Bluestar's Prophecy Read Free

nose back under her tail.
    “Where are Poppydawn’s kits?” Bluekit whispered.
    “They won’t arrive for another two moons,” Snowkit answered.
    Arrive? Bluekit tipped her head to one side. Where from?
    Snowkit was already heading for the hole, scrambling clumsily over Moonflower. Bluekit tumbled after, her short legs uncertain as she slid down her mother’s back and landed in the soft moss.
    The nest rustled and Bluekit felt a soft paw clamp her tail-tip to the ground. “Where do you think you are going?”
    Moonflower was awake.
    Bluekit turned and blinked at her mother. “Outside.”
    Moonflower’s eyes glowed and a loud purr rolled in her throat. “You’ve opened your eyes.” She sounded relieved.
    “I decided it was time,” Bluekit replied proudly.
    “There, Swiftbreeze.” Moonflower turned, waking the tabby-and-white queen with her satisfied mew. “I told you she’d do it when she was ready.”
    Swiftbreeze sat up and gave her paw a lick. “Of course. I was only thinking of my own kits—they opened their eyes sooner.” She swiped her paw across her muzzle, smoothing the fur on her nose.
    Moonflower turned back to her kits. “So now you’re going out to see the world?”
    “Why not?” Bluekit mewed. “Leopardkit and Patchkit are already out there.”
    “Leopardkit and Patchkit are five moons old,” Moonflower told her. “They’re much bigger than you, so they’re allowed to play outside.”
    Bluekit opened her eyes very wide. “Is it dangerous?”
    Moonflower shook her head. “Not in the camp.”
    “Then we can go!”
    Moonflower sighed, then leaned down to smooth Bluekit’s fur with her tongue. “I suppose you have to leave the nursery sometime.” She studied Snowkit. “Straighten your whiskers.” Pride lit the queen’s amber gaze. “I want you to look perfect when you meet the Clan.”
    Snowkit ran a licked paw over each spray of whiskers.
    Bluekit looked up at her mother. “Are you coming with us?”
    “Do you want me to?”
    Bluekit shook her head. “We’re going to surprise Patchkit and Leopardkit.”
    “Your first prey.” Moonflower’s whiskers twitched. “Off you go, then.”
    Bluekit bounced around and sprinted for the gap.
    “Don’t get under any cat’s paws!” Moonflower called after them as Bluekit barged ahead of her sister and headed through the hole. “And stay together!”
    The brambles scraped Bluekit’s pelt as she wriggled out of the nursery. When she tumbled onto the ground beyond, sunshine stung her eyes. She blinked away the glare, and thecamp opened out in front of her like a dream. A vast, sandy clearing stretched away to a rock that cast a shadow so long it almost touched her paw tips. Two warriors sat beneath the rock, sharing prey beside a clump of nettles. Beyond them lay a fallen tree, its tangled branches folded on the ground like a heap of skinny, hairless legs. Several tail-lengths away from the nursery a wide, low bush spread its branches over the ground. Ferns crowded a corner at the nursery’s other side, and behind them rose a barrier of gorse so tall that Bluekit had to crane her neck to see the top.
    Excitement thrilled through her. This was her territory! Her paws prickled. Would she ever know her way around?
    There was no sign of Patchkit or Leopardkit.
    “Where’ve they gone?” she called to Snowkit.
    Snowkit was staring around the camp. “I don’t know,” she meowed absently. “Look at that prey!” She was staring at a heap of birds and mice at the side of the clearing. It was topped by a fat, fluffy squirrel.
    “The fresh-kill pile!” Bluekit bounced toward it, her nose twitching. She’d heard the queens in the nursery talking about prey, and she’d smelled squirrel on her mother’s fur. What would it taste like? Thrusting her nose into the pile, she tried to sink her claws into a small creature with short brown fur and a long, thin tail.
    “Watch out!”
    Snowkit’s warning came too late. Bluekit’s paws