Bluestar's Prophecy by Erin Hunter Read Free Book Online Page B

camp. She could see right into the highbranches where squirrels had scampered and teased her all throughout greenleaf.
    “Great climb!” Sunfall landed silently on the rock beside her. “Which way now, do you think?”
    Bluekit glanced behind her. Bushes and stunted trees jutted out, their roots twining through the rocky soil to hold them fast to the sheer slope. She spotted a steep but well-worn path, which weaved around the trunk of a twisted hazel.
    “That way!” she mewed. Without waiting for a reply, she hurried along the track, following it as it steepened, turned back on itself, and began to snake between the boulders studding the crest of the ravine. She was nearly at the top! The forest was only a few tail-lengths away.
    Suddenly her paws slipped.
    Panic shot through her like lightning as the earth beneath her claws crumbled and she fell backward, sliding and skidding on her belly down the path. Scrabbling for a grip, she let out a wail.
    Something soft broke her fall.
    “I’ve got you!” Sunfall wriggled from underneath her and grasped her scruff to steady her. Bluekit’s heart thumped as she swung over the steep drop below. She felt for the ground, her legs shaking, and Sunfall let go as she regained her balance.
    “Sorry,” she mewed. “I shouldn’t have gone so fast.”
    Sunfall flicked her ear gently with his tail. “When you’re bigger, and there’s more strength in your hind legs, you can go this way. For now, let’s use that path instead.”
    Bluekit followed his gaze to a stony trail twining upward through a cluster of smaller rocks. She followed him along it, letting her paw steps fall in behind his. A tail-length from the top, the path ended in a sheer wall of rock that leaned out above them. Bluekit could smell the heavy scent of forest and see branch tips poking out high above the lip of the ravine.
    With one leap, Sunfall bounded up and over the edge. Bluekit took a deep breath and jumped up, reaching with her forepaws to grasp the grassy cliff top, and began to haul herself over the edge. She caught sight of Sunfall leaning forward, his teeth heading for her scruff.
    “I can do it!” she puffed before he could grasp her. Her muscles burned with the effort as she dragged herself over the edge and flopped on the soft grass, panting.
    “Well done,” Sunfall congratulated her.
    Catching her breath, Bluekit glanced down the ravine. The camp was hardly visible beneath the treetops, and the clearing appeared as a pale splash beyond the auburn leaves. She twisted her head to look into the forest. Bushes crowded the edges, and trees stretched away into shadows. Branches creaked and shuddered in the wind. An excited shiver ran down her pelt.
    “Is that where the patrols hunt every day?” she whispered.
    Sunfall nodded. “You’ll be going with them soon.”
    I want to go with them now!
    Sunfall tensed suddenly. He was staring into the trees, eyes round. A moment later, they heard the echo of paw steps pounding eerily from deep within the forest. They drewcloser, setting the undergrowth rustling, until Bluekit could make out the shadowy shapes of cats hurtling toward them.
    She edged nearer Sunfall. “Who is it?”
    “Dawn patrol.” Sunfall’s mew was taut. “There’s something wrong.”
    Sparrowpelt exploded from a wall of ferns, his yellow eyes burning through the predawn light. He skidded to a halt at the edge of the ravine. Adderfang, Windflight, and Thrushpelt stopped hard on his heels.
    “What’s wrong?” Sunfall demanded.
    “WindClan has been stealing our prey!” Sparrowpelt hissed. “We must tell Pinestar.” He plunged over the edge of the ravine with the rest of his patrol close behind.
    “Let’s get back to camp.” Sunfall turned and disappeared over the edge after his Clanmates.
    Bluekit was trembling. Did this mean battle?
    As she slid her front paws over the rim of the cliff, she paused. The sun was cracking the distant horizon, spilling over the forest and