The Silent Thaw

He ducked out of camp and scanned the forest, relieved when he glimpsed Tree’s yellow pelt through the undergrowth. He chased after him, his paws thrumming against the earth as he raced to catch up. “Wait!” He skidded to a halt beside the two SkyClan cats.

Rootpaw turned first, his eyes lighting as he saw Shadowsight.

Tree’s whiskers twitched with surprise. “I thought ShadowClan didn’t want to hear my message.”

“They didn’t want to hear Bramblestar’s message,” Shadowsight told him. “But you came to tell us something else, didn’t you?”

Tree blinked at him. “You said at the Gathering that your visions hadn’t come from StarClan.”

“Yes!” Shadowsight told him eagerly. He was relieved that some cat had heard him. “They came from some other cat.”

“Who?” Rootpaw’s eyes widened.

“I don’t know,” Shadowsight confessed. “I just know it wasn’t StarClan.”

Tree’s gaze was solemn. “Did you know that Bramblestar isn’t Bramblestar?”

“What?” Shadowsight froze. “How can he not be Bramblestar?”

“When he lost a life,” Tree explained, “some other cat’s spirit took his body. The real Bramblestar is a ghost. He can’t get back into his body and he can’t find StarClan.”

Rootpaw’s eyes were dark. “Whoever’s leading ThunderClan is an impostor.”

“An impostor?” Shadowsight’s thoughts whirled, the earth seeming to shift beneath his paws. First StarClan wasn’t StarClan and now Bramblestar wasn’t Bramblestar. “What’s going on?”

“We don’t know yet.” Rootpaw padded closer, his eyes bright. “But if your visions didn’t come from StarClan, where did they come from?”

“I told you, I don’t know,” Shadowsight mewed. “I just know it was a voice.”

Tree frowned. “Do you think it could have been Bramblestar’s voice?”

Shadowsight felt confused. “Bramblestar?”

“The impostor.” Rootpaw whisked his tail. “He’s the one who’s been yowling about codebreakers since this began, and your visions have agreed with him. Perhaps he the one who’s been speaking to you.”

Shadowsight’s heart pounded. Some cat had stolen Bramblestar’s identity and was trying to control the Clans through his visions. “How do you know Bramblestar is a ghost?”

Rootpaw and Tree exchanged glances.

“I’ve seen him,” Tree mewed. “I can help you see him too, if you like.”

Rootpaw’s eyes widened. “Can you?”

Tree fluffed out his fur. “It’s not easy, but I can make dead cats visible to the living—for a while at least,” he told them. “I did it for ShadowClan when some of their warriors went missing after Darktail took over.” He eyed Shadowsight somberly. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” Shadowsight nodded.

“I’m not.” Rootpaw blinked at his father.

Tree met Rootpaw’s gaze. “It’ll be okay.” He nosed Rootpaw away and whispered in his ear for a few moments. Rootpaw drew back and stared at his father in disbelief.

Shadowsight stiffened. What had Tree told him? He padded closer. “Is summoning the ghost dangerous?”

“Not at all.” Tree swished his tail. “It’s just hard, that’s all. Especially when you haven’t done it”—he hesitated, glancing at Rootpaw—“for a while.”

Rootpaw was still staring at his father as Tree closed his eyes. Shadowsight’s pelt prickled uneasily. Why did the SkyClan apprentice seem so scared? I guess he’s never seen a ghost before. As Rootpaw closed his eyes, Shadowsight wondered if he should do the same, but he was too curious to stop watching.

Tree’s ears flattened and his tail quivered. Shadowsight pressed his paws hard against the earth as Tree began to tremble. Suddenly, pale fur shimmered between the trees. Shadowsight’s breath caught in his throat as he recognized Bramblestar’s tabby pelt. It glistened like water a few tail-lengths away.

The ghost’s eyes widened in surprise as Shadowsight met its gaze. It lifted its tail. “You must help me.” Its yowl was faint, as though carried away by a breeze. Then it vanished.

Tree jerked and staggered, as though trying to find his footing. He opened his eyes. “Did you see it?” he asked Shadowsight shakily.

“Yes.” Shadowsight swallowed. There really was a ghost-Bramblestar, separate from the cat who was leading ThunderClan. “We have to fix this.”

“I know.” Tree took a shuddering breath. “We know Bramblestar is an impostor and some cat is sending you false visions. I think we can be pretty sure that the impostor is the one who’s been talking to you.”

“It makes sense.” Shadowsight nodded, his eye falling on Rootpaw. The SkyClan apprentice was trembling, his eyes glittering with shock. “Is he okay?” Shadowsight asked Tree. Seeing a ghost had clearly shocked the young cat.

“He’ll be fine in a moment.” Tree wove around his son, smoothing his ruffled pelt with his tail. “We need to find a way to get rid of the impostor,” he told Shadowsight.

“But how?” Shadowsight could picture the ghost’s eyes burning desperately between the trees. “If the Clans chase him away, how will Bramblestar get back into his body?”

Tree nodded. “And if we kill him, there’ll be no body for Bramblestar to go back to.”