Clear Sky growled from the edge of the rock. “Stop!”
Petal and Jackdaw’s Cry froze and backed away. The bat lay between them, pooled in blood.
Clear Sky’s gaze swung toward Jackdaw’s Cry. “What’s he doing here?”
Petal looked up at her leader. “We couldn’t leave him alone with Birch and Alder.”
Jackdaw’s Cry snarled. “You think I’d harm kits?”
Leaf showed his teeth. “Never trust a hungry cat.”
“Whose fault is it I’m hungry?” Jackdaw’s Cry threw an accusing glare at Clear Sky. “You haven’t let me eat since I got to the forest.”
What? Outrage pulsed through Thunder. He pictured the piles of prey in the forest camp, rotting because there was too much to eat. Hadn’t they shared any with Jackdaw’s Cry? “You starved him? But . . . you swore that you would never again see another cat go hungry.”
Clear Sky turned on him. “Don’t you dare speak! You’ve no right to be heard after everything you’ve done!” Hurt blazed in his eyes. “You’re disloyal and ungrateful. First, you left Gray Wing. And then you left me!”
Thunder shrank beneath his pelt. Disloyal? Was that how Gray Wing saw it, too? “You told me it was destiny.” His mew was barely a whisper.
Clear Sky’s eyes narrowed. “Your destiny has nothing to do with me.” He barged past Gray Wing and thrust his muzzle into Thunder’s face. “You betrayed Gray Wing and you betrayed me!” He drew back, teeth glinting. “Isn’t that right, brother?” He glared at Gray Wing.
“Leaving the moor wasn’t a betrayal,” Gray Wing protested. “He thought he was doing the right thing.”
Clear Sky snorted. “He can’t be trusted.” His gaze swung back to Thunder.
Thunder backed away, his paws trembling. He knew he’d come to despise Clear Sky . . . but he didn’t realize his father hated him.
“I know what you’ve been doing on the moor,” Clear Sky accused, leaning close to Thunder again. “You’ve been training cats for battle—”
“I haven’t!” Thunder defended himself. “I’ve been trying to persuade them not to fight!”
Clear Sky wasn’t listening. “You’ve been seen. Telling them how to turn hunting crouches into fighting moves! But don’t forget, you mean nothing to any cat, no matter how much you try to prove yourself. No cat trusts you anymore!”
Sudden darkness shrouded the hollow. Thunder jerked his gaze up. Past the towering oaks, he searched for the moon, but clouds had swallowed it and hidden the stars.
Clear Sky’s mew dropped to a whisper. “You may as well not exist.” His breath stirred Thunder’s ear fur.
Thunder gasped, shock pulsing through him as he saw coldness harden his father’s gaze.
Clear Sky turned his head toward the cats below. “Attack!” He reared and hooked his claws into Tall Shadow’s pelt and hauled her over the edge of the rock.
Yowls of excitement erupted as she landed among the forest cats.
“Tall Shadow!” Thunder stared in horror as they turned on her, claws flashing in the moonlight.
Jackdaw’s Cry plunged into the sea of writhing pelts, snaking his way to Tall Shadow’s side. Back to back, they reared and hit out at their attackers.
Petal hurled herself at Tall Shadow, hissing. Snake lunged low, nipping at her paws. With a hefty blow, Nettle caught Tall Shadow’s cheek. Tall Shadow staggered, unbalancing Jackdaw’s Cry. He teetered forward and Fircone grabbed his scruff and dragged him onto the ground.
“We have to help them.” Gray Wing’s panicked mew sounded in his ear.
“Let’s get them up here. It’ll be easier to defend ourselves,” Thunder hissed back.
“Then what?” Gray Wing’s gaze flashed with fear.
I don’t know! Thunder froze, staring down at the forest cats as Tall Shadow and Jackdaw’s Cry disappeared beneath them.
Clear Sky pushed past him. “That’s right,” he hissed. “Stay up here and watch your friends die.” He leaped down from the rock.
“Quick!” Thunder slithered after him. Gray Wing landed heavily beside him. They exchanged glances, then Thunder hurled himself into the battle. He grabbed Petal, digging his claws deep into her pelt, and dragged her backward. She yowled and turned, lips drawn back. Thunder ducked as she snapped at his muzzle, feeling a fierce tug at his whiskers as her jaws slammed shut dangerously close to his cheek. He dodged forward, thrusting himself beneath Nettle’s belly. Pushing up, he heaved the tom off his paws and sent him sprawling.
“Thunder!” Jackdaw’s Cry exclaimed. The tom’s gaze lit with hope.
“Get to the rock!” Thunder ordered.
Tall Shadow jerked her head around, catching Thunder’s eye.
“Watch out!” Thunder’s heart lurched as he saw Fircone lunge for her.
Tall Shadow spun and met the tom’s attack with an outstretched paw. She raked his muzzle, then threw her full weight against him, sending him staggering back against Quick Water and Leaf.
Pain seared Thunder’s flank. He turned as Snake sunk his claws deep. Fury rose in his belly. He dragged himself free and snapped at the rogue’s throat. Snake dodged away. Thunder leaped after him, grabbed his scruff between his teeth and shook him hard.
Claws hooked his shoulders and dragged him backward.
“Did you really think this battle could be avoided?” Clear Sky hissed in his ear.
“This isn’t a battle!” Thunder grunted with pain as Clear Sky pinned him to the ground with outstretched claws. “It’s slaughter.” Thrashing desperately, he spotted Gray Wing dragging Jackdaw’s Cry free of Fircone and pushing him toward the rock.
“Use the ledge to jump to the top!” Gray Wing ordered. He turned back for Tall Shadow.
Thunder writhed in Clear Sky’s grip. “We’re not going to make it easy!” As fast as a rabbit, he tucked his hind paws under his father’s belly and thrust him backward. Clear Sky’s eyes lit in surprise as he staggered backward and tripped over Snake.
Thunder leaped to his paws.
Tall Shadow streaked past him.
Gray Wing was on her tail. “Come on.” He paused to nose Thunder toward the rock.
Thunder ran, following Tall Shadow as she leaped onto the ledge. He scrambled to the top of the great rock a moment after her. Jackdaw’s Cry was trembling at the top. Gray Wing landed beside him.
“Now what?” Tall Shadow’s eyes were wide.
A hiss sounded from the ledge. Thunder looked down and saw Snake, halfway up. The rogue jumped. But Thunder was quick. He lashed out and sent him sprawling to the ground. Scrambling to his paws, Snake threw a menacing look to the top of the rock. Around him, the forest cats circled, low growls rumbling in their throats.
“We’re trapped!” Jackdaw’s Cry blinked at Gray Wing.
“They can’t keep us here forever,” Gray Wing reasoned.
Clear Sky padded to the center of the clearing and called up. “What’s your plan now, Gray Wing?” he snarled triumphantly. “Are you going to let us watch you starve up there? Or are you going to come down and fight like real cats?”
Thunder glanced up at the oak branch swaying a tail-length above their heads. “We need help,” he said.
Jackdaw’s Cry followed his gaze. “Do you think the birds are going to come and teach us to fly away?”
“If I could just get back to camp, I could fetch more cats.” Thunder murmured.
“You’ll never get past them.” Tall Shadow nodded toward the cats below.
Gray Wing narrowed his eyes. “Are you thinking about climbing out of here?”
Thunder met his gaze. “If I could get into the tree and climb along that branch.” He nodded toward a bough stretching toward the slope. The moor rose beyond. “I might make it to the camp for help.”
“It’s dangerous.” Tall Shadow’s eyes darkened. “They’ll try and stop you.”
“We’ll distract them,” Gray Wing promised.
Thunder peered down at the circling cats. “Stay up h
ere,” he warned. “I want you safe when I return with the others.”
“Will they come?” Jackdaw’s Cry stared at him anxiously.
Thunder straightened. “Do you think Acorn Fur, Lightning Tail, and Hawk Swoop would leave you here?”
Jackdaw’s Cry lifted his tail. “Never!”
“Be careful,” Tall Shadow warned, her eyes glistening with fear.
Thunder dipped his head. “I’ll do my best.”
Gray Wing padded to the edge of the rock and called down to the forest cats. “Look at your leader,” he growled. Clear Sky was in the middle of the clearing, his eyes gleaming. “Does he make you proud? Watching while you fight his battle for him.”
“How dare you?” Clear Sky lashed his tail.
As every cat’s gaze flicked toward Clear Sky, Thunder leaped for the branch. He hooked it with his forepaws, his hind paws churning the air desperately. Panic flashed though him. He had to make it before the cats noticed. Leaves showered around him as the branch shook under his weight. Swinging his haunches, he hooked a hind paw onto a jutting twig. Growling under his breath, he heaved himself upward, gasping as he dragged himself onto the branch.
He peered through the leaves.
Clear Sky was padding toward his cats. “Why are you even listening to a cat who only left the mountains because he was following his littermate? He was born to follow. I was born to lead!”
Thunder growled. Arrogant fox-heart!
He crept along the ancient branch, the bark rough beneath his pads. It thickened as he neared the trunk. He paused at the crook, relieved to see another branch jutting half a tail-length away. He leaped onto it, following the branches around the wide trunk like crossing stones in a river. Before he knew it, he was balancing on the branch that stretched toward the slope. He padded along it, his heart pounding, hoping that the leaves would conceal him. As he neared the end, his paws spilled over the sides of the branch—it was growing thinner. He unsheathed his claws, curling them into the thick bark as it quivered beneath his weight. He dropped to his belly and slithered forward. Gazing down, he saw the slope several tail-lengths below. Could he risk jumping down yet? He pulled himself farther along the fast-thinning branch. Suddenly, it dipped. His chest tightened in terror. I’m too heavy! With a crack, it snapped, sending him hurtling him toward the ground. He twisted clumsily, sucking in a yowl of alarm, and landed with a thump on his side.
Am I hurt? Fear pulsed through him as he lay winded, checking for pain. Nothing. Just the dull shock of landing. He drew in a shuddering breath.
“Where’s Thunder?” Clear Sky’s alarmed mew sounded from the clearing.
“He’s gone!”
“Where is he?”
He glanced down into the clearing. The forest cats were scanning the hollow, ears pricked.
Thunder leaped to his paws and raced uphill.
“He’s heading for the moor!” Nettle’s cry ripped through the night air.
Thunder ran harder, cresting the top of the slope, and hared onto the moor. Angry yowls rose from the hollow. He tore over the grass. Glancing back, he saw two shapes appear at the hollow’s rim. The moonlight glinted off sleek pelts. Snake and Petal. Their eyes flashed as they saw him. More cats loomed behind them.
Panic raging, Thunder fled. He could hear the yowls of the cats behind him as they gave chase. Gulping air, he looked back.
Snake was gaining on him. Small and wiry, the rogue moved fast over the grass. Thunder would never outrun him as far as the camp.
If they catch me, the others are lost! Scanning the moorside, he spotted a dip in the grass. A burrow?
I can use the tunnels!
Gray Wing had shown him the maze beneath the moor when he was younger and told him how to tell a good tunnel from a bad. Would a forest cat dare follow him into the darkness?
I hope not. Chest burning, pelt on end, Thunder skidded to a halt beside the dip and dived into the tunnel.
Earth scraped his flanks, soil crumbled beneath his paws. Scrambling inside, his nose wrinkled at the rank air. As moonlight faded behind him, the tunnel grew damp. Where am I heading? Slick mud walls slid past his pelt. Just keep going! He wasn’t even sure where the tunnel led. You have to save Gray Wing and the others!
How could this have happened? They’d gone to reach an agreement. Instead they faced battle. How could his father have betrayed his own brother? How could he have betrayed me? Rage burned beneath Thunder’s pelt. He growled as he pelted through the darkness. You’ll pay for this, Clear Sky. With blood.
CHAPTER 19
Never follow stale air.
The words carried back to him from his kithood, when Gray Wing had begun to teach him the tunnels beneath the moor.
Distant yowls echoed along the tunnel behind.
“You moor cats aren’t cats! You’re worms!”
“Come out and fight, you mouseheart!”
Snake and Petal were calling into the darkness. At least they hadn’t followed.
Thunder picked up his pace, ignoring the musty, cold air of the tunnel, and the endless ache in his paws. He had to get back to camp. There was no turning back.
His heart lurched, as the ground sloped down steeply beneath his paws. Only follow a downward slope if you can retrace your steps.
“Sorry, Gray Wing,” Thunder muttered under his breath. There was no way he could follow the older cat’s advice now.
“We’ll guard the entrance.” Snake’s growl echoed along tunnel behind. “If he comes back out, we’ll get him!”
Thunder swallowed, hoping he was heading in the right direction. The camp must be this way. The tunnel hadn’t curved since he entered it. His forepaws slipped as the slope suddenly sharpened. What if it just keeps going deeper? No. It can’t, he told himself. It must lead somewhere. As he calmed himself, the slope flattened and began to widen. Hope sparked in his chest. He slowed to a trot. The tunnel was straighter than crow-flight. It’ll take me to the camp. As he began to imagine bursting out beside the hollow, the air changed.
Thunder halted. Damp scents bathed his tongue. Blind in the darkness, Thunder reached forward with his muzzle. His nose touched earth. A dead end? It couldn’t be. The damp smell must be coming from somewhere. And there was only stale air behind. He reached forward with one forepaw. It flapped in thin air. So did his other. He frowned, puzzled. His nose touched earth, yet each paw reached into empty space. The tunnel must split into two! Which way do I choose? Heart pounding, Thunder sniffed first this way, then that.
One tunnel smelled dry and musty, the other damp and fresh.
Could it be dew? If he could smell dew, there must be grass and sky and air. Thunder headed along the damp tunnel. His paws pattered over mud. Hope flashed fresh with every paw step. The trail must start to rise soon.
His whiskers brushed close to earth on one side. The tunnel was curving. Was it leading away from camp? He followed the bend, anxiety curling in his belly. Have I gone the wrong way? The curve tightened. Thunder slowed. Should I go back? Uncertainty weighted his paws. Gray Wing’s depending on me. Suddenly the tunnel turned back on itself. Now where? Disoriented, Thunder pressed on.
He could picture Gray Wing, Jackdaw’s Cry, and Tall Shadow on the rock. What if Clear Sky’s cats attacked? If enough of them climbed the ledge together, they might be able to push the moor cats back and overrun their sanctuary. Breath quickening, Thunder broke into a run, pulling up again as he felt the tunnel narrow around him. Within paw steps, it was pressing on his spine, then his flanks, until he was hauling himself through a narrow gap, earth dragging against his belly.
I should have taken the other tunnel. Fear crawled beneath his pelt. But the damp fresh scent of dew still bathed his muzzle. This tunnel must lead out onto the moor. Once he was in the open, he would be able to find his way back to camp. He dragged himself forward, relief flooding his fur as the space opened out, feeling like a great weight being lifted off his back.
He scrambled to his paws and raced on
ward, mouth open, hoping to smell a familiar scent. Had he been in this tunnel before?
Gray Wing’s mew sounded in his ears. Jackdaw’s Cry knows these tunnels as well as he knows the rabbit runs through the heather. You must learn them too. Who knows when you’ll need their shelter?
If only he hadn’t spent so much time in the forest with Clear Sky. Bitterness caught in his throat. I could have been learning these routes. I might have made it back to the camp by now.
Whiskers twitching as he felt for open space ahead, he hurried through the blackness. His heart lifted as light showed ahead. How? The tunnel hadn’t sloped upward. He couldn’t be near the surface. He hurried toward the brightness, realizing as he neared that moonlight was seeping through a deep crack in the earth. The scent of grass, rich with predawn dew, washed over him. He scowled with disappointment and halted, straining to see ahead.
A scuffling sound made him stiffen. Fur was brushing the earth. Thunder’s belly tightened as a familiar stench touched his nose.
Badger!
He backed away. Had he stumbled into a set? Heavy paws scuffed the ground in the shadows farther down the tunnel. Thunder’s pelt lifted as eyes glinted in the muted moonlight streaming from the crack. He could make out the white stripes of a badger face.
A growl rumbled toward him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to—”
Claws scraped the earth as the badger lunged. Fighting panic, Thunder turned and raced back along the tunnel. As it narrowed around him, he dived forward, reaching out with his forepaws to haul himself through. Behind, he felt hot breath on his tail and heard jaws snap, an angry snarl following him as he dragged himself forward.
Heart thrumming against the earth, he heard heavy paws scraping the earth behind. The badger was too big to fit through.
Unsheathing his claws, Thunder heaved himself through the narrowest part of the tunnel, gasping for breath as he scrambled out the other side.
He stopped and pricked his ears. Trembling like prey, he listened as the badger snorted before lumbering away. Thunder’s thoughts began to race. Petal and Snake were at the entrance. A badger blocked this way. There was only one way to go.