The Lightning Path

Cover
Textless cover
Audiobook cover

Series:

Bamboo Kingdom

Book Number:

5

Author:

Rosie Best

Release date:

Hardcover - June 11, 2024^[1]

Publisher:

HarperCollins

Chronology
← Previous	Next →
The Dark Sun	Fire and Ash

The Lightning Path is the fifth book in the Bamboo Kingdom series.^[1]

Dasher is featured on the cover
Broken Forest Troop monkeys are in the branches above him

Blurb[]

This thrilling new series from bestselling author Erin Hunter follows three panda cubs, separated at birth, who must join together to complete a prophecy and save their world.

Torn apart by the bloodshed that followed the Dark Sun, the three Dragon Speakers must face their own troubles before they can help the Bamboo Kingdom regain peace.

After being forced out of Rain’s camp for a murder he did not commit, Ghost is still determined to prove his innocence and help Rain. But though she isn’t convinced he did it, if she accepts her brother is innocent, she would have to accept that the killer is still at large—and still targeting her loved ones. And while Ghost sets out to reunite both of his families, Leaf is nowhere to be found, and the monkeys are watching their every move. With only piecemeal guidance from a Great Dragon that’s been split in three, how can they hope to stop what Brawnshanks is planning?

Plot[]

Prologue[]

Lychee's point of view.

Lychee, though unnamed, waits in the forest to carry out a mission for Brawnshanks, recalling the time the monkey leader proposed him to help kill the Dragon Speakers. Brawnshanks explained his plan and ordered Lychee to follow through with it, which he reluctantly promised. Back in the present, Lychee waits in ambush until Pebble emerges, not spotting him, and unaware that he was going to die.

Chapter 1[]

Rain's point of view.

Rain tries to connect with the Dragon through her blue stone, but to her annoyance, she gets no response. She goes on to think about Pebble's death, and Ghost, whom she is now sure is alive, and Leaf's disappearance, which was relayed to her by the red pandas. The young panda feels torn between helping her missing siblings and solving Pebble's murder. Rain decides to hide her stone, which she does by placing it in a large, hollow bamboo cane, but is interrupted by Lychee. He offers to talk about Pebble. Rain reveals that she doesn't believe Ghost is guilty, which surprises him. The two go and ask Dawn and Frog about Pebble's final feast and what they saw on his body. Dawn confirms that it was a panda, although she still believes Ghost to be the culprit. Rain doesn't believe it, however, and tells Lychee that there's still a murderer among the Prosperhills.

Chapter 2[]

Ghost's point of view.

After paying his respects to Winter's skeleton, Ghost goes back to Nightwalker, who leads him down a hidden tunnel lined with glowing icicles. The two talk about Shadowhunter, his death, and the forests beyond the mountains where tigers live. Ghost confides that he sent Shiver to find safety with his stone. The two emerge from the tunnel, where Nightwalker says she must leave and find Leaf. Ghost immediately blames himself, but Nightwalker admonishes him and tells him it wasn't his fault. Nightwalker departs, and Ghost returns to Winter's cave to find and protect Shiver, but instead only finds Snowstorm and Frost, who joyfully reunite with him.

Chapter 3[]

Dasher's point of view.

At the end of the red pandas' vigil, the group argues amongst itself whether Leaf can be trusted. Dasher and Seeker defend her against other red pandas, who believe she trapped them on purpose and compare her to Dusk. Dasher nearly gets into a fight with Breaker before Runner interrupts and says they can't stay and must return to their territory. While the other red pandas go back, Dasher explains to Seeker that he has to find Leaf. She reluctantly lets him go, and he sets off to follow her trail. A rainstorm strikes during the first part of his journey, in which he finds Leaf's stone. He carries it with him and finds a bamboo rat, whom he frees from a hollow and who heard Leaf pass by the day before, offering ominous predictions of something bad coming. Dasher struggles to continue through the rain, wondering about the rat's words.

Chapter 4[]

Rain's point of view.

The Prosperhills are settled under a clump of bamboo to wait out the storm. Rain wonders if it will be a flood and if her argument with Ghost could have caused it, pondering which of her fellow pandas could be a killer. She rules out Peony, Fir, Frog, Lychee, and Pepper quickly because of their lack of either means or motive, but considers Blossom and Ginseng, having never forgotten their former ways. Once the rain ends, the pandas disperse to gather bamboo, and Rain asks Peony and Lychee to handle it while she meets up with Nimbletail.

The monkey reports that she makes it difficult for Crookedclaw to send assassins after Rain. Rain reveals that she hasn't been able to speak to any of the three Dragons. Nimbletail promises to ask the remaining pangolin prisoners about it, revealing her part in helping some escape during the Dark Sun. Rain suggests freeing them and getting Lychee to cause a distraction. At the mention of Lychee, Nimbletail says that she saw him in the Northern Forest, going to talk to the monkeys. Rain suggests that maybe he's spying on them, not for them, and Nimbletail warns her to be careful anyhow.

Once meeting back up with Lychee, Rain considers Nimbletail's suspicions, but decides to watch him first before making a decision. While all the pandas eat, another rainstorm hits, and Rain leads everyone to higher ground. During the evacuation, Blossom, Ginseng, and Lychee all go missing. Once they are sheltered at the top of a ridge, Lychee reappears with an injury to his head, reporting that he was attacked. Realizing the killer is close, Rain reports what Nimbletail said about seeing him. Lychee reveals that he was spying on Nimbletail, wondering if she was spying for her own troop instead of on them. Rain circles around, wondering if the killer could be targeting her loved ones. After the storm, Rain decides to send Peony and Lychee away for their own safety. Peony goes, but Lychee refuses to leave, and the two young pandas confess their feelings.

Chapter 5[]

Ghost's point of view.

Ghost and his siblings are scouring the mountain for Shiver. They manage to track her to a cliff edge, and climb down it to pick up her trail again, and realize they came out by the Watcher and Speaker stones. They track Shiver into the colorful cave, where she is defending Ghost's stone from Brisk and Sleet. Ghost and his other two siblings arrive and a fight breaks out. Brisk flees and Ghost pursues her, only to be trapped by Sleet in another cavern. The two snow leopards pin him down and gloat that they will finally be rid of the cubs Born of Winter, only to be interrupted by an earthquake.

Chapter 6[]

Dasher's point of view.

Despite the worsening weather, Dasher continues to push on with Leaf's stone. He finds a manul cat and asks for shelter in his burrow, but the cat rudely rebuffs him. A strange darkness covers his face every time he says to leave, accompanied by a strange freezing cold from the stone. Once out of the burrow, Dasher realizes it only happened when the manul lied. Wondering if the Dragon might be speaking to him, Dasher walks right into a group of monkeys, who offer him help. The darkness returns over their faces when they offer to bring him to shelter. Dasher attempts to leave, but is captured by their leader, Briskhand, who issues orders to bring him and the stone to Brawnshanks.

Chapter 7[]

Rain's point of view.

Rain retrieves her stone from the bamboo and tries to communicate with the Dragon again. It finally sends a confused message that an enemy of Rain's will become her friend. Wary, Rain tries to puzzle out who this enemy might be, and hides her stone in another bamboo cane. While going down to meet Nimbletail, she bumps into Lychee, inviting him along. Rain asks Nimbletail to find out for sure if Ghost is alive. Lychee offers to help, and leaves. Back at the clearing, Rain finds a group of petitioners waiting for help, and thinks about reuniting with her siblings.

Chapter 8[]

Ghost's point of view.

Ghost attempts to make for the cave exit, but Brisk and Sleet try to stop him by dislodging more rubble. The rocks almost bury Ghost until he hears the voices of the dead encouraging him to get up. He manages to escape back down the tunnel, but Brisk and Sleet end up trapping themselves. Ghost reunites with his adopted siblings and they escape. Shiver reveals that she didn't have the actual stone, and hid it in the Northern Forest, and all four leave to get it.

Chapter 9[]

Dasher's point of view.

Dasher is brought to the Broken Forest, where Brawnshanks is initially displeased, but brightens when he sees Briskhand brought a Dragon Stone with him. Dasher attempts to get it back, but the monkeys prevent him. Brawnshanks gloats about how he destroyed the Dragon to the unknowing Dasher, and how he might be able to strip Leaf's powers by destroying the stone. In front of a horrified Dasher, he attempts to do so by smashing it with a big rock, but only breaks the rock. Angry, Brawnshanks travels to the lava river with his cronies dragging Dasher behind, and throws the stone into the lava. Once again, it comes back unharmed. Now furious, Brawnshanks throws Dasher into a prison pit above the lava until he can help him destroy the stone. Dasher finds the hole already occupied by a group of pangolins, at first displeased to see them because of how their previous fire warning turned out. The pangolins explain that the Children of the Dragon read the signs as they come, not in order of what will happen next, but the fire has now come. Before Dasher can figure it out, they invite him to rest.

Chapter 10[]

Rain's point of view.

The storms have stopped and given way to baking heat. Rain wonders if splitting the Dragon caused this, but runs into a herd of blue sheep, who were separated crossing the river. Before Rain can offer help, Fir comes up and announces that Goji is hurt, taking Rain to her. Goji reveals that she was attacked, and that she clawed her assailant but didn't figure out who it was. Rain deduces from the bite marks that she was attacked by a panda and sends Cypress for purple leaf. In light of the new situation, Rain gathers all the Prosperhills and declares they must separate and find their own territories, as it will be harder for the killer to strike. Despite the protests from some of the others, Rain allows them one last feast before declaring the group disbanded. Shortly after they leave, Lychee arrives and is let in on the news. He then says that Nimbletail has betrayed the Dragon Speakers. Rain wonders about the Dragon's newest message, but Lychee overhears her thinking out loud and asks about it. Rain reveals that she has been hiding her stone and takes him to its new hiding spot, but finds it stolen.

Chapter 11[]

Ghost's point of view.

The siblings travel south and Frost and Snowstorm are in awe of the Northern Forest. Ghost comments on the strange heat and dark clouds, wondering if he and his sisters have confused the Dragon. Shiver leads them to the spot where the stone is hidden. Ghost offers them bamboo along the way, and Frost and Snowstorm are disgusted. When they finally arrive, Shiver digs the stone out from the roots of a ginkgo tree. Ghost attempts to use the stone to speak to the Dragon. A strange light shines on him, then over the Northern Forest, as the Dragon promises to light his path. Shortly afterward, lightning strikes the forest, starting fire. Ghost sets off to help the inhabitants, the leopards in tow, but find their path blocked. Ghost notices a strange white light coming from his stone, and a path of the light trailing into the forest. Ghost leads the snow leopards along it.

Chapter 12[]

Dasher's point of view.

After an unknown time trapped above the lava, Dasher is visited by Crookedclaw, who asks him if he knew about the stone's unusual properties. Dasher refuses to answer her questions, and she turns her attention to the captive Children of the Dragon. They likewise refuse to give her information, so she threatens them with the lava. First, she throws a nut in to demonstrate, then orders Hardbelly to throw Dasher in. Desperate, Spiral Moon tells her to stop and asks if the monkeys have found the three Dragons. Much to Crookedclaw's frustration, none of them have been sighted. Spiral Moon reveals that the Dragons have sought their Speakers' protection and hidden inside the stones, to Dasher's amazement. Crookedclaw realizes that this means the Dragons cannot be destroyed, but they can be controlled, so she lets Dasher live and goes back to report to Brawnshanks. Dasher asks more about the three Dragons and finds out what happened during the Dark Sun. After hearing the story of how the Dragon was split, he wonders if the Dragons will obey the monkeys the way his responded to him. Circling Breeze brings him a piece of lava rock that resembles the Dragon Stone, and he gets an idea to swap them. He stages a conversation near the guard, talking about how they already deceived Brawnshanks, and hides the stone under his tail as the guard summons the leader. Brawnshanks brings the real stone, which turns black again, and seizes the fake, throwing the real one into the lava. Dasher distracts him from seeing that the real stone was unburnt, using the fake to help create prophecies. Much to everyone's shock, the real Dragon helps in the deception by turning Dasher's body cold. Brawnshanks falls for it and takes the false stone, while the pangolins manage to rescue the real one, praising Dasher for helping the Dark Dragon. A while later, while Dasher tries to think of escape plans, a monkey is thrown in the pit, whom the Children reveal to be Nimbletail.

Chapter 13[]

Rain's point of view.

Rain and Lychee watch Pepper try to claim his own territory, getting into a conflict with Dawn, but leaves. Soon, however, he alerts them to Blossom and Ginseng, who are wandering through the kingdom with piles of bamboo left wherever they go. They set Pepper up as bait, and the two pandas come out and try to bully him into giving them a feast every day, promising to protect him from the bad panda if he does. Rain defends him, brazenly accusing them of Pebble's murder.

Chapter 14[]

Ghost's point of view.

Ghost follows the white path through the burning forest, with his siblings right behind him, stopping to help any animal who needs it. Peony, Bay, and Yew join him as they come to a ravine where many animals are trapped on the other side. One of them is Brawnshanks, who leads several monkeys to Ghost's side via a fallen tree. Upon finding out that Ghost has his stone, Brawnshanks orders Bonetail to break the branches on their side, leaving the other animals trapped.

Chapter 15[]

Dasher's point of view.

Not long after meeting Nimbletail, Dasher hears a lot of monkeys racing past their pit. In the meantime, he and Nimbletail explain their predicaments. Nimbletail was reported to Brawnshanks by her old enemy Briskhand, and worries that something will happen to her family, whom Crookedclaw threatened in the previous book. Some time later, Crookedclaw comes by, revealing that the forest is on fire, and takes the prisoners out into the burning forest. She gets her monkeys to guard the prisoners under a tree and leaves, berating another group of monkeys for hoarding food. The pangolins concoct a way to escape, and contact the Dark Dragon using the stone, upon which complete darkness covers the forest. Everyone seizes their chance to escape under the darkness the Dark Dragon brought, but stumble blindly through the forest as well as their captors. After they finally escape, the pangolins reveal that they don't know how to ask the Dark Dragon to lift the darkness. Dasher tries to do so himself, but it is broken by a point of light, leading them to Ghost and the Light Dragon in his stone.

Chapter 16[]

Rain's point of view.

Pepper smells the smoke from the fire, but since it's not in their area, Rain forces Blossom and Ginseng to confess their crimes: they've been following every panda in the area and demanding a feast from them, and also admitted to attacking Goji. However, they do not admit to killing Pebble, seeming astonished by Rain's accusations. The Dragon sends a sheet of multicolored light to cover them, showing that they are not the killers, and maybe will become Rain's friends. Rain reveals that they are innocent after all. They claim they saw Ghost before Pebble was attacked, so Rain asks them to show her the crime scene. They explain that they saw him hiding and heard his distinctive growl, telling them to get out. Rain is confused, thinking that isn't like him. She continues to investigate alone and finds a pit of white chalk, enough to cover the black on a grown panda, and that it wouldn't be very hard for someone to imitate Ghost, either. By a chance remark that sounds familiar, Rain deduces it was Lychee who assassinated Pebble and framed Ghost. The discovery leads Rain into a vengeful rage, and desperation for her brother.

Chapter 17[]

Ghost's point of view.

The darkness falls over the cliff, hiding everything except Ghost's stone and the figure of Dasher, who is approaching him. The two creatures catch up, and the darkness recedes, revealing the animals still trapped over the ravine. Ghost asks the Light Dragon to help Dasher and the others, and it summons another path for them to follow. After they leave, Ghost works out that he can save the other animals by knocking over a ginkgo tree, completing the bridge. All of the creatures reach safety, though Ghost is forced to fight off the monkeys when they start throwing things at them. He takes them along the light path, which fades away once its job is done. Ghost is revered as a hero afterward. Not long after, his stone begins glowing blue on one side, pointing him toward the Southern Forest. He deduces that Rain needs his help, sending the snow leopards to protect the pangolins, and leaves.

Chapter 18[]

Dasher's point of view.

When they finally reach safety, Dasher realizes the pangolins were right about a fire threatening the red pandas, and apologizes to the Children. The pangolins and Nimbletail reveal that although their visions are real, they don't always see time the way other animals do. Just as they find a termite mound, Frost, Snowstorm, and Shiver appear, announcing that Ghost has sent them to guard the pangolins. Dasher decides he must go and find Leaf. The pangolins help him by reading the termites, and tell him that Leaf is in the Northern Forest, far above the river. Right as he starts to leave, he spots Nimbletail, heading back toward the Southern Forest because of what she's just realized: Lychee turned her in, and Rain is his next target.

Chapter 19[]

Rain's point of view.

Meanwhile, Rain realizes that Lychee killed Pebble, and waits to confront him. When he arrives, she at first tells him that Blossom and Ginseng are guilty of bullying all the pandas, but they didn't kill Pebble. She shows him the crime scene, then finally accuses him. He denies it at first, but finally reveals that he did it to get rid of the Dragon Speakers, as Brawnshanks promised him power over all the pandas. Rain tells him Brawnshanks will never make good on that promise, and Lychee tries to drown her, causing her to pass out.

Chapter 20[]

Ghost's point of view.

Following the blue light on his stone, Ghost comes upon Lychee, who lies about his wounds, pointing him toward the river. Just as he leaves, Ghost notices him carrying Rain's stone. He realizes the truth and attacks Lychee, forcing him to reveal where Rain really is. Ghost abandons him to save Rain, pulling her out of the waterfall pool. Once he gets her to safety and finds out exactly what happened, he pursues Lychee, but without success. Horrified, Rain apologizes for being taken in by his act, and Ghost comforts her and explains about Nightwalker and Dasher searching for Leaf. She tells Ghost not to be hard on himself, praising his loyalty, and declares they'll be unstoppable with Leaf. To her relief, Nimbletail arrives, though finding out she was too late to stop Lychee, and all three promise to save the kingdom together.

Chapter 21[]

Dasher's point of view.

Dasher has traveled for a long time, searching for Leaf, but finds a tiger instead. At first, he tries to scare it off, but it reveals itself to be Nightwalker and she has found Leaf, but she is quite ill. Nightwalker leads Dasher to Shadowhunter's den, where Leaf is sheltering, and she really is very sick. Dasher, out of options, asks her to rest and get better while they figure out what to do next.

Epilogue[]

Lychee's point of view.

Lychee watches a gathering of monkeys celebrating Brawnshanks' capture of two Dragon Stones, not knowing one is a fake. Brawnshanks takes credit for the fire, believing Ghost to be dead and gone this time, announcing that he took the stones himself, without giving Lychee recognition. He declares himself leader of the whole kingdom, intending to take the power of the stones to become a new Dragon. Lychee finally realizes Rain was right, and demands Brawnshanks give him the control he promised, but he merely orders Crookedclaw to get rid of him. She takes a group of monkeys to escort Lychee from the gathering and leave him there. Realizing that all he did was for nothing, Lychee becomes furious and decides to get revenge.