The cats’ angry yowling gave way to murmurs of excitement. Lightning Tail sprang up beside
Thunder, his whiskers twitching eagerly. “I’ll help you with the training, Thunder,” he promised.
“I’ll help, too,” Holly put in. “I know a few moves that can deal with cats like One Eye.”
“Will you train me too?” Jagged Peak asked, limping forward hopefully.
Thunder was about to protest that Jagged Peak’s damaged leg would hinder him, but Holly spoke before he could.
“Of course I’ll train you,” she responded smoothly. “Every cat has it in them to become a fighter.”
Owl Eyes and Sparrow Fur exchanged an excited glance. “Even kits?” Sparrow Fur asked.
“Especially kits,” Holly replied. “Suppose enemies attacked the camp? You would need to be able to defend yourselves. There’s no time to lose.”
Together with Holly and Lightning Tail, Thunder led all the cats who were willing to fight out of the hollow, where he found a clear space for training. He felt a thrill of hope. Yes, Clear Sky is taking in some untrustworthy cats. But the need to train has united us here in the hollow, and that’s got to be a good thing. The spirit-cats told us to unite or die. Whatever dangers await us, we will be ready!
As he waited for all the cats to arrive, Thunder heard Sparrow Fur speaking just behind him, her voice full of anxiety. “Why do all the cats think that Tom is our enemy?”
Glancing over his shoulder, Thunder saw that all three kits were clustered around Gray Wing, who seemed stumped for a reply.
“Well…” he began.
“He’s our father!” Owl Eyes interrupted. “And if they don’t want him around, then maybe they don’t want us, either.”
“There’s no need to worry about that,” Gray Wing meowed. “All three of you have a lot to contribute to our group. It doesn’t matter what your father did.”
“But we don’t know what he did,” Sparrow Fur objected. In a lower voice she added, “One day, I’m going to find him, and learn the truth for myself.”
Holly moved into the center of the training area, and the rest of the cats formed a ragged circle around her. Gray Wing looked relieved as the kits stopped questioning him.
“I’m going to show you how to fool your attacker by rolling out of the way,” Holly announced.
“Look, throw yourself to one side like this.” She demonstrated the move, letting her legs skid out from under her and ending up on her back with her paws in the air. “Lie on your back and let them see your belly.”
“But… doesn’t that put you in danger?” Owl Eyes asked. He glanced around nervously as he realized that all the older cats were listening to him. “Gray Wing told us you should never expose your soft belly to an attacker.”
“True,” Holly meowed, her eyes gleaming. “But the point is to make your opponent think that’s what you’re doing. As they launch into an attack, you kick out with your back legs and stun them—like this.” She let fly with a powerful kick from her back legs.
“Wow!” exclaimed Shattered Ice. “That’s great! What do you do next?”
“Leap to your paws,” Holly replied, doing so. “Then pounce on their back. They won’t know what’s happening, and you can rake your claws down their side and bite their tail at the same time.
I’ve defeated cats in moments with this move.”
Thunder’s pelt prickled with excitement from ears to tail-tip. He slid out his claws, imagining himself sinking them into One Eye or Tom. Then he winced as he remembered the reek of blood and the shrieks of the cats who died in the battle at the four trees.
“Even Jagged Peak could do this,” Holly continued. “Actually, especially Jagged Peak. With his limp, attacking cats will think he’s vulnerable. If he lies on his back and shows his belly, it will make them overconfident. But you can still leap, even with three legs—can’t you, Jagged Peak?”
Jagged Peak gave a vigorous nod, his eyes glowing with pleasure at Holly’s confidence in him.
“Come on, then,” Holly mewed. “Let’s practice together. The rest of you, divide into pairs and do the same. But, remember—no claws!”
Thunder watched as Shattered Ice padded up to Owl Eyes. “Come on, young one,” the gray-and-white tom meowed. “See if you can trick me.”
Owl Eyes flung himself enthusiastically into the exercise, though Thunder was glad to see that Shattered Ice was being gentle with his smaller opponent.
Feeling a touch on his shoulder, Thunder turned to see Lightning Tail. “Get out of our camp, filthy invader!” his friend snarled, though his eyes were sparkling with amusement.
“Who’re you calling filthy?” Thunder retorted.
Lightning Tail batted at him with his claws sheathed, and Thunder immediately fell to the ground and rolled over. “Got you!” Lightning Tail exclaimed. “You must find it so hard, being so big and all.
Don’t you trip over those massive paws?”
“Try me!” Thunder meowed.
As Lightning Tail leaped at him, Thunder brought up his hind legs as Holly had shown them, and gave Lightning Tail a hard blow in his chest, throwing him to the ground. While Lightning Tail was struggling to get up, Thunder launched himself onto his back. “See?” he growled into his friend’s ear.
“I can move as fast as any cat.”
He leaped away, and Lightning Tail gave his pelt a shake, panting hard and scattering the bits of debris that had clung to his fur. While he was recovering, Thunder glanced around to see that Gray Wing was sparring with Tall Shadow, and Mouse Ear was training with Pebble Heart.
Mouse Ear is trying too hard not to hurt him, Thunder thought. They’ll never get the move right that way.
Before he could make any suggestions, Pebble Heart let out a wail of distress. Mouse Ear sprang back, his eyes wide with alarm. “I didn’t touch him!” he exclaimed as all the cats raced over to see what was happening.
Then Thunder noticed Mud Paws. He had been standing nearby, watching the other cats train, but now he was crouched over something small on the ground, his whiskers trembling. Curious, Thunder padded up to him and saw that he was staring at the body of a mouse.
Owl Eyes padded up, then halted, clawing at the ground with anxiety. “Pebble Heart—do you know what’s wrong?” he asked.
Pebble Heart crept up, his pelt fluffed up with apprehension, and Thunder realized that the small cat had sensed something amiss before any cat had spotted the mouse. He gave the body a quick sniff, then backed away again, his eyes wide and scared.
Thunder peered over Pebble Heart’s shoulder, examining the body closely for the first time. The mouse’s belly was horribly swollen and there were flecks of white foam around its mouth. Its eyes, open wide in death, were oozing pus, and there was an open sore on its tail.
“Get back, all of you!” Thunder ordered.
“Sickness,” Pebble Heart murmured, looking up at him. “Sickness too powerful for healing herbs.”
Thunder nodded. “Go back to the hollow,” he told the other cats, who had retreated a few paw steps and stood waiting with bristling fur and quivering whiskers. “Gray Wing and I will dispose of the mouse. And warn the others not to eat any prey that looks like this,” he called after them as they turned to go.
“Have you ever seen this sort of thing before?” Thunder asked with a questioning glance at Gray Wing.
Gray Wing shook his head. “Never—not even in the mountains,” he replied. “We need to get rid of this prey to make sure no cat eats it. No—don’t touch it!” he added as Thunder stretched out a paw.