Prologue: Shaded Promises
The cold light of the moon shone down on the forms of seven cats. The largest, a brown he-cat with ripped ears, bared his white fangs angrily. All of the others flinched, except for one. A tawny she-cat stepped forward and batted the tom on the nose. "Control yourself, Maju!" she spat. "If you let one of those stupid yowls of yours out, all of Houndplace will be in an uproar!"
Maju, the dark tom, drew back from the strike. He licked his nose tenderly, as if expecting to taste blood when he brought his tongue back into his mouth. His ears, or at least what remained of them, flattened against his skull. "You may have been Bone Marrow's kit, Ocarina," he growled. "But you have no power over me."
Ocarina smiled, almost chidingly. The expression jarred a distant memory in Maju's mind. "Oh, Maju, Maju, Maju," she mewed sweetly. "The others seem to think I do. Perhaps you never heard the story of my littermates."
"I heard enough of the gossip," Maju retorted. "I know that only one kit of her litter survived because she was stronger than her mate."
"Not at all," Ocarina meowed. "You see, I survived because I looked nothing like my father. Bone Marrow killed my four brothers and sisters because they all took after him. It's true; her mate, whoever he was, was too weak. He was killed by a puny fox after he started her kits." The light brown she-cat's tail swished lightly in the air as she spoke. "Mother didn't want any of us to turn out like him, so she killed any kit who looked like they would."
Maju took a step back, his tail bristling fearfully. Knowing Bone Marrow, it was the truth. He wouldn't have put kit-killing past the ruthless, foul-breathed queen. His green eyes glinted in the low light. Ocarina smiled back at him. Now Maju knew where he had seen that grin. It had been plastered all over Bone Marrow's face before she died. It was the look she had given whatever cat she had been yowling at. It was no wonder that Ocarina had survived; she was Bone Marrow's kit through and through, no matter the color of her pelt.
Having dealt with Maju, Ocarina turned back to the other five. "We are the survivors," she began in a calm, clear voice that belied her youth. "Out of the entirety of the Alliance of Destroyers, we alone are here to tell the tale. Most of us were killed in stupid ways, ways that made Bone Marrow laugh at their stupidity. Fang was hit by a Twoleg monster; he didn't look both ways before crossing the Thunderpath. Francine didn't remember the first rule of fox-fighting. Whiplash was old and blind; we killed him ourselves, but it was the way he was meant to die."
There were murmurs of agreement from the scattered rogues. Ocarina continued, and the babble died down immediately. "We are the survivors, the elite. I, Ocarina, Maju, Thief, Hera, Hawk, Tempus, and Zachary. Bone Marrow would be proud. Of all the AoDs, we alone have made it." She turned to Houndplace. "But if not for one cat, Bone Marrow would be here to praise us herself." Ocarina's voice dropped to a disgusted hiss. "Riversong."
"What's the plan?" a white tomcat with red eyes inquired. "Why are we at Houndplace, Ocarina? You have to have something going on in your head right now, some plan for revenge."
"I do, Tempus," Ocarina purred smugly. "You see, Riversong has changed her name to Riverstar, and has moved into our old camp with a bunch of those foul Clan cats." There were meows of outrage. The clearing had always belonged to the AoDs! "There is but one way to drive them out of our home: with a hound pack!"
"But those hounds are huge!" a silver queen protested. "They can swallow even the biggest cat in one gulp! How can we control them? It's like they're from another place. They're nothing like Twoleg dogs!"
"Well, Hera, we don't need to control them," Ocarina replied confidently. "We just need to lure them to Riverstar's little 'Clan' and let them do the dirty work. It's foolproof."
"How do you intend to break them out of Houndplace?" a stocky brown tom mused. Ocarina turned to him.
"You see, Hawk, there's a sweet little she-cat here by the name of Samantha. She's agreed to search for a weak point in the cage design, as well as select the most ruthless of hounds for us to use." Ocarina stopped as a slender tabby appeared.
"I have everything you asked for, Ocarina," she mewed. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you the hounds that are yours."
"Excellent," Ocarina meowed, trotting after Samantha. Maju, Tempus, Hawk, Hera, and the rest of the rogues followed their new leader. Samantha led the way to the hounds' cage. She flicked her tail to a corner.
"This would be your best point of entry," she meowed. "The hounds chew on this bar when there's nothing else to do. I've spoken to their leader. He says he wants to break free soon, and run under the moon. He also says he wants to kill again."
Ocarina poked her nose through the bars, despite Samantha's warning, and snapped her head back as huge jaws threatened to tear her muzzle off. Her hackles rose stiffly, bristling her to twice her normal size. "Was that...?"
"That was Follower. He's Leader's friend. Leader may trust me, but Follower doesn't." There was a pause. "Please...give them back..."
"What? Oh, your kits?" Ocarina asked. Samantha nodded her head rapidly, the pain of a mother separated from her children raw in her hazel eyes. "Your kits...I'm sorry. They weren't AoD material. We left them on the Thunderpath. I think if you hurry, you can still find a bit of Wheat's tail. But then again, the scavengers may have gotten to it by now."
Samantha's eyes widened, and she flung herself angrily at Ocarina, howling her kits' names into the night. The light brown she-cat reacted quickly, thrusting Samantha off her back and into the hound cage. Snarls ripped the air, mixed with the screams of a cat in agony. Ocarina watched in satisfaction as the wolves ripped Samantha apart. After a few minutes of watching the gory scene, she turned away. "Come on. We're wasting time," she ordered. "If anything, I did some good tonight."
"What good did you do?" the raspy mew of the cat called Thief inquired. Ocarina smiled as she passed the she-cat.
"I've given the hounds a taste for cat blood," she replied calmly. Thief nodded, her eyes glimmering in the moonlight. She fell in behind her leader.
Tempus stayed at the cage for a few moments longer. He licked a white paw and brought it over is ear once or twice. His red eyes showed no emotion other than pity. He shook his head slowly. "Samantha, you poor fool," he murmured, getting to his paws. He turned away from the gradually quieting growls, still shaking his head. "You should have known better than to try and fight Ocarina. You'll never win." He padded off into the night. "No cat has. No cat ever will. And that is why we obey her."
.-''-.-''-.-''-.
In the shadows of the cage, Leader licked his lips. The black wolf smiled, showing his red fangs. "Pack! Pack here! Here now!" he barked. His chosen pack got to their paws and gathered around him. "Smallfurs taste good."
"Good! Good!" Follower yelped. The Pack took up his cry. Leader let them chorus for a few minutes before silencing them with a wave of his thick, bushy tail.
"Pack run free! Free soon! Bite bar, run free! Eat more Smallfurs. Escape from dead-meat of the Furless." He saw nods of agreement from the Pack. None of them liked to eat the dead-meat the Furless brought them. It was cold, and someone else had caught it. "Hunt Smallfurs! Eat Smallfurs! Pa-a-a-A-A-A-a-ack!"
"Pa-a-a-A-A-A-a-ack!" the wolves howled in chorus, echoing him. Leader's black tail swished happily. The Pack was behind him. There was nothing that would stop them from escaping from the Furless who imprisoned them in the cage. Leader strode over to the corner bar and wrapped his fangs around it. He jerked his head in a sawlike motion, feeling the rasp of fangs on steel.
"Leader! Leader! Leader! Le-e-E-E-E-eader!" Follower yipped. The Pack echoed his cry, cheering the wolf on. Leader broke away from the bar.
"Bar strong," he commented, looking hopeless. The howling stopped. Leader looked from wolf to wolf. The hopeless look died quickly from his eyes. "Pack stronger! Pa-a-a-A-A-A-a-ack!"
"Pa-a-a-A-A-A-a-ack!" the Pack echoed eagerly. "Free! Free! Pa-a-a-A-A-A-a-ack!"