CHAPTER 31-The Thing That Tears Off Wings

The journey back to the Clans was long and difficult. I began to grow thinner from running and snacking on the moorland prey. As the days passed, our travels slowly came to an end. More and more of the landscapes became familiar; we were nearing the Lake.

I breathed in the rich scent of WindClan's meadow and caught a faint whiff of RiverClan's marshes. A fresh smell of pine trees came from ShadowClan's direction.

Snowstorm stopped to take in the scene, and then he took a deep breath and meowed, "Alright, let's go."

We padded closer. The sun cast cold rays over the snow, and beyond the tall trees, I caught the sharp glimmer of the ice on the Lake.

In order to get to ThunderClan, we had to pass through WindClan territory first. I hope they wouldn't mind too much.

The thick snow sagged and pooled around my legs like water as I trudged through. The moorland was completely covered by the silvery blanket, and everything was completely white. Even the blue sky seemed pale and diluted.

I could sense tension coming from the others. Their fur bristled, and their ears were pricked and alert. It was obvious that they were in a hurry to get off WindClan's territory.

I scented the air and caught a whiff of WindClan cats nearby. "They're coming," I warned.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing on our territory?" someone screeched. Without turning around to see who it was, we immediately bunched up our muscles and bolted.

The wind teased my fur.

"Stop! Come back!" the angry WindClan cats yowled, but pretty soon, his voice ebbed away and dissolved.

I wasn't scared, not really. After all, I had two warriors by my side. I pushed up billows of snow and skirted a bramble bush.

A light breeze carried a faint hint of the WindClan scent, but now that I noticed, there was a light sour taint to it, as bitter as liverwort tea. The breeze whispered one more time, and then it was gone.

Dewstep looked back. "That's strange. Usually they're fast enough to take us down."

It was true. Normally, the lean WindClan cats were as swift as the rabbits they hunted. But now, they were falling way behind, even though I could see that they were trying their hardest to outrun us.

We crossed the border onto ThunderClan territory, and I felt safe at last.

Snowstorm suddenly hesitated.

I asked, "What's wrong?"

The white warrior paused and flattened his ears. "We've been away from the Clans for at least a moon. I don't think Bramblestar will be too happy to see us when he realized that we've been deserting our warrior duties."

Dewstep yawned. "Yeah, well. This is ThunderClan, our only home we can return to. And besides, it was StarClan who called us. We had no choice but to leave."

The large white tom pointed out, "Actually, StarClan called Ashley, not us."

But I felt nervous as well. How would our Clanmates greet us?

We continued on our way, but slower this time. The snow-covered cliffs and slopes looked unfamiliar and strange. A rabbit suddenly exploded from underneath an evergreen and skirted through the snow, sending puffs of snow flying everywhere.

I jumped, startled.

Snowstorm shouted, "Ashley, catch it!" I was used to obeying orders, so I immediately snapped out of my surprise and quickly ran after the prey.

The rabbit pounded its feet against the ground and dashed away from my grasp. I clenched my teeth and urged myself to run faster. Come on! Almost there!

The rabbit's cotton tail bobbed up and down in front of me, so close that I could almost touch it. I can't lose this one!

With one fantastic, echoing leap, I pushed down on my hind legs and soared through the air.

With outstretched claws, I sank them deep into the prey's shoulders and pressed it down into the snow. It let out a sharp shriek before I killed it with a bite to its throat.

The warriors hurried towards me, and I turned to meet them triumphantly with the animal hanging limply from my jaws.

Dewstep nodded. "That was great."

"You were amazing!" Snowstorm beamed.

I blushed. "Thanks."

After I rested from the energetic run, we continued on our way. The trees passed us, one by one.

Footsteps crunching in the snow alerted me, and I turned around to see a head pop up from behind a snow drift.

"Halt! Who's there?" the cat demanded. He was a black and white tom, and my eyes widened when I realized that it was Toadstep. Two other heads popped up next to him: Foxleap and Icecloud.

I shouted, "It's you!"

"Ashley? Snowstorm, Dewstep?" Foxleap tipped his head over to one side, his amber eyes confused. "Where were you guys?"

I grinned. "It's a long story. But are we welcome in ThunderClan?" Foxleap and Toadstep exchanged glances, but Icecloud blurted out, "Of course you are! Cloudtail and Brightheart have been worrying so much!"

She bounded forward in excitement and meowed, "I'll go on ahead and tell the rest of the Clan. You're finally back!"

She disappeared. Foxleap and Toadstep nuzzled us, exchanging greetings.

The reddish-brown tom beckoned with his tail. "Come on, then."

We pushed through the snow eagerly, and I dragged the dead rabbit along in my jaws.

Toadstep mewed, "Nice rabbit." I nodded in thanks.

My heart beat nervously when we finally pushed through the gorse tunnel into the middle of the camp.

Icecloud yelled from the middle of the clearing, "Look! There they are!"

Immediatley, a surge of cats poured over us, asking us questions and poking and prodding.

"Where have you been?"

"Did someone kidnap you guys?"

"I thought you were dead!"

"I missed you guys so much!"

I was lost in the confusion.

Amberlight pushed through and almost barreled her brothers over.

She wrapped her paws around Dewstep and Snowstorm in a tight hug and buried her nose in their fur. "I was so worried," she breathed.

"Snowstorm? Dewstep? Is that you?" a feminine voice mewed through the crowd.

A weary-looking Brightheart padded through, eyeing the two toms. Her green eyes quickly brightened. "It really is you!"

"Mother," Snowstorm purred.

I looked around, nervous to be in the attention of so many cats.

"Quiet down, everyone," Bramblestar ordered.

The cats stopped chattering and parted a way for the leader to pad through. He stopped and sniffed us.

"Why did you leave?" he demanded.

Dewstep dipped his head and mewed, "Ashley was called by StarClan to go on a journey."

I heard gasps of surprise come from the crowd, along with looks of disbelief. I twitched my ears, uncertain of what to do.

Even Bramblestar didn't seem to believe him. "It's no use making excuses. I promise you, whatever the reason you ran away, I will forgive you. Now tell me the real reason why you left."

I scratched my claws against the snow in frustration. Even my own Clan leader thought that I wasn't worthy of StarClan. This was the hundredth time that I doubted Firestar's judgment and prophecy.

I insisted, "It's true!"

Bramblestar hesitated, unsure of what to say.

Someone meowed from the crowd, "Come on, just tell us the real reason! Were you kidnapped or something?"

Snowstorm stood up taller and mewed, "StarClan came to Ashley in a dream, and she told her to go to the mountains. Dewstep and I followed, since we were reluctant to let her go alone. I don't know exactly what the dream was about, since she never told me, but I know that there is a prophecy involved. Although, she never told me the words of the prophecy either. But I swear, it's true!"

I blinked at him, admiring his strength and courage to speak against his leader.

Bramblestar's tail twitched, and it appeared that he was thinking deeply.

After what seemed like a lifetime, he finally sighed, "Alright, then. If what you say is true, then you are dismissed. Have some fresh-kill and rest. The journey to the mountains must have been hard."

A few of the Clanmates cast him disbelieving looks. "Do you really believe that story? Why would StarClan choose Ashley?" one of them asked.

The Clan leader said something in return, but I didn't hear. I was dragging the rabbit over to the fresh-kill pile, my cheeks burning from the fact that my Clanmates thought that I was worthless. I had always realized that from the start, but now, it seemed that a new ember had ignited. StarClan had chosen me, but my Clanmates were reluctant to believe it. If it had been Lionblaze, or Squirrelflight, then they would have believed! Heck, even if the chosen cat was Dewstep, they would have probably believed that too!

Was I really that weak and insignificant? I sank my teeth angrily into the neck of the rabbit.

And then, just as quickly, the anger ebbed away. My shoulders sagged.

"Hey."

I looked up, my eyes half-open. Snowstorm smiled softly down at me.

He said, "Cheer up. You caught that rabbit all by yourself, remember? And also that eagle back at the Tribe of Rushing Water. You should be proud."

I nodded weakly. "Yeah, I guess."

My defeat was slowly replaced by a sense of determination. I would train harder. I would run faster. I would hunt better. I would train harder than any cat ever did, and I won't give up. If I tried my hardest, I would grow up to be the greatest warrior the forest had ever seen, better even than Lionblaze. And then everyone would believe me if I told them that I was the chosen cat, and I would finally be worthy of StarClan.

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Jayfeather's POV

I was sitting in the leader's den with my tail curled around my paws. Bramblestar was lying in his nest.

I could sense waves of confusion washing over him, as noticeable as the tide on the Lake.

He muttered, "Their story sounded truthful enough. But of all the cats that they could have chose, StarClan chose Ashley instead."

I mewed, "There is something strange about her." Her scent was different. I couldn't quite put my paw on it, but it was altered somehow. I couldn't shake off the feeling, but I could sense that she wasn't entirely cat-like. Who was Ashley, really? What was her past? What was her future?

I straightened up and mewed, "For there to be victory over the evil, secrets must be unraveled, enemies must be forgotten, and new friends be forged. Through the dreaded time a conqueror will arrive, a rescuer that was born to quake the ground and shake the frontiers. Water must quench fire, light must filter shadows, and a new storm must be forged and banded together in order for the sun to come out again. That was what Firestar told you in the beginning, right?"

Bramblestar nodded. I was just as confused as he was.

"Well," I sighed. "Maybe StarClan will give me another dream this time. Tonight is the half-moon, so I'll be able to go the Moonpool." I stood up.

Bramblestar replied, "Alright, then. Tell me everything when you get back."

"I will," I promised, and slipped out.

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The night air was bold and crisp. Mothwing and Willowshine padded behind me, along with Littlecloud.

"Kestrelflight is late today," Mothwing commented. The WindClan medicine cat hadn't shown up yet.

A fresh breeze blew over from the WindClan territory and twirled its fingers around my fur. For a second, I thought I caught a whiff of something foreign, something strange, but the wind was gone before I could tell what it was.

I glanced up at the black sky. "We'll have to go without him, then," I sighed.

Littlecloud rasped, "Wait, Jayfeather. He's coming."

I heard the tiny patter of pawsteps and recognized Kestelflight's scent. He smelled different around the edges, just a little bit. I shrugged it off. It was probably because of some herb he had used.

He panted, "Hey, sorry I'm late. I had to deal with something."

We continued on our way to the Moonpool. Usually, the WindClan medicine cat was as noisy as a tree full of birds, but tonight, he was silent. I was relieved, but at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder.

I reached out my mind toward him and felt a huge wave of worry coming from the cat. The feeling was so strong and defined that I nearly staggered under the weight. But what was he worried about? Were the rabbits becoming scarce in leaf-bare?

I hope that WindClan wouldn't try to steal prey from us, just like ShadowClan did.

The glimmer of the Moonpool greeted us as the stars twirled in its depths. Was it just my imagination, or did the shiny water seem diluted somehow?

Willowshine noticed too. "Something seems different about it," she mewed.

Mothwing sniffed the surface. "Some mud probably got in it."

We settled around it and dipped our noses into the water. It even smelled strange, kind of like Kestrelflight.

After a while, I closed my eyes, and felt the familiar feeling of sleep engulf me.

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I opened my eyes and was in the dream world, drifting across a black void. It was cold, deathly cold, without the comforting warmth of the presence of stars.

I called, "Hello?"

No one answered, not even an echo. I began to grow annoyed. "Come on, come out now! Yellowfang? Firestar?"

I hesitated, and then shouted, "What exactly did you tell Ashley?"

Something stiffened, out there among the shadows. I couldn't exactly tell what it was, but I detected its movements.

"Yellowfang?" I leaned forward, slowly. No. It wasn't even a cat.

The thing hesitated, quivering, shaded by the darkness, and then it simply vanished. Melted. Gone.

I stood back, confused.

"What's going on?" I called out, to no one in particular.

I sensed the black void slowly pulsing, as if something was trying to reach through, but failed. I could feel the tension, straining and tugging.

Everything was quiet, but now and then, I saw more shapes sift through the shadows. It seemed that they were watching me, and they knew that I was there.

My fur began to bristle. Something particularly large scurried along with twitching movements. Its form was engulfed by the shadows so that I couldn't see what it was.

It twitched again, hesitated, and ambled slowly towards me.

I quickly moved back. Whatever it was, I didn't like the way it moved, didn't like the feeling it gave me, or the fact that it had no eyes.

I began to feel fear.

"StarClan!" I called desperately. "Where are you?"

A voice began to trickle in, soft and quiet. It was obvious that it didn't want anyone else to hear.

I strained to listen.

The voice whispered, "The cat will have a black pelt, dark as the night, cold as the moon, yet she will shine brighter than any sun. And on her journey, she will meet a winged lion, a snake with golden scales—"

All of a sudden, the thing in the shadows let out an ear-splitting screech that sent shudders rippling through my entire body. It was a screech that belonged nowhere near the forest, nowhere near the Lake, a bloodcurdling noise filled with hatred and malice and spite.

There were more movements in the darkness, and the sound of formless claws padding towards me sent chills shooting up my spine. I backed away quickly, my eyes wide and my breath coming in gasps. Just as it became overwhelming, I abruptly woke up. I panted.

What had happened?

The dawn was breaking through the trees, and the other medicine cats were beginning to stir.

Willowshine arched her back and stretched. "What's wrong, Jayfeather? You look like you got caught in the headlights of a monster."

I shook my head and mewed, "No, nothing's wrong."

My heart still pounded. Whatever StarClan meant for me to see, I knew one thing. There was a grave danger ahead of ThunderClan, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't forget the screech of the thing in the shadows.