Warriors: Omen of the Stars #6: The Last Hope (3 page)

“I smell blood,” she snapped. “We’re only training. I don’t want any injuries.”

Birchfall blinked at her, puzzled.

Redwillow scrambled up from underneath Birchfall’s paws. “It’s just a nick,” the ShadowClan warrior meowed. He showed Ivypool his ear. Blood welled from a thin scratch at the tip.

“Just be careful,” Ivypool cautioned.

“Be careful
?” Hawkfrost’s snarl made her spin around. “There’s a war coming and it won’t be won with sheathed claws.” Hawkfrost curled his lip and stared at Ivypool. “I thought you were helping to train our recruits to fight like real warriors, not soft Clan cats.”

Birchfall bristled. “Clan cats aren’t soft!”

“Then why do you come here?” Hawkfrost challenged.

Redwillow whisked his tail. “Our Clans need us to be the best warriors we can be. You told us that, remember?”

Hawkfrost nodded slowly. “And you can only learn the skills you need
here.
” He flicked his nose toward Birchfall. “Attack Redwillow again,” he ordered. “This time don’t stop at the first scent of blood.” He narrowed his eyes at Ivypool.

Ivypool swallowed, terrified she’d given herself away. No Dark Forest cat could ever know that she came here to spy for Dovewing, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze. Growling, she lifted her chin and barged past Birchfall. “Do it like this,” she told him. With a hiss she hurled herself at Redwillow, ducking away from his claws, and grasped his forepaw between her jaws. Using his weight to unbalance him, she snapped her head around and twisted him deftly onto his back. He landed with a thump, which she knew sounded more painful than it felt. She’d hardly pierced his fur with her teeth and her jerk was so well-timed it had knocked him off his feet without wrenching his leg.

She glanced back at Hawkfrost, relieved to see approval glinting in his eyes. He’d only seen the flash of fur and claw and heard the smack of muscle against the slippery earth.

“Hawkfrost!”

Birchfall and Redwillow stared wide-eyed as Applefur appeared from the mist. The ShadowClan she-cat’s eyes were bright, her mottled brown pelt pulsing with heat from training. “Blossomfall and Hollowflight want to fight
Dark Forest
warriors.”

Applefur’s apprentices padded out of the shadows. “We can fight Clan cats anytime,” Blossomfall complained.

Hollowflight nodded. “We come here to learn skills we can’t learn anywhere else.” The RiverClan tom’s pelt was matted with blood. Clumps of fur stuck out along his spine.

Haven’t you had enough?
Ivypool glanced at Hawkfrost. “Are there any Dark Forest warriors close by?” she ventured, praying there weren’t.

“Of course.” Hawkfrost tasted the air.

The screech of fighting cats echoed through the mist. It had become like birdsong to Ivypool—filling the forest, so familiar that she only heard it when she listened for it. “Why aren’t we training with them tonight?” she asked. Most nights, the Dark Forest warriors couldn’t wait to share their cruel skills with the Clan cats.

Hawkfrost wove between Blossomfall and Applefur. “I want you to learn how other Clans fight.”

Ivypool shivered.

“You may be fighting side by side one day,” Hawkfrost went on.

Liar!

“You need to know your allies’ moves so you can match them, claw for claw.”

No, you’re training them to destroy one another in the final battle.

A husky growl echoed from the trees. “Four Clans will unite as one when it matters most.” Tigerstar padded from the shadows, his wide tabby head held high. “This is the law of the Dark Forest. Remember it.”

Birchfall nodded solemnly. “Four Clans will unite as one when it matters most,” he echoed.

“When will that be?” Blossomfall’s eyes were round.

“You’ll know when the time comes.” Mapleshade slunk from the trees. Her tortoiseshell pelt was so transparent now that the white patches showed the forest behind. Ivypool flinched at the reminder that she too would fade from every memory one day.

“Tigerstar?” Blossomfall was staring at the dark warrior. “Are we training for something special?”

Ivypool flinched. “Not yet,” she meowed quickly, one eye on Tigerstar. He nodded and she went on. “But you never know.” She remembered the vicious battle with WindClan in the tunnels only a quarter moon earlier. “There may be more cats like Sol ready to lead one Clan against another.”

Applefur stepped forward. “Next time a rogue tries to drive us apart, I’ll stand beside ThunderClan, not against them!”

Ivypool shifted her paws.
These cats believe their loyalty to the Clans is being strengthened.
She glanced at Birchfall.
But who will they be loyal to when the final battle comes
?
Their Clanmates or the Dark Forest warriors
?

Tigerstar flicked his tail. “Go back to your nests,” he ordered the Clan cats.

Hollowflight tipped his head. “But it’s early.”

“The senior warriors have a meeting.” Tigerstar nodded to Mapleshade and Hawkfrost.

“Can I come?” Ivypool asked.

Mapleshade narrowed her eyes. “No.”

“I’m a mentor now,” Ivypool pressed. She had to find out when the Dark Forest cats were planning to attack the Clans by the lake.

“While you still have the taste of living prey on your tongue, you’re not truly one of us,” Mapleshade snarled.

Tigerstar nodded. “Go back to your Clan and rest,” he ordered. “You’ll need your strength tomorrow night.” He turned and stalked into the shadows, Mapleshade hurrying after.

Blossomfall shrugged. “I guess we can practice our new moves in the forest as well as here,” she told Birchfall. Closing her eyes, she began to fade.

Ivypool watched her Clanmate vanish from the forest.
She’ll take her wounds with her. And the memory of what she’s learned.
Ivypool’s pelt pricked. She didn’t want those memories, these vicious skills in ThunderClan!

“Are you coming?” Birchfall flicked his tail.

Ivypool twitched her ears to send him on his way. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Hollowflight, Applefur, and Redwillow were melting into the shadows as Birchfall disappeared. As soon as they had gone, Ivypool turned to Hawkfrost. “You trust me to train cats for the Dark Forest, but not to attend gatherings of the senior warriors?”

His eyes gleamed. “Do you really want to be there?”

Ivypool nodded.

Hawkfrost leaned closer. “Tough.” He turned and padded after Tigerstar.

Ivypool flexed her claws.
I’m coming whether you want me to or not!
As Hawkfrost’s pelt shimmered away between the trees, she darted forward and, heart racing, began to shadow him. Keeping just enough mist and bramble between them so that he was little more than a flicker at the edge of her vision, she matched his pawsteps.

“Snowtuft?” Hawkfrost suddenly slowed.

Ivypool halted and pricked her ears.

Hawkfrost greeted his Clanmate with a growl. “Are you heading for the meeting?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for all the mice in the forest,” Snowtuft rasped. “Where are the Clan cats?”

Hawkfrost snorted. “Tigerstar sent them back to their nests.”

Snowtuft’s claws scraped the earth. “Are you sure there won’t be any hanging around the training rock?”

“Brokenstar will make sure there aren’t,” Hawkfrost growled.

The training rock!
Ivypool flicked her tail.
They’re meeting beside the river!
She knew the Dark Forest well enough now to find her way without being spotted by Hawkfrost. She only had to follow the old stream to the hollow trunks, then aim for the riverbank.

Crouching, she slunk behind bushes until she could hear the deep murmur of the senior warriors. She slid behind a trunk and peered around. The mist cleared where the river cut through the trees. A large boulder stuck out of the mud on the shore. Ivypool flattened her ears. She had shared her first training sessions with her Dark Forest Clanmates here. Now it was circled by heavily muscled warriors. Feeling the stirrings of fear in her belly, she pushed them away.
I am a warrior of the Dark Forest,
she reminded herself.
I am the equal of any of these cats!

Brokenstar stood on the stone, his thick, dark pelt spiked with excitement. “The time is close,” he growled.

Mapleshade lifted her fading white muzzle. “Good,” she hissed. “I’d hate to miss it.”

Hawkfrost sat and watched through narrowed eyes. Blue as ice, they followed Brokenstar’s every move. Shredtail and Thistleclaw paced while Tigerstar stood stiff-legged, his tail lashing. “Where will we strike first?” he demanded.

Brokenstar slid from the boulder and scratched a line in the muddy earth. “This is where the lake meets the land.”

Slash.

Slash.

Slash.

With deft claws he sliced more shapes into the ground. “We will come at them from here and here.” He stabbed the ground. “And while they are fighting there, another patrol will strike here.”

Ivypool stretched forward, desperate to see where he was pointing at, but Tigerstar and Shredtail blocked her view as they crowded close. Her heart pounding in her throat, Ivypool listened for clues instead.

“They’ll be weaker where the hill slopes down to the brook,” Brokenstar growled. “We can come at them from higher ground and drive them backward.”

“What if we approach from here instead?” Tigerstar jabbed the map with a claw.

Ivypool jumped as Brokenstar’s eyes lit up with interest. “At the very heart of the Clan!”

“Once the kits are dead, their mothers will have less to fight for,” Mapleshade pointed out.

“You’re right.” Brokenstar sat back on his haunches. “It’s decided, then.”

Hawkfrost looked over his shoulder, his gaze grazing the tree where Ivypool was hiding. She flattened herself to the ground, relief swamping her as Hawkfrost’s gaze swept past, missing her, and the Dark Forest warriors began to pad away from the river. As soon as the shore was deserted, she slid out from her hiding place and crept toward Brokenstar’s map. Tense as a rabbit, she glimpsed lines scored in the mud.

Suddenly, paws shook her violently. She jerked around, hissing, and lashed out at her attacker.

“Ivypool!”

Dovewing’s shocked mew brought her to her senses. Ivypool was in her nest. “You woke me up!” she snarled at her sister.

Dovewing stared at her, terror glittering in her eyes. “Ivypool? Are you okay?”

“I was dreaming!” Frustration tightened Ivypool’s throat. She was about to see Brokenstar’s plans!

“You’re awake now, though?” Dovewing asked uncertainly.

“Yes,” Ivypool muttered. “I’m awake.”

Dovewing met her gaze. “You never would have tried to shred me for waking you up before.”

“You know what happens when I dream.”

“That’s why I woke you. Your fur was on end. I was scared something was…” Dovewing suddenly narrowed her eyes. “Did you want to
stay
in the Dark Forest?”

Ivypool lifted her chin. Here, in the safety of her nest, the terror that had sharpened her dreams ebbed away. But the sense of danger still thrilled beneath her pelt. “I was doing something important!”

Dovewing leaned closer. “What?”

Ivypool turned away. “It’s too late now.” Brokenstar’s plans would be scuffed or washed away by tonight.

Dovewing suddenly wrinkled her nose. “You smell foul.”

Ivypool glanced down at her muddy paws and tucked them tighter beneath her. “Don’t worry. I’ll wash.”

“Good.” Dovewing squeezed past her and headed out of the den.

Ivypool glanced at Molepaw’s empty nest and Cherrypaw’s beside it. They’d already left for apprentice duties. Flexing her claws, she shouldered her way out of the den.

“Ivypool!” Bumblestripe called from the fresh-kill pile. The well-muscled gray tom had a fat blackbird at his paws.

Ivypool ignored him and ducked through the thorn tunnel, into the forest. How could she stay in camp, confined by the hollow, trapped with her Clanmates while her head still spun with the scents and sounds of the Dark Forest?

She bounded up the slope toward the ridge. Strength surged through her body. The Dark Forest had given her that power. It had trained her to be a more skillful warrior than her Clanmates, given her tactics that she would use against the Dark Forest cats when the final battle came. Ivypool’s claws sliced through brambles as she crested the slope and burst from the tree line. Below, the lake glittered beneath a pale dawn sky. Leaf-fall was beginning to tinge the treetops. The green haze that had enfolded the forests for moons was darkening to amber. Excitement surged beneath Ivypool’s pelt. There was no prey she couldn’t catch; no warrior she couldn’t defeat. Her paws itched to prove it.

Out of nowhere, a vision filled her eyes. Warriors swarmed from the shores and spilled into the forest. Torn-eared and scarred, their eyes gleamed with hate. Ferns trembled, brambles shivered as the woods seemed to heave, suddenly alive with battle-hungry cats. Shrieks echoed and Ivypool heard the thud of muscle against rock as the world shook in the claws of the Dark Forest warriors.