The Blazing Star (35 page)

“Yes, it's my time.” Stoneteller reached out her tail and laid it reassuringly on Sun Shadow's shoulder. “And my death will bring a time of great change for the mountain cats. But all will be well,” she went on at Sun Shadow's gasp of apprehension. “A new leader will be chosen, and every cat will survive.”

Sun Shadow nodded, feeling his fears recede a little.

“But you will not be part of the Tribe by the time the new leader is named,” Stoneteller went on.

A bolt of understanding, fierce as lightning, passed through
Sun Shadow at Stoneteller's words. He stared at her in surprise.

“You knew that—didn't you?” Stoneteller asked gently.

Sun Shadow felt as if his throat was as dry as a sun-baked rock. “Where—where will I go?” he rasped.

“That is for you to decide,” Stoneteller replied, though Sun Shadow sensed she could have said more if she had wished to.

“I could try to find my father,” he mewed eagerly, his heart beginning to pound with excitement at the thought of meeting Moon Shadow.

Stoneteller didn't respond. Her jaws gaped wide in a yawn. “I'm tired,” she murmured. “I need to sleep.”

She staggered to her paws and Sun Shadow let her lean on his shoulder until she reached her nest. She sank down into the moss and feathers with a sigh and closed her eyes. Almost at once her regular breathing told Sun Shadow that she was asleep.

Once he was certain she was resting, Sun Shadow turned away and padded out of the cave. He tried not to think about how still and lifeless Stoneteller's small, curled form looked, sunk among the bedding.

It's too much like she's . . .

Sun Shadow cut off the thought. He bounded across the floor of the main cavern, then padded along the narrow path that led behind the waterfall, until he emerged onto the rocks that overlooked the pool. Finding a flat boulder to sit on, he gazed around him at the mountain peaks that surrounded his home.

At first he hoped that he could make out some kind of destination to aim for when he was ready to leave. But everything looked so vast and frightening: a huge expanse of gray rock and scree, with only the occasional scrubby bush to break the monotony, or narrow streams winding their way down steep valleys.

How will I ever find my father in such a big, wide—messy—world?

Before Sun Shadow could find an answer to his own question, he felt a shadow fall on him. Looking up, he felt claws of terror gripping his chest. A hawk was hovering over him, its wide wingspan blocking out the sunlight. Frozen by panic, Sun Shadow watched as the bird swooped down, its talons extended to clutch and tear.

No!
A horrible realization swept over Sun Shadow.
Is this what Stoneteller meant? Is this why I won't be part of the Tribe any longer?

Sharp Hail's contemptuous words came back into Sun Shadow's mind. A
scrawny thing like you would never stand a chance against a hawk.
Sun Shadow let out a whimper of fear.
Is this my end?
he wondered.
Why?

The huge bird was almost upon him, letting out a harsh screech of triumph. The sound woke some deep instinct within Sun Shadow.
I have to try to fight it!

He scrambled clear of the reaching talons, half jumping, half falling off the flat rock, and lashed out at the hawk with claws extended. But his blow missed the huge bird and instead he struck at the rock wall, letting out a yowl of pain.

There was no time to check if he had lost a claw. The hawk had mounted into the sky for a few wingbeats, then aimed for
him again in a lethal dive.

Sun Shadow's heart was pounding, and his whole body shook from ears to tail-tip. He bunched his muscles against the tremors and reared up, bringing his forepaws together to strike out at the hawk again.

This time his blow landed, catching the hawk and slamming it down on the ground. He caught a glimpse of its yellow, glaring eyes as it tried to slash at him with its beak. Sun Shadow dug his claws in harder, but the bird tore itself away with a frightened shriek. Kicking and flapping, it struggled back into the sky and flew off; a few feathers drifted down onto the rock beside Sun Shadow.

Panting hard, Sun Shadow watched the hawk until it faded to a dot in the distance. Triumph was gushing through him.
I drove the hawk away!

Feeling more confident, Sun Shadow surveyed the landscape again. But then he remembered that he was supposed to be looking after Stoneteller.

What if she wakes up and needs me, and I'm not there? What if . . .
?

Sun Shadow ran quickly back along the path behind the waterfall and bounded across the cave.

“Hey, Sun Shadow!” Melting Ice called out. “Come and play with me!”

“Later!” Sun Shadow called back, waving his tail at his young half sister.
I haven't got time to play now.

He plunged into the tunnel that led to Stoneteller's den, and found her facing the entrance, sitting with her tail curled around her paws. She was watching him with a clear gaze, as if
she had been expecting him to appear.

“You know now, don't you?” she mewed. “You're ready.”

Sun Shadow instantly understood. “Yes, I'm ready to leave,” he replied. “I drove off a hawk out there, and that means I've proved myself.” Then sadness flooded over him as he realized where his paws were leading him. “I can't leave you, Stoneteller,” he added. “Not like this!”

Stoneteller dipped her head gently. “Don't worry about me. I've lived a long life, and soon I'll be among friends. It's time for you to find your own life, your own friends who will greet you when at last you make the journey to the stars.”

Sun Shadow blinked and dared to touch his nose to the old she-cat's. “Thank you,” he purred.

That night, when his Tribemates had settled down to sleep and the cavern was quiet, Sun Shadow slid out of his sleeping hollow. He hesitated for a few heartbeats, looking down at his family. Sharp Hail, sleeping a little to one side. The three kits, nestled cozily within the curve of Dewy Leaf's body.

Dewy Leaf . . .

Sun Shadow's heart came near to breaking at the thought of leaving his mother. He knew how sad she would be when she realized that he was truly gone.

But I know her life is here, with Sharp Hail and my half brothers and half sister.

Sun Shadow bent over his sleeping mother and gently touched his nose to hers, not wanting to wake her. “I'll be okay,” he promised in a whisper.

He drew back silently and padded across the cavern floor toward the waterfall. But before he reached the opening that led out onto the mountain, a meow sounded from behind him.

“Where are you going?”

Gulping, Sun Shadow whirled around to see Quiet Rain watching him from the top of a rock beside the cave wall, her eyes wide with alarm.

“Just—just out for some air,” he stammered.

Quiet Rain blinked. “Please, Sun Shadow. I'm not stupid. You were saying good-bye back there.”

Claws of desperation gripped Sun Shadow's heart. “Don't tell them!” he begged, padding up to Quiet Rain. “Don't try to stop me. I need to do this.”

Quiet Rain jumped down from her perch, landing neatly on all four paws beside Sun Shadow. Though she didn't speak, there was determination in her gaze.

She's going to tell Sharp Hail!
Sun Shadow thought, anguished.

He opened his jaws to beg Quiet Rain once more to let him go, but before he could speak a piercing cry came from the tunnel leading to Stoneteller's den. Quiet Rain turned toward the sound, and while she was distracted Sun Shadow slipped out onto the path that led behind the waterfall.

Stoneteller is dying!

His paws were tugging at him to go back and do what he could to ease the old cat's last moments, but he knew that if he did that, he would never get away.

I'm doing what she wanted. . . .

Sun Shadow emerged from the end of the path and began to scramble down the rocks, his paws sliding where the surface was slick from the spray of the waterfall. Down and down into the darkness . . . Sun Shadow's heart was pounding, and he had no idea where he was going, only that he had to get away from the cave as fast as he could. Sharp stones poked into his pads, and once he almost hurled himself over a precipice because he didn't see the curve in the path in time.

Sun Shadow drew back, shivering against the rock wall, trying to block out his glimpse of the dizzying depths. As he was gathering himself to go on, he heard paw steps approaching him from farther up the rocks.

Springing up, Sun Shadow tried to pick up the pace, to escape from the cat who was pursuing him.

“Wait!” a voice yowled from behind him.

Sun Shadow realized that the sound came from a she-cat. He halted in surprise and turned.
Has my mother followed me to say good-bye?
Then he spotted Quiet Rain only a few tail-lengths behind him on the path.

“I'm not going back!” he blurted out, his shoulder fur bristling.

“Of course you're not,” Quiet Rain replied. “But we'd better hurry. Stoneteller has died, and Sharp Hail is waking all the cats.”

Even though he had known what was happening, Sun Shadow felt a pain gripping at his heart when he heard the news of Stoneteller's death. Then as he fought with his grief, he realized what Quiet Rain had said.

“We?” he repeated.

“I'm coming with you,” Quiet Rain hissed, squeezing past him on the narrow path. “Now let's hurry. The Sun Trail is long, and we don't know what dangers we'll face. . . .”

B
ACK ADS