Эрин Хантер - Mapleshade’s Vengeance

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER

O AKSTAR—sturdy brown tom with amber eyes

DEPUTY

BEETAIL—dark brown striped tabby tom

MEDICINE CAT

RAVENW ING—small black tom with blue eyes

WARRIORS

(toms and she-cats without kits)

MAPLESHADE—thick-furred orange-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

DEERDAPPLE—silver-and-black tabby she-cat

APPRENTIC E, NETTLEPAW

FREC KLEW ISH—speckled golden-furred she-cat with dark amber eyes

BLO O MHEART—gray tabby tom

SEEDPELT—light brown-and-white tom

THRUSHTALO N—light brown tabby tom

APPRENTICE

NETTLEPAW—ginger tom

ELDER

(former warriors and queens, now retired)

RABBITFUR—gray tabby tom

RIVERCLAN

LEADER

DARKSTAR—black she-cat

DEPUTY

SPIKETAIL—dark gray tom

WARRIORS

RAINFALL—skinny black tom

APPLEDUSK—pale brown tom with green eyes

APPRENTIC E, PERC HPAW

REEDSHINE—dark orange she-cat

MILKFUR—white she-cat

SPLASHFO O T—pale gray tom

EELTAIL—gray-and-black tabby she-cat

APPRENTICE

PERC HPAW—thick-furred gray tom

SHADOWCLAN

MEDICINE CAT

SLO EFUR—black tom

WINDCLAN

MEDICINE CAT

LARKW ING—gray tabby tom

WARRIORS

SW IFTFLIGHT—pale gray tabby tom

MIDGEPELT—patch-furred brown tom

CATS OUTSIDE CLANS

MYLER—black-and-white tom

“Steady on, Mapleshade! You just trod on my tail!” The WindClan warrior jerked away with a hiss.

“Sorry, Swiftflight,” Mapleshade apologized over her shoulder as she plunged deeper into the throng of cats. The light of the full moon turned all their pelts to silver, and fur tickled Mapleshade’s nose. Above her, Oakstar’s voice echoed around the trunks of the four gigantic oak trees.

“My warriors tracked the adders to their nest at Snakerocks and blocked the hole with stones,” the ThunderClan leader reported. “Thanks to their courage, no adders have since been seen in our territory.”

“They were lucky not to get bitten,” grunted a ShadowClan elder near Mapleshade’s ear.

“Too right,” agreed her Clanmate. “Remember when Marshpaw trod on an adder on his first patrol? That was a bad way to die.”

The first cat shrugged. “I’ve seen worse.”

Mapleshade rolled her eyes. Trust ShadowClan cats to get competitive about deaths they have watched . She dodged around a rock and emerged among a cluster of RiverClan cats. Instantly pelts bristled and she felt eyes burn into her.

“There may be a truce,” snarled the black warrior Rainfall. “But don’t push your luck, ThunderClan mouse dung.”

Mapleshade ducked her head. “I mean no harm,” she mewed. “I’m not staying.”

“Good,” growled a cat she couldn’t see.

Mapleshade forced her hair to lie flat as she wove among the hostile warriors. She couldn’t blame RiverClan for being angry. ThunderClan had triumphed in the last clash over Sunningrocks; defeat was the bitterest wound of all.

“Remember what happened to Birchface and Flowerpaw,” Rainfall murmured in her ear, so close that Mapleshade could feel the heat of his fish-breath. “Those rocks belong to us, and we’ll kill as many of your Clanmates as we need to until you give them up.”

Mapleshade stumbled as a memory seared through her brain: Appledusk, a light brown RiverClan warrior with piercing green eyes, striking Birchface so hard that the ThunderClan cat lost his footing and slipped from the very top of Sunningrocks. He landed with a splash in the swollen river. His apprentice Flowerpaw leaped in after him and struggled to keep Birchface’s head out of the water but the current was too strong and they were swept downstream into the half-submerged crossing rocks.

For one terrible moment, dark tabby and dappled gray heads rose above the surface, screeching in fear, then both vanished into the tumbling foam. Their bodies were found just beyond the stones, washed up on the ThunderClan shore as if they were making a last desperate effort to go home.

Mapleshade swallowed a burst of rage at the warriors around her. Why did RiverClan insist on fighting over a bunch of rocks that were clearly on ThunderClan’s territory? She lowered her head and pushed her way through the knot of hostile cats. She made it to the edge of the hollow where the shadows clustered more densely, dark enough to hide among. Suddenly a pale brown shape loomed in front of her, and Mapleshade’s nostrils flared at the scent of fish. She looked up, her heart pounding.

“What are you doing here?” hissed Appledusk. His long front claws caught the moonlight as he sank them into the grass.

Mapleshade’s words seemed to be stuck in her throat. She stared into the RiverClan warrior’s holly-colored eyes and tried to breathe normally. She wondered if any of her Clanmates were watching.

Appledusk took a step closer and lowered his head until his muzzle brushed the tip of Mapleshade’s ear. “You must know how dangerous it is for you to be here. What would happen if your Clanmates saw you talking to me?”

Mapleshade leaned forward until her cheek pressed against Appledusk’s feather-soft chest fur. “I had to speak with you,” she murmured. “It’s been too long. I waited for you at the sycamore tree every night, but you never came.”

The tom’s breath warmed the back of her neck. “I know,” he purred. “But since the battle, we’ve doubled our border patrols, even after dark. I can’t cross the river without being spotted.” He took a step back, and Mapleshade felt a rush of cold air on her pelt. “I’ll try to get across at new moon.

Things might have calmed down by then.”

“If only you hadn’t killed Birchface,” Mapleshade whispered. “Of all the cats to lose in the battle, it had to be Oakstar’s son!”

She felt Appledusk stiffen beneath his pelt. “It was an accident,” he growled. “I never meant for him to fall into the river.”

Mapleshade closed her eyes. “That’s not the way my Clanmates see it. They blame you for both of our losses.”

“Then they are fools.” Appledusk shuddered, then relaxed. “But Sunningrocks has always made our Clans a little mouse-brained.” He licked the top of Mapleshade’s head. “Thank StarClan you didn’t get hurt in the battle.”

Mapleshade gazed up at him. Oh my precious warrior. I love you with all my heart . “There’s something you need to know,” she mewed.