The icy stone felt familiar beneath her paws. She sniffed the shadows. The tang of stone and water washed her muzzle and she shivered, excitement swelling in her chest. “Follow me.” As she padded into the darkness, cold air flooded over her pelt.
Behind her, the starlight faded. “We have to reach the cave by the time moonlight strikes the stone.” Her breath billowed, warm around her nose.
She heard the other cats’ paws scuff the stone as they followed. Eyes wide, Moth Flight peered into the blackness, relaxing as she let her whiskers guide her. Brushing the wall of the tunnel, she followed it down as it snaked deep into
Highstones.
“Do you remember the way?” Cloud Spots’s anxious mew echoed behind her.
“What if you take the wrong tunnel?” Dappled Pelt fretted.
“I know where I’m going,” Moth Flight promised.
Micah’s breath rippled her tail-fur. “I can’t believe you came down here alone.”
“I wasn’t alone.” A purr trembled in Moth Flight’s throat.
“The spirit-cats were waiting for me.”
“Are they there now?” Pebble Heart’s mew sounded from the blackness.
“We’ll see when the moonlight hits the stone.” Moth Flight quickened her pace. She didn’t want to miss it. Fresh air touched her nose. “We’re nearly there!” She rounded a corner and felt the tunnel open around her. Air swirled over her pelt and she blinked as she saw weak starlight rippling on the cave walls ahead. She paused, her heart pounding. Pebble Heart padded past her, nose twitching. Dapple Pelt and Cloud Spots circled the great rock.
Micah stopped beside Moth Flight. He stared at the hole high in the roof. “Who’d have thought starlight could reach down this far?”
Moth Flight purred. “Wait until the moon light arrives.” She padded toward the rock and settled herself in front of it. “We have to touch our noses to it,” she told the others.
“How do you know?” Cloud Spots blinked at her.
“I saw another cat do it in a dream, and last time I came—”
Pebble Heart cut her off. “Look!”
Moth Flight followed his gaze. Through the hole, she could see the clipped edge of the moon. “Hurry!”
Fur brushing rock, the other cats settled around the Moonstone. Dappled Pelt’s eyes flashed with excitement.
Pebble Heart shifted on his belly, pelt pricking.
Cloud Spots crouched beside him, a whisker from the stone.
Micah settled beside Moth Flight. She felt warmth seeping from his pelt and closed her eyes.
Pebble Heart’s gasp made her blink them open.
Light blinded her. The rock shimmered in front of her muzzle, brighter than countless stars. Her breath quickened as she touched her nose to it.
The rock seemed to fall away. She was swept through the air, her head spinning, her heart pounding in her ears. And then she felt soft grass beneath her paws.
She blinked open her eyes.
Where was the cave?
She was on top of a hill. Green meadows stretched away on every side. In the distance, a forest lifted its branches to a clear, blue sky. She felt sunlight warm her pelt and smelled the fresh scent of newleaf.
Micah shifted beside her.
She caught his eye. “Where are we?”
“You don’t know?” He blinked in surprise.
“Last time, I never left the cave.”
Cloud Spots looked around, pelt bristling. Dappled Pelt leaped to her paws.
“What is this place?” Pebble Heart’s eyes were stretched with wonder.
A silky mew answered him. “These are our hunting grounds.”
Half Moon was climbing the slope toward them. More pelts shimmered into view, encircling the hilltop. Starlight shone in their fur.
Joy swelled in Moth Flight’s chest. The spirit-cats! They’d come!
Half Moon padded past Moth Flight and halted.
As Micah turned his head, surveying the ranks of starry cats, Pebble Heart stretched his muzzle and sniffed at Half Moon.
Dappled Pelt tipped her head, curiosity flashing in her eyes.
“Stoneteller?”
“It is good to see you settled in your new home,” Half Moon purred.
Cloud Spots gazed into Half Moon’s dark green gaze. “Is it really you?”
“Of course.”
The ThunderClan tom’s gaze flitted to the other starry cats.
“Jackdaw’s Cry! Bright Stream!” He raced from one cat to another, touching muzzles excitedly.
“Rainswept Flower!” Dappled Pelt darted toward a brown she-cat. She greeted her, then jerked her muzzle toward an orange she-cat. “Hawk Swoop!”
Micah shifted his paws, staring blankly at the spirit-cats.
“Turtle Tail!” Pebble Heart’s eyes lit up as he saw his mother. He nosed his way between the spirit-cats toward her.
Turtle Tail was already hurrying to meet him. “Pebble Heart!” Her eyes glowed with joy as she touched her muzzle to his head.
Purring, he rubbed against her. “I thought I’d never see you again!”
“We’re always close by.” Gray Wing slid from the crowd.
Pebble Heart jerked his muzzle around, delighted. “You’re both here! Together!”
Gray Wing purred loudly, his starry pelt shimmering. “It’s good to see you, Pebble Heart.”
Half Moon lifted her chin. “Let us gather and share news.”
At her words, the starry cats closed the circle around Half
Moon, Micah, and Moth Flight. Pebble Heart, Dappled Pelt, and Cloud Spots left their old friends and hurried to the center.
“You did well.” Half Moon’s green eyes glowed as she gazed at Moth Flight.
“Did I?” Moth Flight blinked at her anxiously.
“Yes.” As Half Moon dipped her head to Moth Flight, murmurs of appreciation rippled around the spirit-cats.
Moth Flight glanced at them shyly, pride surging beneath her pelt. “I just told the Clans, like you asked me to.” She remembered with a shudder Clear Sky’s scorn. And Tall Shadow’s disbelieving gaze. Even her Clanmates had thought she’d imagined the spirit-cats. “Thanks for sending the lightning.” Without it, the Clans might never have taken her seriously. “When you said you’d split the skies, I never guessed that’s what you meant.”
Half Moon gazed at her warmly. “You will get better at understanding us.”
Moth Flight hoped she was right. “What did you mean when you said later the stars would rise?” She tipped her head, waiting for the white she-cat to explain.
“You will know when it happens.”
Frustration pricked Moth Flight’s paws. Why couldn’t Half
Moon just say what she meant? “When what happens?”
Half Moon narrowed her gaze. “This is your life. We cannot guide every paw step. If we did, you would only discover our path. You must discover your own.”
Moth Flight’s tail drooped. “I guess.” But it would be easier if you just told us what to do.
Half Moon seemed to read her thoughts. “It would be easier, but not better.” She turned to Micah. “Thank you for leaving your home to join us.”
“Us?” Micah’s ears twitched. He glanced uneasily around the spirit-cats. “I only joined SkyClan.”
“You joined the Clans,” Half Moon purred. “What are we, if not another Clan?”
Moth Flight’s breath caught in her throat. The spirit-cats saw themselves as a Clan. “You’re Star Clan,” she breathed, remembering when she’d looked up at the stars and first thought of the name.
Half Moon’s eyes shone. “Yes.” She lifted her chin, surveying her starry Clanmates. “That’s exactly what we are.”
“StarClan!”