Rainpaw left his mournful vigil with a sense of purpose as he returned to the camp. He made an effort to appear casual, determined that Shadestar shouldn't know what he had seen.
"Rainpaw, there you are," Snowpaw said as he approached. "Did you find Blackpaw?"
Rainpaw nodded grimly. "Yes."
Snowpaw's face fell. "No," he murmured, but the answer was all in the look on Rainpaw's face. "How could he do such a thing?"
"He's terrible," Rainpaw said. "That's all there is to it."
"We'd better tell the others."
"Yeah," Rainpaw agreed as they headed toward the warriors' den. "And there's something I need to tell you."
Over the next few days, Misty puzzled over her strange dreams as Night taught her how to fight. She found it hard to concentrate and was again unprepared for Night's next attack.
Night sighed. "Something wrong?"
Misty shook her head to clear it. "Sorry. I guess I've just got too much on my mind."
"You want to talk about it?" Night asked softly, coming to sit beside the younger cat.
"Well, I don't even understand it myself," Misty replied, unsure how to begin. "It all started with this dream I had a few nights ago. A strange cat came to me and he said he was from something called StarClan. He said his name was Stormheart."
"Stormheart?" Night echoed.
"Yes," Misty confirmed. "Did you know him?"
"Once. A long time ago," Night murmured and then added, "Go on. What else did he say?"
"He talked about some kind of danger. Then he took me into the woods and it was really strange. He said, 'only the mist that bonds clan and clan can turn darkness to light.' What does that mean?"
Night seemed to ponder that statement for a moment before she finally replied. "It must refer to the current trouble in the forest," she said hesitantly. "The threat to all the clans."
"But what has that got to do with me?"
Night took a deep breath and she seemed almost reluctant, not wanting to tell what she knew. "There is something I have not told you," she began softly. "I have cared for you and loved you like any mother would for her kit. But the truth is, I am not your mother."
Misty stared in shocked silence. It couldn't be true. But when she opened her mouth, her voice was low and uncertain. "Is that true?"
Night nodded.
"Then what happened to my real parents?" she asked. "And why did you never tell me?"
"I never told you because I wanted to protect you. I promised your mother I wouldn't let any harm come to you. And as for your parents." Night sighed. "They come from the clans."
"So that means," Misty said slowly. "That I'm a clan cat?"
"Yes," Night said simply.
"So who were my parents?"
Night paused then seemed to decide it couldn't hurt. "You mother is Icewhisker and your father…was Stormheart."
Misty gasped. "So that's why I've had the dream, then? He came to me because of who I am."
"Perhaps," Night said.
Misty lowered her head, all this new knowledge overwhelming her. "I--I think I'm going to go for a walk," she said.
"Okay, but be careful," Night said. "I promised your mother I would protect you. She gave you to me to raise because if she hadn't, you would have been killed. So whatever you do, keep away from the clans."
So Shadestar lied to hide the truth. His patrol had come across Blackpaw's body half-buried in the snow and anyone could see that she had been killed by ShadowClan.
Of course, Rainpaw knew what had really happened and had told the small group--the Rebels they had called themselves, the Resistance--the whole story.
Raggedfur was filled with determination to avenge her death. Bluefeather and Icewhisker mourned. Smalltail was outraged.
"What was Ravenstar thinking, appointing that tyrant as his deputy?" Smalltail fumed.
Rainpaw watched this in silence. He hadn't known Ravenstar, the former ThunderClan leader, but he had heard that the warrior was one of the youngest leaders. Desperate for acceptance and lacking better judgment, he had chosen Shadestar--then Shadefur--as his deputy, unaware of his fierce ambition. Ravenstar had only wanted someone strong for ThunderClan. Some called him a fool. He had died of greencough last leaf-bare, still extremely young.
"We've got to do something about him," Smalltail continued. "And something about that deputy too."
"And how would you do that?" The voice startled them and they turned toward the entrance to the den. It was Tawneystripe.
"Have you found out anything?" Raggedfur asked.
"Nothing new," Tawneystripe answered. "But Rainpaw's right. He is planning an attack on WindClan. And he may or may not be holding a clan meeting this evening."
"What do you mean, 'he may or may not?'" Icewhisker asked.
Tawneystripe sighed. "He's thinking about it."
Icewhisker cocked her head but said nothing more.
Later that day it turned out that Shadestar would hold a meeting after all, persuaded to do so by Tawneystripe. Rainpaw wondered what it could be about.
"Tawneystripe has insisted we need to make new warriors," Shadestar said from the top of the Highrock. He didn't look too happy about it and Rainpaw knew that Tawneystripe was probably the only one who could persuade him.
"Rainpaw, Snowpaw, come forward." He beckoned with his tail and the two apprentices slowly padded forward to face their cruel leader. But instead of excitement, Rainpaw only felt apprehension.
"From this day forward, Rainpaw should be known as Rainstorm. Snowpaw will be Snowpelt."
Utter silence.
No one congratulated the apprentices; they merely stood stone still, staring up at Shadestar as he leapt from the rock and padded into his den.
Rainstorm exchanged a glance with Snowpelt and saw his own look of shock reflected in his brother's eyes. Those weren't the right words! That wasn't how the ceremony should have been.
He twitched his ear and felt more awkward when the cats of ThunderClan came forward to congratulate them. He could tell they were just as uneasy about the whole situation as the newly named warriors.
"Don't worry too much," Raggedfur said as he came up behind Rainstorm. "Shadestar may not have said the right words, but I trust you still have the approval of StarClan."
"But the ceremony wasn't right," Rainstorm said, feeling terrible. This was supposed to be an important ceremony, the most anticipated for any apprentice. Yet Shadestar's lack of faith and care had killed the ceremony. It had no meaning.
"It's not your fault," Raggedfur said gently. "StarClan know you've earned this and they will accept you as warriors. I know you have faith, so you must show it by sitting in silent vigil. StarClan will watch over you."
Rainstorm opened his mouth then, remembering the need for silence, he merely nodded. Yes, Raggedfur, he thought as he and his brother sat on the edge of the clearing for their vigil. Raggedfur sent them a sympathetic glance and Rainstorm couldn't help feeling disappointed at the disastrous ceremony.
There was mostly silence save for the light crunch of ice under paw and the delicate swish of fur that snagged on jagged branches. Misty ducked to avoid a thorn penetrating her ear tip and continued onward. Despite what Night had said, Misty found herself inexplicably drawn toward the forest. It held a strange fascination with her as well as the scents of many cats.
She could still see the frozen moor and beyond that, the barn, nearly lost in a world of white. The smell of rabbit wafted past her nose, faint but noticeable.
Misty paused, her nose twitching as she drank in the cold breeze, her whiskers quivering. Already the moisture was seeping through her fur, frost biting fiercely at her claws.
How could Night have kept this secret from me? Misty thought, a fresh wave of frustration coursing through her and making her instinctively flex her claws. She immediately regretted that action for the snow seeped under them, burning her like fire. And for so long!
She recalled that Night had tried to protect her but since when had knowledge been dangerous? To Misty, it could only mean wisdom and wisdom led to greater respect and understanding.
Shivering slightly, she was about to venture further when something stopped her in her tracks. A curious crunching like paws on snow. It was steady and rhythmic. It stopped. Then, just as Misty caught the faint tang on the air, the sound resumed and sped up, approaching and growing louder.
Misty had no time to call out or even realize she was in any danger before something pushed her off her feet, a growling figure of frost-bitten fur and gleaming teeth.
Gasping, Misty stumbled, found her footing again, and spun around to face her attacker.
The cat with the ice-encrusted fur had bared his teeth in a low hiss, ears drawn back and tail fluffed out. His pelt was long and pale gray, ruffled as if he hadn't groomed in a while. His intense green eyes sparked like a flame. A faint trace of sour odor clung to his fur.
It was the scent of fear and of crowfood.
"Get out of our territory," the stranger growled. Judging from his exaggerated stance and his voice, Misty guessed he wasn't used to giving angry threats. "Or I'll chase you out myself." He almost looked defensive.
"I-I didn't mean any harm," Misty stammered, taking a hasty step backward and averting her gaze from the tom's eyes.
"Sootfur!" another cat called and Misty flinched, not expecting this she-cat to arrive.
"Sootfur, what's going on here?" the golden she-cat asked and she cast a wary glance toward Misty.
"An intruder, Dawnfrost," the one called Sootfur replied, but he let his fur begin to lie flat.
"Oh, look!" Dawnfrost exclaimed. "You've scared the poor thing. She's probably lost."
At that statement, Misty stood a little taller. "I'm not lost," she stated evenly. "I meant to come here."
"Well, as Sootfur said," Dawnfrost sighed. "You are trespassing on WindClan territory. He won't harm you, but you'll need to leave."
"Fine," Sootfur grunted. "I suppose it's no use anyway. Who cares if some stray loner wanders into our territory. From what I've learned, our greatest threat dwells within the territories." These last words were quiet and Misty could barely make them out. She wondered briefly what he meant by that before she remembered she was a trespasser and felt a flicker of guilt.
"I'll just leave then," she said in a small voice and carefully backed up.
"Be careful, stranger," Dawnfrost hissed suddenly and Misty twitched her ear uncertainly. "There are other cats in the forest who would kill a loner like you. And only a sign from StarClan could stop him." Then she and Sootfur turned back to the moorland, padding away side by side.
A sign from StarClan? Misty wondered as she picked her way past bare thorn bushes, heading in the direction of the barn.
The sight of Stormheart flashed in her mind, the intensity of his eyes, the grimness of his voice. He had given her a prophecy. One that send shudders up and down her spine and one which she wasn't likely to forget.
Remember, he had said. Remember.