Lost Hope: Book 3: Flame and Snow

Prologue

You don't normally see scarred and skinny ruffian-like cats strolling through a well-kept Twolegplace, arguing nosily with no care who heard them. But that was were Aster found himself one sunny afternoon, staring down at the mangy creatures.

      "Let's get out of this place, it's making me sick!" one cat whined. He had a skinny build with sticks for legs and pale-green eyes that seemed to pop out of his face.

      "Shut up, Cactus," the large, muscular (well, as well-muscled as you could be with little food) cat at the head of the group snarled. Aster presumed him to be the leader. "This place is better than the last. Besides, we're getting closer to them."

      Them? Aster ached to jump down and riddle them with questions, but these cats didn't exactly give off friendly vibes.

      "And what are you planning to do once we find them?" Cactus asked sourly.

      "Simple. Poison," the leader replied, his amber eyes glinting menacingly. "Those Clan cats won't know what hit them." Cactus seemed to realize that the Clan cats might not be the only one poisoned if he didn't shut up, and he was silent as they continued walking.

      "They know about the Clans?" Aster muttered under his breath, digging his claws into deeper into the wooden post as he strained to seem them past the tall, manicured trees. He felt his tail brush a loose leaf behind him and he winced inwardly.

      Almost immediately, the cats' heads swiveled toward him and Aster scrambled down the fence. "Mouse dung!" The warrior curse came out of habit.

      "It was just a kittypet," the leader cat said loftily. "Keep your fur on!"

      "But, Dogtooth, if we let every stray kittypet get away, their gossip will eventually reach the Clan cats!" That was a different cat. His voice was less whiny then Cactus's.

      Aster pressed himself against the chipped wood of the post, his ears flicking to catch the conversation. Dogtooth sounds like a Clan cat name. . . Aster thought, confused. But he's against the Clans? He couldn't make the pieces fit in his mind.

      "If everyone keeps questioning me, I'll kill you and the kittypet!" Dogtooth roared. Everyone was silent.

      Aster heard their pawsteps fading into the distance, the way Aster used to go toward the forest. He dared jumping back on top of the post to catch a final glimpse of them and felt the fur rise along his spine.

      These cats were planning on poisoning the Clans, and he was the only one who could warn them.