“I’m sure I smelled mouse dung around here.” Micah began sniffing around the edge of the smooth, wide rock he’d stopped on. His ears pricked. “This is going to be easy.” As he spoke, a small shape darted from beneath the rock and raced across the stony ground. Mouse! Micah leaped, landing on it before it had run a tail-length. He snapped its neck and Moth Flight smelled the warm scent of blood.
Her mouth watered and she began to scan the slope, looking for her own prey.
“You eat this one.” Micah dropped the mouse at her paws.
“I can catch my own,” Moth Flight protested.
“I know,” Micah agreed. “But not now. Save your strength for whatever’s inside that cave.”
As he padded quietly away, his nose twitching, Moth Flight glanced up at the gaping mouth in the cliff face. She swallowed.
The moth wouldn’t have led her anywhere dangerous, surely?
She pushed the thought away. I’m meant to do this, she told herself, no matter what. Crouching, she ate Micah’s mouse, her belly growling for more as she finished. She was pleased to see Micah heading back with two more mice swinging from his jaws. He glanced at the bloodstained rock where her meal had been and dropped his fresh catch on the space. “You were hungry,” he purred. He pushed one of the mice toward her and hooked the other toward himself.
“Are you sure?” Moth Flight felt a prick of guilt. He’d walked just as far as she had today. He must be starving too.
“I can catch more while you’re exploring your cave.” He took a mouthful, his whiskers twitching with pleasure.
“You’ll wait for me?” she asked tentatively. The sky was dark now. Stars were showing in the blackness. The chilly wind had grown colder. Frost was beginning to sparkle on the rocks and the stone beneath her pads was so cold that it made her paws ache.
“Of course I’ll wait for you!” He looked up from his mouse sharply. “Why would I leave?”
She shrugged. “It’s cold. I thought you might want to find shelter.”
“We’ll find shelter together, once you get back.”
Moth Flight felt her throat tighten with gratitude. “Thank you,” she croaked.
She took longer to finish her second mouse. She wanted desperately to see inside the cave, but fear was tugging her back. Her heart pounded in her chest. It’ll be so dark!
Swallowing her final mouthful, she tried to steady her breathing.
Micah was washing beside her, his mouse long gone. She felt soothed by the easy, rhythmic strokes of his tongue. He’ll be waiting for me. The thought comforted her as she glanced up at the cave.
“Are you ready?” His mew made her jump.
Moth Flight nodded, her eyes wide.
“You’ll be fine,” Micah promised. They stood up together and he padded beside her as she climbed up the slope.
Scrabbling the last few tail-lengths, she leaped onto the lip of the cave. The stone was smooth beneath her paws. Micah jumped up next to her and peered inside. “It’s a good thing you’ve got whiskers,” he muttered. “You’re going to need them to tell where you’re going.”
She glanced into the darkness. “I’ve got a nose too, and ears,” she murmured, trying to reassure herself. “I’ll be okay.”
“I know.” Micah caught her eye, his gaze solemn. She felt his breath on her muzzle as he leaned forward and touched his nose to hers. “But be careful.”
“I will.” Turning away, Moth Flight padded into the cave.
It felt huge—high and wide enough for a Twoleg. She sniffed the air tentatively, but there was no living creature in here except her. All she could smell was stone and stagnant water. She padded deeper into the gloom, straining to see how far it reached into Highstones. Blackness lay ahead and, as she padded onward and the weak starlight faded behind her, she realized that this was a tunnel, not a cave. As darkness swallowed her, she waited for fear to flare in her belly, but none came. She felt curiously calm, her paw steps steady on the smooth stone floor.
A chill reached through her pelt. This sunless place felt colder than a snowbound night on the moor. She opened her mouth and let the damp air bathe her tongue, tasting the tang of stone as freezing air filled her chest.
The ground sloped beneath her paws. Stone touched her whiskers on one side and she let it guide her as the tunnel began to bend. She was blind here, though her eyes were wide open, straining to see any glimpse of light. But, with blackness on every side, she could only follow the twists and turns by touch as the tunnel spiraled down into the earth. She was surprised to feel peace spread from her belly through every hair on her pelt.
It was as though the stone welcomed her and was leading her deeper into its heart. She listened, ears stretched, and heard a distant drop of water resound on hard rock.
How far must I go? As she began to wonder if the tunnel would lead on forever, her whiskers suddenly tingled and she smelled crispness in the dank air. She quickened her step. Fresh air lay ahead! Had she reached the other side of Highstones? Or perhaps she had circled back to the hole where Micah was waiting. Expecting any moment to turn a corner and find herself beneath a wide moonlit sky, she stepped instead into a cavern glimmering with watery starlight. She could hardly make out the walls, but she recognized it at once. Heart quickening, she scanned the cave and saw the huge rock jutting at its center.
Just like my dream!
She looked up and saw the hole in the roof. Stars flickered beyond and she could see the moon sliding into sight.
Moth Flight glanced expectantly at the rock. She knew what would happen next.
As the moon lifted higher, the rock suddenly sparked into light.
Moth Flight narrowed her eyes against the glare.
The great stone was glittering like countless dewdrops sparkling in sunlight. The cave shimmered in its glow.
Are the spirit-cats here? Moth Flight glanced around eagerly. But nothing moved in the cave. She was the only cat there.
Pushing away disappointment, she padded to the spot where the gray she-cat had lain, and pressed her belly to the icy floor.
Tucking her paws beneath her, she tried to imagine the she-cat’s warmth still lingering in the stone. Her pelt tingled with excitement. This is where I was meant to come! Closing her eyes, she stretched her muzzle forward and touched her nose to the sparkling rock.
Chapter 11
Light flared through her, tingling in every hair. Moth Flight opened her eyes, aware of paws scuffing the stone floor around her. She sat up, blinking. She was no longer alone. By the light of the moonlit stone, she could see the shimmering pelts of spirit-cats all around her. They were staring at her.
They can see me! Joy swelled in Moth Flight’s chest. At last!
They can see me!
She met the gaze of a tabby tom, who dipped his head to her, then looked at the tortoiseshell she-cat beside him, who closed her eyes slowly, nodding a greeting. Moth Flight’s fur pricked along her spine. These cats were showing respect! Didn’t they know she was just a young WindClan cat who hadn’t even learned to hunt properly yet?
A glittering gray pelt moved toward her and she recognized the face of Gray Wing. “You’re here!” she breathed, excitement fizzing in her paws.
Gray Wing stopped a muzzle-length from her nose.
“Welcome, Moth Flight.” His eyes glowed with pride. “You’ve come at last.”
“Welcome.”
“Welcome.”