Prologue

Slowly the kittypet backed away, feeling the sense of being cornered as he backed against a tree. Five pairs of gleaming eyes pressed in from all sides, and low growls rumbled deep in their throats.

The kittypet attempted a harsh growl, but instead what he made was a feeble squeak that made the middle cat snicker with amused hunger. The cat's fur was silver, her blue eyes a pretty oval shape. Everything about her was perfect in terms of looks, all but the ribs that showed clearly beneath the bedraggled fur. In her eyes the flicker of starvation lit her gaze. She was clearly the leader, her tail signaling the moves of the group.

The one beside her, a white-furred tom with red spots had a different look in his eyes than the rest of the cats. It would come to be the kittypet's main factor in remembering the tom's name: Sinakin.

This tom's fur was well-groomed each day, although his slender body had been sharpened by the same hunger that was shared by the rest of his group. His pale green eyes were watching both the kittypet's and the leader's every move, slowly calculating something that nobody else would quite yet understand.

The kittypet's ginger fur glowed in the moon, and the tags on his collar jingled slightly in the night. By now the rogue cats were practically breathing on the kittypet, whispering quiet musings of cannibalism.

But, just as the kittypet was whimpering his last words, the cat Sinakin jerked his head up suddenly, his whiskers twitching as he sniffed the air. The leader also lifted her nose to the sky, tentatively. Keeping an eye on the kittypet warily, but also trusting Sinakin's senses.

A faint sliver shape moved from the night shadows like a phantom. It was silver, with dark blue eyes that shone with again something that no one would understand anytime soon. She seemed to have some kind of authority over these cats, for they neither moved nor spoke, not even the leader. They only waited.

"Star," the cat said, "what in hell are you doing?"

The leader spoke. The kittypet did not know what she said, for he was too captivated by this new car's absolute beauty. Her slender body and tranquil blue eyes were calm, the fur on her shoulders settled. She had, of course, come to the kittypet's rescue, which he would later convince himself that that was the reason he had such an obsession with her.

The she-cat, whose name was revealed to be Iris, stepped forward. She went right to Star's face and whispered, "This is not how we do things, sister."

She then passed Sinakin, who blinked at her with a cool gaze when she walked by.

Then she went right to the kittypet, her ivory claws curled on the grass.

"I'm going to let you go." She said. "I'm going to let you go, but I need you to promise me something."

The kittypet nodded once, keeping his eyes earnest.

"I want you to find for me a kittypet named Storm. He's about six moons old, him and that pretty brown friend of his. Tell him kill or be killed. After the storm in a dew nights' time, he and his friend will meetthe warriorson patrol come to the HeatherClan border. If they don't, then don't think you can hide from me. Because my friend Akhaelah doesn't like broken deals, and he will hunt you down to the ends of this earth if he has to." She paused, letting the information sink in. " So, she said, "Do you think you can do this for me?"

The kittypet nodded again, this time his whiskers quivering with fear. Akhaelah was the most feared cat in the town. The fact that this cat Iris knew and was close friends with him only made her eyes seem sharper and her fur more silver.

Clever bastard. He thought, mentally shaking his head. His fear was forgotten, in a sense. In another sense, it was now his fuel.

Yes, the poor bastard was in love. In love with Irisfern of HeatherClan and DarkClan, who was not the least bit interested in a far-too-curious kittypet.

"Good." Iris said, baring her teeth in a smirk of amusement. "Now go."