by Sue Bentley
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Title Page
Acknowledgements
Chapter ONE
Chapter TWO
Chapter THREE
Chapter FOUR
Chapter FIVE
Chapter SIX
Chapter SEVEN
Chapter EIGHT
Chapter NINE
About the Author
Poppy—sweetest tabby girl.
GROSSET & DUNLAP
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Prologue
There was a dazzling white flash and a burst of silver sparkles. Where a young white lion had stood just a minute ago now crouched a tiny silver kitten. “Uncle Ebony!” gasped the silver kitten, leaping behind a huge rock just as the shadow of an enormous adult lion fell across him.
Flame’s tiny kitten heart beat fast as his uncle passed close by where he hid. He could hear Ebony’s angry roar and imagined his fierce, ice-cold eyes.
“Flame must be found and then he will die!” Ebony hissed aloud.
Suddenly a huge paw, almost as large as the kitten’s entire body, reached around the rock. Flame laid his tiny ears flat and bit back a whimper as he was scooped up. This was it. He was dead.
But instead of being dragged out on to the sand, he found himself being swept further back into the safety of the rocks. An old gray lion looked down at him.
“Cirrus! Thank you,” Flame meowed gratefully.
Cirrus bowed respectfully. “I am glad to see you again, Prince Flame. But it is not safe for you to stay here.”
Flame lifted his chin. “I must regain the Lion Throne!”
Cirrus’s kindly hot breath ruffled the kitten’s fuzzy fur. “True. But first you must grow strong and wise. Your uncle is powerful and heartless and he has many spies. Stay in your kitten disguise and hide far from here.”
Flame’s big emerald eyes sparked with anger. “I will, but only until my powers are stronger. Then Ebony’s rule will end!”
Cirrus smiled with pride and affection. “May that day come soon. Go now, Prince Flame. Go …”
Flame felt the power building within him. Sparks ignited in his silver fur and his whiskers crackled. He gave a tiny meow of alarm as he felt himself falling. Falling …
Chapter ONE
“Mia’s here. I’ll let her in!” Kim Taylor called excitedly to her mom, who was putting sheets on the spare bed.
Kim ran down the stairs two at a time. It had been a year since she saw her cousin.
Mia’s parents were both musicians. They took turns living in the houses they owned in France and Italy. Now Mia was staying for a week during her spring break, so there would be tons of time to catch up and do exciting things. Kim couldn’t wait.
As she opened the front door, Kim smiled at the young girl standing in front of her.
Mia was tall with short, feathery, blond hair. She was wearing expensive-looking clothes, sneakers, and held a glittery pink backpack that dangled by its straps.
“Your hair looks so cool!” Kim said, leaning forward to give Mia a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. We’re going to have a great time!”
Mia pulled away from Kim, looking awkward. “Yeah, well, that’s what Mom and Dad said and I didn’t believe themeither. They don’t care if I die of boredom as long as I’m out of the way while they go and do a tour of nightclubs with their band!” She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. “Anyway, I’m here now.”
“Excuse me, you two!”
Mia and Kim stood back as Kim’s dad staggered in with two enormous suitcases which he had brought in from the car.
“Are you staying for a whole year?” he joked to Mia. From the look on Mia’s face, she did not think that was a funny joke.
Kim felt awful. She thought Mia had really wanted to come to their house for vacation. She wasn’t sure what to say.
“Meow-row!”
Kim looked down. The complaining noise came from a cute, plastic pet carrier at Mia’s feet, which she hadn’t seen to begin with.
“All right, Bibi. You can come out in a minute,” Mia said.
Kim crouched by the carrier to look inside. All she could see was a mass of fluffy cream fur and big round eyes. “What kind of cat is she?” Kim asked excitedly.
“A pedigree Persian,” Mia said proudly. “Mom and Dad bought her for me before they went on tour. Bibi cost a lot of money and she’s won so many ribbons and cups at cat shows. Her full name is Beautiful Lady of Bromford Farm.”
“That’s a long name. No wonder you call her Bibi!” Kim said.
Mia put her hands on her hips. “All pedigree cats have long names. Don’t you know that? Where’s Aunt Joan? I have a card for her from Mom.”
Mia picked up the pet carrier and marched right past Kim into the house.
Kim frowned as she followed her in and went through to the kitchen. Maybe her cousin was just tired. She knew that could make people mean and grumpy.
Mia sat at the pine table. Mrs. Taylor was giving her a glass of orange juice.
“Thanks, Aunt Joan. And thanks for letting me come and stay,” Mia said sweetly.
“You’re welcome, Mia,” Mrs. Taylor said. “Kim’s been dying to spend some time with you. You know, you two were very close when you were small.”
Mia gave Kim a long look. Kim thought she saw a ghost of a smile cross Mia’s face, but it was gone before she could smile back.
“Meow-wow-wow!” Another loud wail of protest came from the pet carrier.
“It sounds like poor Bibi’s fed up with being shut in there. Should I let her out or do you want to do it, Mia?” Kim asked helpfully.
“No. You can do it, Kim,” Mia said.
“Hello, girl. Don’t be nervous,” Kim said gently, kneeling down to open the door. She was dying to see what a champion, prize-winning Persian looked like.
A huge fluffy cream cat came out slowly into the room. Bibi backed up against the fridge and gazed around the kitchen with big orange eyes. She had a flat face, with a wrinkled forehead and a tiny nose.
“Do you want to make friends?” Kim rubbed her fingertips together and made a friendly noise.
Bibi opened her mouth and hissed loudly. Suddenly, she ran around to hide behind Kim.
“Ow-oww!” Kim yelled in pain as sharp claws dug into her leg through her jeans. She straightened up and wiggled her leg, trying to shake Bibi off. “Help, Mia! Call her off!” she shouted.
Mia just started laughing. “You should see yourself!”
Kim’s mom acted quickly. She filled a small glass with water and threw it over the angry cat. Bibi gave a yowl, let go of Kim’s ankle, and ran under the table.
“Hey!” Mia ducked down to scoop up her pet. “Did that mean lady throw water on you?” she soothed, petting Bibi’s wet fur.
“Are you all right, Kim?” asked her mom.
Kim nodded shakily. She rolled up her jeans and examined her leg. There were two long scratches. They stung like crazy, but luckily they didn’t look very deep.
“Oh, don’t be such a baby, Kim!” Mia said.
“Cat scratches can be really sore, Mia,” Mrs. Taylor said with a frown. “Does Bibi often act like that? You may have to keep her shut in your room if she’s going to attack people.”
Mia rose from the chair with Bibi under one arm. There was a hurt look in her big blue eyes. “Bibi was only playing. She was being friendly. I’d like to go to my room now, please.”
“You go on up. It’s the room to the right that faces the front yard. Kim will come up in a minute.” Mrs. Taylor turned to her daughter. “We should clean up those scratches first.”
As her mom went to get some antiseptic, Kim heard Mia sniff loudly as she stomped upstairs. Kim rested her leg on a chair while her mom cleaned the scratches.
“There. You’ll be okay,” her mom said a few minutes later, putting the cap back on a tube of cream. “Ready to go up and help Mia unpack?”
“Do I have to?” Kim asked reluctantly. She didn’t feel like being nice to Mia at the moment.
“Come on now. Mia’s our guest. She misses her parents and is feeling lonely.” Mrs. Taylor gave her daughter’s thick brown ponytail a gentle tug. “Let’s try and make her feel welcome.”
“I’ll try,” Kim promised as she got to her feet and went upstairs to find Mia. But she had a sinking feeling in her tummy. She didn’t think having her cousin to stay was going to turn out like she had expected at all.
Chapter TWO
After dinner on the patio, Kim took Mia and Bibi into the garden. Luckily Bibi was more interested in exploring the flower beds than clawing people’s legs.
“Don’t go eating slugs or snails or you’ll be sick later,” Mia said to Bibi.
If she is, I’m not cleaning it up,Kim thought. She glanced down the narrow lawn, with its old apple tree at the bottom, to where her dad was stacking old flowerpots and seed trays outside his shed. He saw her looking and called excitedly for her to come down.
Mia had seen him, too. “Why is he waving like that?”
“I don’t know,” Kim said, walking down the lawn to find out.
Mia followed her. “I’m coming, too.”
As Kim and Mia came closer, Mr. Taylor pointed inside the shed and put a finger to his lips. “Shhh! Be very quiet,” he whispered. “See that cracked flowerpot? There’s a robin’s nest inside it.”
“Really?” Kim leaned forward slowly. She saw the nest of woven grass and leaves. Then she spotted five little fuzzy heads, all with their eyes closed. “Oh! There are five chicks in it!” she breathed.
“Let me see.” Mia pushed past Kim rudely. But when she saw the chicks, her face softened. “Aah! They are so cute! Look how they’re all snuggled up together. But how did the robins get into the shed?”
Kim’s dad pointed to a small hole in the wall, up near the roof. “But it beats me why they chose that hole, when there was an easier way in,” he said. He showed them the stone that had been propping the door shut. Even with the door closed, there was a gap at the top.
“Da-ad!” Kim scolded with a grin. “Haven’t you fixed that broken door yet?”
Mr. Taylor pretended to look hurt. “All in good time.”
Kim gave him a playful shove. He’d been saying that for months!
Mia was fascinated by the fluffy brown chicks. She seemed genuinely relaxed and happy for the first time since she arrived. It gave Kim an idea.
“Come with me,” she said, tugging at Mia’s arm.
Mia frowned suspiciously. “Why? Where are we going?”
“Ta-dah!” Kim opened the bedroom closet to reveal her new telescope in all its glory. “Gran and Granddad Taylor bought it for my tenth birthday this year. I haven’t used it much yet.”
“Not bad,” Mia said, trying not to look too impressed.
“I know. Gran and Granddad are great. They never buy boring stuff like slippers and packs of felt-tip pens,” Kim said, lifting out the telescope. “I thought we could watch the robins going in and out of the shed to feed their chicks.”
Mia nodded. “I’ll help you set it up.”
They moved a small bedside table in front of the window. After Kim had put the telescope on its stand, she explained how to focus it and then stood back to let Mia have the first look.
“I can see a robin on the apple tree!” Mia said excitedly. “Its beak is full of grubs or something. It just flew into the shed!”
Kim and Mia took turns watching the robins come and go. They brought all sorts of food. Sometimes it was small caterpillars or grubs and once it was a juicy wriggling worm.
Mia really loved the telescope. She couldn’t stop looking through it. “I can see the farm on the hill at the end of your garden.”
Kim was happy that Mia was finally taking an interest in something. Her cousin even smiled a couple of times.
“Are you having a good time?” Mr. Taylor popped his head around the door. He held up a dusty green bag. “Look what else I found in the shed!”
Kim leaped on it eagerly. “That’s my old tent! I haven’t seen it for so long. We could camp out in the garden tonight. Can we, Dad?”
Her dad smiled. “I don’t see why not. It’s a warm night. If you can drag yourselves away from those robins for ten seconds, I’ll help you put up the tent.”
By the time Kim and Mia were spreading tarps and sleeping bags inside the tent, the sky was a deep blue and stars were glinting above the apple tree.
“It’ll be fun camping out, don’t you think, Mia?” Kim said.
But suddenly Mia seemed to have second thoughts. “Actually I might not want to. It’s going to be cold in that old tent.” She stood up. “I’m going inside to feed Bibi. I’ll let you know what I decide later,” she said.
Kim’s spirits sank. Just when they seemed to be getting along, Mia was grumpy again. She sighed and decided to go down to the shed for a last check on the robin’s nest. Her dad had put the stone back in front of the door. She moved it aside very carefully and peered in. The chicks were sleeping, safe and warm.
She was putting the stone back when, from the corner of her eye, she noticed a faint glow. Edging around the side of the shed, she went to investigate.
“Oh!” Kim gasped.
There, half hidden by tall weeds, crouched a cute silver kitten. It blinked up at her with big, scared, green eyes. Kim looked closer. Its fur seemed to be glittering with hundreds of silver sparks, like tiny Christmas tree lights.
Kim shook her head in confusion. Of course its fur couldn’t be glowing, and when she looked again the sparkles did seem to have disappeared.
But what was it doing here? Had someone abandoned it?
“Hello, little kitty,” she said in a soft, gentle voice, bending down so she wouldn’t frighten the kitten. It was trembling all over. “Don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you. I wonde
r where you came from.”
The kitten lifted its tiny head. As it peered through the tangled leaves, some of the fear seemed to fade from its emerald eyes. “I have run away. My uncle is searching for me. He wants to kill me,” it meowed softly.
Kim’s jaw dropped in complete shock. She lost her balance and almost tumbled sideways.
The kitten had just answered her!
Chapter THREE
Kim knelt in the patch of weeds and stared at the silver kitten in complete amazement.
“Did … did you just say something?” she stuttered. “What’s going on? Is this a trick?”
Kim looked around her wildly to see if anyone else was there. Maybe Mia was playing a trick on her. She seemed to enjoy thinking up new ways of being mean.
The kitten twitched its tiny tail. “This is no trick. I am Prince Flame. Who are you?”
“I’m Kim. Kim Taylor,” she answered. “Why is your uncle trying to kill you? And why are you here?”
“My Uncle Ebony has stolen the Lion Throne to which I am heir. He will do all he can to stop me from reclaiming what is mine!” Flame rumbled softly, with a flash of anger in his emerald eyes.
Kim looked down at the tiny, fluffy kitten, which seemed even smaller against the tall weeds. “No offense, but you don’t exactly look like a prince,” she said.
“I will show you!” The kitten sat up indignantly.
There was a silver flash, so bright that Kim had to look away. When she looked back, the kitten was gone and in its place stood a huge, majestic, young white lion with glowing emerald eyes. “Do not be afraid,” he said in a deep velvety growl.
Kim took a deep breath and tried very hard to stay calm. “Okay! Flame. I … I believe you!” she stammered.
With another blinding flash, the tiny silver kitten reappeared. “I need to hide from my enemies, Kim. That is why I am here. Can you help me?”
Despite the shock of having been faced with a lion prince in his true form, Kim’s soft heart melted. Right now, Flame was just a frightened little kitten.