Chapter One
I curled up in my warm nest, glad for the shelter. It was a harsh leaf-bare, and so many of my Clanmates had died. My name is Lynxclaw. I'm a rogue. I was once part of ShadowClan, but the discovery of my half-Clan parentage got me thrown out of my home. I then became a kittypet, after being a loner for a while. Once again, I was thrown out when my Twolegs became allergic to me.
I found a new home among other rogues in WillowClan. In the hollow trunk of the great willow tree that we built our Clan around sleeps a great leader. Her name is Dracostar. StarClan blessed her with nine lives, but she is down to her last. The other founder of WillowClan, Wishsong, hunts the forests of StarClan now. Her kits, Coalpelt, Moonmist, Dewshade and Duskice, are some of the few warriors left. There are three apprentices, who were supposed to get their warrior names soon. Their names are Owlpaw, Flamepaw, and Shadowpaw. Of course, Shadowpaw is the medicine cat's apprentice, under the training of Leafheart. Dracostar's mate is Falconstrike, who left WindClan with her when she was first exiled. I eventually drifted off into sleep.
I was awoken by a prod in my flank.
"What is it?" I meowed.
"Dawn patrol," I recognized Coalpelt's voice, "Take Flamepaw with you. Get Duskice and Ghostwhisper."
I stretched and padded outside. Snow crunched beneath my paws. I spotted Duskice's black and white pelt almost at once.
"Dawn patrol!" I called to him.
He nodded and headed for the camp's exit. Deathcall, a pitch black tom with the same grey eyes as his brother, Ghostwhisper, was padding over to the fresh-kill pile. A moment later, I noticed Ghostwhisper lying on a sheltered stone. His pure white pelt had made him hard to find with all the snow on the ground. He saw me coming and stood up.
"Dawn patrol?" He asked quietly as he walked past me.
I nodded. Ghostwhisper never spoke loudly, hence his warrior name. Ghostwhisper hesitated, glancing back at Deathcall. The two littermates had grown very close to each other while they were rogues, and hated being separated. He paused for only a moment before padding out of the camp. I followed.
"ShadowClan border?" Flamepaw, my apprentice, asked.
Her pelt was the same color as flame, which she had inherited from Dracostar. She had also gotten Dracostar's golden eyes, and looked almost identical to her mother. I nodded in answer to her question. Ghostwhisper padded silently ahead of us. As we approached our border with ShadowClan, I heard a patrol of cats talking.
ShadowClan! I realized.
"Flamepaw," I whispered, "Go tell Dracostar that ShadowClan is invading."
She nodded and dashed back towards the camp. Ghostwhisper and Duskice had stopped as well.
"What do we do?" asked Ghostwhisper.
"Attack," I ordered, "We have to hold them off until Dracostar gets here."
We yowled a battle cry, and leaped at the ShadowClan patrol. I recognized the cats in the patrol. The big grey tom in front was Snakefang, deputy. The smaller black she-cat was my former friend, Nightpelt. The two identical brown toms were the twins Mudpelt and Earthfur. The white she-cat at the back was Iceheart. The red tom was Foxclaw, my first apprentice. Duskice tackled Snakefang as I launched myself at Nightpelt, Foxclaw, and Iceheart. Ghostwhisper attacked Mudpelt and Earthfur. We battled furiously, but we knew we were losing from the start. Duskice wasn't nearly as experienced as Snakefang, and I couldn't take on three cats at once. All of Ghostwhisper's immense skill was nothing compared to the twins working together. Just as we were about to retreat, another battle cry pierced the air.
"WillowClan! Attack!" Dracostar yowled.
She was leading Stormeyes, Flamepaw, Shadowpaw, and Deathcall. Shadowpaw didn't plunge into the fray like the others but began to frantically prepare herbs. Flamepaw flung herself at Iceheart, as Stormeyes attacked Foxclaw. Duskice left Snakefang to Dracostar and joined Flamepaw in her battle against Iceheart. Deathcall leaped to his brother's aid. Together, the former ShadowClan warriors were just as good as the twins, if not better. Flamepaw yowled in agony as Iceheart raked her claws across her stomach. Duskice screeched in outrage and Iceheart retreated as he attacked furiously. Flamepaw had fallen to the ground, and a widening circle of red seeped into the snow. Iceheart turned and fled just as I drove off Nightpelt. Deathcall and Ghostwhisper were chasing off Earthfur and Mudpelt while Dracostar snarled at Snakefang.
"Get out of here!" She snarled, and the grey tom fled.
Foxclaw sliced his claws across Stormeyes's chest one last time before racing after his deputy. Shadowpaw had a wad of comfrey in his mouth, and he looked wildly between the two injured cats, Flamepaw and Stormeyes. He left his sister and frantically began to plaster comfrey and cobwebs on Stormeyes's chest. As the bleeding slowed to a stop, he turned to Flamepaw. Dracostar was licking the blood from her kit's pelt. She began to speak.
"I ask my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has learned the warrior code and given up her life in service of her Clan. Let StarClan receive her as a warrior. She will be known as Flameheart."
As Shadowpaw began to plaster comfrey on Flameheart, she looked up at him.
"Shadowpaw," She coughed, "You can't do anything for me now. Just end it."
"I can't," Her brother meowed.
"Duskice," Flameheart mewed, looking up at the tom, "If you ever loved me, please. I can't survive this. Just end the pain."
"I love you, Flameheart," Duskice said, and he quickly slit her throat.
"Thank you," Flamepaw choked out with her dying breath, "And I love you too."
Her golden eyes closed one last time. Dracostar let out a wail. Shadowpaw and Duskice joined her, adding their yowls to the noise.
"We need to get Stormeyes to Leafheart," I meowed to Ghostwhisper, who had came up next to me at some point, "He's still in danger."
Stormeyes was staggering to his paws, and Deathcall stepped over and steadied him.
"We need to take Flameheart back to camp," Ghostwhisper said softly.
Together we carried the ginger she-cat back to camp. Duskice, Shadowpaw, and Dracostar were grieving for the lost cat. Duskice had been padding after Flameheart since he was an apprentice, and Dracostar and Shadowpaw were her kin. Deathcall helped them prepare her for the burial and vigil, and the three cats were settling around her as Leafheart appeared. She rushed over to Stormeyes.
"We need to get him into the medicine den," She meowed, "He's in no danger now, but he needs more treatment."
Stormeyes staggered into the den.
"Now what?"
I turned and met Ghostwhisper's grey eyes. "I don't know.