He wondered if he could bear to give up hope. Realistically, he knew, it was unlikely—perhaps one chance in a whole field of chances. Is that tiny chance worth the cost to the Clan?
No, he accepted at last. It isn’t.
Heaving a huge sigh, Hawkwing bent his head to sniff
Curlypaw’s mouse. Although the very thought of food made him sick, he forced himself to eat. He knew that he would need his strength for the long journey that lay ahead. Leafstar, Echosong, and Curlypaw all nodded encouragingly.
“You’re making the right decision, Hawkwing,” Leafstar said solemnly. “I’m grateful. The whole Clan is grateful.”
Maybe my Clanmates are right, he thought. We still need to find the spark that remains, and make our new lives with the rest of the Clans. Pebbleshine and our kits will find SkyClan again one day.
We will all be together again in the new territory beside the water, the home that Echosong dreamed of.
But as he swallowed the last of his prey and joined his Clanmates to set out again, Hawkwing still felt as if he was leaving Pebbleshine behind. What chance will she have of finding us now? he wondered.
Padding along at the rear of the Clan, his head down, Hawkwing tried to shake off the thought. But it clung in his mind like a burr in his pelt.
Will I ever see Pebbleshine again?
Chapter 27
“Do you want to lean on my shoulder?” Hawkwing asked Plumwillow.
The SkyClan cats were still trying to go in the direction Barley had shown them, trudging up a long slope covered with tough moorland grass. The ridge ahead of them never seemed to get any closer. A wide blue sky arched above them, where one or two birds were circling, and a stiff breeze buffeted their fur.
“Thanks, Hawkwing.” Plumwillow shifted a pace sideways so that she could lean against him.
Her belly is absolutely enormous! Hawkwing thought. It won’t be long before her kits are here.
A pang of sadness clawed through him as he wondered whether Pebbleshine would get as big as this before the end. Wherever she was—and Hawkwing had to believe that she was alive, somewhere—their kits would still be growing inside her.
A half moon had passed since Pebbleshine had been carried away by the monster with the chickens. Since then there had been no sign or scent of her, but Echosong had dreamed the same dream several times: a pleasant place near water where SkyClan would belong.
“Have you seen Pebbleshine in your dreams?” Hawkwing had asked.
The medicine cat had paused for a long time before replying.
“No,” she mewed with a sad shake of her head. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean that she won’t find her way there.”
Hawkwing was left to struggle with his grief. Even though he had decided to stay with his Clan, he still wondered what the future could possibly hold for him. Everything he did: hunting, seeking for safe places to rest, even his mentoring of Curlypaw, was completely meaningless now. Only Plumwillow, who had lost her mate, Sandynose, seemed to understand his pain.
Now Plumwillow huffed out a gasping breath, and Hawkwing felt something move against his side. That must be the kits! he realized, shivering as wonder and a terrible sadness threatened to tear him apart.
“I understand,” Plumwillow murmured. “It’s really hard for me to go on without Sandynose, but I have to believe he’s out there somewhere—just like Pebbleshine. I have to believe that we and our kits will be reunited someday.”
Hawkwing gazed deeply into the gray she-cat’s eyes, and saw that she really did understand what he felt. Maybe she’s the only one who can.
After what felt like a moon of toiling upward, the SkyClan cats reached the top of the hill.
“Look at that!” Waspwhisker exclaimed.
Hawkwing looked down to see a shallow valley in front of him.
The ground was covered with grass and stretches of woodland, dotted with outcrops of rock. At the bottom lay a reed-fringed lake, its shimmering surface reflecting the blue of the sky. In the distance, on the far side of the lake, was a small cluster of Twoleg dens.
“This must be it!” Tinycloud exclaimed. “Our new home!”
Parsleyseed’s eyes were sparkling: It was the first time, Hawkwing realized, that he had looked happy since his sister disappeared. “This must be the place that Echosong dreamed about!”
Anticipation stirred inside Hawkwing and his pads prickled with excitement. The valley looked just right for a Clan’s territory, with its grassy open spaces and wooded areas full of undergrowth for shelter and hunting grounds.
But I don’t see any other cats, Hawkwing thought. Where is ThunderClan?
Glancing to the side, he spotted Echosong; she was gazing down into the valley with interest, but he didn’t think she looked convinced just yet that this was the place of her visions.
Leafstar tilted her head toward Waspwhisker, gesturing him out of earshot of the other cats. For a few moments they conferred quietly together; then they both returned to join the other cats.
“Okay, listen up,” he meowed. “This could be the place from Echosong’s visions, but we have to be cautious. We’re going to split into patrols to explore. Look out for places we might camp, and good places to hunt. And keep your eyes open for other cats.”
“Yes,” Leafstar added. “For all we know, this is the territory of one of the other Clans. The last thing we want is to walk into another conflict.”
“We’ll meet up again beside the lake,” Waspwhisker finished.
Waspwhisker led one patrol and Sparrowpelt another.
Hawkwing was surprised when the deputy chose him to lead the third. M eanwhile Leafstar led the way to a nearby copse where Plumwillow and Clovertail could rest. Echosong and Fidgetpaw joined them, and the remaining warriors stayed with them, on guard.
Hawkwing set out with M acgyver, Parsleyseed, Birdwing, and Curlypaw. Together they headed down into the valley, pausing to investigate clumps of trees, thickets of fern and bramble, and the crevices in rocks where prey might hide.
“Can we hunt, Hawkwing?” M acgyver asked. “M y jaws are watering, there’s so much prey-scent around!”
“Sure,” Hawkwing replied. “We need to know that the Clan can feed itself here.”
M acgyver’s eyes gleamed. “Then it would be pretty irresponsible not to hunt!”
“Don’t get carried away,” Hawkwing warned his patrol while they padded toward a stretch of deeper woodland. “Remember this is strange territory, and we don’t know what might be lurking.
Foxes… maybe badgers,” he finished with a shudder. “And if this is another Clan’s territory, we don’t want them to think we’re stealing their prey. Curlypaw, stay close to me.”
Hawkwing looked around warily as he ventured into the woodland with his apprentice by his side. The trees were old and twisted here, many of them covered with ivy, and interspersed with banks of fern and bramble thickets. Sunlight filtered down through the foliage, dappling the ground with green-gold light.
“It’s great here!” Curlypaw sighed. “I hope we can stay.”