Prologue
A sleek white shape crept comfortably in the corner of foggy darkness, mumbling in her sleep. Another shape emerged, pale gray with darker gray flecks, and a pair of icy-blue eyes. He nudged the white she-cat gently with his shoulder, flicking his tail at her ears as her whiskers twitched violently. Then he whispered quietly, "Wake up, Whitewing." The she-cat's bright green eyes snapped open, and then, gazing unbelievably at the gray tom, asked uncertainly, "Ashfur?" Ashfur nodded, his azure eyes blazing. Attempting to act friendly, he meowed, "I see you have bore two quite lovely little kits."
"What do you want to do with them?" snapped Whitewing defensively. "I won't let a single cat harm them, not even cats from StarClan!" A smug gleam flashed in Ashfur's eyes, causing Whitewing to shudder immensely. He murmured, "Ah… but I am not of StarClan…" Whitewing cocked her head inquisitively. What did he say? She repeated her thoughts to Ashfur, and the pale tom replied calmly, "It is nothing important. What is important, though," he continued, with a peculiar look Whitewing couldn't read printed on his face, "is about your kits."
Fear slithered through Whitewing's body like an adder. What did Ashfur want to do to her kits? Wasn't he a noble ThunderClan warrior? Sharply, she asked, "What? You better spit it out, or I'm going to get out of this odd nightmare and never see you again!" A ghostly smile hung on Ashfur's face. "Very well," he meowed. "I know the future of your kits. They will guide the powerful with their abilities… but they may as well face death if they continue to stay in ThunderClan… where they do not belong." Shock invaded Whitewing's gaze as she gasped, "Are you speaking the truth, Ashfur?" The spirit dipped his head. Whitewing expected him to nod sadly, but instead, he held a blissful look in his face.
"Then I shall not risk my kits! They will not stay in ThunderClan!" cried Whitewing as she padded away, out of the Dark Forest. Ashfur watched Whitewing leave, an arrogant gleam in his eyes. Slowly, two dark figures padded out of the murk. One was a huge dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes and extremely long front claws. The other tom was of the same coloring, but with a white underbelly and ice-blue eyes. The larger tom meowed, pleased, "You have done well, Ashfur." Dipping his head, Ashfur replied, "The least I can do, Tigerstar." The smaller tom meowed, "Yes… now the foolish she-cat will give away her kits… and ThunderClan will be destroyed."
Ashfur's eyes widened. "Why ThunderClan? Hawkfrost, why didn't you tell me that?" Hawkfrost's eyes glinted slyly. "Ashfur, you are so gullible. You do this all because you need a mate. And just because of that, you are able to make the same mistake twice." Tigerstar unsheathed his claws, and then meowed, "Farewell, Ashfur. I hope you will enjoy taking full responsibility for what you have done." He and Hawkfrost scrambled away, into shrouded shadows, leaving the pale gray tom struck with horror.
"What have I done?" he asked himself. "This prophecy was supposed to destroy whom I hate. Why is it about to destroy my own Clan? Oh, no…" he murmured gloomily. "I must tell Whitewing the true prophecy. It is a prophecy that belongs to her kits!" He searched for Whitewing again to identify her dreams, but her location was shrouded in a thick fog. Why had he done that? All he wanted was to destroy Squirrelflight… Suddenly, Whitewing entered the murk again. The white she-cat demanded, "Was your prophecy true?"
Shaken, Ashfur replied, "It—" until a black she-cat padded into the forest, stars in her pelt, her green eyes gleaming. The moment Ashfur saw her, he froze. Furiously she yowled, "Ashfur! You are disobeying the warrior code! You should obey it even when you're dead!" Ashfur's claws sank into the earth. That mouse-brained idiot! How could she be so curt to him, when she was the one who rippled his life away from him? Infuriated, Ashfur replied, unsheathing his claws, "Hollyleaf, I have done nothing wrong!"
"Yes you have!" Hollyleaf meowed swiftly. Then her eyes glimmered sadly. "We all make mistakes. Whitewing, if you are listening to him, you are making a mistake. Get over here!" Reluctantly, Whitewing padded over to Hollyleaf, who led her into a mass of starlight. Frantically, Ashfur wailed out loud, "I was just about to undo my mistake! What had Hollyleaf done, that mouse-brained idiot?!" He sighed grimly. Was there any way he could repay what he had done?
In a starry, concealed corner, Hollyleaf looked intently at the sky with her green gaze. "No, Ashfur," she murmured softly. "You have not done what was wrong. It is for fate to decide now… and if all goes well, you will be allowed… the passageway to StarClan."