The Fourth Apprentice

Mistyfoot didn’t try to argue; she just waited for the noise to die down. Then she dipped her head to Leopardstar and the other leaders and leaped to the ground again.

“Thank you, Leopardstar,” Firestar mewed, stepping forward once more. “I promise, you won’t regret this decision.” He paused to give his chest fur a couple of thoughtful licks, then went on, “Each Clan must send two cats to the mouth of the dried-up stream on the second sunrise from now. The Clan deputies can escort them.” His green eyes glowed in the moonlight and his voice rang through the clearing. “We will find the water! The Clans must survive!”

CHAPTER 10

As soon as Jayfeather woke on the morning after the Gathering, he could feel excitement buzzing around the camp like bees disturbed from their nest. Yawning and trying to shake off the dark dreams that had troubled his sleep, he pulled himself to his paws and swiped at a frond of fern that was clinging to his nose.

Don’t they realize that the cats who go on the journey might never come back?

He stumbled drowsily out into the clearing and scented Firestar emerging from his den onto the Highledge. The Clan was gathering around to listen even before their leader yowled the words that would call a meeting. Jayfeather felt Mousewhisker brush against his pelt, and he heard the thump of paws as Blossompaw, Briarpaw, and Bumblepaw rushed past him. Padding forward, he found a place for himself close to Lionblaze and Dovepaw.

“Cats of ThunderClan,” Firestar began when the excited murmuring had died into silence. “At the Gathering last night, all four Clans decided to send two cats to explore the stream and find out if it really is blocked. I’ve decided that Lionblaze and Dovepaw will go to represent ThunderClan.”

Even before Firestar had finished speaking, yowls of indignation rose into the still morning air.

“She’s an apprentice!” Thornclaw protested. “We should send a strong warrior who can cope with the danger.”

“Yeah, what’s so special about her?” Berrynose added.

But all the disapproving voices were drowned out by Ivypaw’s distraught wail. “Why do you get to go when I can’t? Why doesn’t Firestar send another warrior?”

“It’s not because Firestar likes me better, or anything,” Dovepaw reassured her sister. Jayfeather heard her pad over to Ivypaw and try to give her ear a comforting lick, but Ivypaw jerked away from her. “It’s just that I was the first cat to think about something blocking the stream.”

Jayfeather felt guilt flowing over her as she remembered that she was keeping her special senses, and everything she knew about the prophecy, a secret from her sister. She’ll have to get used to it, that’s all.

“I know,” Ivypaw mewed wretchedly. “But I thought we would always do everything together.”

“I wish we could, but we can’t,” Dovepaw replied.

“That’s enough!” Squirrelflight’s voice rose above the clamor of the protesting cats. “Firestar has made his decision. It’s not for us to question it.”

“That’s right,” Graystripe agreed. “Do you trust your leader or not?”

Gradually the noise died down, and Firestar spoke again. “Lionblaze and Dovepaw will leave at the next sunrise. The meeting is over.”

The crowd of cats broke up into groups, muttering together among themselves. For a few heartbeats Jayfeather lost track of Dovepaw, then located her near the fresh-kill pile with Icecloud and Foxleap. Picking up a surge of anxiety from the apprentice, he padded over to join them.

“How come you get chosen to go?” Foxleap was asking as Jayfeather approached. “How did you know about the stream, anyway?”

“Did you have a dream from StarClan?” Icecloud added eagerly. “What did they say to you?”

Jayfeather could tell that Dovepaw was beginning to panic. “So what, if she did have a dream?” he snapped, flicking his tail in Icecloud’s direction. “That’s between her and Firestar. Now, if you’ve nothing better to do, you can go down to the lake and get some water for the elders.”

He heard an annoyed hiss from Foxleap, but the two young warriors turned and padded off without arguing.

“He talks to us as if he was our mentor,” Icecloud complained in a whisper as they headed for the thorn tunnel.

“Jayfeather, I don’t know what to tell them!” Dovepaw meowed as soon as the warriors were out of earshot. “I didn’t have a dream, you know I didn’t! I can hear those brown animals, sense them, just like I knew what Lionblaze was doing by the lake.”

Jayfeather twitched his whiskers. “I know,” he replied. “But only Lionblaze and I will understand that. As far as the other cats are concerned, this was a dream. Understand?”

Dovepaw hesitated. “I don’t like lying to them,” she meowed.

Jayfeather could feel her bewilderment, and he understood that her supersharp senses were perfectly natural to her. But she was being way too stubborn and narrow-minded. Frustration stabbed at him, sharp as a thorn. “Don’t you want to be special?” he demanded. “Don’t you like being chosen for a destiny greater than your Clanmates?”

“No, I don’t!” Dovepaw spat back at him, then seemed to remember who she was talking to. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I don’t like keeping secrets from my Clanmates, that’s all.”

“Then don’t talk about it,” Jayfeather advised. He sensed that the apprentice was about to go on arguing, when he scented Brightheart approaching. Dovepaw took the chance to scamper away across the clearing to where her sister was sitting outside the apprentices’ den.

“Hi, Jayfeather,” the she-cat called. “Do you want me to go and collect some traveling herbs for the journey?”

“Thanks, Brightheart, that would be great,” Jayfeather replied. His mind began to race. He knew Brightheart was waiting for him to tell her what herbs she needed to look for.

Mouse dung! I’m not sure I can remember.

This would be the first time he had prepared the traveling-herbs mixture on his own. He tried to think what Leafpool had done when Brambleclaw and the rest left to search for Sol, but he was distracted by another, deeper worry. I wish Lionblaze and Dovepaw weren’t both going on the quest. What if they don’t come back? The prophecy will never be fulfilled if I’m the only one left!

He scented Leafpool as she padded past on her way to the fresh-kill pile. His pelt burned to ask her about the traveling herbs, but he forced his mouth to stay shut. She’s not a medicine cat anymore! She turned her back on that when she let herself fall in love with Crowfeather.

“Sorry,” he mumbled to Brightheart. “Just give me a couple of moments.”

He could always ask Cinderheart, to see if her half-buried Cinderpelt memories would be able to tell her the list of herbs. But that might cause more problems than it solves. Cinderheart has no idea that she was once ThunderClan’s medicine cat.

“It’s okay,” Brightheart mewed cheerfully. “I think I can remember the mixture, from when I ate the traveling herbs before I went to the Moonstone, back in the old forest. Let me see…there’s sorrel in it, isn’t there, and daisy? I remember that because I hate the taste!”

“That’s right.” To Jayfeather’s relief, his memory was coming back. “And chamomile’s another…”

“And burnet!” Brightheart finished triumphantly. “That’s all, isn’t it? I’ll get onto it right away.”

“Thanks, Brightheart.” Jayfeather dipped his head. “The best place for sorrel is beside the old Twoleg path. And you’ll probably find chamomile in the garden behind the Twoleg nest.”

“Great!” The she-cat whisked away. “Hazeltail! Blossompaw!” she called. “Do you want to come with me and look for herbs?”