He raced back to the split and headed down the other tunnel. Please let it lead to the camp! Ignoring the stale air, he raced through the darkness, fur bristling as he braced every moment to hurtle headlong into a dead end. But the tunnel seemed to open before him like a fern leaf unfurling. It twisted this way and that, but a deep sense in his belly told Thunder that it had to be heading for the hollow. As the ground began to slope up beneath his paws, sharp night air touched his nose. There must be an opening ahead. He kept running until he saw moonlight. He raced for it, bursting out onto grass.
A cool breeze ruffled his fur and he breathed it deep into his chest. Relief washed his pelt. Above, the clouds had cleared and the moon shone, full and bright. He gazed around, searching for familiar markers. The hillside was dappled with heather, gorse, and grass so that it looked like a tortoiseshell’s pelt in the moonlight. But Thunder could still recognize the dark shadow that betrayed the dip where the camp nestled. The hollow! He raced toward it, crossing a swath of grass and plunging through heather. He zigzagged along a rabbit trail and burst out the other side. With a rush of excitement he recognized the heather wall of the camp.
He raced for it and leaped through the gap, skidding to a halt in the clearing.
The eyes of his camp mates swiveled toward him, flashing in the moonlight.
“Thunder!” Lightning Tail jumped up in alarm. But Thunder was heading for Gray Wing’s nest. He had to speak to Pebble Heart.
He stopped at the edge of the nest. Owl Eyes, Sparrow Fur, and Pebble Heart were nestled against Rainswept Flower. They stared at him with bright round eyes.
Thunder looked right at Pebble Heart. “What was your dream?” he demanded.
Rainswept Flower leaped to her paws behind the kits and hissed: “Thunder, what is this about? You’re scaring them!”
Sparrow Fur scanned the shadows behind Thunder. “Where’s Gray Wing?”
“He’s still at the hollow,” Thunder told her quickly, his gaze fixing on Pebble Heart. “What was your dream?” he repeated sharply.
Owl Eyes jumped up and shielded his brother. “Leave him alone!”
“It’s okay.” Pebble Heart nosed Owl Eyes softly aside and hopped out of the nest, meeting Thunder’s eyes. “Did Gray Wing tell you about it?”
“Thunder!” Shattered Ice’s mew sounded across the camp. Frost’s white pelt glowed at the corner of Thunder’s gaze. Paw steps scuffed the grass behind him. The cats were gathering in the clearing.
“Why did you come back alone?” Gorse Fur asked uneasily.
Thunder faced him. “Gray Wing, Tall Shadow, and Jackdaw’s Cry are in trouble.” He searched the anxious gazes of his campmates. Would they be prepared to fight to protect their friends? “I came back to get help.”
“Help?” Gorse Fur murmured.
Cloud Spots slid from beneath the gorse. “What’s the trouble?”
Shattered Ice growled. “I knew Clear Sky couldn’t be trusted.”
“He’s a fox-heart,” Frost hissed bitterly.
Thunder turned to Pebble Heart. “I must know what your dream was about.” He lowered his voice as the moor cats murmured behind him.
Pebble Heart gazed at him solemnly. “I saw a fight beneath a great rock,” he breathed.
“How did it end?” Thunder ignored the panic throbbing through his chest.
Pebble Heart blinked at him. “I don’t know.” Confusion clouded the young cat’s gaze. “It didn’t make sense.”
Thunder flicked his tail in frustration.
“I’m sorry,” Pebble Heart mewed.
“It’s not your fault.” Thunder turned away. There wasn’t time to worry—he needed to act. He leaped onto the flat rock. The smooth stone felt strange beneath his paws. This was Tall Shadow’s place, not his. But Tall Shadow wasn’t here.
He gazed down at the moor cats. “Clear Sky has betrayed us!”
Shattered Ice flattened his ears. “I told you—”
Thunder cut him off. “He brought his cats with him. Too many to count. Rogues and loners I’ve never seen before. Tall Shadow, Gray Wing, and Jackdaw’s Cry are stranded on the great rock in the hollow. I don’t know how long they can hold Clear Sky’s cats off. I’m going back to help them. Who will come with me?”
Gorse Fur stepped forward, chin high. “I will!”
“Me too!” Shattered Ice stood beside his friend.
“I’m coming!” Lightning Tail lashed his tail.
“So am I!” Frost’s blue eyes sparkled like ice. “If there’s a fight with Clear Sky, I want to be part of it!”
Acorn Fur paced beside him. “We’ll all go!” she yowled.
Thunder shook his head. “Someone must stay with Wind Runner and the kits.” He could hear mewling from Wind Runner’s nest in the long grass. He narrowed his eyes, waiting for someone to offer to remain in the camp.
Rainswept Flower met his gaze wordlessly. Jagged Peak stepped from the shadows, his face grim with determination. Dappled Pelt joined Cloud Spots and stared at Thunder, unflinching.
Pride surged beneath Thunder’s pelt—every cat wanted to fight for their friends. “You are brave,” he yowled. “And I’m honored to fight beside you, but someone must stay behind.” What if the battle ended in death? He pictured Owl Eyes, Pebble Heart, and Sparrow Fur trying to comfort Wind Runner and her kits as they waited in vain for someone to come home. Wind Runner couldn’t hunt for them all. “Jagged Peak.” He stared at the lame tom. “You’ll be more use here.”
Jagged Peak glared back at him stubbornly. “But I want to fight!”
Thunder ignored him, turning to Dappled Pelt. “Wind Runner and the kits need you more than Gray Wing and Tall Shadow do.”
Dappled Pelt’s hackles lifted. “But—”
Cloud Spots pushed past her. “If Dappled Pelt wants to go, then she must. She’s nimbler than me. It’ll make her a good fighter. I’ll stay behind with Wind Runner and the kits.”
Dappled Pelt glanced gratefully at her friend. “Are you sure?”
Cloud Spots nodded. “I’ll be more use here.”
“Jagged Peak?” Thunder turned back to the tom.
Jagged Peak’s eyes were still blazing with indignation. “I’m coming with you! This is as much my battle as yours.” He limped forward. Thunder could see his shoulders rippling with muscle. The weakness in his hind leg had given him strength in his forelegs. But he was slow. Clear Sky’s cats would shred him the moment he set paw in the hollow.
“I know you are strong, Jagged Peak,” Thunder told him. “And brave. But this is a fight to the death. Clear Sky will take advantage of any weakness.” Guilt pricked through him as he saw hurt sharpen Jagged Peak’s gaze. “Your strength is in guarding the kits. Wind Runner will need prey if she’s to feed them. You can hunt better than you can fight. You are needed here.”
Jagged Peak held his gaze for a moment, then dipped his head. “Okay.”
Thunder felt a rush of gratitude. “Thank you.”
“Tell Clear Sky I would fight by your side to the death,” Jagged Peak growled. “But I wouldn’t lift a claw to help him.”
“I will,” Thunder promised, his heart swelling.
Sparrow Fur circled Rainswept Flower anxiously. “Are you going with Thunder?”
Rainswept Flower met the young she-cat’s gaze solemnly. “I have to help Gray Wing.”
Sparrow Fur’s ears flattened with terror. “What if you don’t come back?”
Like Turtle Tail. Thunder leaped from the rock and padded toward her. “Gray Wing needs us,” he told her softly.
Sparrow Fur stared at him. “Will you bring him home?”
Thunder nodded. “I promise.” The words caught in his throat. He’d made the same promise about Turtle Tail. This time he would keep his word.
“I want to come.” Owl Eyes flicked his fluffy tail.
“You’re too young.” Thunder touched his muzzle to the young tom’s head.
Owl Eyes scowled. “But I know how to f
ight.”
“Hurry!” Shattered Ice was pacing the gap in the heather. Acorn Fur kneaded the ground beside him.
Overhead, clouds were surging toward the moon, driven by a rising wind. Thunder felt it lift his fur as he left the kits and headed past Shattered Ice, breaking into a run as his paws touched the soft grass outside camp.
“I’m coming too!”
Wind Runner’s yowl made him freeze. He turned, shocked to see the queen racing out of the camp.
Gorse Fur skidded to a halt beside Thunder and stared at his mate. “What about the kits?”
Shattered Ice, Hawk Swoop, Lightning Tail, and Acorn Fur streaked past, heading for the heather. Rainswept Flower and Dappled Pelt followed, Frost at their heels.
Wind Runner held her ground. “Our kits are tough,” she growled, glancing back into the camp. “Besides, they’ll have Jagged Peak and Cloud Spots.”
Gorse Fur flattened his ears.
Wind Runner’s growl was determined. “Don’t try and stop me. I want my kits to grow up somewhere safe, and the moor will never be safe as long as Clear Sky thinks he can tell any cat what to do!”
Thunder eyed the queen. “We have enough orphans already,” he told her grimly.
“They won’t be orphans.” Gorse Fur lifted his chin, his gaze flashing as it caught Wind Runner’s. “She will not die today. I won’t let her.”
Wind Runner’s eyes glistened as she stared at her mate. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Thunder pricked his ears. Paw steps were thrumming away over the moor. Hawk Swoop and Lightning Tail were already leading the others toward the battle. “Come on.” He dived into the heather. The bushes shook around him as Gorse Fur and Wind Runner followed.
As he burst out on the far side, he saw his camp mates already crossing the slope toward the hollow. Their pelts moved like shadows over the grass. He pushed harder to catch up. They had to meet Clear Sky and his rogues side by side and fight together if they were to stand a chance of winning this battle. At his side, Gorse Fur matched him paw step for paw step; just in front, Wind Runner’s lithe body moved easily over the grass.
Ahead, Hawk Swoop reached the top of the slope first. Lightning Tail, Rainswept Flower, and Shattered Ice pulled up beside her and waited motionless in the starlight. Acorn Fur and Dappled Pelt scrambled to a halt and paced around their camp mates while Frost peered over the edge. As he neared, Thunder could see that the white tom’s pelt was bristling.
His heart lurched as he strained to hear sounds from the hollow. It was silent. Had the battle already been fought? He swallowed back dread. What if he reached the top of the slope to find the bodies of Tall Shadow, Gray Wing, and Jackdaw’s Cry—plucked from their perch and slaughtered in the clearing?
He scrambled the last few paw steps and slowed, weaving past Lightning Tail and Hawk Swoop. Holding his breath, he stared down. Where are they? Clouds swallowed the moon. Flanks heaving, Thunder strained to see over the ferns. He narrowed his eyes. Beneath the branches of the oaks, he could make out the great rock. Three figures sat like stone at the top. They’re alive!
“Welcome back, Thunder.” Clear Sky’s yowl rang from below.
Thunder froze. His father stared at him from the middle of the clearing.
“I can smell your fear-scent,” Clear Sky sneered. Ripples of amusement sounded from the cats collected behind him.
“I’m not scared of you!” Thunder’s tail bushed with anger.
“Really?” Clear Sky padded to the bottom of the slope. “Then why did you bring so many cats?”
“We’re here to rescue Gray Wing and the others.”
Clear Sky lifted his tail. “Then come and get them.”
CHAPTER 20
Thunder glanced at his camp mates. “Ready?”
Hawk Swoop met his gaze grimly. “How many cats does Clear Sky have?”
“More than us,” Thunder told her.
Lightning Tail squared his shoulders. “We have to save Gray Wing, Tall Shadow, and Jackdaw’s Cry.”
Shattered Ice glared into the hollow. “We have to show Clear Sky he can’t tell us what to do.”
Growls rumbled in the throats of his camp mates.
Frost showed his teeth. “Just let me get my claws into him.”
Thunder drew in a deep breath, fear darkening his thoughts. Clear Sky’s cats were ready for them. We’re ready for you.
“Attack!” He plunged down the slope, crashing through the ferns. Fear turned to energy fizzing in his paws as they hit the open clearing.
Pelts swarmed toward them. The air stank of the carrion scent of rogues. Didn’t Clear Sky care who fought for him? Shrieks seemed to claw at the night air as the moor cats raced among the forest cats.
Matted brown fur flashed at the edge of Thunder’s vision. He ducked as Snake leaped at him, dodging beneath the tom’s belly and slashing out with his forepaw as a tabby reared up. His claws pierced Snake’s fur, digging into flesh as he raked the tabby’s cheek.
“This is a battle you can’t win!” Snake hissed. “You’re outnumbered—and we’ve been training for this.”
“At least we know what we’re fighting for!” Thunder glanced at the great rock, relieved to see Gray Wing leap down into battle. He landed squarely on Dew’s back. The rogue she-cat yowled, eyes lighting with rage. Jackdaw’s Cry thumped onto the ground beside her. Tall Shadow slid into the sea of writhing pelts.
Pain sliced through Thunder’s muzzle. Snake had caught him with a vicious jab, and now blood sprayed the earth. He dodged low and sank his teeth into Snake’s forepaw, gasping as jaws clamped his neck. His heart lurched as he felt Snake bite down. Mind whirling, he tried to twist free before Snake could crush his spine like he would crush prey.
“Get off him!” Lightning Tail yowled. And then suddenly Snake was gone. Thunder leaped to his paws and saw Lightning Tail hauling Snake backward. The rogue’s hind paws churned the air as Lightning Tail lifted them off the ground, his claws hooked into Snake’s flanks. With a grunt, Lightning Tail heaved Snake away. Snake staggered backward and disappeared into the mass of writhing pelts.
“Are you okay?” Lightning Tail crouched beside Thunder.
Thunder straightened and shook out his fur. His scruff was wet with his own blood. “Yes,” he growled.
“They’re fighting to kill!” Lightning Tail’s eyes were wide.
“So will we.” Fury pulsing beneath his pelt, Thunder scanned the battle. Dappled Pelt reared to meet the slashing blows of a long-furred rogue. Shattered Ice struggled beneath a mottled brown-and-white she-cat. Wind Runner tore at Quick Water’s spine-fur with punishing hind claws. Gray Wing backed into the shadow of the great rock. Dew slashed at him, eyes slitted. Gray Wing fought back with a flurry of blows that sent the she-cat staggering, blood welling at her muzzle.
As he drove Dew toward her camp mates, Petal darted forward. The small yellow she-cat’s eyes flashed with hatred as she barged past Dew. “This one’s mine!” Hissing, she threw a hefty blow that caught Gray Wing on his ear.
He flinched.
“That’s for my brother, you murdering snake-heart!” Petal leaped onto Gray Wing’s back, sinking her teeth into his tail as she pounded his head with her hind paws. “You had no right to kill Fox!”
Dew lunged and bit Gray Wing’s forepaw. He stumbled and fell, Petal clinging to his back. Dew lunged again, claws outstretched, and raked Gray Wing’s flank, opening long, scarlet wounds in his pelt.
Thunder dived forward, shouldering his way between thrashing bodies. “Gray Wing!” Panic pounded in his ears. He reached out and dug his claws into Dew’s thick gray fur. Snagging flesh, he pulled her backward and tossed her to one side. She landed clumsily at Shattered Ice’s paws, eyes wide with surprise. Shattered Ice glanced down at her, then rearing, he slammed his paws hard into her exposed flank.
Thunder backed away as Gray Wing stretched onto his hind legs. Petal clung like a burr to his back. He twisted, snapping at her hind leg and she shrie
ked as his jaws clamped down on the bone, releasing her grip and thumping onto the ground.
Thunder leaped in beside Gray Wing. Tails to the rock, they faced the battling cats.
“Thanks,” Gray Wing panted. Blood streamed from his flank. His ear tip hung, torn and loose.
Thunder could feel his own pelt matted with blood. The air was rich with its stone tang as the screeching cats fought. “We’re not finished yet.”
“You’re not finished until Gray Wing’s dead!” Petal reared in front of them, claws glinting in the half-light. A tabby rogue slid in beside her and glared at them. As Petal dove for Gray Wing, he lifted his forepaws. Thunder reared as the tabby leaped at him. Together, he and Gray Wing met their attackers with a flurry of blows, batting them backward, step by step. Gray Wing knocked Petal away with a swinging blow that sent her reeling. She collapsed onto Gorse Fur, who turned and met her with another swipe.
Thunder’s hind legs trembled beneath him as he hit out at the tabby. His muscles burned until, panting, he lost his balance and collapsed onto all fours. The tabby dropped heavily onto his shoulders, and agony scorched through Thunder’s pelt as claws dug into the wounds Snake had left. Thunder struggled, stumbling as Gray Wing tugged the tabby sharply away.
Flanks heaving, he watched Gray Wing wrestle the tabby to the ground, hind paws scrabbling at the rogue’s belly. Beyond them, Rainswept Flower fought two toms, snapping at one, then the other as they drove her backward, away from her camp mates to the edge of the clearing.
A yowl from the far side of the battle jerked his attention away. He recognized the agonized shriek.
Wind Runner!
Leaf was pinning her to the ground, drawing back his lips as he prepared to sink his teeth into her spine.
“No!” With a roar, Gorse Fur let go of Petal and pelted for Wind Runner. He charged into Leaf, knocking him away with such force that the thump of the tom’s flank on the hard earth sounded over the yowls of rage and pain. Wind Runner leaped to her paws beside Gorse Fur. Together they drove Leaf backward until, eyes bright with panic, he ducked past them and streaked into the heart of battle, his gray-and-white pelt disappearing among his camp mates.