SkyClan's Destiny
Erin Hunter
SUPER EDITION
WARRIORS
SKYCLAN’S
DESTINY
ERIN
HUNTER
WARRIORS
Book One: Into the Wild
Book Two: Fire and Ice
Book Three: Forest of Secrets
Book Four: Rising Storm
Book Five: A Dangerous Path
Book Six: The Darkest Hour
THE NEW PROPHECY
Book One: Midnight
Book Two: Moonrise
Book Three: Dawn
Book Four: Starlight
Book Five: Twilight
Book Six: Sunset
POWER OF THREE
Book One: The Sight
Book Two: Dark River
Book Three: Outcast
Book Four: Eclipse
Book Five: Long Shadows
Book Six: Sunrise
OMEN OF THE STARS
Book One: The Fourth Apprentice
Book Two: Fading Echoes
EXPLORE THE
WARRIORS
WORLD
Warriors Super Edition: Firestar’s Quest
Warriors Super Edition: Bluestar’s Prophecy
Warriors Field Guide: Secrets of the Clans
Warriors: Cats of the Clans
Warriors: Code of the Clans
Warriors: Battles of the Clans
MANGA
The Lost Warrior
Warrior’s Refuge
Warrior’s Return
The Rise of Scourge
Tigerstar and Sasha #1: Into the Woods
Tigerstar and Sasha #2: Escape from the Forest
Tigerstar and Sasha #3: Return to the Clans
Ravenpaw’s Path #1: Shattered Peace
Ravenpaw’s Path #2: A Clan in Need
Ravenpaw’s Path #3: The Heart of a Warrior
Dedication
Special thanks to Cherith Baldry
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Allegiance
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
Turn The Page To Read
Turn The Page For A Sneak Peek
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
About the Author
Other Works
Credtis
Copyright
About the Publisher
Allegiances
SKYCLAN
LEADER
LEAFSTAR—brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes
DEPUTY
SHARPCLAW—dark ginger tom
MEDICINE CAT
ECHOSONG—silver tabby she-cat with green eyes
WARRIORS
(toms, and she-cats without kits)
PATCHFOOT—black-and-white tom
PETALNOSE—pale gray she-cat
APPRENTICE, SAGEPAW
SPARROWPELT—dark brown tabby tom
CHERRYTAIL—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
WASPWHISKER—gray-and-white tom
APPRENTICE, MINTPAW
SHREWTOOTH—skinny black tom
EBONYCLAW—striking black she-cat
APPRENTICE, FRECKLEPAW
BILLYSTORM—ginger-and-white tom
APPRENTICE, SNOOKPAW
HARVEYMOON—white tom
MACGYVER—black-and-white tom
ROCKSHADE—black tom
BOUNCEFIRE—ginger tom (Clovertail’s son)
TINYCLOUD—small white she-cat (Clovertail’s daughter)
APPRENTICES
(more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)
SAGEPAW—pale gray tom (son of Petalnose and Rainfur)
MINTPAW—gray tabby she-cat (daughter of Petalnose and Rainfur)
SNOOKPAW—black-and-white tom
FRECKLEPAW—mottled light brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs
QUEENS
(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)
FALLOWFERN—pale brown she-cat (mother to Hunchfoot’s kits: Rabbitkit, Creekkit, Nettlekit, and Plumkit)
CLOVERTAIL—light brown she-cat with white belly and legs (expecting Patchfoot’s kits)
ELDERS
(former warriors and queens, now retired)
LICHENFUR—gray mottled she-cat
TANGLE—ragged tabby tom loner
CATS OUTSIDE THE CLAN
EGG—cream-colored tom loner
HUTCH—dark brown kittypet (formerly Shortwhisker)
OSCAR—black kittypet
BELLA—tabby-and-white kittypet with amber eyes
ROSE—elegant brown-and-cream Siamese kittypet with slanting blue eyes
LILY—Rose’s sister
STICK—brown tom with yellow eyes and a torn ear
CORA—black she-cat
COAL—black tom
SHORTY—brown tom with amber eyes and half a tail
SNOWY—white she-cat
PERCY—dark gray tabby tom
RED—dark ginger she-cat
DODGE—dark brown tabby tom
SKIPPER—ginger-and-white tom
HARLEY—gray-and-brown tabby tom
MISHA—cream-colored she-cat
ONION—silver-and-black she-cat
NUTMEG—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
VELVET—silver kittypet
ANCIENT SKYCLAN
CLOUDSTAR—pale gray tom with white patches and very pale blue eyes
BUZZARDSTAR—ginger tom with green eyes (deputy when SkyClan left the forest)
FAWNSTEP—light brown tabby she-cat (medicine cat when SkyClan left the forest)
BIRDFLIGHT—light brown tabby she-cat with long fluffy fur and amber eyes
FERNPELT—dark brown tabby she-cat
MOUSEFANG—sandy-colored she-cat
NIGHTFUR—black tom
OAKSTEP—gray tabby tom
SPIDERSTAR—dark tabby tom (last leader of Ancient SkyClan)
HONEYLEAF—ginger tabby she-cat (last deputy of Ancient SkyClan)
BRACKENHEART—brown tabby tom (last medicine cat of Ancient SkyClan)
SWALLOWFLIGHT—black tom
SKYWATCHER—dark gray tom with pale blue eyes (lived in the gorge before Modern SkyClan was formed)
RAINFUR—light gray tom with dark gray flecks (killed in the battle with the rats)
Prologue
The sun was going down, casting deep shadows over the gorge. A chilly breeze ruffled the surface of the river and whirled the last few shriveled leaves through the air. The only sound was the murmur of water that surged from a black hole in a pile of boulders, coiling into a pool before winding away into the darkness beneath the cliffs.
A dark tabby tom appeared at the top of the gorge, outlined against the sky. He paused for a moment, tasting the air. The dying sun shed bloodred light over his pelt, touching a patch on his shoulder where the fur had been torn away. After a few he
artbeats the tabby tom signaled with his tail and began to pick his way down a narrow track that zigzagged across the face of the cliff. Seven other cats followed him: A white she-cat stumbled awkwardly on three paws, the fourth a mass of blood-soaked fur held close to her chest; a long-legged black tom edged downward nervously, one eye closed and sticky with blood; a young ginger tom limped with both ears shredded. Not one of the cats was free of wounds.
As the eight warriors padded painfully down the trail toward the water’s edge, four more cats emerged from a cave a little farther along the gorge. The first was a young brown tabby tom who sprang quickly down the rocks to the foot of the boulders. His paws worked anxiously in the sand as he waited for the warriors to arrive. The other three were elders who stumbled after him on shaky legs.
“Well, Spiderstar?” one of them rasped as the leading cat reached the bottom of the cliff. The elder’s muzzle was gray with age, and every one of his ribs was visible beneath his thin black pelt. “What happened? Did you win?”
The dark tabby tom paused for a moment, then padded forward to touch his nose to the older cat’s ear. “What does it look like, Nightfur?” he murmured in reply. “Brackenheart,” he added to the young brown tabby, “I hope your den is well stocked with herbs. We’re going to need them.”
Before the medicine cat could reply, the long-legged black tom pushed up beside his Clan leader, his lip curling in contempt. “Of course we didn’t win. This battle was lost before it was even begun.”
A ginger tabby she-cat, who had brought up the rear as the battle-scarred cats made their way down the cliff, bounded up and glared at the black tom. “You can’t say that, Swallow-flight! We had to fight. SkyClan still has its pride!”
It was the white she-cat who replied, shaking her head sadly. “Pride in what, Honeyleaf? We can’t feed ourselves because the rats have chased off all the prey. No kits have been born in moons. The only ceremonies we have now are to send our Clanmates to our ancestors.”
The ginger she-cat’s head whipped around, her green eyes narrowing to slits. “Look, Frostclaw—”
“Will we hold ceremonies for Sunpelt and Fallensnow?” the young warrior with the shredded ears interrupted. His voice was trembling with grief.
“We will, Rowanfur.” Spiderstar dipped his head to the young cat. “Their spirits are free now to walk among the stars.”
“What?” A gray tabby elder rose shakily to his paws. “Sunpelt and Fallensnow are dead? Then where are their bodies? We must sit vigil for them and then bury them.”
“Oakstep, we had to leave them behind,” Swallowflight spat out with a lash of his tail. “We were too busy fleeing to save our own pelts to carry our fallen Clanmates.” He turned away, his head bowed as if he couldn’t bear to go on looking at the others.
Frostclaw padded up and sat quietly beside him, pushing her nose into the black tom’s matted shoulder fur. “Swallowflight, there was nothing else we could have done for them. No cat could blame us.”
“She’s right,” Brackenheart meowed quietly. “Our Clanmates hunt with StarClan now. They’ll understand.”
Spiderstar nodded, his eyes dark with pain and loss.
“But if you had brought them back we could have buried them!” Oakstep protested. “Where is the honor in leaving them to be picked over by the rats? Sunpelt and Fallensnow should never be crow-food!”
Every paw step an effort, he started to hobble up the trail that led to the top of the gorge. Before he had gone more than a few fox-lengths, Spiderstar darted in front of him and forced the grief-stricken elder to stop.
“We have lost enough Clanmates tonight,” he mewed. “Let us pray for their spirits as they join StarClan.”
Swallowflight’s ears pricked, and he turned to look at his Clan leader. “StarClan? Do you think they are really watching over us?” His whiskers twitched with disgust. “If they cared about us at all, they would never have let the rats come.”
Honeyleaf whirled to face her Clanmate. “StarClan has given us the warrior code, and with that comes the courage and skill to defeat our enemies. SkyClan is not defeated yet!”
Silence greeted her words. It was several heartbeats before Spiderstar spoke, his voice aching with sadness. “Honeyleaf, you’re wrong. We are defeated. I cannot bear to lead my Clanmates into one more battle, to watch them starve through another leaf-bare, afraid of every noise, every stirring leaf. We have become prey.” He heaved a sigh from the depths of his chest. “The rats have won. SkyClan is no more.”
A chorus of protest broke out at the Clan leader’s words. The third elder, a sandy-colored she-cat, hauled herself to her paws and padded up to face him, her whiskers twitching.
“That can’t be right, Spiderstar,” she growled. “I was a kit when we lived in the forest, when the Twolegs stole our territory and the other Clans forced us to leave. Some cats thought SkyClan was finished, but we found a new home for ourselves, here in the gorge. If losing our home didn’t beat us, neither should this battle.”
“Mousefang’s right.” Oakstep padded to his Clanmate’s side. “We can’t give up now.”
“Show us these rats and we’ll fight them,” another elder, Nightfur, added.
“I never knew the forest, but I honor your memories of it.” Spiderstar dipped his head to the three old cats, respect in his eyes. “No cat doubts your courage, my friends, but there’s nothing that any of us can do. There are too many rats.”
“Then there has to be another answer!” Honeyleaf burst out. “Spiderstar, I’ve tried to be a good, brave, loyal deputy, to you and to SkyClan. I’ve worked my paws off, and I’ve never been afraid to fight. I didn’t come this far just to watch our Clan die!”
Spiderstar reached out to touch the she-cat’s shoulder with the tip of his tail. “You have been the best deputy a cat could wish for,” he told her. “And you would have led your Clan with the same honor and courage. Every cat knows that.”
“What do you mean, ‘would have’?” Honeyleaf drew her lips back in the beginning of a snarl; her neck fur bristled up. “I—”
“This is all a load of mouse dung.” Nightfur cut off what the deputy was about to say. “How are we supposed to survive as loners if we can’t survive as a Clan?”
For a few heartbeats no cat answered; they exchanged dismayed glances with one another, as if the old black tom’s words had suddenly made them realize that they were facing a future without the support of their Clan. Even Honeyleaf subsided, her fur settling flat again and only her tail-tip twitching.
“I… I’ve been taking food from Twolegs now and again,” Frostclaw admitted, lowering her head and giving her mangled paw a lick. “It doesn’t taste too bad, if you’re hungry.”
“What?” Honeyleaf’s ears pricked. “Food from Twolegs? That’s completely against the warrior code!”
Frostclaw blinked at her guiltily and didn’t try to defend herself.
The young ginger tom, Rowanfur, padded up to her and pressed himself against her side. “So what?” he meowed defiantly. “I’ve been taking food from Twolegs, too. I’d rather do that than starve. I reckon they’d take us into their dens,” he added, his voice shaking a little. “I think they’re sorry for us, seeing how thin we are. If we went to live with them, we’d have shelter and we’d be safe from the rats.”
One or two of the other cats nodded and murmured agreement.
Honeyleaf stalked into the middle of the group, raking them with an icy glare from her green eyes. “Kittypets? You want to be kittypets? SkyClan warriors will never do that! It would be the greatest shame of all!”
“That’s true!” Swallowflight agreed with a lash of his tail. “I’d rather die than go crawling to Twolegs for food!”
None of the other cats could meet the deputy’s accusing stare. At last, Mousefang asked quietly, “Brackenheart, have you had a sign from StarClan? Can they tell us what to do?”
