Shattered Sky

“I am not! But I shouldn’t have to see my Clan destroyed rescuing ShadowClan from its own incompetence. My only responsibility is to WindClan.”

But he didn’t retreat to save his Clan, Alderheart thought. From what Twigpaw told me, he gave the order because of something Darktail told him. Onestar is hiding something, and I would really like to know what it is.

“But you gave your word that you would help us drive out the rogues,” Rowanstar meowed. “And then you broke that word. How can any cat trust you again?”

“You’re a fine one to talk!” Onestar snarled. “You and the ShadowClan cats with you were trying to protect your former Clanmates, the cats you were supposed to be fighting! Don’t blame me

for losing the battle!”

Rowanstar’s shoulders sagged and his tail drooped, but there was still pride in his tone as he replied. “That is true, Onestar—but I do not believe that we lost our honor because we could not bring ourselves to attack our true Clanmates. Once the rogues are driven out, ShadowClan—”

“Thanks to you and Onestar,” Mistystar interrupted, her voice full of bitterness, “right now the rogues don’t seem anywhere close to being driven out. First of all we held back from getting rid of them because of the prophecy that told us to embrace what lay in the shadows.”

“And every Clan agreed with that,” Rowanstar pointed out.

Mistystar sniffed disdainfully. “It was ShadowClan who assumed they should let strange cats move onto their territory! If you ask me, Rowanstar, you brought this on yourself.”

“But—” Rowanstar began.

“We’ve waited too long to drive out the rogues,” Mistystar retorted. “Perhaps we were once confused by the prophecy, but its meaning seems clear now: the rogues are not ‘what you find in the shadows.’ The rogues are what we must drive out to clear the sky!”

Rowanstar had no answer to that, and in the moment’s silence that followed, Mallownose of RiverClan sprang to his paws.

“But how?” he asked. “The lost kits that ShadowClan and ThunderClan took in don’t seem to be part of the prophecy, either,” he pointed out. “We thought that by embracing them, we would find the answer. But they’ve been with the Clans even longer, and things here beside the lake are only getting worse.”

Alderheart cast an unfriendly look at the RiverClan tom, his neck fur beginning to bristle. Violetpaw and Twigpaw were innocent kits! You can’t expect them to solve a problem like Darktail.

At the same time, Alderheart could not help feeling frustrated. I know what the prophecy is about—SkyClan! I just have to convince Bramblestar.

Arguments were springing up all over the clearing, drowning out the voices of the Clan leaders. The cats sounded increasingly desperate, worrying about what the prophecy might mean.

“What if the sky never clears?” some cat wailed plaintively.

Snarls and hisses rose up around Alderheart. Cats were leaping up, their fur fluffed out and their ears flattened in rage. He felt that, at any moment, the truce of the Gathering might be broken.

“Jayfeather, we have to—” he began.

Before he could get more words out, Alderheart realized that the light in the clearing was growing dim. Looking up, he saw that a cloud had begun to drift across the moon, obscuring the shining silver circle.

“Look at the moon!” Bramblestar’s voice rose above the clamor in the clearing. “StarClan is angry! This Gathering is at an end.”

Instantly the four leaders jumped down from the Great Oak and began to call their Clans together. The hostile snarling died away as the cats glanced anxiously up at the darkening sky and hurried to leave the island across the tree-bridge. But they still glared at one another; there were none of the friendly farewells that marked the end of an ordinary Gathering.

Alderheart felt uneasy. He wished the Gathering had lasted long enough for the Clans to work out their differences.

But then, he reflected, that probably wouldn’t have happened if we’d kept on arguing all night.

This rift between the Clans was too deep to be easily healed. It made him more certain than ever that he had to persuade Bramblestar to tell the other Clans the truth. For the sake of SkyClan, too, he added to himself, remembering the wretched cats from his vision.

Alderheart was unable to relax until his Clan had crossed the bridge and was heading back to ThunderClan along the WindClan lakeshore. Then he slipped away from Jayfeather and quickened his pace until he caught up to Bramblestar at the head of the group.

“May I speak to you?” he asked.