Chapter Four

Burrowing into her mossy nest, Willowkit closed her eyes, but a moment later they popped back open. "I can't believe we're going to be apprenticed soon," she whispered. While the waning moon glittered above the nursery, Ravenpool, Applekit, Badgerkit, and the moon-old Stonekit slept soundly. Willowkit blinked, rolled over, and let her eyelids droop once more. Breathing calmly, she tried to count stars, but she was too excited to sleep. Finally, she closed her eyes.

She was crouched in the middle of a large, stone structure. Monsters whizzed past, their speed flattening her fur. In the distance, she could see lights hanging from hard black trees. The stone arches went over, under, and besides each other. Willowkit winced, thinking of her mother's tales of the Thunderpath and the monsters that rode it. This seemed to be a large one, with only dust and sparse rocks blowing by in the monsters' wake. There were no trees or signs of forest light.

Suddenly, the scene seemed to dim, right around her. The roar of the monsters died down, getting quieter and quieter. The harsh lights blurred softly into the distance, blending into the stars. Trees took place of the giant Thunderpath. A brook trickled nearby. Willowkit was no longer trapped between walls of stone, but free in a green clearing.

Puzzled, she glanced at the sky. That was a mistake. The images that sometimes blurred at her, like the one she saw that morning of an older Badgerkit with kits of his own, now flashed across the stars. She saw a battle, of Jaggedstar attacking a larger, golden tom. She saw a younger Heatherclaw walking up a row of rocks, determination on her face and the lake behind her. Even further; a black kit and a gold kit, play-fighting in a nursery. One after the other, the pictures ran.

Then, the process sped up. More shots, of nameless cats skulking in the shadows into the NightClan camp. Bushes being hollowed underneath, and there! The nursery, the last reed poked into place by a younger Bluecloud. Flashes of Ravenpool's flanks heaving, Silverpaw as a kit creeping tentatively into Jaggedstar's den. Willowkit saw herself, her brother and sister, waiting below the Rock Pile as their leader perched above.

And then the visions were no longer recognizable. A thousand battles, the sounds of screeching cats filling Willowkit's ears. The acrid smell of blood wafted around her, as she saw cats dead and dying. Amid the wars, there were glimpses of peace. She saw Badgerkit again, as an older warrior, with Sunpaw besides him as they proudly watched two kits play-fight in the nursery. Badgerstripe, Sunray. The names came to mind just as the image melted back into battle, the same image that she had seen that morning.

Horrified by these strange scenes, Willowkit shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, as the stars coldly glittered above. Suddenly, the noises were cut off abruptly. Willowkit dared to open her eyes for a squint, then they flew open.

She was crouched below a large rock, large enough for at least four cats to stand on together. It was in the center of an even vaster clearing than the one before, with four towering oaks hanging over her.

"Willowkit."

Startled at her name, Willowkit turned around in alarm. "Who's there?"

"Up here."

The cream kit looked up at the rock. Perched on top, with stardust glittering at his paws was a ginger tom so red that he seemed to be made of cold fire. He held the scent of something that she automatically recognized as ThunderClan, but it was somehow a bit different. He twitched his ears and nodded kindly at her. "Do not be alarmed, Willowkit. My name is Firestar."

"F-Firestar?" Willowkit squeaked. "Are you from ThunderClan?"

The tom shook his head sadly. "No, although I once was. I am from StarClan, and I have brought you here for a purpose. Look around you, beyond the trees, and tell me what you see."

Puzzled, Willowkit stared at the oaks around her. They seemed to shimmer, and fade briefly back into the large Thunderpath she had seen before. Then there was merely bark and leaves once more. "I see grey stone. And monsters. My mother told me about monsters, and the Thunderpath."

Firestar nodded. "This was the Clan's old home. We used to live here, in the forest, but Twolegs overran it to build this giant Thunderpath. Then we were forced to travel to the lake, on the Great Journey."

Willowkit wrapped her tail around her paws. Ravenpool had told her and her siblings about Twolegs and the Great Journey. "But then, why am I here?"

"Your visions are something sent from StarClan." Firestar leapt off the rock and faced her, eyes glittering. "Willowkit, I am going to talk to you now about some very serious things. I do not know if you will fully understand, but you must listen."

Somehow unable to speak, Willowkit nodded.

"Your brother can hear the thoughts of cats as they pass through their minds, as you learned yesterday. But that does not mean that he should be a medicine cat. You saw that he will be a father, and medicine cats are forbidden to do so. Willowkit, you are the one destined to be Berrywhisker's apprentice. Badgerkit may hear the thoughts in the minds of cats, but you can see what has, or will, happen. You can read hearts."

Willowkit frowned in confusion. Firestar was right – she didn't quite understand. "Should I keep it a secret?"

"In this Clan? I think you ought," replied Firestar enigmatically.

Willowkit shook her head, befuddled. "But what about Applekit?"

Firestar smiled sadly at her. "Your sister holds a power as well, but her paws are already set on a dark path to use them."

"Applekit isn't evil!" said Willowkit crossly.

"Look up at the moon."

Willowkit gazed at the silver sphere.

"Look carefully and closely at it. Now tell me what you see."

Willowkit stared into the white depths. She saw Heatherclaw leading a patrol of cats out of the camp, but this was much larger than hunting groups or border watching. It was almost half the Clan. Tigerstripe, Redfeather, Rockpelt, Thornpaw, Dawnheart, Twitchkit, Whiteheart, Silverpaw, Bluecloud, and…Applekit! The ginger she-cat was marching away, and Willowkit saw herself, Badgerkit, and Ravenpool looking after her in grief and pain. But Applekit never once looked back. The remaining cats, Jaggedstar, Berrywhisker, Stormclaw, Dustpaw, Streamfur, Mintfur, Sunpaw, Sagetail, Eagleclaw, Badgerkit, Willowkit, and Ravenpool crouched in the clearing of the camp. Jaggedstar stood, licked her whiskers, and marched into her den, but not before Willowkit saw a regretful expression cross her face.

Confused, Willowkit snapped out of her trance and saw Firestar gazing at her. "The Clan was splitting," Willowkit stammered. "Heatherclaw left the camp with lots of cats, and Applekit…"

"Your sister is not what she seems," Firestar warned. "Her ability to fluff out her coat makes her smarter. Every time Applekit does that, she becomes a little cleverer. I wouldn't be surprised if she talks like apprentices right now, and a warrior when she becomes an apprentice."

Willowkit shivered. "But…she is not what she seems? What do you mean?"

"List some qualities your sister has."

"Um, she's thoughtful, careful, strong, smart, and always tries to be the best she can," listed Willowkit. "And she likes to talk with the apprentices a lot."

Firestar nodded. "She will want to make her Clan strong, and make alliances and supporters. Willowkit, Applekit hides a dreadful ambition."

"To be leader?" Willowkit twitched her ears in puzzlement. "What you said makes her sound like she wants to be leader. Is that so bad?"

"No, not in itself. But what she plans to become is terrible." Firestar got to his paws and seemed to see something past Willowkit. "I must go now."

"Wait!" Willowkit begged. "Tell me more. What do you mean about Applekit?"

Firestar shot a glance at her, his fiery red pelt beginning to fade. "You will learn to read the sky. To call down images only when you want to."

"How do I do that?" demanded Willowkit.

But Firestar was almost gone now, his body a thin outline against the trees. "Badgerkit is wise in the way of cats. Applekit is wise in the way of the world. Willowkit is wise in the way of the sky."

Just before he disappeared, Willowkit heard him whisper something that sounded ominously like a prophesy. "The night will grow thorns to straighten what is broken."

Then Firestar was gone. Willowkit sat up in her mossy nest, breathing heavily. The sun's early rays stretched across the camp, blocked by Dawnheart, whose sleeping form was stretched near the nursery's entrance. A mint green butterfly lazily fluttered down from the gap in the roof and landed on the sleeping Applekit's nose. The ginger she-cat unconsciously twitched her whiskers and the butterfly shot up, before wobbling out of the den once more. Willowkit stared thoughtfully at her sleeping sister. Could this little kit really be hiding a horrible, secret ambition?

No, Willowkit tried to convince herself. Out loud, she murmured, "Never. Not Applekit." But inside, recalling her conversation with Firestar, there was an uneasy prickle deep down in her mind. Shivering, she curled up in her nest, wrapped her tail firmly against her nose, and finally fell into a dreamless sleep.