Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #1: The Sun Trail Read Online Free PDF Page A

dead,” Gray Wing told him.
    Clear Sky paused for a heartbeat with a sharp indrawn breath, then bounded across the cave to his mother’s side. Gray Wing padded after him more slowly.
    “I’m so sorry!” Clear Sky exclaimed, bending his head to touch his nose to his sister’s ear. “Fluttering Bird, we’ll miss you so much!” Straightening up, he looked down at his mother and added, “This will never happen when we reach our new home. If you join us, I’ll protect you and hunt for you for the rest of my life. Please come.”
    Quiet Rain shook her head. “I will never leave my daughter here alone.”
    Rising from the sleeping hollow, she allowed Gray Wing and Clear Sky to pick up Fluttering Bird’s tiny, twiglike body and carry her out of the cave. The other cats fell back and formed a respectful line on either side as they headed for the entrance and along the ledge that led behind the waterfall.
    Quiet Rain and Jagged Peak followed as they maneuvered Fluttering Bird’s body along the narrow path. Drops of water landed on her fur. Gray Wing winced when he realized that she would never be able to lick them off.
    Climbing carefully over the icy rocks, they made their way to the plateau above the cave and set Fluttering Bird down beside the river. Gray Wing and Clear Sky scraped away small stones and frozen soil to make a shallow hole, and Quiet Rain laid the tiny kit inside. She touched her nose to her daughter’s fur one last time, then stepped back while her sons covered the body with earth and larger stones. For a moment all four cats stood beside the grave, their heads bowed.
    Jagged Peak was the first to move, turning around to stare in amazement at the vista of mountains that stretched away on all sides. His eyes were huge and his fur bushed out; he looked tiny against the boulders.
    “Have you been to all those peaks?” he asked in a hushed voice.
    “Not all of them.” Clear Sky moved to stand beside him, pointing with his tail. “There’s the gap in the mountains we’ll be aiming for when we leave.”
    Jagged Peak’s eyes grew even wider. “I wish I was coming too,” he meowed.
    “Don’t talk nonsense, little one.” Quiet Rain padded up and laid her tail across the kit’s back. “You’ve been out long enough for your first time. Back to the cave with you.”
    “But I don’t want to go back inside !” Jagged Peak protested. “There’s too much to see.”
    Clear Sky gave his younger brother a friendly nudge. “You can see it another day. The mountains don’t move. Now show us how well you can climb down the rocks.”
    Still grumbling, Jagged Peak followed his brother.
    Gray Wing stood for a moment at the cliff’s edge, gazing out at the cold sweep of the mountains. Rage was slowly building inside him like a storm cloud. How could such a beautiful place be so cruel? But the sharpest edge of his anger was directed at himself.
    I should have caught more prey. I shouldn’t have let Fluttering Bird starve .
    He became aware that Quiet Rain had come to stand beside him. “This is a cruel place,” she sighed, echoing his thoughts, “but it’s my home, for better or worse.”
    “I won’t let this happen again,” Gray Wing meowed, his voice rough with grief and fury. “There must be better ways of hunting. We—”
    “You have to leave,” Quiet Rain interrupted. “Jagged Peak is too small for such a journey, but you must go with Clear Sky to find a better place to live. I don’t want to have to watch your kits die, too.”
    Gray Wing stared at her, astounded. “But I thought you wanted me to stay!” he exclaimed.
    Quiet Rain gazed back at him steadily, her eyes full of sorrow. “I love you too much for that,” she mewed. “For my sake, go.”

Dawn light had begun to filter through the screen of falling water, though shadows still lay deep at the sides of the cave. Gray Wing hauled himself out of his sleeping hollow and spotted Shaded Moss huddled with Clear Sky and the other