Allegiances

SkyClan

Leader: Tinystar- Small white she-cat

Deputy: Branchfeather - Pale-brown tom with darker stripes and bright green eyes
Apprentice: Eaglepaw

Medicine Cat: Mintflower - Gray tabby she-cat

Warriors:

Rockspark – Quiet black tom
Apprentice: Splashpaw

Sagespider - Pale gray tom

Sparrowpelt – Dark brown tabby tom

Clovertail – Light brown she-cat with white belly and legs

Apprentices:

Eaglekit- Dark brown tabby tom

Splashkit- Spirited silver-gray she-kit

Queens:

Petalnose - Pale gray she-cat, mother of Patchfoot's kits

Cherrytail – Tortoiseshell she-cat, pregnant with Sagespider's kits

Kits:

Lilackit – Gray and brown she-kit

Ivykit – Dark gray she-kit with spidery stripes

Elders:

Patchfoot - Black-and-white tom

StarClan

Skywatcher – Old gray tom with sky-blue eyes, formerly of SkyClan

Rainfur – Brown tabby tom,formerly of SkyClan

Echosong - Silver tabby she-cat with green eyes, formerly of SkyClan

Leafstar - Brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes, formerly of SkyClan

Sparkpaw - Lively, fire-colored she-cat with gray-blue eyes, formerly of SkyClan

Bouncepaw – Ginger tom, formerly of SkyClan

Cloudstar – Long-haired white tom, formerly of SkyClan

Other Cats who Walk the Stars

Bramble – Dark brown tabby tom; former loner

Lizzie – Kindly cream and brown she-cat; former kittypet

Spots – White tom with black splotches; former kittypet

Stripes – Pale gray tabby tom; former kittypet

Stars – White she-cat with dark flecks; former kittypet

Cats Outside of Clans

Ella – Small silver tabby who lives in the old foxes' dens; a loner

Sharpclaw – Dark ginger tom; exiled SkyClan deputy; a rogue

Stripey – Fat old brown tom who lives in twolegplace near the vet's; a loner.

Juliette – Small white she-cat with brown patches; a kittypet

Pebblepaw – Light gray tabby tom with white paws and sea-blue eyes; a clan cat

Prologue

A blood-red sunset trailed its fingers between shadow and light, like an omen of fire, or perhaps darkness. Or blood.

Everything was spinning around him, his heart pounding like the stampede thundering behind him. The world flickered and tipped around him, everything was moving twice as fast as it should've...

He was running across the frosty, barren field towards them. At his cry, they turned to face him. Branchpaw, his best friend... Tinypaw, his sister... And Sparkpaw... Sparkpaw... was... Sparkpaw.

Suddenly there was heavy, harsh panting behind him. Oh, no! He put his head down and sped up, his limbs seizing up from the effort. StarClan, please! Please don't take me too! Not now! Not... like... Bouncepaw... He gritted his teeth. He had to win this battle. For SkyClan. For Bouncepaw.

"Sparkpaw! Sparkpaw! The foxes! They're coming!"

He had to tell them—they're coming—they're going to—oh no, StarClan, please, no—

He stumbled. He fell to the frosty ground, and the wave of foxes overtook him. He fell hard on his shoulder, and the blackness fell like the foxes around him. Her eyes were staring at him from that blackness...

No, they were stars...

He blinked slowly, and the cold seemed to take him in its claws. There was wind. The sunset was long and dim, like claw slashes across the landscape, the sun sinking slowly behind the forest. There were cries echoing across the icy field. He turned over slowly, and looked at the battlefield.

His clan was scattered, blood staining the ground, footprints and tufts of fur littered the field. There were very few, very battered fighters left standing on both sides, and the five foxes being fought by two cats each, except... where was Sparkpaw? She was fighting a fox on her own. And there was another fox on its own and...

Suddenly he was on his paws, running. The fox pounded behind him, snarling and... Laughing? Then the edge of the cliff was beneath his paws, and he skidded to a halt. Whipping around to face the cackling fox, he tried to summon enough energy to fight... but he couldn't. She laughed again.

"Looking for a way out, pal?" she rasped. She was speaking cat! "Oh yeah, buddy, I've been watching you... your little friends..." Suddenly her paw whipped out of nowhere, catching him in the ankle. He hit the ground hard, and she kept on cackling as he struggled back onto his paws.

"Tinypaw and your little pal Branchpaw and of course precious little Sparkpaw... oh yes... I know all about you... all of you..." she gave him and awful smirk and clawed at him again. He fell to his side, a gash opened in his cheek. "And of course... I couldn't forget... your dear old brother... Bouncepaw."

He stumbled to his feet, blood loss and anger making his head pound, his sight blur. He steadied himself and glared at her. He would get her. Bouncepaw... she wouldn't have killed him without getting... he would get revenge... he wasn't thinking clearly... all he knew was that he hadn't won this battle, for Bouncepaw, for anyone. He hadn't even fought. All he knew was that he was going to fight this fox... the one who'd made—him—die—

"Going to fight now, kitty?" she taunted, darting back and fort with surprising agility for a fox. "Kitty? Hmm? Gonna kill me? For your brother?"

"No," he growled. She wasn't going to have that weapon against him. He didn't wear his heart on his sleeve— "For—for—"

"Yes?" she growled. Her paw shot out of nowhere and knocked him down again. He sprang back up. Who knew how many foxes Sparkpaw had fought off? And he hadn't even defeated one.

"For..." he snarled, "Sparkpaw!"

The fox howled with laughter. And with a terrible screech, she lunged at him.

"Help!" he yowled. Panic filled his chest, now stained with blood as the fox drew back, her green eyes sparkling with hatred and malice. She struck again. And then a howling wind filled his ears...

Bouncepaw, no... Don't take me... not... now... he thought. The fox leered, pressing her claws deeper into him. The wind howled and then died to a low whistle.

Quick, said a voice in his ears. Move out of the way!

Bouncepaw? He thought. He squirmed under her paws, trying to escape.

There are some battles you can't win, it replied. Then the wind stopped.

A blur was hurtling towards them, towards the fox's back. The fox's teeth were bared an inch from his face. He heard Sparkpaw yelling his name, and his heart seemed to swell.

The fox snarled and grinned. "Afraid?" she growled.

"You should be," he growled.

The fox's head whipped around, and she saw Sparkpaw careening towards her. With a sneer she let go of Rockpaw and turned to meet her. Rockpaw squirmed out of the way.

And Sparkpaw hurtled into her, and the fox soared over the edge of the cliff, her last sneer turning to terror in the last heartbeat, and then she was gone.

A smile curved his mouth. It didn't matter that he hadn't won. It was the clan, SkyClan that had won. That's what they were. Together.

Than he realized what had happened. The fox was gone.

But so was Sparkpaw.

With an agonized yowl, he dove for the edge, trying to save her. But it was no use.

It was too late.

The air whipped silently past her as she fell. The long shadows of sunset were darker down there, but a single long ray of cold red sunlight fell across the rocks like a slash.

He couldn't hear a thing; not the blood pounding in his ears, nor his own agonized cries echoing in the ravine as she fell.

The fox hit the ground first, and with a final yelp, departed from this life forever.

Sparkpaw saw the first stars coming out in the cloudless sky, and for a second she was free, flying and soaring blissfully. He yelled something, but he knew, somewhere inside, that she couldn't hear him.

Then the ground came up to meet her. She was broken. Her last word had been his name.

With a jolt, Rockspark awoke, choking for breath.