Night Whispers Read online

  ERIN

  HUNTER

  Special thanks to Kate Cary

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Keep watch for

  Warriors Adventure Game

  Uninvited Guests

  After the Adventure

  Also by Erin Hunter

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  ALLEGIANCES

  THUNDERCLAN

  LEADER

  FIRESTAR—ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt

  DEPUTY

  BRAMBLECLAW—dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

  MEDICINE CAT

  JAYFEATHER—gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

  WARRIORS

  (toms, and she-cats without kits)

  GRAYSTRIPE—long-haired gray tom

  DUSTPELT—dark brown tabby tom

  SANDSTORM—pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

  BRACKENFUR—golden brown tabby tom

  SORRELTAIL—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

  CLOUDTAIL—long-haired white tom with blue eyes

  BRIGHTHEART—white she-cat with ginger patches

  MILLIE—striped gray tabby she-cat

  THORNCLAW—golden brown tabby tom

  SQUIRRELFLIGHT—dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

  LEAFPOOL—light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, former medicine cat

  SPIDERLEG—long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

  BIRCHFALL—light brown tabby tom

  WHITEWING—white she-cat with green eyes

  BERRYNOSE—cream-colored tom

  HAZELTAIL—small gray-and-white she-cat

  MOUSEWHISKER—gray-and-white tom

  CINDERHEART—gray tabby she-cat APPRENTICE, IVYPAW

  LIONBLAZE—golden tabby tom with amber eyes APPRENTICE, DOVEPAW

  FOXLEAP—reddish tabby tom

  ICECLOUD—white she-cat

  TOADSTEP—black-and-white tom

  ROSEPETAL—dark cream she-cat

  BRIARLIGHT—dark brown she-cat

  BLOSSOMFALL—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

  BUMBLESTRIPE—very pale gray tom with black stripes

  APPRENTICES

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

  DOVEPAW—pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

  IVYPAW—silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

  QUEENS

  (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

  FERNCLOUD—pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat with green eyes

  DAISY—cream long-furred cat from the horseplace

  POPPYFROST—tortoiseshell she-cat (mother to Cherrykit, a ginger she-cat, and Molekit, a brown-and-cream tom)

  ELDERS

  (former warriors and queens, now retired)

  MOUSEFUR—small dusky brown she-cat

  PURDY—plump tabby former loner with a gray muzzle

  SHADOWCLAN

  LEADER

  BLACKSTAR—large white tom with huge jet-black paws

  DEPUTY

  ROWANCLAW—ginger tom

  MEDICINE CAT

  LITTLECLOUD—very small tabby tom APPRENTICE, FLAMETAIL (ginger tom)

  WARRIORS

  OAKFUR—small brown tom APPRENTICE, FERRETPAW (cream-and-gray tom)

  SMOKEFOOT—black tom

  TOADFOOT—dark brown tom

  APPLEFUR—mottled brown she-cat

  CROWFROST—black-and-white tom

  RATSCAR—brown tom with long scar across his back APPRENTICE, PINEPAW (black she-cat)

  SNOWBIRD—pure-white she-cat

  TAWNYPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes APPRENTICE, STARLINGPAW (ginger tom)

  OLIVENOSE—tortoiseshell she-cat

  OWLCLAW—light brown tabby tom

  SHREWFOOT—gray she-cat with black feet

  SCORCHFUR—dark gray tom

  REDWILLOW—mottled brown-and-ginger tom

  TIGERHEART—dark brown tabby tom

  DAWNPELT—cream-furred she-cat

  QUEENS

  KINKFUR—tabby she-cat, with long fur that sticks out at all angles

  IVYTAIL—black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat

  ELDERS

  CEDARHEART—dark gray tom

  TALLPOPPY—long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

  SNAKETAIL—dark brown tom with tabby-striped tail

  WHITEWATER—white she-cat with long fur, blind in one eye

  WINDCLAN

  LEADER

  ONESTAR—brown tabby tom

  DEPUTY

  ASHFOOT—gray she-cat

  MEDICINE CAT

  KESTRELFLIGHT—mottled gray tom

  WARRIORS

  CROWFEATHER—dark gray tom

  OWLWHISKER—light brown tabby tom APPRENTICE, WHISKERPAW (light brown tom)

  WHITETAIL—small white she-cat

  NIGHTCLOUD—black she-cat

  GORSETAIL—very pale gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

  WEASELFUR—ginger tom with white paws

  HARESPRING—brown-and-white tom

  LEAFTAIL—dark tabby tom with amber eyes

  ANTPELT—brown tom with one black ear

  EMBERFOOT—gray tom with two dark paws

  HEATHERTAIL—light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes APPRENTICE, FURZEPAW (gray-and-white she-cat)

  BREEZEPELT—black tom with amber eyes APPRENTICE, BOULDERPAW (large pale gray tom)

  SEDGEWHISKER—light brown tabby she-cat

  SWALLOWTAIL—dark gray she-cat

  SUNSTRIKE—tortoiseshell she-cat with large white mark on her forehead

  ELDERS

  WEBFOOT—dark gray tabby tom

  TORNEAR—tabby tom

  RIVERCLAN

  LEADER

  MISTYSTAR—gray she-cat with blue eyes

  DEPUTY

  REEDWHISKER—black tom APPRENTICE, HOLLOWPAW (dark brown tabby tom)

  MEDICINE CAT

  MOTHWING—dappled golden she-cat APPRENTICE, WILLOWSHINE (gray tabby she-cat)

  WARRIORS

  GRAYMIST—pale gray tabby she-cat APPRENTICE, TROUTPAW (pale gray tabby she-cat)

  MINTFUR—light gray tabby tom

  ICEWING—white she-cat with blue eyes

  MINNOWTAIL—dark gray she-cat APPRENTICE, MOSSYPAW (brown-and-white she-cat)

  PEBBLEFOOT—mottled gray tom APPRENTICE, RUSHPAW (light brown tabby tom)

  MALLOWNOSE—light brown tabby tom

  ROBINWING—tortoiseshell-and-white tom

  BEETLEWHISKER—brown-and-white tabby tom

  PETALFUR—gray-and-white she-cat

  GRASSPELT—light brown tom

  QUEENS

  DUSKFUR—brown tabby she-cat

  MOSSPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

  ELDERS

  DAPPLENOSE—mottled gray she-cat

  POUNCETAIL—ginger-and-white tom

  CATS OUTSIDE CLANS

  SMOKY—muscular gray-and-white tom who lives in a barn at the horseplace

  FLOSS—small gray-and-w
hite she-cat who lives at the horseplace

  OTHER ANIMALS

  MIDNIGHT—a star-gazing badger who lives by the sea

  Prologue

  Torn clouds streaked the stars. Branches whisked the night-black sky and showered leaves over the shadowed glade. Wind hollowed the shallow clearing while, around its rim, bushes stirred and rustled as though wolves paced through them.

  At the center of the glade, an old she-cat hunched her shoulders against the growling air. Starlight sparkled on her matted gray pelt. She flattened her ears as two feline shapes padded down the slope to join her.

  “Yellowfang.” A white-pelted she-cat spoke first. “We’ve been looking for you.”

  “Lionheart told me.” Yellowfang lifted her chin. Rain specked her muzzle as the medicine cat blinked at her former mentor. “What is it, Sagewhisker?”

  Sagewhisker answered sharply: “We’ve been talking.”

  “The whole of StarClan has been talking,” her tortoiseshell companion cut in. “Every cat thinks you should have stopped it.”

  “The battle between ThunderClan and ShadowClan?” Yellowfang flicked her tail. “Do you think I have that much power, Fernshade?”

  Sagewhisker leaned forward. “You could have sent a message to ThunderClan.”

  “If you had, Russetfur might not have died.” Fernshade stepped closer. There was a hint of claws in her words. “I trained her, you know.”

  “I hadn’t forgotten,” Yellowfang rasped.

  Fernshade narrowed her eyes. “I’m the one who’s going to have to fetch her.”

  Yellowfang’s shoulders sagged. “She was old,” she murmured. “Maybe she’ll be glad to join us.”

  Sagewhisker lashed her white tail. “No warrior wants to die. Especially in a battle that should not have happened.”

  Fernshade curled her lip. “You knew what the cats from the Dark Forest were doing. There was no need for Firestar to challenge Blackstar over that worthless stretch of grass. Did you want cats to die?”

  Wind swirled through the hollow, tugging ears and tails, as Bluestar’s mew sounded from the top of the slope.

  “Enough!”

  The ThunderClan leader stalked down to greet the others. She nodded to Sagewhisker and Fernshade in turn. “The battle was unfortunate, but it was a lesson we needed to learn.”

  Sagewhisker met her gaze. “A lesson in what?”

  Bluestar stood with her paws rooted in the streaming grass. “We know what we’re up against now. The Dark Forest cats can change the destinies of the Clans. This battle would not have been fought if not for them.”

  Yellowfang shuddered. “I should have known the Clans would suffer the moment I saw Brokenstar in the Dark Forest.”

  Sagewhisker jerked her head toward her former apprentice. “And whose fault is it that he is there? Or that he was ever born at all?” Her eyes glittered. “You broke the warrior code and kitted him. What did you expect?”

  Yellowfang flinched.

  “Blaming each other won’t help.” Bluestar brushed past Yellowfang, drawing her tail over the old cat’s knotted pelt. “We’ve all made mistakes in our time.”

  Fernshade’s whiskers twitched angrily. “Not every cat breaks the warrior code!”

  Bluestar didn’t blink. “Mistakes are where we learn the most,” she meowed evenly. “And we can learn from this battle. We must set aside old grievances. The Clans must join forces.”

  “Brokenstar has already punished me more than I ever deserved,” Yellowfang muttered. “And now he’s trying to punish me again by destroying the Clans I once called my own.”

  “This isn’t about you!” Sagewhisker snapped. “Whatever’s going on in the Dark Forest affects us all. We need to deal with it before it does any more harm to ShadowClan!”

  A growl rose in Bluestar’s throat. “Not just ShadowClan! Firestar lost a life, too!”

  Lightning flared. The cats crouched and blinked upward, pelts bristling. As thunder rolled in the distance, more cats began to slink into the glade.

  “Lionheart!” Bluestar called. There was relief in her voice as she saw her old friend lead Mudfur and Oakheart down the slope.

  “What’s going on?” Lionheart stopped beside Bluestar.

  “We know the Dark Forest was behind the battle between ShadowClan and ThunderClan,” Bluestar told him.

  “ThunderClan started it!” Fernshade growled.

  “The cats from the Dark Forest started it!” Bluestar reminded them. She glanced at Yellowfang. “Not just Brokenstar. Tigerstar and Hawkfrost, too.”

  Oakheart narrowed his eyes. “Do we know who they’re training?” His slick RiverClan pelt was starred with beads of rain.

  Yellowfang showed her cracked and stained teeth. “Brokenstar will claim any soul he can reach.”

  “What if they recruit a Clan leader?” Fernshade growled.

  Mudfur, the old WindClan medicine cat, shook his head. “We can no longer trust any cat.”

  “Or Clan,” Sagewhisker muttered darkly.

  Mudfur stiffened and tasted the air, ears pricking. “Who’s there? Mudclaw? We weren’t expecting to see you here.”

  The cats turned to watch the WindClan warrior hurry down the slope. “I came as soon as I heard. What’s the plan? How are we going to deal with the Dark Forest cats?”

  Grass ripped beneath Bluestar’s paws as she unsheathed her claws. “We must persuade the Clans to join forces and fight this threat together.”

  Sagewhisker flattened her ears. “How will they know who to fight?”

  “Why don’t the Dark Forest warriors just come and fight us, if they’re so hungry for a battle?” Fernshade snarled.

  Lionheart stared over the rippling grass. “Because that would be too easy. They know they’ll hurt us much worse if they attack the Clans we left behind.”

  “Is there no other way to defeat them?” Oakheart fixed his questioning gaze on Bluestar.

  She froze for a moment as though she were scanning his thoughts. Then she blinked. “Tigerstar has only ever understood violence.”

  Oakheart looked away.

  “That’s all any Dark Forest cat understands,” Bluestar pressed. “If we try to reason with them, they will see it as weakness.”

  Sagewhisker snorted. “Just as long as no one’s blaming ShadowClan for Brokenstar.” She glanced at Yellowfang.

  “As far as I can see, it’s ShadowClan who’s suffered most this time,” Fernshade added.

  Thunder cracked overhead.

  Sagewhisker nudged Fernshade. “You’d better fetch Russetfur.”

  As she spoke, the skies opened. Rain pelted the glade, and the cats scattered, racing for the shelter of the trees.

  “Fernshade!” Yellowfang called after the tortoiseshell warrior.

  Fernshade skidded to a stop and glanced back. “What?”

  Rain blurred Yellowfang’s gaze. “Have a safe journey.” Her voice cracked. “And tell Russetfur that I’m sorry.”

  Chapter 1

  A yowl sliced through the shriek of battle, sharp with grief more than rage.

  Dovepaw ducked out of Toadfoot’s way and spun around.

  Firestar!

  The ThunderClan leader was being dragged away across the battle-crowded clearing. The grass glistened crimson behind him. Birchfall sank his teeth farther into Firestar’s scruff and heaved him over Spiderleg’s shoulders, then helped to carry him away into the trees.

  Horror pulsed through Dovepaw. Around her, the fighting was shuddering to a stop as cats sheathed their claws and stared in bewilderment. Firestar’s deputy, Brambleclaw, his broad shoulders wet with blood, padded toward Blackstar. The ShadowClan leader didn’t look up. His head was bent over a dark ginger pelt.

  Brambleclaw dipped his head. “The battle is won,” he growled. “The clearing is ours. Do you concede or shall we fight for it again?”

  Blackstar flashed a look of burning hatred over his shoulder. “Take it,” he hissed. “It was never worth the blood th
at has been spilled here today.”

  As Brambleclaw backed away, Dovepaw recognized the ginger pelt.

  Russetfur! Is she dead?

  The ShadowClan deputy lay unmoving, apart from the blood that trickled from her lips. Her Clanmates began to step carefully past the ThunderClan warriors and head for the pines. Scorchfur, Tigerheart, and Rowanclaw stopped beside their leader. While Scorchfur nudged Blackstar to his paws and guided him gently into the trees, Tigerheart grabbed Russetfur’s pelt and slowly, gently, heaved her onto Rowanclaw’s shoulders. Then in silence they followed their battered Clanmates into the mist-wrapped trees.

  Dovepaw stared after them, the energy draining from her as she saw Tigerheart’s tail snake into the shadows. She looked around for Ivypaw. Her sister was helping Blossomfall limp toward the forest.

  “Come on, Blossomfall,” Ivypaw was murmuring to her Clanmate. “Jayfeather’ll fix you up.” There was no hint of their past quarrels in her mew.

  Squirrelflight was checking Leafpool’s wounds, while Leafpool scanned the battlefield, her eyes round with worry. “Lionblaze is okay,” Squirrelflight reassured her sister.

  Brightheart lay panting on the grass, her one good eye so wide that a circle of white showed around the blue.

  Cloudtail nudged her with his muzzle. “Come on, you’ll feel better once you start moving,” he urged.

  Brightheart let out a low moan as she hauled herself to her paws.

  Bumblestripe, one ear torn, surveyed the flattened grass. “I think we showed them,” he declared.

  Hazeltail glanced at him with scorn in her eyes and pressed closer to Mousewhisker, lapping at her sister’s bleeding, ruffled fur. “Showed them what?” she muttered between licks. “How much blood can be spilled in a pointless battle?”

  Only Lionblaze looked uninjured. A smear of blood stained his flank, but Dovepaw knew it wasn’t his. She frowned, doubts flocking into her mind like starlings. Lionblaze was part of the prophecy, like she was. His power was the ability to fight any cat, any creature at all, without being hurt.