Chapter Two
Lionblaze intercepted his brother almost the moment he set foot in camp. "Jayfeather, where were you? What happened?"
Jayfeather didn't respond. He was more concerned with the sweet scent of Willowshine. He had to see her again; he could feel it in his bones. But Willowshine was the full medicine cat of RiverClan, now. And love was strictly out-of-bounds for him, especially after what had happened with Leafpool.
"Jayfeather!" Lionblaze meowed urgently. "What happened?"
The medicine cat shook water from his ears. The rain still hadn't eased off. "Willowshine and Mothwing tried to make the journey to the Moonpool," he muttered.
Lionblaze gasped. "They didn't!"
"They did," Jayfeather meowed. "Mothwing's dead."
"We have to tell Firestar!"
"Leafpool's doing that." He could smell her scent moving upward, and it disappeared as she entered the leader's den. "Look, I'm tired. I'm going to get some rest."
* * *
"I can not believe you did that, Bluestar!" Hollyleaf yowled.
"According to you, this is what was destined to be!" the former ThunderClan leader shot back.
Thunder shook StarClan's hunting grounds. It had never rained there before.
"Look at what you've caused!" Spottedleaf meowed sternly. "Do you and Yellowfang have bees in your brain? Are you trying to cause eternal war between the Clans?"
"The Power of Three must not come," Bluestar meowed. "And I'm doing everything I can to stop it!"
Hollyleaf and Spottedleaf exchanged a glance. Bluestar was making the prophecy come even sooner.
"We must help the Clans," Spottedleaf meowed.
"I need to talk to Jayfeather," Hollyleaf told her. "He doesn't need to know about Bluestar, but he needs to know that some StarClan cats are trying to destroy the forest. He needs to be able to use his powers to stop this!"
"And what about Lionblaze and Dovepaw?"
"He can pass it on."
"Go, quickly, then, before Bluestar realizes what we're doing and tries to stop–"
Her last words were cut off as the blue-gray she-cat cannoned into her. "You'll do nothing of the sort, Hollyleaf!" Bluestar snarled. Terrified, Hollyleaf turned and ran.
She ran away from the clearing and into the forest. Thunder shook the sky again, and lightning flashed. Hollyleaf stumbled. It would not be long before it started raining, and she didn't know what would happen then.
Finally, she reached the pool where StarClan communicated with the Clans below them. Hollyleaf launched herself in it, and passed into the real world. Here she wasn't real, and nothing could hurt her. But she could see cats, and they could see her.
She had to find Jayfeather. It was dark, but she picked up a trace of his scent. The rain had washed much of it away. She followed the scent trail not towards ThunderClan camp, but away from it, towards the border with WindClan.
What in the name of StarClan is Jayfeather doing? Hollyleaf wondered. The scent grew fresher as she approached the border stream, and then it stopped. Hollyleaf waded quickly across the stream. She could pick up Jayfeather's scent on this side of the border.
The medicine cat's scent didn't lead toward WindClan camp, as though he were going to visit Barkface or Kestrelpaw, but onward towards RiverClan. She soon picked up the watery scent that marked the border between the two Clans. Jayfeather's scent continued right across it. What could Jayfeather want with RiverClan?
As Hollyleaf passed the horse-place, she spotted her brother up ahead. He skirted the clump of reeds that lead to RiverClan camp, and continued along the edge. She realized with a jolt that he was heading for the medicine den.
Jayfeather disappeared inside. Hollyleaf crouched outside the entrance. She'd see him when he came out. Mews came from inside the cave.
"I'm so sorry about Mothwing, Willowshine," she heard Jayfeather meowing. What had happened to Mothwing? Hollyleaf hadn't seen her in StarClan.
"Jayfeather, you shouldn't have come," mewed Willowshine.
"I had to," Jayfeather replied. Hollyleaf was surprised by the sudden certainty in his voice. "Willowshine, I can't be without you."
There was a pause, and Hollyleaf suspected that the two cats were rubbing muzzles, or making another loving gesture. That's impossible! Hollyleaf thought. Medicine cats can't love!
"I feel the same way, Jayfeather." Willowshine's voice was quieter; almost a whisper, but Hollyleaf could feel the emotion in it. "But what can we do about it? You know what happened when Leafpool left her Clan. And I'm RiverClan's only medicine cat now. I can't leave them."
What's happened to Mothwing?
"We'll think of something, I promise," meowed Jayfeather. Hollyleaf had never heard him be so kind to another cat.
"Let's meet at the next Gathering," Willowshine suggested.
"Until then, Willowshine," meowed Jayfeather. They were probably touching noses again.
Jayfeather can't do this! He's a medicine cat!
"Hollyleaf!" Jayfeather's startled mew jerked Hollyleaf out of her thoughts. "What are you doing here?"
"I have to talk to you," Hollyleaf meowed. "I saw you leaving camp and I decided to-"
"Spy on me!" Jayfeather spat. "This is an invasion of my privacy!"
"Jayfeather, I have to do this for the good of the Clan. You know medicine cats can't fall in love!"
"I know that." His eyes shone with sadness. Blindness had not robbed them of emotion. "But I never knew what that would mean."
* * *
"I still can't believe it!" Ivypaw meowed, leaping at Dovepaw. They were training in the hollow. Hazeltail had been teaching them defensive moves.
"Keep your voice down!" whispered Dovepaw. "I think Jayfeather meant to keep this a secret." She rolled easily out of Ivypaw's way. "Focus on our training, for now."
"But you can-"
"Not now!" Dovepaw snapped, and instantly felt guilty. "I'm sorry. We can talk later."
"That's quite enough chatter," Hazeltail scolded. It seemed she was always scolding them for something. "Dovepaw, let me see you attack Ivypaw. Ivypaw, you try to defend yourself."
Dovepaw ran quickly at her sister, but instead of leaping at her, she shot under her and quickly unbalanced her. Trying to catch her balance, Ivypaw whirled around, but Dovepaw was already gone.
"Very nice," commented Lionblaze. Dovepaw hadn't noticed him entering the hollow. "I would try slashing out with your claws when you're underneath her, though."
"Let me try!" meowed Ivypaw.
They continued training until sunhigh, and then Hazeltail sent them back to camp to look after the elders. As soon as they were out of earshot of the two warriors, Ivypaw meowed quietly, "You can fly!"
"I know," Dovepaw whispered back. She had gone several tail-lengths just be leaping at a squirrel merely a mouse-length away. "But how is that the power of the stars?"
"No cat can do that," Ivypaw replied even quieter as they got the mouse bile from Leafpool.
"Jayfeather wants me to meet with him and Lionblaze tonight, out in the forest," Dovepaw told her. "Will you come with me?"
"Of course I will!" But they had to drop the conversation then, as they had entered the elders' den.
"Tonight," Dovepaw whispered.
* * *
Clouds had covered the moon, so it was very dark as the two apprentices padded through the forest. It seemed that there was always the threat of rain.
"He said he'd meet us at the training hollow," Dovepaw mewed softly as she led the way through the forest. "Ah, here they are."
Lionblaze and Jayfeather were sitting on the sandy floor of the hollow. Lionblaze shot up as they entered. "What is she doing here?" he meowed sharply, indicating with his tail at Ivypaw, although it was too dark to see.
"She knows about the prophecy," replied Dovepaw.
"We're supposed to keep this a secret," Jayfeather snapped.
"I won't tell any cat," Ivypaw promised.
"Can we trust her?" asked Lionblaze suspiciously. Regardless of who her sister was, the golden-brown tom clearly didn't trust her.
"The secret's out, so we have to," sighed Jayfeather. "But on to the purpose of our meeting…"
"Have you figured out your power?" Lionblaze asked.
"I think so," murmured Dovepaw. "I think I can fly."
Lionblaze stared at her. Even Jayfeather's non-seeing eyes showed signs of surprise.
"What kind of power is that?" meowed Lionblaze, laughing.
"It's mine," Dovepaw snapped.
"Prove it." Lionblaze was hysterical. He couldn't get the image of flying cats out of his mind.
The white apprentice reared up on her hind legs. She looked for somewhere to aim for. The top of the hollow wouldn't be enough; she needed something amazing. Dovepaw located the nearest tree, and leaped.
Once again she was soaring through the air. The scenery flew past her. She could sense the nothingness up ahead, and stopped. She was on top of the tree.
Lionblaze's jaw had dropped open in amazement.
"Did she do it?" Jayfeather asked.
"That was amazing!" cried Ivypaw. "Your best yet!"
"We all have our powers," meowed Dovepaw as she returned to the ground, "but what next?"
That was a question that even Jayfeather couldn't answer.
