Run! Run like you never have before!
Fireheart pelted through the thick bracken, squinting as a frond smacked against his forest-green eyes. The ginger tomcat never slowed his pace for a heartbeat.
A heartbeat might be all she has!
The musty odor burned in his nose, taunted him with every paw-step he took. Though the rank stench of many cats permeated the air, he easily detected one familiar scent among them.
Tigerclaw! He planned this…sent all of the warriors on patrols so the camp would be unguarded!
An image of the dark tabby flashed in his mind. Well-muscled shoulders marred with pale scars, Tigerclaw had survived several moons of fierce battles. The seasoned warrior had always given him the same distasteful glare, always been eager to punish him for any action that came close to disobedience.
But it's not that.
Fireheart could bear Tigerclaw's unfiltered hatred toward him; most of ThunderClan had insulted or shunned the young warrior for his kittypet heritage. Longtail had even attacked him the day his apprenticeship began, nearly choking him to death by yanking at his collar until it snapped.
This isn't some feud. This is murder!
The news of the death of Bluestar's former deputy Redtail had been delivered by Tigerclaw's own flighty apprentice Ravenpaw. The small, coal-black tom had evaded his mentor often, always unwilling to be alone with the dark warrior. A blurted confession from the anxious apprentice had revealed Tigerclaw as Redtail's killer, but Fireheart had never succeeded in gathering enough evidence to concern Bluestar.
"Tigerclaw is one of my most loyal warriors, Fireheart." He could hear the blue-gray leader's voice even now. "If this is another one of your concerns about him, I don't want to hear it."
Great StarClan, don't let it be true! Please don't let me be right!
But the scent hit his nostrils like a warrior's claws against his skin.
Claws!
The deadly weapons for which Tigerclaw had received his warrior name could easily rip through tender skin and flesh. Her flesh.Numbness crept over his legs as soon as the thought entered his mind.
No! I can't let that happen! I won't!
The battlecries of several cats reached his ears as he drew nearer to ThunderClan's camp. Whitestorm, Runningwind, Sandstorm—the names came as easily to him as if he had heard them since he had been born a forest cat.
The warriors have returned!
In a final burst of speed, he skidded through the ravine and the gorse tunnel protecting the camp. Sharp, hooked thorns tugged at his pelt as he tore through the entrance, but he paid no attention to them as he raced into the sheltered hollow.
The large clearing where warriors and apprentices shared tongues had become a mass of screeching cats. Whitestorm raked his claws along a brawny tabby's muzzle in front of the warriors' den, while Goldenflower and Brindleface drove a midnight-black tom away from the nursery. Even Longtail and Mousefur matched blows with four of the rogues in the center of the camp, backs pressed against each other for protection.
Fireheart scanned the bare ground for Tigerclaw's long tabby fur and massive build, but he could find no sign of the ThunderClan deputy in the chaos.
No!
"Bluestar!" He raced toward the giant formation of stone towering above ThuderClan's camp.
The lichen-covered entrance to the great rock's hidden hollow stood only a couple of mouse-lengths away from him. Panting, Fireheart burst through the pale green tendrils and into the cool darkness of his leader's den.
A blue-gray lump of fur lay in the center of the small cavern, as silent as the den's air. It made no effort to move from its resting place in the darkness.
Inhaling sharply, Fireheart crept to his leader's side.
"Bluestar?!" he whispered hoarsely. "Come on! We have to get out of here!"
Silence.
"It's me! Fireheart! Listen to me! We have to leave now!" The ginger tom gently prodded the old she-cat…and flinched.
He yanked his paw away from her and stared wide-eyed at the dark liquid coating it.
It can't be!
But it clung to his fur, sticky and warm. Fireheart's final evidence.
"Bluestar…" he murmured, his voice cracking.
Legs quivering, the young warrior buried his muzzle in his leader's bloodied fur, inhaling her scent. The heathery smell had comforted him throughout his apprenticeship, a reminder of the she-cat's wise tongue and fierce love for her Clan. Though blood began to drench his muzzle, he did not pull away from Bluestar's body.
"I'm sorry." Fireheart could barely allow the words to come. "I'm…sorry…"
Intense pain surged through the ginger tomcat's shoulders as hooked barbs sank themselves into his flesh. The rank odor of a large tom assaulted his nostrils, and thick, white belly-fur smothered him.
"Hello, kittypet," the dark assailant growled.
No!
Fireheart thrashed beneath the massive paws, gritting his teeth as the enormous tabby's claws sank into his flesh like a bird-of-prey's talons. Screeching, the ginger tom twisted onto his back and raked his adversary's belly with his back claws. He drew a deep breath, filling his lungs with precious air as he gave one final kick.
The crushing weight of his enemy disappeared, and Fireheart leaped to his paws. His eyes locked onto the hulking form of Tigerclaw crouching at the den's exit. Ears flattened and lips curled in a deep hiss, the dark tabby stalked toward the young warrior.
Great StarClan, he's going to kill me if I don't win this!
Unsheathing his front claws, Fireheart lunged at the seasoned warrior's legs. As soon as he made contact with his target, he sank his teeth into his assailant's front leg. Tigerclaw's deep growl filled his ears, and he let go of his hold. Leaping away from the muscular tom, Fireheart heard the the click of teeth against air.
I can do this! For Bluestar!
Fireheart flattened his ears and hissed before springing at Tigerclaw's shoulder. The sharp sting of claws against his forehead forced him to recoil. The tangy scent of the ginger tom's own blood filled the air, and the crimson liquid filled his eyes. Panting, he shook his head to clear his vision.
Where is he?!
The young warrior never had a heartbeat to recover. The sting of Tigerclaw's talons met the skin of his back, pinning him to the ground. Struggling for breath underneath the deputy's bulk, Fireheart lay with his muzzle in the sand. Warm blood trickled down his shoulders, and his legs quivered uncontrollably as he endured the hooked weapons in his flesh.
"Tigerclaw!"
Darkstripe.
A growl rose in Fireheart's throat at the sound of the soot-gray warrior's voice.
"What…?" Darkstripe's question lingered in the air.
"Are the rogues gone?" Tigerclaw asked, his feverish breath filling Fireheart's nostrils with the stench of blood. "Any wounds?"
"Tigerclaw…what's going on?"
Fireheart opened his mouth to speak, but he felt the weight of his dark assailant's paw pressing into the back of his head. Lungs aching with every breath, the ginger tomcat could do nothing.
Are the rogues gone? Answer me!" Tigerclaw snarled.
The dark tabby's savage claws sank into Fireheart's already-burning wounds.
"Bluestar—?! That kittypet!" Darkstripe's paws flitted across the corner of Fireheart's vision. "I knew—!"
"I've gotten this traitor. Go help the Clan!"
After a few heartbeats of silence, the paws disappeared, and Darkstripe's battle cry joined the mass of screeches and yowls outside of Bluestar's den. Only Fireheart's adversary remained, growling.
Fireheart lost count of what seemed to be endless caterwauls. Each spitting voice blended into complete mayhem, overwhelmed only by the sound of his own blood roaring in his ears. Quivering, the ginger tom closed his forest-green eyes.
Maybe this is a dream.
"S-Spottedleaf…" he mouthed, sniffing for any trace of his guide's sweet scent.
Nothing. It's real. All of it.
After what seemed to be the passing of nine lives, the final wail of a fleeing rogue pierced the air. Fireheart barely felt the rough grasp of Tigerclaw's teeth fastening onto his scruff. Wincing as fine grains of sand entered the deep scratches on his back, he watched the lichen curtain part to reveal questioning meows and pricked ears.
"Tigerclaw?"
"What's happening?"
"Where's Bluestar?"
If only you knew.
"Darkstripe!"
The ginger tomcat felt a sense of weightlessness before he hit the bare ground beneath him.
"Watch him," Tigerclaw growled. "Don't let that murderer escape."
Murderer?!
Fireheart inhaled sharply as Darkstripe sank his own weapons into the same puncture wounds that Tigerclaw had created. Black tendrils had begun to creep around the corners of his vision, and the beat of his own heart reverberated in his skull. Unable to speak, he closed his eyes.
A dull thud caused him to open them. The body of his leader lay beside him, limp and bloodied. Her glazed, sky-blue eyes stared sightlessly ahead, never to burn with determination, to glow warmly on nights of apprentice-naming…to gaze upon him lovingly after a successful day of hunting.
A thin wail rang out in the air, and Fireheart lifted his head at the sight of his former apprentice Cinderpelt. A swathe of cobweb wrapped around her paw, the storm-cloud-gray she-cat limped toward Bluestar, only to be blocked by an ancient, long-haired she-cat.
"Yellowfang—" Cinderpelt began, choking on her own words.
"There's nothing we can do," the old medicine cat replied. "She hunts with StarClan now."
Closing her pale-blue eyes, Cinderpelt shook her head before pressing her muzzle into Yellowfang's matted pelt.
"Cats of ThuderClan." Tigerclaw's deep voice rang out above the Clan's murmurings. Perched atop the great stone, he swept his amber gaze over the cats assembled before him. "We fought well against the rogues, but with a high cost. Bluestar is…dead."
"No!"
"How?"
Yowls of mourning rose into the air, forming into a solitary cry.
"Who did this?!" a dark brown tabby snarled as he shouldered through the circle of cats and approached the base of the leader's rock. "I'll feed him to a fox!"
"Enough, Dustpelt!" A lithe, snow-colored cat leaped in front of the young warrior. "Let Tigerclaw speak. I'm sure he has an explanation for us."
"Thank you, Whitestorm." Tigerclaw gave the white warrior a quick nod. "Bluestar wasn't killed by a rogue. We were all too busy fighting to realize that a traitor was among us!"
No!
Fireheart opened his mouth to protest, only to feel the sting of Darkstripe's claws against his ears. Clenching his teeth, the ginger tomcat glared at Tigerclaw.
"I had just sent a rogue screaming out of the camp when I saw a ginger cat entering Bluestar's den. I followed him, but I…I was too late. The kittypet that Bluestar had kindly taken into our camp—fed—trained—had killed her."
"Fireheart?"
"Traitor!"
"Murderer!"
"Wait." Whitestorm stepped out of the cluster of warriors. "Are you sure? Fireheart's never done anything like this before. And he doesn't have much fighting experience. For him to do this…."
Thank you, Whitestorm.
Fireheart blinked gratefully at the snowy tom, struggling to breathe underneath the weight of Darkstripe. Though lacking Tigerclaw's broad shoulders, Darkstripe had still survived a life of battles and the harshness of leaf-bare, a reality of which Fireheart was reminded every couple of heartbeats.
"Bluestar has been leader for several moons, and this was her last life," Tigerclaw continued. "And if he surprised her, she wouldn't have been able to do much about it. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time he's broken the warrior code. He's fed cats from other Clans before with prey from ThunderClan's territory."
"This is true." Darkstripe's voice chimed. "Let's not forget he's the reason Yellowfang lives here now. And why we became so involved with ShadowClan."
The soot-colored tabby flexed his hooked claws, and Fireheart resisted the urge to groan. Tigerclaw's closest follower could never have the satisfaction of knowing that he had caused the young warrior any pain.
"Shut up, Darkstripe! You don't even know what you're talking about!"
Graystripe!
Fireheart's shoulders relaxed at the sound of the familiar voice. Sighing in relief, he shifted his gaze to watch the dark gray tom shove his thickly-built frame through the mass of cats.
"Fireheart wouldn't do anything like this! Not even for his own life!" Graystripe yowled, shaking his head fervently. "He's a noble warrior who follows the code!"
"And what would you know of the warrior code?" Darkstripe growled. "The mother of your kits was from RiverClan!"
Graystripe bared his teeth at the soot-colored warrior. Hissing, he sprang at Fireheart's tormentor, only to be met by Longtail's extended claws and sharp fangs. Both tomcats rolled through the clearing, blurs of dark gray and pale tabby fur. Their screeches rose above the agitated yowls and murmurs of the other warriors as they ripped at each other's flesh.
"That's enough!" Whitestorm leaped into the battle, grabbing Fireheart's friend by his scruff and dragging him off of Longtail.
A patch of fur had been uprooted from above Graystripe's left eye, and warm blood trickled from his shoulder, mingling with the dirt beneath his paws. Panting, he glared at his opponent.
Longtail said nothing, only limped back into the circle of cats, melding with the mass of pelts and pairs of eyes.
"Fireheart was the only one I saw in Bluestar's den, and there wasn't any scent of a rogue. When I found him, he attacked me." Tigerclaw nodded to the ginger tom. "If that's not enough evidence, look at him."
Ears flattened and fur bristled as several pairs of eyes turned upon Fireheart.
"It's true!"
"After what she did for him…"
"How could you?!"
What are they staring at?
"His mouth is soaked with her blood." Tigerclaw flicked his tail at the young warrior.
Fireheart sniffed…and winced. Bluestar's blood drenched his face from the bridge of his nose to the bottom of his chin.
I didn't think about it when I was in her den….
"Fireheart, you have been found guilty of the murder of Bluestar. I—"
"That's not fair! He should be able to speak, at least!" Graystripe yowled, wrenching himself free of Whitestorm's hold. "And you know it!"
"I don't think that this matter concerns you, Graystripe. But if he wants, he can speak." Flattening his ears, Tigerclaw glared icily at the dark gray warrior before returning his gaze to Fireheart. "Well?"
Ears swiveled in the young warrior's direction, and anxious meows dwindled into nothingness. Only the rustling of fresh, green shoots in a newleaf breeze broke the thick silence.
"I…I…." The ginger tom inhaled sharply as Darkstripe's claws penetrated the wounds in his shoulders so deeply, he thought the soot-colored warrior's hooked talons were scraping against the bone. "Didn't…couldn't save her. No one…."
Though he filled his lungs with air, the words refused to come. Muscles aching, he slumped to the ground and closed his eyes. Every breath felt as if an enemy warrior were pummeling his chest.
"Because you can give no defense for your crime, Fireheart, from this day, you are banished from ThunderClan territory." Tigerclaw's words rang in the young warrior's ears. "You'll be allowed to leave our territory, but should you ever return, any ThuderClan warrior who spots you will kill you on sight. Do I make myself clear?"
"No!"
"As for you, Graystripe, Bluestar's words no longer stand. You will join him in exile for your refusal to obey the warrior code," the dark warrior continued. "You should've been banished when we first realized you were a traitor—both of you!"
"But what about my kits?!" the dark gray tom pleaded. "They'll die on their own! Please, just let me stay here! I'm loyal to ThunderClan! Just let me stay with my—!"
"Where were you when we had that battle a couple of moons ago? When your own Clan needed feeding?! You should've known about your loyalties before meeting with that RiverClan she-cat! Now, get out! Darkstripe!"
Fireheart barely flinched at the pulling sting of Darkstripe's claws from his shoulders. Slowly opening his eyes, he struggled to his feet, only for his trembling paws to buckle underneath his own weight. His muzzle hit the ground, but he could not summon the energy to groan at the bruising of his nose. Blood gushed freely from his back and shoulders, leaving splatters of scarlet wherever his forelegs touched the barren soil beneath him. The black tendrils had returned, circling the edges of his vision; cats blurred into undefined streaks of brown, gray, and white.
"Please, can't we help him?!" Cinderpelt's voice cut through the distorted yowls and hisses. "At least give him some herbs?!"
The silence that followed gave Fireheart the answer to his silent prayer.
His paws tingled as if he had stepped on a thistle as he lay in the dirt. For one heartbeat, he felt the sensation of weightlessness before his eyes succumbed to the dizzying darkness.
I'm sorry….