Enjoy this early sneak peak at the first three chapters of Chasing Shadows!

ALLEGIANCES

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER     Squirrelstar—dark ginger she-cat with green eyes and one white paw

DEPUTY     Ivypool—silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

MEDICINE CATS     Jayfeather—gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

Alderheart—dark ginger tom with amber eyes

WARRIORS   (toms and she-cats without kits)

Whitewing—white she-cat with green eyes
Birchfall—light brown tabby tom
Mousewhisker—gray-and-white tom
Bayshine—golden tabby tom
Bristleclaw—orange-and-white tabby she-cat
Sunbeam—brown-and-white tabby she-cat

Apprentice, Moonpaw (she-cat whose face is split between black and orange tabby)

Poppyfrost—pale tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
Lilyheart—small, dark tabby she-cat with white patches and blue eyes
Nightheart—black tom
Wafflepelt—gray-and-brown tom
Bumblestripe—very pale gray tom with black stripes
Cherryfall—ginger she-cat
Molewhisker—brown-and-cream tom
Stemtail—orange tabby tom
Cinderheart—gray tabby she-cat
Finchlight—tortoiseshell she-cat
Graywhisker—white tom with gray spots
Blossomfall—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with petal-shaped white patches
Eaglewing—ginger she-cat
Dewnose—gray-and-white tom
Stormcloud—gray tabby tom
Hollytuft—black she-cat
Fernsong—yellow tabby tom
Honeyfur—white she-cat with yellow splotches
Sparkpelt—orange tabby she-cat
Thriftear—dark gray she-cat
Sorrelstripe—dark brown she-cat
Twigbranch—gray she-cat with green eyes
Finleap—brown tom

Apprentice, Goldenpaw (golden tabby tom)

Shellfur—tortoiseshell tom
Plumstone—black-and-ginger she-cat
Flipclaw—brown tabby tom

Apprentice, Shinepaw (black she-cat)

Leafshade—tortoiseshell she-cat
Lionblaze—golden tabby tom with amber eyes
Spotfur—spotted tabby she-cat

QUEENS   (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Daisy—cream long-furred cat from the horseplace
Myrtlebloom—pale brown she-cat (mother of Oakkit, a pale brown tabby she-kit with white spots; Sunkit, an orange tabby tom; and Hazelkit, a tortoiseshell she-kit with white spots)
Fernstripe—gray tabby she-cat (mother of Shykit, a gray-and-white she-kit; Puffkit, a fluffy gray tabby she-kit; and Leapkit, a black-and-white tom)

ELDERS   (former warriors and queens, now retired)

Brambleclaw—dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Thornclaw—golden-brown tabby tom
Cloudtail—long-haired white tom with blue eyes
Brightheart—white she-cat with ginger patches
Brackenfur—golden-brown tabby tom

SHADOWCLAN

LEADER     Tigerstar—dark brown tabby tom

DEPUTY     Cloverfoot—gray tabby she-cat

MEDICINE CATS     Puddleshine—brown tom with white splotches

Shadowsight—gray tabby tom

WARRIORS

Tawnypelt—tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes
Stonewing—white tom
Scorchfur—dark gray tom with slashed ears
Flaxfoot—brown tabby tom
Dovewing—pale gray she-cat with green eyes
Cinnamontail—brown tabby she-cat with white paws
Snowbird—pure white she-cat with green eyes
Yarrowleaf—ginger she-cat with yellow eyes
Grassheart—pale brown tabby she-cat
Whorlpelt—gray-and-white tom
Hopwhisker—calico she-cat
Blazefire—white-and-ginger tom
Flowerstem—silver she-cat
Snaketooth—honey-colored tabby she-cat

Apprentice, Redpaw (reddish-brown tom)

Slatefur—sleek gray tom
Pouncestep—gray tabby she-cat
Gullswoop—white she-cat
Spireclaw—black-and-white tom
Fringewhisker—white she-cat with brown splotches

Apprentice, Sprucepaw (silver tabby and white she-cat)

Birchfeather—light brown tom
Bloompetal—black she-cat
Firbark—brown tabby tom
Whisperbreeze—gray tom
Streamripple—gray tabby she-cat
Hollowspring—black tom
Sparrowtail—large brown tabby tom

QUEENS

Lightleap—brown tabby she-cat (mother to Quickkit, a ginger tabby tom; Beehckit, a pale brown tom; and Poolkit, a white she-cat)

ELDERS

Oakfur—small brown tom

SKYCLAN

LEADER     Leafstar—brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes

DEPUTY     Hawkwing—dark gray tom with yellow eyes

MEDICINE CATS     Frecklewish—mottled light brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs

Fidgetflake—black-and-white tom

MEDIATOR     Tree—yellow tom with amber eyes

WARRIORS

Macgyver—black-and-white tom
Dewspring—sturdy gray tom
Rootspring—yellow tom
Needleclaw—black-and-white she-cat
Plumwillow—dark gray she-cat
Sagenose—pale gray tom
Harrybrook—gray tom
Cloudmist—white she-cat with yellow eyes
Turtlecrawl—tortoiseshell she-cat
Rabbitleap—brown tom
Reedclaw—small pale tabby she-cat
Beetleshine—white-and-black tabby tom
Mintfur—gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Nettlesplash—pale brown tom
Tinycloud—small white she-cat
Palesky—black-and-white she-cat
Violetshine—black-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes
Bellaleaf—pale orange she-cat with green eyes
Quailfeather—white tom with crow-black ears
Pigeonfoot—gray-and-white she-cat
Gravelnose—tan tom

Apprentice, Robinpaw (a reddish-brown she-cat)

Sunnypelt—ginger she-cat
Beesting—white-and-tabby she-cat
Nectarsong—brown she-cat

Apprentice, Starlingpaw (black-and-white tom)

Blossomheart—ginger-and-white she-cat
Duskshine—white tom with brown paws and ears
Ridgeglow—reddish she-cat with a white nose

QUEENS

Wrenflight—golden tabby she-cat

ELDERS

Fallowfern—pale brown she-cat who has lost her hearing
Sparrowpelt—dark brown tabby tom
Cherrytail—fluffy tortoiseshell and white she-cat

WINDCLAN

LEADER     Harestar—brown-and-white tom

DEPUTY     Crowfeather—dark gray tom

MEDICINE CATS     Kestrelflight—mottled gray tom with white splotches like kestrel feathers

Whistlebreeze—gray tabby she-cat

WARRIORS

Brindlewing—mottled brown she-cat
Featherpelt—gray tabby she-cat
Leaftail—dark tabby tom with amber eyes
Woodsong—brown she-cat
Emberfoot—gray tom with two dark paws
Breezepelt—black tom with amber eyes
Heathertail—light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Leafcurl—white she-cat with gray spots
Crouchfoot—ginger tom
Grassfur—auburn she-cat
Branchleap—white tom
Songleap—tortoiseshell she-cat

Apprentice, Silkypaw (long-haired gray tom)

Sedgewhisker—light brown tabby she-cat
Flutterfoot—brown-and-white tom
Slightfoot—black tom with white flash on his chest
Oatclaw—pale brown tabby tom
Hootwhisker—dark gray tom

Apprentice, Fluffpaw (fluffy pale brown tom)

Larkwing—pale brown tabby she-cat
Brookripple—black-and-white tom
Stripeheart—gray tabby tom

QUEENS

Appleshine—yellow tabby she-cat (mother to Rustlekit, a white tom with a brown tail, and Stretchkit, a brown tabby she-cat with white face markings)

ELDERS

Whiskernose—light brown tom
Nightcloud—black she-cat

RIVERCLAN

LEADER     Icestar—white she-cat with blue eyes

DEPUTY     Owlnose—brown tabby tom

MEDICINE CATS     Mothwing—dappled golden she-cat

Frostdawn—light gray she-cat with blue eyes

WARRIORS

Duskfur—brown tabby she-cat
Minnowtail—dark gray-and-white she-cat
Havenpelt—black-and-white she-cat
Troutshine—brown-and-white spotted tom
Mallownose—light brown tabby tom
Rapidsplash—gray-and-white she-cat
Podlight—gray-and-white tom
Shimmerpelt—silver she-cat
Lizardtail—light brown tom
Sneezecloud—gray-and-white tom
Brackenpelt—tortoiseshell she-cat
Mistpool—tortoiseshell-and-white tabby she-cat
Gorseclaw—white tom with gray ears
Nightsky—dark gray she-cat with blue eyes
Graysky—silver tabby tom

QUEENS

Floatshimmer—tawny she-cat (mother to Heronkit, a silver she-kit, and Eelkit, a black tom)

ELDERS

Mosspelt—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

What if there’s no way out?

As fear, suppressed at first, began to rise within him, he picked up the pace until he was scurrying back and forth in an uncontrolled need to escape. He stumbled against the rock walls and snagged his paws on unexpected crevices in the ground.

Several moments passed until he realized that he was moving too quickly, too easily, with unfamiliar energy surging inside him. He felt as though he were once again the young warrior he had been so many moons and seasons ago, not the elder that he was now.

Cloudtail halted, relief flooding over him. Of course, this is a dream!

He set out again to look for the opening of the cave, enjoying the sensation of moving more freely, without the stiffness in his limbs, the desperate yearning for air in his lungs. But as moment after moment slid by, he realized that he had been walking for a long time without finding any way of escape, without his eyes adjusting to the gloom.

He halted, struggling once again to control his panic. This is just a dream, he told himself. Nothing bad can happen to me in a dream. I can’t be hurt, and I can’t die…

But however much Cloudtail tried to reassure himself, the feeling of foreboding was very hard to shake off. It felt like an unseen enemy, a burden on his back, with legs wrapped around him and claws sunk deep into his belly fur, forcing him down to the rock beneath his paws. The urge to flatten himself to the ground and wail his distress like a lost kit almost overwhelmed him.

As he fought to summon his courage, he caught a faint glimmer at the very edge of his sight. Spinning around, he saw that the walls of the cave had begun to give off a muted, pulsing light, a cold glow that made him think of…

Before he could finish the thought, Cloudtail’s eyes flew open; he was awake in the familiar elders’ den, his nest warm and comfortable around him, the air filled with the scents and soft breathing of Brightheart and his other denmates. Already the dream was falling from his memory like a heavy stone sinking into water. Catching at the fading ripples, he tried to remember what had happened, and why the glow in the cave wall had seemed so familiar.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Cloudtail concentrated as hard as he could, and at last the answer came to him.

The moon!

The radiance in the cave had made him think of the moon.

“Thanks, Ivypool!” Hootwhisker gasped, his chest heaving as he took in great gulps of air.

Meanwhile, Starlingpaw and the other cats padded cautiously up to the very edge and stared down into the ravine. A trickle of water ran along the bottom, with sparse grass on either side and a few straggling bushes rooted among the rocks at the foot of the cliff.

Crowfeather lay beside the little stream, his paws splayed out and his tail drooping into the water. Even when Duskfur screeched out his name, he didn’t move.

Is he dead? Starlingpaw could pick up the scents of tension and fear wafting off his companions’ pelts and knew that they were all asking themselves the same question. Could the WindClan deputy really have survived such a fall?

“Come on.” Ivypool broke the silence, her voice brisk and decisive. “We have to get to him.”

She took the lead, picking her way paw step by careful paw step down the treacherous cliff face. The rest of the cats followed. Starlingpaw’s muscles tensed as he felt pebbles and loose soil shift beneath his paws. All his body weight was forced onto his injured leg as he tried to navigate the steep slope. He couldn’t keep up with the others; every shuffling movement was like sharp fangs driving into his flesh.

Eventually Nectarsong halted, glancing back over her shoulder. “Are you okay, Starlingpaw?” she called.

Every hair on Starlingpaw’s pelt grew hot with frustration and embarrassment. In another moment, he guessed, his mentor would come back and insist he lean on her shoulder, showing his weakness to all their companions.

“I’m okay,” he replied. “But I need to find a way down that isn’t so steep.”

“Should I come with you?” Nectarsong asked.

Starlingpaw shook his head emphatically. “No, I’ll be fine, thanks. I won’t be far behind. You need to get to Crowfeather as quick as you can!”

Nectarsong hesitated a heartbeat longer, then gave him a nod of agreement and carried on down the slope behind the others.

As Starlingpaw turned away, he could hear his companions creeping and slithering down the slope, their movements speeding up as they drew closer to the bottom.

Scanning the cliff face, he couldn’t see an easier route. It wasn’t a sheer drop, but all the possible paw holds that he could see were spaced out, and he already knew that the rock was treacherous and might easily give way under his weight. For a few endless moments he began to feel that he would be stuck on this cliff forever, unable to go up or down. Fear of having to be rescued flooded over him again.

Starlingpaw edged sideways, searching for a safe way down. Eventually he spotted a narrow path, winding back and forth across the face of the precipice. It was barely wide enough for him to put one paw in front of another, and covered with sharp chips of stone, but he was too desperate to be fussy. “Thank StarClan!” he murmured to himself as he hobbled along the dusty trail, his fur brushing the rocks on the inward side.

Heading gently downward, Starlingpaw didn’t need to put so much pressure on his injured leg. For most of the time, unless he had to steady himself at a turn in the path, he could raise the leg off the ground completely and struggle along on the other three. His pain faded, and he drew huge breaths of relief.

But the longer route gave Starlingpaw more time to imagine what he would find when he finally reached Crowfeather. When he dared to snatch a glance, he saw that his companions were still picking their way down the cliff. There was nothing to tell him whether there was still hope for the WindClan deputy. From a distance, it had looked as if the fall had ended his life. And if he was still alive, Starlingpaw worried that his injuries might be so bad that even the skilled medicine cats couldn’t help him.

By the time Starlingpaw limped up to his companions, they were all gathered around the body of the stricken warrior. Fidgetflake and Shadowsight were bending over him, while the rest stood back, giving the two medicine cats space to work.

“He’s breathing!” Fidgetflake exclaimed, his voice full of surprise.

“What?” Ivypool’s blue eyes were wide with shock. “He can’t be—surely…”

Fidgetflake didn’t respond, only crouching next to Crowfeather’s head and giving his mouth a good sniff. “There’s no smell of blood,” he meowed. “That’s a good sign…”

Meanwhile, Shadowsight was running his paws carefully along Crowfeather’s spine and over his belly, and then down each of his legs. As he finished examining the last leg, he let out a gasp of disbelief.

Starlingpaw’s heart clenched at the sound. Has Shadowsight discovered something horrible?

But when the ShadowClan medicine cat looked up, his eyes showed mingled joy and confusion. “You won’t believe this,” he mewed shakily. “I hardly believe it myself. But Crowfeather doesn’t seem to have a single broken bone!”

Now and again Nectarsong bent her head to sniff at Crowfeather’s fur or touched her ear to his muzzle to check if he was still breathing. But there was nothing any cat could do to help him until Shadowsight and Ivypool returned with healing herbs.

As the silence stretched out, Starlingpaw’s inward dread swelled until it felt like a jagged stone lodged in his chest and throat. He clamped his jaws tight shut to stop himself from letting out a wail of sheer misery.

In the end, it was Hootwhisker who broke the silence. “Even if Crowfeather lives,” he began, “will we have to carry him back to the lake territories?” He shook his head helplessly, not bothering to hide his distress. “That will take forever!”

Nectarsong stretched out her tail and gave Hootwhisker a comforting touch on his shoulder. “If Crowfeather wakes up, he might be fit to travel tomorrow,” she meowed hopefully. “Seeing that he hasn’t broken any bones, he should be able to walk.”

Fidgetflake flexed his claws uneasily. “Even if he can walk,” he pointed out, “he’ll certainly have to go slowly. We have to face it; it’s going to take us a long time to get home.”

Nectarsong nodded. “Maybe one or two of us should travel back ahead of the rest,” she suggested.

What good will that do? Remembering when he had last spoken out of turn, Starlingpaw just managed not to annoy his mentor by saying the words out loud. What would be the point of rushing back to the lake, when the cat who had learned something from Stoneteller was not among them? It was Crowfeather who had spoken with the Tribe’s healer in the Cave of Pointed Stones, Crowfeather who had received the message from Feathertail and the Tribe of Endless Hunting. It was vital that he return to the Clans by the lake.

Starlingpaw’s chest began to tighten in panic, the jagged stone feeling as though it were expanding to fill his throat and cut off his breath. What if Crowfeather never recovers consciousness?

He remembered seeing Crowfeather the night before, sitting up late with thoughts flickering like minnows in his blue gaze. Starlingpaw had suspected then that the WindClan tom was hiding something. Now desperation prickled in every hair on his pelt. He had to believe that their mission was worthwhile, vitally important to the well-being of the Clans. But now that belief was leading him to fear that it would all have been for nothing.

Wake up, Crowfeather, he pleaded silently, his gaze fixed on the WindClan cat’s inert body. Please wake up…

The sun was sliding down the sky and shadows were stretching across the ravine when Shadowsight and Ivypool returned. By then, the other cats had made a nest of dead leaves and moss in the shelter of a thornbush and carefully moved Crowfeather into it. Even being lifted and carried made no difference; the gray tom didn’t stir a whisker.

Shadowsight padded up and dropped a bunch of nettles beside Crowfeather’s body. “I couldn’t find a sniff of tansy,” he reported. “This will have to do for now.”

Starlingpaw watched while Shadowsight chewed up some of the nettle leaves; Fidgetflake raised the unconscious cat’s head so that his fellow medicine cat could try trickling some of the juices into Crowfeather’s mouth. Starlingpaw couldn’t tell whether he had managed to swallow any of it.

While she was escorting Shadowsight, Ivypool had hunted, and she returned now with a couple of scrawny mice and a blackbird.

“Thanks, Ivypool.” Hootwhisker seemed as if he was forcing himself to sound cheerful. “Great catch.”

Ivypool stared resentfully at the prey. “No, it’s a miserable catch. But it’s all I could find. I’ll lead a hunting patrol if any cat feels like joining me.”

No cat offered, only shifting uncomfortably and glancing at each other. Starlingpaw felt so exhausted that he didn’t think he could catch a mouse if it leaped into his jaws.

“We don’t know what might be lurking around,” Duskfur mewed. “Let’s share this fresh-kill and then try to get some sleep.”

The other cats murmured agreement and divided up the meager prey. Starlingpaw gulped down his few mouthfuls, then retired with the others to makeshift nests close to where Crowfeather lay.

Even though he was so weary that he could hardly pad the few paces to his nest and flop into it, Starlingpaw couldn’t rest. He lay listening to the other cats’ snores, but sleep evaded him like a swift rabbit or squirrel that slipped from his out-stretched paws.

Finally he rolled over what he hoped would be the last time and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. I will go to sleep!

But almost at once, Starlingpaw caught a faint glow of something beyond his eyelids. Moonlight? he wondered, confused. When he had lain down to sleep, the sky had been covered with clouds.

Blinking his eyes open, Starlingpaw shifted and half sat up as he looked around to discover where the glow was coming from.

There was no moon. Instead, the shimmering silver form of Crowfeather was floating above his motionless body.

No cat lives forever, she thought sadly, thinking of her littermate, Brambleclaw, old before his time, his strength drained by his extended stay in the Dark Forest when the impostor Ashfur had stolen his body. Now he lived in the medicine cats’ den, struggling to fight off an infection.

“Well, if it isn’t Goldenflower! Sit down,” Brackenfur invited her, waking with a massive yawn.

Warmth surged beneath Tawnypelt’s fur. “It’s Tawnypelt, Brackenfur,” she corrected gently. It pleased her to know that she reminded her old mentor of her mother, but she wondered how poor the old tom’s memory was these days.

He narrowed his eyes at her, then nodded. “Of course, of course. Would you like to share prey? I think I’ve got a bit of vole here somewhere…”

“No, I’m fine, thanks,” Tawnypelt replied, sitting in a drift of dead leaves close to the edge of the den. “I’m worried about the prophecy that Bluestar gave me when I had that accident and almost died.”

“We heard about that,” Thornclaw murmured. “ ‘Beware the two-faced cat with a paw in each world.’ Isn’t that what Bluestar said?”

Tawnypelt nodded. “That’s right. I’ve been trying to make sense of it ever since, and I can’t help wondering…” She hesitated, still reluctant to put words to her suspicions. “I’m asking myself whether Moonpaw might be the two-faced cat. You only have to look at her, with her face divided like that.”

Brightheart stared at her with her one good eye. “Moonpaw? Really?” She sounded as if she didn’t believe it.

“You can’t deny that Moonpaw behaves oddly sometimes.” Tawnypelt was beginning to feel slightly defensive. “What about that night when she took the kit out of the nursery?”

“I’m not sure she did,” Brightheart argued. “I heard that Sunkit was confused. And Moonpaw was sleeping in the medicine cats’ den that night—not wandering around trying to do harm.”

Tawnypelt didn’t contradict the ThunderClan she-cat, but privately she felt it wouldn’t be sensible to disregard the story. Something strange was going on that night, she told herself. I can’t explain it, but I feel it right down to my bones.

“That’s not all,” she continued. “When I visited Brambleclaw in the medicine cats’ den, he had a very odd outburst. He was looking off into the distance, and he said, ‘You don’t belong in this world!’ I suspected he was talking about Moonpaw, because she had visited him earlier.”

“That is strange,” Cloudtail admitted.

“Exactly,” Tawnypelt agreed. “I can’t put my paw exactly on what’s going on, but I can’t deny that all these weird things going on around young Moonpaw have me unsettled. It reminds me of all that business with Ashfur, when the evil creature left StarClan and tried to claim ThunderClan for himself.”

Thornclaw hunched his shoulders. “Those were terrible days.”

“Yes, and could something similar be happening now?” Tawnypelt asked. “Could dark spirits be circling Moonpaw, somehow using Brambleclaw to get close to her?”

Brackenfur shivered, and an uneasy air fell over the elders’ den. Tawnypelt could see that they were all thinking over what she had suggested.

The silence dragged on for many heartbeats; Thornclaw was the cat who broke it. “Why has Moonpaw even been around Brambleclaw?” he demanded, his fur beginning to bristle up. “She’s an apprentice; doesn’t she have any duties?”

“She’s been spending her nights in the medicine cats’ den because she’s had some trouble sleeping,” Tawnypelt explained. “It was decided to separate her from the other apprentices until she started behaving like a normal cat.”

“‘Normal’?” Brightheart sat up with a hiss, her shoulder fur bristling. “You look around the Clans, Tawnypelt, and tell me exactly what you mean by a ‘normal’ cat.”

“A storm cloud,” Brackenfur murmured.

“Remember how none of us saw what was coming with Ashfur,” Tawnypelt went on. “And how every cat suspected Shadowsight when all the bad, strange stuff seemed to be gathering around him.”

“There was good reason for that,” Thornclaw pointed out.

Tawnypelt sighed. “I know. But Shadowsight is my son’s kit; how could I believe he would ever hurt any cat? And in the end I was proved right. Suspicion lay heavily on Shadowsight, but none of what happened was his fault. Ashfur deceived him horribly. So,” she continued, “if something similar is happening with Moonpaw, shouldn’t we learn the lesson from what happened with Shadowsight and try to help her now?”

The elders exchanged glances, clearly thinking deeply about what Tawnypelt had said. Though Tawnypelt’s fur was itching with impatience to know what they would decide, she made herself keep quiet.

“I think we should tell all this to Squirrelstar,” Cloudtail meowed at last. The other elders nodded in agreement, and Brackenfur added, “We can’t possibly keep this from her.”

Tawnypelt felt a jolt of alarm in the depths of her belly. It had been a difficult decision for her to reveal her anxiety to the elders; now she realized that of course these ThunderClan cats would want to pass on what she told them to their Clan leader.

“I understand that,” she mewed hesitantly, “though I’m worried that if you tell Squirrelstar, it might turn the whole Clan against Moonpaw.”

“Even so, if Moonpaw is struggling with anything dark, we need to help her,” Thornclaw pointed out. “Some cat needs to talk to her.”

“But we have to make sure she knows it’s not a punishment.” Brightheart’s gaze raked over her denmates as if she was daring them to disagree. “She needs to know that we just want to help her.”

“Of course we do,” Brackenfur responded. “However, I think for the time being she shouldn’t be allowed to visit Brambleclaw. Just to be on the safe side, until we work out what’s going on.”

The elders murmured agreement, exchanging glances of relief that Brambleclaw wouldn’t be in danger from a cat who might not mean any harm, but was certainly unpredictable.

Meanwhile, the elders’ words helped Tawnypelt to see a way forward. “Then suppose we let Jayfeather know,” she suggested. “He has the authority to keep her out of his den. Besides, I’ve heard that Moonpaw has spent time with him, so I assume they get along well.”

“As far as any cat gets along well with Jayfeather,” Cloudtail muttered.

Brightheart batted him over the head with her tail. “Mouse-brain! I believe Moonpaw respects him, at least,” she continued. “I think she missed working with him when she became a warrior apprentice.”

“Then maybe Jayfeather can keep an eye on Moonpaw and make sure she’s okay,” Tawnypelt meowed. “And if he thinks Squirrelstar needs to know, he can tell her. I’ll speak to him.”

Purrs of agreement came from the elders, while Tawnypelt felt relief sweeping through her from her ears to the tips of her claws.

At least now I have a plan.

Jayfeather’s expression and tone softened. “It’s not really a good time,” he told Moonpaw. “Brambleclaw isn’t up to having visitors right now.”

While he was still speaking, Moonpaw looked over his shoulder to see Tawnypelt brushing past the bramble screen and stepping out of the den into the open.

Moonpaw stiffened, staring at the ShadowClan she-cat, then turned toward Jayfeather. Did he lie to me? Surprised and disconcerted, she didn’t know what to say.

In spite of his blindness, Jayfeather seemed to understand what was troubling her; Moonpaw guessed he had picked up Tawnypelt’s scent and the sound of her pelt snagging against the bramble tendrils.

“Of course, close kin can still visit Brambleclaw,” he explained hurriedly. “But we need to limit the number of visitors he can have for the time being. There’ll be other days you can see him, Moonpaw,” he finished, an unfamiliar kindness in his voice.

While he was speaking, Moonpaw watched Tawnypelt pad away from the medicine cats’ den; the ShadowClan cat had an awkward look on her face, as if she had overheard part of Moonpaw’s conversation with Jayfeather.

Moonpaw felt her belly clench with a sudden feeling of tension, as if she had unintentionally swallowed crow-food. Had Tawnypelt warned Jayfeather to keep her away from Brambleclaw? She was Brambleclaw’s sister; she was bound to be concerned about him.

But does she think I’m a bad cat? Does she think I’m going to hurt Brambleclaw somehow?

Moonpaw wanted to shriek at the ShadowClan cat, and at Jayfeather too, that she wasn’t bad, and she wasn’t a danger to Brambleclaw. It wasn’t fair that they should blame her, when all she wanted was to find comfort with the dying cat. Moonpaw thought that Brambleclaw found comfort with her, too. There wasn’t another cat in the Clan who understood what was happening between her and Morningkit.

She remembered once more what Morningkit had said about “owing” her because Moonpaw had lived while Morningkit had slipped into death in spite of all her Clanmates did.

I’m the only cat in danger, she thought. And that’s why I need Brambleclaw, to help me keep up my courage.

“I’m not asking you to come herb gathering with me just to keep you away from Brambleclaw,” Jayfeather continued gently but firmly. “We have other things to talk about.”

Moonpaw was so upset that the medicine cat’s words swirled around her like leaves in a stream, carried away by the current. She stared past him toward his den as if she could see through the bramble screen to where the only cat who could help her was sitting. But Brambleclaw wasn’t allowed visitors—or she wasn’t allowed to visit him—and so he couldn’t help her.

“I’ll gather herbs with you another time,” she mumbled, not looking at Jayfeather, then spun around and fled across the camp to the apprentices’ den.

The elders had left their den, heading out for a good gossip with their Clanmates beside the fresh-kill pile, leaving Moonpaw with space to work. She felt thoroughly dejected as she bundled together the soiled bedding. She didn’t mind doing the apprentice task; at first she hadn’t even cared that her mentor, Sunbeam, had gone off on a hunting patrol and left her behind. Her mind had still been racing with the memory of her conversation with Jayfeather, and she didn’t want Sunbeam scolding her again for being distracted.

But as time went on, her thoughts returned in every heartbeat to how Jayfeather was keeping her from the one elder who might be able to help her, the one cat who could make her feel better about everything that was happening to her.

Even worse, Morningkit wouldn’t stop speaking inside her mind. She wouldn’t stop going on about how Moonpaw couldn’t confide in any cat. How she couldn’t depend on any cat.

Don’t you see? she meowed. Remember how Jayfeather lied to you and kept you out of his den? He doesn’t trust you. No cat in this Clan trusts you. Why do you keep hoping that they ever will? They’re just going to keep on mistrusting you, until one day—one day they’ll start hating you.

No, they won’t, Moonpaw argued, unable to shut the voice out however hard she tried. Jayfeather and Alderheart would never hate me. Sunbeam respects me. And our parents would never hate me—never!

Keep telling yourself that if it makes you happy, Morningkit retorted with an unpleasant snicker. But I’m right. It will happen. And when it does, they’ll come for you.

What do you mean, “come for me”? Moonpaw asked.

Morningkit’s voice grew softer, with an undercurrent of menace. One day—or probably one night, when you’re asleep and helpless—they’ll attack you, and they’ll think they’re doing it to protect themselves, before you attack them.

“Stop it!” Moonpaw exclaimed aloud. “Stop threatening me!”

I’m not the threat, her dead sister went on. I would never harm you. I’m trying to help you.

Well, you’re not. Go away!

That’s exactly what I want to do! Morningkit spoke eagerly. I want both of us to go away, alone, together—right now!

The thought horrified Moonpaw. What would Morningkit be able to do to her if they left the Clan and went off together, far from any cat who could help her? She must be bee-brained, Moonpaw thought, if she believed that would ever happen.

But then, Moonpaw reflected, Morningkit could only ever see what she wanted. What Moonpaw wanted wasn’t important to her.

Well? Morningkit urged her. Stop fussing with that nasty bedding and come with me.

Closing her eyes, Moonpaw shook her head vehemently. “You are the cause of all my problems!” she growled.

Her pelt tingled with satisfaction when she heard Morningkit gasp in surprise. But her satisfaction faded as her nose twitched at a warm scent that certainly didn’t belong to her ghostly sibling.

Opening her eyes, Moonpaw turned to see Goldenpaw standing in the entrance to the elders’ den. He looked disconcerted, blinking in confusion.

“Were you talking to me?” he asked. “What have I done?”

Moonpaw stared at him, struggling to find an explanation. She opened her jaws to reply, but she didn’t know what to say. Instead, panic surged inside her, filling her chest and throat until it was impossible for her to speak. She fled out of the den, almost shouldering Goldenpaw aside.

With no thought in her head but escape, she bounded across the camp and plunged through the thorn tunnel into the forest. She headed for the lake, then veered off toward the SkyClan border, but no matter which way she ran, Morningkit was still there.

Goldenpaw will think you’re crazy now that he’s caught you talking to yourself, she taunted Moonpaw. Even worse if he thinks you were talking to him. He’ll tell the rest of the Clan, and soon every cat will think you’re crazy.

Stop it. That’s not true, Moonpaw protested.

Every cat will be looking at you weirdly, Morningkit continued as if Moonpaw hadn’t spoken. Every cat will be wondering if they should banish you from the Clan to keep themselves safe. If that happens, you’ll have no one.

Moonpaw tried to ignore the voice in her head, tried to push away the horrible suspicion that Morningkit might be right.

But the voice continued, not mocking now, but gentle and loving.

Don’t worry. You still have me, sister… I’ll always be here for you.