Dawn

“Over the mountains,” meowed Squirrelpaw.

Chapter 20

Leafpaw pushed closer against Cinderpelt as the chill of dawn dragged her awake. The stone beneath her seemed to have soaked all the warmth from her body, and the air was so cold that when she opened her eyes she could see her breath billowing in small clouds. She stood up and stretched. The rocks glittered with frost in the pale dawn light, and a scent drifted up toward her so delicious it made her mouth water. Ravenpaw was padding up the slope with a freshly killed rabbit dangling from his jaws.

The other ThunderClan cats were still sleeping, clustered in a dip in the rock several fox-lengths away from where each of the other Clans had settled for the night. But the scent of the rabbit woke them, and they began to raise their heads as Ravenpaw weaved among them. Firestar was already stretching, Sandstorm at his side, when Ravenpaw dropped the fresh-kill at the ThunderClan leader’s paws.

“A parting gift,” he mewed.

Firestar stared at him. “I wish you’d come with us,” he meowed. “I’ve lost Graystripe; I don’t want to leave another friend behind.”

Ravenpaw shook his head. “My home is here, but I’ll never forget you, I promise. I’ll be waiting for you always.”

Leafpaw wondered with a pang if they would ever come back. She knew they were going to be traveling a long way, but she had no idea how far.

“We have been through so much together,” Firestar murmured, his eyes gleaming as he remembered. “We’ve seen the death of Bluestar, the defeat of Tigerstar…” He sighed. “So much has happened, like water flowing past in a river.”

“More water will flow before we join StarClan,” Ravenpaw assured him. “This is not an end. It is a beginning. You will need the courage of a lion to face this journey.”

“It’s hard to find courage when so much is lost.” Firestar’s eyes clouded. “I never thought I’d leave the forest! Even when BloodClan came, I would have died to save my home.”

Ravenpaw drew his tail gently along Firestar’s flank. “If I see Graystripe, I’ll tell him which way you’ve gone,” he promised. He dipped his head formally. “Good-bye, Firestar, and good luck.”

“Good-bye, Ravenpaw.”

As the black loner bounded away down the slope, Leafpaw’s heart ached for her father. He was leaving behind his two oldest and closest friends—without even knowing if one of them was still alive. She watched Sandstorm press her cheek against his as if to remind him he was not alone.

Cinderpelt stretched her forelegs one after the other. “We should check the cats and make sure they are all ready for the journey ahead,” she meowed to Leafpaw.

Leafpaw nodded. She thought back to the night before, when Squirrelpaw had returned with the others from the top of the ridge. Their eyes had been shining.

“We’ve seen the dying warrior!” Brambleclaw’s mew had been breathless with excitement.

“You’ve had the sign?” Firestar leaped to his paws from where he had been dozing beside Sandstorm.

“How can you be sure?” Cinderpelt asked.

“A star blazed through the sky, then vanished,” Squirrelpaw explained. “It fell behind the mountains.”

Blackstar ran over from where ShadowClan huddled on the rock. He looked puzzled. “Is this the sign we waited for at the Great Rock?”

Tawnypelt stared at him as if something had only just dawned on her. “Of course! This must be the great rock Midnight meant! Highstones, not the rock at Fourtrees!”

Stormfur nodded. “She’s never been to the forest. What she saw obviously looked like a great rock, even though to us it meant something completely different.”

Leopardstar shouldered her way to the front. “So what lies behind the mountains?”

“Mountains?” Ferncloud drew Birchkit closer to her.

“Last time we crossed them we found the sun-drown-place,” Brambleclaw explained. “But this time the star seemed to fall farther along.”

Hawkfrost narrowed his eyes. “So we’ll have to find a new route?”

“Not exactly,” Brambleclaw told him.

“It’ll be safer if we cross the mountains the same way as we did last time,” Tawnypelt mewed. “Otherwise we risk getting lost—and the snows might come at any time.”

“We can head toward where the star fell once we’re over them,” Squirrelpaw put in.

Leafpaw saw her sister’s whiskers twitch, and Brambleclaw flexed his claws on the rock as if he were bracing himself for the journey. But there was a hunted look in their eyes as well.

They were frightened of what lay ahead, because they knew what the journey might hold. With a twinge of alarm, Leafpaw wondered why StarClan had chosen a dying warrior to show them the way. It seemed a dark omen on which to fix the hopes of the Clans.

“Come on, Leafpaw!” Cinderpelt’s voice jolted her back to the frosty morning.

“Cinderpelt,” Leafpaw meowed hesitantly. “Do you think the sign from StarClan means they’re coming with us?”

The gray medicine cat gave her a long, thoughtful look. “I hope so.”

“But you’re not sure?” Leafpaw guessed.