar sent him away.”

Disappointment flooded Lionpaw. Jaypaw was no better than the warriors. “Why are you all obsessing over the sun?”

He lashed his tail. “It doesn’t matter. It’s back now, and we’re okay. But we still have to deal with WindClan. They’re going to come back if we don’t show them they can’t—”

Jaypaw cut him off. “It does matter,” he growled. “WindClan are nothing more than a thorn in our flesh. We can pull it out anytime we want. But the sun disappeared , and Sol knew it would happen. StarClan didn’t! Don’t you realize what that means?”

Lionpaw didn’t, but he wasn’t going to admit that. “What can we do about it?”

“We have to find Sol.”

Lionpaw leaned back in surprise. “Don’t be silly! He left yesterday. He could be anywhere by now. And Firestar’s not going to let us wander off to look for him. There’s been a battle. Half the warriors are injured, and who knows when there’ll be another invasion.”

Jaypaw flattened his ears. “Remember the prophecy!” he snapped. “We have the power of the stars in our paws! That makes us more powerful than Firestar, more powerful than StarClan! If Sol knows why the sun vanished, we have to find him!”

Jaypaw wanted to claw his brother’s ears to make him listen. Please understand! “We have to find Sol!”

Squirrelflight stirred beside him. “Who?” she breathed.

She’s awake!

Jaypaw leaned down and pressed his nose to his mother’s pelt. She felt warmer. Not hot, though. No infection. He laid his pad on her flank. Her breathing was steadier, not too fast.

She was recovering from the shock of her injury.

“How’s Lionpaw?” Squirrelflight asked faintly.

“I’m right here.” Lionpaw brushed her ear with his nose.

“What about Hollypaw? Was she wounded?”

“Hollypaw’s fine too,” Jaypaw reassured her. “We’re all fine.”

The ferns rustled as Squirrelflight lifted her head. “Has the sun vanished again?”