Yellowfang thanked the two cats for their good wishes, then turned to face Featherwhisker. The second ThunderClan medicine cat was regarding her with the same mixture of wariness and curiosity that he always showed. “Your Clan must be pleased to have a second medicine cat,” he mewed. “I trust all is well with you?”
“ShadowClan is doing fine,” Sagewhisker responded brusquely.
“What about you, Yellowfang?” Featherwhisker commented. “Have you found it hard to change from being a warrior to the life of a medicine cat?”
To her relief Sagewhisker saved her from having to reply. “Come along,” she urged the others. “If we hang around gossiping we’ll be late for the Moonstone.”
She led the way up the last steep slope to where Mothermouth yawned in the side of the hill. As Yellowfang made her way down the twisting passage into the heart of the hill, she felt her doubts and heartaches drop away behind her.
The cave of the Moonstone was still dark when they reached it. Only a faint twinkle of starlight trickled down through the ragged hole in the roof. The medicine cats took their places around the crystal and waited. Yellowfang almost let out a squeal like an excited kit when at last the moon shone through the hole and drenched the Moonstone in a cold, unearthly light.
Sagewhisker rose to her paws, stood beside the Moonstone, and beckoned to Yellowfang with her tail. Feeling that her paws would barely support her, Yellowfang joined her at the heart of the frosty light.
Gazing up at the moon, Sagewhisker spoke. “I, Sagewhisker, medicine cat of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the way of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her Clan for many moons.”
Yellowfang felt as if she and her mentor were standing alone in the circle of light while the rest of the world had faded away. She could hear whispers and the soft pad of paws at the edge of the cavern. Were long-dead medicine cats from StarClan here, watching? Yellowfang’s paws tingled at the thought of being part of a long line of cats who had devoted their lives to caring for ShadowClan. The same line she had seen in her dream while treating Cloudpaw. All those cats, sharing their wisdom in support of her!
“Yellowfang,” Sagewhisker continued, “do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?”
“I do,” Yellowfang replied.
“Then by the powers of StarClan I declare that you are a full medicine cat. StarClan honors your courage and your diligence. Now come, touch your nose to the Moonstone, and may all your dreams be good ones.”
Yellowfang crouched down; swallowing rapidly from nerves, she stretched out her neck and touched her nose to the glimmering surface. At once everything went dark, and she felt cold creeping through her as if she were turning into a cat of ice.
The darkness lifted, and Yellowfang looked around. The Moonstone, the cave, and the other medicine cats had vanished. Instead she was crouching in the clearing where she had first met Silverflame, when she was made a medicine cat apprentice. But now the lush growth of greenleaf had faded; the ground felt marshy underpaw, and a chilly breeze ruffled Yellowfang’s fur.
A few heartbeats later, she spotted Silverflame pushing her way through a clump of fern. “Greetings, Yellowfang,” she began. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”
But in spite of her warm words, Yellowfang could see sadness in her eyes. “Is… is all well with you?” she asked.
Silverflame avoided the question. “I’m very proud of you,” she mewed. “Come, walk with me.”
She turned and brushed through the grass in the direction of the stream. Yellowfang padded at her shoulder, convinced there was something the old cat wasn’t telling her. Silverflame followed the stream until they came to a spot where the current had carved out a wide pool. Silverflame sat on the bank and looked down into the still water.
Yellowfang sat beside her. “Why have you brought me here?”
Silverflame gestured at the surface of the pool with her tail. Yellowfang looked down and saw her own reflection staring back at her, with Silverflame’s reflection beside her. Then she let out a gasp. Behind her, she saw the reflections of three kits, their tiny bodies huddled close together.
