Эрин Хантер - Tigerheart’s Shadow

Tigerheart’s pelt prickled uneasily. End in darkness. This journey was already daunting. Spire’s grim words didn’t help. He whisked his tail enthusiastically. “We’ll be out of the city soon. Pouncekit, have I told you about rabbits?”

Pouncekit glanced back at him. “Are they like weasels?”

Dovewing purred. “Weasels are like stoats. Rabbits are like hares.”

Lightkit’s ears twitched. “It’s so confusing. How will we ever learn it all?”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be easier than you think.” Tigerheart’s spirits lifted as he imagined showing the pine forest to his kits.

Shadowkit gasped, stopping in his tracks. His pelt bristled. “What are they?”

Tigerheart followed his gaze. Rats were darting across the Silverpath ahead. In the dim light, they looked slippery and fast. “That’s prey,” he meowed breezily. He didn’t want to betray the fear in his belly. Some of the rats looked as big as the kits. What if there were more? A swarm could overrun them, and a bite from their sour teeth could be deadly. “We can catch some if we get hungry. For now, stay close to us. We don’t want rat stench on our fur.”

Dovewing glanced at him. Fear tinged her gaze. He pressed closer against her, hoping his warmth would reassure her.

Pouncekit halted suddenly. “I can’t walk any farther. My paws are too sore.” She lifted one of her forepaws and lapped her pad gingerly.

“The stones are rather sharp,” Dovewing sympathized. “But we have to keep going. There’ll be grass once we get to the end. And your pads will toughen up as we travel.”

Ant mewed from behind. “I could give her a—what do you call it?—a badger ride?”

Pouncekit turned around eagerly. “Can I?” she looked hopefully at Dovewing.

Tigerheart answered. “A warrior walks.”

Dovewing blinked at Tigerheart. “She’s not a warrior yet. And the stones are sharp.”

“This will be a long journey.” Tigerheart pressed back guilt. This wasn’t a time for softness. He had to be strong. They all had to be strong. “The kits need to learn how to be tough if we’re going to reach the lake.”

Pouncekit sniffed. “Okay. I can be tough.”

Lightkit nudged her sister. “Try to imagine what the grass will feel like when we get to the end. It will take your mind off the soreness.”

Shadowkit flicked his tail. “Will the grass outside the city be like the grass near the gathering place?”

“Grass is the same everywhere—” Tigerheart stopped. The breeze had stiffened. He heard a familiar hum from the track. His heart lurched. A Thundersnake was coming.

Dash must have heard it too. He stopped and turned to face the group. “We have to crouch down at the edge of the tunnel,” he warned.

Tigerheart could see the bright eye of a Thundersnake in the distance.

Shadowkit blinked at it. “Is that the end of the tunnel?” he mewed hopefully.

“No.” Tigerheart guided him toward the wall. “A Thundersnake is coming. We have to duck.”

“Will it squash us?” Pouncekit’s mew was shrill with fear.

“No.” Dash sounded calm. “There’s plenty of space. But it will be loud and windy.”

“Flatten your ears as much as you can.” Tigerheart’s throat tightened as he remembered the Thundersnake that had screamed past him in the tunnel on his way to the city. What if the wind of this snake’s passing whisked the kits away? “Hold on to the kits!” he called as the roar of the Thundersnake rose around them. The Silverpath was singing now as it vibrated harder. Wind tugged at Tigerheart’s pelt. He grabbed Shadowkit’s scruff and tucked him under his chest as he flattened himself into the corner where the wall met the ground. He looked back and saw the others pressing themselves hard against the stone. Dovewing had Pouncekit’s scruff in her jaws and had wrapped her paws around the kit. Lightkit’s tail showed from beneath Cinnamon’s belly as the she-cat sheltered her against the wind. Blaze huddled between Spire and the wall. Tigerheart flattened his ears. The air throbbed around him as the Thundersnake pounded closer. He screwed his eyes shut. Shadowkit trembled beneath him. The ground shuddered and the walls rang with the howling of the Thundersnake. Its foul stench scorched his lungs. As it screeched past, the tunnel seemed to explode around him. Every hair on his pelt shrilled with the clattering roar as the earth shook. Stiff with terror, Tigerheart waited for it to pass.

In a few moments, the Thundersnake was charging away. The wind swirled, then eased into a soft breeze once more. The tracks trembled and then grew still. Tigerheart pushed himself to his paws and forced his fur to flatten. Shadowkit shifted beneath him. Tigerheart saw him trembling, his eyes wide with terror. He grabbed the kit’s scuff and lifted him gently to his paws. “It’s gone now. You’re safe.”

Shadowkit blinked at him. “I thought the tunnel had fallen in.”

Dash shook out his pelt. “Tunnels are used to trains. They never fall in,” he promised.

Lightkit wriggled from beneath Cinnamon. “That was exciting!” Her eyes shone.

Pouncekit whisked her tail. “Can we wait for another one? I want to do it again!”

Dovewing blinked at Tigerheart. “Are you okay?” Her fur was bristling with fear.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to hear properly for days.” Dovewing twitched her ears.

Cinnamon stared after the Thundersnake, her flanks heaving. “That was horrible.”

“I’m putting my paws in my ears next time.” Ant mewed.

“That was bigger than all the monsters I’ve ever seen,” Blaze breathed. He looked at Spire. The skinny tom was still lying on his belly. “Are you hurt?”

Spire lifted his nose from between his paws. “Was it real?”

Blaze stared at him. “Of course it was real. Can’t you smell it?”

The air was thick with acrid Thundersnake stench.

“Come on.” Tigerheart began walking. He wanted to reach fresh air as soon as he could. Air that made his lungs burn couldn’t be good for the kits. He heard the stones crunch as the others hurried after him. Fixing his gaze on the shadows ahead, Tigerheart strained to see daylight.

He lost track of time as he pushed on. The kits stopped talking. Occasionally Ant and Cinnamon murmured something to each other. Dash hurried ahead from time to time, scouting for rats or some sign of the end. Two more Thundersnakes howled past. Shadowkit trembled harder each time, as though each passing reached deeper into his fur. Lightkit and Pouncekit seemed energized by them, their weariness evaporating for a few moments after the roar had subsided.

Spire trailed behind, and Blaze fell back to urge him on. “Come on. We’ll be in the open soon.” The young tom’s mew echoed off the stone walls.

“It feels like we’ve been walking for moons ,” Ant mewed grimly. “Are you sure there is an end to this tunnel?”

“It can’t be far now,” Tigerheart told him, trying to sound convincing. Then his eyes blinked as he saw pale light far ahead. Another Thundersnake? He pricked his ears. There was no distant growl. The earth felt still beneath his paws. He tasted the air. Fresher scents than he’d smelled in moons touched his tongue. “We’re nearly there!” His heart soared. He quickened his pace.

Pouncekit hurried ahead, Lightkit at her heels. “I want to see outside.”

“Will we be able to see the lake?” Lightkit asked.

“Not yet.” Tigerheart wondered if he should warn them that the lake was days away.

Shadowkit trotted after his sisters.

Blaze left Spire’s side for the first time and caught up with them. His ginger-and-white pelt was ruffled with excitement. “I’ve never seen outside the city.”