Эрин Хантер - Legends of the Clans

If the dogs found their way into the camp, the kits would be safe. There were growls and heavy footsteps at the top of the ravine, accompanied by the sound of sniffing. The dogs wouldn’t be able to see them through the gorse and brush, so there was still a chance they would pass the ravine by.

Thunderstar climbed a few tail-lengths up the tree and turned to check on the rest of his Clan. Lightning Tail was helping Pink Eyes up a tall ash on the other side of the clearing, coaching the half-blind cat on where to put his paws as he climbed. Blue Whisker had already reached the branches above them.

Cloud Spots and Shivering Rose were just coming out of the medicine cats’ den, their faces sharp with fear as they turned toward another tall tree. Around the camp, the rest of the Clan was also rushing to climb out of the dogs’ reach.

Where was Violet Dawn? Thunderstar scanned the clearing for her. He heard a snarl from above, followed by renewed frantic barking. Had the dogs scented the Clan below?

A scattering of stones fell from the ledges above as three huge dogs charged down the sides of the ravine. They were even uglier than most dogs, with flat, broad, short-furred faces and powerful jaws that dripped drool as they charged toward the cats. Where had they come from? He’d never seen dogs like these before.

Thunderstar thought briefly of standing and fighting, but it was too great a risk—if his Clanmates were safe, any harm the dogs could do to their camp was a small price to pay.

Was every cat safe? There was a frightened yowl, and Thunderstar, his heart dropping, saw Violet Dawn, Owl Eyes, and Snail Shell huddled in the middle of the clearing by the warriors’ den, Clover leaning against them for support. Clover’s hurt leg must have held them up.

The dogs had almost made it to the bottom of the ravine. They didn’t seem to have noticed the four cats by the den yet; their eyes were fixed on the tree directly across the clearing, in which Lightning Tail, Blue Whisker, and Pink Eyes clung to branches out of the dogs’ reach.

I have to save Violet Dawn.

As the dogs’ paws touched the bottom of the ravine, Thunderstar flung himself toward them, pushing off the tree’s trunk with his powerful hind legs. He hit the ground with a jolt, but he didn’t stop, his paws pounding the earth as he ran directly at the dogs.

Oh, StarClan, I hope this works.

He caught a glimpse of long sharp teeth and gaping jaws as he raced toward the big dogs. They seemed surprised to have a cat come right at them, and their momentary hesitation saved him.

He caught a whiff of something foul and acrid—almost like the scent of a Thunderpath—as he dashed directly beneath the nose of the lead dog, and then he ran at top speed in the opposite direction from where the four cats huddled by the den.

I need to give Violet Dawn and the others time to get away. He was sure that his Clanmates were moving as quickly as they could, but Clover’s injury would slow them down. Weaving between the trees at the edge of the clearing, Thunderstar thought of Violet Dawn, and of their kits. Both he and his mate needed to survive this. Their kits had to be safely born, and he would not let them be fatherless.

He could feel the hot breath of the dog on his heels. It wasn’t snarling now—it was saving its breath for running, just like he was. It was too close. With a thrill of panic, Thunderstar realized that he wouldn’t be able to outrun it.

Instead, he swerved and ran straight at an ash tree. There was no time to climb. At the last moment, Thunderstar dodged, slipping past the trunk to one side. The dog couldn’t veer away in time. With a satisfying thump, it crashed headfirst into the tree. The second dog, following close behind, skidded right into it, and both went down in a chorus of snarls and a tangle of flailing legs.

Thunderstar scrambled up another tree and onto a branch. It was a lower branch than he would have preferred, but it didn’t matter—dogs might be fast and strong, but they were terrible climbers. Regaining their feet, the two dogs leaped, barking frantically, but they couldn’t reach him.

Panting, Thunderstar looked to see if he had distracted the dogs long enough for Violet Dawn and the others to get to safety.

Clover was halfway up a tree. But Violet Dawn, Snail Shell, and Owl Eyes were still on the ground, positioned protectively between the injured cat and the approaching third dog.

All three cats were backing away, their fur bristling and their tails puffed out, hissing and yowling to try to scare the dog off. But it kept stalking closer, its body low to the ground, its lips drawn back in a snarl. It’s hunting them like we hunt prey, Thunderstar thought with a shock of fear.

“Violet Dawn!” Thunderstar yowled. He scrambled to the end of his branch and flung himself to the next tree, catching hold of the end of one of its branches and clawing his way to the next. A surge of renewed barking came from below.

Racing to the end of the next branch, he leaped to another tree. Its trunk swayed dizzyingly below him and he almost lost his balance. Steadying himself, Thunderstar looked up in time to see Violet Dawn slash her claws across the angry dog’s face, aiming for its eyes. With a yelp, it fell back for a moment, and Violet Dawn shoved Snail Shell into the nearest tree and clawed her way up behind him, moving as fast as Thunderstar had ever seen her despite the clumsy weight of her rounded belly. Owl Eyes leaped after them, barely dodging the dog’s snapping jaws. A furious howl came from below.

Thunderstar scanned the clearing: There was no cat on the ground now. He could only hope that the whole Clan had escaped injury.

A few drops spattered onto the leaves around him, and then a heavy downpour picked up again. Thunderstar inched closer to the tree’s trunk as cold water streamed down his ears and dribbled off the ends of his whiskers. At least the dogs were getting just as wet as ThunderClan.

The rain kept falling, harder and harder, as the dogs paced the clearing below. Thunderstar shifted miserably on his branch and tried to peer across to the other trees to check on Violet Dawn, and on the rest of his Clanmates, but he could see very little through the sheets of driving rain. Gradually, shadows began to spread through the clearing.

After a long time, as darkness fell and the rain continued, the dogs finally wandered off, after a few last barks up at the unreachable cats. They looked as wet and muddy as he was, and Thunderstar hoped they were even more uncomfortable.

As soon as he could no longer hear them crashing through the undergrowth of the forest, Thunderstar leaped down into the clearing.

“I think it’s safe now,” he called, and his Clan gradually joined him, some dropping daringly from the branches above, the rest scrambling down tree trunks with varying amounts of caution. Thunderstar looked carefully around: Yes, they were all here, from tiny Patch Pelt and Beech Tail to Pink Eyes, the oldest cat in the Clan.

“Thank StarClan no cat was killed,” Milkweed said, her eyes wide.

“They scattered our prey everywhere, though,” Yew Tail said, poking disdainfully at a bedraggled shrew. “I don’t think we can eat this.”

Clover gingerly tested her paw against the ground, sheathing and unsheathing her claws. “Well, if I didn’t have a sprained paw before, I definitely have one now.”

Thunderstar pressed himself close to Violet Dawn’s side, and she leaned against him, nuzzling his shoulder. “We’re all okay,” she said soothingly. “We made it.”

For how long? Thunderstar wondered. Now those dogs know where we live.

The rain had cleared overnight, and the sun was shining. Normally, the ThunderClan cats would have stretched out in the sunshine and let it warm their pelts after a quarter moon of rain. But this morning every cat was on edge, scanning the treeline and listening with their ears pricked, wondering if the dogs were coming back.