Echosong, we need a home!”
The medicine cat’s green eyes were full of distress, but she never wavered. “This is not the place StarClan showed me in my dreams,” she insisted. “If it was, ThunderClan and maybe the other Clans too would be here to greet us. Believe me, if we stay here, no good will come of it. It doesn’t feel right. I know Plumwillow would be better off having her kits while we’re traveling.”
Plumwillow gave a disdainful sniff. “You don’t have to carry them every paw step of the way,” she snapped, loud enough for Echosong to hear her.
“And we’re all exhausted,” Rabbitleap added, exchanging a doubtful look with Birdwing. “We’d have to have bees in our brains to leave a place as good as this.”
Hawkwing felt his irritation rising. Can’t they see that’s not the point ? We’re not just looking for a new home, we’re trying to follow the will of StarClan. What about the prophecy?
In the midst of more rebellious muttering from his Clanmates, he rose to his paws. “I agree with Echosong,” he meowed. “This place feels wrong. It’s good, but ThunderClan isn’t here, so it can’t be what we’ve been looking for.”
“And what about my kits?” Plumwillow demanded.
Hawkwing gave her a warm glance. “You’re strong, Plumwillow. You’ll take good care of them, whatever happens.”
Turning back to the rest of the Clan, he added, “We’ve followed StarClan this far. How can we start ignoring them now?”
And if we find the place where StarClan has been leading us, then maybe Pebbleshine and our kits will be there, too. They’ll find us there, somehow…
Every cat looked at Leafstar, who paused for a long moment before speaking. “Plumwillow, what do you think?” she asked.
“You’re the cat with the most to lose right now if we make the wrong decision.”
Plumwillow dipped her head. “I am tired,” she confessed.
“And I think this is a good place to have my kits.”
Leafstar nodded, remaining silent for a moment more. “I think we should stay here, Echosong,” she mewed, “at least for a little while. Sparrowpelt and Plumwillow are right: This is a good place.
I’m too tired and heartsick to go any further, and so are all of us.
The entire Clan needs a rest.”
“But that isn’t right!” Echosong protested. “StarClan—”
“StarClan isn’t sending us any clear guidance,” Leafstar interrupted. “And we can’t keep chasing hunches, hoping that fortune will favor us. We have traveled so far, and we are weary—
we must get some strength back, if we are to complete this quest.”
M urmurs of relief and approval followed the Clan leader’s words. Hawkwing couldn’t share his Clanmates’ feelings. He had hoped that when they reached the destination StarClan had in mind for them, he would be reunited with Pebbleshine—and now those hopes were dashed.
This is wrong… she’ll never find us here, I know it. Oh, StarClan, I’m trying to trust you that our destiny is still in front of us, that we haven’t made a terrible choice that will see the end of SkyClan.
But why must you test us this way?
Chapter 28
Hawkwing crouched beside Pebbleshine in the milky warmth of the nursery. He was so full of joy that he thought it must burst out of him like a stream in greenleaf overflowing its banks.
His mate looked exhausted, but her eyes shone with love for the three new kits who lay snuggled against her belly, protected in the curve of her tail.
“They’re so beautiful… ,” Hawkwing whispered.
“The little gray tom looks just like you,” Pebbleshine murmured.
Hawkwing gazed down wonderingly at the fluffy gray fur of his son. “And the speckled white she-cat is just like you,” he added. “And the speckled gray tom… well, he’s like you and me.” He touched his nose to the tiny kit’s head. “It’s like seeing the best of us both combined into one cat.”
Pebbleshine let out a small mrrow of laughter.
A shadow fell across the entrance to the nursery and Cherrytail padded in, a mouse dangling from her jaws. “I thought you could do with some fresh-kill,” she meowed, dropping her prey beside
Pebbleshine.
“And I brought some wet moss,” Cloudmist added, creeping softly in beside her mother, with Blossomheart just behind her. She blinked in wonder as she looked down at the kits. “They’re just perfect!”
Hawkwing spotted more movement at the nursery entrance and looked up to see his father, Sharpclaw, poking his head inside. “Is everything okay?” he asked.
“We’re all fine, thanks,” Hawkwing replied.
“Let me know if you need anything,” Sharpclaw continued.
“Hawkwing, you can take a day or two off from patrolling to be with Pebbleshine.”
“Thanks,” Hawkwing meowed.
“Just wait until their eyes open,” Sharpclaw gave a snort of amusement. “You’ll have your paws full then!” M ore seriously, he added, “I know you’ll be a good father, Hawkwing.”
Their visitors withdrew, leaving Hawkwing to curl up beside
Pebbleshine, matching his rhythmic purr to hers. This is perfect…
, he thought drowsily.
From somewhere outside the nursery, Hawkwing heard a harsh, repetitive sound. What can that be? he wondered, turning to look through the nursery entrance. Pebbleshine’s head was still bent over her kits. And why doesn’t she hear it?
SQUAAAAAAWWWWK!
Hawkwing jolted awake to the sound of a raucous screech coming from outside the warriors’ den. Normally the sound would have alarmed him, but he was so furious at being awoken from such a happy dream that he charged recklessly out into the open, searching for the source of the noise.
The screech came again from the direction of the lake.
Hawkwing pounded through the trees until he reached the edge of the forest. In the pale light of dawn he spotted a brown-and-white bird swooping across the lake. A big, stupid water-bird.
Hawkwing watched as the bird dived down, dipped its talons under the surface, then rose into the sky again, gripping a wriggling silver fish.
A small part of Hawkwing’s mind was interested to watch a bird he had never seen before, but that was overwhelmed by the hatred he felt because it had broken into his dream.
Hawkwing let out a deep sigh. Stupid bird. Stupid lake. Stupid life. I know this isn’t the right place for us to stay.
SkyClan had been living beside the lake for a quarter moon, making their camp in the hollow M acgyver had discovered on the first day. Every cat had been busy, arranging the dens, exploring their new territory, and collecting herb stores, but none of the activity had lightened Hawkwing’s grim mood.
Now that he and his Clanmates were no longer traveling, he had time to confront the fact that he was still alive, even after losing his mate and everything they’d planned for their future. M isery engulfed him like a dark fog, and he had no idea how to find his way out of it.
I have my whole life ahead of me—but what can the future possibly hold that would ever make up for what I’ve lost?
Blossomheart appeared at Hawkwing’s side, looking still ruffled from sleep. “What on earth was that noise?” she asked with a yawn.