River, page 1
Dedication
Special thanks to Cherith Baldry
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Allegiances
Maps
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
About the Author
Books by Erin Hunter
Back Ads
Copyright
About the Publisher
Allegiances
THUNDERCLAN
LEADER BRAMBLESTAR—dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes
DEPUTY SQUIRRELFLIGHT—dark ginger she-cat with green eyes and one white paw
MEDICINE CATS JAYFEATHER—gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes
ALDERHEART—dark ginger tom with amber eyes
WARRIORS (toms and she-cats without kits)
WHITEWING—white she-cat with green eyes
BIRCHFALL—light brown tabby tom
MOUSEWHISKER—gray-and-white tom
APPRENTICE, BAYPAW (golden tabby tom)
POPPYFROST—pale tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
LILYHEART—small, dark tabby she-cat with white patches and blue eyes
APPRENTICE, FLAMEPAW (black tom)
BUMBLESTRIPE—very pale gray tom with black stripes
CHERRYFALL—ginger she-cat
MOLEWHISKER—brown-and-cream tom
CINDERHEART—gray tabby she-cat
APPRENTICE, FINCHPAW (tortoiseshell she-cat)
BLOSSOMFALL—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with petal-shaped white patches
IVYPOOL—silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes
EAGLEWING—ginger she-cat
APPRENTICE, MYRTLEPAW (pale brown she-cat)
DEWNOSE—gray-and-white tom
THRIFTEAR—dark gray she-cat
STORMCLOUD—gray tabby tom
HOLLYTUFT—black she-cat
FERNSONG—yellow tabby tom
HONEYFUR—white she-cat with yellow splotches
SPARKPELT—orange tabby she-cat
SORRELSTRIPE—dark brown she-cat
TWIGBRANCH—gray she-cat with green eyes
FINLEAP—brown tom
SHELLFUR—tortoiseshell tom
PLUMSTONE—black-and-ginger she-cat
FLIPCLAW—brown tabby tom
LEAFSHADE—tortoiseshell she-cat
LIONBLAZE—golden tabby tom with amber eyes
QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)
DAISY—cream long-furred cat from the horseplace
SPOTFUR—spotted tabby she-cat (mother to Bristlekit, an orange-and-white tabby she-kit; Stemkit, an orange tabby tom; and Graykit, a white tom with gray spots)
ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)
THORNCLAW—golden-brown tabby tom
CLOUDTAIL—long-haired white tom with blue eyes
BRIGHTHEART—white she-cat with ginger patches
BRACKENFUR—golden-brown tabby tom
SHADOWCLAN
LEADER TIGERSTAR—dark brown tabby tom
DEPUTY CLOVERFOOT—gray tabby she-cat
MEDICINE CATS PUDDLESHINE—brown tom with white splotches
SHADOWSIGHT—gray tabby tom
WARRIORS TAWNYPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes
STONEWING—white tom
SCORCHFUR—dark gray tom with slashed ears
FLAXFOOT—brown tabby tom
SPARROWTAIL—large brown tabby tom
SNOWBIRD—pure white she-cat with green eyes
YARROWLEAF—ginger she-cat with yellow eyes
BERRYHEART—black-and-white she-cat
GRASSHEART—pale brown tabby she-cat
WHORLPELT—gray-and-white tom
HOPWHISKER—calico she-cat
BLAZEFIRE—white-and-ginger tom
FLOWERSTEM—silver she-cat
SNAKETOOTH—honey-colored tabby she-cat
SLATEFUR—sleek gray tom
POUNCESTEP—gray tabby she-cat
LIGHTLEAP—brown tabby she-cat
GULLSWOOP—white she-cat
SPIRECLAW—black-and-white tom
HOLLOWSPRING—black tom
SUNBEAM—brown-and-white tabby she-cat
QUEENS DOVEWING—pale gray she-cat with green eyes (mother to Rowankit, a ginger tom, and Birchkit, a light brown tom)
CINNAMONTAIL—brown tabby she-cat with white paws (mother to Firkit, a brown tabby tom, Streamkit, a gray tabby she-kit, Bloomkit, a black she-kit, and Whisperkit, a gray tom)
ELDERS OAKFUR—small brown tom
SKYCLAN
LEADER LEAFSTAR—brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes
DEPUTY HAWKWING—dark gray tom with yellow eyes
MEDICINE CATS FRECKLEWISH—mottled light brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs
FIDGETFLAKE—black-and-white tom
MEDIATOR TREE—yellow tom with amber eyes
WARRIORS SPARROWPELT—dark brown tabby tom
MACGYVER—black-and-white tom
DEWSPRING—sturdy gray tom
ROOTSPRING—yellow tom
NEEDLECLAW—black-and-white she-cat
PLUMWILLOW—dark gray she-cat
SAGENOSE—pale gray tom
KITESCRATCH—reddish-brown tom
HARRYBROOK—gray tom
CHERRYTAIL—fluffy tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
CLOUDMIST—white she-cat with yellow eyes
FRINGEWHISKER—white she-cat with brown splotches
TURTLECRAWL—tortoiseshell she-cat
RABBITLEAP—brown tom
WRENFLIGHT—golden tabby she-cat
REEDCLAW—small pale tabby she-cat
APPRENTICE, BEETLEPAW (tabby tom)
MINTFUR—gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes
NETTLESPLASH—pale brown tom
TINYCLOUD—small white she-cat
PALESKY—black-and-white she-cat
VIOLETSHINE—black-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes
BELLALEAF—pale orange she-cat with green eyes
QUAILFEATHER—white tom with crow-black ears
PIGEONFOOT—gray-and-white she-cat
GRAVELNOSE—tan tom
SUNNYPELT—ginger she-cat
APPRENTICE, BEEPAW (white-and-tabby she-kit)
NECTARSONG—brown she-cat
QUEENS BLOSSOMHEART—ginger-and-white she-cat (mother to Ridgekit, a reddish she-kit with a white nose, and Duskkit, a white tom with brown paws and ears)
ELDERS FALLOWFERN—pale brown she-cat who has lost her hearing
WINDCLAN
LEADER HARESTAR—brown-and-white tom
DEPUTY CROWFEATHER—dark gray tom
MEDICINE CATS KESTRELFLIGHT—mottled gray tom with white splotches like kestrel feathers
APPRENTICE, WHISTLEPAW (gray tabby she-cat)
warriors NIGHTCLOUD—black she-cat
BRINDLEWING—mottled brown she-cat
APPLESHINE—yellow tabby she-cat
LEAFTAIL—dark tabby tom with amber eyes
WOODSONG—brown she-cat
EMBERFOOT—gray tom with two dark paws
BREEZEPELT—black tom with amber eyes
HEATHERTAIL—light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes
FEATHERPELT—gray tabby she-cat
CROUCHFOOT—ginger tom
SONGLEAP—tortoiseshell she-cat
SEDGEWHISKER—light brown tabby she-cat
FLUTTERFOOT—brown-and-white tom
SLIGHTFOOT—black tom with white flash on his chest
OATCLAW—pale brown tabby tom
HOOTWHISKER—dark gray tom
FERNSTRIPE—gray tabby she-cat
QUEENS LARKWING—pale brown tabby she-cat (mother to Stripekit, a gray tabby tom, and Brookkit, a black-and-white tom)
ELDERS WHISKERNOSE—light brown tom
GORSETAIL—very pale gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes
RIVERCLAN
LEADER MISTYSTAR—gray she-cat with blue eyes
DEPUTY REEDWHISKER—black tom
MEDICINE CATS MOTHWING—dappled golden she-cat
APPRENTICE, FROSTPAW (light gray she-cat)
WARRIORS DUSKFUR—brown tabby she-cat
MINNOWTAIL—dark gray-and-white she-cat
MALLOWNOSE—light brown tabby tom
HAVENPELT—black-and-white she-cat
PODLIGHT—gray-and-white tom
SHIMMERPELT—silver she-cat
LIZARDTAIL—light brown tom
SNEEZECLOUD—gray-and-white tom
BRACKENPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat
SPLASHTAIL—brown tabby tom
FOGNOSE—gray-and-white she-cat
HARELIGHT—white tom
ICEWING—white she-cat with blue eyes
APPRENTICE, MISTPAW (tortoiseshell-and-white tabby she-cat)
CURLFEATHER—pale brown she-cat
OWLNOSE—brown tabby tom
GORSECLAW—white tom with gray ears
NIGHTSKY—dark gray she-cat with blue eyes
&
APPRENTICE, GRAYPAW (silver tabby tom)
ELDERS MOSSPELT—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
Maps
Prologue
A full moon drifted above the treetops, shedding a chilly light over the Gathering. Cats crowded around the Great Oak; in its branches, their leaders crouched, half hidden by leaves tinged with the gold and brown of early leaf-fall. Only their eyes, glowing like tiny moons, betrayed their presence.
ShadowClan had been the last to arrive, the cats still wriggling through the crowd to find places. One, a black-and-white tom, stood back, his gaze raking the assembled cats until it fell upon a SkyClan she-cat. Her white pelt, blotched with brown, glimmered in the moonlight. A purr gathered in his throat.
The she-cat raised her head slightly as her gaze met his, and she slid quietly backward until she found a space in the shadow of a bush at the very edge of the clearing. The tom joined her there, and they sat side by side.
“I thought you were never coming,” the she-cat murmured.
The tom shivered at the warmth of her breath near his ear. “Tigerstar likes to make an entrance,” he responded.
He had barely finished speaking when the ShadowClan leader let out a loud yowl, standing tall on a branch of the Great Oak. “Cats of all Clans,” he meowed as the sound of chatter died away. “Welcome to the Gathering.”
Bramblestar, the leader of ThunderClan, was the first of the leaders to give his news, but his words washed over the ShadowClan tom like a warm breeze that barely ruffled his fur. All his attention was on the she-cat at his side.
His delight at being with her was almost like pain. He remembered how long they had loved each other, how they had begun with shared glances and short chats at Gatherings, then managed to snatch a few meetings on their shared Clan border by the lakeside. Every moment they had spent together had felt so precious, and yet so disloyal.
What would our kin and our Clanmates say if they knew?
Sometimes the ShadowClan tom had hoped that everything would work out. After all, his Clan leader, Tigerstar, had fallen in love with a ThunderClan cat, and she had left her birth Clan to be with him. But he still remembered how long it had taken before ShadowClan had accepted Dovewing.
We’re both loyal to our Clans, he thought, with a loving glance at the SkyClan she-cat. We don’t want to lose our kin, or our friends.
His gaze drinking in the graceful curve of her neck, he remembered too how she had come to ShadowClan to help guard the impostor, Ashfur, when he was imprisoned there. The tom shuddered to remember the evil spirit cat who had taken over Bramblestar’s body and led ThunderClan until his deception was discovered. While he’d held on to power, he had almost wrecked the Clans in his determination to root out codebreakers.
That had been a terrible experience for the Clans, and the tom felt a pang of guilt at how wonderful it had been for him and for the brown-and-white she-cat. Once, all they could have hoped for were snatched moments beside their shared border. But once Ashfur was a prisoner in ShadowClan, guarded in turn by warriors from the other Clans, her duties had brought her to the ShadowClan camp. Then they’d had a rare opportunity to sit side by side and talk, to be together without feeling they were stealing time away from their Clans.
Best of all, in the end their terrible fear that they might be branded as codebreakers had been washed away like a twig in the floods of greenleaf. The warrior code would change. StarClan would no longer forbid them from being together.
The tom’s thoughts were interrupted as the SkyClan she-cat prodded him in the side. “Wake up!” she whispered. Her eyes were glimmering and her tail twitching in excitement. “Mistystar is going to talk about changes to the warrior code. This is what we’ve come to hear.”
When Ashfur had finally been defeated, several living cats had been granted the privilege of setting paw in the hunting grounds of StarClan. When they had returned, they had been given the title of Lights in the Mist, and they had brought back a plan that would change things for all the Clans.
Especially for cats like us, the tom thought, with an affectionate glance at the she-cat.
The tom looked up to see the RiverClan leader slowly making her way toward the end of her branch. For the first time he was struck by how frail she looked; the fur around her muzzle was gray with age, and her blue-gray pelt, once thick and beautiful, was dull and thinning now. But she still gazed down on the assembled cats with all the dignity of a Clan leader as she began to speak.
The ShadowClan tom and the SkyClan she-cat exchanged a glance of anticipation, then focused all their attention on Mistystar. Every other cat was doing the same; no cat was looking at them. Silently they pressed closer and twined their tails together.
The black-and-white tom’s heart was pounding so hard that he thought it might burst out of his chest. Things are changing . . . , he told himself. Oh, StarClan, whatever happens, let us be together.
Chapter 1
Crouching beside the fresh-kill pile, Flamepaw tore a bite from the mouse that lay at his paws. But the succulent flesh tasted like dead leaves in his mouth, and when he gulped it down, it settled in his belly like a rock. He couldn’t think of anything but his warrior assessment, which was due to start as soon as he and the other apprentices had finished eating.
Beside him, his foster littermate Baypaw, who was sharing his mouse, stopped eating to waggle his hindquarters vigorously, then took off in a massive pounce, landing with his forepaws clasped around a pebble that lay on the ground of the ThunderClan camp.
“Gotcha!” he yowled. “That was my best pounce,” he declared as he bounded back to Flamepaw. His eyes sparkled with excitement. “I’m going to catch so much prey. Mice and squirrels, beware! Baypaw is coming for you!”
“Yeah, sure,” Flamepaw muttered.
Baypaw crouched beside him and gave him a friendly nudge, his gaze reassuring. “Hey, don’t worry,” he meowed. “You’ll be fine. You’re a great hunter.”
Flamepaw nodded and forced himself to take another bite of the mouse. Hoping to distract himself from his upcoming assessment, he angled his ears toward a group of senior warriors who were sharing prey nearby, their heads together in what looked like a serious conversation.
“I don’t know what I think about making changes to the warrior code,” Birchfall mewed uneasily. “Especially this idea that we could get rid of a leader. It would be like—like telling the sun not to shine!”
Ivypool let out a disapproving snort. “We would have been glad enough to get rid of Ashfur,” she pointed out. “Even when we still thought he was Bramblestar. Cats died because we went on accepting him as our leader, even though he was sending cats into exile and suspecting us all of disloyalty, like he had bees in his brain.”
“But how often will we have to deal with a cat like Ashfur?” Birchfall asked.
“Once was enough,” Thornclaw responded with a flick of his ears. “I think Ivypool is right.”
“But Ashfur wasn’t a true leader,” Birchfall insisted. “If he hadn’t stolen Bramblestar’s body, no cat would have accepted him. And StarClan never gave him his nine lives and his name. These new rules are all about deposing a leader who has been approved by StarClan. That’s quite different.”
“You’ve got a point there,” Thornclaw admitted grudgingly.
“Although,” Ivypool mewed, “it’s not like StarClan is infallible. The first Tigerstar was given nine lives.”
“That’s true. Though, if a Clan deposed its leader, I don’t understand what would happen to their nine lives,” Cherryfall meowed. “Those lives are given by StarClan; ordinary living cats can’t take them away, can they?”
“We could try, if the leader was as vile as Ashfur,” Mousewhisker meowed, sliding out his claws. His eyes shone with anger, and Flamepaw remembered that the warrior had lost two of his siblings as a result of Ashfur’s lies.
Shocked gasps came from two or three cats in the group, and Flamepaw exchanged a horrified glance with his foster brother.
“A leader is a leader,” Bumblestripe insisted, glaring at the gray-and-white tom. “You don’t disobey a leader, you don’t depose a leader, and you certainly don’t kill a leader. That would get you to the Dark Forest for sure.”
“Keep your fur on.” Thornclaw flicked his tail at the younger tom, who reared back with an offended expression. “You don’t know the Dark Forest—not like Ivypool and I do. And the code has never been that rigid. Many of you are too young to remember, but I’ll never forget when ShadowClan drove out their leader Brokenstar, back in the old forest. He deserved it, if ever a cat did. But StarClan didn’t take back his nine lives, and they didn’t give nine lives to ShadowClan’s next leader, Nightstar.”
