Выбрать главу

Warriors

Into the Wild

Erin Hunter

For Billy—who left our Twoleg home to become a Warrior.

We still miss him very much.

And for Benjamin—his brother

who is with him now in StarClan

Special thanks to Kate Cary

Allegiances

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER

BLUESTAR— blue-gray she-cat, tinged with silver around her muzzle.

DEPUTY

REDTAIL— small tortoiseshell tom with a distinctive ginger tail.

APPRENTICE, DUSTPAW

MEDICINE CAT

SPOTTEDLEAF— beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with a distinctive dappled coat.

WARRIORS (toms, and she-cats without kits)

LIONHEART— magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur like a lion’s mane.

APPRENTICE, GRAYPAW

TIGERCLAW— big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws.

APPRENTICE, RAVENPAW

WHITESTORM— big white tom.

APPRENTICE, SANDPAW

DARKSTRIPE— sleek black-and-gray tabby tom.

LONGTAIL— pale tabby tom with dark black stripes.

RUNNINGWIND— swift tabby tom.

WILLOWPELT— very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes.

MOUSEFUR— small dusky brown she-cat.

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

DUSTPAW— dark brown tabby tom.

GRAYPAW— long-haired solid gray tom.

RAVENPAW— small, skinny black tom with a tiny white dash on his chest, and white-tipped tail

SANDPAW— pale ginger she-cat.

FIREPAW— handsome ginger tom.

QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

FROSTFUR— beautiful white coat and blue eyes.

BRINDLEFACE— pretty tabby.

GOLDENFLOWER— pale ginger coat.

SPECKLETAIL— pale tabby, and the oldest nursery queen.

ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)

HALFTAIL— big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing.

SMALLEAR— gray tom with very small ears. The oldest tom in ThunderClan.

PATCHPELT— small black-and-white tom.

ONE-EYE— pale gray she-cat, the oldest cat in ThunderClan. Virtually blind and deaf.

DAPPLETAIL— once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a lovely dappled coat.

SHADOWCLAN

LEADER

BROKENSTAR— long-haired dark brown tabby.

DEPUTY

BLACKFOOT— large white tom with huge jet-black paws.

MEDICINE CAT

RUNNINGNOSE— small gray-and-white tom.

WARRIORS

STUMPYTAIL— brown tabby tom.

APPRENTICE, BROWNPAW

BOULDER— silver tabby tom.

APPRENTICE, WETPAW

CLAWFACE —battle-scarred brown tom.

APPRENTICE, LITTLEPAW

NIGHTPELT— black tom.

QUEENS

DAWNCLOUD— small tabby.

BRIGHTFLOWER— black-and-white she-cat.

ELDERS

ASHFUR— thin gray tom.

WINDCLAN

LEADER

TALLSTAR— a black-and-white tom with a very long tail.

RIVERCLAN

LEADER

CROOKEDSTAR— a huge light-colored tabby with a twisted jaw.

DEPUTY

OAKHEART— a reddish brown tom.

CATS OUTSIDE CLANS

YELLOWFANG— old dark gray she-cat with a broad, flattened face.

SMUDGE— plump, friendly black-and-white kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest.

BARLEY— black-and-white tom who lives on a farm close to the forest.

Maps

Prologue

A half-moon glowed on smooth granite boulders, turning them silver. The silence was broken only by the ripple of water from the swift black river and the whisper of trees in the forest beyond.

There was a stirring in the shadows, and from all around lithe dark shapes crept stealthily over the rocks. Unsheathed claws glinted in the moonlight. Wary eyes flashed like amber. And then, as if on a silent signal, the creatures leaped at each other, and suddenly the rocks were alive with wrestling, screeching cats.

At the center of the frenzy of fur and claws, a massive dark tabby pinned a bracken-colored tom to the ground and drew up his head triumphantly. “Oakheart!” the tabby growled. “How dare you hunt in our territory? The Sunningrocks belong to ThunderClan!”

“After tonight, Tigerclaw, this will be just another RiverClan hunting ground!” the bracken-colored tom spat back.

A warning yowl came from the shore, shrill and anxious. “Look out! More RiverClan warriors are coming!”

Tigerclaw turned to see sleek wet bodies sliding out of the water below the rocks. The drenched RiverClan warriors bounded silently up the shore and hurled themselves into battle without even stopping to shake the water from their fur.

The dark tabby glared down at Oakheart. “You may swim like otters, but you and your warriors do not belong in this forest!” He drew back his lips and showed his teeth as the cat struggled beneath him.

The desperate scream of a ThunderClan she-cat rose above the clamor. A wiry RiverClan tom had pinned the brown warrior flat on her belly. Now he lunged toward her neck with jaws still dripping from his swim across the river.

Tigerclaw heard the cry and let go of Oakheart. With a mighty leap, he knocked the enemy warrior away from the she-cat. “Quick, Mousefur, run!” he ordered, before turning on the RiverClan tom who had threatened her. Mousefur scrambled to her paws, wincing from a deep gash on her shoulder, and raced away.

Behind her, Tigerclaw spat with rage as the RiverClan tom sliced open his nose. Blood blinded him for an instant, but he lunged forward regardless and sank his teeth into the hind leg of his enemy. The RiverClan cat squealed and struggled free.

“Tigerclaw!” The yowl came from a warrior with a tail as red as fox fur. “This is useless! There are too many RiverClan warriors!”

“No, Redtail. ThunderClan will never be beaten!” Tigerclaw yowled back, leaping to Redtail’s side. “This is our territory!” Blood was welling around his broad black muzzle, and he shook his head impatiently, scattering scarlet drops onto the rocks.

“ThunderClan will honor your courage, Tigerclaw, but we cannot afford to lose any more of our warriors,” Redtail urged. “Bluestar would never expect her warriors to fight against these impossible odds. We will have another chance to avenge this defeat.” He met Tigerclaw’s amber-eyed gaze steadily, then reared away and sprang onto a boulder at the edge of the trees.