A Light in the Mist (book)/Chapter 1

"Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pale gray pelt moving in the darkness beyond the cats. Rootspring twitched as he recognized it. Bristlefrost. It seemed like mist, soft against the shadows of the forest. I'm seeing things. His heart ached for her. He gazed at the mirage, thankful that this would be his last memory. But the mirage didn't fade. It moved closer. Bristlefrost? She was charging toward him, her blue-green eyes wide with outrage. Are you really here?"

— Rootspring's thoughts about seeing Bristlefrost coming to rescue him in A Light in the Mist, pages 12-13

A Light in the Mist (book)
Chapter number:	1 (of 24)
Page numbers:	7-13
Point of View:	Rootspring
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for chapter one of A Light in the Mist (book). If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 1 (of 24)

Page Numbers: 7-13

Chapter description

Rootspring notices the hate in Ashfur's eyes as he gives his Snowtuft the order to kill the yellow SkyClan warrior. Noticing the look in Snowtuft's eyes, Rootspring understands the situation he is in, knowing that the white Dark Forest tom didn't want to harm the yellow tom. Snowtuft's claws dig into Rootspring's throat, prompting him to use all of his strength to push his pursuer off of him.

Getting off the ground, Rootspring sees that Snowtuft is ready to attack, but the SkyClan warrior sees the desperation in the scarred tom's eyes. Snowtuft jumps, his target Rootspring, while the SkyClan warrior ducks and plunges his head into the white tom's chest, causing the latter to fall. Ashfur and other spirits growl at Snowtuft to get up and fight like a warrior, while others chant for him to viciously slay Rootspring. The SkyClan warrior recognizes Sandynose's voice among those, and turns to see the ghost's face twisted with hatred. Stemleaf chants as well, while Rootspring knows that Bristlefrost would hate to see her former crush and Clanmate wanting her love interest to die. Beside them, other ghosts Rootspring recognizes appear, watching the battle.

Snowtuft wrestles out of his grip, and leaps again, this time transmitting apology to Rootspring through his eyes. The pair trade swipes as Rootspring thinks about how Stemleaf had been a loyal warrior, Bristlefrost's friend, and how he had been one of the first Clan cats to theorize and believe that Ashfur was using Bramblestar's body to act as an impostor. Rootspring wonders how much power Ashfur would need to have to control spirits who were once so loyal to their Clan, but is distracted from his thoughts as Snowtuft lands a blow to his jaw.

The SkyClan tom realizes that he cannot let Ashfur win, as the spirits he was controlling were depending on him. Rootspring manages to pin Snowtuft, delivering a ruthless blow down the Dark Forest tom's spine. Twisting free, Snowtuft leaps for Rootspring, knocking the SkyClan warrior off-balance. Spotting Mapleshade, Rootspring notes how some cats were not being controlled by Ashfur, but were there by their own will because of the harm they wanted to cause onto the living Clans. He then sees Darkstripe, a tom he had presumed was dead. Rage fills his head as Rootspring knows that he is stuck in the dreaded Place of No Stars because of the tabby tom, and gets out of the pin Snowtuft had him in. His emotions are swallowed by immense hatred for Darkstripe as Rootspring quickly swipes at Snowtuft's muzzle. Landing on him, Rootspring hesitates, knowing he cannot bring himself to wipe a cat, who had helped him make so much progress in the Dark Forest, from existence. Ashfur makes the choice for him, commanding his spirits to kill Rootspring. Letting Snowtuft free, the SkyClan warrior remembers Dewspring's advice, to find the weakest point and break through. Scanning his surroundings, Rootspring spots Stemleaf, Conefoot, and Dappletuft, but he sees that the gray-and-white ghost is limping.

He shoves Dappletuft into Stemleaf, causing the latter to stumble as Rootspring makes his escape, dashing towards the shadows. Hope soars in his heart as he thinks that the shadows will cover him, but teeth latch on to his hind leg, dragging him back into the horde of spirits behind him. Thinking that he will die there, Rootspring recalls how Bristlefrost had saved him from drowning back when he was an apprentice, and what fun memories they had shared together on their journey to find the Sisters. His grief numbed the pain that the Dark Forest cats were inflicting on him, slowing time down, until he recognized a pale gray cat moving in the shadows. Rootspring thinks it's a mirage at first, but he blinks again, realizing that Bristlefrost really is charging at him, tearing him free from the spirits' claws. Shoving Conefoot aside, the ThunderClan pale gray she-cat yowls for him to run, but knowing that he cannot leave her behind, Rootspring charges into battle once more, noting that none of them were going to die here.

Characters

Major

• Rootspring
• Snowtuft

Minor

• Ashfur
• Sandynose
• Stemleaf
• Dappletuft
• Softpelt
• Conefoot
• Strikestone
• Frondwhisker
• Mapleshade
• Darkstripe
• Bristlefrost

Mentioned

• Dewspring