Eclipse

Lionpaw watched his mentor disappear behind a bramble spilling over the track ahead. Ashfur had taught him well. He had never wished for any other teacher. But Ashfur had not been his only mentor. Tigerstar had trained him, too. And he had been born with powers Icepaw could never dream of, even if she trained day and night every moon of her life.

As the path dipped down toward the hollow and home, Lionpaw felt a pang of loneliness. It was almost as though he belonged to a Clan of his own, distanced by the prophecy from the familiar faces waiting in camp to see what they’d brought back from their hunt.

Icepaw darted ahead of him and followed Whitewing and Ashfur through the barrier of thorns that sealed the camp from the forest. Lionpaw padded after, emerging into the clearing in time to see Icepaw drop her vole onto the fresh-kill pile and turn toward her denmates.

Cinderpaw, Honeypaw, and Poppypaw were sunning themselves outside the apprentices’ den. Icepaw trotted over to them.

“Your first catch?” Honeypaw called.

Icepaw lifted her chin. “I got it first try!”

Lionpaw felt a pang of envy. He would never again feel so carefree, never again be thrilled by such a small success.

“Is Foxpaw back yet?” Icepaw asked, clearly eager to show off her catch to her brother.

“Squirrelflight took him on border patrol,” Cinderpaw informed her. “They should be back soon.”

As Lionpaw padded to the fresh-kill pile and dropped his catch, a pelt brushed his. He turned to see his sister.

“Nice catch.” Hollypaw’s mew was flat, as though she had something else on her mind. She was staring at the apprentices outside their den. Cinderpaw and Poppypaw were rolling a ball of moss to each other while Honeypaw leaped to try to catch it.

“Aren’t you going to join in?” Lionpaw mewed.

Hollypaw blinked. “I don’t feel like it.”

That wasn’t like Hollypaw. Especially if Cinderpaw was playing. “Something wrong?” Lionpaw asked.

“I’m just not in the mood.”

Lionpaw searched her green gaze. Was Hollypaw feeling isolated, too? “It feels odd, doesn’t it?” he ventured.

Hollypaw looked at him. “What?”

“Being different.”

“We’re not different on the outside.”

“You know what I mean.” Lionpaw felt a surge of impatience. He needed to talk to someone. All day he’d been clutching their secret like prey struggling to escape. Hollypaw didn’t have to make it so hard. “Knowing something as huge as we do and not being able to tell anyone.”

The fur on Hollypaw’s shoulders bristled with alarm.

“You’re not thinking of telling, are you?”

“No, I—”

Hollypaw cut him off. “No cat must know! Not when we don’t know exactly what the prophecy means.” She lowered her voice, her gaze darting around the clearing. “We need to figure out what we’re meant to do with our powers.”

Lionpaw flexed his claws. “I wasn’t planning on telling!” he snapped. Why did she have to be so bossy? He wasn’t a mouse-brain! And why did she have to try to figure everything out all the time? The prophecy was simple: They were going to be more powerful than any cat. They just had to be ready to use their powers when they were needed. He turned and padded to the halfrock.

With the sun sliding toward the treetops, the Clan was beginning to take food from the fresh-kill pile. Cinderpaw snatched up Lionpaw’s thrush and carried it to the nursery, where Millie, Daisy, and her kits would be growing hungry.

Poppypaw picked up a mouse and placed it outside the elders’ den. “Fresh-kill!” she called.

Longtail emerged from the tangle of honeysuckle, nose twitching, and stood at the entrance, while Mousefur followed him stiffly out. The old she-cat grew more frail with each passing moon. Longtail waited until she had settled down next to the mouse, then sat beside her.

“You don’t have to watch over me like I’m a helpless kit!”

Mousefur snapped at him.

Longtail’s whiskers twitched with amusement. “It’s a shame your tongue’s not as worn-out as the rest of you,” he purred.

Mousefur swiped at him with her tail, catching him behind the ear. “Do you want some of this?” She nosed the mouse toward him.

“You can have this if you want!” Icepaw was trotting from the fresh-kill pile with her little vole swinging from her jaws.

She dropped it at Longtail’s paws. “I caught it myself!”

“Your first catch?” Mousefur’s eyes glowed.

Longtail bent to sniff the small creature. “It smells delicious.”

The brambles at the entrance to the medicine cat den twitched as Jaypaw slid out, a ball of moss held gingerly between his teeth. He padded over to Mousefur and Longtail and placed the moss on the ground. Turning his blind blue eyes on Icepaw, he mewed, “I’ve heard you’ve been busy today.

You should get something to eat.”

“I am pretty hungry,” Icepaw admitted.

“Thanks for the vole!” Longtail called after the apprentice as she padded back to the fresh-kill pile.

Icepaw mewed happily over her shoulder, “Anytime!”

“Do you mind if I check for ticks while you eat?” Jaypaw asked Mousefur.