Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #1: The Sun Trail by Erin Hunter, Wayne McLoughlin Read Free Book Online

kits?”
    You don’t let us forget it , Gray Wing thought, though he stopped himself from speaking the words aloud. “We’re the strongest cats left behind,” he went on quietly. “We must try to catch enough food for every cat.”
    Twisted Branch nodded, a look of determination in his amber eyes.
    “You’re not Stoneteller. You don’t get to order me around,” Dewy Leaf muttered. She paused for a heartbeat, then shrugged. “Okay, I’ll hunt.”
    As Stoneteller began to lead the rest of her Tribe down toward the cave, Sharp Hail and Silver Frost stayed behind. “We’ll hunt too,” Silver Frost announced. “We might not be as young as you, but our claws are still sharp.”
    “Right,” Sharp Hail agreed. “We owe it to the cats who have gone not to give up now. We need to find a new way to survive.”
    “Thank you,” Gray Wing responded, grateful for the older tom’s wisdom.
    Leaving the other cats behind, Gray Wing trekked along the cliff edge, moving away from the river. The mountains seemed even quieter than usual. He paused from time to time, straining his ears for any sign of the traveling cats farther along the valley, and gazed around him in the hope of catching one last glimpse of them. But they had vanished against the snow and rocks.
    I’ll never see them again.
    A dark shadow passed over Gray Wing’s head and he looked up to see a young hawk skimming the surface of the snow as if it too was searching for prey. As it mounted into the air again Gray Wing flung himself upward, remembering Clear Sky’s favorite move.
    His claws snagged one wing; he and the hawk fell to the ground together and rolled over in the snow. Gray Wing felt talons rake through his pelt. With a yowl of mingled pain and fury he sank his claws into the hawk’s breast and brought his teeth together in its throat with a swift snap.
    The hawk went limp. Puffing, Gray Wing scrambled to his paws and shook the snow off his pelt. Then he picked up the hawk by the neck and began plodding back to the cave, his prey’s strong, barred wings trailing in the snow.
    By the time he reached the path behind the waterfall the other hunting cats were also returning. Stone Song and Silver Frost had each caught a mouse, and Twisted Branch and Dewy Leaf were dragging a snow hare between them.
    “We caught it together,” Twisted Branch mumbled through a mouthful of fur. “I chased it, and it doubled back—right into Dewy Leaf’s claws. It was great!”
    The other cats gathered around as the hunters dropped their prey on the floor of the cave. Even so, Gray Wing thought that the cavern seemed quiet and empty, with so few cats remaining. Their voices seemed to echo strangely as they shared the prey, taking a mouthful and then exchanging with one another.
    “I will hunt tomorrow,” Quiet Rain promised.
    “So will I,” Hollow Tree agreed, brushing her tail along the flank of her mate, Stone Song.
    “Why don’t we take turns?” Stone Song suggested. “So every cat keeps their hunting skills sharp, and no cat has to go out every day.”
    Stoneteller gave the dark gray tabby tom an approving nod. “A very good idea. Stone Song, would you like to arrange it?”
    Stone Song’s eyes gleamed at his Healer’s praise. “I’d be glad to.”
    Gray Wing glanced at his Tribemates, and caught the same look of determination on all their faces. He felt reassured that the sacrifice of the cats who had left would not be wasted.
    We can make this work.
     
    A paw prodding him in the side woke Gray Wing the next morning. He blinked blearily in the light that slanted through the waterfall, and made out Stone Song standing over him.
    “Are you okay to hunt?” the tabby tom asked. “I’m arranging the new plan, starting today. Quiet Rain and Hollow Tree are going out, and I’ll go myself. I want to find out if four cats hunting every day are enough.”
    “Sure.”
    The light from the cave entrance was brighter than Gray Wing had seen it for many