The Darkest Hour (11 page)

Cinderpelt sat beside him and listened in silence, her steady gaze never leaving his face.

“Bluestar told me, ‘Four will become two. Lion and tiger will meet in battle, and blood will rule the forest,'” Firestar finished. “And then blood oozed out of the hill of bones and started to fill the hollow. Blood everywhere…Cinderpelt, what does it all mean?”

“I don't know,” Cinderpelt confessed. “StarClan have not shown me any of this. Just as they have the power to show me what will happen, so they can choose not to share with me. I'm sorry, Firestar—but I'll keep thinking about it, and maybe
something will happen to make it clearer soon.”

She pushed her nose against Firestar's fur to comfort him, but though Firestar was grateful for her sympathy, he could not forget the horror of his dream. What dreadful fate lay in store for him? And if even Cinderpelt could not answer that question, what hope was there for ThunderClan?

Firestar emerged from the forest near
Sunningrocks and paused to taste the air. The sun was rising behind him, sending long shadows from the forest toward the river. Several days had passed since Darkstripe had left ThunderClan, and so far the patrols had not brought any news of him, nor of ShadowClan cats in the territory. But the memory of Firestar's dream was still too sharp for him to believe that the threat from the territory beyond the Thunderpath was over.

Graystripe and Thornclaw padded out of the trees behind him. “Smell anything?” Graystripe asked.

Firestar shrugged. “Only RiverClan cats. No more than I'd expect, this close to the border. But I want to make sure that they haven't been near Sunningrocks.”

“We'll renew the scent markings,” meowed Graystripe. “Come on, Thornclaw.”

While his friends disappeared into the gullies among the rocks, Firestar remained where he was, carefully drawing the air over his scent glands. Though he was worried about ShadowClan, he had not forgotten RiverClan or their ambitious leader, Leopardstar. She had tried to retake Sunning-
rocks not long before, and Firestar would not be surprised if she decided to try again.

Not many moments passed before he detected fresh RiverClan scent. Instantly suspicious, he padded around the base of the rocks, only to relax a few moments later as he caught sight of Mistyfoot. She was alone, crouched at the very edge of the river, and as Firestar watched she scooped a fish out of the water and killed it with one blow of her paw.

“Well done!” Firestar called.

Mistyfoot turned, saw him, and padded up the gently sloping bank as far as the border. Firestar went to meet her there, glad to see that she still looked friendly in spite of the way she had left the ThunderClan camp. But he noticed with alarm that Mistyfoot was much thinner than when he had last seen her, and he wondered if something bad had happened following the revelation that Bluestar had been her mother.

“How are you, Mistyfoot?” he meowed. “I hope there hasn't been any trouble.”

“About me and Stonefur?” Mistyfoot replied, guessing his thoughts. She hesitated. “Stonefur told the Clan the truth about Bluestar,” she meowed at last. “Some of them didn't like it. One or two of them won't talk to us at all now, and most of them are a bit uneasy with us.”

“I'm sorry to hear that,” Firestar mewed. “What about Leopardstar? Has she said anything?”

“I could tell she wasn't pleased. She supported us in front of the Clan, but I think she has an eye on us all the same, to make sure we're still loyal.”

“Of course you're loyal!” Firestar exclaimed.

“Yes, and the rest of the Clan will realize it sooner or later. Besides…” Mistyfoot paused again, and then went on. “That isn't the worst of our problems.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tigerstar.” Mistyfoot shivered. “He visits Leopardstar regularly, and I can't work out why. I'm sure they're planning something.”

A jolt of fear shot through Firestar. “Planning what?”

Mistyfoot twitched her ears. “I've no idea. Leopardstar hasn't told Stonefur, even though he's her deputy. But there are a couple of ShadowClan warriors stationed permanently in our camp.”

“
What?
That shouldn't happen! It must be against the warrior code!”

Mistyfoot shrugged, looking defeated. “Try telling that to Leopardstar.”

“But what are they doing there?”

“Leopardstar
says
that they're staying with us so the Clans can exchange training methods and fighting techniques, but I don't see much sign of it. All they do is watch…. It's like they're learning all about us, all our secrets and weaknesses.” Mistyfoot's fur bristled as if she saw her enemies in front of her. “That's why I came over here, to get away from them for a bit.”

“That's terrible,” Firestar meowed. “What is Leopardstar thinking?”

“You want my opinion? She wants to do the best for her
Clan and she thinks Tigerstar is the strongest leader in the forest, so she's set out to be his ally.”

“I'm not sure Tigerstar has allies,” Firestar warned her. “Only followers.”

Mistyfoot nodded. “I know.” She sat down, licked one paw, and drew it two or three times over her ear.

Firestar wondered if she was regretting saying so much to a warrior of another Clan. “How is the prey running?” he asked, hoping to distract her. “At least the river hasn't frozen yet.”

“Not yet. Prey's scarce, but that's nothing new.” Mistyfoot flicked her ears dismissively. “It's leaf-bare, after all. And those two warriors of Tigerclaw's don't help,” she added. “They sit there in camp stuffing their faces, but they never bring back much fresh-kill.”

She broke off at the sound of Graystripe's voice yowling her name. Firestar turned to see his friend bounding down the bank toward them with Thornclaw just behind him.

“Hi, Mistyfoot,” panted Graystripe as he came up. “How are Featherpaw and Stormpaw?”

“They're fine, Graystripe,” replied Mistyfoot, with a purr of welcome for her former Clan mate. Though Graystripe's stay in RiverClan had been short, the two cats had become good friends, and Mistyfoot was always willing to give Graystripe news of his kits. “Featherpaw is turning into a great fighter. ThunderClan will have to watch out when she's made a warrior.”

Graystripe let out a purr. “Well, she couldn't have a better mentor.”

Firestar backed away while Graystripe and Mistyfoot discussed the two apprentices. Thornclaw padded up to him and meowed, “We've renewed the scent markings, Firestar. There's no fresh RiverClan scent around the rocks.”

“That's good,” Firestar responded, though his thoughts were only half on what the young warrior was telling him. Mistyfoot's news deeply disturbed him. It sounded as if RiverClan and ShadowClan were allied more closely than ever before. And if Tigerstar decided to go to war, ThunderClan would be trapped between them.

Oh, StarClan
, Firestar murmured to himself.
Show me what I should do now
.

 

After his talk with Mistyfoot, Firestar ordered extra patrols, but no cat reported anything unusual. The days slipped past peacefully until the time of the next Gathering approached.

As the sun went down behind the thorn hedge, Firestar sat with Whitestorm beside the nettle patch, sharing fresh-kill before the journey.

“Who will you take to the Gathering?” the white warrior asked.

Firestar swallowed a mouthful of squirrel. “Not you, I think,” he replied. “I'm certain Tigerstar is going to make a move of some sort, and I want you to guard the camp. I'll leave you some strong warriors, too.”

“I think you're right.” Whitestorm swiped his tongue around his mouth as he finished his vole. “Tigerstar may have
failed with the dog pack but he's bound to try something else.”

“I'll take Fernpaw and Ashpaw,” Firestar decided. “And Thornclaw. He'll be looking forward to his first Gathering as a warrior. And Sandstorm, Graystripe, and Frostfur. That should leave you with enough fighting strength if Tigerstar sends warriors to attack.”

“You think he'll break the truce?” inquired Whitestorm.

Firestar flicked his ears. “What do you think? He led the dog pack to us—do you think he'd bother about a little thing like ignoring the will of StarClan?”

“StarClan?” Whitestorm snorted. “Tigerstar behaves as if he's never heard of StarClan.” He paused, and then asked, “What about the two young apprentices—Tigerstar's kits? Do you want to take them with you?”

Firestar shook his head. “Not in a hundred moons. You know what's going to happen, don't you? Tigerstar wants those kits. At the last Gathering, he gave Bluestar one moon to decide whether to hand them over. That time's up now. If Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw are there, I wouldn't put it past Tigerstar to try taking them from the Gathering.”

“Nor would I.” Whitestorm rumbled in agreement. “You think we should keep them, then?”

Firestar was startled. “Don't you?” He had assumed that ThunderClan would insist on their right to keep the two apprentices, but if his deputy thought that they should give the young cats to their father, Firestar would consider his opinion carefully.

But Whitestorm was nodding. “There's no question that they're ThunderClan kits. Their mother is ThunderClan, and so was their father at the time they were born. Tigerstar going to ShadowClan doesn't alter that. But if we want to keep them, we'll have to fight for them.”

“Then we fight,” Firestar meowed determinedly. “Besides,” he added, “if we meekly hand them over, Tigerstar will see that as a sign of weakness. He'd be making more demands before you could say ‘mouse.'”

“True.”

Firestar took another bite of squirrel, his eyes narrowing as his thoughts moved to the approaching Gathering. “You know, Whitestorm,” he began, “Tigerstar won't have it all his own way. I've got news for the Gathering, too. How do you think the other Clans will react when I tell them how Tigerstar tried to use the dog pack to destroy us? Not even Broken tail was as ruthless as that. Even Tigerstar's
own
Clan will turn against him. They might even drive him from the forest, and then we'll be rid of him.”

Whitestorm's ears twitched; to Firestar's surprise the white warrior didn't look as optimistic as he had expected. “Maybe,” he meowed, “but don't be surprised if it doesn't work out like that.”

Firestar stared at him. “You think the warrior code allows a cat to have another Clan torn apart by dogs?”

“No, of course not. But Tigerstar could always deny it. What proof do we have?”

Firestar thought seriously about what his deputy was saying. One cat—Longtail—had seen Tigerstar feed a rabbit to the pack. Several of the Clan had detected Tigerstar's scent on the trail of rabbits. And Tigerstar had attacked Firestar himself close to the gorge, to make sure that the dog pack caught him and pulled him down. Only Bluestar's sudden appearance had saved him.

True, Mistyfoot and Stonefur had witnessed Tigerstar's presence by the river that day, but they were already having problems within their own Clan. If they spoke up against Tigerstar their Clan mates might not believe them. It would be wrong, Firestar realized, to add to their troubles.

And all the rest of his evidence rested on the word of ThunderClan cats alone. Both WindClan and RiverClan knew there had been a serious rift between Tigerstar and his birth Clan that had driven the former deputy to leave. Tigerstar could try to make it seem as if the ThunderClan cats were lying.

“Then we'll see who they believe,” Firestar insisted angrily. “Not every cat thinks that Tigerstar is StarClan's gift to the forest. He won't have it all his own way.”

“Let's hope not.” Whitestorm got to his paws and stretched. “You're going to have a lively time tonight, Firestar. I'll go and tell the warriors you've chosen to be ready.”

As he padded away, Firestar crouched down beside the nettles and finished his squirrel. There was going to be trouble at this Gathering. Tigerstar was certain to claim his kits again, and Firestar suspected that he would take
this opportunity to reveal Bluestar's secret as well and denounce Mistyfoot and Stonefur as half-Clan cats.

But I've got plenty to say, too,
he thought, pushing aside the doubts Whitestorm had raised.
When I've finished, no cat in the forest—not even his own Clan—will trust Tigerstar again.

Firestar paused at the top of
the hollow before leading his cats down to the Gathering. The night was still. Clouds were building up on the horizon, so that Firestar had begun to wonder if StarClan was going to hide the moon to show that it was not their will for the Gathering to take place.

But for now the moon rose high above the clouds, and the scent of cats drifted up to Firestar from the hollow below.

“Only WindClan so far,” murmured Graystripe, who was crouched at Firestar's shoulder. “What's keeping the others?”

Firestar shrugged. “StarClan knows. Personally, I wouldn't care if Tigerstar never showed up.”

He signaled with his tail and led his warriors as they raced down through the bushes and into the clearing at the center of the hollow. As Graystripe had said, only WindClan cats were there. Firestar spotted their leader, Tallstar, seated with his deputy, Deadfoot, near the base of the Great Rock.

“Greetings, Firestar,” Tallstar mewed, dipping his head courteously as Firestar approached. “Tornear told me he met you on your way to Highstones. We grieve for Bluestar.”

“So do her own Clan,” Firestar responded, bowing his
head in turn. “She was a noble leader.”

“But you will be a worthy successor,” meowed the black-and-white tom, surprising Firestar by the warmth of his tone. “You've served your Clan well.”

“I-I hope to serve it even better in future,” Firestar stammered.

Tallstar nodded once more in response, and sprang up to the top of the rock. Before following him, Firestar glanced around at his own cats. They were already circling among the WindClan warriors and beginning to exchange their news. Firestar was pleased to see that the two Clans seemed friendly toward each other, in spite of the recent clash over missing prey. Worried as he was about ShadowClan and RiverClan, it was good to think that he might find allies in WindClan.

Waving with his tail toward Onewhisker and his apprentice, Gorsepaw, who were settling down to talk with Sandstorm, Firestar jumped up to stand beside Tallstar on the top of the Great Rock.

He had stood here once before, when he took Bluestar's place while she was ill after the fire, but he was still not used to looking down on his cats from such a great height, nor seeing their eyes gleam pale from reflected moonlight as they stared up at him. Firestar's tension increased as he thought about what was to come, and the confrontation with Tigerstar that would surely happen before moonset.

“ShadowClan and RiverClan are late,” he remarked.

Tallstar twitched his ears in agreement. “Clouds threaten
the moon,” he pointed out. A trace of anxiety crossed his face. “Perhaps StarClan is angry.”

Looking up, Firestar saw that the clouds he had noticed earlier were spreading farther across the sky.

The air tasted damp, and his fur prickled with expectation. What would it mean, Firestar wondered, if StarClan veiled the moon and Tigerstar was left to plot in secret until the next Gathering?

“Tallstar,” he began, deciding that the time had come to confide in the WindClan leader and ask for his advice. “I'm worried about what Tigerstar might be planning—”

He never finished. A triumphant yowling from the top of the hollow interrupted him, and a heartbeat later more cats raced into the clearing as ShadowClan and RiverClan arrived together, their cats fanning out below him. Tigerstar reached the top of the Great Rock in a single bound, and Leopardstar scrambled up beside him.

“Cats of all Clans!” Tigerstar declared, not waiting to greet Tallstar and Firestar or discuss which of the leaders should speak first. “I have news for you. Listen well, for great change is coming to the forest.”

Firestar stared at the ShadowClan leader in confusion. When Tigerstar first mentioned news, he had thought for a moment he was referring to Mistyfoot and Stonefur's half-Clan heritage. Yet that would not merit such a spectacular arrival or make Tigerstar talk about great change.

Below them in the clearing there was dead silence. All the cats stared up at the Great Rock, their eyes wide as they
waited for Tigerstar to explain. Every hair on Firestar's pelt began to bristle, and he did not know whether it was due to the tension of the assembled warriors or the threatening rain clouds.

“Great change,” Tigerstar repeated. “And StarClan has shown me that it is ShadowClan's task to prepare every cat in the forest to meet it.”

“Every cat?” Firestar heard the quiet mutter from Tallstar. The WindClan leader took a step forward. “Tigerstar—”

“ShadowClan has the favor of StarClan,” Tigerstar swept on, ignoring the interruption. “We are blessed because we survived the sickness, and I have received the blessing of our warrior ancestors most of all because it was my task to restore the Clan and make it great again.”

Oh, yes?
Firestar thought. He refused to believe that StarClan were showing favor to Tigerstar after all that he had done to his birth Clan. Glancing down into the clearing, he looked for Runningnose. The ShadowClan medicine cat had done his best to support his Clan during Nightstar's ill-fated leadership, and Firestar had an idea that he was not entirely happy with Tigerstar as the old tom's replacement. He wondered what Runningnose thought of the announcement Tigerstar had just made, but though his gaze searched the clearing carefully he could see no sign of the medicine cat.

Left at home
, Firestar asked himself,
so he can't deny what Tigerstar claims
?

At the same time, he couldn't help noticing that Stonefur was also missing, and he wondered if the RiverClan deputy
was in more trouble because of his half-Clan parentage, and what he thought about his leader's decision to ally her Clan with Tigerstar.

One cat Firestar did spot in the clearing below was Darkstripe. The former ThunderClan warrior was sitting beside Blackfoot, the ShadowClan deputy, and his eyes shone with admiration as he looked up at Tigerstar. It was clear that he had gone straight to his old ally after being driven out of ThunderClan.

“All of you know,” Tigerstar went on, “that changes have already come to us—unwelcome changes beyond our control. Last leaf-bare much of the forest was covered by floods. A fire swept through ThunderClan territory.” As he mentioned the fire he flashed a look at Firestar, who would have liked to claw the arrogance off his enemy's battle-scarred face. “Twolegs are moving into our territory in ever greater numbers. Life is growing harder, and as the forest changes around us, we must change to meet the crisis.”

Yowls of support rose from below, though Firestar noticed that they came only from ShadowClan and RiverClan cats. The warriors of ThunderClan and WindClan were exchanging stunned glances, as if they couldn't work out what Tigerstar was trying to say. Firestar felt just as shocked. He had been so certain that Tigerstar would reveal Mistyfoot and Stonefur's secret at this Gathering, and demand his own kits, Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw, from ThunderClan. Firestar had braced himself, but now he was left to face a completely different challenge.

“StarClan have shown me the way,” Tigerstar meowed with a glance at the sky, where the storm clouds were massing more thickly still. “To survive the hardship ahead of us, we must join together. As four Clans, we waste our energies in striving against each other. As one, we would be strong. We must unite!”

Total silence met his words. Firestar could hear a faint breeze stirring the leafless branches of the four oak trees, and in the distance a mutter of thunder. He gaped at Tigerstar. A single Clan in the forest? When StarClan had always decreed that there should be four?

“Leopardstar has already agreed to join RiverClan with ShadowClan,” Tigerstar told them. “We shall be joint leaders of a greater Clan, to be known as TigerClan.”

Joint leaders?
Firestar didn't believe that for a moment. Tigerstar would never share his leadership with any cat.

Now Tigerstar turned to Firestar and Tallstar. “We have come to invite you to join the new Clan,” he meowed, his amber eyes glittering. “Let us rule the forest together in friendship and peace.”

Before he had finished speaking, Tallstar stepped forward, his fur bristling aggressively. But it was not to Tigerstar that he spoke; instead he addressed all the cats in the clearing below.

“TigerClan was the name of one of the great Clans of ancient times.” Tallstar's voice rang out as strong and clear as if he were still a young cat. “Tigerstar has no right to use it now. Nor does he have the right to change the number of
Clans in the forest. We have lived as four Clans for innumerable seasons, following the warrior code laid down for us by StarClan. To throw aside our ancient ways would bring disaster.” Turning to Tigerstar, he hissed, “I'll die before I join my Clan to yours!”

Tigerstar blinked slowly. Firestar could see a dangerous gleam in his eyes, but his voice was calm as he replied, “Tallstar, I understand. These are important matters, and an older cat like yourself will need time to see that what I'm suggesting is for the good of all our Clans.”

“I'm not so old that I've lost my wits, you piece of fox dung!” Tallstar snarled.

Tigerstar flattened his ears, but he kept his temper. “And what does the new leader of ThunderClan think?” he sneered. All the hatred he had ever felt toward the flame-colored warrior was contained in those words, and even the air felt scorched.

Firestar's veins throbbed as though they were filled with ice as he imagined the future. His territory and Tallstar's lay between Tigerstar's and Leopardstar's. With ShadowClan and RiverClan in alliance, the two remaining Clans could be crushed between them.

Glancing down, Firestar saw unease spread among the ThunderClan and WindClan warriors. Sandstorm was on her paws, yowling, “Never, Firestar, never!” but some of the WindClan cats were talking urgently to each other, as if they were considering Tigerstar's proposition. The dark tabby warrior had been clever, Firestar realized. Much of what he
had said was true—times were growing harder, for all the reasons he had given. Maybe some cats would believe their problems could be solved by joining together as one Clan. But Firestar was convinced that the cats of the forest could fulfill their destiny only if there were four Clans. And even if he had considered for one moment the idea of joining together as one, he would have rejected it if Tigerstar was to be the new Clan's leader.

“Well, Firestar,” Tigerstar rumbled, with another swift glance at the storm-dark sky. “Have you lost your tongue?”

Firestar took a couple of paces that brought him to Tallstar's side. “I'll never let you take over my Clan,” he spat at Tigerstar.

“Make us,” Tallstar invited. “If you can.”

“Make you?” Tigerstar's amber eyes widened; for a heartbeat he looked almost genuinely hurt. “I came here in peace with a plan to help us all. Tallstar, Firestar, I want you to recognize that this is the right decision and come to me willingly. But don't delay too long,” he added, a hint of menace in his voice. “StarClan will not wait forever.”

Fury blazed up in Firestar. How dared Tigerstar claim that his attempt to take over the whole forest was the will of StarClan?

Spinning around, he turned his back on the ShadowClan leader and paced to the front of the rock, where he could look down on all the assembled cats. The time had come for him to speak. When he had finished, Tigerstar would be revealed for what he was—a murderer who would wade through the
blood of countless cats to get what he wanted. Let Leopardstar see the kind of cat she had trusted!

“Cats of WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan!” Firestar yowled. “I can stay silent no longer. You cannot trust Tigerstar any more than you would trust a cornered badger.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a swift movement from Tigerstar, a bunching of muscles under the rippling tabby pelt, but then the ShadowClan leader glanced at the sky again, controlled himself, and went on listening with a look of deliberate indifference.

“I know many of you must have wondered why Tigerstar left ThunderClan,” Firestar went on. “You want to know the truth? This cat is power-hungry and dangerous, and he is willing to murder other cats to get what he wants.”

He broke off as lightning stabbed down from the sky, a blazing claw of white fire that raked the forest. Thunder crashed overhead, drowning Firestar's words; it sounded as if the Great Rock itself were being torn up.

“A sign! A sign!” Tigerstar yowled. He gazed up at the sky, his yellow eyes glowing in the light of the moon that still shone between the gathering clouds. “I thank you, StarClan, for showing us your will. This Gathering is over.”

Calling a command to his cats to follow him, he bunched his muscles to leap down from the Great Rock. Before he sprang he turned his head, eyes narrowed with hatred. “Bad luck, kittypet,” he spat. “Think about my offer. It's your last chance to save those miserable cats.”

Before Firestar had the chance to respond, the ShadowClan
leader launched himself from the Great Rock and disappear e d into the bushes that lined the hollow. ShadowClan cats poured after him. Leopard star jumped down in her turn and gathered the warriors of RiverClan.

Firestar and Tallstar faced each other, shocked and bewildered, as lightning stabbed down again. A gust of wind buffeted the rock, almost carrying Firestar off his paws, and rain poured from the sky as the storm broke.

Almost blinded by the lashing rain, Firestar half jumped, half slithered down the side of the rock and streaked across the open ground to the shelter of the bushes, calling to his warriors as he went. Moments later he found himself crouching beneath a hawthorn bush with Graystripe and Sandstorm huddled close to him. Shaking rain from his pelt, he looked around for Tallstar, but the WindClan leader had not followed him.

The rain was striking the ground so hard that the drops scattered into a mist of spray. The four oaks thrashed and groaned in the wind. Grasses and ferns were flattened in the fury of the storm. But the chaos in the clearing was no worse than the chaos in Firestar's mind.