Erin Hunter - The First Battle

The eyes of his camp mates swiveled toward him, flashing in the moonlight.

“Thunder!” Lightning Tail jumped up in alarm. But Thunder was heading for Gray Wing’s nest. He had to speak to Pebble Heart.

He stopped at the edge of the nest. Owl Eyes, Sparrow Fur, and Pebble Heart were nestled against Rainswept Flower. They stared at him with bright round eyes.

Thunder looked right at Pebble Heart. “What was your dream?” he demanded.

Rainswept Flower leaped to her paws behind the kits and hissed: “Thunder, what is this about? You’re scaring them!”

Sparrow Fur scanned the shadows behind Thunder. “Where’s Gray Wing?”

“He’s still at the hollow,” Thunder told her quickly, his gaze fixing on Pebble Heart. “What was your dream?” he repeated sharply.

Owl Eyes jumped up and shielded his brother. “Leave him alone!”

“It’s okay.” Pebble Heart nosed Owl Eyes softly aside and hopped out of the nest, meeting Thunder’s eyes. “Did Gray Wing tell you about it?”

“Thunder!” Shattered Ice’s mew sounded across the camp. Frost’s white pelt glowed at the corner of Thunder’s gaze. Paw steps scuffed the grass behind him. The cats were gathering in the clearing.

“Why did you come back alone?” Gorse Fur asked uneasily.

Thunder faced him. “Gray Wing, Tall Shadow, and Jackdaw’s Cry are in trouble.” He searched the anxious gazes of his campmates. Would they be prepared to fight to protect their friends? “I came back to get help.”

“Help?” Gorse Fur murmured.

Cloud Spots slid from beneath the gorse. “What’s the trouble?”

Shattered Ice growled. “I knew Clear Sky couldn’t be trusted.”

“He’s a fox-heart,” Frost hissed bitterly.

Thunder turned to Pebble Heart. “I must know what your dream was about.” He lowered his voice as the moor cats murmured behind him.

Pebble Heart gazed at him solemnly. “I saw a fight beneath a great rock,” he breathed.

“How did it end?” Thunder ignored the panic throbbing through his chest.

Pebble Heart blinked at him. “I don’t know.” Confusion clouded the young cat’s gaze. “It didn’t make sense.”

Thunder flicked his tail in frustration.

“I’m sorry,” Pebble Heart mewed.

“It’s not your fault.” Thunder turned away. There wasn’t time to worry—he needed to act. He leaped onto the flat rock. The smooth stone felt strange beneath his paws. This was Tall Shadow’s place, not his. But Tall Shadow wasn’t here.

He gazed down at the moor cats. “Clear Sky has betrayed us!”

Shattered Ice flattened his ears. “I told you—”

Thunder cut him off. “He brought his cats with him. Too many to count. Rogues and loners I’ve never seen before. Tall Shadow, Gray Wing, and Jackdaw’s Cry are stranded on the great rock in the hollow. I don’t know how long they can hold Clear Sky’s cats off. I’m going back to help them. Who will come with me?”

Gorse Fur stepped forward, chin high. “I will!”

“Me too!” Shattered Ice stood beside his friend.

“I’m coming!” Lightning Tail lashed his tail.

“So am I!” Frost’s blue eyes sparkled like ice. “If there’s a fight with Clear Sky, I want to be part of it!”

Acorn Fur paced beside him. “We’ll all go!” she yowled.

Thunder shook his head. “Someone must stay with Wind Runner and the kits.” He could hear mewling from Wind Runner’s nest in the long grass. He narrowed his eyes, waiting for someone to offer to remain in the camp.

Rainswept Flower met his gaze wordlessly. Jagged Peak stepped from the shadows, his face grim with determination. Dappled Pelt joined Cloud Spots and stared at Thunder, unflinching.

Pride surged beneath Thunder’s pelt—every cat wanted to fight for their friends. “You are brave,” he yowled. “And I’m honored to fight beside you, but someone must stay behind.” What if the battle ended in death? He pictured Owl Eyes, Pebble Heart, and Sparrow Fur trying to comfort Wind Runner and her kits as they waited in vain for someone to come home. Wind Runner couldn’t hunt for them all. “Jagged Peak.” He stared at the lame tom. “You’ll be more use here.”

Jagged Peak glared back at him stubbornly. “But I want to fight!”

Thunder ignored him, turning to Dappled Pelt. “Wind Runner and the kits need you more than Gray Wing and Tall Shadow do.”

Dappled Pelt’s hackles lifted. “But—”

Cloud Spots pushed past her. “If Dappled Pelt wants to go, then she must. She’s nimbler than me. It’ll make her a good fighter. I’ll stay behind with Wind Runner and the kits.”

Dappled Pelt glanced gratefully at her friend. “Are you sure?”

Cloud Spots nodded. “I’ll be more use here.”

“Jagged Peak?” Thunder turned back to the tom.

Jagged Peak’s eyes were still blazing with indignation. “I’m coming with you! This is as much my battle as yours.” He limped forward. Thunder could see his shoulders rippling with muscle. The weakness in his hind leg had given him strength in his forelegs. But he was slow. Clear Sky’s cats would shred him the moment he set paw in the hollow.

“I know you are strong, Jagged Peak,” Thunder told him. “And brave. But this is a fight to the death. Clear Sky will take advantage of any weakness.” Guilt pricked through him as he saw hurt sharpen Jagged Peak’s gaze. “Your strength is in guarding the kits. Wind Runner will need prey if she’s to feed them. You can hunt better than you can fight. You are needed here.”

Jagged Peak held his gaze for a moment, then dipped his head. “Okay.”

Thunder felt a rush of gratitude. “Thank you.”

“Tell Clear Sky I would fight by your side to the death,” Jagged Peak growled. “But I wouldn’t lift a claw to help him .”

“I will,” Thunder promised, his heart swelling.

Sparrow Fur circled Rainswept Flower anxiously. “Are you going with Thunder?”

Rainswept Flower met the young she-cat’s gaze solemnly. “I have to help Gray Wing.”

Sparrow Fur’s ears flattened with terror. “What if you don’t come back?”

Like Turtle Tail. Thunder leaped from the rock and padded toward her. “Gray Wing needs us,” he told her softly.

Sparrow Fur stared at him. “Will you bring him home?”

Thunder nodded. “I promise.” The words caught in his throat. He’d made the same promise about Turtle Tail. This time he would keep his word.

“I want to come.” Owl Eyes flicked his fluffy tail.

“You’re too young.” Thunder touched his muzzle to the young tom’s head.

Owl Eyes scowled. “But I know how to fight.”

“Hurry!” Shattered Ice was pacing the gap in the heather. Acorn Fur kneaded the ground beside him.

Overhead, clouds were surging toward the moon, driven by a rising wind. Thunder felt it lift his fur as he left the kits and headed past Shattered Ice, breaking into a run as his paws touched the soft grass outside camp.

“I’m coming too!”

Wind Runner’s yowl made him freeze. He turned, shocked to see the queen racing out of the camp.

Gorse Fur skidded to a halt beside Thunder and stared at his mate. “What about the kits?”

Shattered Ice, Hawk Swoop, Lightning Tail, and Acorn Fur streaked past, heading for the heather. Rainswept Flower and Dappled Pelt followed, Frost at their heels.

Wind Runner held her ground. “Our kits are tough,” she growled, glancing back into the camp. “Besides, they’ll have Jagged Peak and Cloud Spots.”

Gorse Fur flattened his ears.

Wind Runner’s growl was determined. “Don’t try and stop me. I want my kits to grow up somewhere safe, and the moor will never be safe as long as Clear Sky thinks he can tell any cat what to do!”