A Forest Divided Read Free Page A

into its neck. The spine snapped cleanly and the rabbit fell limp.
    Clear Sky’s mouth watered as blood bathed his tongue. He sat up and licked his lips. Should he leave his catch to take back to his own cats? He glanced toward the hollow. The moor cats might have greater need. And it would make a generous offering to Jagged Peak and Holly, in honor of their first litter.
    He grabbed the rabbit’s scruff in his jaws and carried it up the slope.
    As he neared the moor cats’ camp, he scanned the top of its gorse wall. Where was Tall Shadow? She was usually watching from her rock, scanning the moor with her solemn, wary gaze. He slowed as he reached the camp entrance. There was no cat guarding it. He pricked his ears. Had the weather driven them into their tunnels?
    â€œWe should wait for the snow to pass before we send out a hunting patrol.”
    Clear Sky heard Thunder’s mew beyond the camp wall. Pride swelled in his chest. His son had grown into a fine tom.
    â€œWhat if it lasts for days?” Gray Wing’s mew answered Thunder.
    â€œLet’s worry about that when it happens.”
    Clear Sky nosed through the gap in the gorse.
    Gray Wing turned to meet him, eyes round with surprise. “Clear Sky? What are you doing here?”
    Clear Sky dropped his catch. “I came to visit Jagged Peak’s kits.” He glanced around the camp, a purr rumbling in his throat as he spied three kits tumbling across the grass at the far end of the hollow.
    Thunder didn’t follow his gaze. He was staring at the rabbit on the ground in front of Clear Sky. “Did you catch that on our land?” His amber eyes narrowed.
    Clear Sky blinked at him. Only a few moons ago, they’d begun to grow close. Now he felt further from his son than ever before. “I—I brought it for Jagged Peak and Holly.”
    One of the kits squeaked excitedly. “I’m the fastest!”
    Clear Sky saw a brown tom-kit struggle from his littermate’sgrip and race toward Jagged Peak, who was watching from the long grass at the edge of the hollow.
    â€œNo, you’re not!” A tabby she-kit raced after him. The splotches on her pelt were like Holly’s. White tips on her nose and her tail made her look as though she’d been dipped in snow.
    â€œWait for me!” A third kit trailed behind. His thick gray pelt and lithe frame reminded Clear Sky of Jagged Peak before the accident that had crippled his hind leg.
    â€œEagle Feather!” Holly stepped from the shelter of the long grass, and the brown tom-kit bundled into her. She scooped him up by his scruff and dropped him into the grass behind her. “Storm Pelt! Dew Nose! Back into your nest, all of you! It’s too cold to be out.”
    Jagged Peak swished his tail. “They’ll be warm enough so long as they keep moving.”
    â€œLet them play!” Shattered Ice called across the clearing. “It’ll make them strong.” The gray-and-white tom looked thin.
    Mud Paws and Lightning Tail sat a tail-length away, sharing an emaciated mouse. Clear Sky could see their bones jutting beneath their fur.
    Mud Paws looked up, chewing. “Check their tail-tips,” he advised. “If they’re frozen, it’s time to stop.”
    â€œLet them have fun!” Sparrow Fur padded out from beneath the arching broom at the end of the camp. The she-kit had grown, but she was skinny, and her pelt dull. “If there is a snowstorm on the way, it might be the last fun they have for days.”
    Gray Wing kneaded the ground with his paws. “We really should send out a hunting party now.”
    â€œThey might get caught in the storm,” Thunder argued. “And Clear Sky has brought this rabbit.” He nudged it with his wide paw. “The kits won’t go hungry.”
    Clear Sky blinked. “Are they eating prey already?”
    â€œThey were born the new moon before last,” Gray Wing reminded