The Fourth Apprentice

He heard Poppyfrost rise to her paws and pad around the Moonpool until she was standing in front of him, her scent strong in his nose.

“If I went to StarClan once and came back, I can go there again! Please!” Jayfeather could feel her body tremble with longing. “I want to see Honeyfern. I want to tell her that I didn’t mean to take Berrynose from her. Oh, Jayfeather, what if she hates me, too?”

Jayfeather stifled a sigh. “That’s not possible,” he began. “Warriors can’t just stroll in and out of StarClan. I would have to hurt you or make you sick, and medicine cats can’t—”

He broke off at the sound of a soft pad of footsteps from the edge of the hollow. Breezepelt’s voice echoed coldly off the stone. “What’s this? Another dilemma for ThunderClan? You cats should really learn to control your emotions, you know. Now you’ll just have more kits who should never have been born,” he added.

“Breezepelt!” Poppyfrost sounded shocked. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s not very friendly.” The WindClan cat’s voice was soft. “The Moonpool isn’t ThunderClan territory, you know.”

“Leave us alone,” Jayfeather snapped, trying to conceal the fear that was trickling like icemelt down his spine. “We don’t need you here.”

“Oh, I think you do.” The soft voice was drawing closer. “I’m willing to help Poppyfrost get to StarClan, even if you’re not.”

Jayfeather gulped, picking up a wave of fear and bewilderment from Poppyfrost, as if the young she-cat couldn’t understand why the WindClan warrior was threatening her. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he meowed. “You won’t kill her, not when I’m here.”

“Oh, really?” Breezepelt snarled; he was only about a tail-length away now. “And you, a blind medicine cat, think you can stop me, do you? When her body is found drowned in your precious pool, it’ll be your word against mine. I was never here tonight. My Clanmates can lie as well as yours, Jayfeather.”

Poppyfrost let out a gasp. Jayfeather stepped in front of her, guarding her from Breezepelt. The waves of hatred coming from his half brother were almost enough to knock him off his paws—and he realized that Breezepelt would do anything to punish him for being born.

“Your quarrel is with me, Breezepelt,” he growled. “Let Poppyfrost go.”

Breezepelt gave a snort of contempt. “Sending you to StarClan isn’t enough of a punishment. You need to know what it’s like to have every cat in your Clan stare at you, whisper about you. You need to know that you’re surrounded by lies and hatred and things that should never have happened.”

“You think we don’t know that?” Jayfeather challenged him. “The worst of the lies were told about us. We didn’t even know who our real parents were.”

For a heartbeat he felt the force of Breezepelt’s hatred falter. But the moment did not last.

“Don’t try to talk your way out of this,” Breezepelt hissed. “You’re nothing but a coward.”

StarClan help me! Jayfeather thought, knowing there was only one way forward. Unsheathing his claws, he sprang at Breezepelt. He felt the WindClan cat’s surprise as he was bowled over; Jayfeather landed on top of him and battered at his neck and ears, ripping his claws down his pelt.

Breezepelt let out a yowl of pain and fury. But Jayfeather knew that he couldn’t hope to win a fight against a seasoned warrior. The WindClan cat threw him off and flipped him over onto his back. Holding him down with one paw, Breezepelt landed several hard blows on Jayfeather’s belly. Wriggling in a vain attempt to escape, Jayfeather realized dully his adversary was keeping his claws sheathed.

He’s playing with me. He’ll finish me off when he’s ready.

Poppyfrost’s terrified wail came close to Jayfeather’s ear. “Stop it! You can’t kill a medicine cat!”

“Watch me,” Breezepelt growled.

Poppyfrost aimed a blow at his shoulder, but she was heavy with her kits and clumsy; Jayfeather could tell the blow had no force behind it.

“Get out of here!” he gasped as another blow to his belly winded him. “Think of your kits!”

Poppyfrost backed away, whimpering, but she didn’t try to leave.

In the next heartbeat Breezepelt sprang away from Jayfeather, who scrambled, half-dazed, to his paws. Standing still, he tried to locate the WindClan cat, but between pain and fear he was losing control of his senses.

Then Breezepelt leaped back in front of him, lashing out with his paws, claws still sheathed as he just brushed Jayfeather’s ears and muzzle. “Go on, see if you can hit me!” he taunted.

Jayfeather sprang forward, but before he reached the WindClan cat a heavy weight landed on him from behind and claws raked across his shoulders.

Another cat? Oh, great StarClan, no!

Remembering his battle training, Jayfeather let himself go limp, flopping down on the edge of the pool with the strange tom crushing him down. He lashed out with all four paws, clawing frantically at the other cat’s belly.