Эрин Хантер - Thunder Аnd Shadow

“Better,” Needletail answered, purring.

Sleekwhisker rolled her eyes. “Can you two stop acting like a pair of m ouse-brains? I want to get this prey back to camp before it gets stiff.”

Violetpaw’s ears twitched. You want to get it back before Cloverfoot’s patrol so you can hide it at the bottom of the fresh-kill pile. It was a m eager catch, even for Sleekwhisker and Rain. Darktail had begun to notice and complain. At least Silt and Beenose wouldn’t want to eat. They were sick with som e illness that had stolen their appetite.

She saw Rain catch Needletail’s ey e. “Perhaps we should go hunting tom orrow,” he mewed silkily. “Just the two of us.”

Violetpaw frowned crossly. She wasn’t going to make it easy for Rain to steal her friend.

“Needletail prom ised to show m e how to stalk rabbits tom orrow.”

Needletail dragged her gaze from Rain’s. “She’s right.” Was that regret in her mew?

Sleekwhisker picked up her m ouse and headed for the camp. Rain grabbed his m ouse and followed, glancing over his shoulder at Needletail. Violetpaw hurried ahead of her m entor to block his view.

As they padded into camp, Cloverfoot turned her head. The gray tabby was standing beside a plum p rabbit and a thrush.

“You’re back.” Sleekwhisker sounded surprised as she dropped her m ouse onto the fresh-kill pile.

Cloverfoot sniffed. “Of course. Catching this didn’t take long.”

Juniperclaw was washing leaf litter from his pelt. He looked up. “Prey is running well.”

“We’ve been back for ages.” Roach y awned. The silver tom was lounging nearby.

Rain dropped his m ouse beside Sleekwhisker’s. “How are Silt and Beenose?” He glanced toward the drooping rowan bush where the sick cats were sheltering.

The branches trem bled and Nettle nosed his way out, looking worried. He answered Rain’s question. “They’re worse. Beenose keeps coughing, and Silt’s fever is rising.”

Nettle was the closest the rogues had to a medicine cat. But the brown tabby only knew a few herbs. He’d tried them all on the sick cats, but nothing had m ade them better.

Rain shrugged. “Oh, well.” He sniffed the rabbit hungrily. “More prey for us.”

“Wait!” A sharp growl sounded outside camp.

Violetpaw tensed as she recognized Darktail’s mew.

The rogue leader padded from the long grass edging the camp. His m enacing gaze fixed on Rain. “You’re getting nothing from the fresh-kill pile today.”

Rain’s hackles lifted. “No cat tells m e I can’t eat.”

“You want to eat?” Darktail padded slowly toward him. “Go catch som ething worth eating.”

He stopped beside the fresh-kill pile and hooked up a m ouse with his claw. “This is kit food.”

Violetpaw glanced nervously at Needletail. There was a threat in Darktail’s mew, and Rain was ey eing him challengingly. The gray tom had been standing up to the rogue leader more and more often. Yesterday he’d refused to go on patrol. “Are they going to fight?” she whispered.

“Hush.” Needletail didn’t look at Violetpaw. Her gaze was on Rain. Her eyes sparkled eagerly as the long-furred tom stepped closer to Darktail.

“The prey I catch isn’t good enough for y ou?” Rain growled.

The rogue leader lashed his tail. “You’ve been bringing less and less back to camp.” He dropped the m ouse. “This is the m ost pitiful offering y et.”

Rain’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Have you been counting what I catch?”

“Of course I have,” Darktail hissed. “I’m the leader of this group. I make sure every cat pulls his weight.”

“You sound like a Clan cat,” Rain sneered.

“So?” Darktail lifted his chin. “They live well.”

“If you like rules!” Rain flexed his claws.

“Rules will keep our bellies full.” Darktail spoke slowly, his vicious gaze not m oving from Rain.

“Is that why we cam e here?” Rain hissed. “To hide behind bushes and hunt prey no one else wants?” He flicked his tail toward ShadowClan’s pine forest, stretching far behind them. “We live on a tiny piece of land when there’s a whole territory right there for the taking.”

Cold fear ran along Violetpaw’s spine. Did Rain want the rogues to drive ShadowClan from their land? Why? There was enough prey here, and over the past four moons Darktail had seem ed happy to leave ShadowClan in peace. She thought of Pinenose and Rowanstar, Puddlepaw and Grassheart. Grassheart’s kits! Was he threatening them ?

“We don’t need the pine forest y et!” Darktail snapped. “For now we’ve got every thing we need and we don’t have to fight for it. We won’t be taking over any one’s territory until I say so.”

Rain flattened his ears. “You’ve grown soft.” A growl sounded in his mew as he crouched threateningly.

Darktail’s eyes flashed. With a y owl, he flung him self at Rain. Rain reared and caught him, staggering back as the full force of the m uscular tom hit him. Digging in his claws, Rain rolled onto his spine and thrashed viciously at Darktail’s belly with his hind paws. Violetpaw leaped back, her heart pounding, as the two cats rolled, screeching, across the clearing. She’d seen the rogues fight each other before, but today there was a viciousness in their y owls that set her fur on end.

Needletail darted around them, her gaze fixed on Rain, her pelt rippling as though thrilled by the fight.

“Watch out!” Violetpaw y elped a warning as Darktail struggled free and swung a paw wildly through the air.

Needletail dodged it as it sliced past her and caught Rain hard on the cheek, drawing blood.

Scrabbling to his paws, Rain ducked a second blow and lunged at Darktail’s forepaws.

Knocking them from under him, he sent the rogue leader crashing onto his belly. Rain reared and slam m ed his paws hard onto Darktail’s spine.

The rogue leader rolled clear with a snarl. He sprang to his paws, his gaze flam ing. Baring his teeth, he leaped at Rain. Violetpaw gasped as she saw the rogue leader sink his teeth into Rain’s neck.

With a grunt, the long-furred tom collapsed. Darktail let out a low y owl as he pressed Rain to the ground, his teeth still in the gray tom’s neck.

Rain j erked beneath him, his breath gurgling in his throat.

“Let him go!” Needletail’s panicked cry split the air. “You’ll kill him.”

Violetpaw’s breath caught in her throat as Rain fell still beneath the rogue leader. Only when Rain slum ped in defeat did Darktail let go. Fear surged beneath Violetpaw’s pelt as Darktail backed away. Was this how it would always be in the rogue camp? Bloody fights over leadership? She glanced warily around at the other rogues. Would any of them challenge Darktail?

Needletail dropped down beside Rain. “Are you okay?” Terror lit her gaze.

Rain grunted. The fur at his neck shone with blood. Rasping, Rain staggered to his paws and faced Darktail.

Darktail scowled. “Who’s the leader?”

Rain glared at him. “You are,” he growled.

Violetpaw was trem bling.

“Don’t challenge m e again,” Darktail hissed softly. The tip of his tail twitched m enacingly behind him.

Rain stared at him, anger showing in his gaze. “I won’t.”

“No, you won’t.” Without warning, Darktail lashed out, as fast as a snake. His claws raked Rain’s eye before the tom could close it.

Violetpaw’s belly heaved as blood welled around the socket. Rain staggered backward, ears flat with shock. He let out an agonized y owl before collapsing to the ground.

Needletail hunched over him. “You’ve blinded him!” she shrieked at Darktail.

Darktail curled his lip. “I only half blinded him,” he growled. “A half-blind cat threatens no one.” He padded to the fresh-kill pile and grabbed the plum p rabbit between his jaws, then carried it to the edge of the clearing and began to eat.