Chapter 6
Pebbleshine hauled herself to the top of a hill and flopped down in the long grass to rest. Several days had passed since she’d escaped from the little Twoleg den, and she had been traveling ever since.
Relaxing in a patch of sunlight, Pebbleshine let her thoughts drift back to the day before, when she had met a strange yellow tom named Tree.
Because she was expecting kits, Tree had stayed close to her during the night, helping her keep watch for predators. And it was a good thing he did—a hunting fox had disturbed them, and it had taken all their strength and fighting skill to drive it off.
That morning, Pebbleshine had invited Tree to come with her and search for SkyClan, assuring him that he would be welcome. But Tree had refused. He had insisted that he was a loner, and however hard Pebbleshine had tried to convince him that it was good to have other cats to rely on, Tree wouldn’t change his mind.
Regretfully, Pebbleshine had said good-bye to Tree, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that somehow their destinies were intertwined. “Maybe I will see him again,” she mewed softly to herself. “But that’s in the paws of StarClan.”
Ever since the dream, Pebbleshine had been following the setting sun, just as Hawkwing had told her in her dream. She still wasn’t sure where exactly his message had come from, but it had gotten her out of that tiny den, and so she trusted it. She had made good progress since that day, but now that her belly was heavier, it made her awkward and slow, and she grew tired quickly.
It can’t be long before my kits come, she thought.
Not for the first time, Pebbleshine wished that Echosong and Frecklewish could be with her, to tell her whether she was headed in the right direction and how close she was to kitting. A cold claw of fear touched her when she thought of giving birth without a medicine cat. All she could do was have faith that seeing Hawkwing and the others hadn’t been just a dream, and that StarClan really was helping her.
Ready to go on, Pebbleshine raised her head and looked around. From her vantage point on the hill, the landscape ahead stretched out in front of her. Pebbleshine drew in a gasp of excitement as, far in the distance, she spotted a gleam of water. She felt an odd flutter in her belly, but she tried not to get too optimistic. This wasn’t the first time she had seen water in her journeying, but she still hadn’t found any Clans.
Then a breeze picked up, blowing toward Pebbleshine from the direction of the water. Tasting the air, she could discern the faint scent of a cat. She blinked, puzzled. It wasn’t SkyClan scent, and she was much too far away from the water to pick up any cat’s scent from there.
Besides, this scent was different. It was icy, the scent of cats who walked with the night wind and the stars. Stars! Yes!
“StarClan, is that you?” Pebbleshine asked, her voice quivering. She was so far from her Clan, and she knew she wasn’t a medicine cat. But perhaps—now and with her dream—StarClan was finding new ways to send her messages? “Are you really here?”
There was no reply, no vision of a starry warrior. The strange scent wreathed around her for a moment longer and then faded. But Pebbleshine wasn’t in any doubt about what she should do now.
Pebbleshine rose to her paws and set off down the hill, heading toward the water. Although she soon lost sight of it, she kept the direction fixed in her mind. Her paws urged her on, as quickly as she could with the weight of her kits, but finally she had to make herself stop and hunt.
I have to keep my strength up for my kits, she thought, even though she felt restless. She wanted to reach the water as fast as possible.
She had halted beside one of the gorse bushes that dotted the hillside. Angling her ears toward it, Pebbleshine picked up the faint sound of scuffling, along with a strong scent of mouse. She swiped her tongue around her jaws in anticipation of the juicy prey.
Creeping forward cautiously, remembering that a mouse would feel the vibration of her paw steps before it heard or smelled her, Pebbleshine ducked under the outer branches of the bush and spotted her prey nibbling on a seed. She pushed off with her hind paws in a long, low pounce and brought both forepaws down hard on the mouse. It didn’t even have time to squeal.
“Thank you, StarClan, for this prey,” Pebbleshine mewed aloud before bending her head to take a bite. And thank you for guiding me on my way, she added silently.
Setting out again after she had eaten, Pebbleshine felt a sudden pain shoot through her belly. She had to halt and catch her breath before walking on again, more slowly. But the pain came again, and again, and finally Pebbleshine realized what it meant.
My kits are coming!
Everything in Pebbleshine fought against the knowledge. She had been so desperate to reach home and Hawkwing before their kits were born. And now that StarClan had sent her a sign and directed her toward the place where she would find the other Clans, all she wanted was to keep moving until she reached the water.
But it seems my kits have other ideas, she thought dryly.
Pebbleshine padded onward for as long as she could, but the pains were coming closer and closer together, and at last she had to accept that she couldn’t go any farther. She had to find somewhere safe for her kitting.
She was heading toward a Thunderpath, and for a few moments the roaring and the harsh tang of the monsters, their speed and their glittering colors, bewildered her so that she couldn’t think what to do next.
Oh, StarClan, this can’t be what you meant!
Then Pebbleshine noticed that the Thunderpath was raised on a steeply sloping bank, a few tail-lengths above its surroundings, and that not far away from where she was standing a dark hole gaped at the foot of the slope. A dip in the grass led down to it. As she padded cautiously nearer, Pebbleshine could see that it was the mouth of some kind of tunnel. A damp, musty smell flowed out of it to meet her, but there was no scent of other creatures inside. Bars of harsh Twoleg stuff covered the opening, though they were set wide enough apart that she could slip between them.
“Do I really want to go in there?” Pebbleshine asked herself.
At the same moment another wave of pain came, so overwhelming that Pebbleshine realized she didn’t have any choice. There was no time left to look for somewhere else. At least she could hope that the tunnel would be sheltered and safe.
Pebbleshine padded down to the bottom of the bank and slipped between the bars at the entrance to the tunnel. The musty scent was all around her, and the stones of the tunnel floor were slick with water. Damp cold struck up through Pebbleshine’s paws as she splashed her way farther into the tunnel.
She was beginning to despair of finding anywhere safe for her kits when in the dim light she made out a raised area at one side of the tunnel, and managed to drag herself onto it. The stones were uneven and covered with debris, but at least they were dry.
“That’s it!” she gasped as she flopped onto one side. “Kits, this is as far as we go.”
Pain after pain rippled through Pebbleshine’s belly. She could feel her muscles bunching and stretching as her body tried to push the kits out into the world, but nothing happened. She lost count of how long she had been lying in the tunnel, but the dim light that filtered in from the entrance eventually faded, leaving her in the dark. And still her kits didn’t come.
“Oh, StarClan, give me strength!” she choked out through gritted teeth.
“Here.” Pebbleshine felt a paw on her shoulder, and looked up to see a pale yellow tom standing over her, pushing a stick toward her. “Bite down on the stick when the pain comes,” he meowed.
“But who—” Pebbleshine began, but then the pain swept her up again and overwhelmed her, and she bit down hard on the stick until the agony ebbed away.