Shattered Sky

“Every time I lead my Clan into a fight,” Bramblestar began, when every cat was settled, “I hope that it will be the last that we ever have. And this time, I hope that I’m right. Every cat heard what the medicine cats reported from their journey to the Moonpool: all five Clans have the same problem, Darktail and his rogues. But this time, all five Clans are united against a common enemy. Today we will fight as friends, to protect our very way of life.”

A clamor of agreement broke out among the cats in the clearing, enthusiastic caterwauls ringing out to the sky.

“We’ll drive them out!”

“For the honor of the Clans!”

“Death to Darktail!”

“Death to the rogues!”

Bramblestar raised his tail for silence, and gradually the noise died down. “I hope you’re all fully fed,” he continued when he could make himself heard. “Now you need to take a short rest. Conserve your strength. We head out at sunset.”

Alderheart still felt a niggling doubt as he paced through the camp, watching the warriors preparing themselves, or concentrating on keeping themselves calm and relaxed.

If we don’t need to work out what StarClan meant, then why did they bother telling us?

He was uneasy, too, about his own role in the battle to come. Although he had long ago stopped dwelling on his failed apprenticeship under Molewhisker, he still felt guilty that he couldn’t fight alongside his Clanmates.

I’ll be there to help the warriors who are injured, he told himself, but it wasn’t enough.

Determined to throw off these thoughts, Alderheart padded over to where Violetpaw and Twigpaw were sitting with their father, Hawkwing. Whitewing and Birchfall were sharing tongues close by.

“I’m looking forward to this fight!” Twigpaw was mewing as Alderheart approached. “I’d like to claw Darktail’s fur off!”

“Me too,” Violetpaw agreed, her voice more somber than her sister’s. Her face clouded with a dark expression. “Darktail will pay for what he did to Needletail.”

“She was a brave cat,” Alderheart meowed as he sat down next to her.

His words seemed to give some comfort to Violetpaw. “We all need to watch out for Darktail,” she continued after a moment, “especially if the fight takes us anywhere near water. Darktail has a thing about water.”

There was a sudden mrrow of excitement from Whitewing, who sat erect, her eyes wide. “I have an idea!” she exclaimed.

She scrambled to her paws and raced off to where Bramblestar was curled up with Squirrelflight near the bottom of the tumbled rocks that led up to his den.

Her mate, Birchfall, stared after her. “What’s gotten into her?” he muttered.

Hawkwing extended his forepaws and arched his back in a long stretch. “This is enough rest,” he meowed. “In SkyClan, we always like to get straight into the fight. The longer you wait, the more time you have to get nervous—and nerves are never good for battle.”

Twigpaw blinked up at her father. “Do you know how SkyClan got its name?” she asked.

“We were named after a cat who lived a long time ago,” Hawkwing replied. “He was Skystar, the first leader of our Clan. He appeared to Echosong, our medicine cat, many times before she died.”

Alderheart felt a shiver of wonder to think that a cat from so long ago could still remain in StarClan to speak to a living medicine cat. “Is that really true?” he asked.

“We think so,” Hawkwing told him. “Anyway, however we got our name, we certainly live up to it. We launch attacks from above—from the trees, or tall rocks. Fighting SkyClan must feel like you’re being attacked from the sky!”

Understanding lit up Alderheart’s mind like a flash of lightning. Springing to his paws, he bolted across the stone hollow after Whitewing, heading toward his father, Bramblestar.

“Leafpool! Jayfeather! Puddleshine! Mothwing and Willowshine! Come here!” he yowled as he went. “I’ve figured out what StarClan meant!”

Chapter 21

Every hair on Twigpaw’s pelt tingled with excitement as she padded along behind the gathered forces of her Clanmates. Violetpaw walked beside her, their fur brushing, on their way to ShadowClan territory. WindClan had joined them at sunset, and now the warriors of four Clans were advancing against Darktail and his Kin.

Twigpaw fluffed out her fur against the chilly evening air. Above her head the sky was growing dark, not just because the sun had gone down, but from clouds that were massing above the lake, bulging with rain. Twigpaw could sense that a storm was coming.

That might help the Clans, or it might not, she thought, splashing through the stream that divided ThunderClan from ShadowClan. All I know is, it’s been a long journey to get this far.