Prologue
Birdstar saw the desperation in Lightningdash's eyes, and he sighed.
"I guess you deserve to know the truth," he muttered.
Lightningdash's eyes flashed with triumph.
"Your sister and her kit will never return." Birdstar let his feeling of stress of keeping his secret from his mate go.
Lightningdash released a wail of grief.
"That means the medicine cat has also died!" she complained.
A rustle in the bushes of the entrance to the camp sounded out.
"Ambergaze!" cried Birdstar. "You're alive!"
Two shapes emerged from behind the medicine cat.
"Leopardspots! Frostkit!" Lightningdash squealed. "You're alive! W-where's your other kits?"
Leopardspots 's gaze dropped.
"Dead," she answered solemnly. "Killed by the rogues that attacked our camp a moon ago."
"Even... even the two loner kits you adopted?" prompted Lightningdash.
"Everyone of them died," Leopardspots replied sadly. "Except Frostkit."
Lightningdash dipped her head.
"I suppose I should give you back your place as deputy now," she sighed. "Wait... you're still a queen! I guess we'll have to wait until Frostkit is an apprentice!"
Leopardspots nodded solemnly. She missed her dead kits; Honeykit, Treekit, Cloudkit and Tigerkit. She really missed the ones she'd adopted as well; Tinykit and Stormkit. She had hoped everyday while she, Frostkit and Ambergaze were away that she had seen everything wrong, and her kits were still alive, they just forgot to follow her as the rogues chased her and the other two deep into the forest. But, she knew, they were truly gone.
"Leopardspots?" Lightningdash asked her sister with worry. "You seemed to be drifting off there."
"Huh?" Leopardspots snapped out of thought. "Oh, no, that's just me... hoping..." she choked on the last word. "That... my kits... were still... alive..." her voice squeaked and got higher in between hollow, mournful breaths.
"It'll be alright," soothed Birdstar. "After all, the rogues' leader, Blacktail, wouldn't dare come here again."
Lightningdash nodded firmly to her sister in agreement with Birdstar.
"After all, they, are now low on cats since we severely injured most of them," she added. "We're safe now."
Or are they? Read on to find out!