River Ripple shook his head. “What cat could?”
Clear Sky stepped forward. “You’re a dream! You have to be.” He blinked at Gray Wing. “They can’t be real.”
Turtle Tail narrowed her eyes. “You fool, Clear Sky,” she hissed. “When did you forget where you came from?” She glanced over her shoulder at Rainswept Flower. “When did you decide it was okay to kill the cats you were raised beside?”
Clear Sky backed away, his tail low. “I only wanted to protect my own.”
Turtle Tail showed her teeth. “Killing only ever leads to more killing. Let your mistakes teach you.” She whisked her tail. “Leave us now. I must speak with Gray Wing.”
Clear Sky backed away. Thunder followed. Wind Runner guided Emberkit toward the edge of the clearing, where Gorse Fur hurried to greet him.
Gray Wing shifted his paws as Turtle Tail stepped closer. He reached out his muzzle, feeling for her warm breath and the musky smell of prey. But the air shimmering around her was cold and scentless. Anxiety stirred in his belly. “Can you stay?” he asked. “The kits will want to see you.”
“You’re not foolish enough to believe that, Gray Wing,” she told him softly.
“But how can I go on without you?” His eyes blurred but he dared not blink in case she disappeared.
Turtle Tail’s ear twitched disapprovingly. “Don’t be a mouseheart! Of course you can go on. The kits need you. Your camp mates need you.”
“But you’re here now! Can’t you stay?” He reached closer, desperate to feel the soft fur of her cheek, but his nose passed through her as though she wasn’t there. He drew back, shock sparking through his pelt. It’s too cruel! She’s here but she’s not! “It’d be better if you’d never come at all,” he growled bitterly.
Turtle Tail’s eyes narrowed. “I never thought you were a selfish cat, Gray Wing. Don’t prove me wrong. Don’t you realize I’m not here just for you? We came to tell all cats what they must know if they are to survive here.”
“What?” Gray Wing pricked his ears.
But Turtle Tail was backing away. Behind her, the spirit-cats gathered, reflecting starlight.
Storm padded forward, her gaze fixed on Clear Sky.
Clear Sky moved toward her.
“You can’t touch her,” Gray Wing warned. He didn’t want his brother to suffer as he had. He must know these cats weren’t real.
“I don’t want to,” Clear Sky called back. “I just want to hear what she has to tell us.” He faced Storm, chin high. “What message do you bring?”
Gray Wing looked back to Turtle Tail, his belly fur trembling. He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to hear what the ghost cat had to say…
Chapter 23
Clear Sky forced his paws to stop trembling. Love ached deep in his heart as he gazed into Storm’s eyes. How had he ever let her go? She stared at him now, her face shimmering in the moonlight. Her gaze was stern.
“Is this what you planned?” She flicked her tail toward the bodies, keeping her eyes fixed on Clear Sky.
Clear Sky glanced past her. The bodies lay unmoving. Their blood glistened in the moonlight. His mouth dried as he searched for words. Did she think he’d meant for this to happen? “I—I was trying to do the right thing,” he mumbled.
“And you didn’t guess that this is how it would end?” Storm demanded.
“I followed my instincts.” The ground seemed to sway beneath his paws.
Storm narrowed her eyes. “Your instincts?” The scorn in her growl pierced his heart like claws.
“I had to protect my cats.”
“Your cats?”
“I’m their leader. I’m responsible for them.”
Storm tipped her head to one side. “And have you protected them?”
Clear Sky tried not to look again at the bodies of his camp mates, but their lifeless pelts seemed to draw his gaze like prey scent. He shuddered, guilt twisting in his belly. “I have not.”
“You’ve been greedy, Clear Sky,” Storm murmured. “You wanted power over every cat.”
“That’s not true!” Clear Sky protested. “I had to make difficult decisions. That took courage.”
Storm said nothing. She just stared at him.
“You must understand,” Clear Sky wailed.
Slowly, Storm turned and gazed at Rainswept Flower’s battered body. Blood pooled around her muzzle. “Was killing her courageous?”
Clear Sky stared desperately at Thunder and Gray Wing. They gazed back in silence, while Rainswept Flower’s spirit watched him with accusing eyes. Would no cat defend him? “I didn’t want to see any cat starve. I was scared my heart would break if I ever had to see another cat die like Fluttering Bird.”
“Fear is what drove you.” There was relief in Storm’s mew. She turned back to him, her gaze softening suddenly. “Fear is a powerful instinct that only the strongest cat can resist. But now you see there’s no need to be afraid. We have shown that death is nothing for you to fear. It’s not the end.”
Clear Sky stared at her, hope lifting in his chest. Could it be true? As he opened his mouth to beg her to tell him, paw steps thrummed toward the clearing.
Cloud Spots scrambled to a halt at the edge. He held a wad of green leaves in his mouth. He dropped them and stared across the bodies, his gaze fixing on Gray Wing. “Dappled Pelt told me you needed coltsfoot.” He spoke blankly, his eyes widening as his gaze flicked back to the bloodstained bodies, and then the starry pelts of the spirit-cats. “What’s happening?”
Storm glanced at him. “We have brought a message.”
Cloud Spots stared at her, disbelief clouding his gaze. “Message?” he echoed hoarsely.
Storm turned to Thunder. “My dear son. I could not be more proud of the cat you’ve become. Do you know why we’ve come here?”
Thunder narrowed his eyes, puzzled. “To show us that death is not the end.”
“No.” Storm rolled her eyes. “You must know that already. You’ve heard tales of Stoneteller, the cat who learned to speak to the ancients. Did you think she imagined the cats who had gone before her?”
“Then why are you here?” Thunder asked.
“Do you remember what I told you?” Storm asked gently.
Thunder frowned as though trying to remember. “That I would know when to make things right.”
Storm purred approvingly. “Now is the time.”
“Now?” Thunder lifted his muzzle. “What do I have to do?”
“Can’t you guess?” Storm glanced again at the bodies. “After all this death, don’t you know?”
“Tall Shadow!”
Clear Sky stiffened as another spirit-cat stepped forward. Tall Shadow stretched her muzzle toward it, sniffing. “Shaded Moss!” There was joy in her mew as she greeted the older cat.
Shaded Moss returned her gaze. “Did I die in vain?”
“What do you mean?” Tall Shadow frowned.
“I thought you could lead the cats when I’d gone.” The spirit tom’s star-specked gaze darkened. “But where did you lead them? To this?”
Tall Shadow backed away, hackles lifting. “I had no choice!”
Shaded Moss nodded toward Fircone’s body. “You had to kill him?”
“He was going to kill Thunder!”
“How do you know?” Shaded Moss challenged. “And who are you to decide whose life is more important?”
Tall Shadow glared at him. “I had no choice,” she repeated fiercely.