Excerpts

Warriors: Power of Three #4: Eclipse Chapter One Hollypaw crouched low, pressing her belly against the boulder. It was still warm from the sun, which was dipping behind the distant hills. A cold wind rolling from the mountains ruffled her fur. From here she could see green fields unfolding toward a swath of forest; somewhere beyond those trees lay the lake, and home. Though the trees were still in full leaf, they were a shabby green, and the air had a new, musty taste that hadn't been there on the journey to the mountains. Leaf-fall is coming , she thought. She couldn't wait to be home. It felt as though they had been with the Tribe for moons. At least they were safely out of the mountains. The ground would be softer underpaw from here on, the hunting easier, and the territory steadily more familiar than rock and water and stunted trees. She glanced over her shoulder. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were talking in low voices with Stormfur and Brook. Tawnypelt and Crowfeather leaned in beside them. Were they saying good-bye? Hollypaw was still shocked that Stormfur and Brook were staying behind. Last night, at the farewell feast in the cave behind the waterfall, Stormfur had announced that he and Brook would accompany the Clan cats to the foothills, but no farther. Jaypaw, of course, had just shrugged and nodded, as though he'd known all along the two cats would not be returning to ThunderClan. But Hollypaw could only guess at why any cat would want to stay in the mountains when they could live by the lake. Brook must feel the same way about the mountains as I do about my home. And Stormfur loves her enough to stay with her, wherever she is. Suddenly, a flash of brown feather caught her eye. An eagle was skimming over the rough slope below her. Ahead of it a hare pelted in terror, throwing up dirt and grass from its long back feet. Folding its wings deftly against its sides, the eagle attacked, tumbling the hare head over heels before pinning it to the ground with thorn-sharp talons. Hollypaw envied the eagle's speed. To be able to fly like that! She closed her eyes and imagined skimming over the grass, paws hardly touching the ground, light as air, faster than the fastest prey. . . . "I wish we could get moving again." Lionpaw's impatient mew broke into her thoughts. He padded onto the boulder and stood beside her, following her gaze toward the eagle feasting on its catch. "I wish I had something in my belly," he mewed. "Do you suppose we'll ever be able to fly?" Hollypaw murmured. Lionpaw turned and looked at her as though she'd gone crazy. "I mean," she tried to explain hurriedly, "Jaypaw said we have the power of the stars in our paws." It still felt strange to say it out loud. "We don't really know what that means. I was just wondering if--" "Flying cats!" Lionpaw scoffed. "What'd be the point of that?" Hollypaw's ears were hot with embarrassment. "You've got no imagination," she snapped. "Here we are with more power than any other cat ever , and you act like it's nothing at all! Why shouldn't we be able to fly, or do anything we want to? And stop laughing at me!" "I'm not laughing at you." Lionpaw flicked Hollypaw's flank with his tail. "I just think we'd look stupid with wings." Frustration surged in Hollypaw's chest. She rounded on her brother, glaring. "You're not taking this seriously enough! We've got to figure out exactly what this prophecy means!" Lionpaw blinked and took a step backward. "Keep your fur on. You know Jaypaw and his visions. They sound great, but we have to live in the real world." "What does the real world mean, now that we have the power of the stars in our paws? We'll be able to do anything! Imagine how much we'll be able to help our Clan!" Lionpaw frowned. "The prophecy didn't say anything about helping our Clan; it just mentioned the three of us." Hollypaw stared at him. "But the warrior code says we must protect our Clan before anything else!" Lionpaw's gaze drifted to the distant hills. "Are we bound by the warrior code if we're more powerful than StarClan?" he wondered out loud. "How could you say such a thing?" Hollypaw scolded, but a shiver of foreboding ran along her spine. If the prophecy meant that they had to live outside the warrior code, how would she know what was right? How would she know what she was supposed to do if it came to a choice between her own safety and her Clan's? Jaypaw's pelt brushed hers as he jumped up beside them. "Could you two speak a bit louder?" he hissed. "I think some of the others didn't hear you." His blue eyes were flashing with anger. Blindness had not robbed them of showing feeling. Hollypaw spun around to see if any of the other cats had been listening, but the warriors were still deep in their own conversation. "No one's taking any notice of us," she reassured him. "Not every cat has got such good hearing as you," Lionpaw added. "I'm just warning you to be careful, okay?" Jaypaw mewed. "We have to keep this a secret." "We know," Lionpaw assured him. "Actually, I don't think you do," Jaypaw argued. "How do you think the other cats would react if they found out we've been born with more power than StarClan?" Lionpaw glanced at Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. "They'd never believe it." "I hardly believe it myself," Hollypaw admitted. "They'd believe it, all right." Jaypaw's voice was icy. "But I don't think they'd like it." Warriors: Power of Three #4: Eclipse . Copyright © by Erin Hunter. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Eclipse by Erin Hunter All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.