Warriors: Power of Three 01 - The Sight (2 page)

Muddied tree roots shaped a small
opening. In the shadows beyond, the knotted tendrils cradled the smooth soil floor of a cave, hollowed out by moons of wind and water.

A cat padded up the steep path toward the opening, narrowing his eyes as he neared. His flame-colored pelt glowed in the moonlight. His ears twitched, and the bristling of his fur gave away his unease as he sat down at the mouth of the cave and curled his tail across his paws. “You asked me to come.”

From the shadows, a pair of eyes blinked at him—eyes as blue as water reflecting the summer sky. A gray tom, scarred by time and battle, was waiting in the entrance.

“Firestar.” The warrior stepped forward and brushed the ThunderClan leader's cheek with his white-flecked muzzle. “I have to thank you.” His mew was hoarse with age. “You have rebuilt the lost Clan. No cat could have done better.”

“There's no need for thanks.” Firestar dipped his head. “I did only what I had to.”

The old warrior nodded, blinking thoughtfully. “Do you think you have been a good leader for ThunderClan?”

Firestar tensed. “I don't know,” he mewed. “It hasn't been easy, but I've always tried to do what is right for my Clan.”

“No cat would doubt your loyalty,” the old cat rasped. “But how far would it go?”

Firestar's eyes glittered uncertainly as he searched for the words to answer.

“There are difficult times ahead,” the warrior went on before Firestar could reply. “And your loyalty will be tested to the utmost. Sometimes the destiny of one cat is not the destiny of the whole Clan.”

Suddenly the old cat rose stiffly to his paws and stared past Firestar. It seemed he no longer saw the ThunderClan leader but gazed far beyond, to something Firestar could not see.

When he spoke again, the ancient rasp was smoothed from his voice, as though some other cat used his tongue.

“
There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws
.”

“I don't understand,” Firestar meowed. “Kin of my kin? Why are you telling me this?”

The old warrior blinked, his gaze fixed once more on Firestar.

“You must tell me more!” Firestar demanded. “How can I decide what I ought to do if you don't explain?”

The old cat took a deep breath, but when he spoke it was only to say, “Farewell, Firestar. In seasons to come, remember me.”

 

Firestar jerked awake, his belly tight with fear. He blinked with relief when he saw the familiar stone walls of his den in the hollow by the lake. Morning sunlight streamed through the split in the rock. The warmth on his fur soothed him.

He heaved himself to his paws and shook his head, trying to dislodge the dream. But this was no ordinary dream, for he remembered being in that cave as clearly as if it had happened a moon ago, rather than the many, many seasons he had lived since then. When the old warrior cast his strange prophecy, Firestar's daughters had not been born and the four Clans had still lived in the forest. The prophecy had followed him on the Great Journey over the mountains and settled with him in his new home by the lake; and every full moon, the memory of it returned to fill his dreams. Even Sandstorm, who slept beside him, knew nothing of the words he had shared with the ancient cat.

He gazed out from his den at the waking camp below. His deputy, Brambleclaw, was stretching in the center of the clearing, flexing his powerful shoulders as he clawed at the ground. Squirrelflight padded toward her mate, greeting him with a purr.

I pray that I am wrong,
Firestar thought. And yet his heart felt hollow; he feared the prophecy was about to reveal itself.

The three have come….

Leaves brushed Jaykit's pelt like falling
snow. More crackled underpaw, stiff with frost and so deep that he struggled with every step. An icy wind pierced his fur—still nursery soft—and made him shiver.

“Wait for me!” he wailed. He could hear his mother's voice ahead, her warm body always a few steps out of reach.

“You'll never catch it!”

A high-pitched mew sliced into his dream, and Jaykit woke with a start. He pricked his ears, listening to the familiar sounds of the bramble nursery. His sister and brother scrabbling in play. Ferncloud lapping her dozing kits. There was no snow now; he was in the camp, safe and warm. He could smell his mother's nest, empty but still fresh with her scent.

“Oof!” He let out a gasp of surprise as his sister, Hollykit, landed heavily on top of him. “Watch out!”

“You're awake at last!” She rolled off him and pushed her hind paws into his flank. With a leap, she twisted away and grasped for something just out of reach.

Mouse! Jaykit could smell it. His brother and sister must
be playing catch with fresh-kill newly brought into camp. He sprang to his paws and gave a quick stretch that sent a shiver through his small body.

“Catch this, Jaykit!” Hollykit mewed. The mouse whistled past his ear.

“Slow slug!” she teased as he turned too late to grab it.

“I've got it!” Lionkit called. He pounced on the fresh-kill, his paws thudding on the nursery's packed earth floor.

Jaykit wasn't going to let his brother steal the prize from him so easily. He might be the smallest in the litter, but he was fast. He leaped toward Lionkit, knocking him out of the way and stretching his forepaw to reach for the mouse.

He landed in a clumsy skid and rolled over, feeling a jolt of alarm as he realized it wasn't moss underneath him, but the squirming warmth of Ferncloud's two tiny kits. Ferncloud gave him a shove, pushing him away with her hind paws.

Jaykit gasped. “Have I hurt them?”

“Of course not,” Ferncloud snapped. “You're too small to squash a flea!” Foxkit and Icekit mewled as she tucked them closer into her belly. “But you three are getting too rough for the nursery!”

“Sorry, Ferncloud,” Hollykit mewed.

“Sorry,” Jaykit echoed, apologetic even though Ferncloud's comment on his size had stung him. At least the queen's anger would not last. She would easily forgive kits she had suckled—when Squirrelflight's milk had not come, it was Ferncloud who had fed Jaykit, Hollykit, and Lionkit in the moons before Foxkit and Icekit were born.

“It's about time Firestar made you apprentices and moved you to the apprentice den,” Ferncloud meowed.

“If only.” Lionkit sighed.

“It won't be long,” Hollykit pointed out. “We're almost six moons old.”

Jaykit felt the familiar surge of excitement as he imagined becoming an apprentice warrior. He couldn't wait to begin his training. But without even seeing Ferncloud's face, he could sense the flicker of doubt that prickled through the queen's pelt and knew that she was looking at him with pity in her eyes. His fur bristled with frustration—he was just as ready to become an apprentice as Hollykit and Lionkit!

Ferncloud answered Hollykit, unaware that Jaykit had sensed her moment of unease. “Well, you're not six moons yet! And until you are, you can do your playing outside!” she ordered.

“Yes, Ferncloud,” Lionkit replied meekly.

“Come on, Jaykit,” Hollykit called. “Bring the mouse with you.” The branches of the bramble bush rustled as she slid out through the nursery entrance.

Jaykit picked up the mouse delicately in his teeth. It was newly killed and soft, and he didn't want to make it bleed—they could have a good, clean game with it yet. With Lionkit close behind him, he scrabbled out after his sister. The barbs of the entrance tunnel clawed satisfyingly at his fur, sharp enough to tug at his pelt but not so sharp that they hurt.

Outside, the air smelled crisp and frosty. Firestar was sharing tongues with Sandstorm below Highledge. Dustpelt sat with them.

“We should be thinking about expanding the warriors' den,” the dark tabby advised his leader. “It's crowded already, and Daisy and Sorreltail's kits won't be apprentices forever.”

Nor will we!
thought Jaykit.

Brightheart and Cloudtail were grooming each other in a pool of sunlight on the other side of the clearing. Jaykit could hear the steady lapping of their tongues like water dripping from a rain-soaked leaf. Like all the ThunderClan cats, their pelts were leaf-bare thick, but the muscles beneath had grown lean with scarce prey and hard hunting.

Hunger was not the only hardship leaf-bare had brought. Molepaw, one of Sorreltail's kits, had died of a cough that had not responded to Leafpool's herbs, and Rainwhisker had been killed during a storm, struck by a falling branch.

Brightheart paused from her washing. “How are you today, Jaykit?”

Jaykit placed the mouse between his paws, safe from Hollykit's grasp. “I'm fine, of course,” he meowed. Why did Brightheart have to make such a fuss over him? He'd only been sleeping in the nursery, not out raiding ShadowClan territory! It was like she was always keeping her one good eye on him. Eager to prove he was just as strong as his brother and sister, Jaykit flung the mouse high over Hollykit's head.

As Lionkit thundered past him and grappled with Hollykit to be the first to catch it, Squirrelflight's voice sounded from the side of the nursery. “You should show more respect for your prey!” Their mother was busy pressing leaves into gaps in the prickly walls that surrounded the queens' den.

Daisy was helping her. “Kits will be kits,” the white she-cat purred indulgently.

Jaykit's nostrils flared at Daisy's strange scent. It was different from the Clanborn cats', and some of the warriors still referred to her as a kittypet because she had once lived in the horseplace and eaten Twoleg food. Daisy wasn't a warrior, because she showed no sign that she ever wished to leave the nursery, but her kits Mousepaw, Hazelpaw, and Berrypaw were apprentices, and it seemed to Jaykit that they were as Clanborn as any of his Clanmates.

“They won't be kits much longer,” Squirrelflight told Daisy, sweeping more leaves to her side with her long tail. The brittle rustling noise reminded Jaykit of his dream.

“All the more reason to let them enjoy themselves now,” Daisy replied.

Jaykit felt a wave of affection for the milky white she-cat. Though Squirrelflight was his mother, it had been Daisy who had warmed and washed him alongside Ferncloud when Clan duties had kept his mother away from the nursery. Squirrelflight had returned to her warrior duties soon after her kits had been born. Though she still had a nest in the nursery, she used it less and less, preferring to sleep in the warriors' den, where she wouldn't disturb the kits and nursing queens when she left on early patrols.

“Can you feel the draft now, Ferncloud?” Squirrelflight called through the nursery wall.

“No.” Ferncloud's voice drifted out through the tangle of branches. “We're warm as fox cubs in here.”

“Good,” Squirrelflight meowed. “Can you clear up here, Daisy? I promised Brambleclaw I'd help him check for loose rocks around the hollow.”

“Loose rocks?” Daisy gasped.

“It's good to have such solid defenses.” Squirrelflight's voice echoed a little as she gazed at the sheer stone cliffs that enclosed the camp on almost every side. “But the frost might have loosened stones, and we don't want them falling into the camp.”

Jaykit's attention was distracted by the bitter stench of mouse bile that came from the elders' den. Leafpool must be removing a tick from Longtail or Mousefur. A much nicer odor heralded the return of two of Daisy's kits—Mousepaw and Hazelpaw were bringing fresh-kill back from a hunting expedition. They hurried excitedly into the camp, Mousepaw carrying two mice and Hazelpaw with a large thrush in her jaws. They dropped them at the fresh-kill pile.

Dustpelt padded over to greet them. “Looks like you did well, Hazelpaw!” he praised his apprentice. “You both did.” The apprentices purred, and Jaykit noticed how much they sounded like their mother, as though their purrs were muffled by their thick, soft pelts.

A sudden rush of wind and fur knocked Jaykit off his paws.

“Are you playing with us or not?” Hollykit demanded.

Jaykit leaped up, shaking himself. “Of course I am!”

“Well, Lionkit's got the mouse, and he won't let me have it!” Hollykit complained.

“Let's get him then!” Jaykit hared across the clearing
toward his brother. He bundled into Lionkit and pressed him to the frosty earth while Hollykit dragged the mouse from Lionkit's claws.

“Unfair!” Lionkit protested.

“We don't have to be fair,” Hollykit squeaked triumphantly. “We're not in StarClan yet!”

“And you never
will
be if you keep playing with food that way!” Stormfur had paused beside them on his way to the warriors' den. His words were stern, though his voice was warm. “It's leaf-bare. We should thank StarClan for every morsel.”

Lionkit wriggled out from underneath Jaykit. “We're just practicing our hunting skills!”

“We have to practice,” Jaykit added, sitting up. “We'll be apprentices soon.”

Stormfur was silent for a moment; then he stretched forward and gave Jaykit a quick lick between the ears. “Of course,” he murmured. “I was forgetting.”

Frustration flared in Jaykit's belly. Why did the whole Clan treat him like a newborn kit when he was nearly six moons old? He shook his head crossly. Stormfur wasn't even a proper ThunderClan cat! His father, Graystripe, had once been ThunderClan's deputy, but Stormfur had grown up with his mother's Clanmates in RiverClan, and his mate, Brook, had come from far away in the mountains. What right did he have to act superior?

Hollykit's belly rumbled. “How about we eat this mouse instead of playing with it?”

“You two share it,” Lionkit offered. “I'll get something from the fresh-kill pile.”

Jaykit turned toward the heap of prey caught by the warriors that morning. A faint odor disturbed him. He took in a deeper breath, opening his jaws to draw the scents into his mouth: he could smell Hazelpaw's freshly killed thrush and Mousepaw's mice, their blood still warm. But below there was a sour smell that made his tongue curl. He padded past his brother, his tail held stiffly behind him.

“What are you doing?” Lionkit asked.

Jaykit didn't answer. He nosed his way in among the small dead bodies, caught hold of a wren, and pulled it free. “Look!” he mewed, rolling the bird over with his paw. The creature's belly was alive with maggots.

“Ugh!” Hollykit squealed.

Leafpool emerged from the elders' den, a wad of moss in her jaws. Jaykit could smell the mouse bile on it even over the stench of the rotten wren. She paused by the three kits. “Well spotted,” she praised them, dropping the bile-soaked moss at her paws. “I know prey is scarce at the moment, but better to eat nothing than to eat something that will hurt your belly.”

“Jaykit found it,” Hollykit told her.

“Well, he's saved me a patient,” Leafpool meowed. “I'm busy enough as it is. Brackenfur and Birchfall have whitecough.”

“Do you want help gathering herbs?” Jaykit offered. He had never been out of the camp, and he was desperate to explore the forest. He wanted to smell the boundary markers;
up till now he had tasted only the weak scents of ShadowClan and WindClan carried from the borders on the pelts of ThunderClan patrols. He wanted to feel the breeze fresh off the lake, untainted by the scents of the forest. He wanted to learn where the markers were along each boundary so that he could defend every pawstep of his Clan's territory.

“You could gather far more herbs with us to carry them back to camp!” Lionkit put in.

“You know you're not meant to leave the camp until you're apprentices,” Leafpool reminded them.

“But you'll need help if there are sick cats…,” Jaykit insisted.

Leafpool silenced him by flicking the tip of her tail over his mouth. “I'm sorry, Jaykit,” she meowed. “It won't be long until Firestar gives you your apprentice names. But until then, you'll have to wait like any other kits.”

Jaykit understood her meaning. Their father was the Clan deputy, and their mother was Firestar's daughter; Leafpool was reminding them yet again that it did not entitle them to special treatment. His tail twitched crossly. Sometimes it felt like the rest of the Clan went out of their way to make sure he and his littermates
never
got special treatment. It wasn't fair!

“I'm sorry,” Leafpool meowed. “But that's just the way it is.” She picked up the foul-smelling moss and padded back to the medicine den.

“Nice try,” Lionkit whispered in Jaykit's ear. “But it looks like we're stuck in the camp for a while longer.”

“Leafpool always thinks she can win us over just because she brings wool for our nests from the moorland,” Jaykit hissed. “Or pieces of honeycomb to lick. Why can't she just give us what we really want—a chance to explore outside the camp?”

Hollykit swished her tail over the frozen ground. Jaykit knew she wanted to explore beyond the camp walls as much as he and Lionkit did. “But she's right,” she mewed grudgingly. “We must stick to the warrior code.”

They ate, sharing the mouse and a vole between them. As Jaykit washed his face afterward, drawing his paws over his ears to give them a thorough cleaning, he noticed Brook emerging from the warriors' den to join Cloudtail and Brightheart in the sun. She carried a different scent from the other warriors, the scent of mountains and tumbling water. It seemed to make her the strangest of all the cats who were not Clanborn. Was it just her scent, Jaykit wondered, or was it something more he sensed in the mountain she-cat—some wariness that had never left her? He could not quite put his whisker on it, but he was sure that Brook felt out of place here in the forest.