The Fourth Apprentice

“You don’t know-” Jayfeather began.

“Oh, yes, I do!” Poppyfrost flashed back at him. “You can tell from the way he behaves that he doesn’t care about me at all. Why else would he want me to go into the nursery so early? He doesn’t even want to see me in the warriors’ den!”

Jayfeather was at a loss for how to reply. No cat could make Berrynose love Poppyfrost if he still wanted her dead sister, and trekking up here to the Moonpool wasn’t going to help.

“I’m going to take you home,” he meowed. “Remember I brought you home once before from a forest you visited in your dreams?”

Poppyfrost was silent for a moment; Jayfeather could feel the memories stirring in her mind, flickering like starlight on water.

“Yes, I remember,” she murmured, her voice scarcely audible above the sound of the waterfall. “I was sick, wasn’t I? But I didn’t really leave the stone hollow. So where was that forest?” She caught her breath, and her voice strengthened as she went on. “It was StarClan, wasn’t it? I was dying, and you saved my life!”

“Yes, that’s what happened,” Jayfeather mewed. “And I’ve come to help you again.”

He heard Poppyfrost rise to her paws and pad around the Moonpool until she was standing in front of him, her scent strong in his nose.

“If I went to StarClan once and came back, I can go there again! Please!” Jayfeather could feel her body tremble with longing. “I want to see Honeyfern. I want to tell her that I didn’t mean to take Berrynose from her. Oh, Jayfeather, what if she hates me, too?”

Jayfeather stifled a sigh. “That’s not possible,” he began. “Warriors can’t just stroll in and out of StarClan. I would have to hurt you or make you sick, and medicine cats can’t-”

He broke off at the sound of a soft pad of footsteps from the edge of the hollow. Breezepelt’s voice echoed coldly off the stone. “What’s this? Another dilemma for ThunderClan? You cats should really learn to control your emotions, you know. Now you’ll just have more kits who should never have been born,” he added.

“Breezepelt!” Poppyfrost sounded shocked. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s not very friendly.” The WindClan cat’s voice was soft. “The Moonpool isn’t ThunderClan territory, you know.”

“Leave us alone,” Jayfeather snapped, trying to conceal the fear that was trickling like icemelt down his spine. “We don’t need you here.”

“Oh, I think you do.” The soft voice was drawing closer. “I’m willing to help Poppyfrost get to StarClan, even if you’re not.”

Jayfeather gulped, picking up a wave of fear and bewilderment from Poppyfrost, as if the young she-cat couldn’t understand why the WindClan warrior was threatening her. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he meowed. “You won’t kill her, not when I’m here.”

“Oh, really?” Breezepelt snarled; he was only about a tail-length away now. “And you, a blind medicine cat, think you can stop me, do you? When her body is found drowned in your precious pool, it’ll be your word against mine. I was never here tonight. My Clanmates can lie as well as yours, Jayfeather.”

Poppyfrost let out a gasp. Jayfeather stepped in front of her, guarding her from Breezepelt. The waves of hatred coming from his half brother were almost enough to knock him off his paws-and he realized that Breezepelt would do anything to punish him for being born.

“Your quarrel is with me, Breezepelt,” he growled. “Let Poppyfrost go.”

Breezepelt gave a snort of contempt. “Sending you to StarClan isn’t enough of a punishment. You need to know what it’s like to have every cat in your Clan stare at you, whisper about you. You need to know that you’re surrounded by lies and hatred and things that should never have happened.”

“You think we don’t know that?” Jayfeather challenged him. “The worst of the lies were told about us. We didn’t even know who our real parents were.”

For a heartbeat he felt the force of Breezepelt’s hatred falter. But the moment did not last.

“Don’t try to talk your way out of this,” Breezepelt hissed. “You’re nothing but a coward.”

StarClan help me! Jayfeather thought, knowing there was only one way forward. Unsheathing his claws, he sprang at Breezepelt. He felt the WindClan cat’s surprise as he was bowled over; Jayfeather landed on top of him and battered at his neck and ears, ripping his claws down his pelt.

Breezepelt let out a yowl of pain and fury. But Jayfeather knew that he couldn’t hope to win a fight against a seasoned warrior. The WindClan cat threw him off and flipped him over onto his back. Holding him down with one paw, Breezepelt landed several hard blows on Jayfeather’s belly. Wriggling in a vain attempt to escape, Jayfeather realized dully his adversary was keeping his claws sheathed.

He’s playing with me. He’ll finish me off when he’s ready.

Poppyfrost’s terrified wail came close to Jayfeather’s ear. “Stop it! You can’t kill a medicine cat!”

“Watch me,” Breezepelt growled.

Poppyfrost aimed a blow at his shoulder, but she was heavy with her kits and clumsy; Jayfeather could tell the blow had no force behind it.

“Get out of here!” he gasped as another blow to his belly winded him. “Think of your kits!”

Poppyfrost backed away, whimpering, but she didn’t try to leave.

In the next heartbeat Breezepelt sprang away from Jayfeather, who scrambled, half-dazed, to his paws. Standing still, he tried to locate the WindClan cat, but between pain and fear he was losing control of his senses.

Then Breezepelt leaped back in front of him, lashing out with his paws, claws still sheathed as he just brushed Jayfeather’s ears and muzzle. “Go on, see if you can hit me!” he taunted.

Jayfeather sprang forward, but before he reached the WindClan cat a heavy weight landed on him from behind and claws raked across his shoulders.

Another cat? Oh, great StarClan, no!

Remembering his battle training, Jayfeather let himself go limp, flopping down on the edge of the pool with the strange tom crushing him down. He lashed out with all four paws, clawing frantically at the other cat’s belly.

Who is it? How many cats want to kill me?

The newcomer’s scent was all around him, but Jayfeather didn’t recognize it. The tom didn’t belong to WindClan, or to any of the other Clans. But he’s not a rogue or a loner. I ought to recognize that scent, but I don’t.

The unknown tom’s weight suddenly vanished; Jayfeather struggled to his paws, only to stagger as a massive paw swiped him toward the pool. Breezepelt blocked him and shoved him back; for a few heartbeats the two cats batted Jayfeather between them like a pair of kits playing with a ball of moss.

Poppyfrost was still hovering close by. “Breezepelt, don’t!” she pleaded. “StarClan will be angry if you kill a medicine cat.”

“Like I care!” Breezepelt snarled.

Yowling in fury, Jayfeather tried to lash out, but his blows were too wild and uncontrolled to do any damage. He felt blood start to trickle from one shoulder as Breezepelt scratched him.

They’re getting tired of this. They’ll finish me off soon.

He was close to keeling over with exhaustion when he felt another cat leap down beside him. His last hope died at the thought of yet another enemy attacking him. Then he heard a startled screech from Breezepelt, and he realized that the latest arrival had sprung at the WindClan cat, driving him back.

“Hi, Jayfeather,” the new cat hissed through clenched teeth. “Having trouble?”

“Honeyfern!” Jayfeather gasped.

The StarClan warrior’s scent wreathed around him as she jumped back to his side. The massive tom bore down on them again; this time Jayfeather slashed with rapid blows at his ears, while Honeyfern dealt the WindClan warrior a hard blow to the belly.

Jayfeather heard a furious growl coming from the unknown cat as he backed off.

“Get away!” Honeyfern snarled. “You’re not wanted here! And as for you, Breezepelt-” She swung around to face the WindClan cat again. “You get out of here, too. Or do you want a couple of shredded ears?”

“You might have won this time,” Breezepelt spat. “But don’t think this is over, Jayfeather, because it’s not.”