Chapter one.
Jaypaw stretched,
feeling the sun beat down on his fur.
A warm breeze whispered around him, full
of the scents of green growing things.
Somewhere above his head
a bird was trilling, and
he could hear the muffled slap
of lake water on the shore.
Jaypaw, light paw steps ruffled
the sound of the waves.
Jaypaw pictured his mentor, Leafpool,
splashing through the shallow
water at the edge of the lake.
Jaypaw, she repeated,
her voice sounding closer.
Come join me,
the cool water feels wonderful.
No, thanks, Jaypaw muttered.
For him, water was more than the gentle
lapping of the lake against his paws.
Instead, the sound of the waves
brought back memories of
cold water surging around him.
The weight of soaked fur dragging him
down, water filling his mouth and nose and
choking the life out of him.
He had drowned once in his dreams,
lost in the underground tunnels with
the ancient warrior Fallen Leaves.
And had almost drowned for
real when he and
his clanmates rescued
the missing WindClan kits.
I've had enough water to last for
the rest of my life.
Okay.
Leafpool's paw steps retreated,
faster now,
as if she was bounding through
the shallows, carefree as a kit.
Jaypaw patted on along the shoreline.
He was supposed to be looking for
mallow, but
when he tasted the breeze he couldn't pick
up any of the familiar pungent scent.
As soon as the sound of
Leafpool's paw steps faded,
he veered away from the water and
scrambled up the bank.
He had something more
important than herbs to find.
He prowled forward, nose close to
the ground as he sniffed his way through
clumps of grass and around shrubs until
he came to the knarled roots of a tree.
Here it is.
He dug his teeth into
one end of the stick and
pulled it out from behind the root
that held it fast to the bank.
Away from the hungry waves,
crouching beside it,
he ran his paw over the scratches,
finding the group of five long and
three short that stood for
the five apprentices and
three kits who had been trapped in
the tunnels as the waters rose.
All of them were scored through.
Every cat had made it out alive.
Jaypaw remembered making the scratches
with Rock's scent wreathing around him.
It almost felt as though the hairless paw
of the ancient spirit was guiding his
claws, but Jaypaw could also feel
the single unscored scratch.
Fallen Leaves,
the ancient cat who had guided them,
still walked the tunnels alone.
He closed his eyes and listened for the
voices that used to whisper to him, but
he could hear nothing except the wind and
the trees and the ripple of the lake.
Fallen Leaves, Rock,
he murmured, where are you?
Why won't you to talk to me anymore?
There was no reply.
Jaypaw dragged the stick
farther into the open,
rolling it down the bank until
the lake water could wash over it.
He sniffed along its length but
all echoes of the past had vanished.
Jaypaw swallowed hard,
almost ready to start wailing like
a kit that had lost his mother.
He wanted to speak to Rock to find
out more about the cats who had lived
around the lake so long ago.
He wanted to know why Fallen Leaves had
been left to walk the caves when all
the other ancient cats,
even the others who had died down there,
had passed on somewhere else.
He was convinced these were the same cats
he had felt around him at the Moonpool,
whose paw prints dimpled the spiral
path that led down to the water.
They were far older than the clans,
older even than Star Clan.
What wisdom they would be
able to share with him.
They might even be able to
explain the prophecy to him,
the mysterious words he had
heard in Firestar's dream.
There will be three kin of your
kin who will hold the power
of the stars in their paws.
Jaypaw, what do you think you're doing?
Jaypaw started.
He had been so intent on the stick and
his thoughts of the ancient cats that
he hadn't heard Leafpool approaching.
Now he could scent her close to him and
to pick up the irritation
that flowed off her.
Sorry, he mumbled.
We need more mallow, Jaypaw.
Just because we aren't on the brink of
battle now doesn't mean that cats won't
get sick or injured,
medicine cats have to be ready.
I know, okay, Jaypaw retorted.
And who stopped the battle,
he demanded silently.
WindClan and ThunderClan would have ripped
each other apart if it wasn't for me and
the others finding those lost kits.
He didn't want to explain
himself to his mentor.
He could sense her looking on severely
while he rolled the stick back up the bank
and hid it again under the tree root.
Then he patted away from her
along the top of the bank,
jaws parted to pick up
the scents of growing things.
Before he had covered many fox lengths,
he paused,
staring sightlessly out across the lake.
Wind buffeted his fur,
pressing it close to his body.
Where are you?
His mind called out to
those long ago cats.
Speak to me, please.
Jaypaw, hey, Jaypaw,
that wasn't the voice he wanted to hear.
Fighting back at his irritation,
Jaypaw turned to face Hazelpaw.
He could pick up her scent and hear her
paw steps as she bounded up to him.
Blundering through the bracken
like a fox in a fit.
Look what I've got, Hazelpaw's voice
sounded gleeful and also half stifled,
as if she was speaking around
a piece of prey gripped in her jaws.
Jaypaw didn't bother to point out
that he couldn't look at anything.
Besides, the strong scent of vole
told him what Hazelpaw was carrying.
This is my last hunting assessment.
The apprentice's voice was clearer now.
She must have put down her prey.
If we do well, Berrypaw, Mousepaw and
I will be made warriors today.
Great, Jaypaw tried to sound enthusiastic
but he was still annoyed at her for
distracting him from ancient cats.
I'm sure Dustpelt will be pleased with me.
Hazelpaw went on, this vole is huge,
it's enough to feed both
of Daisy's new kits.
Daisy's new kids can't eat vole yet,
Jaypaw reminded her.
Is she completely mouse brained?
They were only born four sunrises ago.
Well, it'll do for Daisy then.
Hazelpaw still sounded excited.
She'll need to eat well now
that she's feeding kits.
Have you visited them yet?
They're the sweetest
things I've ever seen.
Daisy told me she's named them Rosekit and
Toadkit.
I know, Jaypaw mewed shortly.
I can't wait until they're old enough
to come out of the nursery and
play, Hazelpaw went on.
Do you think Firestar might
let me mentor one of them?
I'll have warrior experience
by the time they're ready.
They're your half-brother and sister,
Jaypaw meowed discouragingly.
Firestar probably won't.
Hazelpaw, a sharp voice interrupted.
And Jaypaw heard the rustle of
Hazelpaw's mentor, Dustpelt,
pushing his way through bracken.
Annoyance was rolling off him in waves.
Are you hunting or gossiping?
He demanded.
Sorry, have you seen my vole, Dustpelt?
It's enormous!
Jaypaw heard Dustpelt pad up and
sniff the vole.
Very good, the warrior mewed.
But that doesn't mean you can sit back and
wash your tail.
There's lots more prey in the forest.
I'll take this back to camp and
you can carry on.
Okay, see you later, Jaypaw.
Jaypaw remembered to call out,
good luck, as Hazelpaw bounded away, but
his mind was already drifting
back to the ancient cats.
Their silence troubled him.
Have I done something wrong?
Are Rock and Fallen Leaves angry with me?
His mind gnawed at the problem.
While he found a clump of mallow and
bit off the stems to carry back to camp.
Well done, Jaypaw.
Leafpaw's voice came from behind
him as he was finishing the task.
Let's go.
Jaypaw gathered up the bundle
of stems in his jaws.
It was a good excuse not to talk.
As he padded back through
the forest behind his mentor,
he was still absent minded,
hardly noticing the sense of prey or
the scuffling of small
creatures in the undergrowth.
He was far away, trying to walk in
the paw steps of those ancient cats.
Then a bird let out a sudden alarm call.
Jaypaw started at the fierce beating
of wings right in front of his nose,
dropping his mallow as he jumped back.
Hey, Berrypaw's indignant yell
came from a few tail lengths away.
That was my thrush you just scared off!
Couldn't you see I was stalking it?
No I couldn't see that.
Guilt and annoyance at his own
clumsiness made Jaypaw savage.
I'm blind, in case you hadn't noticed.
But you can do better then that,
Leafpaw meowed crossly.
Keep your mind on what you're doing,
Jaypaw,
you've been scattier than
a rabbit all morning.
Well, I hope he hasn't messed up
my assessment, Berrypaw muttered.
I'd have had that thrush if it wasn't for
him.
I know, Brambleclaw meowed.
Jaypaw picked up the Thunder clan
deputy sent a little farther away.
Mousepaw and his mentor,
Spiderleg, were nearby too.
No, has all of Thunder clan been watching?
There's no point in wailing over
lost prey, Brambleclaw went on,
padding closer, and a warrior doesn't
get worked up over one little setback.
Come on, Berrypaw, see if you can find
a mouse among the tree roots over there.
Okay.
Jaypaw could tell that
Berrypaw was still angry,
in spite of what his mentor had said.
Jaypaw, just keep out of my way, will you?
No problem, Jaypaw shot back at him.
Yes, it’s time we got
back to the clearing.
Leafpaw gave Jaypaw a nudge
with her shoulder, this way.
I know where the camp is, thanks.
Jaypaw collected his herbs and
padded behind his mentor through the thorn
tunnel and into the stone hollow.
Rushing past the screen of brambles
in front of the medicine cat's den,
he deposited his bundle
in the cave at the back.
I'm going to get some fresh kill, okay?
He mewed.
Just a moment, Jaypaw.
Leafpaw set her own herbs down and
sat in front of him.
Jaypaw could sense her impatience and
frustration.
I don't know what's gotten
into you lately, she began.
Ever since you and the others found the
Wind clan kids by the edge of the lake.
There was a question in her voice, and
Jaypaw could taste a powerful scent
of curiosity coming from her.
Leafpaw clearly knew there was more to
the story of the lost kids than he and
his littermates were telling.
But there was no way he would reveal that
the kids had actually been wandering in
the network of tunnels that lay beneath
Thunder clan and Wind clan territory.
He knew that Lionpaw and Hollypaw as
well as the Wind clan apprentices,
Heatherpaw and Breezepaw,
would keep quiet too.
No cat wanted to admit that Lionpaw and
Heatherpaw had been playing
in the tunnels for moons.
So they couldn't tell the story
of how nearly they had drowned,
along with the missing kids,
as rain filled the tunnels and
swelled the underground stream
into a terrifying flood.
Jaypaw still had nightmares about
the surging suffocating river.
Jaypaw, are you all right,
Leafpaw went on.
Her irritation was fading,
giving way to concern.
A sticky flood that threatened to
overwhelm Jaypaw just like the water in
the tunnels.
You would tell me, wouldn't you,
if anything was wrong?
Sure, he muttered,
hoping his mentor wouldn't detect the lie.
Everything's fine, Leafpaw hesitated.
Jaypaw felt his fur begin
to prickle defensively but
the medicine cat only sighed and
mewed, go in to eat then.
Later, when it's a bit cooler,
we'll go up to the old two leg nest and
collect some catnip.
Before she had finished speaking,
Jaypaw was on his paws and
pushing his way out past the brambles.
He patted it over to the fresh kill pile,
sniffed out a plump mouse, and
carried it back to a sunny spot
outside his den to eat it.
Sunhigh was just passed, and
the stone hollow was filled with warmth.
His belly comfortably full,
Jaypaw lay on his side and
cleaned his whiskers with one paw.
Cinderpaw and Hollypaw had just pushed
their way in through the thorn tunnel.
Even at a distance,
Jaypaw could pick up the mossy scent of
the training hollow clinging to their fur.
I'm sorry I beat you every time,
Hollypaw meowed.
Are you sure you're okay?
I'm fine, Cinderpaw insisted.
I wouldn't be okay if you let me
win by not fighting your best.
Her voice sounded brave but
Jaypaw could tell from her paw steps that
Cinderpaw's injured leg was troubling her.
There was nothing more
the medicine cats could do.
Only time could strengthen the leg.
Or was Cinderpaw destined never to be
a warrior, like Cinderpelt before her?
Jaypaw was distracted from Cinderpaw's
problem by the sound of shrill squeals
coming from the nursery.
He winced, Daisy's kits were only four
sunrises old, but they had huge voices.
Their father, Spiderleg, had insisted on
taking Mousepaw out for his assessment.
Even though Dustpelt had
offered to take his place so
he could spend more time in the nursery.
Jaypaw thought Spiderleg seemed
awkward around his kits,
as if he couldn't adjust to
the idea of being a father.
In any case, Jaypaw thought,
the nursery was pretty crowded.
Icekit and Foxkit, Ferncloud's
latest litter, were still there.
Though they were nearly old
enough to become apprentices.
And Millie, who was expecting
Graystripe's kits, had just moved in.
Jaypaw knew that Firestar was proud of
how strong Thunder clan was becoming,
though he sometimes worried
about how they would all be fed.
More rustling came from the thorn tunnel,
and
Lionpaw staggered into the camp with
his mentor, Ashfur, just behind him.
Two mice and a squirrel, Ashfur meowed.
Well done, Lionpaw, that's the sort
of hunting I expect from you.
In spite of the words of praise,
Ashfur didn't sound enthusiastic.
Jaypaw thought that his brother and
Ashfur had never gotten on as well
as mentor and apprentice should.
There was something there
that puzzled him and
something in Ashfur that he couldn't read.
But it was probably unimportant.
Jaypaw dismissed the question from his
mind as his brother flopped down beside
him, a mouse in his jaws.
I'm worn out, Lionpaw announced.
I thought I'd have to chase that
scroll all the way to shadow clan.
Why bother?
Jaypaw asked.
It's not your assessment today.
I know, Lionpaw mumbled around
a mouthful of fresh kill.
But that's not the point.
A good warrior will always do as
much as he can to feed the clan.
And Lionpaw wanted to be
the best warrior he could.
Jaypaw knew that.
And he knew how tense and
determined his brother had been ever
since they found the kits in the tunnels.
He knew the reason too,
even without reading Lionpaw's mind.
His brother had decided to concentrate
on his training to make up for
meeting the Wind Clan apprentice,
Heatherpaw in secret.
Jaypaw's whiskers twitched in sympathy.
As a medicine cat, he was allowed
to have friends outside his clan,
though he couldn't imagine wanting to.
How could anyone trust a cat
from a different clan.
The patter of a falling pebble alerted
him that Firestar was bounding down from
the high ledge.
His voice came from close
to the warriors den.
We need a border patrol.
Which of you, beside Jaypaw,
Lionpaw leaped to his feet.
I'll go.
For a moment, Jaypaw wondered why
Firestar was organizing a patrol.
Until he remembered that the clan deputy,
Brambleclaw was out in the forest
giving Berrypaw his assessment.
Thanks Lionpaw, Firestar meowed.
But I can see you've
been working hard today.
Lionpaw sat down again.
Jaypaw could tell he was disappointed.
I'll go, Graystripe spoke as he pushed
his way out of the warriors den.
So will I,
Squirrelflight was just behind him.
And I'll come with Honeypaw.
Jaypaw heard Sandstorm padding up from
the direction of the apprentices den,
with her apprentice at her side.
Good, meowed Firestar.
I think you should take a look
at the border with Wind Clan.
Everything's been quiet since the kits
were found, but you never know.
We'll make sure the scent marks are fresh,
Graystripe promised.
And if we see, he broke off at
the sound of excited meows and
loud rustling from the thorn tunnel.
Jaypaw sat up, jaws parted to distinguish
the different scents of the newcomers.
Berrypaw was first into
the clearing with Hazelpaw and
Mousepaw bundling just behind him.
They were followed by their mentors,
Brambleclaw, Dustpelt and Spiderleg.
We did it, Berrypaw's triumphant
yell echoed around the stone hollow.
We all passed our assessment,
and now we'll be warriors.
Berrypaw, Brambleclaw sounded stern.
That's for Firestar to decide.
Sorry, Jaypaw could feel
Berrypaw's sudden dejection,
and pictured him with head and
tail drooping.
But we will get to be warriors won't we?
Maybe we should assess how well you can
keep your mouth shut, Dustpelt snapped.
It's okay.
Firestar sounded amused.
If the mentors will come and speak to me,
we'll arrange the warrior ceremony.
What about the border patrol?
Graystripe asked.
It can wait till dusk.
We're not expecting trouble, after all.
All the apprentices were gathering in
an excited cluster near their den.
Lionpaw pelted across the join them.
Jaypaw rose, stretched and
followed more slowly.
And two voles, Berrypaw was meowing
as Jaypaw came into earshot.
I'd have had a thrush as well
if he hadn't frightened it away,
Jaypaw's neck fur bristled.
But before he could speak,
Hollypaw jumped to his defense.
What does it matter?
You passed the assessment.
Jaypaw's tail tip twitched.
I can look after myself, thanks.
I got a humongous vole.
Hazelpaw was too excited to notice
the hostility between Berrypaw and Jaypaw.
And I brought down a blackbird
just as it was flying away.
Dustpelt said he'd never
seen such a good leap.
That's great, mewed Honeypaw.
I caught a squirrel, Mousepaw boasted.
Jaypaw remembered how
the apprentice had climbed the sky
oak in pursuit of a squirrel, and
then was too scared to climb down again.
Cinderpaw had broken her leg going up
to fetch him when a branch gave way and
she fell.
Jaypaw would have bet a moon of
searching the elders' fur for
ticks that the squirrel Mousepaw
caught had been on the ground.
