Chapter 22
The silent clearing was broken by two gasps of surprise and disbelief. Stardream glanced around from where she sat beside Echostar for the cats that gasped. '
She wasn't all that surprised to find Wolfsong and Angelfeather with their jaws almost all the way to the ground. Echostar turned at the noise and purred. She got to her paws and padded over to the two gaping cats.
Stardream and Eaglewing followed her, knowing almost everyone was staring at them. Wolfsong could hardly contain his astonishment.
"Echostar!" he gasped in disbelief. Angelfeather was blinking her eyes as if she thought she was seeing a ghost.
"It's me, Angelfeather," Echostar meowed, looking at the white she cat. "Echostar!" Wolfsong gasped, "your alive, but the...he...I...the tree...what?"
"Just like Eaglewing," Echostar murmured, touching noses with Wolfsong. "Okay, whats going on here?" Blackstar demanded, glaring at his two warriors.
Firestar didin't say anything but exchanged a should we tell him glance with Stardream. Stardream just shrugged and mouthed, I don't care.
"What's going on here?" Blackstar hissed. Before Firestar could say anything, Wolfsong looked up.
"Echostar was once our leader," he meowed, clearly.
"What!" Blackstar screeched in shock. "It is true," Echostar meowed, "I was once leader of the clan that was once known as Sapphireclan."
"But there have always been only four clans in the forest," Onestar hissed. "Five, before Sapphireclan," Firestar meowed.
Blackstar and Onestar whirled around at Firestar. "What do you mean there was once five clans in the forest?" Onestar demanded.
Firestar shrugged, "the fifth clan was driven out of the forest when twolegplace was built back in the old forest," he meowed.
"Your not making any sense," Blackstar hissed, "what are you driving at?"
"I mean, the fifth clan was driven out by your ancestors and Starclan came to me to tell me I had to rebuild Skyclan," Firestar replied, "Skyclan was the fifth clan of the forest and still is."
"It is true," Sandstorm mewed, "I was with him when he went to rebuild Skyclan."
"So, thats why you where gone for several moons before the destruction of the forest," Onestar meowed.
Firestar nodded and turned his gaze to Echostar, who was sitting beside her former warriors. "Well, what about Echostar? Is she going to take over your clan?" Onestar asked.
Echostar shook her head, "no, now that Sapphireclan is no more, I want to just be an ordinary warrior," she replied.
But how can you be an ordinary warrior when you have the name and nine lives of a leader, Stardream heard Blackstar think.
Stardream mouthed the words to Echostar and she nodded. "I want everyone to know that there has once been a great clan that was destroyed," she meowed.
She twisted her head and Stardream, for the first time, saw a long scar that went from her ear down the side of her face and ending at her throat.
"I bear this scar as a caution," Echostar meowed, her voice hardening. "The evil clan that had destroyed Sapphireclan is coming here to destroy Wolfsong, Angelfeather, Eaglewing, Stardream and myself to wipe out our clan for good," she hissed.
"And it is no use handing us over," Echostar went on, as if guessing Blackstar's thoughts.
Stardream, more or less, told her what he was thinking. "They will destroy you as well, they are more evil then Bloodclan and they have to many allies that will help them, mostly rogues, but still."
Leopardstar widened her eyes, but before she could reply, Echostar cut in. "They won't attack Riverclan or Windclan, they will attack Thunderclan and Shadowclan, because you have us in your clan," she meowed.
"And like I said, they'll destroy you, even if you hand us over, I say this to you Blackstar and to you Firestar," Echostar meowed, "you have a choice, hand us over and face your doom or stand with us and fight to drive the evil Jadeclan out of the forest forever."
A/n what will they choose, you'll find out soon, but anyways please review