PROLOGUE
❧

Rain whipped at the earth around the reed bed, kicking up bits of dirt and sending it tumbling into the churning river. The sky mirrored the water's murky and tumultuous disposition. The clouds seemed to be dark sentries attacking the ground below, adding fuel to the river as its banks overflowed.

Duskwater's fur was tugged at by the rain and wind, her face stinging from the ferocity of each falling drop. She raised a yowl from where she stood huddled outside of dirtplace. She'd gone to relieve herself just before the storm began. The only clear path from dirtplace to the camp was blocked by reeds that the river and wind had pushed over, and even now the churning water threatened to sweep her paws out from under her. The reeds surrounding her grew thickly together and they swayed chaotically in the wind, threatening to squeeze her if she tried to crawl through them.

"Troutclaw!" Her mew was carried off with the wind as soon as it had left her. She blinked back water from her eyes to try and spot her clanmate. "Hailstar!"

With every passing heartbeat the water rose around her and Duskwater began to panic. Even the strongest swimmers in RiverClan wouldn't dare brave floodwaters, but she was moons older than them and her bones were beginning to become frail.

She crouched down and tried to leap up on top of the fallen reeds. Her fur was sopping and was dragging her down but she managed to dig her claws in enough to hold on. From where she sat clinging to the reeds she spotted a small log sticking out of the water. By now the banks around her had all been swallowed up by the river and it was her best shot at staying above the water. With all of the strength she had she leapt onto the log. Her hind legs dangled as she struggled to keep her grip, the river lapping at her fur.

All at once she climbed up onto the log and heard a sickening crack below her. She peered down in fear to see that the log she was on was breaking off at the base. It was going to get washed away into the river!

StarClan help me! Duskwater clung to her branch and watched frozen in fear as the log splintered under her weight. Within heartbeats she was sent thrashing into the river, gulps of muddy water filling her mouth and lungs before her head finally bobbed up above the froth. Her legs kicked out of trained instinct to churn the water below her. She swung her head around trying to find the shore, to find something to swim towards. Already she was several foxlengths away from where her log had been lodged in the mud and she could see it now bobbing along beside her. Reaching out she hooked her claw in the wood and pulled it closer to her.

Blood and the crashing waves roared in her ears and the water that had made its way into her body was forcing her to cough. She found it hard to breathe and prayed that the log she was holding onto would drift to either shore where she could escape the water. But even as she mewled helplessly another wave crashed over her head, sending her rolling underneath the log. The water was dark and she couldn't see more than a mouselength ahead of her. Thrashing and flailing, she struggled to right herself, never letting her claws slip from the log. Her muzzle broke the surface and she gasped in precious air. More waves clapped down on the river's surface around her and she kicked with her hind legs to guide herself away from the oncoming tide.

This terrifying cycle continued as the river swept the poor elder away. A large wave swept over her and sent the she-cat sprawling under the water, her grip finally failing. She grabbed at the log as it slipped from her, claws outstretched desperately. Its wooden surface was slowly leaving her sight and she felt her hope leave her.

StarClan be gentle. She would never have imagined that her death would have been caused by the very thing she and her clanmates had lived by. She had so many happy memories living beside the river. Her first catch, fishing for carp with Troutclaw, teaching Mudfur and Minnowtail how to swim. Perhaps it was just as well. Her life had been full of wonderful memories by this river, and now it could take her away in peace.

Duskwater closed her eyes. She was ready to join StarClan after all of her moons.

Something tugged at the fur around her neck and she felt teeth in her scruff. She looked up in shock to see a familiar silver coat, a she-cat whose fur was dappled with starlight. The starry cat carried her with ease and Duskwater kicked frantically at the water. Her muzzle broke the surface and she could feel sand beneath her paws. She had little strength left and used it all to throw herself onto the shore. She dragged her soaked body up another tail-length before her legs gave out and she lay panting in the sand.

She was soaked to the bone and the wind sent a chill down her spine. The starry cat laid down beside her, curling its tail around Duskwater's body and providing a faint warmth to drive away the cold.

Duskwater looked to her, green eyes dark. "I never thought I would see you like this again."

"Did you think I had come to take you to StarClan?" The she-cat mused, whiskers twitching. "You still have life in you yet."

"Somehow that isn't as relieving as it should be." Duskwater laid her muzzle on her paws. "Minnowtail… How can I keep living when I'm so far from RiverClan? I must be several days away and I don't have the strength I used to have. As cold as I am I'll probably catch greencough like this."

Minnowtail licked Duskwater's fur to soothe her. "StarClan has a plan for you. It will not be an easy road, but I'll be watching every step you take. You will know when the time has come for you to join our ranks."

"But how will I know?"

Minnowtail lifted her head and Duskwater followed where her gaze led. Across the river sat a raven, bigger than any she had ever seen. It raised its jet-black wings and took flight, cresting the horizon where the clouds were starting to break to show a blazing sunset.

"I trust your judgment, as do all of StarClan." Minnowtail mewed, giving the soaking elder's ear a final lick. "I'll stay with you until the time comes for you to take fate into your own paws."

"What do you mean?" Duskwater asked, but the silvery she-cat spoke no more, curling up to her for comfort.

Warmed but still unsure, Duskwater lay with Minnowtail until she felt the wind's tugging at her fur lessen and the drizzle that had persisted since the storm's passing die out. She carefully rose to her paws and stretched as best she could. She padded a ways up the shore before finding a large and flat stone to lie upon. The sun had dipped below the horizon long before and now only the faint light of the moon remained to lighten the world. She noticed that not far off a Twolegplace lay at rest, full of their strange dens although she had yet to see a monster roar by on the Thunderpath. Still, with only the moonlight and the strange yellow light from holes in the dens to shine on the ground she felt very unsure of what she might find there.

She rose to her paws again and climbed down to find that the stone jutted out from the dirt about a tail-length, and if she curled up just right amongst the grass growing there she wouldn't be seen. So she crawled under and made a nest underneath the stone. Her heart began to ache as she thought of seeing Minnowtail. It had been moons since her death defending the camp from ThunderClan. The last time Duskwater had seen her was with her broken neck and swollen belly. She had gone to Sunningrocks to bathe on the smooth stones when the patrol had surprised them. Even bearing her charges she put up a fight to defend the elders lying with her, but reinforcements had arrived too late. She had been pushed back and over the edge of the Sunningrocks with a large tom bearing down on her. But she had regained her beauty among the stars and Duskwater assumed that her kits were with her there. She would miss them so, even as she knew her own life was fast approaching its close. But she reassured herself that they were safe and that in turn they would keep her safe, as Minnowtail had promised.

Putting those thoughts aside and with her heartache subsiding, Duskwater let her eyes close and let sleep overtake her.

The sun hadn't yet risen in the sky when a sound awoke her like a great humming. It was distant at first and she could ignore it until she realized it was coming closer. It sounded very much like a high-pitched monster when it roared to life and it made Duskwater's fur stand on end. She crawled out from under the stone to see a Twoleg nearby. It held a strange green stick with both hands that extended down towards the grass. At the very tip was a wide section that was attacking the tall grass at its feet. Duskwater tensed when the Twoleg swung its head around and looked straight at her, turning some as he realized she was there.

She readied herself to run as far as she could but the Twoleg made no move towards her. It raised a hand to make a gesture with the strange black duckbill sitting on its head before turning back to its work, moving away from her.

This puzzled her but she was taken from her thoughts by the sound of her stomach growling. She'd planned to eat after relieving herself the day before, but after being swept up in the storm she hadn't the strength to try and catch anything. And with the river as flooded as it had been fishing wasn't an option. She had a slight distaste for land prey but she knew that in times of desperation any food was welcomed.

Up the left side of the bank led to more Twoleg dens but there was a strange mesh of cobweb blocking the right path; it looked to be made of the same material as Twoleg monsters. She didn't think she could find an easy way around it and so she crossed an empty Thunderpath to make her way towards the nearest tree line. The trees here were of a different kind from those marking the ThunderClan border, their bark a peculiar white with black splotches. But she could still smell the faint scent of mice and birds, something she knew well.

Crouching low to the ground Duskwater crept forward until the musky smell of her prey filled her nostrils. Her muscles bunched and she readied herself to pounce. In the next heartbeat the wind was crushed from her lungs and a splitting yowl sounded in her ear.