“I don’t know. It was too dark. I don’t even know if it was a tom or a she-cat. The only thing I remember is the toes. I think that’s all StarClan wanted me to see.”
Alderheart sat down. “Do you know about the prophecy?”
“Which prophecy?” Willowshine looked puzzled.
“When we shared with StarClan at the Moonpool, Echosong told us all, ‘The dark sky must not herald a storm.’ We tried to tell you, but Duskfur—”
Willowshine interrupted him, her thoughts already on the prophecy. “‘The dark sky must not herald a storm’? What does that mean?”
“We don’t know.” Alderheart shifted his weight onto his haunches. “Rowanstar thinks the dark sky must mean SkyClan. Harestar thinks something bad is coming, and he’s ordered extra patrols. Leafstar says she’s too busy building a new home to think about it.” He frowned. “Bramblestar doesn’t seem too bothered either.”
Willowshine widened her eyes. “Mistystar reacted the same way to my vision! I told her what I’d seen, and she said she had too many real things to worry about without wasting her time on stuff she couldn’t see.”
Alderheart’s pelt prickled. “Why don’t leaders understand that StarClan is their best ally?” He grunted. “Patrols and borders,” he muttered under his breath. “That’s all leaders care about.”
“We have more information now,” Willowshine pointed out. “I only had my vision and you only had yours. But if we tell them about both, then they’ll have to listen.”
Alderheart blinked at her. She was right. Her vision had given them an important clue. Now at least they knew what would help them avoid the storm. If only they knew what the cat with the six toes meant. “Come on.” He got to his paws. “We have to tell this to Bramblestar.”
“But I need to get back.” Willowshine glanced anxiously toward the lake. “I sneaked out.”
“Your Clanmates will think you’re gathering herbs,” Alderheart reassured her. “That’s what I was doing just now. That’s what all medicine cats do at the start of leaf-fall.” He didn’t give her chance to argue and began to head toward the ThunderClan camp. It had been too long since he’d heard from RiverClan. He wanted a chance to talk to her. She needed to know that Duskfur had turned them away when they’d tried to share the prophecy. If RiverClan cut themselves off from StarClan as well as the other Clans, that could only lead to trouble. “We missed you at the Moonpool meeting,” he mewed as he followed a rabbit track across the border into ThunderClan territory.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come. Mistystar ordered me and Mothwing to stay in camp.” Willowshine hurried after him, her pelt ruffling uneasily.
“I tried to visit to tell you the prophecy. Jayfeather, Kestrelflight, and Puddleshine were with me, but Duskfur wouldn’t let us cross the border.”
“I know.” Willowshine fell in beside him as he began to follow the stream that flowed down to the lake.
She knew? Alarm jabbed Alderheart’s chest. Didn’t she care?
She went on. “The patrol made their report to Mistystar loud enough for the whole camp to hear. Duskfur was furious that you tried to reach the camp. When Mothwing pointed out that medicine cats are allowed to cross borders, she wouldn’t listen.”
“Did Mistystar agree with her?” Alderheart glanced at her anxiously. He’d hoped that Duskfur’s attitude wasn’t shared by the whole of RiverClan.
Willowshine avoided his eye. “She said she was right to send you away.”
Alderheart’s heart sank. Why was RiverClan behaving like this? Mistystar hadn’t seemed this hostile at the Gathering. Now it sounded like she was following in the paw steps of Onestar, the late WindClan leader who’d acted so oddly before Darktail was driven off. “StarClan is unhappy about RiverClan cutting themselves off,” he mewed softly. He didn’t want to upset Willowshine, but he hoped she might pass on his words to Mistystar.
“Mistystar feels betrayed by the other Clans,” Willowshine murmured, as though she feared being overheard. “She feels they should have stopped Darktail before he caused so much harm.”
Alderheart glanced at her sympathetically. “RiverClan suffered. We all did. But how could the Clans have known Darktail was so evil? How could we imagine the unimaginable?”
Willowshine didn’t answer. She was clearly torn between loyalty to her Clanmates and loyalty to StarClan. Instead she changed the subject. “How is SkyClan?”
Alderheart remembered that RiverClan had left the Gathering before SkyClan’s fate had been decided. “They have their own territory now. Rowanstar gave them a piece of ShadowClan land.”
Willowshine blinked at him in surprise. “Why?”
“Tigerheart suggested it,” Alderheart told her. “He said it made sense to have a grateful ally on their border.”
Willowshine was quiet for a moment. Then she mewed, “Should Rowanstar have let Tigerheart make such an important decision? After everything ShadowClan has been through, they need their leader to be strong.”
“Perhaps having a strong deputy is as good as having a strong leader.” Alderheart cut away from the stream and began to head for the rise, which led to the camp. He hadn’t thought about Tigerheart’s speech much; he’d been too worried about SkyClan’s fate. But Willowshine was right. By speaking up, Tigerheart had made Rowanstar seem less powerful.
The sight of the thorn barrier distracted him from the thought. What would Bramblestar say about Willowshine’s vision? Please let him take it seriously this time. Worry pricked at his paws as he padded into camp.
Bramblestar sat alone on Highledge. Dovewing was talking with Millie and Graystripe outside the elders’ den. Blossomfall was encouraging her kits to chase a moss ball beside the nursery, knocking it softly away from them as they stumbled to catch it. They were still unsteady on their paws, blinking at the daylight.
Stemkit’s white-and-orange fur was fluffed out as he scrambled ahead of his littermates and reached the moss ball first. “I got it!” he squeaked triumphantly.
Eaglekit hooked it away from him with a delighted mew.
Willowshine purred. “They look well.”
“They are healthy and strong,” Alderheart reported proudly. “In SkyClan, Tinycloud’s had her kits too. Two she-kits and a tom.”
Graystripe called across the clearing. “Willowshine! It’s good to see you. How is RiverClan?”
“They’re fine,” she reported, not meeting the old tom’s eye.
“Has Mistystar opened the border?” Dovewing asked.
“No.” Willowshine’s pelt ruffled. “I just came to discuss something with Alderheart.”
Dovewing shrugged and headed toward the nursery. As she began playing with the kits, Alderheart led Willowshine up the tumble of rocks.
Bramblestar met them at the top. “Willowshine.” He flicked his tail uneasily. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay in RiverClan?”
“RiverClan is fine.” Willowshine dipped her head. “I came to share a vision I had with Alderheart.”
Bramblestar’s gaze sharpened. “Did StarClan send you their message about the dark sky?”
“It wasn’t the same as the prophecy they shared with us,” Alderheart told him. “It’s a new message.”
Willowshine met the ThunderClan leader’s gaze. “I had a vision of a six-toed cat. StarClan told me that to fend off the storm, we will need an extra claw.”
Bramblestar’s gaze narrowed.
At last! Relief washed Alderheart’s pelt. His father finally seemed interested in the prophecy.
“Do you know what it means?” Bramblestar looked from Willowshine to Alderheart.
“I was thinking maybe the claws could mean Clans,” Alderheart said tentatively. “Five claws . . . five Clans.”