The Lost Prophecy: Book 1: Ravenpaw's Secret

Chapter 17

Uneasiness seemed to hang in the air like a thick fog. Disaster had struck, and time had come to a standstill. There was no activity at all in the center of the camp. Rain pelted down onto the body of ThunderClan's dead medicine cat.

Ravenpaw crouched in the shelter of a gorse bush, staring out at the clearing. The events of the day still hadn't sunk in.

He thought of his last conversation with Spottedleaf. She had trusted Yellowfang, respected her even, and now she had died at the traitorous elder's paws.

And the kits! Only StarClan knew what would happen to them.

I'll visit the nursery, Ravenpaw decided. I could check on Goldenflower's and Brindleface's kits. He poked his head into the nursery. The queens were huddled around Frostfur, murmuring softly to her, while the remaining kits were huddled in a corner. Ravenpaw made to take a step toward them. At the sound of his pawsteps, Frostfur whipped around, and when her eyes settled on Ravenpaw, her expression collapsed into an enraged snarl.

"Get out!" she screeched.

"I was just-"

"Get out! Get out!" Frostfur leaped at him, teeth bared. Ravenpaw didn't need to be told twice. He shot out of the den, feeling Frostfur's breath on his tail. She chased him halfway across the clearing, nipping at his heels as he went.

Once he felt he had put enough distance between them, he turned to see Frostfur slipping back into the nursery, while the other queens glared at him from the entrance.

Shaking, Ravenpaw darted past his Clanmates to the safety of the apprentices' den, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Why had Frostfur reacted so strongly to his appearance? They were kin! He had thought they had been on friendly enough terms with each other, even if they weren't close. As he lay alone, shivering, a whimper rose in his throat. What was going on? Ravenpaw tucked his tail over his nose, trying to ignore his rising despair and nearly jumped when a gray head poked into the apprentices' den.

"What was that?" Graypaw asked. "Why did Frostfur just chase you out of the nursery?"

"I was just checking on the kits," Ravenpaw mewed, blinking miserably. "I just wanted to make sure they were alright." He dropped his head to his paws.

Graypaw tilted his head, his eyes filled with concern. He slowly padded forward, and huddled next to Ravenpaw. "She must be worried about her kits, that's all," he mewed, beginning to gently groom Ravenpaw's ears. Ravenpaw allowed Graypaw to comfort him, and began to drift to out of consciousness to the gentle, rhythmic strokes. He has no idea, Ravenpaw thought sadly.

Too soon after it started the grooming stopped, and moments later the apprentices' den was filled with Graypaw's snoring. Staring with half closed eyes out at the downpour, Ravenpaw sighed. He was barely able to hear anything besides the rain thrumming against the earth.

A brown tabby pelt crossed Ravenpaw's field of vision, hidden by the shroud of rain. Peeking out through the gap in the apprentices' den, Ravenpaw saw Dustpaw shoot a furtive glance over his shoulder. Satisfied that he wasn't being watched, Dustpaw squeezed through a gap in the camp wall.

Ravenpaw blinked. Had Dustpaw really just snuck out of the camp? Where could he be going?

Yellowfang! Of course! He's going to try to find her! Swishing his tail in frustration, he suppressed a hiss. Ravenpaw could not imagine what Dustpaw saw in the old rogue. Yellowfang was dangerous, and even cleverer than she had initially let on; she had tricked Bluestar into trusting her in spite of her fierce temper. Was Dustpaw really so mousebrained that he would try to talk to her? Ravenpaw leaped to his paws. As distant as they were from each other, he couldn't let his littermate confront Yellowfang alone.