Prologue

"Mothstar! No!"

Mothstar whipped around and hissed at a light brown tabby she-cat through clenched teeth. "I've got to go back for Stormshade, Cinderlight. He and Lionpaw are still down there, among other cats."

"You're bleeding!" Hazelshine protested.

"So are you," Mothstar retorted. Hazelshine was right, though—Mothstar was badly injured. Her fur was parted by patches of missing fur, and blood oozed from several deep bites.

Without waiting for Hazelshine's reply, Mothstar bounded down the stone slope leading to the Gathering hollow. Mothstar remembered when it had been made up of precarious ledges; now it was a wide, smooth slope. She winced at the cries of cats and the horrible murmurs of rats coming from down below. Twolegs! Who knew they could be so much trouble?

Two seasons ago, Twolegs had begun to inhabit the Gathering hollow. At first it had been safe to meet there at the night of the full moon, but the Twolegs had a large pile of stones and old food. Not only did it smell bad, it also attracted rats. A large group lived down there now. All four Clans had worked together to kill the rats on the Gathering night. A brief Gathering consisting of warriors and apprentices was held before the fight began. There had been more rats than expected, but the combined efforts of all four Clans had them nearing desperation. The plan had been to send in each Clan separately, and the retreat was in effect. But rats hid in the most unexpected places, and the leaving warriors were trapped.

She skidded to a halt near the end of the slope and quickly moved aside to make room for two StreamClan warriors supporting an injured BreezeClan one. Although the slope was wide, Mothstar had been running down the middle.

Her gaze travelled over the clearing. Dead rats were strewn about, some of which were still twitching in their death throes. A dark ginger tom had a rat in each forepaw and one in his mouth. A pale gray tom with faint tabby stripes turned silver in the moonlight was snarling at a rat clinging to his fur. As Mothstar watched, a ginger-and-white patched tom sank his teeth into the rat and shook the life out of it. A dark gray and dark brown tabby tom was nearly invisible, not only for the shadows but also for the piles of dead rats around him. His muzzle was ringed with blood, and he narrowed his eyes at Mothstar.

"I just saved one of your warriors from letting himself be eaten alive by rats," he growled. He suddenly turned on a paw and caught a large rat across the head with his claws. It immediately collapsed onto its dead comrades.

Mothstar looked at the golden brown tom cowering behind the leader. He was unusually large, but he was only an apprentice.

"Lionpaw," she growled, "go see Dovewillow. Now."

Lionpaw dashed for the slope with his tail tucked in. Mothstar leapt off to make way for the terrified apprentice. A rat's face suddenly filled her vision, and Mothstar snarled and clouted it, hard, on its head. She swatted its twitching body away with a paw.

"Weedstar," she panted, "are there any other LightningClan cats down here?" Suddenly she veered away from her passage to the DarkClan leader to help a StreamClan she-cat struggling underneath two rats. Her pale gray and white fur seemed to shine in the darkness. Mothstar sank her teeth into one of the rats, shook it, and flung it away. The other rat seemed to realize that this wasn't a fight it could win, and it leapt off of the she-cat, but Brightmoon hooked a paw underneath it and nipped its spine.

"Thanks, Mothstar," the she-cat, Brightmoon, gasped. She headed back toward the slope.

Mothstar looked around and soon saw a longhaired dark gray tom battling two rats at once. One side had a large spot of blood that had soaked through his fur. His yellow eyes blazed as he fought.

"Stormshade!" Mothstar called. He looked up, but a rat sank its teeth into his paw. He yowled and shook it off. Mothstar lunged forward and grabbed the other rat, which was trying to get around to Stormshade's tail. The tom used the opportunity to kill the other rat.

"Mothstar," Stormshade panted, "what are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you," Mothstar replied. "Your fur is thick. If I can see the blood from that wound, it's serious. Go back up. I'll find any other cats."

Stormshade opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again and headed back up. I can't have my deputy die if I lose a life, Mothstar thought as he left. She scanned the clearing. Weedstar, Rowanstar, and Shellstar were approaching the large pile of Twoleg waste. Mothstar headed there.

"Mothstar," Shellstar hissed when she was close enough to hear, "the rats keep coming. We're going to kill the lead rat."

"How do you know that there is one?" Mothstar whispered back.

Weedstar answered her in a low meow. "Rats are disorganized. They fight over everything. Assuming that these rats are from the same group that lived in my territory, they will have a leader." The DarkClan leader spoke so confidently that Mothstar decided not to question him.

"I've already found a way in," Rowanstar called quietly from the back of the pile. "There's a large gap in the stones over here. A cat could fit through. Mothstar and I are the smallest. Are you up to coming?"

Mothstar felt energy surge up in her. "For my Clan and the forest, I will come."

Weedstar flicked an ear. "Go on, then."

Mothstar let Rowanstar lead her into the mound. The stones scraped her fur, but they did no damage. She was glad for that; it was too dark to avoid them.

She froze as she heard sounds of a scuffle from ahead of her.

"It's okay, Mothstar," Rowanstar whispered. "There were some rats blocking the way. Come on."

Mothstar felt her way out of the tunnel. It was brighter in this small hollow. Moonbeams slanted through a few unclosed gaps in the top. StarClan can still reach us here, Mothstar thought.

The two cats met far fewer rats than they had anticipated. After a long time of searching, Mothstar spotted a large rat sitting by a crack in the mound.

It's watching, Mothstar realized. In the Clans, the leaders fight, but that must not be true for rats. Mothstar curled her claws. Defending my Clan is the best thing I could do.

Rowanstar told her his plan. Mothstar quickly agreed.

He lunged around the front of the rat, blocking passage from the gap in the mound. It scurried directly at Mothstar and halted for a heartbeat. Then it dove between her legs. It didn't bite her, but Mothstar gasped nonetheless. She whirled around and chased it. Rowanstar was very close behind, and the BreezeClan tom was probably frustrated with Mothstar's speed. Not all cats are as fast as you!

The rat knew the tunnels well. It ran through passages too small for even an apprentice to fit through. But it seemed to be taunting the cats, darting in and out, narrowly evading their claws.

Rowanstar streaked ahead of Mothstar. She was suddenly aware of her tiredness. I can't stop now! She forced herself to keep going.

Rowanstar's voice drifted from ahead. "Mothstar? I lost the rat. I think it could have doubled back."

Mothstar didn't hear his last sentence. She was startled by the screech of the rat as it lunged out of a tiny crack. It landed right at Mothstar's paws, and, before she could do anything, bit her throat.

Mothstar yowled in pain and fury at the rat. How could you outsmart two Clan leaders?

She felt her life slipping away through the gash in her throat. Mustering up the last of her strength, she grabbed the rat with her forepaws and dug in her claws. She had intended to weaken it for Rowanstar, but it shrieked and went limp. Mothstar was too weak to even shake it off. She slumped onto her side, the rat in her claws. The last thing she heard was Rowanstar's call, asking for her. Then the world went black.

Mothstar opened her eyes to see a brown and white tom. He had stars in his fur. His green eyes, usually so loving, were darkened.

"Splashheart!" Mothstar exclaimed. Her former mate had died a few moons before she had become leader, and had given her ninth life.

"Mothstar," he mewed, his gaze brightening for a heartbeat. "I would be glad to see you under better circumstances. You performed excellently. You and Rowanstar have saved the forest from the rats."

Mothstar purred.

"However," he continued, "there is another threat on the horizon. You are on your last life, Mothstar. I gave you the knowledge to do what is right at your leadership ceremony. You used it well in this battle. However, when you lose your last life, the forest might not survive it."

Mothstar's heart sped up. "We defeated the rats! How could there be more danger?"

Splashheart's gaze was dark. "I cannot say, Mothstar. Be careful."

Mothstar struggled awake. Rowanstar's dark ginger form was over her. He was saying something, but Mothstar didn't hear.

Be careful...