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presence. The rest of the spirit-cats had left no trace, either. If it weren’t for the tightness of his chest and the burning ache of grief in his throat, he would have thought he was dreaming again.
    But I know I wasn’t. The spirit-cats were real—and so was their advice. To survive you must grow and spread like the Blazing Star.
    At least, he thought, his instincts had been right. He had felt that their troubles were not over, and the vague words of the starry cats seemed to confirm that more lay ahead.
    He remembered the dream that kept coming to him ever since the battle, when Stoneteller had summoned him to her den and told him that he had to be strong.
    Maybe this is what she meant. Our survival is going to come under threat, and we need to . . . to grow and spread like the Blazing Star. “Whatever that means,” Gray Wing muttered aloud.
    As he stood deep in thought the rest of the cats crept forward to gather around him, their voices hushed now.
    â€œWhat could the Blazing Star be?” Dappled Pelt wondered.
    â€œAnd how can we grow and spread like it?” Petal added,glancing around as if she expected one of her denmates to come up with the answer.
    Clear Sky shouldered his way to the front of the crowd to stand beside Gray Wing. “Maybe it’s a battle tactic,” he suggested.
    â€œThat doesn’t make sense!” Tall Shadow argued, narrowing her eyes at Clear Sky. “There are no cats to fight anymore.”
    Wind Runner blinked, looking unusually hesitant. “What else could they have meant when they said that a ‘claw still blights the forest’?”
    â€œMaybe the claw isn’t a real claw, but another riddle?”
    Gray Wing froze as a new voice joined the conversation, strong and confident. He whipped around to see a strange she-cat who he was sure hadn’t been there just a moment before. She gazed boldly into his eyes. Her fur was thick and golden, its tabby markings rippling over her body, except for her chest and paws, which were pure white.
    â€œWhere did you come from?” he asked. “Are you part of Clear Sky’s group?”
    The she-cat didn’t reply, and Clear Sky wasn’t taking any notice of her. “I wish the spirit-cats had been more help,” he mewed with a lash of his tail; clearly he felt just as frustrated as Gray Wing.
    Gray Wing saw River Ripple turning away and heading back the way he came with a nod of farewell.
    â€œYou’re leaving already?” he asked, shocked.
    â€œI can see which way this is going,” River Ripple confirmed with a wry twist of his mouth. “I’m not stickingaround for another night of bickering. If I happen to figure anything out, I’ll come and find you.”
    Gray Wing watched as the silver-gray tom disappeared into the darkness. Thorn, Dew, and Nettle from Clear Sky’s group were watching him too, and—to Gray Wing’s surprise—so was Dappled Pelt, with something in her gaze that he couldn’t quite account for.
    Dragging his attention back to the debate over the spirit-cats’ message, Gray Wing noticed that Thunder wasn’t making any contribution. He was too busy looking at the strange she-cat who had just spoken, his whiskers twitching bashfully.
    The she-cat padded over to him—her gaze fixed as if she saw no other cat—and stood in front of him, her tail flicking slowly to and fro.
    â€œI’ve been dying to meet you,” she purred. “I’ve heard so much about you on the moor: what a great leader and fighter you are.”
    As he listened, Thunder’s chest puffed up with pride. He opened his jaws to speak, but nothing came out. It was as if he had no idea what to say.
    The she-cat waited for a moment, then turned and padded away, glancing back to shoot a final glance at Thunder from luminous green eyes before she vanished into the undergrowth. Thunder couldn’t tear his gaze