Firestar’s Quest

At last came the moment when the air grew fresher again, bringing the scents of the moor to his nose. The tunnel opened out into a large cave, and he caught a glimpse of the stars glittering far above, shedding their faint light through a hole in the roof. He could just make out the dark shape of the Moonstone in front of him, stretching three tail-lengths high from the floor of the cave. Wrapping his tail around his paws, he sat down to wait.

The change came with a blinding flash, as if every star in Silverpelt had poured down into the cave at once. The moon shifted in the sky until it shone down through the hole in the roof; in its light the Moonstone glittered like dew, shedding a pale, sparkling light on the cavern walls and the high, arched roof.

Firestar lay in front of the Moonstone and stretched out until he could touch it with his nose. Cold spread through him from muzzle to tail tip, and he remembered the last time he had come here, to receive his nine lives and his name. It seemed such a long time ago. He closed his eyes and let the darkness take him.

For countless heartbeats he felt nothing but wind and the scent of night rushing through his fur. Fear swelled up inside him; he gritted his teeth, refusing to lift his nose from the cold, cold stone.

Then his ears picked up a faint sound that gradually grew louder: the rustling of leaves in the breeze. His eyes flew open. Huge branches stretched above his head, barely visible against a dark sky. There was no moon, but the stars of Silverpelt were burning brightly, close enough to look as if they were tangled among the leaves.

Firestar scrambled up and looked around. He was back at Fourtrees, but this time the clearing was empty.

Then starlight sparkled at the edge of his sight, too low to come from Silverpelt; he spun around to see a blue-furred she-cat padding out of the shadows. Her pelt shone silver, and she left a frosty glitter on the grass where she set her paws.

“Bluestar!” Firestar was overjoyed to see the ThunderClan leader before him. “It’s good to see you. Have you come here alone?”

Bluestar padded closer until Firestar could see the gleaming depths of her blue eyes. “I know why you have come,” she replied, “and the questions you want to ask would not be welcomed by many of your warrior ancestors.”

Firestar stared at her. “Do you mean that StarClan know the cats in my dreams? Are they from StarClan too? Why have I never seen them before? And what do they want from me?”

Bluestar brushed her tail across his mouth to silence him.

Her eyes were troubled. Firestar felt as though he stood on the verge of a dark secret, and suddenly he didn’t want to know what lay in its depths.

“Firestar.” Bluestar’s voice was uncertain, hesitant. “Is there any way you would be content to go away without the answer you seek?”

There was a hint of desperation in her eyes; Firestar almost gave way to her, but then he remembered why he had come. If he left without an explanation, the terrified wailing would invade his dreams over and over again, and there would be no escape from visions of the fleeing cats.

“No, Bluestar,” he answered steadily. “I have to know the truth.”

“Very well.” Bluestar sighed. “The cats you have seen are from SkyClan.”

“SkyClan?” Firestar echoed. “What is that?”

Bluestar bowed her head. “They are—they were—the fifth Clan.”

Chapter 5

“But there have always been four Clans in the forest!”

“Not always,” Bluestar replied. Her voice and her eyes were cold. “Once there were five. SkyClan’s territory lay downriver from ThunderClan, where the Twolegplace is now. When the Twolegs built their nests, many, many seasons ago, SkyClan left the forest. There was no room for them then—and there’s no room for them now.”

“Where did they go?” Firestar asked.

“I don’t know. Far from these skies where StarClan walks.”

“And did StarClan never try to find them?” Firestar was shocked that Bluestar sounded so dismissive, as if the spirits of their warrior ancestors didn’t care that a whole Clan had gone away.

“Their own warrior ancestors went with them,” Bluestar explained. “There was no reason why SkyClan couldn’t have found another home somewhere else.”

“Then what do they want with me?” Firestar asked, bewildered. “Are they trying to tell me that they want to come back? Why would they do that, if they found another home?”

“I don’t know,” Bluestar admitted. “But from the first moment I saw you, all those seasons ago, I knew you were the fire that would save our Clan. I knew you would leave pawsteps behind you that will be remembered as long as the warrior Clans survive. Perhaps SkyClan sees this also. Perhaps they think that only you can help them.”

Firestar shivered. “Are you telling me that I have to find SkyClan and bring them back to the forest?”

“I’m not telling you anything of the kind,” Bluestar snapped. “Where is there room for another Clan?”

“But the dreams—” Firestar protested.