Eclipse

A butterfly flitted overhead, making jerky progress against the breeze. Spottedleaf’s eyes flashed, and she suddenly reared up, clapping her paws together above her head. The butterfly surged upward and out of reach.

“Mouse dung!” Spottedleaf dropped back onto four paws. She noticed Bluestar padding away. “Are you leaving already?”

Bluestar glanced back at Yellowfang. “If I stay, we will argue.”

Yellowfang flicked the tip of her tail. “So you still think we should keep the secret from them?”

“I understand your fears, Yellowfang,” Bluestar murmured.

“But for now this secret is safest kept with us.”

Yellowfang looked away. “Nothing but stubbornness,” she growled under her breath.

“Bluestar believes she’s doing the right thing,” Whitestorm told her. “You trusted her before, remember?” He nodded to Yellowfang and Spottedleaf, then followed Bluestar out of the glade.

“And what about you?” Yellowfang’s pale stare rested on Spottedleaf. “Do you agree with all this secrecy?”

“Truth is a powerful weapon,” Spottedleaf replied. “We must be careful how we use it.”

“That’s no answer!” Yellowfang snapped.

Spottedleaf searched Yellowfang’s anxious gaze. “Why are you so worried?”

The fur along Yellowfang’s spine rippled. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just have a feeling.” Her gaze drifted toward the trees, searching the forest. “Something’s wrong. There is a darkness coming that not even StarClan can prevent. And when it comes, we will be helpless to protect the Clans. Helpless even to protect ourselves.”

Chapter 1

Hollypaw crouched low, pressing her belly against the boulder. It was still warm from the sun, which was dipping behind the distant hills. A cold wind rolling from the mountains ruffled her fur. From here she could see green fields unfolding toward a swath of forest; somewhere beyond those trees lay the lake, and home.

Though the trees were still in full leaf, they were a shabby green, and the air had a new, musty taste that hadn’t been there on the journey to the mountains. Leaf-fall is coming, she thought.

She couldn’t wait to be home. It felt as though they had been with the Tribe for moons. At least they were safely out of the mountains. The ground would be softer underpaw from here on, the hunting easier, and the territory steadily more familiar than rock and water and stunted trees.

She glanced over her shoulder. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were talking in low voices with Stormfur and Brook.

Tawnypelt and Crowfeather leaned in beside them. Were they saying good-bye?

Hollypaw was still shocked that Stormfur and Brook were staying behind. Last night, at the farewell feast in the cave behind the waterfall, Stormfur had announced that he and Brook would accompany the Clan cats to the foothills, but no farther. Jaypaw, of course, had just shrugged and nodded, as though he’d known all along the two cats would not be returning to ThunderClan. But Hollypaw could only guess at why any cat would want to stay in the mountains when they could live by the lake. Brook must feel the same way about the mountains as I do about my home. And Stormfur loves her enough to stay with her, wherever she is.

Suddenly, a flash of brown feather caught her eye. An eagle was skimming over the rough slope below her. Ahead of it a hare pelted in terror, throwing up dirt and grass from its long back feet. Folding its wings deftly against its sides, the eagle attacked, tumbling the hare head over heels before pinning it to the ground with thorn-sharp talons.

Hollypaw envied the eagle’s speed. To be able to fly like that! She closed her eyes and imagined skimming over the grass, paws hardly touching the ground, light as air, faster than the fastest prey…

“I wish we could get moving again.” Lionpaw’s impatient mew broke into her thoughts. He padded onto the boulder and stood beside her, following her gaze toward the eagle feasting on its catch. “I wish I had something in my belly,” he mewed.

“Do you suppose we’ll ever be able to fly?” Hollypaw murmured.

Lionpaw turned and looked at her as though she’d gone crazy.

“I mean,” she tried to explain hurriedly, “Jaypaw said we have the power of the stars in our paws.” It still felt strange to say it out loud. “We don’t really know what that means. I was just wondering if—”

“Flying cats!” Lionpaw scoffed. “What’d be the point of that?”

Hollypaw’s ears were hot with embarrassment. “You’ve got no imagination,” she snapped. “Here we are with more power than any other cat ever, and you act like it’s nothing at all! Why shouldn’t we be able to f ly, or do anything we want to? And stop laughing at me!”

“I’m not laughing at you.” Lionpaw flicked Hollypaw’s flank with his tail. “I just think we’d look stupid with wings.”