“I think you see better than any of us.” Mousefur didn’t sound as grouchy as usual; she almost seemed impressed.

I wish I did, Jayfeather thought. Right now I can’t see far enough. He wanted to know what had happened to the prophecy, and whether Rock knew anything about the secret Squirrelflight had revealed. Most of all, he wanted to know who his real parents were.

The trees thinned out and cold wind hit Jayfeather in the face as the three cats neared the lake.

“You go off and do whatever you have to,” Mousefur meowed. “Longtail and I are going to find a nice patch of sun to snooze in.”

“Yes, there should be plenty of herbs—”

“Look,” the skinny brown elder interrupted, “I know Leafpool only sent you along with us to be sure we made it to the lake without keeling over. You’ll be lucky to find enough herbs to fill your own mouth this far into leaf-bare!”

“It’s not like that,” Jayfeather protested.

“Go on, we’ll be fine,” Longtail insisted.

“And if you need our help, just call,” Mousefur added. “I might be a bit unsteady on my feet, but there’s nothing wrong with my ears.”

“Fine.” Relieved to be free of his duty, Jayfeather pelted along the lakeshore until he reached the twisted tree roots where he had hidden the stick. The cold wind from the lake blew his fur the wrong way as he tugged it out and dragged it under an elder bush. Then he lay down with his paws resting on the scratches.

Come on, Rock. I need to talk to you.

Alarm trickled down his spine as he realized he might find himself back with the Ancient Clan. Something inside him was drawing him back—desire to see the friends he had made there, curiosity about how they had coped on the journey to the mountains—but he had to fight against it. He knew that the Ancient Clan sharpclaws couldn’t help him now.

Jayfeather concentrated as hard as he could, trying to picture the underground cave where Rock waited, but he could still feel grass under his belly and a twig tickling his ear.

“There’s no need for that,” a voice behind him rumbled. “The stick isn’t the answer to everything.”

Jayfeather’s eyes flew open, and he realized that he could see. He was still under the elder bush; turning, he saw Rock standing behind him, almost transparent against the grass and trees. Rock crept under the bush to join Jayfeather, his hairless body smelling of stone and the endless dark of the tunnels.

Jayfeather suppressed a shiver. “Did you know all along that Squirrelflight was lying to us?” he demanded.

Rock’s bulging, sightless eyes turned toward him. “The answers lie within your own Clan,” he replied, “if you can find them.”

“That’s no answer,” Jayfeather mewed irritably. “I need your help!”

“I cannot give the kind of help you want,” Rock warned him.

“Then what about the prophecy? If we’re not Firestar’s kin—”