Эрин Хантер - Path Of A Warrior

No! she thought, and then everything went dark.

The sun was warm on Shadowstar’s back. The pain was gone. She lay still for a moment, her eyes closed, breathing in the rich scents of prey and growing plants all around her.

She knew where she was.

Those dogs killed me, she thought, outraged. Now I have only one life left.

When Windstar’s daughter Moth Flight had told the Clans’ leaders that StarClan had given them each nine lives, guaranteeing they would be able to take the risks a leader must and still have all the moons they’d need to guide their Clans, Shadowstar had been dubious. How could a cat die more than one death? But then she had died—after an attack by a badger—and gone to StarClan and woken again, healed, with a memory of this warm, green place.

She had died eight times: from the badger’s attack, a miserable coughing illness, a Twoleg monster on the Thunderpath, and a fight with a rogue before the Clans had fully established their rights to the forest. She’d fallen from a tree while hunting, she’d been swept away by the river—she’d saved a kit from drowning, so it had been worth it—and she’d had an infected wound that even Pebble Heart hadn’t been able to treat. And now these mangy dogs.

Only one more life.

It would be fine, Shadowstar reasoned. Most cats— all cats who weren’t Clan leaders—had only one life. All through the long struggle to find territory and establish her Clan, those terrible moons when all the cats seemed to turn their claws against one another, she’d had only one life.

Still, she now felt vulnerable. As if a great owl were hovering above her, its talons outstretched.

Most cats have only one life, she reminded herself again.

Most cats. Shadowstar’s heart gave a sickening thud. Please, StarClan, please let Sun Shadow have gotten away.

But when she opened her eyes, her heart sank. Sun Shadow was on his feet beside her, blinking nervously at two cats who stood before him. The dogs killed him, too. “Gray Wing?” he asked tentatively. “But you’re …” He turned to face the other cat, a black tom. “And I don’t know you .”

Shadowstar climbed to her paws and pressed her shoulder against his. “This is your father,” she mewed gently, taking in her beloved brother’s outline, now glittering with faint stars. “Hello, Moon Shadow. It’s been a while. Hello, Gray Wing.”

Both StarClan toms dipped their heads to her, their eyes warm with affection. Shadowstar turned to face Sun Shadow, and now she noticed the stars shining in his fur, too. “I’m so sorry,” she told him. Guilt flooded through her. I should have protected him.

“It’s not your fault. You told me to run. But I couldn’t leave you to fight them off alone.” Sun Shadow’s amber eyes were wide. “But … I’m dead? I don’t remember exactly… .”

Moon Shadow stepped forward and brushed his cheek against his son’s. “I’ve been watching you since you came to the forest,” he meowed gently. “I’m so proud of you. This is where you belong now.”

“It is?” Sun Shadow looked at Shadowstar anxiously, his ears twitching. “But what about ShadowClan?”

“We will watch over them together,” Moon Shadow told him with a purr. “Come with me.”

Hesitantly, Sun Shadow stepped toward him. In a moment, they were gone, leaving a trail of starry paw prints in the grass. Shadowstar looked after them, aching inside. Whatever Sun Shadow said, she should have been able to prevent his death. She was his leader. What would she do without her deputy?

In the grass at some distance, she could see a faint black shape. Herself, stars glimmering in her fur. Each time she came here, the shape was a little clearer, a little firmer. Next time, it would be her.

She brushed her tail against Gray Wing’s. “I only have one more life,” she mewed.

“I hope it’ll be enough.” Gray Wing’s expression was grim.

Alarm stirred inside Shadowstar. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Gray Wing shook his head. “I don’t know what it will mean for ShadowClan, or for any of the Clans, when you die,” he told her, his gaze steady. “None of us do. A leader’s never lost all nine lives before. I hope that ShadowClan will be strong enough to survive your loss. If ShadowClan falls apart, it could destroy all the Clans.”

Shadowstar shuddered, suddenly chilled. She’d founded ShadowClan. She’d brought all those cats together and built their life in the pine forest. Would they stay together without her? The feeling of vulnerability was back, stronger than before. One life was such a fragile, temporary thing.

And it wasn’t just her own life that was at stake. It was also the life of her Clan.

Chapter Two

Vroooom.

At the sound of a Twoleg monster roaring by, Shadowstar opened her eyes. She was lying in the grass near the side of the Thunderpath, not far from the Twoleg bridge. Dawn was breaking, soft pink and golden clouds at the horizon.

For a moment, Shadowstar felt as if she were waking from a long, good sleep. She got to her feet and arched her back, stretching her paws in front of her, enjoying the loosening of her muscles.

Then her eyes fell upon the bridge, and she pictured the fierce dog stepping out from the shadows, its teeth bared.

I died, she remembered with a shudder. Gray Wing’s worried face came back to her.

When I’m gone, not even StarClan knows what will happen to the Clans. There had to be five Clans. That was one thing they’d learned as they had fought against one another and then come together at last. If ShadowClan fell apart at Shadowstar’s death, then all the Clans might be destroyed.

Of course, that was why she, and every leader, had named a deputy. But … Her stomach gave a sickening twist, and she looked around.

Sun Shadow lay in the grass a little way off. He looked as though he could have been sleeping, his eyes closed, his face peaceful. But a long gash ran along his belly, and his fur was matted with blood.

“Oh, Sun Shadow,” she whispered, pressing her muzzle against his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” He was cold, and the stench of blood and dog overlaid his own familiar scent. Her deputy, her friend, her kin, killed by dogs . Rage and sorrow flooded through her, and she dug her claws into the grass.

“Shadowstar!”

Raising her head at the call, she saw a black tom hurrying toward her from the pine trees. For a moment, it looked like Sun Shadow.

“Where have you been?” the tom yowled, and Shadowstar felt her shoulders sag. It wasn’t her deputy—of course it wasn’t. It was Raven Pelt, a loyal ShadowClan warrior, and his yellow eyes were bright with concern.

“You and Sun Shadow never came home last night,” he said. “Half the Clan’s out looking for you. I—” He halted, catching sight of the dead body at her paws. “What happened ?”

In as few words as possible, Shadowstar told him how they had been attacked. Her chest ached with sorrow as she spoke. “I will wait with Sun Shadow,” she said at last. “Go find some warriors to help carry him back to camp. We need to say good-bye.”

The sun was setting, and Sun Shadow’s body lay in the center of camp. Pebble Heart had cleaned his wounds as well as he could, but the impression Shadowstar had gotten at dawn, that Sun Shadow could be sleeping, was gone now. He didn’t look anything but dead.

She dipped her head to touch her nose gently to her deputy’s forehead and then spoke. “Sun Shadow first came to the forest as a young cat, searching for his father. Even though Moon Shadow was gone, he found his kin here. More than that, he found his Clan. He proved his loyalty many times: in battle, in the hunt, in the way he always put the good of his Clanmates first.” She paused, misery rising inside her, and took a deep breath. “Sun Shadow was the best deputy I could have asked for. He was a brave, compassionate cat who cared about every cat in this Clan, and he deserved a better death. He died trying to save me.”