Tigerheart's Shadow Read online

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Exclusive Manga Adventure

  Excerpt from Bravelands: Broken Pride

  Back Ads

  About the Author

  Books by Erin Hunter

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Dedication

  Special thanks to Kate Cary

  Allegiances

  SHADOWCLAN

  LEADER ROWANSTAR—ginger tom

  DEPUTY TIGERHEART—dark brown tabby tom

  MEDICINE CAT PUDDLESHINE—brown tom with white splotches

  WARRIORS (toms and she-cats without kits)

  TAWNYPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

  APPRENTICE, SNAKEPAW (honey-colored tabby she-cat)

  JUNIPERCLAW—black tom

  APPRENTICE, WHORLPAW (gray-and-white tom)

  STRIKESTONE—brown tabby tom

  STONEWING—white tom

  GRASSHEART—pale brown tabby she-cat

  SCORCHFUR—dark gray tom with slashed ears

  APPRENTICE, FLOWERPAW (silver she-cat)

  QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

  SNOWBIRD—pure white she-cat with green eyes (mother to Gullkit, a white she-kit; Conekit, a white-and-gray tom; and Frondkit, a gray tabby she-kit)

  ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)

  OAKFUR—small brown tom

  RATSCAR—scarred, skinny dark brown tom

  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 LEAFPOOL—light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, white paws and chest

  JAYFEATHER—gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

  ALDERHEART—dark ginger tom with amber eyes

  WARRIORS BRACKENFUR—golden-brown tabby tom

  CLOUDTAIL—long-haired white tom with blue eyes

  BRIGHTHEART—white she-cat with ginger patches

  THORNCLAW—golden-brown tabby tom

  WHITEWING—white she-cat with green eyes

  BIRCHFALL—light brown tabby tom

  BERRYNOSE—cream-colored tom with a stump for a tail

  MOUSEWHISKER—gray-and-white tom

  POPPYFROST—pale tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

  LIONBLAZE—golden tabby tom with amber eyes

  ROSEPETAL—dark cream she-cat

  BRIARLIGHT—dark brown she-cat, paralyzed in her hindquarters

  LILYHEART—small, dark tabby she-cat with white patches, and blue eyes

  BUMBLESTRIPE—very pale gray tom with black stripes

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

  APPRENTICE, TWIGPAW (gray she-cat with green eyes)

  DOVEWING—pale gray she-cat with green eyes

  CHERRYFALL—ginger she-cat

  MOLEWHISKER—brown-and-cream tom

  SNOWBUSH—white, fluffy tom

  AMBERMOON—pale ginger she-cat

  DEWNOSE—gray-and-white tom

  STORMCLOUD—gray tabby tom

  HOLLYTUFT—black she-cat

  FERNSONG—yellow tabby tom

  SORRELSTRIPE—dark brown she-cat

  LEAFSHADE—tortoiseshell she-cat

  LARKSONG—black tom

  HONEYFUR—white she-cat with yellow splotches

  SPARKPELT—orange tabby she-cat

  QUEENS DAISY—cream long-furred cat from the horseplace

  CINDERHEART—gray tabby she-cat

  BLOSSOMFALL—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with petal-shaped white patches (mother to Stemkit, a white-and-orange tom-kit; Eaglekit, a ginger she-kit; Plumkit, a black-and-ginger she-kit; and Shellkit, a white she-kit)

  ELDERS GRAYSTRIPE—long-haired gray tom

  MILLIE—striped silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

  WINDCLAN

  LEADER HARESTAR—brown-and-white tom

  DEPUTY CROWFEATHER—dark gray tom

  APPRENTICE, FERNPAW (gray tabby she-cat)

  MEDICINE CAT KESTRELFLIGHT—mottled gray tom with white splotches like kestrel feathers

  WARRIORS BREEZEPELT—black tom with amber eyes

  NIGHTCLOUD—black she-cat

  APPRENTICE, BRINDLEPAW (mottled brown she-cat)

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

  LEAFTAIL—dark tabby tom with amber eyes

  EMBERFOOT—gray tom with two dark paws

  APPRENTICE, SMOKEPAW (gray she-cat)

  LARKWING—pale brown tabby she-cat

  SEDGEWHISKER—light brown tabby she-cat

  SLIGHTFOOT—black tom with white flash on his chest

  OATCLAW—pale brown tabby tom

  FEATHERPELT—gray tabby she-cat

  HOOTWHISKER—dark gray tom

  HEATHERTAIL—light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

  ELDERS WHITETAIL—small white she-cat

  RIVERCLAN

  LEADER MISTYSTAR—gray she-cat with blue eyes

  DEPUTY REEDWHISKER—black tom

  MEDICINE CATS MOTHWING—dappled golden she-cat

  WILLOWSHINE—gray tabby she-cat

  WARRIORS MINTFUR—light gray tabby tom

  APPRENTICE, SOFTPAW (gray she-cat)

  DUSKFUR—brown tabby she-cat

  APPRENTICE, DAPPLEPAW (gray-and-white tom)

  MINNOWTAIL—dark gray she-cat

  APPRENTICE, BREEZEPAW (brown-and-white she-cat)

  MALLOWNOSE—light brown tabby tom

  BEETLEWHISKER—brown-and-white tabby tom

  APPRENTICE, HAREPAW (white tom)

  CURLFEATHER—pale brown she-cat

  PODLIGHT—gray-and-white tom

  HERONWING—dark gray-and-black tom

  SHIMMERPELT—silver she-cat

  APPRENTICE, NIGHTPAW (dark gray she-cat with blue eyes)

  LIZARDTAIL—light brown tom

  HAVENPELT—black-and-white she-cat

  SNEEZECLOUD—gray-and-white tom

  BRACKENPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat

  APPRENTICE, GORSEPAW (white tom with gray ears)

  JAYCLAW—gray tom

  OWLNOSE—brown tabby tom

  ICEWING—white she-cat with blue eyes

  ELDERS MOSSPELT—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

  SKYCLAN

  LEADER LEAFSTAR—brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes

  DEPUTY HAWKWING—dark gray tom with yellow eyes

  WARRIORS SPARROWPELT—dark brown tabby tom

  MACGYVER—black-and-white tom

  APPRENTICE, DEWPAW (sturdy gray tom)

  PLUMWILLOW—dark gray she-cat

  SAGENOSE—pale gray tom

  HARRYBROOK�
�gray tom

  BLOSSOMHEART—ginger-and-white she-cat

  APPRENTICE, FINPAW (brown tom)

  SANDYNOSE—stocky light brown tom with ginger legs

  RABBITLEAP—brown tom

  APPRENTICE, VIOLETPAW (black and white she-cat with yellow eyes)

  BELLALEAF—pale orange she-cat with green eyes

  APPRENTICE, REEDPAW (small tabby she-cat)

  QUEENS TINYCLOUD—small white she-cat (mother to Quailkit, a tom with crow-black ears; Pigeonkit, a gray-and-white she-kit; and Sunnykit, a ginger she-kit)

  ELDERS FALLOWFERN—pale brown she-cat who has lost her hearing

  Maps

  PROLOGUE

  The black tom had had this dream before. It was a dream of a forest, one that he had never visited in his waking life, and whose silence was unnerving to a cat who had grown up surrounded by Thunderpaths. As the dream took shape around him, he felt pine needles beneath his paws, and musty scents filled his nose. A thick bramble wall enclosed the clearing he stood in. It was swollen here and there by dens that seemed to have been woven into it. Cats squeezed in and out of them. Some crossed the clearing; some stopped to talk to one another; others padded eagerly toward a pile of prey at the far end, sometimes walking right by the black tom as if they didn’t see him.

  Because they didn’t. He wasn’t really there.

  He’d seen these same cats each time he visited the dream, and he was learning to recognize their pelts. Now a brown tom with white splotches and light blue eyes carried a bundle of fragrant-smelling leaves toward one of the dens. A skinny old tom slid out to greet him. “I’m glad you’ve come.” The old cat nudged him inside. “He’s been coughing all night.”

  At the other side of the clearing, a tortoiseshell she-cat murmured anxiously to a large ginger tom. A pure white she-cat watched, her pelt ruffled. Behind them, three young cats shifted their paws uneasily.

  The dreaming tom pricked his ears. These cats have never been this worried in their lives . . . and they don’t know what to do.

  Anxiety was fluttering in his belly. Why did he dream of this place? What did it mean? As he wondered this, the forest blurred around him. The ground seemed to shift beneath his paws; then suddenly it fell away, and he swirled into darkness.

  Stars spun around him until, with a jolt, he felt solid ground beneath his paws again. Soft green meadows rolled away from him on every side. Above him, a wide blue sky stretched to the distant horizon.

  More cats. The dreaming tom blinked as he saw ranks of cats lined before him, their pelts sparkling with starlight and their eyes flashing eagerly. They were staring straight at him. His belly tightened with alarm. “How . . . how can you see me?”

  A black she-cat stepped forward and dipped her head. Her fur was sleek, her frame well-muscled, as though she’d never known the hardships of hunger or cold. “Don’t be frightened,” she told him softly. “We mean you no harm.”

  A broad-shouldered dark tabby tom joined her. “We need you to do something for us.”

  “What can I do?” The dreaming tom stared at her. “I’m not like you cats. . . .”

  “You take care of those around you, don’t you?” the black she-cat asked.

  “I do what I can to ease their illness and heal their wounds.”

  The she-cat blinked slowly. “A cat who cares for others is special to us,” she mewed. “That is why we chose you to be our messenger.”

  “Strangers will come to your home,” the broad-shouldered tabby chimed in. “They will need your help, just as we need it.”

  Puzzled, the dreaming tom frowned. “And you need me to give them a message?”

  “Not exactly,” the black cat meowed quickly. “But let these strangers guide your paws.”

  The dreaming tom’s gaze drifted past the she-cat to the starry cats gathered behind her. Their eyes were fixed on him, burning with need. He backed away, his heart quickening. Why had they chosen him? “I don’t understand.”

  “Please!” The black she-cat’s mew was tinged with fear. “If you don’t help . . .” Then her voice trailed away, and the vision of the starry cats and meadows began to dissolve into darkness. In its place the dreaming tom saw the forest clearing once more. But the bramble walls were torn, the dens ripped open. The tortoiseshell she-cat lay at the head of the clearing, blood oozing from wounds scarring her pelt. The three young cats he’d seen stumbled past. One collapsed, a gash showing across his belly. The old tom lay panting beside shredded branches. A brown cat was sitting nearby, so thin that his bones showed though his thin pelt. His pale blue eyes stared desolately at the fallen cats as though he were frozen to stone by their suffering.

  With a jolt, the dreaming tom woke. The first thing he felt was the weight of the small tom-kit sleeping in the curve of his belly. He lifted his head and blinked into the darkness, his heart pounding. The kit whimpered and twitched, clearly having a dream of his own.

  He wondered, just for a moment, if it was a similar dream.

  “Rest, little one.” The tom leaned down and soothed the kit with a soft lap of his tongue. His dream lingered, unsettling him. If you don’t help . . . The black she-cat’s frightened words stuck in his mind. He tried to tell himself it was just a meaningless voice in his head. And yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was important. . . . He’d dreamed of the brambled clearing before, but his dream had never shifted to the dark place of starry cats. He wondered if it meant something. As the kit quieted and relaxed once more into deep sleep, the tom stared into the shadowy night. Dreams are just dreams. He tried to dismiss it. But this dream had felt too real to be ignored.

  CHAPTER 1

  Worry pricked at Tigerheart’s paws as he bounded between the pines, moving so fast he barely caught their scent.

  I have to reach Dovewing. . . .

  He leaped over ragged roots, his tail slapping against tree trunks and his legs battering the long grass. His pelt prickled with anticipation, and his belly fur tingled with nerves.

  He always grew tense when he got too far away from ShadowClan. It was still struggling to rebuild itself in the aftermath of the rogue leader Darktail’s meddling—first tempting away its younger members, then challenging Rowanstar for the leadership. ShadowClan had turned on its leader and chosen to follow the rogue. Rowanstar, Tawnypelt, and Tigerheart had abandoned the camp to Darktail and his “Kin,” and Darktail had proved himself even more brutal and vicious than Tigerheart could ever have imagined. Many ShadowClan cats had died or gone missing. Then RiverClan suffered as Darktail took his war to them. Eventually, all of the Clans joined together in fighting back, but even now, Tigerheart could not let himself relax. He was constantly worried that danger was out there somewhere.

  Today, though, his biggest worry was that Dovewing wouldn’t wait for him.

  He skidded down the slippery rise and jumped a ditch. The sun was starting to sink.

  I miss her. I got too used to seeing her every day, he admitted to himself.

  When Darktail’s rogues had driven them from their Clan, Tigerheart, Rowanstar, and Tawnypelt had sought sanctuary with ThunderClan. Living beside Dovewing every day, he’d felt the love he’d once tried to leave behind flaring anew. At first she’d kept her distance, but he knew that her old feelings had been stirred, just as his had been. And when they were sent on a quest to find Twigpaw, they grew closer than they’d ever been.

  After ShadowClan had reclaimed its old territory, they’d made an agreement to meet—whenever they could—in the dappled glade on SkyClan land, just beyond the place where the ShadowClan and ThunderClan borders touched.

  Tigerheart knew he was being disloyal to his Clan. He had told Rowanstar that he was going to patrol the border, and instead he was meeting Dovewing. The lie still felt sour on his tongue. Dishonesty was the last thing his Clan needed right now. Rowanstar had lost confidence in his leadership, and with so few cats, the whole Clan was stretched to its limit just keeping up hunting patrols and border patrols, let al
one fortifying the camp against harsh leaf-bare weather. Food was scarce, and the shattered dens were still not ready for the first snow. Rowanstar needed his support now more than ever.

  Tigerheart had been trying his best to restore his Clan’s confidence by backing up his father’s decisions and setting an example for his Clanmates, as their deputy. But the strain of such responsibility was tiring. Being with Dovewing let him forget his troubles for a while. With her, there was no need to carry the weight of his Clan. He could let the burden slip from his shoulders and simply be himself. Once he reached her, the anxious tingling in his paws would disappear.

  Ears pricked, he rounded a bramble patch and crossed a stretch of withered ferns. His heart quickened as he imagined Dovewing scanning the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. A purr rumbled in his throat. He was nearly there, the misty forest air slicking his pelt. Please still be waiting!

  He raced up the slope to where the trees thinned. Ahead, sunshine seeped through the mist and lit the sheltered glade. Beyond the bracken he saw pale gray fur. His heart soared. Dovewing. Two days apart had been too long. He crashed through the damp undergrowth and scrambled to a halt beside her.

  Her eyes flashed with relief. “You came.” Dovewing thrust her muzzle into his neck fur. She was trembling, and he thought he could hear a note of worry in her mew.

  She was silent so long, apprehension spiked through Tigerheart’s fur. “Did some cat find out about us?”

  “No.” Dovewing’s ears twitched nervously.

  “What is it, then?” Tigerheart stared at her blankly. What could be so bad that she couldn’t find the words? “Something’s wrong. I can tell. . . .” Have you stopped loving me? He braced himself.

  “I’m expecting kits.”

  Kits? Shock numbed him. “Mine?” He wasn’t thinking straight.

  “Of course yours!” Fury flared in Dovewing’s eyes. She lifted a paw to bat at his muzzle.

  He barely felt it. He was too shocked by what she’d said. Kits . . . our kits!

  He took a deep breath to gather himself—the last thing Dovewing needed was him gawking at thin air.

  “That was a dumb thing to say. I’m sorry. You just . . . took me by surprise.” Then the tingling of joy he’d been starting to feel began to fade. “Have you told Ivypool?” Dovewing had always been close to her sister.