Эрин Хантер: Crookedstar’s Promise

RIVERCLAN

LEADER HAILSTAR—thick-pelted gray tom

DEPUTY SHELLHEART—dappled gray tom

MEDICINE CAT BRAMBLEBERRY—pretty white she-cat with black-spotted fur, blue eyes, and a strikingly pink nose

WARRIORS (toms, and she-cats without kits)

RIPPLECLAW—black-and-silver tabby tom

TIMBERFUR—brown tom

MUDFUR—long-haired light brown tom

OWLFUR—brown-and-white tom

OTTERSPLASH—white-and-pale-ginger she-cat

CEDARPELT—brown tabby tom, stout and short-tailed

LILYSTEM—gray she-cat

BRIGHTSKY—nimble white-and-ginger she-cat

PIKETOOTH—skinny brown tabby tom with a narrow face and protruding canine teeth

LAKESHINE—pretty, long-haired, gray-and-white she-cat

SHIMMERPELT—night-black she-cat with glossy pelt

APPRENTICES (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

SOFTPAW—small, lithe, white she-cat with tabby patches

WHITEPAW—pure white tom with tabby-striped tail and brown paws

QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

ECHOMIST—long-haired gray she-cat, fur tipped with white to give her a soft, cloudy appearance (mother to Volekit, Beetlekit, and Petalkit)

RAINFLOWER—pale gray she-cat (mother to Stormkit and Oakkit)

FALLOWTAIL—light brown she-cat with blue eyes and soft fur (mother to Graykit and Willowkit)

ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)

TROUTCLAW—gray tabby tom

TANGLEWHISKER—long-haired tabby tom with a thick, knotted pelt

BIRDSONG—tabby-and-white she-cat with ginger patches around her muzzle, flecked with gray

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER PINESTAR—red-brown tom with green eyes

DEPUTY SUNFALL—bright ginger tom with yellow eyes

MEDICINE CAT GOOSEFEATHER—speckled gray tom with pale blue eyes

APPRENTICE, FEATHERWHISKER

WARRIORS STONEPELT—gray tom

STORMTAIL—blue-gray tom with blue eyes

ADDERFANG—mottled brown tabby tom with yellow eyes

TAWNYSPOTS—light gray tabby tom with amber eyes

SPARROWPELT—big, dark brown tabby tom with yellow eyes

SMALLEAR—gray tom with very small ears and amber eyes

APPRENTICE, WHITEPAW

THRUSHPELT—sandy-gray tom with white flash on his chest and green eyes

ROBINWING—small, energetic brown she-cat with ginger patch on her chest and amber eyes

FUZZYPELT—black tom with fur that stands on end and yellow eyes

WINDFLIGHT—gray tabby tom with pale green eyes

APPRENTICE, DAPPLEPAW

SPECKLETAIL—pale tabby she-cat with amber eyes

QUEENS SWIFTBREEZE—tabby-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes (mother of Leopardkit: black she-cat with green eyes, and Patchkit: black-and-white tom with amber eyes)

MOONFLOWER—silver-gray she-cat with pale yellow eyes (mother of Bluekit: gray she-cat with blue eyes, and Snowkit: white she-cat with blue eyes)

POPPYDAWN—long-haired, dark red she-cat with a bushy tail and amber eyes

ELDERS WEEDWHISKER—pale orange tom with yellow eyes

MUMBLEFOOT—brown tom, slightly clumsy, with amber eyes

LARKSONG—tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes

SHADOWCLAN

LEADER CEDARSTAR—very dark gray tom with a white belly

DEPUTY STONETOOTH—gray tabby tom with long teeth

MEDICINE CAT SAGEWHISKER—white she-cat with long whiskers

WARRIORS RAGGEDPELT—large dark brown tabby tom

FOXHEART—bright ginger tom

CROWTAIL—black tabby she-cat

APPRENTICE, CLOUDPAW

BRACKENFOOT—pale ginger tom with dark ginger legs

ARCHEYE—gray tabby tom with black stripes and thick stripe over eye

HOLLYFLOWER—dark-gray-and-white she-cat

QUEENS FEATHERSTORM—brown tabby she-cat

POOLCLOUD—gray-and-white she-cat

ELDERS LITTLEBIRD—small ginger tabby she-cat

LIZARDFANG—light brown tabby tom with one hooked tooth

WINDCLAN

LEADER HEATHERSTAR—pinkish-gray she-cat with blue eyes

DEPUTY REEDFEATHER—light brown tabby tom

MEDICINE CAT HAWKHEART—dark brown tom with yellow eyes

WARRIORS DAWNSTRIPE—pale gold tabby with creamy stripes

APPRENTICE, TALLPAW

REDCLAW—dark ginger tom

APPRENTICE, SHREWPAW

ELDERS WHITEBERRY—small pure-white tom

Wind rattled the branches of the willow trees and tore the reeds from their beds.

“Hailstar!”

Thick storm clouds swirled across the night-dark sky. Rain battered the tightly woven dens where the RiverClan warriors had been sleeping.

“Hailstar!”

The RiverClan leader flattened his ears as he heard his mate’s terrified cry. He dug his claws into the mud, steadying himself against the water that swirled around his legs. The river had broken its banks and was streaming into camp. He twisted his head around, searching the shadows.

“Hailstar!” Echomist shrieked again. Her cry was muffled by the kit who swung from her jaws. Another clung to her back. She was staring at a nest of twigs that was spinning away from her on the floodwater. A small kit was struggling to cling to it as the woven twigs collapsed like loose leaves.

Hailstar dived for the nest and grabbed the kit just before he disappeared beneath the water. He thrust his son at Timberfur, who was chasing another nest. “Take Volekit to the elders’ den!” The brown tom took the dripping scrap of fur and bounded toward the high end of the camp where the elders’ den was still untouched by the rising water.

“Follow him!” Hailstar ordered Echomist. She nodded, her eyes huge with fear, her long gray fur flattened to her body by the rain.

Hailstar scanned the camp. Gleaming pelts darted in the darkness like panicked fish. A lithe ginger-and-white she-cat was clinging on to the remains of the warriors’ den, trying to claw together its fast-fraying walls. A stout tabby tom tried to block the foaming channel where nests swirled out into the river.

The sky lit up with a white flare as lightning blazed. Thunder crashed and the wind hardened. A new wave of water surged through the camp.

“Shellheart!” Hailstar called to his deputy. “What’s your opinion?”

A dappled gray tom, peering upriver from a beech stump among the reeds, called back, “The water’s rising fast, Hailstar! The elders’ den isn’t going to be safe for much longer.”