Blood Red

Chapter One
Bolta sat side by side with Hollypaw and Jay. The sun was setting and finally the Clan cats had begun to venture from their hiding places. Jay flicked her ears in annoyance. Bolta could tell that she wanted to say more.

“We should probably go now,” Hollypaw murmured. “Nobody will notice us.” Bolta and Jay nodded in agreement and they all got to their paws. It was easy to slip away without any cat noticing. Once they were in the forest they could at last talk without fear of being overheard.

“Do you really think StarClan will come to us if we go to this place?” Jay asked.

“Yes,” Hollypaw meowed confidently. “It’s were the medicine cats go.” Bolta said nothing. She didn’t want to `share tongues` with StarClan. She didn’t want to have anything to do with these stupid dead cats. All she wanted was to live a normal life with Flora and Finn... They made their through the forest, avoiding the stone hollow and keeping to the trees. Bolta let herself fall behind Hollypaw and Jay, only half-listening to their conversation. It was dark now and the moon was casting a reddish glow over the forest. She felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. Did this mean that they had the right idea? Or did it mean that DeathClan had the right idea? They quickened their pace and veered out of the forest. Her claws slid out. The scarlet light was almost blinding without the cover of trees. They had begun to run, leaping over a silver shimmering stream and scrabbling up a twisting rocky path. At last Bolta saw it. A small sandy clearing with gorse bushes sheltering it from the wind. In the centre of the clearing was a pool of silvery water. Definitely not ordinary water. It shimmered and sparkled with stars, the wind didn’t seem able to touch it and nor did the blood-red moon.

Instinctively, Bolta moved forwards. Something was pulling her closer. Closer... Something was moving her paws and making her crouch by the water’s edge. Something made her lap the silver liquid. It was if icy water was trickling down her spine. Bolta tried to pull away. Struggling and struggling... But that made it hurt worst. She relaxed and felt a wave of calmness rush through her. Unnatural calmness... Suddenly it was peaceful. The wind had stopped, Jay and Hollypaw were asleep by the edge of the pool and to her utter astonishment the moon was no longer red. But what made Bolta panic was that it wasn’t just the three of them in the clearing. Four starry cats sat in front of her. She recognized Jayfeather at one. He sat at the front beside a flat-faced she-cat with long matted grey fur. Behind them sat a blue-grey she-cat and a pretty tortoiseshell she-cat. Bolta stared. They weren’t attacking. That meant... StarClan had come to her?

“Hello Bolta,” meowed the ragged grey she-cat. It was StarClan...

“You can’t back out,” Jayfeather meowed. “You’re the most powerful of all. We need you to save them.” Bolta just stared.

Why should she? The Clans had nothing to do with her.

But cats are dying... You saw what happened to Lionstar...

“Our families are dying, Bolta,” Jayfeather meowed.

“You can’t back out,” the ragged she-cat meowed. “You’re the most powerful of the three.”

I can back out, Bolta held her tongue. I want nothing to do with the Clans.

But if you back out then more cats will die. You saw what happened to Lionstar...

Bolta almost jumped a tail-length. Those weren’t her thoughts. She wasn’t thinking that!

“Think what it’s like for us,” the tortoiseshell she-cat mewed softly. “Watching our families die without being able to do anything.” Bolta sighed. She could imagine herself watching Finn and Flora die with her paws glued to the ground. It would be torture.

“You have to work together,” the blue grey she-cat told Bolta. “Otherwise you will fail. You will need fire, water and wind all through your journey.”

“Okay, okay,” Bolta meowed. “I won’t back out. Just tell me what you want us to do.”