The Sight Read online

  POWER OF THREE

  WARRIORS

  THE SIGHT

  ERIN HUNTER

  With special thanks to

  Kate Cary

  CONTENTS

  ALLEGIANCES

  MAPS

  PROLOGUE

  Muddied tree roots shaped a small opening. In the shadows…

  CHAPTER 1

  Leaves brushed Jaykit’s pelt like falling snow. More crackled underpaw,…

  CHAPTER 2

  “Where?” Firestar’s meow was tense.

  CHAPTER 3

  Jaykit tried to move, but pain shot through his limbs…

  CHAPTER 4

  Hollykit waited in the center of the clearing, where Brambleclaw…

  CHAPTER 5

  Lionkit woke in his nest. A draft ruffled his golden…

  CHAPTER 6

  Hollykit was dreaming that the nursery was filled with hedgehogs.

  CHAPTER 7

  “A medicine cat?” Lionkit stared at Hollykit, bewildered. “Why?”

  CHAPTER 8

  Brightheart?

  CHAPTER 9

  Silverpelt glittered overhead as Jaypaw followed the narrow valley upward.

  CHAPTER 10

  Lionpaw glanced up at the moon shining full and bright…

  CHAPTER 11

  Hollypaw stared in amazement. Graystripe?

  CHAPTER 12

  A line as pale as spilled milk gleamed on the…

  CHAPTER 13

  Jaypaw dawdled over his meal, taking minuscule bites from the…

  CHAPTER 14

  “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey…

  CHAPTER 15

  “Get back to camp and tell Firestar to bring help.”

  CHAPTER 16

  “Squirrelflight, take Cloudtail, Cinderpaw, Thornclaw, and Poppypaw and bring back…

  CHAPTER 17

  Hollypaw woke up long before dawn. The walls of the…

  CHAPTER 18

  Hollypaw stared at her brother in astonishment. Jaypaw had always…

  CHAPTER 19

  “Mousefur kept me awake half the night coughing,” Longtail complained.

  CHAPTER 20

  Were any more of the medicine cats dreaming ordinary dreams?

  CHAPTER 21

  “Dog attack! Dog attack!”

  CHAPTER 22

  The quarter moon had passed. Gray clouds hung heavy over…

  CHAPTER 23

  “Dawn’s coming,” Leafpool whispered to Jaypaw. “You should get some…

  CHAPTER 24

  Hollypaw twitched her nose. Something was different. The air smelled…

  CHAPTER 25

  Sunhigh was approaching—Jaypaw could feel the warmth on his back.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  OTHER BOOKS 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

  APPRENTICE, BERRYPAW

  MEDICINE CAT

  LEAFPOOL—light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

  WARRIORS

  (toms, and she-cats without kits)

  DUSTPELT—dark brown tabby tom

  APPRENTICE, HAZELPAW

  SANDSTORM—pale ginger she-cat

  APPRENTICE, HONEYPAW

  CLOUDTAIL—long-haired white tom

  APPRENTICE, CINDERPAW

  BRACKENFUR—golden brown tabby tom

  THORNCLAW—golden brown tabby tom

  APPRENTICE, POPPYPAW

  BRIGHTHEART—white she-cat with ginger patches

  ASHFUR—pale gray (with darker flecks) tom, dark blue eyes

  SORRELTAIL—tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes

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

  APPRENTICE, MOUSEPAW

  BROOK WHERE SMALL FISH SWIM

  (BROOK)—brown tabby she-cat with gray eyes, formerly of the Tribe of Rushing Water

  STORMFUR—dark gray tom with amber eyes, formerly of RiverClan

  WHITEWING—white she-cat with green eyes

  BIRCHFALL—light brown tabby tom

  APPRENTICES

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

  BERRYPAW—cream-colored tom

  HAZELPAW—small gray and white she-cat

  MOUSEPAW—gray and white tom

  CINDERPAW—gray tabby she-cat

  HONEYPAW—light brown tabby she-cat

  POPPYPAW—tortoiseshell she-cat

  QUEENS

  (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

  FERNCLOUD—pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat, green eyes, mother of Dustpelt’s kits: Icekit and Foxkit

  DAISY—cream long-furred cat from the horseplace

  SQUIRRELFLIGHT—dark ginger she-cat with green eyes, mother of Brambleclaw’s kits: Lionkit, Hollykit, and Jaykit

  ELDERS

  (former warriors and queens, now retired)

  LONGTAIL—pale tabby tom with dark black stripes, retired early due to failing sight

  MOUSEFUR—small dusky brown she-cat

  SHADOWCLAN

  LEADER

  BLACKSTAR—large white tom with huge jet-black paws

  DEPUTY

  RUSSETFUR—dark ginger she-cat

  MEDICINE CAT

  LITTLECLOUD—very small tabby tom

  WARRIORS

  OAKFUR—small brown tom

  ROWANCLAW—ginger tom

  APPRENTICE, IVYPAW

  SMOKEFOOT—black tom

  APPRENTICE, OWLPAW

  SNOWBIRD—pure white she-cat

  QUEENS

  TAWNYPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

  ELDERS

  CEDARHEART—dark gray tom

  TALLPOPPY—long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

  WINDCLAN

  LEADER

  ONESTAR—brown tabby tom

  DEPUTY

  ASHFOOT—gray she-cat

  MEDICINE CAT

  BARKFACE—short-tailed brown tom

  APPRENTICE, KESTRELPAW

  WARRIORS

  TORNEAR—tabby tom

  APPRENTICE, HAREPAW

  CROWFEATHER—dark gray tom

  APPRENTICE, HEATHERPAW

  OWLWHISKER—light brown tabby tom

  WHITETAIL—small white she-cat

  APPRENTICE, BREEZEPAW

  NIGHTCLOUD—black she-cat

  WEASELFUR—ginger tom with white paws

  ELDERS

  MORNINGFLOWER—very old tortoiseshell queen

  WEBFOOT—dark gray tabby tom

  RIVERCLAN

  LEADER

  LEOPARDSTAR—unusually spotted golden tabby she-cat

  DEPUTY

  MISTYFOOT—gray she-cat with blue eyes

  APPRENTICE, DAPPLEPAW

  MEDICINE CAT

  MOTHWING—dappled golden she-cat

  APPRENTICE, WILLOWPAW

  WARRIORS

  BLACKCLAW—smoky black tom

  VOLETOOTH—small brown tabby tom

  APPRENTICE, MINNOWPAW

  REEDWHISKER—black tom

  APPRENTICE, POUNCEPAW

  MOSSPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

  APPRENTICE, PEBBLEPAW

  BEECHFUR—light brown tom

  RIPPLETAIL—dark gray tabby tom

  QUEENS

  DAWNFLOWER—pale gray she-cat

  ELDERS

  HEAVYSTEP—thickset tabby tom

  SWALLOWTAIL—dark tabby she-cat

  STONESTREAM—gray tom

  CATS OUTSIDE CLANS

&
nbsp; GRAYSTRIPE—long-haired gray tom

  MILLIE—small silver tabby kittypet

  Maps

  PROLOGUE

  Muddied tree roots shaped a small opening. In the shadows beyond, the knotted tendrils cradled the smooth soil floor of a cave, hollowed out by moons of wind and water.

  A cat padded up the steep path toward the opening, narrowing his eyes as he neared. His flame-colored pelt glowed in the moonlight. His ears twitched, and the bristling of his fur gave away his unease as he sat down at the mouth of the cave and curled his tail across his paws. “You asked me to come.”

  From the shadows, a pair of eyes blinked at him—eyes as blue as water reflecting the summer sky. A gray tom, scarred by time and battle, was waiting in the entrance.

  “Firestar.” The warrior stepped forward and brushed the ThunderClan leader’s cheek with his white-flecked muzzle. “I have to thank you.” His mew was hoarse with age. “You have rebuilt the lost Clan. No cat could have done better.”

  “There’s no need for thanks.” Firestar dipped his head. “I did only what I had to.”

  The old warrior nodded, blinking thoughtfully. “Do you think you have been a good leader for ThunderClan?”

  Firestar tensed. “I don’t know,” he mewed. “It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve always tried to do what is right for my Clan.”

  “No cat would doubt your loyalty,” the old cat rasped. “But how far would it go?”

  Firestar’s eyes glittered uncertainly as he searched for the words to answer.

  “There are difficult times ahead,” the warrior went on before Firestar could reply. “And your loyalty will be tested to the utmost. Sometimes the destiny of one cat is not the destiny of the whole Clan.”

  Suddenly the old cat rose stiffly to his paws and stared past Firestar. It seemed he no longer saw the ThunderClan leader but gazed far beyond, to something Firestar could not see.

  When he spoke again, the ancient rasp was smoothed from his voice, as though some other cat used his tongue.

  “There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws.”

  “I don’t understand,” Firestar meowed. “Kin of my kin? Why are you telling me this?”

  The old warrior blinked, his gaze fixed once more on Firestar.

  “You must tell me more!” Firestar demanded. “How can I decide what I ought to do if you don’t explain?”

  The old cat took a deep breath, but when he spoke it was only to say, “Farewell, Firestar. In seasons to come, remember me.”

  Firestar jerked awake, his belly tight with fear. He blinked with relief when he saw the familiar stone walls of his den in the hollow by the lake. Morning sunlight streamed through the split in the rock. The warmth on his fur soothed him.

  He heaved himself to his paws and shook his head, trying to dislodge the dream. But this was no ordinary dream, for he remembered being in that cave as clearly as if it had happened a moon ago, rather than the many, many seasons he had lived since then. When the old warrior cast his strange prophecy, Firestar’s daughters had not been born and the four Clans had still lived in the forest. The prophecy had followed him on the Great Journey over the mountains and settled with him in his new home by the lake; and every full moon, the memory of it returned to fill his dreams. Even Sandstorm, who slept beside him, knew nothing of the words he had shared with the ancient cat.

  He gazed out from his den at the waking camp below. His deputy, Brambleclaw, was stretching in the center of the clearing, flexing his powerful shoulders as he clawed at the ground. Squirrelflight padded toward her mate, greeting him with a purr.

  I pray that I am wrong, Firestar thought. And yet his heart felt hollow; he feared the prophecy was about to reveal itself.

  The three have come….

  CHAPTER 1

  Leaves brushed Jaykit’s pelt like falling snow. More crackled underpaw, stiff with frost and so deep that he struggled with every step. An icy wind pierced his fur—still nursery soft—and made him shiver.

  “Wait for me!” he wailed. He could hear his mother’s voice ahead, her warm body always a few steps out of reach.

  “You’ll never catch it!”

  A high-pitched mew sliced into his dream, and Jaykit woke with a start. He pricked his ears, listening to the familiar sounds of the bramble nursery. His sister and brother scrabbling in play. Ferncloud lapping her dozing kits. There was no snow now; he was in the camp, safe and warm. He could smell his mother’s nest, empty but still fresh with her scent.

  “Oof!” He let out a gasp of surprise as his sister, Hollykit, landed heavily on top of him. “Watch out!”

  “You’re awake at last!” She rolled off him and pushed her hind paws into his flank. With a leap, she twisted away and grasped for something just out of reach.

  Mouse! Jaykit could smell it. His brother and sister must be playing catch with fresh-kill newly brought into camp. He sprang to his paws and gave a quick stretch that sent a shiver through his small body.

  “Catch this, Jaykit!” Hollykit mewed. The mouse whistled past his ear.

  “Slow slug!” she teased as he turned too late to grab it.

  “I’ve got it!” Lionkit called. He pounced on the fresh-kill, his paws thudding on the nursery’s packed earth floor.

  Jaykit wasn’t going to let his brother steal the prize from him so easily. He might be the smallest in the litter, but he was fast. He leaped toward Lionkit, knocking him out of the way and stretching his forepaw to reach for the mouse.

  He landed in a clumsy skid and rolled over, feeling a jolt of alarm as he realized it wasn’t moss underneath him, but the squirming warmth of Ferncloud’s two tiny kits. Ferncloud gave him a shove, pushing him away with her hind paws.

  Jaykit gasped. “Have I hurt them?”

  “Of course not,” Ferncloud snapped. “You’re too small to squash a flea!” Foxkit and Icekit mewled as she tucked them closer into her belly. “But you three are getting too rough for the nursery!”

  “Sorry, Ferncloud,” Hollykit mewed.

  “Sorry,” Jaykit echoed, apologetic even though Ferncloud’s comment on his size had stung him. At least the queen’s anger would not last. She would easily forgive kits she had suckled—when Squirrelflight’s milk had not come, it was Ferncloud who had fed Jaykit, Hollykit, and Lionkit in the moons before Foxkit and Icekit were born.

  “It’s about time Firestar made you apprentices and moved you to the apprentice den,” Ferncloud meowed.

  “If only.” Lionkit sighed.

  “It won’t be long,” Hollykit pointed out. “We’re almost six moons old.”

  Jaykit felt the familiar surge of excitement as he imagined becoming an apprentice warrior. He couldn’t wait to begin his training. But without even seeing Ferncloud’s face, he could sense the flicker of doubt that prickled through the queen’s pelt and knew that she was looking at him with pity in her eyes. His fur bristled with frustration—he was just as ready to become an apprentice as Hollykit and Lionkit!

  Ferncloud answered Hollykit, unaware that Jaykit had sensed her moment of unease. “Well, you’re not six moons yet! And until you are, you can do your playing outside!” she ordered.

  “Yes, Ferncloud,” Lionkit replied meekly.

  “Come on, Jaykit,” Hollykit called. “Bring the mouse with you.” The branches of the bramble bush rustled as she slid out through the nursery entrance.

  Jaykit picked up the mouse delicately in his teeth. It was newly killed and soft, and he didn’t want to make it bleed—they could have a good, clean game with it yet. With Lionkit close behind him, he scrabbled out after his sister. The barbs of the entrance tunnel clawed satisfyingly at his fur, sharp enough to tug at his pelt but not so sharp that they hurt.

  Outside, the air smelled crisp and frosty. Firestar was sharing tongues with Sandstorm below Highledge. Dustpelt sat with them.

  “We should be thinking about expanding the warriors’ den,” the dark tabby advised his leader.
“It’s crowded already, and Daisy and Sorreltail’s kits won’t be apprentices forever.”

  Nor will we! thought Jaykit.

  Brightheart and Cloudtail were grooming each other in a pool of sunlight on the other side of the clearing. Jaykit could hear the steady lapping of their tongues like water dripping from a rain-soaked leaf. Like all the ThunderClan cats, their pelts were leaf-bare thick, but the muscles beneath had grown lean with scarce prey and hard hunting.