The Sight wpot-1

by Erin Hunter

  “You’d better collect some and take it back to camp,”

  Brambleclaw meowed.

  Hollypaw’s eyes clouded with disappointment. “Leafpool doesn’t need it right away.”

  “It might not be safe for her to go back to camp on her own,” Lionpaw pointed out, guessing his sister wanted a chance to stay out for a while. “Not with the fox cubs about.”

  “And don’t forget the competition,” Ashfur meowed. “We don’t want to waste time escorting her back.”

  “If you’re sure Leafpool doesn’t need it urgently . . . ?”

  Brambleclaw prompted Hollypaw.

  Her eyes brightened. “It was only for the store.”

  “We’ll collect some on our way back, then,” Brambleclaw agreed. He leaped away, heading into the shadowy woods.

  Lionpaw waited on the Thunderpath for Jaypaw and

  Brightheart to disappear among the trees with the others before following them in. Even in leaf-bare, the undergrowth here was thick. But without their leafy covering the plants looked like tall, thin skeletons littering the forest floor.

  Lionpaw’s breath came in clouds as the patrol padded quietly over the frozen ground. Graystripe turned back to face them. “There’s no scent of fox here,” he meowed. “And not too much cover for prey. This looks like a good spot to start the hunt.”

  Ashfur looked from Berrypaw to Lionpaw. “Who wants to go first?”

  “There’s a mouse over there,” Jaypaw announced casually.

  For the first time Lionpaw wondered if his brother felt left out of the hunting contest. But Jaypaw held his chin high and flicked his tail toward the base of an oak tree several fox-lengths away. Ashfur jerked his head around in surprise.

  “It’s dug under the frozen leaves into the ground,” Jaypaw told them.

  Lionpaw pricked his ears. Sure enough, he could hear the scrabble of tiny paws against cold earth, though very faintly.

  And there was the musty scent of freshly turned leaf litter in the air.

  “Lionpaw,” Brambleclaw hissed quietly. “You have a try.”

  One stealthy pawstep at a time, Lionpaw crept toward the scuffling noise. He let each pad sink slowly onto the hard ground, so that his steps made no sound. The scuffling carried on as Lionpaw drew close enough to drop into a hunting

  crouch. Squatting with his muzzle outstretched, he let his tail rest on the earth behind him. He could smell the mouse now, and saw a slight movement in the leaves.

  “Brambleclaw!”

  The mouse scuttled out of the leaves and disappeared among the roots of a tree. Hissing with anger, Lionpaw spun around to see who had ruined his catch.

  Birchfall exploded from the undergrowth and skidded to a halt. “ShadowClan have moved the border! They’ve put a new line of scent marks inside ThunderClan territory!”

  “Where?” Brambleclaw demanded.

  “I’ll show you.” Without waiting, Birchfall headed away through the trees.

  “Where’s Dustpelt?” Brambleclaw called after him.

  “Heading back to camp to warn Firestar,” came the reply.

  Brambleclaw turned to Brightheart. “You’d better come with us. I’m not risking leaving you while those fox cubs are still around.”

  Brightheart narrowed her eyes. “What about Jaypaw? Will he be able to keep up?”

  “Don’t let him out of your sight, and keep as close to us as you can,” Brambleclaw ordered. He glanced at Ashfur. “Stay near them.” Then he nodded to Graystripe. “Come with me.”

  Brambleclaw bounded after Birchfall, Graystripe following. Lionpaw pelted after them, the mouse forgotten.

  Hollypaw raced at his side. He could hear the pawsteps of Ashfur, Brightheart, and Jaypaw pounding behind. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his brother weaving through the

  trees as easily as a sighted cat. He must be guided by StarClan! he thought in astonishment. He turned back to look ahead, his pelt bristling as he ran. Had ShadowClan really dared to move the border?

  Birchfall led them back along the Thunderpath before veering into the forest and up the slope that led to the ShadowClan border. He skidded to a halt near the top.

  “Here!” he gasped, flicking his tail to indicate the line of birches that followed the ridge.

  Lionpaw sniffed the nearest trunk and wrinkled his nose.

  It was true. ShadowClan had marked ThunderClan trees.

  “Isn’t this the original border?” Graystripe asked.

  “No!” Brambleclaw hissed. “The border is there.” He pointed his muzzle to the top of the rise where the trees gave way to the grassy clearing.

  “Did they think we wouldn’t notice?” Hollypaw spat.

  Ashfur raced out of the bracken behind them, followed by Brightheart and Jaypaw.

  Jaypaw’s hackles rose. “ShadowClan warriors nearby!” he warned.

  As he spoke, three ShadowClan cats stalked over the rise and stood staring down at the ThunderClan patrol.

  “Oakfur!” Brambleclaw hissed, staring at the small brown tom who led the trio. Lionpaw recognized the two others from the Gathering—Owlpaw and his mentor, Smokefoot.

  “A blind kit noticed us before the ThunderClan deputy knew we were here,” Oakfur sneered. “How humiliating.”

  “Is ThunderClan so desperate for warriors that it needs to

  train even its most worthless kit?” snarled Smokefoot.

  Jaypaw rushed forward, spitting. Brightheart grabbed his tail in her teeth and hauled him backward.

  “A blind kit saved by a one-eyed warrior,” mocked Oakfur.

  “ThunderClan isn’t what it used to be. Filled with kittypets and cripples and worn-out deputies.” He glared at Graystripe.

  “You’ve moved the border,” Brambleclaw growled.

  “We’ve taken what should be ours, and we will take more,”

  Smokefoot told him.

  “ThunderClan is hardly a real Clan anymore—it’s half kittypet,” Oakfur put in. “I’m sure StarClan agrees that only true warriors are entitled to hunt on Clan territory.”

  “ThunderClan has nothing but true warriors!” Brambleclaw yowled. He flattened his ears and stepped over the new marker line until he was only a tail-length away from Oakfur.

  “If you want our territory, you’ll have to fight for every step.”

  Lionpaw’s fur stood on end. His first real battle! He sank his claws into the earth, imagining it was ShadowClan fur.

  “Are you sure we won’t win?” Oakfur’s eyes glittered as more ShadowClan warriors began to appear over the rise, lining up like starlings on a branch. Lionpaw’s heart flipped over. It looked as though every ShadowClan warrior had come to fight. Their muscles bulged under their pelts, their claws glinting as they flexed them against the hard ground.

  Lionpaw felt fur brush his flank. Hollypaw and Jaypaw had joined him.

  “We fight as one,” Hollypaw vowed.

  Lionpaw suddenly pictured the three of them—three half-grown apprentices, one of them blind, facing what looked like the whole of ShadowClan.

  StarClan, help us!

  Chapter 15

  “Get back to camp and tell Firestar to bring help.” Graystripe’s hiss sounded in Lionpaw’s ear. “Now!”

  Lionpaw turned and pelted away into the trees. He hated leaving Jaypaw and Hollypaw, but without help the battle was already lost.

  “Stop him!”

  He heard Russetfur’s yowl, and the rustle of paws upon leaves.

  Lionpaw glanced over his shoulder. Two ShadowClan warriors streaked toward him. Then he saw a flash of gray fur.

  Graystripe had launched himself onto one of the cats. The ShadowClan warrior yowled and the air exploded as the two Clans charged screeching into battle.

  Lionpaw forced himself to run faster till he thought his heart would burst. Paws pounded behind him. Only one set now, thanks to Graystripe. Lionpaw dodged through a thick bramble swath, hoping that his small size would let him escape the ShadowClan warrior. Bu
t as he slipped out of the other side and glanced backward, he saw a burly tom thrusting his way through the bush with terrifying strength.

  Lionpaw hurtled down the steep slope to the training hollow and pelted across it. Just a short way through the trees and then a clear run to the camp entrance. The ShadowClan warrior’s pawsteps thundered ever closer as Lionpaw caught sight of the thorn barrier ahead.

  “Help!” he wailed.

  Claws raked his tail. The ShadowClan cat was at his heels.

  Wild with terror, Lionpaw dug his claws in and propelled himself forward.

  A fiery flash of fur streaked from the thorn tunnel and flew past Lionpaw.

  “I’ll stop him,” Squirrelflight yowled, lunging for the ShadowClan warrior.

  The tom let out an agonized shriek. Lionpaw slowed, his breath coming in great gulps. He turned and saw Squirrelflight chasing the ShadowClan warrior up the bank, snarling as if all the warriors of StarClan raced beside her.

  Lionpaw hurtled into the camp. “ShadowClan have invaded!”

  Firestar was in the clearing with Dustpelt. He bounded to Lionpaw’s side as soon as he saw him. “Dustpelt told me they’ve moved the border,” he meowed.

  “Brambleclaw took our hunting patrol to investigate,”

  Lionpaw puffed. “But we walked into an ambush.”

  Firestar’s eyes widened with alarm. “Are they fighting now?”

  Lionpaw nodded, his paws trembling as he thought of Jaypaw and Hollypaw battling experienced ShadowClan warriors.

  “Sandstorm, Spiderleg, Whitewing, Stormfur, Brook!”

  Firestar called to the warriors who were already pacing around the edge of the clearing, lashing their tails. “ShadowClan have crossed the border. Brambleclaw is holding them off, but they need help.”

  “Should I bring Mousepaw?” Spiderleg asked.

  “If he’s battle-ready,” Firestar answered.

  Squirrelflight raced back through the entrance. “There’s one less ShadowClan warrior to deal with,” she announced.

  “He’ll not want to fight again today.”

  “Good work. I want you to stay and guard the camp,” Firestar told her.

  Squirrelflight nodded. “Yes, Firestar.”

  Millie appeared from behind the warriors’ den. “I’m coming with you.”

  Lionpaw stared at her in astonishment. She was a kittypet!

  “Okay,” Firestar agreed. “But don’t take any risks.”

  Lionpaw was still trembling with terror and exhaustion.

  Firestar looked at him. “Are you fit to fight?”

  Lionpaw nodded.

  “Good,” Firestar growled. “Your brother and sister need you.” Then he swept out of the camp, his warriors following.

  Lionpaw pelted after the patrol. How dare ShadowClan invade our territory? He would fight tooth and claw to drive those fox-hearted warriors out. His paws stopped shaking and began to itch for battle.

  “Always keep an eye out behind you!” Whitewing fell in beside him to give him some breathless advice. “ShadowClan

  fight dirty. You’re fast and strong, even though you’re small.

  You’ll be nimbler than some of their warriors. Use that to your advantage.”

  As they neared the border, he heard screeches and yowls.

  “This way!” Firestar called. They plunged through the forest until Lionpaw could glimpse teeth and claws flashing in the gaps between the trees ahead.

  ShadowClan warriors had surrounded Brambleclaw’s patrol, but the ThunderClan cats were standing their ground, lashing out at every cat within reach.

  “Attack!” Firestar cried, and the ThunderClan warriors spread out and launched themselves into the battle.

  “Head over there!” Spiderleg called to Lionpaw. He flicked his tail to the edge of the fighting. “Look for Jaypaw first and do what you can to defend him.”

  Lionpaw raced forward, scanning the fray for Hollypaw and Jaypaw. He spotted Ashfur and Birchfall fighting side by side with Brightheart, fending off four ShadowClan warriors.

  Jaypaw crouched behind them, pelt bristling with rage, slashing and jabbing at any ShadowClan warrior who made it through their defensive line. He didn’t seem to need any help.

  Lionpaw’s heart thudded as he searched for Hollypaw’s black pelt. Had she been wounded? Relief glimmered for a moment when he saw her fighting beside Graystripe. The gray warrior, ears flattened, his lips drawn back into a vicious snarl, raked the flank of a dark ginger ShadowClan warrior as it lunged for Hollypaw.

  Russetfur! Lionpaw recognized the ShadowClan deputy.

  Hollypaw ducked under Graystripe and shot out from beneath him, nipping the ShadowClan deputy on her hind leg with such ferocity that the warrior whipped around, claws flashing, and lunged at Hollypaw. Lionpaw pelted to his sister’s defense, hurling himself at Russetfur and slashing her nose. The ShadowClan deputy howled in pain as crimson blood welled beneath her eyes.

  “Nice work!” Graystripe called.

  As he spoke, two ShadowClan cats slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. The larger of the pair, a black tom, pressed him to the ground, while the smaller white she-cat reared on her hind legs, flexing her long claws, ready to crash down on Graystripe’s head.

  Orange fur blazed past Lionpaw as Firestar flew at the white warrior. He threw the ShadowClan warrior backward and slashed her cheek with a well-aimed blow.

  Lionpaw leaped onto the black tom who was pinning Graystripe to the ground. He dug in his claws and bit hard into the tom’s shoulder. The warrior let go of Graystripe and reared backward. At once Hollypaw darted behind him and knocked the tom’s paws out from under him. Lionpaw leaped off as the warrior crashed down.

  “Great move!” Lionpaw called to Hollypaw.

  “He’s not finished yet,” she warned.

  The black tom was already on his paws, hissing ferociously, but Lionpaw and Hollypaw faced him side by side, and, jabbing and slashing with their forepaws, they drove him back toward the border until he was panting and streaked with blood.

  Suddenly Lionpaw spotted Oakfur slinking through the bracken toward Firestar, a fox-length away. The ThunderClan leader still had the white warrior pinned to the ground, unaware of Oakfur’s stealthy approach. Before Lionpaw could warn him, Oakfur had leaped onto Firestar’s back and grabbed the ThunderClan leader’s neck in his jaws.

  The white warrior struggled from Firestar’s grip and nipped at his front paws until the ThunderClan leader fell to the ground. He vanished beneath the two snarling ShadowClan warriors.

  “Can you manage by yourself?” Lionpaw screeched to Hollypaw.

  “I’ll help her,” Graystripe growled, leaping in beside her.

  Lionpaw threw himself at Oakfur, clamping his jaws around the ShadowClan warrior’s tail. This is for calling Jaypaw worthless! he thought as he bit down with all his strength.

  Oakfur screeched and let go of Firestar. Firestar leaped to his paws and whipped around to grab Oakfur by the scruff. As he held Oakfur in his jaws, he kicked out with his powerful hind legs and sent the white warrior sprawling into the bracken.

  Then he flung Oakfur with all his might against a tree.

  Oakfur hit it with such force that the branches trembled and he fell to the ground, dazed.

  Seeing that Firestar was safe, Lionpaw turned back to Hollypaw. He expected to see her still fighting beside Graystripe, but she stood alone in a space among the battling cats. Graystripe had left her undefended.

  “Watch out!” Lionpaw gasped, his heart lurching as he saw

  Smokefoot rushing up behind his sister. Graystripe was two tail-lengths away, pulling a ShadowClan warrior off Millie.

  The former kittypet leaped to her paws.

  “Go back and help Hollypaw!” Millie yowled to Graystripe. “I can take care of myself!” She lashed out with her front claws at the ShadowClan warrior and sent him screeching away with a blow that sprayed his blood across the forest floor.

  Smokefoot was on to
p of Hollypaw, raking his claws along her flank, but Graystripe wrestled him to the ground and pummeled his belly with his thorn-sharp hind claws.

  Lionpaw darted to Hollypaw’s side as Smokefoot yowled in pain, and Graystripe let the tom flee across the border.

  “Drive the rest into the brambles!” Graystripe ordered.

  “What?” Spiderleg yowled in disbelief.

  “That’ll only make it harder to fight them!” Birchfall called.

  “Harder for ShadowClan!” Hollypaw hissed in Lionpaw’s ear. “They don’t have brambles in the pine forest.”

  Firestar nodded grimly. “They’re not used to fighting in undergrowth!” he called. “Do as Graystripe says!”

  “Everyone, spread out behind me!” Brambleclaw’s order split the air. He had spun around so that his back was to the ShadowClan border.

  The ThunderClan cats drew away from their enemy long enough to reposition themselves around their deputy.

  Confused, the ShadowClan warriors stared about them.

  Suddenly they were trapped on the wrong side of their

  border. Then Brambleclaw charged forward, his warriors flanking him on either side, and they began to press the ShadowClan warriors deeper into ThunderClan territory, where a tangle of brambles covered the forest floor.

  Lionpaw spotted Jaypaw lashing out at Owlpaw. The ShadowClan apprentice was playing with Jaypaw, ducking the blows and teasing him with jabs and taunts.

  Lionpaw raced to his brother’s side. “You’re nothing but a coward,” he growled at Owlpaw.

  Owlpaw thrashed his tail. “I’ll show you I’m not a coward!” He lashed out and caught Jaypaw’s muzzle with his claw.

  Jaypaw gasped with pain, but he didn’t recoil, flailing his unsheathed claws more fiercely than ever.

  “He’s ducking,” Lionpaw hissed to his brother.

  Jaypaw instantly aimed his blows downward and raked Owlpaw’s ears. Jaypaw gave a yowl of satisfaction.

  “He’s trying to get behind you now,” Lionpaw warned as Owlpaw scooted past Jaypaw and balanced himself, ready to leap at the tabby apprentice. Lionpaw spun around, every instinct crying out to take Owlpaw on himself. But he knew Jaypaw would never forgive him for fighting his battle for him, and besides, Jaypaw had already turned nimbly around and was pummeling Owlpaw with his forepaws. Owlpaw tried to duck, but Jaypaw had learned that trick, and the instant Owlpaw lowered his head, Jaypaw leaped on top of him and rolled the ShadowClan apprentice onto his back. He clung to his fur and raked his hind claws along Owlpaw’s spine until the ShadowClan apprentice begged for mercy.