PROLOGUE
The clearing was filled with ear-splitting screeches of the battling cats under the blood-red sky. The eyes of the savage intruders flickered madly as their claws raked across flesh, spilling blood onto the forest floor. A yellow she-cat with a tabby-striped tail attempted to race from the medicine den in the direction of the clearing entrance before turning to face a blonde queen hurtling towards her.
"Traitor!" she yowled, and swiped at the medicine cat. Dodging it, she leaped backwards. Paws skidding to a halt, she crouched low to the ground and bolted behind the queen as sly as a snake. The queen turned, confused. The medicine cat unsheathed her thorn-sharp claws and raced towards her, raking them across her flank.
A small kit watched in horror from the nursery entrance as the queen fell onto her back and the yellow she-cat's claws tore across her belly. The kit wailed and began to run on small, trembling paws toward the fallen queen, despite the screeching bloodshed of the fighting cats battling around her. By the time she reached her side, the light had died from her eyes and her body lie limp. The medicine cat looked down at the dead queen in satisfaction, her lips pulled back into a sneer.
She turned her gaze on the kit who stood frozen, eyes wide. "One day, you and I will meet in battle. . . ." she hissed into the kit's face, her yellow eyes gleaming. The kit could do nothing but crouch helplessly in fear as she watched her turn and flee from the camp in an evil fit of laughter, along with the other intruders, until the shadows swallowed them up.