CHAPTER 19

Graypaw and Ravenpaw were still patching the hole when

Firepaw reached them. They had left a gap just wide

enough for him to squeeze back through.

“No luck with the garlic, ” Firepaw panted as he slipped

in. “Darkstripe’s prowling around out there. ”

“Never mind, ” mewed Graypaw. “We can get some

tomorrow. ”

“I’l go and get you some poppy from Spottedleaf, ”

Firepaw offered. He was worried by the dul look in his

friend’s eyes, and the way his muscles seemed stiff with

pain.

“No, don’t worry, ” mewed Graypaw. “I’l be fine. ”

“It’s no trouble, ” Firepaw insisted, and before Graypaw

could argue, he bounded off toward Spottedleaf’s den.

She was pacing her smal clearing, her eyes clouded

with unhappiness.

“Are you okay? ” Firepaw asked.

“The spirits of StarClan are restless. I think they are

trying to tel me something, ” she replied, flicking her tail

uneasily. “What can I do for you? ”

“I think Graypaw could do with some poppy seeds for his

leg, ” Firepaw explained. “His rat bites are stil hurting him. ”

“The pain of losing Lionheart wil make his injuries feel

worse. But he’l mend in time; don’t worry. In the meantime,

you’re right, poppy seeds wil help. ” Spottedleaf went into

her den and brought out a dried poppy head. She placed it

careful y on the ground. “Just shake out one or two and give

them to him, ” she meowed.

“Thanks, ” Firepaw mewed. “Are you sure you’re okay? ”

“Go and see to your friend, ” answered Spottedleaf,

avoiding his gaze.

Firepaw picked up the poppy head between his teeth

and began to walk away.

“Wait, ” Spottedleaf hissed suddenly.

Firepaw spun around expectantly and met her tawny

gaze. Her eyes burned back at him.

“Firepaw, ” she hissed. “StarClan spoke to me moons

ago, before you joined the Clan. I sense they want me to tel

you this now. They said only fire can save our Clan. ”

Firepaw stared at Spottedleaf, mystified.

The strange passion faded from her eyes. “Take care,

Firepaw, ” she meowed in her normal voice, and turned

away.

“See you, ” Firepaw replied uncertainly. He padded back

through the fern tunnel. Her strange words were echoing in

his mind, but he could not make sense of them. Why had

she shared them with him? Surely fire was an enemy to al

who lived in the forest. He shook his head in frustration, and

bounded over to the apprentices’ den.

“Graypaw! ” Firepaw hissed into the ear of his sleeping

friend. They’d been al owed to rest al morning, after

working on repairs for most of the night. Tigerclaw had

ordered them to be ready to begin training at sunhigh. The

strong yel ow light filtering through to the den told Firepaw it

was already near that now.

He’d had a restless night. Dreams swirled through his

mind each time he fel asleep, confusing and indistinct, but

ful of darkness and menace.

“Graypaw! ” Firepaw hissed again. But his friend did not

stir. He’d eaten two of the poppy seeds before he’d slept,

and now he was in a deep slumber.

“Are you awake, Firepaw? ” Ravenpaw mewed from his

nest.

Firepaw spat silently under his breath. He had wanted to

talk to Graypaw before Ravenpaw awoke.

“Yes! ” he replied.

Ravenpaw sat up in his bed of moss and heather and

began to wash with quick flicks of his tongue. “Are you

going to wake him? ” he asked, nodding toward Graypaw.

A deep voice growled outside their den. “I hope so!

Training is about to start. ”

Firepaw and Ravenpaw jumped.

“Graypaw, wake up! ” Firepaw poked his friend with one

paw. “Tigerclaw is waiting! ”

Graypaw lifted his head. His eyes were stil heavy with

sleep.

“Are you ready yet? ” cal ed Tigerclaw.

Firepaw and Ravenpaw crept out of the den, blinking as

they emerged into the sunlight.

The deputy was sitting beside the tree stump. “Is the

other one coming? ” he asked.

“Yes, ” Firepaw replied, feeling defensive on behalf of his

friend. “He’s only just woken up. ”

“Training wil do him good, ” growled Tigerclaw. “He’s

grieved for long enough. ”

Firepaw held the menacing amber gaze for a few

moments. Warrior and apprentice, for a heartbeat their

eyes were locked as enemies.

Graypaw scrambled sleepily out of the den.

“Bluestar wil be ready for you in a moment, Firepaw, ”

announced Tigerclaw. The words distracted Firepaw from

his anger. His first training session with Bluestar!

Excitement surged through him. He had expected his

wounded mentor to be resting stil.

“Graypaw, ” continued Tigerclaw, “you can join my

training session. Do you think you’re up to it, Ravenpaw? ”

He glowered at his apprentice. “After al, you got some

pretty nasty nettle stings while the rest of us were fighting

those rats. ”

Ravenpaw looked at the ground. “I’m fine, ” he mewed.

Graypaw and Ravenpaw fol owed the deputy out of the

camp entrance. Ravenpaw’s head hung low as he

disappeared through the gorse tunnel.

Firepaw sat and waited for Bluestar. She did not keep

him long. The gray queen emerged from her den and

padded across the clearing. Her fur was stil matted in

places where her wounds were fresh, but she betrayed no

pain in her confident stride. “Come, ” she cal ed to him.

Firepaw noticed with surprise that she was alone.

Darkstripe and Longtail were nowhere to be seen. A

thought occurred to him and suddenly his excitement was

tinged with anxiety—here was an opportunity to tel Bluestar

what he had overheard last night.

He caught up with her as she headed for the gorse

tunnel and fel in step behind her. “Wil your guards be

joining us? ” he asked hesitantly.

Bluestar replied without looking back, “I’ve ordered

Darkstripe and Longtail to help with the camp repairs.

Securing ThunderClan’s base is our first priority. ”

Firepaw’s heartbeat quickened. He would tel her about

Ravenpaw as soon as they left camp.

The two cats fol owed the trail to the training hol ow. The

path was strewn with freshly fal en golden leaves that

rustled beneath their paws. Firepaw’s mind raced as he

searched for suitable words. What should he tel his

leader? That Tigerclaw was plotting to get rid of his

apprentice? And what would he say when Bluestar asked

him why? Could he bring himself to say out loud that he

suspected Tigerclaw had kil ed Redtail? Even though he

had no evidence beyond Ravenpaw’s excited storytel ing at

the Gathering?

By the time they reached the sandy hol ow, Firepaw had

stil not spoken. The hol ow was empty.

“I asked Tigerclaw to hold his training session in another

part of the forest today, ” Bluestar explained as she padded

into the center of the hol ow. “I want to concentrate on your

fighting skil s, and I want you to concentrate on them too—

which means no distractions. ”

I must tell her now, thought Firepaw. She needs to know

about the danger Ravenpaw is in. His paws prickled with

anxiety. I won’t have another chance like this….

Sudden movement flashed in the corner of his eye. A

swish of gray whirled past his nose, and Firepaw fel

forward as his forepaws were knocked lightly from

underneath him. He staggered, regained his balance, and

spun around to see Bluestar sitting calmly beside him. “Do I

have your attention now? ” she growled.

“Yes, Bluestar. Sorry! ” he replied hastily, looking into her

blue eyes.

“That’s better. Firepaw, you have been with us for many

moons now. I have watched you fight. With the rats you

were quick; with the ShadowClan warriors you were fierce.

You outwitted Graypaw on that very first day we met, and

you defeated Yel owfang with your cleverness too. ” She

paused, then lowered her voice to an intense hiss. “But one

day you wil meet an opponent who is al of these things as

wel —quick and fierce and clever. It’s my duty to prepare

you for that day. ”

Firepaw nodded, completely caught up in her words. His

senses were ful y alert. Al thoughts of Ravenpaw and

Tigerclaw had disappeared, and the musty odors and tiny

noises of the forest rushed in upon him.

“Let’s see how you fight, ” Bluestar ordered. “Attack me. ”

Firepaw looked at her, sizing her up and wondering the

best way to begin. Bluestar was standing less than three

rabbit lengths away. She was twice his size, so it would be

a waste of effort to begin with the usual paw swipes and

wrestling. But if he could leap straight onto her back with a

powerful enough jump, he might be able to unbalance her.

She hadn’t taken her piercing blue eyes off him for an

instant. Firepaw stared back and leaped.

He had aimed to land squarely on her shoulders, but

Bluestar was ready for him. She dropped swiftly into a

crouch. As Firepaw hit her, she rol ed onto her back.

Instead of landing on her shoulders he found himself

crashing down toward her upturned bel y. She caught him

with al four paws and flung him easily away from her.

Firepaw felt he had been bundled away like a bothersome

kit. He hit the dusty ground hard and lay winded for a

moment before he scrambled to his feet.

“Interesting strategy, but your eyes betrayed where you

were aiming, ” growled Bluestar as she stood up and shook

off the dust from her thick coat. “Now, try again. ”

This time Firepaw looked at her shoulders but aimed for

her paws. When Bluestar dropped to the ground he would

hit her as she crouched. Firepaw felt a rush of satisfaction

as he leaped, but it turned to confusion as Bluestar

unexpectedly sprang into the air and let him crash into the

ground where she had stood just a heartbeat before. She

timed it perfectly—as he landed, she thundered down on

top of him, squashing the breath out of him.

“Now try something I don’t expect, ” she hissed into his

ear, climbing off him and backing away with a chal enging

gleam in her eyes.

Firepaw scrambled up, panting, and shook himself

crossly. Even Yel owfang had not been so tricky. He hissed

and leaped again. This time, as he flew at Bluestar, he

stretched out his forepaws. She reared up on her hind legs

and used her forepaws to twist him away. As he felt himself

slipping, Firepaw scrabbled with his hind paws in the sand,

but it was too late and he flopped heavily onto his side.

“Firepaw, ” Bluestar meowed calmly, as once more he

struggled to his paws, “you’re strong and quick, but you

must learn to keep control of your speed and body weight

so that it’s not so easy for me to unbalance you. Try again. ”

Firepaw backed away, hot, dusty, and out of breath.

Frustration raged through him. He was determined to get

the better of his mentor this time. Slowly he crouched and

began to creep toward Bluestar. She mirrored his crouch

and hissed into his face as he approached. He raised a

paw and swiped at her left ear. She ducked to avoid his

strike and reared up, towering over him. Quickly Firepaw

rol ed onto his back, slithered beneath her body, and in one

fast movement kicked both his back legs upward into her

bel y. Bluestar was flung backward and fel onto the sandy

earth with a loud grunt.

Firepaw flipped himself over and leaped to his paws. He

felt jubilant. Then he saw Bluestar lying in the dirt, and for

the first time remembered her wounds. Had he reopened

them? He dashed to her side and stared down at her. To

his relief her eyes glinted proudly back at him.

“That was much better, ” she puffed. She stood and

shook herself. “Now it’s my turn. ”

She sprang at him, knocking him to the ground, then

retreated and let him pick himself up before leaping again.

Firepaw braced himself, but she bowled him over easily

again.

“Look at my size, Firepaw! Don’t try to stand up against

my attack. Use your wits. If you are fast enough to avoid

me, then avoid me! ”

Firepaw scrabbled to his feet again, preparing for her

attack. This time he didn’t dig his paws into the soft ground,

but stood lightly, keeping his weight on his toes. As

Bluestar flew toward him, he hopped neatly out of her path,

reared up onto his hind legs, and, with his forepaws,

pushed her flying body onward past him.

Bluestar landed graceful y on al four paws and turned.

“Excel ent! You learn quickly, ” she purred. “But that was an

easy move. Let’s see how you deal with this one. ”

They trained until sunset. Firepaw heaved a sigh of relief

when he heard Bluestar meow, “That’s enough for today. ”

She seemed a little tired and stiff but she stil leaped easily

out of the sandy hol ow.

Firepaw scrambled after her. His muscles were aching

and his head spinning with al he had learned. As they

trekked together back through the trees, he couldn’t wait to

tel Graypaw and Ravenpaw about this training session.

And it wasn’t until they reached the camp boundary that

Firepaw realized he’d forgotten to tel Bluestar about

Ravenpaw.