The Clash of Stars Book 1: The Key

Chapter 24: Ghostpaw

Dawn light filtered through the Hearth entrance as Ghostpaw watched the sky, the stars beginning to fade. Wildpaw and Thornpaw sat a few lengths away from the leader's platform, beside him, seeming to be processing the conversation with StarClan.

"We should go through the mountains," Ghostpaw finally said, cutting through the silence. It seemed like the obvious choice.

Wildpaw nodded. "Yeah, and even if I can't clear the mist — which I doubt —" She punctuated the statement by nudging Ghostpaw with her wing. "— I know how to navigate caves with my eyes closed. I think we'll be fine."

"I thought it was a good idea, too," Thornpaw admitted, "but StarClan said it's too dangerous. We should listen to them. They know the path better than us."

"I don't think they do, actually," Wildpaw commented.

"They did say that they can't see the mountain," Ghostpaw added. He padded towards the entrance of the Hearth with Wildpaw, turning to look as he heard Thornpaw's heavier pawsteps bounding after them.

"We have to listen to them!" the cleric apprentice insisted. "It's StarClan!"

"We are listening to them," Wildpaw pointed out as they stepped out of the cave. "If anything, we're helping them more effectively."

"I don't want to disobey or anything either," Ghostpaw meowed, "but it could be more dangerous to go near Twolegs with Wildpaw than to try to navigate the mountains on our own." He shot the molly a guilty glance. "No offense."

"No, I look weird," Wildpaw sighed. "I'm starting to accept it."

Thornpaw frowned. Even they couldn't argue that Ghostpaw had a good point. "Still, we should at least try the other route," they said.

"I think we should rest now and travel tomorrow night," Wildpaw suggested. "We can talk about it more then."

Thornpaw bristled. "No, we're discussing it n—"

"Hey, what's going on?" Ghostpaw interrupted from a few tail-lengths ahead of them. He gazed at the sky with wide, green eyes.

Thornpaw and Wildpaw followed his gaze. Overhead, a patrol of FlashClan cats glided over the Hearth, pursuing a small group of birds. As they flew over the three apprentices, Ghostpaw saw two apprentice-aged cats clinging to the backs of the two warriors bringing up the rear.

His fur bristled as they flew towards the trees. "They're going towards AmberClan!" he cried.

Thornpaw's head whipped around. "Do you think they're attacking?" Their eyes were round with worried sympathy.

Ghostpaw shook his head, caught off-guard. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe they heard about Beesmoke, somehow."

Wildpaw and Thornpaw exchanged a glance of confusion.

"We found him in our territory about a quarter moon ago," Ghostpaw hurriedly explained. "We were planning to keep him prisoner until the next Gathering, so that we could discuss what to do with him with FlashClan."

Thornpaw shot another look up at the sky as the FlashClan cats turned into tiny dots in the distance. "Looks like you're not going to have much of a choice," they remarked.

Ghostpaw kneaded the ground, panic prickling his spine. "We have to go after them!" he said. "The journey can wait; I need to know that everything's been okay after I left!"

Thornpaw twitched an ear. "How long have you been gone?"

Ghostpaw glanced away. "Four days," he muttered. Ignoring Wildpaw and Thornpaw's shocked gasps, he plowed on, "I'll explain on the way there, we just need to hurry."