Warriors: Omen of the Stars #6: The Last Hope (12 page)

Lionblaze followed the moonlit trail back
to camp.
Should I tell Hollyleaf she’s the fourth cat?
The thought had been stuck like a burr in his mind since Jayfeather had told them about the Tribe’s prophecy.
But what if she’s not? She wanted to be one of the Three so much. Is it fair to raise her hopes again?

Lionblaze tried to think about something else. Overhead the trees rustled in the breeze. The birds were quiet now that night had fallen. He glanced over his shoulder. Sorreltail and Squirrelflight padded behind him. They’d patrolled the borders. There was no sign of trouble. Now they were heading home.

Squirrelflight yawned. “I can’t wait to get to my nest.”

Sorreltail shook out her pelt. “It’s not that late.” She glanced up. “It’s just getting dark earlier.”

Squirrelflight shivered. “And chilly.”

Why do we need a fourth cat?
Lionblaze’s mind started whirling again.
Doesn’t StarClan believe in us? A
small pang jabbed his heart.
I was going to save the Clans. It was my destiny. But now…
Now the prophecy had changed. Lionblaze stared at his paws as they followed the well-worn trail down toward the hollow.
Has my destiny changed, too?

“Is everything quiet?” Firestar was waiting for them in the clearing. The camp looked deserted, the Clan tucked in their dens for the night.

“WindClan re-marked its border,” Lionblaze reported. “ShadowClan seems to have been sniffing around the big bramble, but they haven’t strayed into our territory.”

Firestar’s green gaze glittered in the dark. “Anything else?”

Lionblaze knew he was asking if there was any sign of the Dark Forest warriors.
Surely they couldn’t break through from the Place of No Stars?
But Lionblaze had seen the wounds Ivypool carried back from her dreams. Those were real enough.

“Nothing,” Lionblaze reported. He dipped his head to the ThunderClan leader and headed for the warriors’ den. His nest was tucked near to the trunk of the fallen beech and he picked his way carefully among the sleeping warriors, settling eventually beside Cinderheart, asleep in her nest. He closed his eyes. But his mind kept churning.

“Hey!” Cinderheart jerked her head up. “Stop fidgeting!”

“Sorry.” Lionblaze lifted his muzzle.

“Can’t you sleep?” Cinderheart blinked at him.

“I’m not used to the early nights,” he admitted.

Cinderheart heaved herself to her paws. “Come on.” She hopped out of her nest. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Lionblaze watched her slide from the den.
Like we used to.
Hope flickered in his chest. He followed Cinderheart into the clearing. The moonlight turned her gray pelt silver.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she muttered, turning as he reached her and stalking away toward the thorn barrier. Confused, Lionblaze followed as she led him up the slope and out of the forest. The lake glittered below them.

“Come on.” Cinderheart raced away along the ridge.

Lionblaze bounded after her, speeding down the hillside, swerving around bushes, his paws skidding on the grass. At the bottom, he leaped the short, steep drop onto the beach.

Cinderheart was already waiting at the water’s edge. “When I see the lake like this, it feels like nothing could ever go wrong. Not for us, not for any of the Clans.”

Lionblaze followed her gaze toward the distant shore. The marshlands of RiverClan glowed beneath the moon, rippling in the starlight as wind stirred the reeds. He could feel Cinderheart’s pelt brushing his.

“It’s never going to happen, is it?” Cinderheart turned her sad, blue gaze on him. “No matter how much we want it to.”

“What’s never going to happen?” Suddenly Lionblaze wished he hadn’t spoken. He knew what she meant, and he didn’t want to hear her answer.

She turned back toward the lake. “We have to stop fighting our destinies.”

“I’m not fighting mine.”

“Really?” Cinderheart rested against him for a moment. “Then why did you follow me here?”

“How do I know you’re not part of my destiny?”

Cinderheart pointed her muzzle toward the stars. “You’re closer to them than you are to me.”

“That’s not true!”

“But StarClan has chosen
you
to protect the Clans.” Pebbles crunched beneath her paws. “I can’t get in the way of something so important.”

“Don’t
I
get to choose?” Lionblaze argued.

Cinderheart looked at him. “It’s not that simple. I need to figure out my own destiny, too. I have to find out if I’m supposed to be a medicine cat or a warrior. And I can’t do that if I take a mate.”

Lionblaze bristled. “So you wouldn’t choose me over your destiny?”

“Do you want me to make the same mistake Leafpool did?”

Her words sliced through his heart. “That’s not fair!”

“None of this is fair.” Cinderheart turned and headed for the slope. “We have to make the right choice. Lives depend on it.” She glanced back. “Are you coming?”

Lionblaze ignored her. The lake reflected his face, dark against the starry sky. He stared down, losing himself in the image he saw there.
Is that really me?

Jerking back, Lionblaze growled, “I can’t do this anymore.” He turned, hoping to see Cinderheart’s warm gaze, but she’d gone. Suddenly weary, he sank onto the stones and closed his eyes.

Lionblaze woke feeling stiff and cold. Water lapped at the pebbles a whisker from his nose. Dew soaked his pelt. Above the moor, a streak of pale dawn lit the sky. Wincing, he stumbled to his paws and shook out his fur.
I’ll show Cinderheart we don’t have to be ruled by our destinies.
Numb with cold, he headed up the hillside and into the trees.

A gray pelt was moving between the bushes down below.
Graystripe.
Lionblaze tasted the air.
Cloudtail, Squirrelflight, and Millie too.
It must be the dawn patrol. Plunging down the slope, he raced to catch up.

“Can I join you?” He skidded to a halt behind Squirrelflight.

She spun to face him, her eyes wide. “Lionblaze!”

Graystripe turned. “Were you out all night?” His gaze swept along Lionblaze’s damp pelt.

“I slept by the lake,” Lionblaze murmured.

Cloudtail tipped his head. “Are you okay?”

“Of course.” Lionblaze paced around his Clanmates. “Where are we heading?”

Millie crunched over the leaves and stood beside him. “The ShadowClan border.”

“Good.” Lionblaze ducked beneath an arching fern and nosed his way into a swath of bracken. His paws itched for trouble.

Graystripe pushed past him, bending the brown stalks to take the lead. Lionblaze fell back. Fresh warrior scents were drifting on the wind. He called to Graystripe, “Can you smell that?”

“Smells like Ratscar,” Graystripe growled. The gray warrior quickened his pace. Lionblaze speeded into a trot, pelt pricking with excitement.

Graystripe bristled. “I can see them!”

Six ShadowClan warriors moved along the border.

Lionblaze’s fur rippled along his spine. He opened his mouth, the scents of ShadowClan so strong they soured his tongue. Cloudtail unsheathed his claws and let them sink into the soft earth as if he was imagining a ShadowClan pelt beneath his paws. Millie halted beside the white warrior, her tail bushed up. Squirrelflight arched her back.

A growl rumbled in Millie’s throat. “Are they planning an invasion?”

Lionblaze flattened his ears. “They wouldn’t dare.”

Sniffing trees and ferns, the ShadowClan warriors seemed to be searching for something.

“Come on!” Lionblaze surged forward.

Graystripe chased after him with Squirrelflight and Millie pounding behind. Cloudtail swung wide, protecting the patrol’s flank. The ShadowClan warriors froze as the ThunderClan warriors skidded to a halt at the border. Lionblaze recognized Ratscar, Smokefoot, and Stoatpaw. With a growl he spotted Dawnpelt behind them, Snowbird and Olivenose beside her.

“What are you doing here?” He scanned the ground on the ThunderClan side of the border, looking for claw marks or leaves disturbed by ShadowClan paws.

“Don’t bother!” Ratscar squared his shoulders, hissing. “We haven’t crossed the scent line.”

Smokefoot stepped forward. “Which is more than you can say.”

Cloudtail stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

Stoatpaw darted to the boundary and hissed. “A ThunderClan cat has been on our land!”

Lionblaze tasted the air again.
Dovewing!
Her scent hit his nose, fresher than the ShadowClan stench pouring across the border.
She must have been spying.

Dawnpelt barged past Ratscar and leaned across the border, spitting, “So you’re trespassers as well as murderers!”

“Let me check.” He strode across the border, tail whipping behind him. He sniffed out Dovewing’s scent in a moment and stood squarely on it, masking it with his own. “I smell nothing.”

Ratscar glared at him. “Get off our land.”

Lionblaze flexed his claws as the ShadowClan warriors closed in. This was the perfect chance to show Cinderheart he shaped his
own
future.

“Get back here!” Graystripe ordered.

“What’s the matter?” Lionblaze looked slowly around at the ShadowClan cats. “Are you scared I’ll hurt someone?”

“Get back, Lionblaze!” Graystripe growled. “We didn’t come here to start a fight.”

Lionblaze lifted his chin. “Perhaps we got here just in time to stop one,” he growled.

Ratscar backed away. “Is he crazy?” He eyed Graystripe nervously.

Graystripe watched Lionblaze through narrowed eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Squirrelflight’s eyes widened. “Come back, Lionblaze!”

Lionblaze flicked his tail toward her. “They claimed a ThunderClan cat had been on their land,” he snarled. “I’m just giving them proof.” He spat at Ratscar. “Happy now?”

Ratscar narrowed his eyes. “Stoatpaw,” he murmured. “You wanted a chance to practice your attack moves.” He nodded toward Lionblaze. “Go on. Try them.”

Stoatpaw’s whiskers twitched and the skinny ginger apprentice dropped into an attack crouch.
Not him!
Lionblaze bristled with frustration as the ShadowClan cat hurled himself forward. He reared up and batted Stoatpaw away.
Who’s going to believe I was beaten by an apprentice?
While Stoatpaw scrambled to his paws, Lionblaze glared at Ratscar. “Does ShadowClan send its apprentices into battle first?”

Ratscar drew back his lips, showing stained, yellow teeth.

Lionblaze pressed harder. “Do you want me to finish him off before I start on you?”

With a screech, Ratscar lunged toward Lionblaze.

“Help him!” Squirrelflight darted forward but Graystripe trapped her tail under one of his front paws.

“He started this fight,” the warrior growled. “Let him finish it.”

“No!” Lionblaze yowled as Ratscar hit him. Lionblaze lifted his paws to shield his face from the worst of the blows, but he didn’t attempt to strike back; they rained hard and fast and Lionblaze could feel clumps of fur being ripped from his cheeks and shoulders and flanks as he ducked down.
Don’t fight back! Don’t fight back!

When he could feel blood running through his fur, he rolled over and thrust Ratscar away with his hind paws.
They mustn’t think I let him win.
Aware of his Clanmates watching in horror, Lionblaze swept out a paw and hooked Ratscar’s paws from under him in a classic battle move. But Ratscar was no fool. He leaped in time and Lionblaze caught nothing but leaves.

Claws pierced his pelt, reaching deep until Lionblaze screeched out loud.
Is this what it feels like for other cats?

“Get off our land.” With a mighty heave, Ratscar shoved Lionblaze backward, sending him staggering over the border.

Teeth grabbed his scruff. “Enough!” Graystripe was pinning him to the ground. “Hold him!” he ordered Squirrelflight and Cloudtail.

Lionblaze felt their paws press him down. His muzzle scraped leaves as he struggled to see what was happening.

“I’m sorry.” Graystripe faced Ratscar. “We had no orders to cross into your territory.”