Prologue
"Evacuate the camp!"
"Run!"
"It's a sign from StarClan!"
Wetfoot thrust his way into the nursery. "Runningnose!" He gasped. "Didn't you hear? The forest is on fire, we've got to get out of the camp!"
The small gray-and-white medicine cat whirled to face Wetfoot, his fur bristling. "It's Darkflower," Runningnose rasped. "Her kits are coming."
"Now?" Wetfoot's eyes shot wide. Already, smoke was filling the camp and infiltrating the dens. "She can't stay here!"
"I can move," Darkflower struggled to her paws, clenching her jaw as her flank constricted. "I won't let my kits die here."
Runningnose flinched as a bolt of lightning lit the entire camp, bleaching Darkflower's night black pelt as white as snow. "We have to go now, before the kits come."
Wetfoot pressed closely against his mate, supporting her as they rushed for the camp entrance. Cinderfur was waiting there, making sure every cat made it out safely. The storm raged relentlessly as the fire lapped at the edges of the ShadowClan camp.
"You're the last ones!" The deputy yowled, beckoning them desperately with his tail. Wetfoot could feel the tremors rippling down Darkflower's flank. Oh StarClan, please let us make it!
"She won't make it much further," Runningnose called as they pushed through the remains of the camp entrance.
Tallpoppy forced her way through the panicked Clan. "I brought the herbs just over there, can she make it?"
"Yes!" Darkflower hissed, staggering forward. Tallpoppy led them to the roots of an ancient maple tree. She had dug deeper into the tunnel that was already forming between the old twisted roots.
"Down here," the long-legged queen ushered Darkflower into the make-shift nursery. Runningnose slipped in behind her, but his warning look was enough to tell Wetfoot not to follow. The dark gray tabby paced restlessly amongst his Clan-mates. They huddled together, their fear-scent thicker than the smoke rising into the sky. As they watched, the storm raged on, the rain finally beginning to smother the fire that had terrorized their home. A numb silence fell over the Clan, broken only by coughing.
"She's done it!"
Wetfoor nearly leapt out of his fur as Runningnose emerged from the den. He spun to face the gray-and-white tom. "How is she? Can I see them?"
"She's fine," Runningnose assured him. "You have two healthy sons." He stepped to the side, and Wetfoot pushed his way into the small den. His breath caught in his throat as he laid eyes on his mate and kits.
"They're beautiful," he exhaled softly.
"Aren't they?" Her purr was muffled and hoarse from inhaling smoke, but nothing could mask the love in her eyes as she stared down at the two tiny bundles. "And I think I've already thought of names."
"Oh yeah?" Wetfoot's whiskers twitched in amusement. Darkflower was nothing if not independent.
"Yes," she purred. She touched her nose to the first kit, whose fur was as black as hers. "This will be Scorchkit, for the fire that blazed through our territory making way for new growth." Then she touched her nose to the second kit, who had fur whiter than snow, save for the splotches of gray tabby fur already showing on his back. "And this will be Rainkit, for the storm of fresh rain that's soothes the land and nurtures the new life to come."
Runningnose felt his spine prickle as he watched the sky. A single claw of lightning shot from the clouds, and the medicine cat felt his breath catch in his throat. A tiger! The wind whispered through the Clan as the lightning gave way to an onslaught of fresh rain.
"In a tiger's claws, your Clan will rise. But to achieve greatness, you must pay the highest price…"
The whispers continued, but they were drowned out by the rain, and Runningnose pushed them from his mind as he stared desperately at the place where the lightning had been only moments ago. He thought of the fire, and of the sickness already taking hold of his Clan. What price is there that we haven't already paid? If there is a tiger out there that can restore our strength, please StarClan, let it come soon...!