Mistystar's Omen Read Online Free PDF Page B

Mistystar was lying beside the Moonpool once more, her ears ringing and her fur still ruffled from the agony of the nine lives.
    Mothwing padded up to her. “Are you all right?”
    Mistystar blinked. She pictured the cats by the shore again, and knew there had been one missing. “You weren’t there!”
    Mothwing winced, then relaxed as if a weight had been lifted off her. “No.” She held Mistystar’s gaze without flinching. “You will always visit StarClan alone. They don’t exist for me in the way that they do for you.”
    Mistystar stared at her friend in dismay. What was Mothwing saying? She was a medicine cat! How could this be true? She fought to speak, even though the ground was lurching under her feet.
    â€œYou . . . you don’t believe in StarClan?”

Chapter 4
    â€œBut you’ve been our medicine cat for so long! Have you never walked with StarClan in your dreams?”
    Mothwing shook her head. “You have your beliefs,” she meowed calmly. “I have mine. The cats you see in your dreams guide and protect you in ways that I have lived without. I am skilled at healing and caring for my Clanmates, and that has been enough to serve my Clan.”
    Mistystar’s mind was whirling. Surely this couldn’t be happening! How could a medicine cat not believe in StarClan? Why had none of the cats said anything to her during the nine lives ceremony? They must know that Mothwing never walked with them. What about omens? Did StarClan bother to send any if Mothwing would never be watching for them? She took a step forward, suddenly desperate to get back to the lake, to find a footing for her paws on ground that seemed to have shifted.
    â€œCome on, let’s go home.”
    As Mothwing followed her up the paw-printed path, Mistystar thought she heard the medicine cat murmur, “I’m sorry.” But there was nothing she could think of to say in reply.
    They traveled quickly and in silence, leaping and scrambling down the tumbled rocks until they were standing on the short, springy grass of WindClan’s territory once more. Scents from ThunderClan drifted to them across the narrow stream that marked the boundary between the two Clans. “Let’s stop and tell Firestar what has happened,” Mistystar suggested. The other leaders would have to learn about Leopardstar’s death sometime.
    Mothwing nodded. They jumped over the stream and trotted down the other side until they reached a clear path that led into the trees. Fresh ThunderClan scent hung in the air; they had clearly just missed a patrol. Mistystar took the lead along the trail, reminding herself that she was a Clan leader now, and had every right to visit her neighbors with this important news without being accused of trespassing. But it still felt strange to be walking in another Clan’s territory without constantly looking over her shoulder, wary of ambush.
    They reached the gap in the walls of the hollow and forced their way in through the thorns. Mistystar shook her head to dislodge the prickles that had caught in her nose. She didn’t know how the ThunderClan cats put up with such an uncomfortable entrance to their home. Firestar was crossing the clearing to meet them.
    â€œIs everything all right?”
    Mistystar stood still and waited for him to reach her. “Leopardstar’s dead,” she announced.
    Firestar lowered his head. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
    â€œWe’ve just come from the Moonpool,” Mothwing explained. “Mistystar has received her nine lives.”
    Firestar dipped his muzzle even lower. “Mistystar,” he mewed respectfully.
    â€œMistystar,” echoed Graystripe, a sturdy tom who Mistystar had known since he was an apprentice back in the forest.
    â€œMistystar, Mistystar,” called the other ThunderClan cats.
    Mistystar felt a bit uncomfortable. She had never liked being the center