A Warrior's Spirit Read online

  “But how?” Pebbleshine wailed.

  “You must keep calm,” Hawkwing meowed. “Think the problem through, and remember that StarClan is always with you.” Bending his head, he gave her ears another lick. “Walk toward the setting sun,” he murmured. “Come back to me.”

  Then the light began to fade. “No, don’t leave me!” Pebbleshine gasped. “Not yet!”

  But it was no use. The dream slipped from Pebbleshine as if she were trying to catch mist in her paws. Hawkwing and the rest of the Clan were gone. Pebbleshine woke and found herself still alone in the dusty little den.

  Her heart ached with renewed loss. What was that?

  A communication? A vision? Pebbleshine knew she didn’t have those powers; she wasn’t a medicine cat. Besides, she thought darkly, something truly terrible would have to have happened if all the cats she’d seen were now in StarClan.

  It was just a dream.

  Still, Hawkwing’s words about their kits’ destinies echoed in her mind. I want to believe my kits will be important to the Clan. . . . Is that why I dreamed Hawkwing saying it?

  It didn’t matter, she decided. What mattered was that before her dream, she’d felt sure she was going to die . . . but now she believed she could find her way out on her own. I have to. For my kits . . . and for me. There has to be a way of escaping. I have to escape. And I can figure it out all by myself.

  Looking more carefully around the den, Pebbleshine spotted a long stick leaning against the wall. A second stick with lots of protruding teeth was fixed across it at one end. Pebbleshine had no idea what Twolegs might use it for, but it looked like it might be just what she needed. She began pushing it carefully along the wall until the upper end was propped against the cracked window.

  Pebbleshine crouched, staring at the stick for a long time while she worked out what to do. She tried pouncing on the bottom of the stick, where the teeth were; when she did that, the other end lifted a little way from the window, and when she let go, it fell back, hitting the hard clearstone.

  Yes!

  At first, Pebbleshine could only make the stick tap lightly, but as she tried with stronger and stronger pounces, the taps became harder. Finally, one tap made a tiny crack. And when she pounced again and again, wearing herself out, the crack got bigger and bigger, spreading in all directions. Finally, when she was sure she couldn’t keep going much longer, a tiny shard of transparent stuff fell out. She pounced one more time, and this time, when the stick struck the window, some of the transparent stuff fell out to make a hole big enough for her to fit through.

  “I did it!” she yowled aloud.

  Even better, the long stick remained leaning against the window, so Pebbleshine could run up it as if it were a tree branch. When she reached the window, she squeezed herself carefully through the gap, avoiding the sharp shards that still clung to the sides. More of the glittering fragments lay on the ground outside; Pebbleshine had to brace her muscles and push off in a strong leap that carried her beyond them.

  As she landed safely on the soft grass, confidence flowed through her like a drink of cool, clear water. “My kits and I are going to make it,” she meowed. “I can do this alone. I’m strong enough!”

  Thank you, Dream Hawkwing, for reminding me to believe in myself, she added silently. Now I know that I’ll find my Clan again.

  Chapter 6

  Pebbleshine hauled herself to the top of a hill and flopped down in the long grass to rest. Several days had passed since she’d escaped from the little Twoleg den, and she had been traveling ever since.

  Relaxing in a patch of sunlight, Pebbleshine let her thoughts drift back to the day before, when she had met a strange yellow tom named Tree.

  Because she was expecting kits, Tree had stayed close to her during the night, helping her keep watch for predators. And it was a good thing he did—a hunting fox had disturbed them, and it had taken all their strength and fighting skill to drive it off.

  That morning, Pebbleshine had invited Tree to come with her and search for SkyClan, assuring him that he would be welcome. But Tree had refused. He had insisted that he was a loner, and however hard Pebbleshine had tried to convince him that it was good to have other cats to rely on, Tree wouldn’t change his mind.

  Regretfully, Pebbleshine had said good-bye to Tree, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that somehow their destinies were intertwined. “Maybe I will see him again,” she mewed softly to herself. “But that’s in the paws of StarClan.”

  Ever since the dream, Pebbleshine had been following the setting sun, just as Hawkwing had told her in her dream. She still wasn’t sure where exactly his message had come from, but it had gotten her out of that tiny den, and so she trusted it. She had made good progress since that day, but now that her belly was heavier, it made her awkward and slow, and she grew tired quickly.

  It can’t be long before my kits come, she thought.

  Not for the first time, Pebbleshine wished that Echosong and Frecklewish could be with her, to tell her whether she was headed in the right direction and how close she was to kitting. A cold claw of fear touched her when she thought of giving birth without a medicine cat. All she could do was have faith that seeing Hawkwing and the others hadn’t been just a dream, and that StarClan really was helping her.

  Ready to go on, Pebbleshine raised her head and looked around. From her vantage point on the hill, the landscape ahead stretched out in front of her. Pebbleshine drew in a gasp of excitement as, far in the distance, she spotted a gleam of water. She felt an odd flutter in her belly, but she tried not to get too optimistic. This wasn’t the first time she had seen water in her journeying, but she still hadn’t found any Clans.

  Then a breeze picked up, blowing toward Pebbleshine from the direction of the water. Tasting the air, she could discern the faint scent of a cat. She blinked, puzzled. It wasn’t SkyClan scent, and she was much too far away from the water to pick up any cat’s scent from there.

  Besides, this scent was different. It was icy, the scent of cats who walked with the night wind and the stars. Stars! Yes!

  “StarClan, is that you?” Pebbleshine asked, her voice quivering. She was so far from her Clan, and she knew she wasn’t a medicine cat. But perhaps—now and with her dream—StarClan was finding new ways to send her messages? “Are you really here?”

  There was no reply, no vision of a starry warrior. The strange scent wreathed around her for a moment longer and then faded. But Pebbleshine wasn’t in any doubt about what she should do now.

  Pebbleshine rose to her paws and set off down the hill, heading toward the water. Although she soon lost sight of it, she kept the direction fixed in her mind. Her paws urged her on, as quickly as she could with the weight of her kits, but finally she had to make herself stop and hunt.

  I have to keep my strength up for my kits, she thought, even though she felt restless. She wanted to reach the water as fast as possible.

  She had halted beside one of the gorse bushes that dotted the hillside. Angling her ears toward it, Pebbleshine picked up the faint sound of scuffling, along with a strong scent of mouse. She swiped her tongue around her jaws in anticipation of the juicy prey.

  Creeping forward cautiously, remembering that a mouse would feel the vibration of her paw steps before it heard or smelled her, Pebbleshine ducked under the outer branches of the bush and spotted her prey nibbling on a seed. She pushed off with her hind paws in a long, low pounce and brought both forepaws down hard on the mouse. It didn’t even have time to squeal.

  “Thank you, StarClan, for this prey,” Pebbleshine mewed aloud before bending her head to take a bite. And thank you for guiding me on my way, she added silently.

  Setting out again after she had eaten, Pebbleshine felt a sudden pain shoot through her belly. She had to halt and catch her breath before walking on again, more slowly. But the pain came again, and again, and finally Pebbleshine realized what it meant.

  My kits are coming!

  Everything i
n Pebbleshine fought against the knowledge. She had been so desperate to reach home and Hawkwing before their kits were born. And now that StarClan had sent her a sign and directed her toward the place where she would find the other Clans, all she wanted was to keep moving until she reached the water.

  But it seems my kits have other ideas, she thought dryly.

  Pebbleshine padded onward for as long as she could, but the pains were coming closer and closer together, and at last she had to accept that she couldn’t go any farther. She had to find somewhere safe for her kitting.

  She was heading toward a Thunderpath, and for a few moments the roaring and the harsh tang of the monsters, their speed and their glittering colors, bewildered her so that she couldn’t think what to do next.

  Oh, StarClan, this can’t be what you meant!

  Then Pebbleshine noticed that the Thunderpath was raised on a steeply sloping bank, a few tail-lengths above its surroundings, and that not far away from where she was standing a dark hole gaped at the foot of the slope. A dip in the grass led down to it. As she padded cautiously nearer, Pebbleshine could see that it was the mouth of some kind of tunnel. A damp, musty smell flowed out of it to meet her, but there was no scent of other creatures inside. Bars of harsh Twoleg stuff covered the opening, though they were set wide enough apart that she could slip between them.

  “Do I really want to go in there?” Pebbleshine asked herself.

  At the same moment another wave of pain came, so overwhelming that Pebbleshine realized she didn’t have any choice. There was no time left to look for somewhere else. At least she could hope that the tunnel would be sheltered and safe.

  Pebbleshine padded down to the bottom of the bank and slipped between the bars at the entrance to the tunnel. The musty scent was all around her, and the stones of the tunnel floor were slick with water. Damp cold struck up through Pebbleshine’s paws as she splashed her way farther into the tunnel.

  She was beginning to despair of finding anywhere safe for her kits when in the dim light she made out a raised area at one side of the tunnel, and managed to drag herself onto it. The stones were uneven and covered with debris, but at least they were dry.

  “That’s it!” she gasped as she flopped onto one side. “Kits, this is as far as we go.”

  Pain after pain rippled through Pebbleshine’s belly. She could feel her muscles bunching and stretching as her body tried to push the kits out into the world, but nothing happened. She lost count of how long she had been lying in the tunnel, but the dim light that filtered in from the entrance eventually faded, leaving her in the dark. And still her kits didn’t come.

  “Oh, StarClan, give me strength!” she choked out through gritted teeth.

  “Here.” Pebbleshine felt a paw on her shoulder, and looked up to see a pale yellow tom standing over her, pushing a stick toward her. “Bite down on the stick when the pain comes,” he meowed.

  “But who—” Pebbleshine began, but then the pain swept her up again and overwhelmed her, and she bit down hard on the stick until the agony ebbed away.

  “Who are you?” she asked when she could speak again. She blinked up at the yellow tom, who was stroking her flank with the tip of his long tail. “You can’t be a medicine cat, not here.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” the tom replied. His voice was warm and gentle. “Come on now, push hard, and you’ll soon have your kits here with you.”

  “I’m trying my best . . .” Pebbleshine’s voice trailed off as she wondered for the first time how she could see the yellow tom when the tunnel was so dark. Then she noticed the frosty glimmer on the tom’s paws and the ends of his whiskers. “Oh . . .”

  The pain came again, so intense that Pebbleshine thought her belly would burst open. She gripped the stick in her jaws, and through the chaos she heard the tom’s voice again. “Well done, Pebbleshine! A little she-cat.”

  Pride and love flooded through Pebbleshine as the tom nudged the wriggling bundle toward her. She bent her head to lick the kit’s wet fur, when pain pulsed through her once again, and she felt a second kit slip from her onto the gritty floor of the tunnel.

  “Another she-cat,” the tom announced. “And that’s all. You’ve done it, Pebbleshine.”

  “They’re so beautiful . . . ,” Pebbleshine whispered.

  She pulled both kits into the curve of her belly and licked them vigorously until their fur was soft and fluffy. One of them was black-and-white, while the other had a gray pelt just like Hawkwing’s.

  “Thank you for—” she began, raising her head to speak to the tom, only to realize that the mysterious cat had left her. Maybe I imagined him, she thought, even though she knew deep inside that he had been too real, and she had needed him too much, for that.

  But Pebbleshine was too absorbed in her kits to think for long about the StarClan cat who had come to help her. She was exhausted, and still in pain, but she was so full of joy and love that she felt it would spill out of her like a pool flooding in newleaf.

  The kits squirmed closer to Pebbleshine’s belly and began sucking strongly. Tiny squeaking noises came from them as they pummeled her with soft paws. Pebbleshine felt that her heart would burst, it was so full of love. She knew that she would willingly give her life for these two precious little creatures.

  “I wish your father could be here, little kits,” Pebbleshine murmured. “But I know that when Hawkwing sees you, he’ll love you just as much as I do.”

  Chapter 7

  Pebbleshine bent her head and gently licked her two daughters as they suckled at her belly. Almost a day had passed since she gave birth; they were still in the tunnel, but she had ventured out while her kits were sleeping and collected enough moss and leaves to make a cozy nest.

  They are so beautiful. . . . Pebbleshine marveled that after all the danger and heartache she had suffered, her kits had been born strong and healthy. I promise I’ll get you to SkyClan, she told herself silently. You will grow up to be Clan cats. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but somehow, I will make it happen.

  Pebbleshine couldn’t remember when she had last eaten, and her belly was rumbling with hunger. She knew that she had to keep her strength up now to care for her kits and provide enough milk for them. So when the kits were full-fed and had fallen asleep, curled around each other in a furry bundle, she rose to her paws, careful not to disturb them. She hated to leave them, glancing back over her shoulder as she padded reluctantly toward the tunnel entrance.

  “That’s another problem with being a loner,” she muttered to herself. “You have to catch your own prey, even when you have tiny kits.”

  When Pebbleshine emerged from the tunnel, she saw the sky still streaked with scarlet where the sun had just set. Dusk was already gathering in the hollows beneath the Thunderpath. Now and then the glaring light from the eyes of a monster swept over Pebbleshine as she stood at the foot of the bank and tasted the air.

  Soon Pebbleshine picked up the scent of shrew. She tasted the air and pinpointed it in a clump of long grass a few tail-lengths away. She stalked forward until she spotted the small creature; then, with a bound and a swipe from one forepaw, she killed it and devoured it in two massive gulps.

  The shrew was too small to have satisfied her hunger, but Pebbleshine didn’t want to spend any longer away from her kits. She would hope for more filling prey later.

  But as she was making her way back to the tunnel, Pebbleshine picked up another scent, strong enough to swamp even the harsh tang of the Thunderpath.

  Badger!

  Pebbleshine froze, only her head moving as she tried to spot the intruder. The scent was fresh; the creature must be close by. Eventually she made out the clumsy dark body, the white stripe on the badger’s head seeming to glimmer in the twilight.

  The badger was lumbering toward her, alongside the bank, thrusting its snout into clumps of grass as it approached. Pebbleshine guessed that it was hunting for slugs or beetles, but it wouldn’t turn its snout up at larger prey. She crouched
down, trying to make herself as small as possible, while still keeping her gaze fixed on the fierce creature.

  At first she thought that the badger would ignore the tunnel entrance and go harmlessly on its way. But as the badger was passing the tunnel, one of the kits inside sent up a thin wail.

  Pebbleshine felt her heart begin to pound with terror. Oh, no! My precious kits! Why did you have to wake up now? She knew how strong and vicious badgers were—if it got in and found the nest, it would attack her kits and probably eat them.

  The badger halted and turned back, its head raised alertly to sniff the air. It was too big to slip between the bars over the tunnel entrance. Pebbleshine waited for a moment, hoping they would be strong enough to keep it out. But as the wailing broke out again, louder now, the badger hurled itself forward, thumping against the bars. Pebbleshine heard a crack, as if the barrier was about to give way.

  “No!” she screeched.

  She raced toward the badger and flung herself at it, raking her claws down its side, then darting away. The badger turned toward her, startled, and Pebbleshine leaped at it again and clawed its shoulder.

  The badger let out an angry growl. Seeming to forget the kit crying in the tunnel, it lumbered toward Pebbleshine. She let it get almost close enough to strike at her with its blunt, powerful claws, then turned and dashed away, up the bank to the edge of the Thunderpath.

  Her heart pounded in a mixture of fear and exhilaration as she waited for the badger to follow her. She exulted in her own strength and speed, the warrior skills that gave her the power to save her daughters.

  It’s so keen to catch me, it won’t think any more about my kits!

  Pebbleshine glanced over her shoulder as she raced out onto the Thunderpath. The huge beast was hard on her paws, its jaws open to show a mouthful of strong teeth. “Come on, slow mole!” she taunted it. “You can’t—”

  Pebbleshine broke off as a flash of light swept over her. Roaring filled her ears. A hard blow landed on her side, and she felt herself flying through the air. She barely had time to let out a choking cry before the whole world turned black.