Crookedstar’s Promise

Fleck stopped abruptly at the edge of the field. Crookedkit skidded to a halt beside the bristling tom and stared, eyes wide, at the cornfield. A huge scarlet monster was trawling through the corn, sucking up the golden stems and spewing lumps from its hindquarters. Shorn stumps lay in swaths behind it.

“Mitzi!” Fleck’s mew was filled with terror.

“The kits!” Crookedkit charged forward, pelting down the path and clearing the ditch in one leap. He shot through the hedge with Fleck on his tail and charged into the corn. The monster rumbled toward them, heading straight for Mitzi’s nest. Crookedkit heard mewling as he neared the hollow. He burst into the small clearing. Mitzi stood, eyes wild, Piper dangling from her jaws. Crookedkit looked in the nest.

Magpie sat in the middle, wailing. “The monster’s coming!”

Fleck exploded from the corn. “Where are the others?”

Mitzi tucked Piper between her forepaws. “I’ve taken Mist to the ditch,” she told them. “Soot ran into the corn.” Her green eyes glittered with terror.

“I’ll find her.” Crookedkit glanced at the rumbling monster. He could see its bloodred head advancing over the corn.

“I’ll take Magpie.” Fleck leaned into the nest and plucked out the mewling kit.

“Which way did Soot go?” Crookedkit demanded.

“I didn’t see!” Mitzi gasped.

Magpie stabbed his paw toward the corn. “That way!”

Crookedpaw dived among the stems, nose twitching. He sneezed as dust filled his nostrils. The stench of the monster swirled around him, its rumble now a roar as it pounded down the field.

“Soot!” he yowled. He pricked his ears, then flattened them as the roaring of the monster blasted his fur. Opening his mouth, he tasted the air. A faint fragrance of Soot lingered. He hesitated a moment, then plunged deeper into the corn. With a rush of hope he spotted a tiny track through the stems. He followed, heart pounding. It was leading straight toward the monster.

Soot’s scent was stronger now, laced with fear. Crookedkit weaved onward, following the bent corn stems. The monster was howling so loudly, Crookedkit could only feel the blood roaring in his ears. He glanced up, gasping, as he saw the great red body barely a tree-length from him. Gigantic claws swirled at its chest, tearing up the corn and scooping it into its gaping mouth.

“Help!” Soot’s squeal shrilled against the roar. The kit’s black fur was just visible through the golden corn. She was three tail-lengths away, the monster bearing down on her with a roar.

Breathing fast, pelt bushed up, Crookedkit leaped into the air. Landing beside Soot, he grabbed her scruff and pelted onward through the corn. The stalks whipped his face. He tasted his own blood as it welled on his muzzle. Pain jarred his jaw as he clasped hard on to Soot. He fought panic as he heard the monster’s claws whirring at his ear. He leaped again, Soot pressing against his chest as he flung himself clear of the monster’s path. Tumbling to a halt, he felt its wind tug his fur and the ground shook beneath them as it passed.

He lay trembling a moment before he let go of Soot. She crouched quivering beside him. As the monster rumbled away, paw steps crunched the bitten stalks.

“Are you okay?” Fleck ducked down beside them. The farm cat’s eyes were wide.

“Yeah,” Crookedkit panted. “Let’s get her to the ditch before the monster comes back.”

Fleck picked up Soot and waited for Crookedkit to stagger to his paws. “Did it hurt you?”

Crookedkit licked the blood from his nose. “Didn’t touch us,” he breathed.

Soot wriggled in Fleck’s jaws. “Crookedkit saved me!” she squeaked.

Crookedkit frowned at her. “Next time, stay with your mother.” He followed Fleck back across the path the monster had cut and through the corn to the edge of the field. Squeezing underneath the hedge, he padded trembling out the other side and saw Mitzi huddling her kits close to her. A purr shook her as she saw Soot in Fleck’s jaws.

The farm cat placed the kit at her mother’s paws. “Crookedkit reached her just in time.”

Mitzi stared at him, eyes glowing. “You saved my kit,” she whispered.

Crookedkit was shaking too hard to reply.

“You really are a warrior.” Mitzi leaned forward and licked the blood from his muzzle.

“You could’ve been killed,” Fleck grunted.

Crookedkit glanced over his shoulder at the monster still prowling across the cornfield. What if something like that threatened his Clan? “I need to go home,” he murmured.

“But you’re safe now,” Fleck reassured him. “The monster won’t come on this side of the hedge.”

“I’m not running away.” Crookedkit swallowed. “I’ve finished running away.” He knew he had to go back and become a warrior. This life wasn’t his destiny. It couldn’t be. He was glad he’d saved Soot. But that was just the beginning. He was destined to be great—not a great farm cat but a great warrior. Maybe the greatest warrior ever. He didn’t care if his Clan thought he was too small or too ugly. He would make them see that his heart was still as brave as any of them. And as loyal. He dipped his head.