Moonlight hurried across the clearing and stopped beside Snow. Squirrelflight eyed her swollen belly. “I’m glad you’re safe.” Her gaze flashed toward Squirrelflight, surprise lighting her face as though she’d only just realized Squirrelflight was with the returning patrol. “I must thank you for taking care of my campmates.”
Squirrelflight’s pelt prickled uneasily. What would Moonlight say when she heard that ThunderClan had considered turning Sunrise away, even if it meant she died? “It was risky,” she mumbled. She needed to explain. “Sunrise was injured in a fight with ShadowClan. Sheltering her was dangerous.”
Moonlight dipped her head. “I’m sorry my campmates put your Clan in such a difficult position. Has it caused you trouble?”
“Not really.” Squirrelflight told her. “ShadowClan doesn’t know we helped her. But they are ready to declare war on you because of the fight with their patrol. One of their warriors lost his ear, and his hearing.”
Moonlight tipped her head to one side. “Do they know we’ll be moving on once my kits have been born?”
“Yes,” Squirrelflight met her gaze apologetically. “But Tigerstar doesn’t want to wait that long, and RiverClan and WindClan are willing to fight with him.”
Moonlight blinked at her. “And your Clan?”
“Bramblestar is stalling them. He says we must have the permission of StarClan.”
“They’re your ancestors, yes?”
Squirrelflight nodded.
“And they live up there?” Moonlight looked into the sky. Pale blue was showing on the horizon, but the stars were still glittering in blackness overhead. “It seems a long way to travel. Perhaps that’s why some choose to stay here.”
Squirrelflight frowned. “What do you mean?”
Snow pricked her ears. “Don’t you see them?”
“See who?” Squirrelflight shifted uneasily. The Sisters were staring at her as though she’d grown rabbit ears.
“The dead,” Moonlight told her.
Cold wormed beneath Squirrelflight’s pelt. “Only medicine cats share with StarClan.”
Moonlight looked puzzled. “Don’t the rest of you see them?”
Squirrelflight hesitated, remembering suddenly the great battle against the Dark Forest. “Once, many moons ago, our ancestors fought beside us.” Her belly tightened. “But those days are over. Since then, the warriors of StarClan only show themselves to our medicine cats.”
Moonlight met her gaze. “Perhaps it is simpler that way. The dead are all around us. They seem younger and sleeker than they did in life, as though death brings them peace.”
“Do you speak to them?” A memory stirred at the edges of Squirrelflight’s thoughts.
“Sometimes,” Moonlight told her.
“Cats born of the Sisters have this skill.” Moonlight gazed at her. “It keeps us connected to our ancestors.”
“We all see the dead,” Furze told her. “Sometimes they talk to us; sometimes they don’t. Sometimes I’m not sure they even see me.”
“I often see the same cat,” Tempest told her. “If she wants to, she speaks to me; if not, she ignores me.”
Squirrelflight wondered if the Sisters’ dead had the same powers of prophecy as StarClan. “Do they ever tell you what will happen in the future?”
Tempest narrowed her eyes. “How would they know?”
“Our dead move among us,” Moonlight explained. “They have no power to see what we cannot.”
Squirrelflight glanced at the sky, frustration pricking in her paws. What use were the dead if they couldn’t help the living? Dawn was creeping closer. She needed to get home. “Tell your dead friends to watch out for the Clans,” she warned Moonlight. “Bramblestar has stopped ShadowClan for now, but once Tigerstar gets an idea, it’s hard for him to let go.”
Moonlight swished her tail. “We are bigger and stronger than Clan cats.”
Squirrelflight gazed at her solemnly. “Maybe, but you’re heavily outnumbered. Even rats are dangerous when they come in swarms.”
Tempest and Furze exchanged nervous looks. Hawk shifted closer to her kits.
Moonlight held Squirrelflight’s gaze. “You may be right,” she conceded. “But we won’t be here for long. Try to persuade the Clans to wait. We mean no harm to them, but my kits must be born here.”
