WARRIORS
A DANGEROUS PATH
ERIN HUNTER
Dedication
To the real Bramblepaw
Special thanks to Cherith Baldry
Contents
DEDICATION
ALLEGIANCES
MAPS
PROLOGUE
Inside the kennel-that-moves, everything was dark. The pack leader could…
CHAPTER 1
Fireheart’s fur bristled with disbelief and fury as he gazed…
CHAPTER 2
The sky was growing pale with the first light of…
CHAPTER 3
Fireheart opened his eyes and blinked in the uncomfortably bright…
CHAPTER 4
Fireheart’s flanks heaved as he fought for breath, and his…
CHAPTER 5
The sun was going down, casting long shadows across the…
CHAPTER 6
The forest was dark. No moon shone down that night,…
CHAPTER 7
Fireheart peered out from behind his rock. Tigerstar had spotted…
CHAPTER 8
The sun was rising over the trees as Fireheart and…
CHAPTER 9
As her Clan stared at her in horror, Bluestar spun…
CHAPTER 10
The stars of Silverpelt blazed froma clear sky, and the…
CHAPTER 11
The sun was rising over the trees as Fireheart emerged…
CHAPTER 12
Fireheart padded swiftly out of the camp, hoping no other…
CHAPTER 13
Fireheart darted from one clump of gorse to the next…
CHAPTER 14
When Fireheart returned to the clearing, there was still no…
CHAPTER 15
Fireheart sprang to his paws. “Tell me what happened.”
CHAPTER 16
Cinderpelt could tell Fireheart nothing more, nor suggest what the…
CHAPTER 17
The RiverClan warriors froze, their blue eyes wide with shock.
CHAPTER 18
As Fireheart wearily pushed his way through the entrance to…
CHAPTER 19
Next morning, Fireheart watched the dawn patrol leave before going…
CHAPTER 20
“Will she live?” Fireheart asked anxiously.
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
A full moon crossed the sky behind thin wisps of…
CHAPTER 23
Fireheart padded warily through Tallpines toward the Twolegplace. Heavy rain…
CHAPTER 24
Fireheart emerged from the warriors’ den and paused. He gazed…
CHAPTER 25
Cloudtail and Sandstorm carried Brindleface’s body back to the camp,…
CHAPTER 26
When Fireheart reached the top of the ravine he halted…
CHAPTER 27
Fireheart struggled desperately to get free, lashing out with his…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OTHER BOOKS BY ERIN HUNTER
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Allegiances
THUNDERCLAN
LEADER
BLUESTAR—blue-gray she-cat, tinged with silver around her muzzle
DEPUTY
FIREHEART—handsome ginger tom APPRENTICE, CLOUDPAW
MEDICINE CAT
CINDERPELT—dark gray she-cat
WARRIORS
(toms, and she-cats without kits)
WHITESTORM—big white tom APPRENTICE, BRIGHTPAW
DARKSTRIPE—sleek black-and-gray tabby tom
APPRENTICE, FERNPAW
FROSTFUR—beautiful white coat and blue eyes
BRINDLEFACE—pretty tabby
LONGTAIL—pale tabby tom with dark black stripes
APPRENTICE, SWIFTPAW
MOUSEFUR—small dusky brown she-cat APPRENTICE, THORNPAW
BRACKENFUR—golden brown tabby tom
DUSTPELT—dark brown tabby tom APPRENTICE, ASHPAW
SANDSTORM—pale ginger she-cat
APPRENTICES
(more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)
SWIFTPAW—black-and-white tom
CLOUDPAW—long-haired white tom
BRIGHTPAW—she-cat, white with ginger splotches
THORNPAW—golden brown tabby tom
FERNPAW—pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat, pale green eyes
ASHPAW—pale gray (with darker flecks) tom, dark blue eyes
QUEENS
(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)
GOLDENFLOWER—pale ginger coat
SPECKLETAIL—pale tabby, and the oldest nursery queen
WILLOWPELT—very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes
ELDERS
(former warriors and queens, now retired)
ONE-EYE—pale gray she-cat, the oldest she-cat in ThunderClan; virtually blind and deaf
SMALLEAR—gray tom with very small ears; the oldest tom in ThunderClan
DAPPLETAIL—once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a lovely dappled coat
SHADOWCLAN
LEADER
TIGERSTAR—big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws, formerly of ThunderClan
DEPUTY
BLACKFOOT—large white tom with huge jet-black paws, formerly a rogue cat
MEDICINE CAT
RUNNINGNOSE—small gray-and-white tom
WARRIORS
OAKFUR—small brown tom
LITTLECLOUD—very small tabby tom
DARKFLOWER—black she-cat
BOULDER—silver tabby tom, formerly a rogue cat
RUSSETFUR—dark ginger she-cat, formerly a rogue cat
APPRENTICE, CEDARPAW
JAGGEDTOOTH—huge tabby tom, formerly a rogue cat
APPRENTICE, ROWANPAW
QUEENS
TALLPOPPY—long-legged light brown tabby she-cat
WINDCLAN
LEADER
TALLSTAR—black-and-white tom with a very long tail
DEPUTY
DEADFOOT—black tom with a twisted paw
MEDICINE CAT
BARKFACE—short-tailed brown tom
WARRIORS
MUDCLAW—mottled dark brown tom
WEBFOOT—dark gray tabby tom
TORNEAR—tabby tom
TAWNYFUR—golden brown she-cat
ONEWHISKER—brown tabby tom APPRENTICE, GORSEPAW
RUNNINGBROOK—light gray she-cat
QUEENS
ASHFOOT—gray queen
MORNINGFLOWER—tortoiseshell queen
WHITETAIL—small white she-cat
RIVERCLAN
LEADER
CROOKEDSTAR—huge light-colored tabby with a twisted jaw
DEPUTY
LEOPARDFUR—unusually spotted golden tabby she-cat
MEDICINE CAT
MUDFUR—long-haired light brown tom
WARRIORS
BLACKCLAW—smoky black tom
HEAVYSTEP—thickset tabby tom
APPRENTICE, DAWNPAW
STONEFUR—gray tom with battle-scarred ears
MISTYFOOT—gray she-cat with blue eyes
SHADEPELT—very dark gray she-cat
LOUDBELLY—dark brown tom
QUEENS
MOSSPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat
ELDERS
GRAYPOOL—dark gray she-cat
CATS OUTSIDE CLANS
BARLEY—black-and-white tom that lives on a farm close to the forest
RAVENPAW—sleek black cat who lives on the farm with Barley
&
nbsp; PRINCESS—light brown tabby with a distinctive white chest and paws; a kittypet
SMUDGE—plump black-and-white kittypet who lives in a house at the edge of the forest
Maps
PROLOGUE
Inside the kennel-that-moves, everything was dark. The pack leader could hear the scrabbling of claws and feel the sleek pelt of the dog next to him, but he could see nothing. Dog scent filled his nostrils, and beyond that the smell of the burned forest.
The pack leader sat uncomfortably on the vibrating floor until the kennel-that-moves bounced to a halt. Outside, he could hear Man voices. He understood some of the words. “Fire…keep watch…guard dogs.”
The pack leader picked up the Men’s fear-scent, along with the bittersweet smell of cut wood. He remembered coming here the night before, and the night before that, more than four paws’ worth of nights. He had prowled the compound with the rest of the pack, sifting through the scents for intruders, ready to drive them away.
The dog snarled softly, his lips drawn back from sharp teeth. The pack was strong. They could run, and kill. They craved warm blood, and the terror-scent of prey before it died. But instead they were penned up, they ate the food the Man threw to them, and they obeyed the Man’s orders.
The dog rose to his powerful paws, rattling the doors as he butted them with his massive black-and-tan head. He lifted his voice in a bark that sounded all the louder in the confined space. “Out! Pack out! Out now!”
The rest of the pack added their voices. “Pack out! Pack run!”
As if in answer, the doors of the kennel-that-moves were flung open. In the twilight the pack leader could see the Man standing there, barking an order.
The leader jumped down first, close to a pile of logs stacked in the middle of the compound. His paws threw up little puffs of ash and soot. The rest of the pack followed in a stream of black-and-brown bodies. “Pack follow! Pack follow!” they barked. The leader padded restlessly along the fence that separated them from the forest. Beyond the fence, burned-out tree trunks leaned against each other or lay on the ground. Farther away a barrier of undamaged trees rustled in the breeze.
Scents flowed enticingly from the leaf-thick shadows. The dog’s muscles tensed. Out there, in the prey-filled forest, the pack could run free. There would be no Man to chain or command them. They would feed as often as they wanted, because they would be the strongest and most savage of all.
“Free!” the lead dog barked. “Pack free! Free soon!”
He walked up to the fence and pressed his nose against the mesh links, drawing the smells of the forest deep into his lungs. Many of the scents he had never smelled before, but there was one he knew well, stronger than the rest, the scent of his enemy and his prey.
Cats!
Night had fallen; the leafless branches of the blackened trees were silhouetted against a full moon. In the darkness the dogs ranged to and fro, deep shadows in the night. Paws padded softly among soot and sawdust. Muscles rippled under shining coats. Their eyes gleamed. Their jaws were parted, revealing sharp teeth, and their tongues lolled.
The pack leader sniffed along the bottom of the fence, searching for a special place on the opposite side of the compound from where the Man stayed at night. Three nights ago the dog had discovered a narrow hole leading under the fence. He knew at once that this would be the route to freedom for the pack.
“Hole. Where hole?” he growled.
Then he spotted the place where the earth floor of the compound fell away into a hollow. One massive paw scraped at the ground. The dog raised his head to bark to his followers. “Here. Hole, hole. Here.”
He could feel their eagerness in his own mind, sharp as thorns, hot as carrion. They came bounding up to the lead dog, answering his bark. “Hole. Hole.”
“Bigger, hole bigger,” the pack leader promised. “Run soon.”
He began scraping at the ground again with all the strength in his lean, powerful body. Earth scattered as the hole under the chain-link fence grew wider and deeper. The remaining dogs milled around, snuffling at the night air that carried scents from the forest. They drooled at the thought of sinking their teeth into the warm bodies of living prey.
The pack leader stopped, ears pricked for the sound of the Man coming to check on them. But there was no sign of him, and his scent drifted from far away.
The lead dog flattened himself on the ground and squirmed down into the hole. The bottom of the fence scraped along his pelt. The dog thrust hard with his hind paws, propelling himself forward until he could scramble up and stand in the forest outside.
“Free now,” he barked. “Come! Come!”
The hole grew deeper still as each dog forced his way through, to stand beside his leader among the burned-out trees. They padded back and forth, pushing their muzzles into the holes at the roots of trees, gazing into the darkness with eyes that glowed with a cold fire.
As the last dog dragged itself under the fence, the pack leader raised his head and let out a triumphant bark. “Run. Pack free. Run now!”
Turning toward the trees, he bounded away, powerful muscles working in a smooth rhythm. The pack streamed behind, their dark shapes flashing through the forest night.
Pack, pack, they thought. Pack run.
The whole of the forest was theirs, and in their minds, there was a single instinct. “Kill! Kill!”
CHAPTER 1
Fireheart’s fur bristled with disbelief and fury as he gazed up at the new leader of ShadowClan standing on the Great Rock. He watched as the cat swung his massive head from side to side. Muscles rippled under his gleaming pelt and his amber eyes seemed to glow with triumph.
“Tigerclaw!” Fireheart spat. His old enemy—the cat who had tried to kill him more than once—was now one of the most powerful cats in the forest.
The full moon rode high above Fourtrees, shedding its cold light over the cats of the four Clans, assembled there for the Gathering. They had all been shocked to learn of the death of Nightstar, the ShadowClan leader. But no cat in the forest had expected that ShadowClan’s new leader would be Tigerclaw, the former ThunderClan deputy.
Beside Fireheart, Darkstripe was rigid with excitement, his eyes glittering. Fireheart wondered what thoughts were going through the mind of his black-pelted Clan mate. When Tigerclaw had been banished from ThunderClan, he had invited his old friend to go with him, but Darkstripe had refused. Was he regretting that decision now?
Fireheart caught sight of Sandstorm weaving her way toward him. “What’s going on?” the pale ginger she-cat hissed as she came into earshot. “Tigerclaw can’t lead ShadowClan. He’s a traitor!”
For several heartbeats, Fireheart hesitated. Shortly after he had joined ThunderClan, Fireheart had discovered that Tigerclaw had murdered Redtail, the deputy. Once Tigerclaw became deputy himself, he had led rogue cats to attack the ThunderClan camp, trying to murder their leader, Bluestar, so that he could take her place. As punishment, he had been banished from their Clan and the forest. It was hardly a noble history for a leader of any Clan.
“But ShadowClan don’t know about all that,” Fireheart reminded Sandstorm now, keeping his voice low. “None of the other Clans know.”
“Then you should tell them!”
Fireheart glanced up at Tallstar and Crookedstar, the leaders of WindClan and RiverClan, respectively, who stood beside Tigerstar on the Great Rock. Would they listen if he told them what he knew? ShadowClan had suffered so much from Brokentail’s bloodthirsty leadership, followed by a devastating sickness, that they probably wouldn’t care what their new leader had done, as long as he could forge them into a strong Clan again.
Besides, Fireheart couldn’t help feeling a guilty relief that Tigerclaw had satisfied his hunger for power in a different Clan. Maybe now ThunderClan could stop waiting for him to attack, and Fireheart could walk the forest without constantly glancing over his shoulder.
Yet, as he struggled with his conflicting emotions, he knew that he would never
forgive himself if he let Tigerclaw come to power without even making a protest.