The apprentice ripped his tail from her grip and lashed it in rage. His green eyes gleamed with fury. Yellowfang crouched for a fresh attack, but she could feel her strength ebbing. Her breath wheezed, and hunger gnawed at her like a live rat in her belly.
For a heartbeat the flame-colored cat hesitated. Yellowfang lunged, trying to reach up onto his shoulders and get a killing grip, but now she was hampered by her wounded leg.
“Get off!” the apprentice snapped, arching his back in an effort to throw her off.
But Yellowfang managed to dig her claws in and held on tight, using her greater weight to force the young cat to the ground. He twisted as he tried to avoid her thrashing hind legs; once more they rolled over together, biting and snapping.
Yellowfang knew that she had lost her chance to win. Her hind legs would hardly support her and she loosened her grip on the young tom.
“Had enough yet?” he growled.
“Never!” Yellowfang spat. But her injured leg gave way and she slumped to the ground. Glaring at the apprentice, she hissed, “If I wasn’t so hungry and tired, I’d have shredded you into mouse-dust.” Her mouth twisted in pain. “Finish me off. I won’t stop you.”
And then it will be over. No more pain, no more struggle …
The young tom hesitated, something in his eyes that Yellowfang couldn’t read.
“What are you waiting for?” Yellowfang taunted him. “You’re dithering like a kittypet!”
Rage flared in his green eyes. “I’m an apprentice warrior of ThunderClan!” he snarled.
Yellowfang narrowed her eyes. She had seen the cat flinch at her words, and she knew she had hit a nerve. “Ha,” she snorted. “Don’t tell me ThunderClan are so desperate they have to recruit kittypets now?”
“ThunderClan are not desperate!” the tom hissed.
“Prove it, then!” Yellowfang challenged him. “Act like a warrior and finish me off. You’ll be doing me a favor.”
The apprentice stared at her. She saw his muscles relax as a spark of curiosity woke in his eyes. “You seem in an awful hurry to die,” he meowed.
“Yeah? Well, that’s my business, mouse-fodder,” Yellowfang snapped. “What’s your problem, kitty? Are you trying to talk me to death?”
But her hunger and exhaustion were sapping her strength with every heartbeat. She knew she could do no more; she was at this cat’s mercy. Has it really come to this, StarClan? Is this the end I deserve?
“Wait here,” the young cat ordered at last.
“Are you kidding, kitty? I’m going nowhere,” Yellowfang grunted, limping toward a patch of soft heather. She flopped down and began licking her leg wound.
The flame-colored tom turned, then glanced back at her over his shoulder with a hiss of exasperation before heading for the trees. Yellowfang watched him go. She still felt numb with shock, well past caring what would happen to her. Will ThunderClan keep me a prisoner, or send me back to ShadowClan? she wondered. She knew she didn’t have the strength to get off ThunderClan territory before she was found by the ginger tom or some other patrol. Did this mean that she was giving up without a fight?
And yet there was something about that bold little apprentice, some spark that reminded her of herself when she was young. “Not that I’d let him know it, arrogant mouse-brain,” she muttered.
She would wait for him to come back. I have no Clan now, no destiny, no place to be, and no duties to tend to. Let the future bring what it will.
Yellowfang sighed, but a quiet determination began to grow inside her. Somehow, she felt less bleak, less hopeless. This wasn’t her home, but the heavy-branched trees and whispering ferns promised more peace than she had known for a while. She didn’t know any ThunderClan cats well—she didn’t know any cats well, apart from Runningnose, perhaps—but Brokenstar had denounced them for being too full of pity and soft on their enemies. So perhaps they would view her with kindness, a refugee from the troubled Clan across the border. Besides, whatever they did to her could not be worse than what her own son had done.
My son! Yellowfang drew a long, quivering breath. She could not leave the forest. Even if she had to seek shelter in a hostile Clan, there was still work for her to do, questions that only she could answer. Vengeance that she had to seek on behalf of Marigoldkit and Mintkit, Cloudpelt and the banished elders, all the cats whom Brokenstar had destroyed with his ambition. Alone, hungry, crushed by betrayal, Yellowfang made the most solemn vow of her life.
I know my path will cross with Brokenstar’s again. And one day I will do something to stop this tide of fire and blood that he has unleashed on the forest.
YELLOWFANG’S EXCLUSIVE MANGA ADVENTURE
KEEP READING FOR AN EXCLUSIVE MANGA ADVENTURE …
CREATED BY
ERIN HUNTER
WRITTEN BY
DAN JOLLEY
ART BY
JAMES L. BARRY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. In addition to 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 Survivors series and the bestselling Seekers series.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors and artists.
OTHER WORKS
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
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 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
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 #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
Also by Erin Hunter
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
MANGA
Toklo’s Story
Kallik’s Adventure
Book One: The Empty City
CREDITS
Cover art © 2012 by Wayne McLoughlin
Cover design by Megan Stitt
COPYRIGHT
Yellowfang’s Secret
Copyright © 2012 by Working Partners Limited
Series created by Working Partners Limited
Manga text copyright © 2012 by Working Partners Limited
Manga art copyright © 2012 by HarperCollins Publishers
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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 e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hunter, Erin.
Yellowfang’s secret / Erin Hunter.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(Warriors, super edition ; bk. 5)
Summary: Yellowfang is a loyal ShadowClan cat through and through—but she is haunted by a dark secret from her past that could threaten the future of the warrior Clans
ISBN 978-0-06-208214-5 (trade bdg.)—ISBN 978-0-06-208215-2 (lib. bdg.)
EPub Edition © JULY 2012 ISBN: 9780062082176
[1. Cats—Fiction. 2. Prophecies—Fiction. 3. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 4. Fantasy.] I. Title.
[Fic]—dc23
2012019087
CIP
AC
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12 13 14 15 16 LP/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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