The First Battle Page 2

  His gaze flicked to Fircone and Nettle. The two young toms had joined the forest cats only recently. Their loyalty was still as brittle as dry leaves. They’d persuaded Thunder to question Clear Sky’s decision to enlarge the forest boundaries. A growl rattled in his throat. He was going to have to strengthen their commitment. And teach them some courage! Brave cats would have questioned him themselves.

  He straightened, leaping down the bank and padding into the center of the earth clearing.

  Leaf, a black-and-white tom, looked up from where he’d been washing his belly at the foot of a smooth rock jutting at one end of the clearing. He searched Clear Sky’s gaze. “Is Thunder really leaving?”

  “He already left.” Clear Sky flicked his tail. He didn’t want to think about the past. The future was all that mattered. “Gather to hear me speak.” He flashed his gaze around the forest cats.

  Quick Water padded toward him. Falling Feather followed. Nettle and Fircone circled him and stopped a tail-length away. Leaf shook out his fur and joined Nettle, exchanging glances with the young rogue.

  A yellow face peered out from beneath a low-spreading yew. “Is there a meeting?”

  Clear Sky beckoned her with his tail. “Yes, Petal. Please join us.”

  As the golden-pelted she-cat slid out from beneath the dark green branches, the faces of two kits peered after her, their round eyes shining.

  “Don’t worry, Birch.” Petal turned and soothed the tom kit. She nodded to his sister, huddled beside him. “Alder, stay there. Make sure Birch stays with you.”

  She whisked them back into the shadow with a soft flick of her tail-tip and crossed the clearing.

  “What’s up?” She stopped beside Falling Feather.

  Clear Sky hardly heard her. He was watching Birch and Alder as they stared from the yew. They weren’t Petal’s kits. She’d taken them in after their mother had died.

  After I killed their mother.

  The words rang unbidden in his head. Guilt moved like worms beneath his pelt. A growl rumbled in his throat. No! She attacked us! I was just defending my cats.

  She was just defending her kits.

  He ignored the reproach echoing in his ears and fought to steady his paws. They were trembling. I must stay strong if I’m to see my cats through the cold season. The forest was still blossoming as the warm season gave way to hot. But warmth never lasted. The forest would be frozen all too soon. Prey would go to ground and hunger would stalk the cats with the ruthlessness of a fox, just as it had in the mountains.

  “Clear Sky?” Petal’s mew jerked him from his thoughts.

  He flicked his tail and leaped past Leaf onto the rock.

  His cats turned their faces toward him.

  “Thunder and Frost have left and they aren’t coming back.”

  Fircone and Nettle exchanged glances.

  “There’s no room in our forest for cats who aren’t loyal.” He snapped his gaze toward Falling Feather.

  She straightened. “I’m loya—”

  He cut her off.

  “Falling Feather thought about leaving with them.”

  “Only for a moment!” Falling Feather protested.

  He was pleased to see guilt flashing in her wide green eyes. She looked anxiously around at the other cats. Clear Sky hoped they all saw the same guilt in her gaze. Then, they’d understand what he was about to do. “Even a single moment is too long,” he growled. “If we are to make it through the cold season we need to establish strong boundaries and unwavering loyalty now.” He stalked to the edge of the rock and glowered at Falling Feather. “When times are hard, I need to be able to trust you.”

  Quick Water lifted her muzzle. “You have known Falling Feather since you were a kit,” she called up. “Of course you can trust her.”

  Leaf’s gaze slid toward Falling Feather. “What about the rest of us, not born in the mountains? Can we trust her?”

  Clear Sky scanned the cats’ faces eagerly. Did any other cat share Leaf’s doubt?

  “Of course!” Quick Water stared angrily at Leaf.

  Petal narrowed her eyes. “Clear Sky is right,” she murmured. “We need to be able to rely on each other even when times are tough. If we’d wanted to live as rogues, we’d have stayed rogues. But we chose to join Clear Sky because we believed he offered us a better life.”

  “Exactly!” Clear Sky lifted his tail triumphantly. “I’m glad you understand, Petal. I only want what’s best. Loyalty will give us strength. It will let us trust one another. It will keep us safe.” His gaze flashed back to Falling Feather. “That is why she must be punished.”

  Falling Feather’s snowy fur spiked along her spine. “Punished?” Her mew was barely a breath.

  Clear Sky looked around the other cats. “If she shows any signs of disloyalty, it must be reported to me. Immediately!” He waited until Petal nodded and Leaf blinked in agreement.

  Fircone and Nettle shifted their paws uneasily.

  “Immediately!” Clear Sky showed his teeth.

  They gave hasty nods.

  “Quick Water?” Clear Sky glared at the gray-and-white she-cat.

  “I won’t need to report her.” She glared back. “Falling Feather would never be disloyal.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Any cat may give Falling Feather orders. Any cat may take her prey if they wish. She is lower than a snake until she has earned our trust again.”

  Falling Feather’s eyes sparked with hurt but she didn’t argue. Quick Water moved closer to her friend.

  Clear Sky flicked his tail. “But we have more important things to discuss.” He looked down at Fircone and Nettle. “Some cats have been questioning my decision to expand our boundaries.” He saw Nettle unsheathe his claws defensively. His warning had been heard. Content, he softened his tone. “I want to put your minds at rest,” he soothed. “It’s for your own good. Can’t you see that?” He nodded toward the trees crowding the camp. Blackened trunks showed among them. “The fire destroyed much of our territory and it will take time for the forest to recover and prey to return. We need more land to hunt until it does. And with Thunder and Frost gone and small mouths to feed . . .” He glanced toward the yew. Birch had crept from the shadows and was staring up at him while Alder tugged his tail between her teeth, trying to haul him back beneath the branches. Clear Sky went on. “We need to claim as much territory as we can.”

  Leaf frowned. “Claiming territory is one thing,” he called. “How do we keep it?”

  Clear Sky flexed his claws. “We patrol our borders and we fight any cat who crosses them.”

  “Even Gray Wing?” Quick Water tipped her head. “He’s your brother.”

  Fury surged from Clear Sky’s belly. “He attacked me! He accused me of murdering the kittypet Bumble!” Outrage spiked his pelt. “Me! Murder a kittypet?” He flicked his tail toward Birch and Alder. “I rescue cats, I don’t kill them.” He pressed on before anyone could remind him how the kits had lost their mother. “These are dark times, and the cold season is not yet here. We must work together to build a strong, safe home!”

  “Together! Together!” Petal chanted eagerly.

  “Together!” Leaf joined her.

  Fircone joined in with the black-and-white tom. “Together!”

  Clear Sky’s chest flooded with pride as the cats yowled their support. Even Quick Water and Falling Feather joined in, though their eyes watched their new mates warily. So what? He knew that building loyalty and trust among his cats was going to take time. But it would be worth it. By next warm season, the forest would belong to them and they would be well fed and safe. We must be strong. Clear Sky lifted his chin. “Let us train until no cat can outfight us!”

  “Train?” Leaf stared as the other cats fell quiet around him.

  “We will practice fighting until we’re better than any rogue or moor cat!” Excitement rushed through Clear Sky like wildfire, his thoughts spiraling. If we share our skills and our strengths, we’ll be able to protect our terri
tory. “Nettle!” Clear Sky leaped from the rock and circled the gray tom. “I want you to fight Fircone.” He padded toward Fircone and nudged his mottled gray shoulder. “Go on,” he urged. “Fight!”

  “I don’t want to hurt my friend!” Nettle objected.

  “Then keep your claws sheathed,” Clear Sky told him. “I just want you to show us your fighting technique.” He nodded to Leaf and Petal. “We can watch.” He beckoned Quick Water and Falling Feather closer with a flick of his tail. “And we can learn your skills, then show you ours.”

  Leaf was nodding. “Great idea, Clear Sky. I bet they have moves we don’t know.”

  Petal leaned forward. “And I have moves they can learn.”

  “You can fight next,” Clear Sky promised, exhilarated to see his cats so eager to share their skills. He blinked at Fircone. “Are you ready?”

  Fircone nodded, his amber eyes shining. “I’m ready.”

  “Me too.” Nettle whisked his tail and dropped into a crouch.

  Fircone narrowed his eyes and faced his friend.

  Clear Sky padded across the clearing, nudging Leaf, Petal, Falling Feather, and Quick Water back until there was a clear, wide circle for the two young toms.

  “Can we watch?” Birch was straining against Alder’s teeth as she tugged on his tail.

  “Yes.” Clear Sky purred indulgently. “You’re never too young to learn.”

  Quick Water flashed him a disapproving look. He ignored it. Hopefully, she’d change her mind when they grew into fearless, skillful fighters.

  He stepped aside as Birch and Alder hurtled forward and skidded to a halt beside Petal.

  Fircone’s tail was sweeping the earth behind him as he stared at Nettle.

  Nettle narrowed his eyes, muscles twitching beneath his pelt.

  Fircone leaped.

  Nettle reared and met him in midair. The thump of their bodies as they clashed rang throughout the camp.

  They dropped. Nettle landed on top of Fircone and, raising his forepaws, slammed them down onto his friend’s shoulders.

  Breath burst from Fircone. He rolled, bunching his hind legs and kicking out as Nettle reared to hit him again.

  His back paws caught Nettle on the chin and thrust him backward.

  Petal darted out of the way.

  Alder and Birch stared frozen as the huge tom careened toward them.

  “Move!” Petal ordered.

  Shrieking, they scattered like mice, escaping a moment before Nettle collapsed heavily onto the ground beside them.

  “Finish him, Fircone!” Clear Sky goaded.

  Fircone had already leaped to his paws, rage burning in his eyes. He clearly hadn’t expected Nettle to attack him so forcefully. Hissing, he leaped at his friend.

  Nettle scrabbled to find his paws too late.

  Fircone hit him hard, smashing him to the ground.

  Growling, Nettle curled like a caterpillar and grabbed Fircone’s hind paws as the mottled tom reared. Clamping his jaws around his friend’s leg, he tugged until Fircone staggered and fell. “No one finishes me!” With a hiss, Nettle dived for Fircone’s throat, teeth bared.

  “Enough!” Clear Sky darted forward and grabbed Nettle’s scruff. He tugged him back. “We don’t hurt each other.”

  “He tried to hurt me.” Nettle glowered at Fircone.

  Fircone glared back. “I was defending myself!”

  “You both fought well,” Clear Sky praised. He was pleased to see such ferocity. If they were this fierce with friends, how fierce would they be with enemies? “That was a good move, Nettle.” He nodded approvingly at the gray tom. “Fircone wasn’t expecting you to grab his hind legs.” He turned to Fircone. “And you moved well in the air. You must teach us all how you managed to twist like that.”

  “I used my tail,” Fircone told him.

  Leaf tipped his head curiously. “How?”

  “I’ll show you.” Fircone dropped into a crouch. “When you leap, the twist starts in the tail-tip. If you flick it right, it’ll alter your balance just enough.” He leaped, twirling as he streaked through the air, then landed gracefully on his paws.

  Nettle leaned forward, rage giving way to curiosity. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “Try it,” Fircone encouraged eagerly.

  Clear Sky sat down. The friends’ anger was forgotten already. They were only interested in learning how to fight better. Satisfaction warmed his pelt. They were skilled cats. And, with training, they’ll be deadly.

  CHAPTER 2

  “We should meet him face to face, ready to fight.”

  Gray Wing watched Wind Runner pace the clearing. Her brown pelt was rippling nervously.

  She lashed her tail as she went on. “The sooner we make a stand, the sooner he’ll understand.”

  The wiry rogue had grown plump since joining them. The steady diet of prey must be doing her good. Gray Wing glanced at the rest of the moor cats, gathered in the sandy hollow where they had made their camp. Jagged Peak was crouching beside Turtle Tail, his eyes round with worry. Gorse Fur watched through narrowed eyes. Shattered Ice and Jackdaw’s Cry sat with ears pricked, as though they were listening beyond the gorse for trouble. Hawk Swoop fidgeted between them, her orange pelt catching the early evening light. In the distance, the setting sun touched the moortop, turning the heather golden.

  Gray Wing closed his eyes in frustration. “If we start with a fight, who knows where it will end.” His paws felt heavy as stone.

  Tall Shadow growled softly, her hackles lifting. “Wind Runner could be right. If we make a stand now, he’ll think twice about attacking us.”

  “He won’t attack us!” Gray Wing refused to believe Clear Sky would hurt his own kin. He’s my brother! I grew up with him.

  “What is there to fight for anyway?” Rainswept Flower spoke up. “We don’t want Clear Sky’s dumb forest. Surely he doesn’t want the moor? He chose to live in the woods.” She stood beneath the drooping brambles that arched over one end of the hollow, the yellow-flowered tips of its trailing fronds resting on her brown pelt. Behind her, Gray Wing could hear Turtle Tail’s kits playing in the shadows, sheltered from the wind beneath the arching branches.

  The petals rustled and Sparrow Fur tumbled out. “I’ll be the mouse this time,” she called to her littermates. She’d hardly finished speaking when Pebble Heart and Owl Eyes burst from the brush and hurled themselves at her.

  “That’s not fair.” Sparrow Fur wriggled from under them and stood at the edge of the clearing. She puffed out her tortoiseshell fur. “You have to give me a chance to hide.”

  Owl Eyes sat down. “Why can’t we play Jump the Bird?”

  Pebble Heart rubbed his nose with his brown tabby paw. “There’s not enough space to play a bird game under the brush.”

  “We could play out here,” Owl Eyes suggested, nodding toward the stretch of sandy earth.

  Gray Wing glanced at the young gray tom. “Stay out of the way,” he ordered. “Until we’ve finished talking.”

  Sparrow Fur’s eyes lit excitedly. “Let’s go back under the bramble and see how far we can climb into the branches.” She disappeared inside. A moment later the bramble trembled as she began to scramble through its spindly stems.

  “Be careful!” Turtle Tail began to cross the clearing, her eyes round with worry as her kits disappeared into the tangle of branches.

  Gray Wing gently blocked her way. “Their claws are sharp enough to cling on,” he promised. Pebble Heart, Sparrow Fur, and Owl Eyes were still small but they were already as strong as young rabbits. The bramble rocked under their weight, making the flowery stems tremble on Rainswept Flower’s spine.

  The she-cat padded clear. “How can we even think of fighting?” she fretted. “We have kits to raise. We should be hunting, not arguing over borders.”

  Jagged Peak limped forward. His hind leg, injured in a fall from a tree, scraped the sandy earth behind him. “If Clear Sky wants to waste time creating borders, let him.�
�

  Gorse Fur frowned, the spiky fur on his forehead rippling. “But he’s killing cats to do it.”

  Gray Wing turned on his old friend, anger flaring. “We don’t know that.”

  Turtle Tail’s ears flattened. “He killed Bumble.”

  “And Misty!” Shattered Ice spoke up. His gray-and-white pelt rippled.

  Gray Wing shifted paws uneasily. “No one saw him kill Misty.”

  “We smelled Clear Sky’s scent on her body when we found her.” Gorse Fur glanced at Wind Runner for confirmation. The two cats had discovered the rogue’s dead body while out hunting.

  Wind Runner nodded solemnly. “It’s true.”

  “But he took in Misty’s kits,” Gray Wing pointed out hopefully. “A killer wouldn’t show such kindness.”

  Turtle Tail hissed. “Guilty conscience!”

  Wind Runner narrowed her eyes. “He wouldn’t have to take them in if he hadn’t killed their mother.”

  Gray Wing’s thoughts began to whirl. How could Clear Sky be a murderer? He gazed at the moor cats. Anger sparked in their eyes. The rage in Turtle Tail’s worried him most. I can’t let this argument over Clear Sky drive us apart. He blinked at Cloud Spots. The tom seemed relaxed despite the accusations flying across the clearing; his black fur was unruffled, his gaze calm.

  “What do you think?” Gray Wing appealed to him. Cloud Spots was smart enough to know how to heal sickness and injury with herbs. Perhaps he knew how to heal this rift opening among the moor cats.

  “I think there is no prey on the prey heap.” He nodded toward the empty patch of earth beside the flat rock jutting at the edge of the clearing. The moor cats had begun storing their prey there, where shadow protected it from the putrefying warmth of the midday sun. “The kits will be hungry soon and so will we.” He glanced around at the other cats. “And empty bellies never soothed frayed tempers.”

  Gray Wing felt a wave of gratitude for the tom’s common sense. Full bellies would calm them all. “Jackdaw’s Cry.” He nodded to the young black tom. “Will you go with Shattered Ice and Gorse Fur and bring back prey?”