Chapter 8

Instructions

Chapter 8 Clover returns and helps Thistle feed me a strange smelling plant with a terribly bitter taste. Almost immediately, my vision fades black and my hearing muffles. I drift in and out of consciousness as they drag me along the forest floor. When I awake, my body aches and I dig multiple splinters from my fur. Sitting up, I realize I'm in a stone den. No sign of Echosight. I walk towards the entrance to find two more strange foxes sitting outside, guarding. Great. I’m a prisoner. “Excuse me? Um hi. Can I get through?” “We are under strict orders from Horizon to not leave our posts.” One of them responds gruffly. I turn to walk back into the cold, stoney den, yearning for sunlight and fresh air. Suddenly a figure blocks all light from the entrance. “So. You're the trespasser. Walk with me.” An unfamiliar voice beckons me from the den. I walk cautiously to the mouth of my safe hollow, squinting against the sun to see the fox. She’s tall, with more silver than the other two foxes. She has two holly leaves tied into the fur around her right ear, and her paws are midnight black. Her right eye is an icy blue, the other a gentle sage. “I didn't mean to trespass, I was just passing through, I swear!” “You’re alright. You aren’t in trouble. I just want to talk.” She beckons me again with her tail. I reluctantly followed her into the clearing. We’re surrounded by towering spruce trees and a wall of thorny brambles. I’m about to ask how they get in and out when I see a fox emerge from a dirt tunnel covered with pine needles and debris. “So. Aspenpaw, right? I’m Horizon. I’m the leader of Frostclan. What clan have you come from and why are you traveling?” I take a quivering breath before answering. What am I supposed to say? I'm following a ghost to look for a magic flower to save my clan from an illness that doesn’t exist yet? Yep. That's pretty much what I'm doing. “I am from Mossclan, I'm a healer apprentice. I am following a prophecy from Spiritclan. I did not know I was in your territory.” Horizon pauses for a moment with a thoughtful look in her strange eyes before saying anything. She seems almost pained by the mention of mossclan. “Hm. Are you looking for something? A plant, perhaps?” Her voice is even and inquisitive, but her eyes seem to plead for an answer. “Y-yeah! How did you know?” I'm shocked to hear her ask questions so closely aligned to my purpose. Was she psychic? Or did the other foxes get information out of me in my delirious state? “One of my apprentices came to me a few days ago, claiming to have had a strange dream. He said the stars were calling him. He had a vision of a flower, then of foxes dying. They were unfamiliar at first, then progressively the dreams got more detailed. He saw many of our foxes dying in horrid ways. Me included. I will spare you the graphic details. But perhaps the stars have sent you as well. Perhaps not all is lost.” I stare at her in shock. Spiritclan sent visions to other foxes? Maybe we have to travel together. But why haven’t I had visions of frostclan? Did spiritclan think i would fail?