CHAPTER 1
“It’s time to bury our dead,” Tall Shadow declared.
The black she-cat’s words dragged Thunder’s attention back to the death and devastation all around him.
Everywhere beneath the branches of the four oak trees the moonlight showed him pools of drying blood and tufts of torn-out fur. Cats lay on their sides in the trampled grass, their eyes open and their faces frozen in expressions of pain or shock. The anger that had made them fight had vanished like mist under the morning sun. Now every cat looked vulnerable, the living as well as the dead.
Thunder caught the flapping of a black wing from the corner of his line of vision, and turned to spot a crow as it alighted on a low branch. Its tiny, bright eyes flicked greedily from cat to cat. A shudder ran through Thunder from ears to tail-tip, and his fur bristled.
Tall Shadow is right. No cat should be left here as food for scavengers, not when they’ve given their lives in such a bloody battle.
He felt as if he were carrying a heavy, wet rock in his chest in place of his heart—somehow, he knew that everything had been leading up to this terrible battle: no matter what any cat could do, nothing could have stopped it. Cat against cat, claw against teeth—all because of arguments over territory. A vision of blood splashing against bark flashed behind his eyes and he shuddered. Spirit-cats had come to visit them in a vision, to tell them that fighting must stop. I want it to, Thunder thought now. But how do we claw our way back to peace?
Thunder struggled to find meaning in this devastation, but it was like groping blindly through thick fog. Now we’ve all seen that fighting tooth and claw over territory brings nothing but death and destruction, pain and grief. Thunder wondered whether the cats they had lost today had died so that could be understood.
“There are so many,” Thunder meowed as he moved forward to stand beside Tall Shadow, picking his way carefully among the bodies. “How can we protect them?”
Tall Shadow stretched out one foreleg, and thoughtfully slid out her claws. “This is what spilled blood,” she responded. “And this is what will make things right.”
Make things right? Thunder thought, bewildered. He knew what the she-cat meant, but almost unbearable pain pierced him at her words. What could possibly make things right?
“However long it takes,” Tall Shadow went on, “we will make a hole in the ground, big enough for all our fallen friends to lie in together. In life, they were torn apart; in death, they will be united.”
Thunder felt every hair on his pelt prickle at the words Tall Shadow had chosen. Unite. That was what the spirit-cats told us at the end of the battle. Unite or die. “Yes, this is what we should do,” he mewed hoarsely.
Gray Wing, Wind Runner, and River Ripple gathered around, murmuring their agreement.
“It will take a lot of effort from every cat,” Gray Wing warned them.
“Then we must make that effort,” Tall Shadow insisted. “Only the earth will be able to protect our fallen denmates from crows and foxes.”
As she and the other cats began to scrape at the ground, Thunder noticed that his father, Clear Sky, was standing silently a couple of fox-lengths away. He looked reluctant to step forward and join in.
Thunder padded over to him, reflecting that it was not so long ago he and his father had been fighting to the death. At his approach, Clear Sky dipped his head, deep shame in his blue eyes. “I caused this,” he rasped, as if he was fighting the urge to wail aloud. “It was my anger that created the chaos, my anger that brought these cats into the battle that killed them. So many of them . . .” he added in a whisper.
Memories crowded into Thunder’s mind: Clear Sky’s first rejection of him when he was a kit; their long estrangement, followed by Thunder’s shock at his father’s harsh methods when he tried to live with him in the forest; their arguments and their latest parting when Thunder’s paws couldn’t walk his father’s path any longer.
But in spite of all that, Thunder was unable to repress a surge of sympathy. “Come on,” he mewed encouragingly. “Let’s do right by those cats who sacrificed themselves.”
When Clear Sky did not protest, Thunder led him across to the others, who had already begun to dig in the shadow of the four trees. No cat spoke as they scraped and clawed at the ground, the hole growing bigger and bigger.
Already tired from the battle, Thunder felt his legs begin to ache as his paws grew black with dirt, and his vision blurred from exhaustion. Yet he forced himself to go on. The harsh caw of a crow sounded somewhere overhead, and he found himself digging even faster.
At last Tall Shadow stood back, shaking off the earth that clung to her paws. “That should be big enough,” she panted. “Now let’s bring our friends over here.”
Most of the cats divided into pairs, gripping the dead cats with their jaws and dragging their limp, lifeless bodies over to the grave. But Thunder found himself alone, standing over the body of Hawk Swoop. Her orange tabby fur was clotted with blood, and a cruel gash gaped in her throat.
Thunder felt sharp claws clenching around his heart as he remembered how Hawk Swoop had cared for him when Gray Wing first brought him to the hollow after he had been driven out of the forest by his father. His shoulder fur bristled as his gaze scoured the clearing and alighted on Clear Sky; he was padding up to the body of Rainswept Flower, whose life Clear Sky had taken just before the battle began.
They knew each other since they were both kits, Thunder thought, revulsion welling up inside him.
Then he heard his father’s voice, a low, grief-stricken murmur. “I’m so sorry.”
Clear Sky was truly mourning his dead friend.
The guilt will hurt him more than any cat’s claw ever could.
His heart still weighing heavy in his chest, Thunder dipped his head to take Hawk Swoop’s scruff in his jaws. Her fur was soaked with the taste of death, and he had to fight hard not to recoil. Her body was limp and heavy now that the life had run out of her. I can see why the other cats worked in pairs, Thunder thought as he tugged her toward the hole.
Before he had gone many paw steps, he caught a flash of black fur. He turned his head to see Lightning Tail, with his sister, Acorn Fur, hovering behind him.
“Please let us help,” Lightning Tail meowed.
Thunder nodded, knowing how right it was that the two younger cats should help to bury their mother.
The black tom gripped Hawk Swoop’s tail, his green eyes filled with sorrow as his teeth met in her orange tabby fur. Acorn Fur worked her shoulder underneath her mother’s belly. With their help, Hawk Swoop’s body suddenly seemed lighter, and in only a few heartbeats Thunder, Lightning Tail, and Acorn Fur carried her to the edge of the grave.
Panting as he recovered from the effort, Thunder took a step back. Lightning Tail and Acorn Fur stood over their mother’s body, their heads drooping and their shoulders sagging. Exchanging a grief-stricken glance, they put their noses to the ground and pushed Hawk Swoop into the hole. At the last moment their eyes closed as if they couldn’t bear to see her tumble and flop onto the pile of bodies.
“No day could ever be worse than this one.”
The raspy, wheezing voice startled Thunder, who whipped around to see Gray Wing. Beyond him, through the trees that still bore their last few ragged leaves, Thunder could see the line of the moor, bare and bleak under the frosty sky.
“The days ahead can only be better,” the gray tom mewed.
Thunder straightened up, raising his head with an instinctive pride. Gray Wing is right, he thought determinedly. We’ll make sure we never feel grief like this again.
“Hawk Swoop, I’ll never forget you.” Lightning Tail spoke from the edge of the grave, his voice throbbing with sorrow.
“Neither will I,” Acorn Fur added. “We’ll both miss you so much.”
At their words, other cats gathered around the hole to gaze down at their fallen friends.
Shattered Ice crouched at the side of the grave, his gaze fixed
on his friend Jackdaw’s Cry. “We’ll never dig out tunnels together again,” he mewed in a voice rough with grief. “The hollow won’t be the same without you.”
“But you have not died in vain,” Cloud Spots added, standing so close to Shattered Ice that their pelts brushed. “None of you have. We shall learn from this terrible day, we promise you.”
More cats took up his words, raising their voices in wails of anguish. “We promise! We promise!”
As the yowling died away, Thunder drew back from the graveside, and found himself beside Tall Shadow. As if something invisible was tugging at their paws, River Ripple and Wind Runner padded up to join them.
We look like we’re guarding the grave, Thunder thought.
Gray Wing limped to his littermate and sat beside him, though Clear Sky kept his distance from Thunder and the others.
“Listen to me, all of you!” Tall Shadow yowled, her gaze raking across the huddle of grief-stricken cats. “This must never happen again. We should listen to the cats in the stars, to the warning they gave us. From now on we have to work together peacefully, and at the next full moon we must return to this clearing to hear more messages from the spirit-cats.”
“Yes!” Clear Sky’s voice was a shaken purr. “At last there are cats who will tell us what we have to do.”
Sudden understanding flashed into Thunder’s mind like the dazzle of sunlight on water.
“So that’s why you’ve been so protective and so hostile!” Gray Wing turned to his brother, his gaze full of compassion. “All this time your responsibilities have been too much for you. You tried to do the right thing, but you asked too much of yourself.”
Clear Sky turned his head away in shame. “I’m so sorry. . . .”
For the first time in many days, Thunder felt hope stirring inside him. Clear Sky will get guidance from the spirit-cats now, so maybe . . . Then he shook his head. Nothing will make me believe that these cats needed to die.
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About the Author
ERIN HUNTER is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior. She is also the author of the bestselling Survivors and Seekers series.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors and artists.
Books by Erin Hunter
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
Book Three: Night Whispers
Book Four: Sign of the Moon
Book Five: The Forgotten Warrior
Book Six: The Last Hope
DAWN OF THE CLANS
Book One: The Sun Trail
Book Two: Thunder Rising
Warriors Super Edition: Firestar’s Quest
Warriors Super Edition: Bluestar’s Prophecy
Warriors Super Edition: SkyClan’s Destiny
Warriors Super Edition: Crookedstar’s Promise
Warriors Super Edition: Yellowfang’s Secret
Warriors Super Edition: Tallstar’s Revenge
Warriors Field Guide: Secrets of the Clans
Warriors: Cats of the Clans
Warriors: Code of the Clans
Warriors: Battles of the Clans
Warriors: Enter the Clans
Warriors: The Untold Stories
Warriors: The Ultimate Guide
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
SkyClan and the Stranger #1: The Rescue
SkyClan and the Stranger #2: Beyond the Code
SkyClan and the Stranger #3: After the Flood
NOVELLAS
Hollyleaf’s Story
Mistystar’s Omen
Cloudstar’s Journey
Tigerclaw’s Fury
Book One: The Quest Begins
Book Two: Great Bear Lake
Book Three: Smoke Mountain
Book Four: The Last Wilderness
Book Five: Fire in the Sky
Book Six: Spirits in the Stars
RETURN TO THE WILD
Book One: Island of Shadows
Book Two: The Melting Sea
Book Three: River of Lost Bears
Book Four: Forest of Wolves
MANGA
Toklo’s Story
Kallik’s Adventure
Book One: The Empty City
Book Two: A Hidden Enemy
Book Three: Darkness Falls
Credits
Cover art © 2014 by Wayne McLoughlin
Cover design by Megan Stitt
Copyright
WARRIORS: DAWN OF THE CLANS #3: THE FIRST BATTLE
Copyright © 2014 by Working Partners Limited Series created by Working Partners Limited. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data [tk]
ISBN 978-0-06-206353-3 (trade bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-06-206355-7 (lib. bdg.)
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EPub Edition © MARCH 2014 ISBN: 9780062063571
14 15 16 17 18 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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