Legends Of The Clans

DEDICATION

Special thanks to Clarissa Hutton

Allegiances

THUNDERCLAN LEADER THUNDERSTAR—orange tom with big white paws DEPUTY LIGHTNING TAIL—black tom MEDICINE CAT CLOUD SPOTS—long-furred black tom with white ears, white chest, and two white paws HUNTERS VIOLET DAWN—sleek dark gray she-cat with bits of black around her ears and paws OWL EYES—gray tom with amber eyes PINK EYES—white tom with pink eyes LEAF—black-and-white tom with amber eyes MILKWEED—splotchy ginger-and-black she-cat with scar on muzzle CLOVER—ginger-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes THISTLE—ginger tom with green eyes GOOSEBERRY—pale yellow tabby she-cat YEW TAIL—cream-and-brown tom APPLE BLOSSOM—orange-and-white she-cat SNAIL SHELL—dappled gray tom BLUE WHISKER—white she-cat with yellow splotches APPRENTICES HAZEL BURROW—black-and-white tom MORNING FIRE—dark brown she-cat with amber eyes SHIVERING ROSE—black she-cat with white splotch on one ear and amber eyes KITS PATCH PELT—ginger-and-black tom kit BEECH TAIL—pale ginger she-kit WINDCLAN LEADER WINDSTAR—wiry brown she-cat with yellow eyes DEPUTY GORSE FUR—thin gray tabby tom MEDICINE CAT MOTH FLIGHT—white she-cat with green eyes HUNTERS DUST MUZZLE—gray tabby tom with amber eyes SLATE—thick-furred gray she-cat with one ear tip missing WHITE TAIL—dark gray tom-kit with white patches and amber eyes SILVER STRIPE—pale gray tabby she-kit with blue eyes BLACK EAR—black-and-white patched tom-kit with amber eyes SPOTTED FUR—golden-brown tom with amber eyes and a dappled coat ROCKY—plump orange-and-white tom with green eyes SWIFT MINNOW—gray-and-white she-cat REED TAIL—silver tabby tom with a knowledge of herbs JAGGED PEAK—a small gray tabby tom with blue eyes HOLLY—she-cat with prickly, bushy fur STORM PELT—mottled gray tom with blue eyes and thick bushy tail DEW NOSE—brown splotchy tabby she-cat with white tips on nose and tail, yellow eyes EAGLE FEATHER—brown tom with yellow eyes, broad shoulders, and striped tail WILLOW TAIL—pale tabby she-cat with blue eyes SKYCLAN LEADER SKYSTAR—light gray tom with blue eyes DEPUTY SPARROW FUR—tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes MEDICINE CAT ACORN FUR—chestnut-brown she-cat HUNTERS STAR FLOWER—she-cat with thick, golden tabby fur DEW PETAL—silver-and-white she-cat FLOWER FOOT—she-cat with tan stripes THORN—splotchy brown tom with bright blue eyes QUICK WATER—gray-and-white she-cat NETTLE—gray tom BIRCH—ginger tom with white circles of fur around his eyes ALDER—gray, brown, and white she-cat BLOSSOM—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes RED CLAW—a reddish-brown tom HONEY PELT—striped yellow tom RIVERCLAN LEADER RIVERSTAR—silver long-furred tom with amber eyes DEPUTY NIGHT—black she-cat MEDICINE CAT DAPPLED PELT—delicate tortoiseshell she-cat with golden eyes HUNTERS SHATTERED ICE—gray-and-white tom with green eyes DEW—gray she-cat DAWN MIST—orange-and-white she-cat with green eyes MOSS TAIL—dark brown tom with golden eyes DRIZZLE—gray-and-white she-kit with pale blue eyes PINE NEEDLE—black tom-kit with yellow eyes SPIDER PAW—white tom SHADOWCLAN LEADER SHADOWSTAR—black, thick-furred she-cat with green eyes DEPUTY SUN SHADOW—black tom with amber eyes MEDICINE CAT PEBBLE HEART—gray tabby tom with white mark on his chest and amber eyes HUNTERS JUNIPER BRANCH—long-furred tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes RAVEN PELT—black tom with yellow eyes MOUSE EARS—big tabby tom with unusually small ears MUD PAWS—pale brown tom with four black paws BUBBLING STREAM—white she-cat with yellow splotches

Maps

Chapter One

Thunderstar watched approvingly as Snail Shell scrambled through the bracken at the edge of the forest, moving fast. Tensing his hind legs, the young dappled gray tom gave a flying leap and disappeared from sight. After a few heartbeats, he emerged from the undergrowth with his tail held high, a fat vole dangling from his mouth.

“Nicely done.” Thunderstar blinked approvingly at Owl Eyes beside him. “You’ve trained him well.”

Owl Eyes purred. “He was eager to learn.”

Snail Shell dropped the vole at Thunderstar’s feet. “Did you see how I pounced?” he asked excitedly. “When Owl Eyes started training me, I always landed a little short of the prey, but he told me to try to jump just in front of prey, and I’d get my paws right on it.”

His sister, Apple Blossom, flicked her tail dismissively. “Lightning Tail didn’t have to show me that,” she bragged. “My pounces were always good.”

Lightning Tail’s whiskers twitched with amusement. “But it took a while for you to learn to pick out the scent of your prey. Let’s show Thunderstar what you’ve learned.”

The orange-and-white she-cat scented the air. “I can smell… mice,” she mewed. “And there’s a rabbit! In the ferns by that oak tree.”

“Very good,” Thunderstar told her. “So which should you hunt?”

Apple Blossom gave a thoughtful flick of her tail. “The mice would be easier to catch,” she mewed slowly, “but a fat rabbit would feed more of the Clan. The rabbit?”

Thunderstar nodded. “Rabbits can be hard to catch,” he told her. “The cats in WindClan eat a lot of rabbit, and they hunt them in pairs to make it easier. Why don’t you and Snail Shell hunt this rabbit together?” Apple Blossom hesitated, and Thunderstar twitched his ears at her encouragingly. “You’re in charge.” If the young cats had trouble catching the rabbit, there would still be plenty of the day left to hunt easier prey.

“Okay.” Apple Blossom’s eyes lit with excitement, and she turned to her brother. “Snail Shell, go around on the far side of the ferns, and keep upwind. I’ll chase it out toward you.”

The young she-cat, her tail held low, slunk carefully toward the tall patch of ferns, each paw step silent.

Thunderstar nudged Lightning Tail. “Good stalking form,” he whispered, and the black tom nodded, his eyes fixed on his apprentice.

Leaves rustled as the rabbit hopped hesitantly out of the ferns, its ears twitching. It sniffed the air, its bright eyes darting alertly in every direction. Apple Blossom froze for a second and then charged.

With a flip of its white tail, the rabbit bolted away from her, straight through the ferns. Apple Blossom followed. There were the sounds of a struggle and the rabbit’s short shriek, then Snail Shell and Apple Blossom pushed their way back through the ferns, Apple Blossom proudly carrying the plump rabbit in her mouth.

“Very good,” Thunderstar praised them, impressed. “That will fill a lot of hungry bellies.”

The cats buried the rabbit and the vole to collect on their way back to camp, and Thunderstar led the hunting patrol toward the river that marked ThunderClan’s border with RiverClan.

As the patrol emerged from the treeline onto the riverbank, Thunderstar took a deep, happy breath, letting water-scented air bathe his tongue. Sunlight sparkled off the river, and Thunderstar could scent the rich smells of prey and new growing plants. It had been a mild leaf-bare and his Clan had managed to hunt enough that no cat went hungry. Now that they were well into new-leaf, there was plenty of fat prey running through the forest.

“There’s Moss Tail!” Apple Blossom exclaimed excitedly. “Moss Tail! Hello!”

On the other side of the river, the dark brown RiverClan tom flicked his tail in greeting and continued making his way through the reeds at the edge of RiverClan’s territory.

“Is it true that RiverClan cats swim?” Snail Shell asked curiously, and Owl Eyes purred in amusement.

“Watch and see,” he said. The brown tom waded into the river, looked carefully around, and dived. Snail Shell and Apple Blossom gasped as he disappeared beneath the water, then resurfaced, a silver fish in his mouth.

“I heard that they eat fish,” Apple Blossom said. “Weird.”

“Fish isn’t bad,” Lightning Tail told her. “Riverstar’s given me some before. Maybe sometime I’ll take you to RiverClan’s camp and you can taste it yourself.”

Apple Blossom’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “No, thanks,” she said. “I prefer squirrel.”

They watched Moss Tail pick his way back to the riverbank and, after nodding his head in farewell, carry the fish toward RiverClan’s camp.

As he watched the RiverClan tom, warm contentment spread through Thunderstar’s chest. Not long ago, any RiverClan cat would have challenged a ThunderClan cat so close to their border, and certainly Lightning Tail would never have suggested taking a younger cat to visit RiverClan’s camp. But the cats of the forest had been at peace for many moons now.

WindClan and SkyClan had briefly fought over their border last new-leaf, but that skirmish had ended quickly. Otherwise, all five Clans had been at peace since they had banded together to drive out the vicious rogue Slash. Cats had died in the forest then—including Gray Wing, Thunderstar’s kin, who had raised him like a son—but now, rogues knew to steer clear of their territories. Now young cats like Snail Shell and Apple Blossom could explore the forest without fear.

“So, what prey should we be looking for this close to the water?” Owl Eyes asked the younger cats, but Snail Shell interrupted.

“We’ve been hunting all morning,” he complained. “I’m tired. Can’t we stop and take a break? Just for a little while?” Thunderstar nodded and, with a dramatic huff of breath, Snail Shell sank down to the ground as if he were exhausted. Tucking her tail neatly around her paws, Apple Blossom sat down beside him.

Lightning Tail and Thunderstar exchanged a wry look.

“Tired,” Lightning Tail said dryly. “When Thunderstar and I were your age, we walked all the way to the Twolegplace to rescue Owl Eyes, Pebble Heart, and Sparrow Fur. We didn’t have time to sit around complaining about being tired from a little hunting.”

“Really?” Apple Blossom asked, her eyes wide. “You rescued them from Twolegs? Owl Eyes, is that true?”

“It certainly is.” The dark gray tom settled down on his haunches beside them. “It was scary. One of the Twolegs picked up Lightning Tail like it was going to take him away, but Thunderstar got it to drop him.”

“Before we even made it to the Twolegplace, I fell in the river,” Lightning Tail went on. “And that’s how we met Riverstar for the first time. If he hadn’t pulled me out, I wouldn’t be here now.”

Owl Eyes purred. “Tell them about the battle with One Eye. Sparrow Fur and I were old enough to fight in that one.”

Snail Shell leaned forward, his tail lashing, tiredness forgotten. “Is that when Skystar got kicked out of SkyClan by rogues?”

Thunderstar listened as Lightning Tail began the story. His friend was so good with the apprentices, patient with their training and always knowing just what to say to engage a young cat’s interest. Fascinated by his tales of the battle with One Eye, Apple Blossom and Snail Shell looked ready to jump up and begin practicing their fighting skills. There would be no more complaining about being tired today.

Thunderstar sighed in satisfaction. He was sure he had chosen the right deputy. If anything ever happened to Thunderstar, Lightning Tail would protect ThunderClan.

Thunderstar’s cheerful mood lasted until they headed back to the ThunderClan camp in the late afternoon, heavily laden with prey. The high-pitched yowls of squabbling cats rose out of the ravine as they approached it, and Thunderstar’s heart sank.

There was always some cat arguing. And they always wanted Thunderstar to settle their arguments for them. It was as if the peace between the Clans had freed the cats to concentrate on all their small disagreements with each other.

As the hunting party scrambled down the side of the sandy ravine toward their camp, the angry voices got clearer.

“You were the one who said these were right!” That was Clover.

“I only did what Cloud Spots wanted!” And that was her brother Thistle.

Followed by the rest of the hunting party, Thunderstar shouldered his way through the gorse tunnel into ThunderClan’s camp.

“These don’t look anything like dock leaves! I don’t understand how you two even made this mistake! I’m supposed to be practicing how to chew it up and put it on wounds. If some cat gets hurt and we don’t have any dock leaves, it’ll be your fault!” Shivering Rose, the black-and-white medicine cat apprentice, was hissing with rage, her fur puffed up along her back.

Thistle rolled his eyes. “No cat’s hurt. There’s no emergency. What, do you think there’s going to be some big fight? With who?”

“Foxes, maybe? Badgers?” Blue Whisker tossed in from where she was watching the argument with interest, her tail folded neatly around her. Thunderstar flicked his ears reprovingly as he passed her. Moth Flight, the WindClan medicine cat, had given each Clan one of her own kits to link the Clans together and guarantee peace between them. His foster daughter—Moth Flight’s smallest kit—had grown up to be a fine young ThunderClan warrior, but sometimes she made trouble for trouble’s sake.

“Yes! Foxes and badgers!” Shivering Rose agreed, her yowl getting shriller. “Rogues! Or a cat could step on a sharp rock, or be scratched by thorns. ThunderClan doesn’t have to be fighting another Clan for cats to get hurt!”

Hoping to avoid their argument, Thunderstar dropped the thrush he was carrying onto the prey pile and turned toward his den. Maybe his mate, Violet Dawn, would be there. His spirits lifted, as they always did, at the thought of the beautiful, loving she-cat. If only he could get to their den before—“Thunderstar!” Clover yowled plaintively. “Tell them it wasn’t my fault!”

With a sigh, Thunderstar turned back toward the squabbling young cats and tried to look interested. “What’s the matter?” Lightning Tail brushed past him with a soft purr of amusement and leaped into the branches of a nearby ash tree. He wasn’t leader; he could ignore this kind of thing. For a moment, Thunderstar itched with jealousy.

“Cloud Spots sent them out to gather dock leaves so I could practice how to help my Clanmates who get hurt,” Shivering Rose told him. “Instead, they brought back beech leaves, so the whole day’s wasted.”

“They look almost the same,” Thistle said defensively, poking the broad, shiny leaves on the ground in front of him with one paw.

Shivering Rose gave a sharp yowl of disbelief, and Thunderstar settled down on his haunches and tried to listen patiently. But as Thistle and Clover each started to argue that their mistake had been the other’s fault, Thunderstar’s mind wandered.

He was glad to see peace between the five Clans at last. There were no more pitched battles in the forest, no more bristling and insults at the borders. No vicious rogues had bothered them for moons, and the Clans were respected by nearby loners. Prey was running well, and no fires, floods, or harsh storms had broken the forest’s peace for a long time.

It was everything Thunderstar had ever wanted for his Clan. They were safe; they were thriving.

And yet…

He could remember the thrill of crouching by Gray Wing’s side, making a battle plan. Of charging into a fight side by side with Lightning Tail. Of all the times when a hunt or a journey had desperately mattered, because it meant life or death.

He didn’t miss it, of course he didn’t, Thunderstar thought, ruffling his fur. It was just that, in his memory at least, there hadn’t been this constant low-key squabbling all the time. The things they had cared about then—scarce prey and battles and making a home for themselves—had been the big things. The important things.

“At least I’m faster than a tortoise!” Clover snarled indignantly at her brother, and Thunderstar guiltily snapped back to attention.

Thistle sniffed. “But your nose might as well be on your haunches for all the good it did while we were looking for Cloud Spots’s beech leaves.”

Shivering Rose draped her tail across her eyes, groaning dramatically. “Dock leaves! Cloud Spots told you to get dock leaves! You mouse-brain!”

Clover bristled, angrily digging her claws into the earth beneath her paws. “Don’t talk to my brother like that!”

Thunderstar stood up, and Shivering Rose bit back her reply and looked up at him expectantly.

“Stop, all of you,” he said. “Clover and Thistle, apologize to Cloud Spots and Shivering Rose for bringing back the wrong leaves.” He turned to the medicine cat apprentice. “Shivering Rose, go into the forest tomorrow with Clover and Thistle and teach them what dock leaves look like, and what they smell like, so next time they’ll get it right.”

All three cats opened their mouths to reply, but Thunderstar silenced them with a weary look. “And stop fighting. You’re Clanmates, not a litter of kits. Respect each other.” The young cats hesitated, then nodded, murmuring agreement.

Thunderstar headed for his den again, only to be brought up short by more angry yowls.

“Prey should go on the prey pile!” Pink Eyes was lashing his tail, glaring at Leaf. “You can’t just hunt for your mate, even if she has new kits! Part of being a Clan cat is taking care of every cat, not only your kin.”

“I wasn’t on a hunting patrol! I just knew Milkweed needed something extra to keep her strength up,” Leaf hissed back, his amber eyes angry.

“Milkweed and the new kits are all you think of these days. You have a responsibility to feed the whole Clan!” Pink Eyes spat.

“You’re one to talk about feeding the Clan,” Leaf mewed sarcastically. “Even if you could see the prey, you’d be out of breath in half a rabbit chase.”

Pink Eyes jerked back, looking hurt, and Thunderstar stepped between the two angry toms. “Leaf, that’s not fair. Pink Eyes might not be able to hunt anymore, but you know he’ll be looking after your kits as soon as they’re big enough to come out of the nursery. And Pink Eyes, leave Leaf alone. If he’s not hunting enough for the Clan, Lightning Tail and I will send him out on more patrols.” Both cats looked rebellious, and Thunderstar twitched his tail with irritation. “You’re both too old to squabble like this. No wonder the younger cats are acting the same way! Set a better example. If you keep fighting, I’ll ask Cloud Spots to have you both pick ticks off Gooseberry—she got some on her pelt when she went out to the moor.”

Leaf and Pink Eyes dipped their heads submissively as Thunderstar walked away. It had been a long day, and he just wanted to curl up around his mate. Did his Clanmates have to bother him with every little dispute? Thunderstar sighed and stretched. I guess that’s what being a leader means, he supposed.

Finally, he reached his den in the Highrock, pushing through the lichen that hung over the entrance. But the cave was dark and deserted, and Thunderstar felt a pang of disappointment. He came back to the entrance and looked around the clearing, searching for Violet Dawn.

Morning Fire and Hazel Burrow were play-fighting in the center of the clearing. Gooseberry and Yew Tail were sharing a vole near the warriors’ den, and Owl Eyes had joined Lightning Tail in the ash tree. Shivering Rose and Blue Whisker were sharing tongues, while Pink Eyes had settled down to nap in the sunshine. Through the walls of the nursery thornbush, Thunderstar saw black-and-white fur: Leaf had gone to visit Milkweed and their new kits.

He finally glimpsed a familiar dark gray pelt in the fern tunnel that led to the recently built medicine cat’s den. Thunderstar twitched his ears thoughtfully. Why was Violet Dawn visiting Cloud Spots’s den? Is she sick? She seemed fine this morning.

He crossed the clearing again and ducked to fit himself through the tunnel of fragrant ferns. He found Violet Dawn and Cloud Spots in the den at the end of the tunnel, and both turned to look at him, startled.

“Hi,” Thunderstar said, suddenly feeling awkward. He shifted from one paw to another. “Everything okay?”

Cloud Spots glanced at Violet Dawn questioningly, and Thunderstar’s heart sped up. What did that look mean? Cloud Spots didn’t look upset, exactly… more like he knew something he didn’t want to say.

“I’ll leave you two alone for a moment,” the long-furred tom murmured. He slipped past Thunderstar, but Thunderstar didn’t watch him go. His attention was fixed on Violet Dawn.

“What is it?” Thunderstar asked, pressing himself against his mate’s side and inhaling her sweet scent. She was reassuringly sturdy against him, and she rubbed her cheek affectionately against his.

“It’s nothing bad,” she said softly, her amber eyes warm. “Quite the opposite, really.”

Thunderstar stared at her. Violet Dawn looked away shyly, but her tail stroked against his side. “Do you mean…”

Violet Dawn pressed closer to him. “I’m going to have kits.”

Thunderstar froze, his mind whirling. A warm glow sparked in his chest, spreading through his whole body.

He was going to be a father.

That night, Thunderstar couldn’t sleep.

Violet Dawn was curled against him, breathing slowly and steadily. Her tail twitched slightly as she dreamed. Thunderstar buried his nose in her fur and shut his eyes, then opened them again and flexed his claws irritably. Rolling onto his back, he stared at the rock ceiling above him. Finally, he got to his paws and padded out into the clearing. Maybe if he went for a walk, it would be easier to sleep when he returned.

The camp was quiet. He could hear Pink Eyes’s snoring, but no other cat was stirring. Thunderstar slipped across the clearing, his pelt prickling in the cool new-leaf breeze. Lightning Tail was standing guard by the gorse tunnel, heavy-eyed and sleepy-looking, and he flicked his tail in greeting as Thunderstar approached.

“You’re up late,” he meowed. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t sleep.”

Lightning Tail cocked his head curiously. Thunderstar sighed. “Violet Dawn is going to have kits.”

Lightning Tail’s eyes lit up. “That’s amazing! Congratulations!” Then he looked at Thunderstar more closely. “You’re not excited?”

Thunderstar stiffened. “Of course I’m excited,” he answered indignantly. “It’s just…” He scuffed his paws against the earth of the clearing.

“Why don’t we go out of camp?” Lightning Tail suggested. “Not every cat here needs their claws in your prey.”

Thunderstar followed his friend through the gorse tunnel and out of the ravine. When they emerged into the forest, he breathed deeply. The scents of trees and grass and the rustle of small prey in the dark were soothing.

The two toms faced each other. Lightning Tail waited expectantly.

“I am excited, but I’m worried, too,” Thunderstar confessed. “I couldn’t sleep, thinking of having my own kits, and how I’ll have to protect them.”

“This is a good time to have kits,” Lightning Tail mewed seriously. His eyes, reflecting the moonlight, gleamed at Thunderstar in the darkness. “The Clans are at peace and the forest is full of prey. By the time your kits are born, it’ll be greenleaf. They’ll grow up healthy and strong, Thunderstar.”

Thunderstar’s shoulders slumped. “But what if the Clans turn on each other? What about hawks and foxes? Greencough. Whitecough. Redcough. Remember the fire when we were young and how Moon Shadow died? Remember how Turtle Tail was killed by the Twoleg monster?” Suddenly it was difficult to catch his breath as a wave of panic shot through him. “I’m sure there’s so much more I don’t even know to worry about yet. How can I protect them from everything?”

Sometimes Thunderstar felt like he was barely hanging on by his front claws, trying to keep his Clan united and happy, trying to take care of every cat who depended on him. Was he really ready for kits, too?

Lightning Tail draped his tail across Thunderstar’s back reassuringly. “You can’t predict what’s going to happen. But you’ll have a whole Clan looking out for your kits. And you protect all of us already. I know you and Violet Dawn can do this.”

Thunderstar’s mew caught in his throat. “What if I’m a bad father? Clear Sky—Skystar—didn’t even want to look after me when I was a kit. What if I’m like him?”

Lightning Tail’s whiskers twitched. “You’re worried about becoming a father because of Skystar? Skystar might be your father, but Gray Wing raised you. And he was the best father a cat could have. You’ve already learned everything you need to know from him. You’ll see.”

Thunderstar thought again of Gray Wing, who had taught him to hunt, fought to protect him, given him a home. Through all the moons of his kithood, wise, gentle Gray Wing had guided him. “Gray Wing was pretty great.”

“You will be too,” Lightning Tail told him. “And even if you’re not, Violet Dawn and I will make sure the kits grow up right. I’m honorary kin as well as their Clanmate, you know.”

Thunderstar blinked at his friend fondly, his heart feeling lighter. Maybe Lightning Tail was right. Maybe everything would be fine. “Of course you are. I know I can depend on you.”

Chapter Two

“I’m just hungry all the time now,” Violet Dawn said wistfully, staring out at the rain from under the thornbush by the warriors’ den.

Milkweed purred in amusement. “That’s totally natural. In the moon before these kits were born, I didn’t want to do a thing except eat. Your body is making sure your kits are big and strong.”

Her small ginger-and-black tom-kit, Patch Pelt, threw himself at his pale ginger littermate, Beech Tail, and knocked her over. “I’m the biggest and strongest!”

Scrambling to her feet, Beech Tail bared her tiny teeth at him. “I’m stronger than you! You’re no bigger than a vole!”

The kits began to wrestle, and Milkweed swept her tail over them lovingly. “Hush, kits,” she said fondly. “You’re kicking up mud.”

Thunderstar looked at Violet Dawn’s swollen sides, a familiar curl of anxiety beginning in his chest. Was she getting enough to eat? It had, as expected, been an easy newleaf, with plenty of prey. But these last few days had been gray and rainy, and prey had been much harder to find. Every cat was hungry.

Owl Eyes, Clover, and Leaf trooped through the gorse tunnel, looking soaked and grumpy. A ragged vole dangled from Owl Eyes’s mouth and a skinny shrew from Leaf’s. Clover was limping.

“That’s all you caught?” Thunderstar mewed as they came closer.

Leaf dropped the shrew and pushed it toward the kits. “It’s been raining so long all the prey scents are washed away. We were lucky to find these.”

Clover winced. “Cloud Spots, can you look at my leg? I slipped in the mud and I think I might have sprained it.” The medicine cat nodded and went over to feel gently along her hind leg.

“You’d better come to my den,” he told her. “Shivering Rose, come help me. You can practice treating sprains.”

“Can we eat the shrew, Milkweed?” asked Patch Pelt eagerly as the rest of the Clan watched the medicine cats help Clover toward their den.

Milkweed hesitated, glancing at Violet Dawn.

“They can have it,” Violet Dawn said firmly. “Kits need to eat.”

Thunderstar managed to keep himself from objecting, but it wasn’t easy. They needed more prey.

“You should have the vole,” Owl Eyes said, dropping it in front of Violet Dawn.

“Thank you,” Violet Dawn said, and then nudged Milkweed. “We’ll share it. Your kits need you to be strong as well.”

Thunderstar looked around. The rest of the Clan watched, looking a little mournful, as the two she-cats devoured the small vole in just a few bites. He couldn’t let them all go hungry. His heart began to beat faster: He was responsible for all of them. And his kits would need a strong Clan.

“I’m taking out another hunting party now,” he decided. “We need more prey.”

Owl Eyes and Leaf exchanged glances, taken aback. “The hunting’s terrible,” Owl Eyes said. “The prey’s all taken shelter from the weather in their own dens.”

“There’s just not much out there,” Leaf agreed, and Clover nodded.

“Are you arguing with me?” Thunderstar growled. “This isn’t enough prey. We have to try harder. Thistle, Apple Blossom, Gooseberry, you’re coming with me.” He knew that he was being a little unreasonable, but he couldn’t let his Clan go hungry another day. Not when the kits would be here soon.

A large drop of cold water splashed down from the branches of the thornbush onto his shoulders. Apple Blossom slowly got to her feet, her tail drooping. The other cats were looking at each other dismally, seeming skinnier than usual with their damp fur plastered to their backs.

“But it’s horrible out,” Thistle objected.

Gooseberry licked her chest fur, avoiding Thunderstar’s gaze. “If the others hunted for so long and found so little, are we going to do any better?”

The fur along Thunderstar’s spine began to bristle. Don’t they understand how important this is? What kind of cat would let their Clan go hungry?

Before Thunderstar could let his anger out on his Clanmates, Lightning Tail hurriedly stepped forward. “It’s tough hunting out there,” he agreed. “But we’re a Clan. We protect each other and take care of each other. And we’re the best hunters of any Clan in the forest.”

“We are!” Hazel Burrow raised his head proudly, and Thunderstar saw Pink Eyes’s whiskers twitching with fond amusement at the young cat’s declaration.

“Leaf and Clover and Owl Eyes managed to find prey for ThunderClan even in these terrible conditions,” Lightning Tail went on, his tail lashing excitedly. “We’re all grateful to them. Thunderstar’s grateful to them, too. But the rest of us have to try to do just as well. If we don’t give up, we can feed every cat!”

Gooseberry, who had looked stiff and resentful when Thunderstar chose her for his hunting party, was now sitting up straight, her eyes bright. Apple Blossom’s tail wasn’t drooping anymore, and Thistle was puffing out his chest proudly.

Thunderstar shot a grateful look at his deputy. Lightning Tail blinked at him cheerfully, and padded closer. “I’ll come, too. ThunderClan will always take care of its own,” he said.

Thunderstar tasted the air, searching for the scent of prey in the rain-washed forest. Leaf had been right, and there was little to find after three days of this steady drizzle. But they had gotten lucky; Apple Blossom had stumbled across a nest of mice, and the six the cats had managed to catch would go a long way toward feeding ThunderClan.

He couldn’t find any trace of prey in the air now, just the heavy scents of wet earth and growing plants. But as Thunderstar began to move on, he heard a slight crackling coming from a nearby clump of bracken. Pricking his ears to listen more closely, he peered beneath the bush. At first, he saw nothing in the shadows, but then he made out the shape of a fat bird.

Thunderstar’s mouth watered. He signaled with his tail, and Thistle and Lightning Tail joined him.

“Under the bush,” Thunderstar said softly, and Thistle’s tail twitched with excitement.

“It can’t fly off from under there,” Lightning Tail said. “Let’s spread out in case it tries to run.” He signaled to Gooseberry and Apple Blossom, and the four cats, hunching low, began to approach the bush from different directions.

Thunderstar moved quickly and silently, coming as close to the bush as he could without alerting the bird inside. He could see now that it was a pigeon, hunched against the rain, its feathers fluffed, keeping almost entirely still. He was lucky to have spotted it. It was a fat, large bird, and would feed several of his Clanmates.

The pigeon’s head turned, its bright orange eyes catching sight of Thunderstar at last. But he launched himself forward before it could move. Landing squarely on top of the pigeon, he bit down on its neck. Warm blood flooded his mouth, and the bird twitched once and lay still. Thunderstar backed out of the bracken, dragging the pigeon with him.

That was their last catch of the afternoon, but with the mice they had caught earlier, Thunderstar was feeling fairly satisfied by the time the shadows began to grow long and they headed back to camp. Every cat would have something to eat today, even if their bellies would not be completely filled.

The rain had even begun to let up by the time the hunting party pushed their way through the gorse back into camp.

“Yum!” said Clover, hobbling toward them. Her leg was clearly still injured, despite Cloud Spots’s treatment, but her eyes were bright. “You had better luck than we did!”

Blue Whisker and Shivering Rose hurried toward them. “Can we share a mouse?”

“Of course you can,” Thunderstar said, glancing at the rest of his expectant Clan. “Every cat has to share, but there should be enough for all of us to have something.” His gaze met Violet Dawn’s warmly admiring one across the camp, and his tail fluffed a little with pride.

But as she came toward the prey pile, Milkweed suddenly froze, one paw extended in the middle of a step, sniffing the air.

“What is it?” Owl Eyes asked.

The ginger-and-black she-cat’s eyes were wide with fright. “Do you smell that?” she asked. Thunderstar sniffed, but before he could identify the faint foul scent drifting on the air, a wild chorus of barking erupted outside camp.

Dogs!

Chapter Three

Thunderstar grabbed Patch Pelt, the closest kit, by the scruff of his neck. “Up,” he ordered through a mouthful of fur, swinging the tiny ginger-and-black tom-kit partway up the trunk of one of the trees at the edge of the clearing. Wide-eyed, the kit dug in his claws and scrambled up toward the birch’s branches. Next to him, Milkweed helped Beech Tail climb the same tree and followed her up, the trunk shaking under their weight.

If the dogs found their way into the camp, the kits would be safe. There were growls and heavy footsteps at the top of the ravine, accompanied by the sound of sniffing. The dogs wouldn’t be able to see them through the gorse and brush, so there was still a chance they would pass the ravine by.

Thunderstar climbed a few tail-lengths up the tree and turned to check on the rest of his Clan. Lightning Tail was helping Pink Eyes up a tall ash on the other side of the clearing, coaching the half-blind cat on where to put his paws as he climbed. Blue Whisker had already reached the branches above them.

Cloud Spots and Shivering Rose were just coming out of the medicine cats’ den, their faces sharp with fear as they turned toward another tall tree. Around the camp, the rest of the Clan was also rushing to climb out of the dogs’ reach.

Where was Violet Dawn? Thunderstar scanned the clearing for her. He heard a snarl from above, followed by renewed frantic barking. Had the dogs scented the Clan below?

A scattering of stones fell from the ledges above as three huge dogs charged down the sides of the ravine. They were even uglier than most dogs, with flat, broad, short-furred faces and powerful jaws that dripped drool as they charged toward the cats. Where had they come from? He’d never seen dogs like these before.

Thunderstar thought briefly of standing and fighting, but it was too great a risk—if his Clanmates were safe, any harm the dogs could do to their camp was a small price to pay.

Was every cat safe? There was a frightened yowl, and Thunderstar, his heart dropping, saw Violet Dawn, Owl Eyes, and Snail Shell huddled in the middle of the clearing by the warriors’ den, Clover leaning against them for support. Clover’s hurt leg must have held them up.

The dogs had almost made it to the bottom of the ravine. They didn’t seem to have noticed the four cats by the den yet; their eyes were fixed on the tree directly across the clearing, in which Lightning Tail, Blue Whisker, and Pink Eyes clung to branches out of the dogs’ reach.

I have to save Violet Dawn.

As the dogs’ paws touched the bottom of the ravine, Thunderstar flung himself toward them, pushing off the tree’s trunk with his powerful hind legs. He hit the ground with a jolt, but he didn’t stop, his paws pounding the earth as he ran directly at the dogs.

Oh, StarClan, I hope this works.

He caught a glimpse of long sharp teeth and gaping jaws as he raced toward the big dogs. They seemed surprised to have a cat come right at them, and their momentary hesitation saved him.

He caught a whiff of something foul and acrid—almost like the scent of a Thunderpath—as he dashed directly beneath the nose of the lead dog, and then he ran at top speed in the opposite direction from where the four cats huddled by the den.

I need to give Violet Dawn and the others time to get away. He was sure that his Clanmates were moving as quickly as they could, but Clover’s injury would slow them down. Weaving between the trees at the edge of the clearing, Thunderstar thought of Violet Dawn, and of their kits. Both he and his mate needed to survive this. Their kits had to be safely born, and he would not let them be fatherless.

He could feel the hot breath of the dog on his heels. It wasn’t snarling now—it was saving its breath for running, just like he was. It was too close. With a thrill of panic, Thunderstar realized that he wouldn’t be able to outrun it.

Instead, he swerved and ran straight at an ash tree. There was no time to climb. At the last moment, Thunderstar dodged, slipping past the trunk to one side. The dog couldn’t veer away in time. With a satisfying thump, it crashed headfirst into the tree. The second dog, following close behind, skidded right into it, and both went down in a chorus of snarls and a tangle of flailing legs.

Thunderstar scrambled up another tree and onto a branch. It was a lower branch than he would have preferred, but it didn’t matter—dogs might be fast and strong, but they were terrible climbers. Regaining their feet, the two dogs leaped, barking frantically, but they couldn’t reach him.

Panting, Thunderstar looked to see if he had distracted the dogs long enough for Violet Dawn and the others to get to safety.

Clover was halfway up a tree. But Violet Dawn, Snail Shell, and Owl Eyes were still on the ground, positioned protectively between the injured cat and the approaching third dog.

All three cats were backing away, their fur bristling and their tails puffed out, hissing and yowling to try to scare the dog off. But it kept stalking closer, its body low to the ground, its lips drawn back in a snarl. It’s hunting them like we hunt prey, Thunderstar thought with a shock of fear.

“Violet Dawn!” Thunderstar yowled. He scrambled to the end of his branch and flung himself to the next tree, catching hold of the end of one of its branches and clawing his way to the next. A surge of renewed barking came from below.

Racing to the end of the next branch, he leaped to another tree. Its trunk swayed dizzyingly below him and he almost lost his balance. Steadying himself, Thunderstar looked up in time to see Violet Dawn slash her claws across the angry dog’s face, aiming for its eyes. With a yelp, it fell back for a moment, and Violet Dawn shoved Snail Shell into the nearest tree and clawed her way up behind him, moving as fast as Thunderstar had ever seen her despite the clumsy weight of her rounded belly. Owl Eyes leaped after them, barely dodging the dog’s snapping jaws. A furious howl came from below.

Thunderstar scanned the clearing: There was no cat on the ground now. He could only hope that the whole Clan had escaped injury.

A few drops spattered onto the leaves around him, and then a heavy downpour picked up again. Thunderstar inched closer to the tree’s trunk as cold water streamed down his ears and dribbled off the ends of his whiskers. At least the dogs were getting just as wet as ThunderClan.

The rain kept falling, harder and harder, as the dogs paced the clearing below. Thunderstar shifted miserably on his branch and tried to peer across to the other trees to check on Violet Dawn, and on the rest of his Clanmates, but he could see very little through the sheets of driving rain. Gradually, shadows began to spread through the clearing.

After a long time, as darkness fell and the rain continued, the dogs finally wandered off, after a few last barks up at the unreachable cats. They looked as wet and muddy as he was, and Thunderstar hoped they were even more uncomfortable.

As soon as he could no longer hear them crashing through the undergrowth of the forest, Thunderstar leaped down into the clearing.

“I think it’s safe now,” he called, and his Clan gradually joined him, some dropping daringly from the branches above, the rest scrambling down tree trunks with varying amounts of caution. Thunderstar looked carefully around: Yes, they were all here, from tiny Patch Pelt and Beech Tail to Pink Eyes, the oldest cat in the Clan.

“Thank StarClan no cat was killed,” Milkweed said, her eyes wide.

“They scattered our prey everywhere, though,” Yew Tail said, poking disdainfully at a bedraggled shrew. “I don’t think we can eat this.”

Clover gingerly tested her paw against the ground, sheathing and unsheathing her claws. “Well, if I didn’t have a sprained paw before, I definitely have one now.”

Thunderstar pressed himself close to Violet Dawn’s side, and she leaned against him, nuzzling his shoulder. “We’re all okay,” she said soothingly. “We made it.”

For how long? Thunderstar wondered. Now those dogs know where we live.

The rain had cleared overnight, and the sun was shining. Normally, the ThunderClan cats would have stretched out in the sunshine and let it warm their pelts after a quarter moon of rain. But this morning every cat was on edge, scanning the treeline and listening with their ears pricked, wondering if the dogs were coming back.

“I’ve never seen dogs like that before.” The fur on Leaf’s shoulders bristled at the memory. “They were so vicious.”

“Their muzzles looked big enough to swallow us whole!” Blue Whisker mewed, her green eyes wide.

“I was brave, though, wasn’t I?” Snail Shell asked. “As brave as Lightning Tail and Thunderstar were when they saved Owl Eyes from the Twolegplace! I helped Violet Dawn and Owl Eyes protect Clover.”

“And I’m very grateful for it,” Clover replied warmly. She looked at the long scrapes the dogs’ claws had left in the ground beneath the trees and shuddered.

Thunderstar gestured with his tail for Violet Dawn and Lightning Tail to join him by his den.

“We might not be safe here anymore,” he announced quietly, and Violet Dawn dipped her head in agreement.

“Now that they know where we live, they could come back at any time,” she mewed.

“We can send out extra patrols to watch for them,” Lightning Tail suggested. “But dogs sometimes travel far with their Twolegs. They might not even live near here.”

“We should send out extra patrols,” Thunderstar agreed. “Since there’s been peace with the other Clans, we’ve gotten too complacent.” He looked around at his Clanmates, who were already beginning to relax as the warmth of the sunshine and the normal sounds of the forest soothed them. “It’s not even just those dogs. There are dangers out there we’re not watching for.” He looked from the beautiful amber gaze of his mate to the sympathetic green eyes of his deputy. There were so many dangers in the forest. How could he protect his Clan from all of them? Or his kits?

His own littermates, who he barely even remembered, had been killed by Twoleg monsters, along with his mother, when they were much smaller than Beech Tail and Patch Pelt. If something like that—if anything—happened to his own kits, or to Violet Dawn, Thunderstar didn’t think he could survive it.

“There have always been dangers in the forest,” Violet Dawn said gently. “We are much safer here than I ever was with Slash, or than you were when the Clans were at war and rogues roamed the forest. All we can do is be careful and alert.”

“We should go find them,” Thunderstar declared, and Lightning Tail cocked his ears questioningly.

“Go find the dogs?” he asked. “Have you gone mouse-brained?”

Thunderstar flicked his tail in irritation. “Maybe you’re right and they live with Twolegs far from here and we’ll never see them again,” he meowed. “But if that’s not true, we need to find their camp. If they’re too close, we’ll have to move ThunderClan.”

Lightning Tail’s eyes went round. “Move out of the ravine?”

“If we have to. If the dogs hunt near here, the ravine’s not safe anymore.”

“Is SkyClan safe?” Violet Dawn wondered. “They’re not far from us. We should warn them.”

Lightning Tail stood up. “We should warn all the Clans. They need to know if they might be in danger. I’ll send patrols to tell them to keep a sharp lookout.”

“Good idea,” Thunderstar agreed. “Send messengers to WindClan, ShadowClan, and RiverClan. But I’ll go to SkyClan myself.” He squared his shoulders, feeling resigned. He and Skystar tried to get along, but there was always tension between them. They had too long a history of hurts and betrayals. “I need to pay a visit to my father.”

Chapter Four

As Thunderstar traveled toward SkyClan’s territory, he kept his ears cocked and his eyes open, watching for any sign of the dogs that had attacked ThunderClan’s camp. Scenting the air, though, he smelled nothing other than the usual musty scents of the forest.

Violet Dawn had wanted him to take a patrol with him, but he couldn’t bear to leave the camp with fewer cats to protect it while he was gone. She had made him promise, though, her gaze wide and worried, that he would be on his guard.

As Thunderstar approached the hollow where SkyClan had their camp, he caught a glimpse of silver-and-white fur moving through the bracken.

“Hey!” a voice called, and the silver-and-white cat sped toward him. “Hi! Thunderstar!”

As she burst out of the bracken, he recognized Dew Petal, one of Skystar and Star Flower’s kits. She greeted him enthusiastically, her tail high in the air. “It’s my brother!” she called, and Honey Pelt, brother of ThunderClan’s own Blue Whisker, hurried out of the bracken after her.

Thunderstar blinked, a bit startled to hear Dew Petal call him brother. Skystar had fathered both of them, of course, but Dew Petal and her sister, Flower Foot, seemed much more like Skystar’s kits than Thunderstar ever had. Warmed by their greeting, he touched noses with both Dew Petal and Honey Pelt.

“How’re you?” Dew Petal asked. “Is Violet Dawn almost ready to have her kits? How’s ThunderClan?”

“I need to talk to Skystar about that, actually,” Thunderstar told them. “Are you two out here by yourselves?”

Dew Petal puffed out her chest with pride. “Skystar asked me to help train Honey Pelt to hunt. I’m one of the best hunters in our Clan!”

The dogs must not have come near SkyClan if Skystar is letting his own kits roam the forest alone, Thunderstar thought. Skystar would certainly never put Dew Petal in danger, or Honey Pelt, who he had raised as his own after Moth Flight gave him to SkyClan.

“You’d better come to the hollow with me,” he suggested. “Will you take me to Skystar?”

Both cats happily agreed, and they chattered about the latest happenings in SkyClan as they strolled with him toward their camp. Honey Pelt asked about Blue Whisker, and Thunderstar assured him that his sister was thriving in ThunderClan. Dew Petal bragged that Skystar had praised her for managing to catch a fat squirrel yesterday despite the rain.

“Skystar said I really helped the Clan yesterday by finding a big patch of tansy for Acorn Fur to have in case any cat gets hurt,” Honey Pelt retorted.

“It sounds like you’re both important to SkyClan,” Thunderstar mewed cheerfully. But there was a strange pang in his chest as he heard about the encouragement and praise Skystar heaped on these young cats. In the brief time he had spent in SkyClan, his father had been harsh in his treatment of Thunderstar, unforgiving at any sign of disagreement or disobedience. What would it have been like to have the same kind of relationship with Skystar as his younger kits did now?

Thunderstar flicked his ears, wishing the thought away. There was no use in digging up old prey now. Fatherhood didn’t come naturally to every tom, and Skystar had improved with time.

Even if it isn’t easy at first, I can learn to be a good father, like Skystar did, Thunderstar thought. He didn’t have to be perfect right away, although he privately vowed that he would at least be better than Skystar had been to him.

As they reached the edge of the hollow, Honey Pelt ran ahead, calling for Skystar. Dew Petal paused by Thunderstar’s side.

“Can I come and see the kits when they’re born?” she asked eagerly. “They’ll be my kin, too.”

Touched by the request, Thunderstar blinked at her fondly. “Of course you can,” he said.

Skystar strode out of his den toward them, and Dew Petal slipped away to join Honey Pelt at the prey pile, waving her tail to Thunderstar in farewell. Skystar looked a little thinner than he used to, Thunderstar thought, and age had dulled some of the shine of his thick gray fur, but his shoulders were still broad and his gaze as sharp as ever.

“Thunderstar,” he said, sounding pleased. “It’s good to see you outside of a full-moon Gathering. How is everything in ThunderClan?” Thunderstar hesitated, and a gleam of anxiety came into Skystar’s eyes. “Is Violet Dawn all right? No problems with the kits?”

“No, no, Violet Dawn’s fine,” Thunderstar said. “But we had some trouble yesterday.” He told Skystar about the dogs’ attack on the ThunderClan camp. “We wanted to warn you that they may still be nearby,” he finished. “I’ve never seen such vicious dogs. We were lucky no cat was killed.”

Skystar was looking away from Thunderstar, and his tail flicked indecisively, as if he was wondering whether to tell Thunderstar something. Thunderstar narrowed his gaze, struck by an unpleasant suspicion. “Did you already know these dogs were in the forest?” he asked.

Skystar was still avoiding Thunderstar’s gaze. “We’ve been scenting dogs here and there lately, but never too close to our camp, so we haven’t been worried.”

Thunderstar lashed his tail angrily. “Close to ThunderClan’s borders, I suppose? You’re never worried about anything unless it threatens your own Clan. You could have warned us.”

There was a genuine look of regret in Skystar’s eyes when he finally raised them to meet Thunderstar’s. “Believe me, Thunderstar, I would have told you if I’d thought your Clan was in danger. The scent seemed to have been carried here on the wind from far away. I didn’t think the dogs I smelled were a threat to any of us.”

“Well, they are,” Thunderstar said, his fur still ruffled. “We’re all going to have to be alert if we want to keep our Clanmates safe.”

“Their scent was very different from the scents of the forest,” Skystar said thoughtfully. “Almost as acrid as the scent of the Thunderpath. We would have noticed an animal that smelled that strange if they had been here before.”

Thunderstar’s pelt prickled with anxiety. “So they must have come a long way. If they’re brave enough to roam that far while they’re hunting, they won’t think anything of raiding our camps. Perhaps we should find where they live and teach them a lesson so they won’t dare to come near us again.”

Skystar stared at him doubtfully, and Thunderstar went on, thinking hard. “If we could get the other Clans and all attack them together…”

Skystar cut him off, flicking his ears dismissively. “That sounds like trying to get ourselves killed. SkyClan isn’t going to attack a pack of fierce dogs on their own territory.”

Thunderstar’s tail drooped. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d back away from a fight, Skystar,” he said. “But maybe you’re right. Even all the Clan cats together might struggle to defeat these dogs. And what if there are more of them?”

“I can show you where I last caught their scent,” Skystar offered. “Maybe we can figure out where they came from.” He glanced back at the cats sunning themselves and sharing prey in the SkyClan camp. “Tell Star Flower I went with Thunderstar and I’ll be back soon,” he called to Quick Water, and the gray-and-white she-cat twitched her whiskers in acknowledgment.

Skystar led Thunderstar back through the forest. When they reached the border with ThunderClan, he hesitated. “It was around here that I scented strange dogs,” he said, turning his face to the wind.

Thunderstar sniffed, too, and caught a whiff of the acrid dog-scent. It was weak, noticeable only on the odd burst of air, and he had to admit that if this was the only hint of the dogs he had gotten, he wouldn’t have been worried enough to alert the other Clans either.

He told Skystar this, and the older cat brightened. “Let’s try to follow the scent,” he said.

Stopping and sniffing the breeze, following each hint of dog-scent, Thunderstar and Skystar passed through ThunderClan’s territory as far as the Thunderpath that marked their border with ShadowClan. Thunderstar pressed his paws against the Thunderpath, feeling for the vibration that would mean monsters were approaching, and then they quickly crossed.

Skystar was as fast as ever, Thunderstar noted. His long legs still moved surely and steadily, covering as much territory with each stride as Thunderstar’s could. His father wasn’t really getting old, not yet.

Skirting ShadowClan’s territory, Thunderstar wrinkled his nose in disgust as they passed the foul-smelling Carrionplace. “I can’t smell anything here except the usual stench,” he said.

“This way, I think,” Skystar said.

They walked a long way, the sun climbing to sunhigh and then beginning its descent on the other side of the sky. They had passed out of Clan territory, and out of anywhere Thunderstar had traveled before. Thunderstar’s paw pads were beginning to ache, but the dog-scent was getting stronger.

As they topped a hill, the valley below came into view and both cats froze.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Thunderstar murmured, and Skystar nodded.

Below them, a vast stretch of land, made of the same black stuff as the Thunderpaths, spread out behind a glittering silver fence. All over it, as still as if they were sleeping, were Twoleg monsters. Not normal monsters, though.

“They’re dying,” Thunderstar whispered. “Or already dead.” These monsters would never race down a Thunderpath again. No Twoleg would ride inside them. The eyes of one of the great beasts were broken into pieces. Another gaped open, the top of what must have been its mouth torn off completely. Others were missing their round black feet or were only strangely shining bones.

This was the source of the strange acrid smell Thunderstar had not been able to identify, the smell the dogs had carried with them that was almost like the scent of the Thunderpath, but not quite. Mixed in with it came the stench of dogs and, in the distance, a faint, fierce barking.

“This is it,” Thunderstar meowed. “This is where they come from.”

Chapter Five

“I never thought that Twoleg monsters could die,” Violet Dawn mewed, twitching her tail thoughtfully. Thunderstar had pulled her and Lightning Tail aside as soon as he returned to camp, and now all three were sitting outside Thunderstar’s den and discussing his and Skystar’s discovery.

“So we’ve found where the dogs live, but now what?” Lightning Tail asked. “Do you really think we should move ThunderClan’s camp? If that’s what we’re going to do, we should do it soon so we have all of greenleaf to settle into a new camp.”

Thunderstar shook his head. “I don’t want to move until it’s clear we don’t have any other choice. There’s no other place in ThunderClan’s territory that would make as good a camp as the ravine.” He hesitated. Violet Dawn wasn’t going to like what he was going to say next, but he was sure it was the right thing to do. “Before we think about moving, I want to learn more about these dogs. If I go into that Twolegplace where they live, maybe I can find out more about them.”

Lightning Tail cocked his head curiously. “You’re going to walk all that way just to look at a bunch of dogs? What good will that do?”

“I don’t know,” Thunderstar said. “I’m not sure anything will come of it, but it’s better than just sitting here waiting for them to come back. Or moving the whole Clan when we don’t know if a new camp would be any safer.”

Violet Dawn twitched her ears. “Are you hoping a good idea will just suggest itself once you’re there?”

Thunderstar hunched his shoulders, feeling stubborn. “I want to do something. The more I learn about these dogs, the easier it will be to figure out the best way to fight them.”

Violet Dawn stroked her tail along Thunderstar’s side, looking worried. “I’m afraid you’re going to get hurt. Those dogs are so dangerous.”

“If you’re going, you’re not going alone,” Lightning Tail said fiercely. “The two of us will be stronger together. I’m your deputy; I should be with you, supporting you.”

It would be so much better to have Lightning Tail with me, Thunderstar thought. From their kithood adventures to the fiercest battles of carving out the Clans’ territory, Thunderstar had always fought better, climbed higher, thought more quickly, with Lightning Tail by his side. But when he looked at Violet Dawn, her sides rounded with his kits, he knew he had to refuse. “I need you to look after Violet Dawn,” he said. “You’re the only one I trust to make sure she’s safe. You’re right, you are my deputy—so you’re the one who has to keep the Clan safe when I’m not there.”

“I can keep the Clan safest by going with you to where the danger is. Owl Eyes can watch out for the Clan, and Cloud Spots will make sure Violet Dawn’s healthy,” Lightning Tail argued. “She doesn’t need me.”

Thunderstar shook his head. “They’re good cats, but I’ll feel better if you’re in charge. Cloud Spots isn’t a fighter, and Owl Eyes isn’t as experienced as you are. I need Violet Dawn to be safe.”

“Do I get a say in this?” Violet Dawn huffed. “I’m having kits, not becoming one.”

Thunderstar licked at his chest, embarrassed. Violet Dawn had fought off one of the dogs herself so that she, Snail Shell, and Owl Eyes could escape. She wasn’t fragile or helpless. “You’re right,” he agreed. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you, and I’ll feel better if Lightning Tail is here.”

“Well, I’m worried about you, too,” Violet Dawn mewed, the end of her tail twitching. “You’re walking into some kind of weird Twoleg camp. All we know is that a pack of vicious dogs lives there. And I will feel much better if Lightning Tail is with you.” She looked at him pleadingly. “You’re my Clan leader as well as my mate, and I respect you, but please don’t walk into this alone. I want you to come home.”

Thunderstar hated to leave Violet Dawn without the very best protection she could have in his absence, but he had to admit to himself that she was right.

Leaping lightly to the top of the Highrock, he called out to his Clan. “All cats gather here beneath the Highrock! I have something to tell you.” He saw Beech Tail and Patch Pelt, about to be bundled into the nursery, turn toward him with sleepy faces, and amended, “I mean, all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the Highrock.”

He waited as his Clan, ears perked with interest, gathered in the clearing below him.

“Tomorrow morning, Lightning Tail and I are going to travel out of the forest for a couple of days,” he announced when they had all settled down and given him their full attention. “We’re going to figure out what to do about the dogs that attacked our camp. While we’re gone, Violet Dawn will be in charge.” He found Owl Eyes in the crowd and continued, “Owl Eyes will act as her deputy, and you should listen to him just like you’d listen to Lightning Tail. And Cloud Spots will advise them just like he would us.” Cloud Spots nodded to him across the clearing while Owl Eyes sat up straight, proudly holding his head high.

“Good luck, Thunderstar,” Apple Blossom called enthusiastically, and there were yowls of agreement from the crowd of cats.

“Thank you,” Thunderstar meowed, and leaped down from the Highrock. His eyes met Lightning Tail’s and he knew he and his deputy were thinking the same thing: They were definitely going to need that luck.

The next day, the two cats passed the Carrionplace as the sun was climbing the sky. The sun was warm, but a cool breeze ruffled Thunderstar’s fur. It was a good day for walking.

Lightning Tail stopped and sniffed the breeze. “Do you smell that?”

“The Carrionplace?” Thunderstar asked, his face wrinkling in disgust. “Sure, my nose isn’t broken.”

“No, not that.” Lightning Tail sniffed again. “It smells like those dogs. But something else…”

Thunderstar could smell it now, too, and he shuddered. “Strange cats. And blood. A lot of blood.”

Lightning Tail shifted nervously. “Maybe we should go another way.”

“No.” Thunderstar scented the air carefully. “It’s old scent. They’re not here anymore, not the cats or the dogs. We should see what happened.”

Following the stale scents, Thunderstar and Lightning Tail crossed a long stretch of open land until they came to a small dip in the ground.

“This was some kind of camp,” Lightning Tail said softly. There were the remains of several nests tucked beneath a barberry bush, but they had been torn apart, and the scent of the dogs was heavy in the air. A group of rogues must have lived here. Cat fear-scent was heavy, too, and Thunderstar’s pelt prickled uneasily.

“I hope they got away,” he said, but Lightning Tail was staring at a ragged bundle of brown fur on the other side of the bush.

“They didn’t. Not all of them,” he said.

They approached cautiously. Close up, they could see that the bundle of fur was a small brown she-cat, her face fixed in an expression of terror. She was dead. The scent of the dogs around her and the bloody toothmarks in her pelt made it all too clear how she had been killed. Thunderstar shuddered. It must have been a terrible way to die. And Violet Dawn could have died the same way, or any of the cats in ThunderClan, if they hadn’t been able to get to the trees in time.

“The other cats ran away and left her,” Lightning Tail mewed indignantly. “Fox-hearted rogues.”

“They were scared,” Thunderstar replied. “You’ve seen what these dogs are like.”

“If they were Clan cats, they would have fought to save their Clanmate,” Lightning Tail argued staunchly.

He was right. Thunderstar couldn’t imagine abandoning a Clanmate to this fate: He would have fought beside her, and, if there was no way to save her, he would never have left her body to lie outside the camp like crow-food. But he couldn’t blame the rogues for their terror.

“We should bury her,” he murmured. “We can at least give her that.”

Sunhigh passed as the two cats dug the rogue’s grave. They didn’t talk much as they dug, and dirt caked uncomfortably beneath Thunderstar’s claws. His heart felt as heavy as a stone: The rogue’s death made it clearer than ever how dangerous these dogs were, and how unlikely it was that Thunderstar and his Clanmates would be able to fight against them. Where would ThunderClan go, if they had to leave their comfortable camp in the ravine? And what if the dogs found them again after that?

The rogue’s body was light as they tumbled her into her grave, and Thunderstar’s chest ached with sorrow at how small she seemed. He bowed his head. “StarClan,” he said, “I don’t know who this cat was. She wasn’t a Clan cat, and so maybe she won’t be able to walk among you. But please help her to find her own hunting grounds.”

The shadows were getting longer and their steps were heavy by the time they reached the hill overlooking the strange Twolegplace. This time, the strangeness of the dead monsters seemed less important. The dogs were walking among them, weaving their way between the monsters and around the Twoleg dwelling they surrounded.

They were even bigger than Thunderstar remembered, and their stench wafted up to the cats so clearly that Thunderstar wanted to cover his nose and turn away. Their shoulders were broad, and bulging muscles moved under their short fur—they looked very strong.

“There are four of them now,” Lightning Tail muttered, and Thunderstar realized he was right—there was one more dog than there had been in the attack on ThunderClan’s camp. The new dog was even larger than the other three and, as the cats watched, he growled and snapped at one of his packmates. The smaller dog snarled back, and soon the two were rolling in the dirt, struggling and yelping as the other dogs barked.

“They don’t even like each other,” Thunderstar noted.

Suddenly, the door of the Twoleg dwelling slammed open with a bang and a pair of Twolegs burst out. They were jabbering loudly and angrily, and one grabbed a piece broken off from one of the monster skeletons and used it to hit the fighting dogs. With a howl of pain, the dogs separated, and the Twolegs each grabbed one by the collar, continuing to jabber at each other.

“Is that what Twolegs are like?” Lightning Tail asked, shocked. “Why would any cat want to be a kittypet?”

“I don’t think all Twolegs are like this,” Thunderstar mewed uneasily. He hated those dogs, but he still couldn’t be glad to see them treated so cruelly.

The Twolegs began dragging the two dogs inside their dwelling, calling crossly to the other two, who followed. As the door closed behind them, Thunderstar’s heart began to pound faster. “They’re all inside. This is our chance to check things out.”

Signaling for Lightning Tail to follow, Thunderstar crept down the hill toward the Twoleg dwelling. He tried to keep a wary eye on both the door to the den and the dead monsters around it, but nothing stirred. The two cats halted by the fence of glittering silver strands that surrounded the whole Twolegplace.

Lightning Tail put out a tentative paw to touch one of the strands and immediately pulled it back. “Ouch,” he muttered. The silver was twisted into sharp knots at intervals. “How’re those dogs getting out? I couldn’t get through that, and they’re a lot bigger than I am.”

“Maybe the Twolegs let them out?” Thunderstar suggested, but Lightning Tail shook his head.

“I doubt it. Remember when dogs have come to the forest before?” he asked. “There are always Twolegs somewhere behind them, calling and whistling for them to come back. Why would these Twolegs let their dogs run free? They don’t seem like they want the dogs to be happy.”

“Yeah,” Thunderstar mewed thoughtfully. “I bet they’re supposed to patrol around here and guard the Twoleg den.”

The two cats began to walk alongside the silver strands, inspecting them carefully. They were far too high to jump. Dogs were good diggers, but the ground here was hard, and there was no sign of a tunnel.

They turned a corner, and Thunderstar spotted a bush growing close up beside the fence, long creepers climbing up and twining themselves among the silver strands. The strands were fully concealed behind the overgrown bush, so Thunderstar pushed his way through the branches for a closer look.

Low down, hidden by the bush, the silver strands were torn and hanging, leaving a hole big enough for even the largest of the dogs.

“Lightning Tail,” he called. “Over here.”

Thunderstar and Lightning Tail gazed at the opening. Now that they had found it, how could they prevent the dogs from coming through again?

“We can’t mend the strands,” Lightning Tail mewed at last. “What if we blocked the hole with something?”

“But what?” Thunderstar asked. He thought wildly of rolling a fallen tree across it to shut the dogs in, but they had no fallen tree and, if they had, he couldn’t imagine being able to move one with only the two of them.

“Rocks?” Lightning Tail asked dubiously. “Big ones?”

“But the dogs are stronger than we are,” Thunderstar objected. “Anything we can move, they can move.” He thought. “Maybe a whole heap of rocks? If we could pile enough together, the dogs might not be able to get through.”

Lightning Tail flexed his claws. “I don’t know if it’ll work, but I can’t think of anything better. And we need to get moving before the dogs come back.”

“Maybe the Twolegs will keep them shut in until tomorrow,” Thunderstar suggested hopefully.

Finding stones heavy enough to make a difference but light enough for Thunderstar and Lightning Tail to roll or push up to the fence was difficult, tedious work. Soon, both cats’ fur was heavy with dirt and their paws were sore from prying stones out of the ground.

“This won’t work,” Lightning Tail finally declared, eyeing the small heap of stones they had managed to gather. He shoved one of the larger stones to lie more securely against the edge of the hole, and another stone fell, rattling down the side of the heap and landing beside them with a thump. Thunderstar sighed and rolled it to a new position.

“Even if all it does is slow the dogs down a little, it’ll be better than nothing,” he mewed. But he felt dispirited. They had been working for a long time, and the pile of stones was nowhere close to blocking the hole. They needed a new plan. His eye fell upon a tangle of brambles growing farther along, close to the fence.

“What about this?” Thunderstar carefully bit off one of the brambles close to its root and carried it to the hole. Pushing the end of the bramble through a gap between the silver strands above the hole, he strung it across, weaving the other end through another gap in the strands near the bottom. “If they run into this, it’ll scratch their eyes. With enough of these here, they may decide it’s not worth it.”

Lightning Tail cocked his head and looked at the brambles. “It’s a good idea,” he said. “A scratch on the eye will make them think twice.” He bit off a stem and followed Thunderstar’s example, draping the bramble carefully across the hole.

They had both collected more brambles and were heading for the hole again when they heard a sudden bang. Thunderstar froze, the fur on his shoulders bristling with fear. The dogs burst out of the Twoleg den, barking loudly.

As the cats watched, the largest dog raised his head, sniffing the air. There aren’t enough brambles, Thunderstar thought, his heart sinking. Past the silver strands, through the hole, the dog’s eyes met Thunderstar’s.

With a snarl, he charged.

Thunderstar dropped the bramble. “Run!” he yowled.

Chapter Six

Thunderstar ran, Lightning Tail beside him. His heart was pounding and his sore paws ached as he pushed himself harder. The land here was flat and open, with no trees to climb, but if they could make it back up the hill toward home, they would be able to climb out of the dogs’ reach. It seemed so far, though. Thunderstar stretched his legs, panting, willing himself to run faster.

A dog cut him off, growling. Thunderstar swerved and tried to run past it, and saw Lightning Tail dodge after him. But there was another dog blocking their path. Thunderstar doubled back, only to see yet another dog behind him. The four dogs were approaching from four different directions, drool dripping from their mouths as they herded the cats closer together.

We’re trapped between them like rabbits, Thunderstar thought, panicked. The gaps between the dogs weren’t large enough for them to run through. He and Lightning Tail had worked together to fight dogs in the past, but all their practiced maneuvers assumed there’d only be one dog after them, or at most two.

“What do we do?” Lightning Tail asked, his eyes wide. Yowling a challenge, he swiped his claws at one of the dogs. It fell back for a moment, but another dog darted in from the side immediately, its jaws open wide.

“Dogs are dumb, right?” Thunderstar panted. “Let’s see if we can trick them. When I run, you run the other way, up the hill.”

“Okay,” Lightning Tail agreed, and both cats hesitated for a moment, back to back. The dogs moved in closer still, baring their huge teeth.

Thunderstar bolted forward. The dogs, barking, surged toward him. I hope Lightning Tail makes it, he thought. He just needed to get the dogs to move toward him, so he and Lightning Tail would be able to get through the gap they left behind. The next part of Thunderstar’s plan would be trickier.

Twisting himself so quickly that his front paws left the ground, Thunderstar doubled back. With luck, he’d be able to follow Lightning Tail’s path before the dogs could close the gap and catch up with him.

Lightning Tail had made it out of the circle of dogs, Thunderstar saw with relief. His deputy was streaking toward the hill, already some distance away. Thunderstar put on speed, rushing past the dogs as they charged at him.

I’m going to make it! Thunderstar was getting closer to the hill.

A sharp pain shot through his tail, and he was jerked suddenly backward, his paws scrabbling against the earth. His feint had cost him too much time, he realized, and now the lead dog had an agonizing grip on his tail.

He struggled, trying to turn and swipe at the dog’s eyes, but he was yanked off his paws and fell heavily to the ground.

Another dog closed in and a second set of teeth pierced his pelt, tearing into Thunderstar’s shoulder. Dark spots floated across his vision. Weakly, he struggled. I have to get free! I have to get home, to Violet Dawn and my kits.

Dimly, he saw a black shape racing toward him. Lightning Tail. No, he thought. Save yourself! Don’t come back for me.

But Lightning Tail was already there. In a flurry of claws, he flew at the muzzle of the larger dog biting Thunderstar. The dog dropped Thunderstar to the ground and turned to face the new threat.

With a fresh burst of energy, Thunderstar struggled to his paws and fought beside his deputy, slashing at the dogs’ eyes and noses. A dog gnawed at his leg, snarling, shaking him. Thunderstar pulled away, feeling his flesh tear, and spotted an opening between the dogs. “Run,” he gasped. “Lightning Tail, run!”

Together, they sped through the gap and ran and ran and ran. Thunderstar felt like his paws were barely touching the ground. He had never run so fast, without even paying attention to where he was going. The only thing he cared about was getting far away from those terrible dogs.

Finally, Thunderstar and Lightning Tail halted at the foot of a huge oak. They were among trees again, and the dogs had been left behind or had given up.

As soon as he stopped running, Thunderstar began to shake. Black spots filled his vision again, and he blinked them away. He had forgotten his pain in the surge of panic as they ran, but now every bit of his body hurt. He sank to the ground, and Lightning Tail collapsed beside him.

“Thank you,” Thunderstar said hoarsely. “You saved me. You shouldn’t have come back for me, but I’m grateful.” He licked his friend’s shoulder.

“I couldn’t leave you. That’s not what a Clan cat does.” Lightning Tail’s green eyes were distant and half closed, and Thunderstar realized he was wounded, blood welling from his side. Lightning Tail had been bitten, too.

There’s too much blood. It’s coming too fast, Thunderstar thought. It was a distant thought, as if he were drifting away, but he felt terribly, terribly sorry. Why should Lightning Tail get hurt helping him? Thunderstar was the leader. It was his duty to protect all the cats of his Clan.

He tried to shift closer to Lightning Tail, so that he could curl around him and try to stop the steady gush of blood, but he couldn’t move. Thunderstar became aware that warm liquid was running down his own legs, that it must be his own blood drenching the ground below them, too.

It was a great effort to speak. “Are we dying?” he whispered.

It felt like a long time before Lightning Tail answered, and his voice was weak and strained. “StarClan gave you nine lives, remember? You’ll go on, for the Clan.”

Thunderstar remembered now. He had been told that Windstar had been hurt, badly. Her medicine cat, her daughter Moth Flight, had taken her to the Moonstone. There, StarClan had healed her and given her nine lives, so that she could lead and protect her Clan. He had traveled to the Moonstone himself, with Cloud Spots, and cats from StarClan—dead cats he had known and loved, including his almost-forgotten mother and his beloved mentor Gray Wing—had appeared and each given him a life.

But he had not seen Windstar die and come back to life. He had believed what StarClan told him, but he had never seen a cat come back from the dead.

“I don’t know if it’s true,” he mumbled. “I hope it is, but I don’t know for sure.” His heart ached. “If I die and I don’t come back, Violet Dawn will be alone.” I’ll never meet my kits.

He felt his deputy’s tail fall across his back. “I believe it’s true,” Lightning Tail said quietly. “You’ve been the best leader I could have asked for, the strongest cat I know. StarClan will save you.”

The world was growing dim before Thunderstar’s eyes. “If I was a good leader,” he whispered, “it’s only because I had you to rely on. I could never have formed ThunderClan without you.”

There was no answer from Lightning Tail. The world was being eaten up by a thick gray nothingness, like fog. Thunderstar blinked slowly, and shadows crept in, the gray replaced by darkness.

When Thunderstar blinked his eyes open again, he found himself in a sunny clearing. Birds were singing overhead, and the air was rich with prey-scent. Leaves rustled in the trees around him. He struggled to his feet and stretched experimentally. Nothing hurt.

Fur brushed against his, and he realized Lightning Tail was beside him. The two cats looked at each other, their eyes wide.

“How did we get here?” Thunderstar wondered. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know, but it’s nice, isn’t it?” Lightning Tail said. He flicked his tail and turned around, sniffing the air. “No dogs.”

“We have to figure out how to get to ThunderClan from here,” Thunderstar said, then hesitated. “No, we still need to get rid of those dogs. We’ll have to go back.” His heart sank at the idea.

“Yes, Thunderstar, you have to go back,” a quiet voice mewed from behind them.

Thunderstar spun around. A sleek dark gray tom had emerged from the forest and was watching them with calm golden eyes.

“Gray Wing!” Thunderstar gasped. Joy shot through his pelt. It was his foster father, the cat who had raised him. And he was no misty silver spirit cat, but as solid and real as he had ever been. Thunderstar rushed toward him and rubbed his cheek against Gray Wing’s. Lightning Tail, who had known Gray Wing all his life, who had been taught to hunt by the older cat when he was just a kit, ran toward him, too, touching his nose to Gray Wing’s in greeting.

“What’s going on?” Thunderstar said. “Where are we?”

Gray Wing flicked his tail. “Don’t you know?”

An idea occurred to Thunderstar, but he pushed it away. It wasn’t possible.

But Gray Wing was dead. Thunderstar had seen him die, gasping for breath as the illness he had fought for so long finally claimed him.

“You seem well,” he said tentatively, ignoring Gray Wing’s question for now. “You’re not sick anymore?”

Gray Wing’s whiskers twitched in amusement. “No cat is sick here,” he said. “And prey never runs short, and there are no dangers to guard against.”

Lightning Tail sat down abruptly, as if his legs had given out under him. “We’re in StarClan? We’re dead, then.”

Gray Wing tilted his head thoughtfully. “Yes,” he said. “And no. Lightning Tail, you can join StarClan now. Hunt with us, walk with your friends in a forest where there is nothing to fear. Your parents, Jackdaw’s Cry and Hawk Swoop, are here, and they will be so glad to see you.”

Lightning Tail’s eyes glistened with emotion. Thunderstar knew how Lightning Tail had mourned his parents, killed in the first battle between the cats before the Clans were formed.

Gray Wing went on. “But Thunderstar, you have to go back. Your next life is about to begin.”

“What?” Thunderstar burst out. “I get to be alive again, and Lightning Tail has to stay dead? That’s not fair! He only died because he saved me.” A new thought struck him. “And he didn’t have to, did he? I would have come back to life?”

Gray Wing shook his head. “If you hadn’t escaped those dogs, they could have killed you again and again. Lightning Tail truly did save you.” He looked at the black cat proudly. “And there is nothing more important than protecting the cats you love.”

Lightning Tail stepped toward Thunderstar, his green eyes shining. “StarClan gave you nine lives for a reason. ThunderClan needs its leader. You must go on. You’ll be a good father to your kits and keep looking after your Clan.”

“But I can’t do it without you,” Thunderstar pleaded. Lightning Tail had been beside him every step of the way, since they were kits together. “You’re my deputy. You’re the only one I can trust to help me lead.”

“I expect I’ll be watching over you from StarClan,” Lightning Tail replied, glancing at Gray Wing, who nodded. “And you’ll find the right cat to be your new deputy. But I will always be right beside you, Thunderstar.”

Thunderstar opened his mouth to protest again, but it was too late. He felt as if he was rushing forward, even though he wasn’t moving. The pleasant sunny clearing whirled dizzyingly around him, and then everything went dark.

Thunderstar blinked his eyes open. He felt groggy, as if he was waking from a deep sleep, and refreshed, as if it had been the best sleep of his life. It was almost dark, evening sliding into night. Where was he?

Memories began to come back to him: the dogs, the chase. He climbed to his feet. Nothing hurt now. Had he died? Had StarClan brought him back? As soon as he thought it, he knew, with a deep certainty, that it was true. He almost purred with excitement.

Then the last of his memories fell into place, and he froze, horrified. The dogs caught us both. Lightning Tail. Where is Lightning Tail?

Looking around, he saw Lightning Tail on the ground to his right, a bit farther away than he remembered. Is he alive? He whispered his friend’s name, approaching slowly.

Lightning Tail wasn’t breathing. Thunderstar nosed gently at his face, but he was cold and stiff. Already, he smelled wrong.

A great pain shot through Thunderstar’s chest. It wasn’t fair. He was alive but brave Lightning Tail was dead.

Night had fallen, and it was dark, except for the light of the half-moon above them. Thunderstar lay down beside the body of his deputy, their fur touching. Tonight, he would not sleep. He would not leave Lightning Tail alone, not yet. He would keep his Clanmate company for one last night. He would hold vigil and watch over his friend.

Chapter Seven

As the sun rose, Thunderstar got to his feet, stretching wearily. He had spent the night lying close beside Lightning Tail, remembering his deputy. They had always been together; when they were kits, the older cats had joked that they were a storm in the making. It seemed so unfair that Lightning Tail was dead and Thunderstar alive.

Thunderstar looked down at Lightning Tail’s body. He looked peaceful at least, his bright green eyes closed and his strong body at rest. Thunderstar, too, felt more at peace than he had the night before. Spending the night watching over his friend one more time had been the right thing to do.

But now it was time to bury Lightning Tail and return home. He would have to carry the news to ThunderClan that their much-loved deputy was dead.

“No,” Thunderstar said, realizing. He couldn’t go home, not yet. Lightning Tail had died trying to protect their Clan, and their job wasn’t finished. Thunderstar was going to have to find a way to stop the dogs before they invaded ThunderClan’s territory again. He couldn’t let them hurt any more of his Clanmates.

The sun was climbing higher every moment that he hesitated. The more time that passed, the more likely it was that the dogs would escape through that hole again.

Lightning Tail needed to be buried, but he would have wanted Thunderstar to wait until their mission had been accomplished. Thunderstar couldn’t bear to leave him exposed, though—he knew there were birds that fed on the dead.

Clumps of long grass grew nearby, and Thunderstar bit through some stalks and spread them over Lightning Tail’s body, concealing it. There. That would have to do for now.

“I’ll be back,” he said softly, and turned toward the strange Twolegplace once more.

He would take a different route this time, he decided, just in case the dogs were tracking them. Skirting the open stretch of land they had run over yesterday, Thunderstar walked up a gradual incline, until he was looking down on the field of dead monsters from a hill above them. There was a good-sized rock perched at the top of the hill, and Thunderstar leaped onto it to get a better look.

As he watched, the door of the Twoleg dwelling opened and the four dogs raced out, barking and yelping. Thunderstar stiffened: He could see the place where the hole in the silver strands was from here. Would the dogs come through it? Would they see him? He shuddered.

But there was an angry shout from inside the dwelling and the dogs hesitated, then turned to cluster around the door. One of the Twolegs came out, shoving the dogs out of the way before dropping something in front of them. They rushed forward and appeared to be eating—their Twoleg must have given them food.

What could Thunderstar do? The problem was the hole. If it wasn’t there, the dogs would never be able to venture back to the forest. But blocking it with stones and brambles clearly wouldn’t have worked, even if they had finished. The dogs had broken through their pile of rocks so easily… They hadn’t had the time, or the strength, to make a real barrier. And without Lightning Tail, everything would be twice as hard and take twice as long.

What if I had one really big stone, one big enough to cover the hole? Thunderstar’s tail twitched with excitement. He and Lightning Tail hadn’t been strong enough to move a stone that big. But he was sitting on one—and it was on a hill, directly upslope from the hole. What if he could roll it down? He jumped off the stone so he could inspect it more clearly.

Looking at the base of the stone, Thunderstar felt hopeful for the first time since he had lain down by Lightning Tail’s body. The earth below the stone was wet and muddy, soft from the days of rain. He scooped away some earth from in front of the stone with his paw: It wasn’t set too deeply. He could feel the stone’s edge just a few paw-lengths below.

He quickly dug more dirt from in front of the stone. After a bit of digging, the stone tilted dangerously forward. Thunderstar jumped back quickly, but the stone stilled again.

He ran around behind it. The edge of the stone was sticking up from the earth. If I can get something underneath on this side, maybe I can get it to start rolling. Thunderstar looked around. A stick, maybe.

He found a thick, long branch beneath a nearby tree and wedged one end beneath the stone. This would be easier if I wasn’t alone, he thought, with a pang of sorrow. Would he miss Lightning Tail at every turn from now on? Thunderstar threw his weight against the far end of the branch. Gradually, the stone tipped farther and farther forward.

At last it fell, leaving a gaping muddy pit behind, and began to roll down the hill. Excited, Thunderstar jumped over the pit to watch the stone’s progress. The hill was steep here, and the stone picked up speed as it rolled toward the Twoleg dwelling.

It was working! Thunderstar began to run after the stone as it tumbled. Could it be this easy?

But the stone must have hit a branch or rock, because it veered off course suddenly. Wobbling, it rolled a bit farther, then fell over with a thump.

No! Thunderstar ran to the stone. It had fallen on its side, its muddy edge now up in the air. There was no space to get a stick under it here, and even if he could start it rolling again, its path would no longer take it toward the hole in the fence. He put his paws on the stone, testing its weight, but he couldn’t shift it at all, not even with all his strength.

I have to think of something else. Keeping low, Thunderstar approached the strange Twolegplace from downwind. With luck, the dogs wouldn’t see him coming.

They weren’t eating anymore. They were sprawled in the sunshine between the dead monsters. Thunderstar looked at them with fear and hatred. The largest one’s eyes were closed, while one of the others was beating its stubby tail in a steady rhythm against the ground. They were peaceful now, enjoying the sun’s warmth while Lightning Tail was dead. Thunderstar shut his eyes for a moment as another wave of sorrow washed over him.

A Twoleg yowled something, sharp and angry, and Thunderstar’s eyes shot open. Had it spotted him? No, he could see that the door to the Twoleg den was open, but the Twolegs must be inside. There was no sign of them among the monsters.

They were unpleasant Twolegs, Thunderstar thought, and he was almost sure they had no idea the dogs could sneak out through the fence whenever they wanted. If the dogs were supposed to guard the dead monsters, the Twolegs wouldn’t want them wandering off.

If the Twolegs had patrolled their territory properly, they would have seen the hole, but Thunderstar had always heard that Twolegs were lazy and unobservant. But what if he could show the Twolegs the hole?

Thunderstar realized what he would have to do. Standing up, he swallowed hard and began to walk closer to the Twolegplace. His paws were heavy and reluctant. These dogs had already killed him once.

Stopping outside the barrier, Thunderstar put a paw against the silver strands. They had sharp barbs on them like thorns, but he saw that he could clamber up the fence without touching those, if he was careful. What if the dogs saw him before he’d done what he had to do? He would have to be fast.

He walked to another part of the fence, closer to the door of the Twoleg den. The closer he was to the Twolegs when he started, the better. As he slipped one paw onto a strand, he was already looking for another smooth spot. He climbed, at first hesitantly, then more quickly as he realized the silver thorns appeared in a pattern, each the same distance away from the others. He kept his ears pricked: Surely the dogs would bark if they spotted him.

Thunderstar reached the top and balanced for a moment on the topmost strand, which swayed beneath his feet. The door to the Twoleg den was straight ahead of him. The dogs were farther away, and the bodies of several monsters lay between them and Thunderstar. This might work. He took a deep breath and leaped down into the place of the dead monsters.

Landing lightly just in front of the open Twoleg door, Thunderstar wrinkled his nose in disgust at the scents that surrounded him: the strange smell of Twolegs, the rank smell of the dogs. And over everything, the reek of Thunderpaths. It must come from the dead monsters, he thought, and it was so strong here that the dogs carried the scent with them wherever they went.

He could hear the Twolegs moving about inside their den. Bracing himself, Thunderstar opened his mouth and let out the loudest yowl he could. He had to get their attention.

There was a crash as something fell inside the Twoleg place, then a startled voice. Almost at the same time, there was a chorus of angry barks. Still yowling, Thunderstar took off, running away from the dogs, around the Twoleg den.

Please let the Twolegs come out to see what’s happening. Please let them care what the dogs do.

He could hear Twoleg footsteps and excited voices. They must be coming out. But he could hear the snarling dogs much closer, their paw steps getting louder. Thunderstar whipped around another corner of the Twoleg dwelling and leaped up onto a dead monster.

It was hard and surprisingly hot under his paws. What if it’s not dead? But no, it was completely still beneath him; the body must simply have soaked up the warmth of the sun.

Paws scrabbled against one end of the dead monster as the largest dog tried to haul himself up onto it. Thunderstar risked a glance over his shoulder. The Twolegs were running around the corner, not far away. Now was his chance. Thunderstar leaped from the back of the monster and shot toward the hole in the fence.

It was wide enough for him to pass through easily, but as he sped through it, something scratched his shoulder. One of the brambles Lightning Tail and I put there, he realized with another pang of sorrow. He kept running, expecting at every moment to feel fangs ripping through his pelt.

But as he streaked up the hill, he realized that he couldn’t hear the dogs behind him. And he was only a few tail-lengths from the safety of the trees now. He was going to make it. With a long leap, he dug his claws into the trunk of a tall ash tree and scrambled up to the highest branch that would support his weight.

His heart was pounding in his chest and he was gasping for breath, but he was safe for now. Climbing farther out onto the branch, he looked back at the Twolegplace.

The dogs had not chased him through the hole. Instead, the Twolegs were each holding on to two dogs’ collars as they spoke, pointing at the hole. After a while, one of the Twolegs spoke sternly to the dogs until they were all sitting; then he went into the Twoleg den and came back out with a new length of silver strands. With many harsh noises, he began to fit it across the hole.

It worked, Thunderstar thought, dizzy with relief. The Twolegs hadn’t known the dogs were getting out through the hole in the fence, and now that Thunderstar had shown them, they were fixing the hole.

If this had happened yesterday, he would have been happy about it, but right now he could only feel surprise at his success and a sort of grim satisfaction. He had done what he and Lightning Tail had set out to do. Thunder Clan would be safe.

Jumping down from the tree, Thunderstar padded back toward where his friend was waiting for him.

Nothing had disturbed the place where Lightning Tail lay. Thunderstar brushed the long grass away from his friend’s body and looked down at him.

“It’s done,” he said softly. “We protected our Clan.”

There was a spot near the roots of an oak tree where sun shone through the branches and warmed the ground. Lightning Tail had always liked to bask in the sun. Thunderstar began to dig.

His paws ached and the earth was heavy. Digging was much harder alone than it had been when he and Lightning Tail dug the rogue’s grave together. But Lightning Tail deserved to be laid in the earth the right way. The thought gave Thunderstar new strength, and the strain of his muscles was almost comforting: He was doing this for Lightning Tail.

As he dug, he thought about Violet Dawn and his kits again. Lightning Tail had believed Thunderstar would be a good father. But how could he look after tiny, helpless kits properly when he hadn’t managed to protect his best friend, a powerful warrior?

He would have to try to trust in himself, and trust in Violet Dawn. Maybe Lightning Tail would watch over the kits from StarClan. Lightning Tail had always loved kits.

Finally, the hole was deep enough, and Thunderstar gently pushed Lightning Tail’s body into the grave.

When it was covered again, he laid some grass across it so that the earth wouldn’t look too freshly disturbed—and no predator would dig to find what was buried below.

It was very quiet here. Thunderstar bowed his head and spoke. “I’ll miss you so much, Lightning Tail. You were brave and clever and loyal, and you always helped any cat who needed you. You died saving me, and there’s no way I can thank you properly for that.” Thunderstar took a deep breath, his mouth dry. “Good-bye, Lightning Tail. I’ll never forget you.”

The shadows were lengthening again. It was time to go back to camp, time to tell ThunderClan that their deputy would not be returning. Thunderstar turned away from his friend’s grave and began the long walk home.

Chapter Eight

It was dark by the time Thunderstar, sore-pawed and exhausted, reached the ThunderClan camp. He slipped through the gorse tunnel, nodding at Leaf, who was standing guard, but said nothing. The camp was quiet, the cats asleep.

Violet Dawn was sleeping, too, in the mossy nest they shared in their den. In just the two days that he’d been gone, she seemed to have grown even more round. He lay down beside her and felt a kit squirm inside her belly, tiny paws kicking at him through her side. Warmth spread through him at this proof that the kits were alive and growing.

In a moment, though, his joy dimmed. How could he be happy so soon after Lightning Tail’s death? In the morning, he would have to tell the Clan what had happened. His chest felt tight at the thought. No matter how gently he tried to tell them, they would suffer. Every cat in the Clan had loved Lightning Tail. And would they blame Thunderstar? He had been given nine lives so he could protect his Clan, but instead, Lightning Tail had died protecting him.

Thunderstar rolled over onto his back, gazing up at the rock at the top of his den. He was so tired, but his mind was spinning. He shifted again, accidentally bumping Violet Dawn’s side.

“Hmm?” she murmured softly, and her eyes blinked open. “Thunderstar,” she mewed sleepily. “I missed you.”

He nuzzled his cheek against hers. “I missed you, too. How are you feeling?” Her voice sounded weak, he thought.

Violet Dawn shrugged. “I’m okay. The kits have been really lively at night, so I haven’t been sleeping well.”

“You aren’t sleeping?” Thunderstar asked, alarmed.

Violet Dawn purred. “Don’t worry so much,” she told him. “Cloud Spots says I’m fine, and it’s completely normal for the kits to be keeping me up this close to when they’ll be born. Milkweed says the same thing, and she’s had kits three times. The only problem was that I was feeling too tired to lead the Clan while you were gone. But Owl Eyes has been doing great,” she added quickly. “He’s kept everything running smoothly and even sent out extra hunting patrols to take advantage of the good weather.” She gave a little huff of amusement. “If Lightning Tail doesn’t watch out, Owl Eyes will be deputy before he knows it.”

Thunderstar stiffened. Violet Dawn, sensitive to his moods as always, sat up. “What is it?” she asked, concerned. “Did you find the dogs? Are we going to have to move camp?”

“No,” Thunderstar answered sadly. “We’re not going to have to move. Lightning Tail and I took care of the dogs.” He felt his whiskers drooping. “Lightning Tail was really brave,” he added.

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Violet Dawn sounded puzzled. “But what’s wrong?”

I shouldn’t upset her when she’s carrying kits, Thunderstar thought. But how could he pretend that nothing had happened? Every cat would be wondering where Lightning Tail was in the morning.

And Violet Dawn had never flinched from facing the truth.

“Lightning Tail fought valiantly,” Thunderstar told her. “But the dogs were too fast and too strong for us. They killed him. They killed me, too, but Star Clan gave me nine lives, so I came back again.”

In the darkness he could see the glint of Violet Dawn’s wide eyes staring at him. She sat absolutely still for a few heartbeats, and then gave out a wail of grief. “No! Oh, no!” Her cry echoed around the clearing.

From out in the camp came sleepy exclamations as cats began to stir.

“What’s going on?”

“Are we under attack?”

“The dogs! The dogs!”

Violet Dawn wailed again. Thunderstar curled against her, licking her fur, trying to comfort her.

“It’s Violet Dawn!”

“Are the kits coming?”

Violet Dawn took a deep, shuddering breath. Pressing her face against Thunderstar’s shoulder for a moment, she sobbed once and then pulled back, calming herself. “They need to know what happened. Let’s go out,” she meowed.

Thunderstar shook his head. “You’re more important right now. You need to rest.”

“No.” She got to her feet, her heavy body dignified. “I will be fine. Come on.” She led him out of their den, her head held high.

Out in the clearing, the whole Clan was milling around, their faces worried. At Thunderstar’s appearance, they surged forward.

“Thunderstar, you’re back!” Milkweed mewed, Beech Tail and Patch Pelt staggering sleepily behind her.

“Why is it so loud?” Beech Tail asked crossly, her little tail switching. “Why is every cat awake?”

“What happened?” Pink Eyes blinked nearsightedly at Thunderstar. “We heard a terrible yowl.”

“Is some cat hurt?” Shivering Rose and Blue Whisker were huddled close together.

Thunderstar looked around. Every cat’s face was turned toward him—anxious, concerned, expecting him to put everything right.

“I—” He paused and leaped up onto the Highrock so that every cat could see him. “I have bad news,” he began.

He expected them to erupt in a babble of speculation, but instead the clearing was silent, every cat’s face turned toward him.

He swallowed hard. “We found the dogs, and they won’t be coming back. But Lightning Tail was killed. He… he died saving my life.” Thunderstar didn’t add that he had died, too, or that StarClan had fulfilled their promise and brought him back. He couldn’t bear to, not when Lightning Tail was gone.

Cries of mourning rose all around him.

They would blame him, now that he had admitted that Lightning Tail had died protecting him, Thunderstar thought. But looking around, he saw that he had underestimated his Clan. The faces below him were contorted with grief, but there was no anger or hatred. As their cries gradually fell silent, he saw nothing but love in their faces.

Apple Blossom stood up, her head high. “Lightning Tail was a good deputy and a fine cat. He taught me to hunt and to fight. He was never impatient with me, and when I was discouraged, he always had an exciting story to tell me to make me feel strong again.”

“Lightning Tail saved me from Twolegs when I was a kit,” Owl Eyes said, standing next to the younger warrior. “There was no cat braver than him. He died the way he would have wanted—saving a Clanmate.”

“Lightning Tail was one of the first cats to welcome me and my kits to ThunderClan,” Milkweed said. “He was always willing to play with kits, and they loved him.”

“When my eyes got too bad to hunt, Lightning Tail always made sure I was fed,” Pink Eyes said. “He was a generous cat.”

All the cats were murmuring agreement, remembering kind things Lightning Tail had done or the way he had shown his bravery in battle and in protecting his Clan.

“We’ll never forget Lightning Tail,” Violet Dawn meowed finally. “He was brave and strong and good, and we were lucky to have him.”

The next two days were quiet and somber as ThunderClan mourned Lightning Tail.

Thunderstar and Violet Dawn sat in the mouth of their den, watching their Clanmates. Clover lay in the shade, picking sadly at a vole. Cloud Spots came out of the medicine den and passed the prey pile by, his tail drooping sadly. Everywhere cats were moving slowly, not speaking to each other, wrapped in their separate grief.

“This has to stop,” Violet Dawn mewed, eyeing them. “Lightning Tail wouldn’t have wanted the Clan to act like this, especially not because of him.”

Thunderstar wrapped his tail around his paws, feeling cold. “No, but what can we do? I can’t tell them to stop being sad.”

“Maybe you should pick a new deputy,” Violet Dawn suggested. “You need to have one, and it will help things get back to normal. It will give the Clan something new to think about, too.”

“A new deputy?” Thunderstar replied doubtfully. He couldn’t imagine any cat being able to support him the way Lightning Tail had. How can I replace my best friend?

“Owl Eyes was an excellent deputy while you and Lightning Tail were gone,” Violet Dawn told him. “Leaf and Gooseberry got into an argument about the nests in the warriors’ den, and Owl Eyes figured out a solution every cat could live with. He managed so well that I didn’t even know there was an argument until it was over.”

Thunderstar hesitated. The idea of another deputy—any deputy—taking Lightning Tail’s place beside him made him ache inside. But Owl Eyes was smart and hardworking. Every cat liked him. He was brave and strong and sensible.

Thunderstar wasn’t ready.

But the Clan needed a new deputy.

Sitting up straight, he made up his mind. Thunderstar opened his mouth to agree with Violet Dawn—Owl Eyes was the right cat for the job—when Violet Dawn suddenly gasped.

“What is it?” Thunderstar asked, Owl Eyes forgotten. Violet Dawn swayed and Thunderstar instinctively moved to support her.

“It’s the kits,” Violet Dawn told him, her eyes wide and glassy with pain. “They’re coming!”

Chapter Nine

“Cloud Spots! Come quickly!” Thunderstar yowled. Violet Dawn, gasping, leaned against him suddenly and he staggered under her weight.

Cloud Spots hurried across the clearing, followed by Shivering Rose.

“It’s time, isn’t it?” the long-furred medicine cat asked calmly. He pressed a paw to Violet Dawn’s side. “Take a deep breath. Deeper.”

Violet Dawn made a visible effort to slow her shallow panting, and Cloud Spots nodded approvingly.

Some of the other cats were crowding behind Cloud Spots and Shivering Rose, looking on with interest and excitement. Violet Dawn gave a low moan, her tail drooping, and Thunderstar licked her ear. “It’s okay,” he whispered. Is this normal?

Violet Dawn was shaking. Surely she shouldn’t be in this much pain, Thunderstar thought.

“Let’s get her into the nursery where she’ll be more comfortable,” Cloud Spots ordered. “All of you need to back off and give her some room,” he added, shooting a glare around at the onlookers.

“It hurts,” Violet Dawn mewed.

“Wait for the wave of pain to stop for a heartbeat, and then we’ll move,” Cloud Spots told her, taking Violet Dawn’s weight from Thunderstar. He gestured to Shivering Rose with his tail and she went to Violet Dawn’s other side, so that they could support her between them.

After a moment, Violet Dawn mewed, her voice calmer, “Okay, I can move now.” The three cats started forward, crossing the clearing toward the nursery. Milkweed had already bundled Beech Tail and Patch Pelt out of the den, leaving more space for Violet Dawn and the medicine cats.

Thunderstar followed them to the nursery, his stomach churning with excitement and worry. He hovered in the doorway, looking in at the fresh nest Shivering Rose had made for Violet Dawn a few days ago, padded with clean, soft moss.

“Get some chervil from the medicine den and chew it up,” Cloud Spots told Shivering Rose. “The juice will help with her kitting.”

“Yes, Cloud Spots.” Shivering Rose obediently made for the door of the nursery and stopped. “Excuse me, Thunderstar.”

Thunderstar blinked in surprise and realized he was blocking the door. “Oh, sorry,” he muttered, and moved aside. He felt embarrassed and useless. Usually, he knew how to help the cats in his Clan. But what could he do now? He didn’t know anything about having kits.

He shifted his paws miserably. What kind of father was he going to be? If I can’t even help Violet Dawn bring them into the world, how will I look after them once they’re here?

Another pelt brushed his, and Thunderstar looked up to find Owl Eyes regarding him sympathetically.

“You look worried,” Owl Eyes mewed. “Cloud Spots says that Violet Dawn’s in perfect health and he expects the kits to be fine, you know.”

“I know,” Thunderstar answered, hunching his shoulders. “But she’s in pain and I don’t know how to help her.” He heard Violet Dawn moan again inside the den, and glared down at his own paws. “I’m just out here, and I don’t know…” His great fear forced itself up and out of his mouth. “I didn’t have a father of my own when I was a kit. What kind of father am I going to be? How will I know how to take care of them?”

He licked at his chest, too embarrassed to look up at Owl Eyes. Why was he telling the younger cat any of this? He’d never confided his fears to any cat in the Clan except Violet Dawn and Lightning Tail—his Clanmates needed to believe in Thunderstar’s strength to feel safe. I’m falling apart, he realized.

A soft purr made him snap his head back up to look at Owl Eyes. The sleek dark gray tom’s eyes were shining with warmth. “How can you say that?” he asked. “Thunderstar, you look after the whole Clan. Being a father will be easy compared to that.”

“I’m not so sure,” Thunderstar muttered. But his spirits rose a little, and he brushed his tail against Owl Eyes’s side gratefully. At least some cat believed in him, even if he didn’t believe in himself.

Shivering Rose returned to the nursery, carrying a mouthful of chewed pulp.

“The chervil, good,” Cloud Spots mewed inside the nursery. “Now try to take a little of this, Violet Dawn.”

“Okay,” Thunderstar heard Violet Dawn answer in a shaky mew, and then she gasped again in pain. He shuddered at the sound. Should he go in? Or would he only be in the way?

“It’s perfectly normal for it to hurt,” Cloud Spots told her soothingly. “You’re doing very well.”

Violet Dawn yowled sharply, and then moaned. “Thunderstar. Where’s Thunderstar? I can’t do this without him!”

Thunderstar bolted into the den. Cloud Spots glanced at him sharply. “Sometimes it’s better for the father to wait outside.”

“No, I need him,” Violet Dawn insisted.

Shivering Rose, her paws on Violet Dawn’s side, mewed, “I think they’re almost here.” Violet Dawn yowled again, pain in her voice.

Thunderstar lay beside her, curling his body around hers. “It’s all right,” he murmured into her ear. “Just think how beautiful our kits will be. They’ll finally be able to kick you from the outside instead of the inside.”

Violet Dawn gave a short mrrow of laughter, which turned into another gasp.

“The first one’s coming,” Cloud Spots announced.

“Take a deep breath and push,” Shivering Rose mewed. “Not long now.”

There was a commotion of movement from the medicine cats down at the other end of Violet Dawn’s body, but Thunderstar’s attention was focused on his mate’s face, her amber eyes locked on his as she shook and panted. “You’re doing so well,” he mewed softly to her. “You’re so brave and strong.”

“A tom,” Cloud Spots announced, his voice warm, and a tiny wet kit was placed next to Violet Dawn’s belly. “Lick him warm.”

Thunderstar bent his head toward the little tom, whose coat was the same bright ginger as Thunderstar’s own. As he began to lick, he was flooded with wonder and love. Why had no cat told him this was how it would feel? Of course he would protect and teach this little one. The path seemed clear at last: He would love his kits. Everything else would follow.

By the time the sun had almost set, it was all over.

“Four healthy kits,” Thunderstar purred with satisfaction. He looked around the nursery. Milkweed was nursing Patch Pelt and Beech Tail in their nest on the other side of the den, and her two kits, who had seemed small to Thunderstar just that morning, now looked enormous in contrast to his tiny, beautiful kits.

“They’re quite nice, aren’t they?” Violet Dawn mewed, gently licking the head of the last to be born, a gray tom even smaller than his brothers and sisters.

“I used to think it was silly when cats called their kits perfect,” Thunderstar confessed. “But now I know what they mean. Our kits are absolutely perfect. All four of them.”

“This one is going to be the strongest, I think.” Violet Dawn nosed gently at one of the she-kits, a ginger-striped tabby. “See how hard she’s kneading at my side already. And look.” She gently nudged the kit over onto her back. “See that?”

The little she-kit had a white stripe zigzagging across her belly. It looked just like a bolt of lightning.

A twinge of grief broke into Thunderstar’s happiness. Lightning Tail would have laughed at the echo of his own name and made a special favorite out of the kit. He would have been so happy to watch over and play with all four of the kits. But Lightning Tail would never see them. I’ll tell them all about brave Lightning Tail, Thunderstar vowed silently. The cat who saved me.

Chapter Ten

A breeze blew through the high branches of Fourtrees, and a full moon floated high in the sky overhead. Thunderstar leaped up onto the Great Rock beside Skystar and Windstar, leaving his Clanmates to mingle with the other cats of SkyClan and WindClan.

“Where are the others?” he asked.

“ShadowClan’s just coming now,” Windstar replied, nodding toward the edge of the hollow, where a slender black she-cat was leading a stream of cats into the clearing.

“I can hear RiverClan,” Skystar mewed. “And smell fish.” All three cats purred with amusement—Riverstar was a wise and generous leader, but his Clan’s diet left them all with a very identifiable odor.

In just a few heartbeats, the other two leaders had joined them on the Great Rock, and Windstar called the cats in the hollow below them to order.

“What news?” she asked, looking around at the other leaders.

“I’ll go first, if you don’t mind,” Thunderstar mewed. “We have a lot of news in ThunderClan.”

“Starting with your new kits, I assume?” Shadowstar asked with a purr. There were meows of excitement and congratulation from the cats of all five Clans.

“Yes,” Thunderstar said, warmth creeping through his pelt. “Violet Dawn and I welcomed four healthy kits, two toms and two she-cats. They’re all doing really well, and so is Violet Dawn.”

“I’m very happy for you, and I know all of RiverClan is, too,” Riverstar mewed, and Windstar and Shadowstar chimed in with their own congratulations.

“Give Violet Dawn all our best wishes,” Windstar added. “Maybe in a few moons she’ll come to a Gathering again.”

“I can’t wait to meet the kits.” Skystar’s blue eyes were shining. “My own kit with kits.” He draped his tail across Thunderstar’s. “I only wish Gray Wing was here. He would have been so proud of you.”

Thunderstar felt unexpectedly touched by the sincere happiness in Skystar’s voice. Part of me still wants Skystar’s approval, he realized. And it would be good for the kits to have kin in his father’s Clan, if they ever needed SkyClan’s help.

“I have sad news, too.” Thunderstar waited for the Clans to quiet, every face turned up to him attentively. “We sent word that the dogs were no longer a threat, but I didn’t tell you that we paid a terrible price. Lightning Tail was killed fighting the dogs.”

There were murmurs of dismay from every Clan. Every cat had liked and respected Lightning Tail.

Windstar bowed her head in sorrow. Lightning Tail had been born and grown up in her group on the moor, and she knew him well. “WindClan will mourn Lightning Tail,” she mewed, and the other leaders agreed.

“I kept vigil over his body through the night after he died,” Thunderstar added. “It gave me a chance to remember him, and to say good-bye.”

“Did it give you peace?” Riverstar asked solemnly.

“It did,” Thunderstar mewed. “And it felt right. It felt like a way to honor all he’d done for me.”

Riverstar nodded. “It’s a good idea to show respect to our dead,” he said.

The other leaders agreed, murmuring thoughtfully.

“Perhaps we can all honor our warriors by spending a last night with them before they pass on to StarClan,” Shadowstar added solemnly.

“Have you chosen your new deputy?” Skystar asked. “You can’t leave your Clan without one. What if something happened to you?”

Shadowstar agreed. “And you need a cat to help you run the everyday life of the Clan.”

Thunderstar looked around the hollow. His gaze sought out Skystar’s deputy Sparrow Fur; Windstar’s mate and deputy, Gorse Fur; Riverstar’s deputy, Night; Shadowstar’s deputy, Sun Shadow. All cats who were absolutely trusted by their leaders, who had proved themselves good friends and wise advisors. They were all admired and respected by their Clans.

Thunderstar looked over his own Clan: generous Pink Eyes, brave Snail Shell, clever Blue Whisker, strong hunter Leaf. They were all fine cats. None of them were Lightning Tail. No cat was.

A breeze ran through his pelt, almost like the brush of a tail across his back, and for a moment Thunderstar almost thought he heard the purr of his oldest friend.

If Lightning Tail were here, he would tell me not to be a mouse-brain, he thought. The Clan needs a deputy, and there’s one cat who’s right for the job. I decided the night the kits were born; I just haven’t been able to bring myself to tell the Clan.

“Thunder Clan’s new deputy will be Owl Eyes,” he announced. His mew felt rusty and stiff to him at first, but his voice rose and got more confident as he went on. “He’s proved himself more than deserving.”

“Hooray!” Apple Blossom burst out from the crowd below, and there were mrrows of laughter from all around her. “Sorry, Thunderstar.”

All the ThunderClan cats looked pleased, and the cats of the other Clans were nodding in approval. Thunderstar caught sight of Owl Eyes himself, looking stunned and happy, near the base of the Great Rock.

He’s the obvious choice, Thunderstar thought. Now I just have to be fair to him. He’ll be a great deputy and I can’t hold it against him that he’s not Lightning Tail.

After the meeting, Thunderstar caught up to Owl Eyes. “I’m sorry to spring that on you,” he mewed. “I hope you do want to be deputy. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I think you’ll be great.”

“I do. I do want to be deputy,” Owl Eyes answered quickly, tripping over his words. His round amber eyes were shining with emotion and excitement. “I just—I won’t let you down, Thunderstar.”

“I know you won’t.” Thunderstar was surprised to find that he meant it.

Owl Eyes suddenly looked solemn. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be as good a deputy as Lightning Tail was. He always knew what to do. But I’ll honor him by trying my best every day, I promise.”

Thunderstar purred. “You know, even Lightning Tail didn’t always know what he was doing. Remember when he was playing with Clover and Thistle when they were kits and he slipped and sent the whole prey pile flying?”

Owl Eyes twitched his whiskers in amusement. “I had forgotten that.”

“Lightning Tail made mistakes sometimes,” Thunderstar told him. “Every cat does. But he tried his best to take care of his Clan, and that’s all I can ask of you.”

Talking about Lightning Tail made Thunderstar’s heart lighter. He pressed his flank against Owl Eyes’s. “I know you’re going to be a great deputy.”

Back in camp, Thunderstar went into the nursery to check on Violet Dawn and the kits. “I made Owl Eyes deputy,” he told her, lying down next to her and sweeping up the smallest of the kits to cuddle into his side.

“About time,” she replied sleepily. “I told you he was the right choice.”

“Remember that your mother is always right,” Thunderstar instructed the kit, and the kit looked up at him with sleepy blue eyes and yawned, showing sharp white kit-teeth.

“Of course I am,” Violet Dawn mewed contently. “I am also right that you need to name that kit and his sister. I already named Shell Claw and Feather Ear. I can’t go on calling the other two the gray one and the tabby one, especially not now that their eyes are open. They need names.”

“I know,” Thunderstar nuzzled her cheek. “I will before we sleep tonight, I promise.”

He got up and wandered to the door of the nursery, looking out at the camp and watching his Clan settle down to sleep. He saw Owl Eyes bring Milkweed a piece of prey, then distract her kits so she had a moment to eat it. All was well.

In the nursery, there was a tiny mew behind him, and he turned around, feeling the pleasant swell that filled his chest whenever he thought of his kits. Three of the kits were sleeping, nestled against Violet Dawn’s side. But the third, the tabby she-kit, stared up at him with amber eyes that blazed like fire. She was only a quarter-moon old, but he could already see intelligence and courage in her eyes. She was going to be something special; he knew it.

The she-kit rolled over and stretched, showing the lightning-shaped splash of white on her belly. Of course, Thunderstar thought, something special.

“What do you think about Lightning Stripe for her name?” he asked Violet Dawn, and she purred in approval.

“It’s perfect,” she said.

“And the gray one should be Sleek Fur,” Thunderstar said, looking down at the sleeping tom affectionately. “He has the softest fur I’ve ever felt.”

“Wonderful,” Violet Dawn said. “Thank StarClan they have names now. I wouldn’t want them getting jealous of their littermates.”

A cool breeze ruffled Thunderstar’s fur, and he glanced back out of the nursery into the clearing outside. Clouds were gathering overhead; it looked like a storm was brewing. A flash of lightning lit up the sky for a moment, followed by a rumble of thunder that echoed around the camp.

Thunderstar purred. Lightning and thunder together, just like he and Lightning Tail had always been.

He knew that, from now on, whenever he saw lightning in the sky, he would remember the best friend he had ever had. And his own kit, beautiful, spirited Lightning Stripe, would remind him of his first deputy every day.

It was all right to be happy again, to look forward to his kits’ growing up, to accept his new deputy. He hadn’t lost Lightning Tail, not forever.

Lightning Tail will always be with me… and with all of ThunderClan.