Эрин Хантер - Shattered Sky

Violetpaw’s heart grew a little lighter as she followed Needletail through the trees, all the prey she could carry dangling from her jaws. I’d never tell Needletail this, she thought, but I always thought that Rain was a little bit… scary. And Darktail only killed him because he had to. And at least it happened before Rain could get Needletail into serious trouble. She hoped that she could help Needletail keep her head down until Darktail wasn’t suspicious of her anymore. Then we’ll both be safe, and everything might be okay.

When they reached the ShadowClan camp, more cats were approaching from the opposite direction. Roach and Thistle were escorting three cats Violetpaw had never seen before. All three were plump, with glossy pelts, and they were eyeing their surroundings nervously as they entered the camp.

Violetpaw exchanged a shocked glance with Needletail. “Those are kittypets !” she exclaimed.

“Do Roach and Thistle have bees in their brain, bringing them here?” Needletail muttered.

Padding across the camp to drop her prey on the fresh-kill pile, Violetpaw saw Darktail emerge from his den, and she braced herself for an explosion of anger. She was grateful that neither she nor Needletail would be the ones in trouble this time.

But to Violetpaw’s astonishment, Darktail bounded across the camp and dipped his head to the kittypets. “Greetings,” he meowed. “Welcome to our camp.”

What? Darktail actually wants kittypets here?

Violetpaw could see that the ShadowClan warriors weren’t as pleased as Darktail to see the newcomers. They crowded around with expressions of shock and annoyance.

“What’s going on?” Pinenose asked Darktail. “What are kittypets doing on our territory?”

“Come on, Pinenose.” Darktail’s tone was light, but Violetpaw thought she could detect an underlying menace. “Don’t be so unfriendly. These are our guests. And the Kin here will always be kind to guests, won’t they?”

Violetpaw willed her foster mother not to argue, and to her relief, Pinenose had the sense to back down. “I guess so,” she muttered.

The rest of the ShadowClan warriors had gotten the message, too; no other cat protested about the kittypets’ presence in camp.

Darktail beckoned with his tail for his cats to gather around him, then raised his voice to address them. “As the cats living on the territories around us—the so-called Clan cats—have proved so hostile, and attacked us—”

Violetpaw spotted some of the ShadowClan cats exchanging glances at the rogue leader’s words, but none of them made any comments.

“—I’ve decided that the Kin could use some friends from the Twolegplace,” Darktail continued. “And here they are. We’ve promised them hunting lessons and adventure; they’ll see what fun it is to live with us.” His glance raked across the cats around him. “I’m sure that all of you will show them a good time,” he purred.

A good time? Violetpaw felt thoroughly alarmed. She was sure that whatever Darktail intended, showing kittypets a good time was the last thing on his mind.

“Come and introduce yourselves,” Darktail invited, waving his tail at the kittypets to encourage them to come forward.

A young black tom glanced around shyly and ducked his head. “My name’s Loki.”

“And I’m Zelda.” An even younger tabby she-cat—she looked around the same age as Violetpaw—gave an eager little bounce as she spoke. “It’s great to be here!”

“And I’m called Max.” An older black-and-white tom stepped forward, puffing out his chest. “Those other wild cats had better not mess with you while I’m around.”

“It was so exciting when Roach invited us here,” Loki mewed, with a grateful glance at the silver-gray tom.

“Yes, we’ve heard stories about the cats who live around the lake from our friend Minty,” Zelda added. “But we never thought we’d meet you, and we wanted to, so much! Minty stayed here when her housefolk’s den was flooded, and she said she’d never had so much fun in her life.”

“Well,” Darktail meowed cheerfully, “I think that we should swear a promise of friendship, to protect each other from the wild cats—the vicious wild cats—by the lake.”

The visiting cats looked surprised, but they didn’t protest, and willingly followed Darktail to the center of the camp. Violetpaw’s sense of unease was growing. It was obvious that Darktail didn’t just want to make friends with these kittypets. She wondered whether any other cat could detect the underlying menace in his words.

“Now, say this after me,” Darktail began. “‘I swear to be a friend to the Kin… to share what I have with them… to defend them and help them and be one with them… for as long as I live.’”

The three cats repeated the phrases Darktail spoke. Zelda’s voice in particular rang out clearly, as if she meant every word she said. Violetpaw wondered whether she had any idea of what she was promising.

“Now we ought to seal the pact with blood,” Darktail announced.

The three kittypets exchanged alarmed glances, shifting from paw to paw as their shoulder fur began to bristle. “I don’t know about that… ,” Max began.

“Only a drop,” Raven reassured them. “It won’t hurt at all.”

After a moment’s hesitation, all three kittypets nodded agreement, though Max still looked doubtful. Violetpaw wondered whether Darktail’s rogues had been through this ritual. It was so different from the warrior ceremonies of the Clan cats.

Each kittypet in turn raised a forepaw, and Darktail lightly pierced one of their pads with his claw. Each of them winced, and Loki let out a squeal of surprise, but it was soon over, and Raven had told the truth: it was only a drop of blood, and as they licked their paws the three kittypets’ eyes were still shining with enthusiasm.

“Each of you must have a guide to show you around,” Darktail meowed. “Raven, I want you to look after Max. Sleekwhisker, you can take charge of Loki. And…” He hesitated, then gave Violetpaw a nod. “Yes. Violetpaw… I think you and Zelda might have fun together,” he told her.

Surprised, Violetpaw exchanged a glance with Needletail, wondering why Darktail had chosen her. Then she stepped up to stand next to the kittypet.

Violetpaw took Zelda with her to collect the remaining prey that she and Needletail had caught earlier, then spent the rest of the day showing her around what had once been ShadowClan territory. Together they climbed a tree that overlooked the Twolegplace, and Zelda tried to work out which of the Twoleg nests was hers. She warned Violetpaw about big dogs who lived in one of the nests nearby. Violetpaw asked her what a dog looked like, since she’d never seen one herself, and Zelda told her of a savage, slobbering brute whose housefolk seemed unable to control it. It loved to chase cats, she said. “Luckily, he’s too heavy to catch us!”

Violetpaw thanked her for the warning, even as she thought: I hope I don’t ever have to get too close to a dog. She tried to teach the kittypet some hunting techniques, and was impressed by how attentively Zelda listened. She might have made a good apprentice. Even though Zelda didn’t catch any prey, and didn’t seem to know anything , she never lost her enthusiasm or good humor. Violetpaw found she was enjoying their time together. I feel so sorry for her, she thought. It must be so boring, being a kittypet.

Still, Violetpaw realized that there were worse things than being bored. We’re having fun now… I could almost stop worrying about what Darktail is up to. But the apprehension that was gnawing at her belly wouldn’t entirely go away.