Chapter 8

I gulped down the last of my mouse then stretched my paws forward. It had been five days since Icefrost and Dragonfly had found Eaglepaw, and he was already nearly as good as new. The elders meant it when they said that young cats healed fast.

I rose to my paws and quietly padded for the exit. Eaglepaw was sleeping in his nest, with Dragonfly and Weather nearby. I had something planned that I had waited long to do, even though Icefrost said it was next to impossible. But the valley called to me, enticing me to venture down its length and discover the secrets it held.

I traced the now familiar path to the valley, emerging out into the bright sunlight. The stream glittered in the golden rays, and the forest was twitching with life. I ignored the signs of a mouse scuttling around at the base of a tree and began to follow the stream, hiking into the depths of the valley.

It was a long trek; I was completely exhausted by sunset. I thought briefly about going back to the cavern but quickly dismissed the thought; it would be far better to just find somewhere to settle down for the night. I stumbled onwards as the sun disappeared from the sky, to be replaced by the moon. Nothing felt safe to me; I just couldn't settle.

Moonhigh had come and gone when a flicker of light caught my eye, and I glanced up. I had reached the end of the ravine. The hill sloped steeply upward into a new mountain, and about a third of the way up there was a dark cave. Curious, I ran to the base of the mountain, a new energy coursing through my limbs. I began to climb, searching for good pawholds in the steep rock face. Fortunately, the boulders were wedged tight, and they didn't shift like I half expected them to every time I landed on one. The sky was tinged rosy-gray in the east by the time I reached the cave, out of breath. I poked my head around the corner...and nearly got the shock of my life.

A huge gray beast lay curled up a little ways inside the entrance, its flanks rising and falling in the smooth rhythm of sleep. A hot blaze of fire--yes, fire--crackled beside the creature, casting dancing patterns across the smooth rock walls. For a moment I forgot the strange beast, and crept closer to the flame. This wasn't the wild fires that raged through the forests of FireClan around leaf-fall; this was tame, subdued, yet ready to burst forth ad dance to the sound of the wind.

I padded closer, rounding the beast and stepping as close as I dared to the flames. A branch fell within its hungry heart, and a flurry of sparks leaped to the ceiling. I jumped back in surprise, then ventured closer. The fire had a voice, a crackling, popping, hungry one. It called to me, seeking something...

The beast behind me stirred, and at once fear flooded me. I had been stupid! I was caught between the beast and this tame fire, unable to escape into the dawn outside. The beast's eyes opened, and fixed me in a burning amber-gold stare. I flinched, unable to look away. The creature stood up; it was so massive that it filled the entire entrance of the cave. It was dog-like, but wilder and fiercer than any dog in existence. Its muzzle was scarred from countless battles, and one of its eyes was held in a permanent squint. It snarled, revealing huge, gleaming yellowed fangs. I shivered, backing into the wall. The heat of the fire seared my fur, and I closed my eyes, waiting for it to end so StarClan could greet me.

"Scared, eh?"

I leaped up in shock, and I was surprised I didn't hit the ceiling. The creature's tongue was lolling, and an odd, barking noise came from its throat. Was it...laughing?

"Surprised, eh?" the creature growled, sinking back down next to the fire. "Come, young silent one. You come for reason, and reason I give."

Astonished, I crept closer to the beast, until we were barely a rabbit hop apart. The dog-like creature fixed me with a look, and cocked its head where it lay on its paws. "You mute," it stated simply.

I nodded, ashamed, and hung my head.

The creature chuckled. "Nothing to be ashamed," it growled heartily. "I answer questions. I wolf."

I flicked my ears. Wild had mentioned something like that, big gray beasts that sang songs to the moon on its height.

"You recognize word," the wolf said. "I wolf. I Amzur. She-wolf, you say. Wolves have gifts, rare ones. Gifts of fire, gifts of song. But you have too."

I kneaded my paws against the cave floor. Not true! I had no gifts. I was just a mute cat, banished from her Clan.

"True," Amzur growled. "I old. I die soon. Other wolves refuse to pass gifts. I teach you. Gifts of song."

Suddenly Amzur rose to her paws, making me jump. She padded to the cave mouth, just as the sun broke the horizon. A pure stream of gold rippled into the cave, brushing the fire and Amzur's ragged gray pelt. The she-wolf's dark gray fur was matted and scarred from many battles, but a fierce, wild glory was still held in her muscles, the very way she carried herself. She had been a leader once. I could tell.

Amzur lifted her head to the fading moon and cried out. It was a pure note, solid and strong. It rippled through the air, embracing the sunlight and dancing with it in a complicated motion. I watched, breathless, as the music swirled and built, towering like the river in full flood. Amzur ran the scale, racing up and down like a youthful wolf filled with boundless energy. I closed my eyes and began to sway, moving in time. Another voice joined the first, and my eyes snapped open again. More wolves. They braided their own melody in with Amzur's, crying such a moving melody that my heart ached.

After what seemed like a moon the song faded, and Amzur lowered her head. She turned to face me again, swaying slightly on her paws. "You see, you hear," the old she-wolf stated simply. "Gifts of song. Choose one, and speak with him forever. Rest, dear one. Bring gifts back to outsiders. No, outsiders no longer. IceClan."

Amzur padded over to me and slumped down next to the dying embers of the fire. I snuggled close to her side and closed my eyes. The last, final notes of the song Amzur had sung rang through my head as I let sleep enfold me.

--

When I woke again, it was moonhigh. I had slept the day away. My stomach growled; I hadn't eaten anything since that vole I caught yesterday.

I felt cold fur against mine, and I scrambled away in panic. Amzur lay next to the ashes of her final fire, cold as stone. I padded up to her majestic head and licked her muzzle gently. This great, wild beast was gone from the world. She had sung her final song, the song that now belonged to me.

I padded back down the mountain, my heart heavy. I couldn't even ponder her final words. I felt numb with shock. Even my stomach was quiet, as silent as the forest around me. I just walked, watching my paws as they placed one before the other in a smooth, simple rhythm.

A voice called my name. The voice of a cat. I raised my head, and there was Icefrost, bounding towards me through the forest. At once Amzur's final words burst in my head like the sun had last morning. Choose one, and speak with him forever. Outsiders no longer. IceClan.

"Shadowpaw!" Icefrost gasped, skidding to a halt before me. "I--we were so worried for you! No one has disappeared like that without ever saying where they were going! Don't do that again! I don't want to lose you."

Icefrost?

The white tom stiffened. I felt the shock myself, but I didn't physically react. It was a prophecy. A prophecy that rang as true as Amzur's song.

"Sh...Shadowpaw?"

Icefrost? What made Needlestar ban you?

I don't know why I asked that. I could have said anything, anything I wanted with the gift Amzur had granted me. But I had to know.

Icefrost stared at me for what seemed like moons before he slumped onto the ground beside me. I lay next to him and rasped my tongue over his ear for comfort. I waited, letting him gather his strength for the telling.

"Kit-killer," Icefrost snarled. "That's what Ivyfang called me. I killed my sister's only kit. Needlestar didn't believe me when I said a badger had broken into the nursery. I killed Nutkit just by trying to save him. Even Strawberryfur, who knew the truth, was in too much shock to stand up to Needlestar and claim the Law of Shared Blood. Needlestar banned me, on pain of death if I ever return."

I rubbed my head against his in comfort. Icefrost had experience far more pain than I ever had. In one blow, he had lost all that remained of his family. At least I knew that Cinderheart, Flametail, and Coyotepaw were alive.

Now the prophecy had to be fulfilled. It was time to put all of Icefrost's knowledge and pain to the test.

Icefrost, I whispered. In the mountains, I met a wolf. Her name was Amzur, and she spoke with StarClan. I don't know how she did; I just felt it. She gave me a prophecy, part about 

just you and me, part about the entire forest. "Choose one, and speak with him forever. Outsiders no longer. IceClan." Icefrost, StarClan has spoken. They want a fifth Clan. A Clan of compassion and music, with Ice as its Element. And they want you to lead it.

For the longest time Icefrost remained where he was, his head down and staring at his paws. At last he looked up, just as the sun leaped from the horizon. It was like with Amzur; the sun illuminated Icefrost's face, edging it into a hardened mask of care and determination. In that single instant, as I gazed into those clear blue eyes, I saw how handsome and perfect he was, and I realized that in all my lifetime, from here to StarClan and beyond, I could never love any cat more.

"I can't argue with the will of StarClan," Icefrost growled. "They want a fifth Clan. So be it. I will be Icestar, leader of IceClan."