Lost Hope: Book 1: The New Star

Epilogue

A dark brown cat slipped into EchoClan camp, unworried about being caught. The cat on guard near the entrance stared straight through her as she entered, as if he couldn't see her, and the moonlight shone down on her as she crossed the clearing, but her body cast no shadow. She followed the milky scent of kits toward a small den near the center And ducked in.
A reddish-brown she-cat was curled around two kits.

Focusing on the kits presence, she spoke in a dripping voice, "Little kits, wake up."

The tom kit's ear flicked at the sound, and his sister started to stir. "Wake up," she repeated, and their heads raised.

"Who are you?" the little she-kit asked, her voice full of fear, despite her weariness.

The dark she-cat purred. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you," she whispered soothingly. "My name is Viperfang."

"Get out, or we'll shred you," threatened her brother, standing in front of his sister protectively.

Viperfang blinked at them with her bright green, almost snake-like, eyes. "I don't want to hurt you," she said. "But I want to help you prove yourself to your Clanmates."

"And how would we do that?" asked the tom kit. "We're not supposed to leave the nursery, especially at night."

"Well," Viperfang said with a purr. "BrookClan has been threatening EchoClan with battle, but you could easily stop that."

"How?" the she-kit asked, stepping forward to stand beside her brother, her ears pricked with interest.

"If you come with me tonight, we can surprise BrookClan," Viperfang said. "They'll never know what hit them."

The kits looked at each other, their tailed swishing excitedly. When they turned back to the mysterious she-cat, they spoke in unison, "Ok!"

"Great," Viperfang said, please. She beckoned them with her tail. "Follow me."