12 moons later, when Ebonykit is a warrior and is now Ebonyclaw…
Minnowstar glared at me as I dropped my fresh-kill on the pile. Briefly, I wondered why as he gestured for me to follow him.
"Three cats," he said. "Where are they?"
"What?" I blinked. The Clan leader wasn't making any sense.
"One cat has gone missing per moon, started three moons ago. I know you did it. I know you will do it next moon. Where do you put them?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. They probably ran off or were captured by another Clan."
"Don't play dumb, mouse-brain," Minnowstar growled. "I watched you last moon. What did you do with them?"
"I didn't do it," I persisted. "I'm going back to my den. Maybe you'll make progress finding them that way." With that, I padded out of Minnowstar's den and headed towards my own. Eagleheart caught up with me.
"What was that about?" he asked.
"Minnowstar said he saw me take three cats away," I replied.
"One cat each moon?" Eagleheart asked.
"Yeah, did you hear about it? Who do you think did it?"
"You do sleepwalk once a moon, at the same time a cat goes missing." I stopped dead in my tracks, hurt.
"You think I did it?"
"Yeah, I know you did it. I see you when you sleepwalk. You'd go into a den, grab a cat, and drag it off somewhere." I was offended, but Eagleheart didn't lie. "I think it's something from your old home."
This was the first time Eagleheart mentioned the life, short though it was, before Gracefur found me.
"Follow me next moon. See what I do," I ordered. Eagleheart nodded. I looked down at my claws. They were slightly red, from all the fresh-kill I've caught. I wash them, but some of the color stays. But were they really red from the prey or something worse?
Eagleheart's Point of View, at Full Moon, after the Gathering
I tried to keep as still as possible as Ebonyclaw snuck into the elders' den. She came out with a black cat. I tried to see if it was breathing, but I couldn't tell. But I did see something very strange: Ebonyclaw's eyes were too alert to be sleepwalking, but they were foggy. Something was wrong. Ebonyclaw dragged the cat into woods and crossed the RiverClan border.
Reluctantly, I followed her. Sensing my presence, she dropped the cat, spun around, and lunged at me, claws extended.
"Ebonyclaw!" I pleaded as we wrestled. "Please! Stop this!" Ebonyclaw got off me, but she was still in attack mode, ears flat.
"Stop? Stop what?" she hissed, her voice edgy and unlike her own. "The terror RiverClan will experience hasn't even started yet."
"What's with your voice?"
"Nothing. This is how I really speak. Flee! Warn your leader! Every defense will be penetrated, every cat will be dead, and nothing your precious Clan can do will stop it." Deciding there was nothing I could do, I ran back to Minnowstar and explained it all, with special emphasis on the part about her eyes.
Ebonyclaw's Point of View, Day After the Full Moon
After Eagleheart explained to me what I did last night, I figured out what I had to do. It was so obvious! I left RiverClan, but why would I go to another Clan? But I didn't! I darted away from the RiverClan camp.
"Ebonyclaw, wait!" Eagleheart called after me. "Where are you going?" Ignoring him, I continued through the trees. I stopped at the border and sniffed the ground. Sure enough, there was my scent, but mixed with something else as if it was corrupted. I followed the scent to a dirt mound. I dug through it and found a deep hole.
Eagleheart stumbled through the bushes and peered down into the hole.
"Careful," I warned. Something was unsettling me about the hole; like it was something from my past. Was I born down there? As I crouched, ready to jump, a sharp pain erupted from the tip of my tail and travelled to my head. There was a triumphant yowl from the bottom of the hole. Eagleheart gently pushed me away from the hole.
Once I was a good distance away, the pain subsided and my brother helped me to the medicine cat.
At the Medicine Cat's Den
Roseleaf, the medicine cat, was talking to Eagleheart in hushed voices.
"I don't know what happened to her," Eagleheart explained.
"I don't either," Roseleaf agreed. "She should be fine, but she ought to have two poppy seeds each night for two moons after she returns to her den. Make sure she gets plenty of rest. Let her go hunting every other day, and no more frequently."
"I can hear you, you know," I meowed. "There's no point in whispering."
"Go back to sleep," Roseleaf said. "You'll be out of here in a few days."
As soon as I got out of here, I would go down the hole. And I was going to get out of Roseleaf's den sooner than a few days.