The Place of No Stars (book)/Chapter 17

==Chapter description==
:Rootspring and Willowshine are talking together, a little ways away from the island to avoid discovery. Rootspring is determined to rescue the spirit cats, and he promises to keep Willowshine safe from Ashfur. She explains how she was killed by him when she first arrived in the Dark Forest, saying she never had a chance because of it. Rootspring is trying to figure out a strategy to help the spirit cats escape, and comes to the conclusion the water of the dark lake isn't normal water because the dead RiverClan cats all look afraid of it. 
:Their discussion is then interrupted by Squirrelflight, who bursts into the open and halts in front of them in surprise. She asks if it's really them, and Willowshine explains how she's there and why. Squirrelflight apologizes to her, saying she never wanted this to happen, and that she just wanted to save Bramblestar. Assuming Rootspring is dead too, she asks how he died and he quickly assures her that he's alive, but the same thing that happened to her also happened to him. Squirrelflight expresses her gratitude for Rootspring being so willing to help her, and explains that Shadowsight managed to distract Ashfur long enough for her and Bramblestar to escape. However, she lost him in the confusion of escaping, and now wants to find him so she can lead him back to his body.
:Rootspring promises to help Squirrelflight, but that they also have to help the other spirit cats escape. Squirrelflight says the only way to help them escape would be to free them from Ashfur's control. Bramblestar knows what it's like to be controlled by Ashfur, so they reason the best way to help the spirit cats would be to first find the ThunderClan leader. They decide they need to find Bramblestar's body so they can stash it somewhere Ashfur won't find it. 
:Squirrelflight leads the way, soon finding her way back to where she remembered Bramblestar's body had been left. All the while, Rootspring feels as if they're being watched. When they arrive, Bramblestar's body is nowhere to be seen. She's absolutely certain this is the place his body was, and begins to frantically search, despairing that Ashfur might have disposed of her mate's body entirely. Willowshine points out that Ashfur wouldn't do that, just in case he wanted to use Bramblestar's body again. 
:There's a sound of rustling, and Stemleaf emerges with blank-looking eyes. Immediately, Squirrelflight yowls for them to run and they flee the area. They nearly run straight into Stemleaf when he suddenly appears right in front of them, even though they had just left him behind. As they charge away in a different direction, Rootspring encounters white mist that obscures his surroundings, temporarily separating him from his companions. Squirrelflight manages to drag him away, and they recover for only a moment before they catch sight of Stemleaf looking right back at them again. Once more, they run away from the former ThunderClan warrior, but they can't seem to shake him - running into him over and over again. Finally, when the group is nearing exhaustion, they hear a voice calling out Squirrelflight's name. She exclaims it's Bramblestar and stops to look around hopefully. Four spirit cats step into the open with blank eyes, and all of them speak at once in Bramblestar's voice, mockingly.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:The Place of No Stars (book)
Category:The Broken Code arc