Dawn

Prologue

Stars glittered coldly on a forest stripped bare by a bitter leaf-fall.

Shadows moved through the undergrowth—thin shapes, fur flattened by the chilly evening dew, slipping between the stems like water through reeds. The cats’ pelts did not ripple with muscle as they once had; instead, their fur clung to the bones beneath their thin frames.

The flame-colored tom leading the silent procession lifted his head and tasted the air. Even though nightfall had silenced the Twoleg monsters, their stench clung to every dying leaf and branch.

The cat took comfort from the scent of his mate beside him; her familiar scent mingled with the hateful Twoleg odor and softened its cruel tang. She matched his pace stubbornly, even though her faltering stride betrayed her long-empty belly and wakeful nights.

“Firestar,” she panted as they padded onward. “Do you think our daughters will find us when they come home?”

The flame-colored cat flinched as though he had trodden on a thorn. “We can only pray that they will, Sandstorm,” he said softly.

“But how will they know where to look?” Sandstorm glanced back at a broad-shouldered gray tom. “Graystripe, do you think they’ll know where we’ve gone?”

“Oh, they’ll find us,” Graystripe promised.

“How can you be so sure?” growled Firestar. “We should have sent another patrol to search for Leafpaw.”

“And risk losing more cats?” Graystripe meowed.

Firestar’s eyes clouded with pain and he hurried ahead along the shadowy path.

Sandstorm twitched her tail. “This was the hardest decision he’s ever had to make,” she whispered to Graystripe.

“He had to put the Clan first,” Graystripe hissed back.

Sandstorm closed her eyes for a moment. “We have lost so many cats this past moon,” she mewed.

The wind must have carried her voice, because Firestar turned his head, his gaze hardening. “Then perhaps, at this Gathering, the other Clans will finally agree that we must join together to face this threat,” he growled.

“Join together?” A defiant mew sounded from a tabby tom. “Have you forgotten how the Clans reacted last time you said that? WindClan was half-starved, but you might as well have suggested they eat their kits. They are too proud to admit they need help from any cat.”

“Things are even worse now, Dustpelt,” Sandstorm argued.

“How can any Clan stay strong when its kits are dying?” Her voice trailed away as she realized what she had said. “Dustpelt, I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“Larchkit may be dead,” snarled Dustpelt. “But that doesn’t mean I will let ThunderClan be ordered around by another Clan!”

“No Clan is going to give us orders,” Firestar insisted. “But I still believe we can help each other. Leaf-bare is almost here. The Twolegs and their monsters have driven most of our prey farther and farther away, and they have poisoned what remains so that it’s not safe to eat. We cannot fight alone.”

Suddenly the whispering of the wind through the branches grew to a roar, and Firestar slowed his step, pricking his ears.

“What is it?” Sandstorm whispered, her eyes stretched wide.

“Something’s happening at Fourtrees!” Graystripe yowled.

He broke into a run, and Firestar rushed after him, closely followed by their Clanmates. All the cats skidded to a halt at the top of a slope, looking down into a steep-sided hollow.

Bright, unnatural lights, sharper than moonshine, blazed against the trunks of the four giant oaks that had guarded this sacred place since the time of the Great Clans. More lights shone from the eyes of huge monsters squatting at the edge of the clearing. The Great Rock—the vast, smooth gray stone where Clan leaders stood to address the Gathering each full moon—looked small and exposed, like a kit crouched on a Thunderpath.

Twolegs scurried around the hollow, shouting at one another. A new sound sliced through the air, a screeching, high-pitched whine, and one Twoleg raised a massive shiny forepaw that flashed in the brilliant lights. The Twoleg pressed it against the trunk of the nearest oak, and dust flew out from the tree like blood spraying from a wound. The shiny forepaw howled as it bit viciously into the ancient bark, pushing deeper into the tree’s heart until the Twoleg cried out a warning and the hollow rang with a crack so loud that it drowned the rumbling monsters. The great oak began to lean over, slowly at first, then faster, faster, until it fell crashing to the ground. Its leafless branches clattered as they struck the cold earth, then stilled into deathly silence.

“StarClan, stop them!” mewed Sandstorm.

There was no sign that their warrior ancestors had seen what was happening at Fourtrees. The stars glittered coldly in the indigo sky as the Twoleg moved on to the next oak, his forepaw screaming for another kill.

The cats watched in horror as the Twoleg worked its way around the clearing until the last oak had been felled.

Fourtrees, the place where the four Clans had met for many, many generations, was no more. The four giant oaks lay sprawled on the ground, their branches quivering into stillness. Twoleg monsters snarled at the edge of the clearing, ready to move in to carve up the fresh-kill, but the cats stayed frozen at the top of the slope, unable to move.

“The forest is dead,” murmured Sandstorm. “There is no hope left for any of us.”

“Have courage.” Firestar’s eyes glittered as he turned to face his Clan. “We still have our Clan. There is always hope.”