by Erin Hunter
DEDICATION
Special thanks to Kate Cary
ALLEGIANCES
THUNDERCLAN
LEADER BRAMBLESTAR—dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes
DEPUTY SQUIRRELFLIGHT—dark ginger she-cat with green eyes and one white paw
MEDICINE CATS LEAFPOOL—light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, white paws and chest
JAYFEATHER—gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes
ALDERHEART—dark ginger tom with amber eyes
WARRIORS (toms and she-cats without kits)
BRACKENFUR—golden-brown tabby tom
CLOUDTAIL—long-haired white tom with blue eyes
BRIGHTHEART—white she-cat with ginger patches
THORNCLAW—golden-brown tabby tom
WHITEWING—white she-cat with green eyes
BIRCHFALL—light brown tabby tom
BERRYNOSE—cream-colored tom with a stump for a tail
MOUSEWHISKER—gray-and-white tom
APPRENTICE, PLUMPAW (black-and-ginger she-cat)
POPPYFROST—pale tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
LIONBLAZE—golden tabby tom with amber eyes
ROSEPETAL—dark cream she-cat
APPRENTICE, STEMPAW (white-and-orange tom)
LILYHEART—small, dark tabby she-cat with white patches and blue eyes
BUMBLESTRIPE—very pale gray tom with black stripes
APPRENTICE, SHELLPAW (tortoiseshell tom)
CHERRYFALL—ginger she-cat
MOLEWHISKER—brown-and-cream tom
AMBERMOON—pale ginger she-cat
APPRENTICE, EAGLEPAW (ginger she-cat)
DEWNOSE—gray-and-white tom
STORMCLOUD—gray tabby tom
HOLLYTUFT—black she-cat
FERNSONG—yellow tabby tom
SORRELSTRIPE—dark brown she-cat
LEAFSHADE—tortoiseshell she-cat
APPRENTICE, SPOTPAW (spotted tabby she-cat)
LARKSONG—black tom
HONEYFUR—white she-cat with yellow splotches
SPARKPELT—orange tabby she-cat
TWIGBRANCH—gray she-cat with green eyes
APPRENTICE, FLYPAW (striped gray tabby she-cat)
FINLEAP—brown tom
APPRENTICE, SNAPPAW (golden tabby tom)
CINDERHEART—gray tabby she-cat
BLOSSOMFALL—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with petal-shaped white patches
QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)
DAISY—cream long-furred cat from the horseplace
IVYPOOL—silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes (mother to Bristlekit, a pale gray she-kit; Thriftkit, a dark gray she-kit; and Flipkit, a tabby tom)
ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)
GRAYSTRIPE—long-haired gray tom
MILLIE—striped silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes
SHADOWCLAN
LEADER TIGERSTAR—dark brown tabby tom
DEPUTY TAWNYPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes
APPRENTICE, CONEPAW (white-and-gray tom)
MEDICINE CAT PUDDLESHINE—brown tom with white splotches
WARRIORS JUNIPERCLAW—black tom
WHORLPELT—gray-and-white tom
STRIKESTONE—brown tabby tom
APPRENTICE, BLAZEPAW (white-and-ginger tom)
STONEWING—white tom
APPRENTICE, ANTPAW (tom with a brown-and-black splotched pelt)
GRASSHEART—pale brown tabby she-cat
APPRENTICE, GULLPAW (white she-cat)
SCORCHFUR—dark gray tom with slashed ears
FLOWERSTEM—silver she-cat
SNAKETOOTH—honey-colored tabby she-cat
SLATEFUR—sleek gray tom
APPRENTICE, FRONDPAW (gray tabby she-cat)
CLOVERFOOT—gray tabby she-cat
SPARROWTAIL—large brown tabby tom
APPRENTICE, CINNAMONPAW (brown tabby she-cat with white paws)
SNOWBIRD—pure white she-cat with green eyes
QUEENS DOVEWING—pale gray she-cat with green eyes (mother to Pouncekit, a gray she-kit; Lightkit, a brown tabby she-kit; and Shadowkit, a gray tabby tom)
BERRYHEART—black-and-white she-cat (mother to Hollowkit, a black tom; Sunkit, a brown-and-white tabby she-kit; and Spirekit, a black-and-white tom)
YARROWLEAF—ginger she-cat with yellow eyes (mother to Hopkit, a calico she-kit; and Flaxkit, a brown tabby tom)
ELDERS OAKFUR—small brown tom
RATSCAR—scarred, skinny dark brown tom
SKYCLAN
LEADER LEAFSTAR—brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes
DEPUTY HAWKWING—dark gray tom with yellow eyes
MEDICINE CATS FRECKLEWISH—mottled light brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs
FIDGETFLAKE—black-and-white tom
MEDIATOR TREE—yellow tom with amber eyes
WARRIORS SPARROWPELT—dark brown tabby tom
APPRENTICE, NECTARPAW (brown she-cat)
MACGYVER—black-and-white tom
DEWSPRING—sturdy gray tom
PLUMWILLOW—dark gray she-cat
APPRENTICE, SUNNYPAW (ginger she-cat)
SAGENOSE—pale gray tom
APPRENTICE, GRAVELPAW (tan tom)
HARRYBROOK—gray tom
APPRENTICE, FRINGEPAW (white she-cat with brown splotches)
BLOSSOMHEART—ginger-and-white she-cat
APPRENTICE, PIGEONPAW (gray-and-white she-cat)
SANDYNOSE—stocky light brown tom with ginger legs
APPRENTICE, QUAILPAW (white tom with crow-black ears)
RABBITLEAP—brown tom
APPRENTICE, PALEPAW (black-and-white she-cat)
BELLALEAF—pale orange she-cat with green eyes
REEDCLAW—small pale tabby she-cat
VIOLETSHINE—black-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes
MINTFUR—gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes
NETTLESPLASH—pale brown tom
TINYCLOUD—small white she-cat
ELDERS FALLOWFERN—pale brown she-cat who has lost her hearing
WINDCLAN
LEADER HARESTAR—brown-and-white tom
DEPUTY CROWFEATHER—dark gray tom
MEDICINE CAT KESTRELFLIGHT—mottled gray tom with white splotches like kestrel feathers
WARRIORS NIGHTCLOUD—black she-cat
BRINDLEWING—mottled brown she-cat
GORSETAIL—very pale gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes
LEAFTAIL—dark tabby tom with amber eyes
EMBERFOOT—gray tom with two dark paws
SMOKEHAZE—gray she-cat
BREEZEPELT—black tom with amber eyes
CROUCHFOOT—ginger tom
LARKWING—pale brown tabby she-cat
SEDGEWHISKER—light brown tabby she-cat
SLIGHTFOOT—black tom with white flash on his chest
OATCLAW—pale brown tabby tom
FEATHERPELT—gray tabby she-cat
HOOTWHISKER—dark gray tom
HEATHERTAIL—light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes
FERNSTRIPE—gray tabby she-cat
ELDERS WHISKERNOSE—light brown tom
WHITETAIL—small white she-cat
RIVERCLAN
LEADER MISTYSTAR—gray she-cat with blue eyes
DEPUTY REEDWHISKER—black tom
MEDICINE CATS MOTHWING—dappled golden she-cat
WILLOWSHINE—gray tabby she-cat
WARRIORS MINTFUR—light gray tabby tom
APPRENTICE, SOFTPAW (gray she-cat)
DUSKFUR—brown tabby she-cat
APPRENTICE, DAPPLEPAW (gray-and-white tom)
MINNOWTAIL—dark gray-and-white she-cat
APPRENTICE, BREEZEPAW (brown-and-white she-cat)
MALLOWNOSE—light brown tabby tom
BEETLEWHISKER—brown-and-white tabby tom
APPRENTICE, HAREPAW (white tom)
CURLFEATHER—pale brown she-cat
PODLIGHT—gray-and-white tom
HERONWING—dark gray-and-black tom
SHIMMERPELT—silver she-cat
APPRENTICE, NIGHTPAW (dark gray she-cat with blue eyes)
LIZARDTAIL—light brown tom
HAVENPELT—black-and-white she-cat
SNEEZECLOUD—gray-and-white tom
BRACKENPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat
APPRENTICE, GORSEPAW (white tom with gray ears)
JAYCLAW—gray tom
OWLNOSE—brown tabby tom
ICEWING—white she-cat with blue eyes
ELDERS MOSSPELT—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
MAPS
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Allegiances
Maps
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
About the Author
Books by Erin Hunter
Back Ads
Copyright
About the Publisher
PROLOGUE
As darkness shrouded the valley, the lake glittered with broken moonlight. Firestar paced the island, watching from the shore. He could smell newleaf on the wind and, with it, the promise of seasons the Clans might never see.
Blackstar shivered a few tail-lengths away as the ghostly leaders of other Clans stood around him, stars shimmering in their pelts. “Why bring us here?”
Tallstar fluffed out his thick black-and-white fur. “What needs to be said here that couldn’t be said in StarClan? It’s warm there.”
Firestar didn’t answer. Longing pulled at his belly as he saw the oak forest, covering the shore like a pelt.
Bluestar touched her tail-tip to his flank. “Tell us why we’re here,” she meowed gently.
“It’s pointless rushing him.” Crookedstar sat at the water’s edge and tucked his paws beneath his tail. “Firestar likes to think before he speaks.”
“He should have done his thinking before he brought us here,” Tallstar grumbled.
Blackstar flicked his tail impatiently. “We don’t need to stand here in the dark to know what’s waiting for the Clans.”
Firestar turned on him. “We know what is coming. But I don’t think we’ve understood how ill-prepared the Clans are to face it. They sleep while we worry.” As he spoke, a shadow moved among the pines near the shoreline. Firestar jerked his muzzle toward it. “Rowanclaw? What are you doing here?”
The ShadowClan cat’s eyes flashed in the darkness as he padded toward the others. Stars glittered in his fur. “If you came here to discuss the future of the Clans, I have a right to be part of it.”
“You’re not a leader anymore.” Reproach hardened Blackstar’s mew.
Rowanclaw growled. “I gave up my nine lives so that my Clan could survive.”
“You gave up your Clan so that you could survive,” Blackstar hissed.
“That’s not true.” Rowanclaw flattened his ears. “I died! But my Clan is a Clan once more. My son has returned. Tigerstar will lead them to greatness.”
“At what cost?” Bluestar shifted her paws. “If there’s one thing I know about ShadowClan cats, it’s that they always have their eyes on another Clan’s land.”
Rowanclaw’s eyes narrowed. “ShadowClan must never face extinction again. It needs its territory back.”
“But SkyClan cannot lose its land.” Firestar’s emerald eyes reflected starlight. His gaze seemed to see beyond the starry pelts of the other cats, and drifted toward the distant trees that marked SkyClan’s territory. “They belong beside the lake.”
“Of course they belong beside the lake,” Tallstar grunted.
Bluestar eyed Rowanclaw. “Will your son let them stay?”
“Tigerstar must do whatever it takes to make ShadowClan strong,” Rowanclaw shot back.
Firestar flicked his tail. “Rowanclaw is right about one thing: ShadowClan must grow strong. We can’t risk losing them again. Every Clan must grow strong, but not by stealing another’s territory. They must learn to live together. If the five Clans cannot live as one, the coming darkness will destroy them all.”
“We’ve survived darkness before,” Crookedstar argued.
“Not like this,” Firestar insisted. “These young cats don’t understand the danger. They’ve fought invaders, they’ve survived hardship, but they don’t yet realize how fear can weave its way like a shadow between the Clans and how greed can drive them apart.” The stars in Firestar’s pelt shimmered as his fur prickled anxiously.
Blackstar snorted. “Do you think the Clans learned nothing from Darktail?”
“I don’t think they learned enough.” Firestar met his gaze. “Look how Darktail split them. RiverClan withdrew. ShadowClan collapsed. At a time when they needed to work together, they drew apart.”
“But RiverClan has rejoined the Clans now,” Crookedstar pointed out.
“And ShadowClan has a new leader,” Rowanclaw argued. “A strong leader, who will guide his warriors well.”
“A young leader,” Firestar cautioned, “who wants above all to prove his strength and the strength of his Clan. This is no time for battles. SkyClan is still finding its paws here. Their return has tested everyone. And the test isn’t over. They must be fully accepted. If the Clans can’t learn to live peacefully together, how will they face what is to come?” His eyes darkened. Bluestar looked away. The others glanced nervously at one another, as though sharing knowledge too dreadful to speak. Firestar went on. “Together, the Clans are like a paw with five claws reaching deep into the earth. If each claw is strong, the paw will hold fast. But if just one claw releases its grip, all will be swept away by the coming storm.”
“It won’t only be the lake Clans that are lost.” Bluestar closed her eyes as the newleaf wind rippled her fur. “With no one to remember us, StarClan will disappear too.”
“So we must warn them.” Tallstar whisked his tail agitatedly from side to side.
“We can’t warn them more than we have.” Bluestar sighed. “How many times have we told them that they must face the future together?”
Firestar narrowed his eyes. “We can only point out the path. We can’t make them follow it.”
Bluestar looked across the lake. “Let’s hope they find the way. If they don’t, there will be nothing of us left, not even the warrior code.”
CHAPTER 1
“Why do we have to clear all this mess?” Flypaw sat back on her haunches. Her tabby pelt twitched as she stared at the twigs littering the clearing. “We’ve been working at it for days.”
Twigbranch let go of the stick she’d been dragging and blinked impatiently at her apprentice. “We have to clear the training ground if you want to practice battle moves here.”
“Why can’t Spotpaw and Stempaw help?” Flypaw complained. “They’ll be training here too. And Plumpaw’s stronger than me. She’d be better at dragging sticks.”
“Plumpaw’s hunting with Eaglepaw and Shellpaw, and their mentors, today,” Twigbranch said, fighting back irritation. Did I complain thi
s much when I was an apprentice?
“Why can’t we hunt?” Flypaw grumbled.
“You don’t know enough hunting moves.”
Flypaw flicked her tail. “I’d know some if you let me train instead of making me clear sticks.”
If you spent less time arguing and more time working, we’d be finished by now. Twigbranch swallowed back the words. “Bramblestar wants the training ground cleared. The storm left a mess and he asked us to do it.” She glanced at Snappaw, who was helping Finleap haul a branch to the edge of the clearing. “Your littermate isn’t complaining.”
Snappaw dropped the stick. “Finleap told me that moving sticks would make me strong.” He puffed out his chest. “I want to be the strongest apprentice in ThunderClan.”
Flypaw scowled. “Don’t get too strong or Bramblestar will make you clear every branch from the forest.”
Finleap blinked at her sympathetically. “You’ve worked hard all morning.” He caught Twigbranch’s eye. “Why don’t we teach them a few battle moves?”
Snappaw pricked his ears. “Really?”
“Please!” Flypaw bounced past the sticks and crouched excitedly. Sticking her hindquarters in the air, she bared her teeth and lashed her tail. “Look! I’m ready to attack.”
With a purr, Snappaw rushed to join her.
Exasperated, Twigbranch closed her eyes. At this rate, they’d never clear the training ground. What would Bramblestar think if she couldn’t even make her apprentice do the simplest of tasks? Would he regret making her a mentor so soon?
Fur brushed her cheek. Finleap was weaving around her. “We can finish clearing the rest of the sticks later,” he meowed. “There’s no harm in taking some time out to go over some battle skills.” He looked so eager that she didn’t want to disappoint him. But she hadn’t planned to teach battle skills today. She hadn’t practiced.
“I don’t know.” She frowned.
“What are you worried about?” Finleap blinked at her. “We’re mentors! We’re not breaking any rules by training our apprentices.”
Twigbranch lowered her voice. “What if I do it wrong?”
Finleap’s eyes widened. “How could you do anything wrong? You were an apprentice for the longest time. You must know everything there is to know about training.” Admiration shone clearly in his wide yellow eyes.
Twigbranch purred softly, feeling comforted. It was hard not to love Finleap. He was clumsy and tactless at times, but his heart was always in the right place.