Tree and Violetshine exchanged a glance. “That’s how Fidgetflake sees it, too,” Tree replied. “But Frecklewish and some of the leaders feel . . . differently.”
“They think that reconnecting with StarClan is more important than tiptoeing around the Moonpool,” Violetshine explained.
“So what will happen if they can’t break through the ice?” Rootpaw asked, hoping to change the subject.
A new voice broke into the conversation. “I don’t know.”
Rootpaw turned to see Bristlepaw standing nearby, at the edge of the group of ThunderClan cats. It was the first time they had met since the embarrassing incident with the vole, and Rootpaw wasn’t sure how he should behave around her. He was aware of Needlepaw watching him with a teasing look in her eyes, but he ignored her with a twitch of his tail and padded over to join the ThunderClan apprentice.
Then he noticed that there was something different about Bristlepaw: a sadness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. I hope it’s not because she feels sorry for me.
“Hi, Bristlepaw,” he meowed.
Bristlepaw took a pace forward that brought her to his side. “It’s Bristlefrost,” she told him. “I’m a warrior now.”
“Hey, that’s great!” Rootpaw was pleased for her, but even more confused. If she’s just been made a warrior, why doesn’t she look happy? “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, Rootpaw. I wanted to see you,” Bristlefrost went on, “because I need to tell you how sorry I am for the way I behaved when you brought me the vole. I was rude and ungrateful.”
Rootpaw dipped his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he mewed. “I know it was stupid, and I shouldn’t have done it.”
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Bristlefrost insisted. “You did a kind thing for me, and I treated you horribly. Please forgive me, Rootpaw.”
“Of course I do!” Rootpaw replied, happiness spurting up inside him. But the feeling quickly died as he saw how sad Bristlefrost looked. “What’s wrong?” he asked her. “You look a little down.”
Bristlefrost hesitated, staring down at her paws. “Things haven’t been going the way I hoped since I became a warrior,” she admitted eventually.
“What do you mean?” Rootpaw asked.
“Oh . . . This leaf-bare is hard on every cat, and I don’t feel I’ve done enough to help my Clan. Right now I’m feeling kind of useless.”
Rootpaw could understand that, but all the same he didn’t feel it was enough to explain the sorrow in Bristlefrost’s eyes. Whatever was on her mind, for now at least she was keeping it to herself.
“But you’re one of the greatest cats I’ve ever met,” Rootpaw protested, even though he knew the praise might make her squirm. I still feel the same about her, even after that stupid episode with the vole. “You saved my life when my own Clanmates were too scared even to try. If it weren’t for you, I’d be at the bottom of the lake right now, frozen solid like the medicine cats say the Moonpool is. And you came to check on me every day while I was recovering.”
Bristlefrost shrugged; she looked a little embarrassed, but not, Rootpaw thought, angry with him. “Any cat would have done that,” she meowed. “But what have I done since?”
“No warrior can do much while this leaf-bare lasts,” Rootpaw stated firmly. “And once it’s over, you’ll be one of the warriors who gets your Clan back on its paws. I’m sure of it.”
Bristlefrost looked up; her eyes glowed, making Rootpaw’s heart flutter weirdly in his chest. For a moment he felt that there was more than gratitude in her gaze.
“Bristlefrost—” he began.
An earsplitting crack from below interrupted Rootpaw. He spun around to stare down into the hollow. It was so much louder than the sound of the ice breaking on the lake when he’d fallen in—it must mean that the medicine cats had broken through. Yet when the echo died away, it was followed by complete silence. The group of medicine cats stood ranged around the pool, gazing down at the surface.
“Do you know what’s supposed to happen when the ice breaks?” Rootpaw asked, turning back to Bristlefrost.
The gray she-cat shook her head. “I have no idea,” she replied. “Only medicine cats can commune with StarClan, right? Maybe it worked and we just can’t see them.”
Rootpaw felt every hair on his pelt rising at the thought that warriors of StarClan might be gathered around the Moonpool, invisible. “It’s so weird, watching the medicine cats like this,” he murmured.
Bristlefrost did not speak for a moment, ears angled down toward the pool. “Listen,” she continued. “I can hear the medicine cats murmuring among themselves. That’s probably not a good sign.”
Rootpaw nodded agreement as he heard the muted meows drifting upward from the cats around the pool. Glancing beyond Bristlefrost, wondering how the other Clans were reacting, he felt that something wasn’t quite right, and it took him a few heartbeats to work out what it was.
“Why are there no ShadowClan cats here?” he asked.
It was Needlepaw who replied. “I overheard Violetshine telling Tree that ShadowClan wasn’t invited, because of the weirdness with their medicine-cat apprentice. The other Clans are wondering if he might be the problem.”
“You mean they think Shadowpaw is the reason why StarClan isn’t communicating?” Rootpaw asked.
“Some cats do,” Needlepaw replied.
Rootpaw thought back to his conversation with Shadowpaw in the twilit woods, when the apprentice was on his way to the Moonpool. He had seemed really worried; he had spoken about something bad coming to all the Clans. Rootpaw thought he seemed kind, and clearly Shadowpaw was already a skilled medicine-cat apprentice.
He treated my wounded paw, and it healed really quickly. How could a healer like that be the problem?
Rootpaw wanted to ask Bristlefrost or Needlepaw that question, but he couldn’t do so without revealing that Shadowpaw had been sneaking off to the Moonpool on his own. And I walked part of the way with him when I should have been hunting. No way can I tell that to any cat!
Lost in his thoughts about Shadowpaw, Rootpaw hadn’t noticed that Frecklewish had begun to climb the spiral path toward the waiting warriors. But now he saw that she had reached the top of the hollow and stood facing them. She looked weary and dejected, and Rootpaw realized there had been no communication with StarClan.
“We have dented the ice,” Frecklewish announced, “but we haven’t hit water yet. The pool may be frozen all the way through.”
Murmurs and gasps of consternation came from the Clan cats, and they exchanged glances of dismay.
“We may need your help in breaking the ice after all,” Frecklewish added.
“No. We did not agree to that.” Jayfeather had climbed the path behind Frecklewish, and now stood at her side, his tabby fur bristling with indignation. “The Moonpool is the special place shown to us by StarClan, and it should only be touched by medicine cats.”
“We’ve already discussed this, Jayfeather,” Frecklewish retorted, her pelt too beginning to rise. “The Moonpool is only special because it’s the way that we can reach StarClan. And if we can’t do that, and they can’t reach us either, then isn’t it our job to do everything we can to help StarClan get through?”
Jayfeather’s only reply was a hiss of indignation as he turned his head away.
Meanwhile, the remaining medicine cats had left the side of the pool and joined the others at the top of the hollow. “What do the Clan leaders think?” Alderheart asked. “Tell us what you want to do.”
Leafstar, Mistystar, and Harestar glanced toward Squirrelflight, the ThunderClan deputy. Earlier she had told the others that Bramblestar couldn’t make the journey to the Moonpool because he had hurt his paw hunting.
“What do you think?” Leafstar asked her. “I understand Bramblestar is very concerned that no cat can make contact with StarClan. That’s why we started this whole operation.”