Эрин Хантер - Legends of the Clans

Lightning Tail sat down abruptly, as if his legs had given out under him. “We’re in StarClan? We’re dead, then.”

Gray Wing tilted his head thoughtfully. “Yes,” he said. “And no. Lightning Tail, you can join StarClan now. Hunt with us, walk with your friends in a forest where there is nothing to fear. Your parents, Jackdaw’s Cry and Hawk Swoop, are here, and they will be so glad to see you.”

Lightning Tail’s eyes glistened with emotion. Thunderstar knew how Lightning Tail had mourned his parents, killed in the first battle between the cats before the Clans were formed.

Gray Wing went on. “But Thunderstar, you have to go back. Your next life is about to begin.”

“What?” Thunderstar burst out. “I get to be alive again, and Lightning Tail has to stay dead? That’s not fair! He only died because he saved me.” A new thought struck him. “And he didn’t have to, did he? I would have come back to life?”

Gray Wing shook his head. “If you hadn’t escaped those dogs, they could have killed you again and again. Lightning Tail truly did save you.” He looked at the black cat proudly. “And there is nothing more important than protecting the cats you love.”

Lightning Tail stepped toward Thunderstar, his green eyes shining. “StarClan gave you nine lives for a reason. ThunderClan needs its leader. You must go on. You’ll be a good father to your kits and keep looking after your Clan.”

“But I can’t do it without you,” Thunderstar pleaded. Lightning Tail had been beside him every step of the way, since they were kits together. “You’re my deputy. You’re the only one I can trust to help me lead.”

“I expect I’ll be watching over you from StarClan,” Lightning Tail replied, glancing at Gray Wing, who nodded. “And you’ll find the right cat to be your new deputy. But I will always be right beside you, Thunderstar.”

Thunderstar opened his mouth to protest again, but it was too late. He felt as if he was rushing forward, even though he wasn’t moving. The pleasant sunny clearing whirled dizzyingly around him, and then everything went dark.

Thunderstar blinked his eyes open. He felt groggy, as if he was waking from a deep sleep, and refreshed, as if it had been the best sleep of his life. It was almost dark, evening sliding into night. Where was he?

Memories began to come back to him: the dogs, the chase. He climbed to his feet. Nothing hurt now. Had he died? Had StarClan brought him back? As soon as he thought it, he knew, with a deep certainty, that it was true. He almost purred with excitement.

Then the last of his memories fell into place, and he froze, horrified. The dogs caught us both. Lightning Tail. Where is Lightning Tail?

Looking around, he saw Lightning Tail on the ground to his right, a bit farther away than he remembered. Is he alive? He whispered his friend’s name, approaching slowly.

Lightning Tail wasn’t breathing. Thunderstar nosed gently at his face, but he was cold and stiff. Already, he smelled wrong.

A great pain shot through Thunderstar’s chest. It wasn’t fair. He was alive but brave Lightning Tail was dead.

Night had fallen, and it was dark, except for the light of the half-moon above them. Thunderstar lay down beside the body of his deputy, their fur touching. Tonight, he would not sleep. He would not leave Lightning Tail alone, not yet. He would keep his Clanmate company for one last night. He would hold vigil and watch over his friend.

As the sun rose, Thunderstar got to his feet, stretching wearily. He had spent the night lying close beside Lightning Tail, remembering his deputy. They had always been together; when they were kits, the older cats had joked that they were a storm in the making. It seemed so unfair that Lightning Tail was dead and Thunderstar alive.

Thunderstar looked down at Lightning Tail’s body. He looked peaceful at least, his bright green eyes closed and his strong body at rest. Thunderstar, too, felt more at peace than he had the night before. Spending the night watching over his friend one more time had been the right thing to do.

But now it was time to bury Lightning Tail and return home. He would have to carry the news to ThunderClan that their much-loved deputy was dead.

“No,” Thunderstar said, realizing. He couldn’t go home, not yet. Lightning Tail had died trying to protect their Clan, and their job wasn’t finished. Thunderstar was going to have to find a way to stop the dogs before they invaded ThunderClan’s territory again. He couldn’t let them hurt any more of his Clanmates.

The sun was climbing higher every moment that he hesitated. The more time that passed, the more likely it was that the dogs would escape through that hole again.

Lightning Tail needed to be buried, but he would have wanted Thunderstar to wait until their mission had been accomplished. Thunderstar couldn’t bear to leave him exposed, though—he knew there were birds that fed on the dead.

Clumps of long grass grew nearby, and Thunderstar bit through some stalks and spread them over Lightning Tail’s body, concealing it. There. That would have to do for now.

“I’ll be back,” he said softly, and turned toward the strange Twolegplace once more.

He would take a different route this time, he decided, just in case the dogs were tracking them. Skirting the open stretch of land they had run over yesterday, Thunderstar walked up a gradual incline, until he was looking down on the field of dead monsters from a hill above them. There was a good-sized rock perched at the top of the hill, and Thunderstar leaped onto it to get a better look.

As he watched, the door of the Twoleg dwelling opened and the four dogs raced out, barking and yelping. Thunderstar stiffened: He could see the place where the hole in the silver strands was from here. Would the dogs come through it? Would they see him? He shuddered.

But there was an angry shout from inside the dwelling and the dogs hesitated, then turned to cluster around the door. One of the Twolegs came out, shoving the dogs out of the way before dropping something in front of them. They rushed forward and appeared to be eating—their Twoleg must have given them food.

What could Thunderstar do? The problem was the hole. If it wasn’t there, the dogs would never be able to venture back to the forest. But blocking it with stones and brambles clearly wouldn’t have worked, even if they had finished. The dogs had broken through their pile of rocks so easily… They hadn’t had the time, or the strength, to make a real barrier. And without Lightning Tail, everything would be twice as hard and take twice as long.

What if I had one really big stone, one big enough to cover the hole? Thunderstar’s tail twitched with excitement. He and Lightning Tail hadn’t been strong enough to move a stone that big. But he was sitting on one—and it was on a hill, directly upslope from the hole. What if he could roll it down? He jumped off the stone so he could inspect it more clearly.

Looking at the base of the stone, Thunderstar felt hopeful for the first time since he had lain down by Lightning Tail’s body. The earth below the stone was wet and muddy, soft from the days of rain. He scooped away some earth from in front of the stone with his paw: It wasn’t set too deeply. He could feel the stone’s edge just a few paw-lengths below.

He quickly dug more dirt from in front of the stone. After a bit of digging, the stone tilted dangerously forward. Thunderstar jumped back quickly, but the stone stilled again.