The Empty City Read online

  MAP

  PACK LIST

  WILD PACK (IN ORDER OF RANK)

  ALPHA:

  female swift-dog with short gray fur (also known as Sweet)

  BETA:

  gold-and-white thick-furred male (also known as Lucky)

  HUNTERS:

  SNAP—small female with tan-and-white fur

  BRUNO—large thick-furred brown male Fight Dog with a hard face

  MICKEY—sleek black-and-white male Farm Dog

  PATROL DOGS:

  MOON—black-and-white female Farm Dog

  TWITCH—tan male chase-dog with black patches and three legs

  DAISY—small white-furred female with a brown tail

  BREEZE—small brown female with large ears and short fur

  CHASE—small ginger-furred female

  BEETLE—black-and-white shaggy-furred male

  THORN—black shaggy-furred female

  OMEGA:

  small female with long white fur (also known as Sunshine)

  PUPS:

  FLUFF—shaggy brown female

  TUMBLE—golden-furred male

  NIBBLE—tan female

  TINY—pale-eyed golden female

  LONE DOGS:

  STORM—brown-and-tan female Fierce Dog

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Map

  Title Page

  Pack List

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Books by Erin Hunter

  Back Ads

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  PROLOGUE

  Twigs and leaves whipped across Lick’s nose as she scrambled through the dark undergrowth. She pinned back her ears and put on a burst of speed. Her belly and chest felt like they were full of stones rattling against her sides, and the pads of her paws were raw and burning from the chase.

  Where am I?

  Lick stumbled to a halt, pressing her flank to the trunk of a tall tree. She spun around a few times, anxiously flattening the earth, then crouched down between two roots. She made herself as small as she could, tucking her legs underneath her body to stop them from trembling. She could feel her short fur rubbing against the bark. Her shoulder was stiff and sticky with blood, the bites and scratches throbbing with pain.

  She panted, searching the air for any scent of Fierce Dogs, but all she could taste was her own panic, foul and bitter.

  She could be anywhere. The trees just looked like trees. She might be only a few rabbit-chases from the Wild Pack’s territory—or going in completely the wrong direction.

  I have to keep running!

  But she couldn’t get up. She couldn’t stop herself from remembering the horrible scene, over and over again:

  Her brothers, Wiggle and Grunt, walking just ahead of her. The looming presence of their Fierce Dog Pack surrounding them. The mist closing in, flowing between the trees. The way the Pack had abruptly stopped in the middle of the wood, without any dog making a sound. The cold look in Blade’s eyes as she turned and looked at the pups.

  The scent of Wiggle’s fear.

  Blade had smelled it too.

  “You are not my pups,” Blade had snarled. “You are not my real pups!”

  Lick shuddered at the memory and pressed her muzzle into the soft earth, as if the Earth-Dog herself could comfort her.

  She and Grunt had both been scared too, but they were better at pretending. Grunt had glowered at Blade, and Lick had watched her intently, waiting to see if this was another test. But Wiggle had looked up at Blade with soft, wide eyes as dark as his fur. He’d shivered with terror.

  And then Blade . . .

  Lick wanted to raise her head and howl her grief to the Sky-Dogs, but if the Fierce Dogs found her, she knew, they would kill her.

  Just like Blade had killed Wiggle.

  The Fierce Dog Alpha’s teeth had snapped mercilessly down on the back of Wiggle’s neck and she’d shaken him hard, like Lick had seen the Wild Pack do to their prey. When she dropped him, he’d crumpled awkwardly on his side and lay there. Just a few pawsteps from Lick’s face. Dead.

  “He was no true Fierce Dog,” Blade had said. She’d turned her mad eyes and her bloodstained teeth on Lick. Lick had thought her heart would burst out of her chest—then Blade looked at Grunt. “Are you?”

  And Grunt . . . Grunt had said, “Yes, I am! I’m a real Fierce Dog! I’ll be loyal, I promise. I’ll be useful to you!”

  “Grunt, no!” Lick had howled, and Blade had turned back to her, teeth scything through the air. Lick had scrambled back as if Lightning had bitten her paws. Blade’s fangs had caught and torn the skin on her shoulder, but she’d wriggled out of the Alpha’s grip and slipped between Dagger’s legs. She’d felt Dagger’s body shifting over her head as the big dog tried to turn around in time to catch her. Some dog’s claws scraped across her flank, and Lick’s fur had rippled with hot breath as another pair of jaws snapped at her and missed.

  Blade had howled. The other Fierce Dogs had taken up the howl and huge, heavy pawsteps had thundered after her—but Lick hadn’t looked back.

  She’d run into the white mist that covered the forest floor, and the wet, cold scent of it had filled her nostrils. It was as if the trees had swallowed her. She’d heard the Fierce Dogs howling behind her in fury and confusion.

  Grunt might be a true Fierce Dog, Lick thought, forcing herself to uncurl her paws in the soft earth at the base of the tree. But I’m not. I’m not like them. I will never, ever be like them.

  She had to find the Wild Pack.

  But what if they were sleeping and she led the Fierce Dogs right to them? Would the Fierce Dogs attack? How many dogs might Blade kill, before they could turn and fight?

  Lick made herself stand, though her legs wobbled underneath her. She sniffed the air again, trying to block out the acrid smell of her own fear. The forest around her was dark and silent except for the soft rustling of leaves in the wind. All she could scent was mist, mulch, and rot, and the fading trails of small creatures. No Fierce Dogs.

  She edged out from the shadow of the tree and began to walk, ignoring the stinging pain in her sides and slipping as quietly as she could between the tangled branches of bushes. Pawstep by pawstep, the farther she walked, the more the crushing terror subsided. Lick began to shiver.

  She should never have left the Wild Pack.

  What if they wouldn’t take her back?

  They didn’t stop us from leaving, she thought. Most of them never really wanted us around.

  But Lucky will win them over. He’s so good at that. And Martha and Mickey won’t let anybody hurt us.

  Hurt me.

  She’d never been a “me” before. It had always been “us”—she and her litter-brothers stuck together, even when Grunt was being rock-headed and Wiggle was so timid he could barely move. Ever since those days in the Dog-Garden, when they had huddled together underneath the longpaw house, starving and cold, while their Mother-Dog lay dead outside.

  Now Grunt had betrayed them, and Wiggle had gone to be with their Mo
ther-Dog. Lick let out a whine. She hadn’t even had a chance to bury him and help him find his way to the Earth-Dog. Would Blade and the Fierce Dogs do it? Lick didn’t think so.

  She felt as if she’d aged ten moons in one night.

  Then suddenly, Lick’s nose twitched and her ears pricked up. She scented something familiar—the warm, contented smell of dogs and prey. She opened her mouth to let her tongue loll out, tasting the air until she was certain.

  She was going the right way! She’d found the Wild Pack!

  Lick broke into another run, this time bounding over the dark mud, hardly feeling the pain in her paws. Yes, there was the strong scent of the Patrol Dogs, a wavering trail outlining the territory. There was Martha’s scent, and Lucky’s!

  She emerged from the line of pine trees into the tall grass, and heard a dog barking—

  “It’s a pup!”

  That was Mickey. Lick put on another burst of speed, scrambling down the slope. Ahead she could make out the dogs—Lucky with his eyes wide and his ears pinned back, the half-wolf Alpha’s suspicious glare, Martha’s jaws open in surprise and happiness to see her, little Daisy and Sunshine with their tails wagging nervously.

  She hurtled toward them, making the last few strides on trembling paws, and let herself stumble and collapse against Mickey’s flank.

  The other dogs started to ask her questions—What happened? Where were her litter-brothers? How did she get hurt? For a moment, Lick couldn’t answer. She just buried her nose in Mickey’s side, shuddering and out of breath.

  She was safe now. Whatever happened, the Wild Pack was her home now. She would never leave it again.

  CHAPTER ONE

  I’ve really messed this up.

  Storm’s paws skittered across the pale sand, kicking it up behind her as she ran, but she knew she’d never be able to run fast enough.

  The big white cliff-bird gave a hoarse shriek, flapped its huge wings, and launched into the air.

  It had been sunning itself on a jutting rock in the middle of the beach with its head tucked under its wing: the perfect prey, if Storm had only been patient enough to go around the rock, instead of trying to climb it.

  But hunger had made her careless. She’d lost her footing and sent a cluster of pebbles scattering under her paws, and the bird had taken flight.

  Instinct told Storm to leap after it, but her weak and tired muscles wouldn’t obey her, and she slithered to an undignified stop, her front paws buried in the sand.

  She snorted in annoyance at herself as she watched the bird fly off. A good meal, just flapping away into the sky. It was such a waste.

  Storm scrabbled out of the sand and shook herself. She trudged on along the edge of the Endless Lake, trying to ignore the rumbling in her belly.

  The Sun-Dog’s light glinted off the water. It was still and calm today. The sky was clear and cloudless. Storm felt like her fur had only just dried out from the warm rain that had driven all the small prey into their holes and burrows last no-sun, but she could also feel a prickling in her nostrils that told her Lightning and Thunder might be close, and creeping closer on soft paws.

  She had to keep going. Perhaps there would be another pool with those little darting brown fish—although they had been barely more than a mouthful for Storm. They were never going to fill her stomach, no matter how easy they were to catch.

  Walking on the sand felt harder than it had before. It slipped out from underneath Storm’s paws, and she kept losing her balance. She remembered Bella showing her how to keep her tread light so that she wouldn’t sink, but she couldn’t seem to muster the energy anymore. The skin on her flank and her belly hung loosely.

  Would the Pack think I was a big, scary Fierce Dog now? she thought bitterly.

  Hunting alone was harder than she’d expected. And, which was almost worse, it was no fun at all. She had only her own eyes to spot prey with, only one nose to scent it with. She didn’t have a Scout Dog running ahead to root out the next prey creature. No dog would help her head off a rabbit if it startled, or talk through her tactics with her before she sprang, or reassure her that she would catch something soon when she failed.

  She knew that Lone Dogs could survive without a Pack, but at the moment she was struggling to see how.

  Storm flopped down on the warm sand and let the heavy salt stench of the Endless Lake fill her nostrils.

  It smelled of home, but there was something missing. The scents of the Wild Pack.

  Several journeys of the Sun-Dog had passed since she had left their camp behind and set out on her own. She had passed the farthest reach of the Patrol Dogs’ scent a long time ago. She’d passed the Light House and shuddered as she remembered poor Spring, washed away when the Wild Pack and the Fierce Dogs had faced off on the narrow hardstone path that led to it.

  She was farther from the Pack now than she had ever been before.

  I should forget about them. Even if I did want to go back, they wouldn’t have me.

  In her mind’s eye, she could still see them—Alpha and Beta with their pups, Mickey and Snap, Breeze, Chase, Moon and Beetle and Thorn, little Sunshine, and Daisy. . . .

  Daisy, who Storm had thought was her friend. But then when it counted, even the small white dog had turned on her.

  Storm shook her head and huffed, making tiny specks of sand dance in front of her muzzle. She knew that wasn’t fair. She was just grumpy because she was hungry.

  Still, it had hurt when Daisy had piped up, I know something the rest of you don’t. Storm walks in her sleep.

  Storm stared out at the Endless Lake, a shiver running through her body, despite the warmth of the Sun-Dog on her flanks. She was remembering. . . .

  The Fear-Dog flew before her, huge and terrifying. Gripped in his dark jaws, whimpering and mewling, was a golden pup.

  It was Tumble—small, helpless, and vulnerable. And the Fear-Dog was carrying him away.

  The memory of the dream still seemed almost as vivid as it had that no-sun. She had been so convinced that the Fear-Dog itself was about to drown Tumble . . . but it had been her who had carried the pup to the Endless Lake and left him shivering in a cave, all alone, in the dark. She’d woken up on the beach and run back to the Wild Pack, frantic with worry, not remembering what had happened until Tumble was found and he explained it to his Mother-Dog in a trembling, squeaky voice.

  Why did I do it?

  Storm knew she might have done the wrong thing, hiding her sleepwalking from them. But she’d done it because she’d known that they would be afraid of her.

  And, sure enough, they had been.

  None of the Pack trusted her anymore, and how could Storm blame them? She couldn’t trust herself. It was better that she’d left. It was better that she was . . . alone.

  The Endless Lake gave a soft growl, as if it too was angry with her, and its white, wet paw rose out of the water and crashed on the beach nearby. Storm clambered awkwardly to her paws. The Lake-Dog was right—it wouldn’t do any good to lie here and dwell on something she couldn’t change.

  There was a path close by that led up the cliffs and away from the Endless Lake, through scrubby grass where she thought she might find some small prey, or another chance to catch a cliff-bird. She had to keep trying.

  Her paws felt shaky at first on the more solid ground, but soon she was clambering up over the rocks and between tall, spiky bushes with long stems that looked like fuzzy dogs’ tails.

  She sniffed the ground as she walked, and suddenly, as she reached a single, drooping tree, she smelled something familiar.

  That’s a dog!

  Her ears pricked up, and she took a great sniff of air. A dog had definitely come this way—probably stopped beside this tree, perhaps even slept here. Was it one of the Wild Pack? She couldn’t make out the particular scent. And what would they be doing this far from their camp? Maybe it was another dog altogether.

  She sniffed harder, but the scent was starting to fade. She could tell now that it
was stale. It had been at least a journey of the Sun-Dog since another dog had passed this way. Wishful thinking had made it seem fresher than it was. Storm walked on.

  I’m alone. And that’s fine.

  The Sun-Dog continued on his journey, and still Storm couldn’t find any prey she could catch. There had been a rabbit warren, but it was empty. She had given up on trying to catch squirrels before they ran up trees—her limbs felt weak and clumsy, and she couldn’t leap or balance on her thin back legs.

  She moved away from the Endless Lake, turning inland but always keeping the scent of the lake on her left, so she could be sure she was moving farther and farther from the Wild Pack. She walked through a thick wood of pine trees, the needles bursting with scent as she trod over them. Then she climbed up a rocky slope and found herself looking down the other side at the steep, muddy bank of a river.

  It was much less full than the river that she knew—the one where she had finally beaten Blade on the ice, and where she and Lucky had taught the pups that they didn’t need to be afraid of the River-Dog. This was like the smaller littermate of that river, a wide muddy basin with only a trickling stream winding between the rocks and a few sprouting green stalks.

  Did the River-Dog not like this place? Was her attention turned elsewhere? Or was this the very end of the other river’s tail? Did it run in a big loop around the Pack’s territory?

  Across the stream, Storm looked up and saw more pine trees, rising toward something strange in the distance. It took her a long moment of staring to realize that it was like a hill—but taller than any she had ever seen before. It rose up and up and up into the sky, so big it vanished into the clouds and she couldn’t even see the top.

  Could a dog walk that far? Could they live in the sky, near the clouds?

  Storm shook herself—she would never make it that far if she didn’t find something to eat. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a stir of adventure in her heart. A dog without a Pack could go wherever she wanted, couldn’t she?

  I wonder what Lucky would say if he saw this. . . .

  For now, she decided to follow the stream. Perhaps she could catch something on the edge of the water. If she walked in the mud, the prey wouldn’t catch her scent.