Chapter 8

Remember, the ones you are after are Jaggedstar, the gray tabby tom with green eyes. He continued to think the names and faces of the cats to which he had vowed death, including Stormspirit's parents. Especially them and Jaggedstar.

Shadowstripe felt invincible. Racing at top speed in the moonlight, muscles flexing smoothly underneath his tabby coat, and moreover, the five wolves running silently behind him. Their panting made his fur prickle, but he managed to calm himself enough to keep up the pace. The moon was high in the night sky free of clouds. Perfect.

Young one, are the cats nearby?

It was always the old gray wolf, running at the back of the pack. "Yes, Fourpines is near." He had no need to speak out loud, but he did. "Stop!"

They skidded to a stop at the edge of Fourpines, and the wolves started to fidget with excitement. He noticed their ribs sticking out awkwardly; even feared predators could starve to death. "There!"

Jaggedstar was casually speaking to the other two leaders, but as the cat and wolves observed him, they could see that his eyes were often straying to the edges of the hollow, as if he was uneasy or waiting for something. Shadowstripe pointed towards the targets with his tail, from Jaggedstar to the cats who had chased him and Stormspirit, to her parents. "Please, try not to hurt anyone else."

You underestimate our self-control, although so many foolish cats gathered together, unaware of danger, are tempting, the gray wolf chuckled in Shadowstripe's mind. The wolf growled low under his breath, and the other wolves heard him. They started to spread out, to surround the section where ForestClan were gathered. They would not allow any of their targets to escape.

"Shadowstripe, no!"

He whirled around with a furious snarl, and he froze as Spiritstorm was running towards him. What in the name of StarClan is she planning to do!? "What are you doing here?" he snarled, a bit more ferociously than he had wanted. "You can't stop me. You may not be Stormspirit, but I still haven't forgotten my promise!"

"I don't know who Stormspirit was, but…" Spiritstorm glared back at Shadowstripe, anger starting to consume her. "But no sane cat would want you to go this far for revenge! That makes you no better than Jaggedstar, who planned many deaths at the teeth of wolves!"

For the first time, the almost gentle EarthClan warrior looked dangerous, filled with self-righteous fury. "You have nothing to do with this."

Spiritstorm was still glaring at him with amber eyes, and hissed equally dangerously, "If I can't persuade you to stop this foolishness, then I'll have to just warn Jaggedstar—"

Shadowstripe yowled and sprang, pinning her towards the ground. "Why can't you see through all of this?" he cried, anguished. "Ever since I saw you, and took you to that place, I can't wait to find out the truth! Stormspirit's waiting for me in StarClan!"

"You're a coward if you want to die now instead of living on to fix up the Clans after Jaggedstar is dead!"

"I don't care." The deadness in his voice shocked Spiritstorm. "I promised, that our love will go beyond Clan borders, territories. To the end of StarClan."

Before she could think of anything to say, Shadowstripe was gone. "NOW!"

The five wolves leaped in amongst the shocked cats, their snarling deafened by the cries of the warriors either running away or trying to fight back against these nightmares. Spiritstorm's legs were frozen, although her heart screamed at her to move and do something. She was a warrior, born and bred to defend her Clanmates, but the words of an enemy Clan warrior had changed her, StarClan knows how. Her eyes found Jaggedstar writhing underneath the jaws of a powerful grayish red wolf, the leader of the pack. How many times will Jaggedstar have to die now, for this to end?

Then she remembered, with a sickening feeling of realization. Shadowstripe must have forgotten to tell the wolves that Clan leaders have more than one life! The wolf leader howled and headed for the next target, the ginger tom who had grabbed her at the entrance of camp. Why, Shadowstripe? Her thoughts whispered bitterly, and they seemed to belong to someone else, other than Spiritstorm herself. Why did it have to come to this?

Still frozen with shock, she saw Jaggedstar rise, coughing raggedly as blood spurted out of several wounds. His throat was bitten, his legs were weak, and the massive tabby did not look anything like a leader. As she watched, the gray tabby seemed to search amongst the crowd of screaming cats, and when she followed his gaze, she found Shadowstripe looking straight back at Jaggedstar. The message in their eyes was clear: It's time to end this.

No! You can't fight Jaggedstar, wounded as he is! Shadowstripe and Jaggedstar ran towards each other, claws unsheathed and faces distorted with snarls. They were tumbling this way and that, bodies parting and separating only to rush at each other again. Some of the surprised cats were hastily moving away, and most were even running past Spiritstorm without noticing that she was there, intent on the battle. The wolves were carrying away bodies, the bodies of cats she had once fought beside and admired as a young cat in ForestClan.

The battle seemed to last seasons, even though it took only a few minutes of fierce clawing and biting that Jaggedstar finally pinned down the bloody body of Shadowstripe. With the last ounce of his strength, he drew his unsheathed paw back and scored his claws across Shadowstripe's throat.

It was done. Shadowstripe and Jaggedstar were both coughing from throat wounds, and the cats were starting to calm down. They seemed to accept the unknown reason why this EarthClan warrior and a Clan leader were fighting each other, shedding blood in a Gathering. And StarClan did not send a single cloud to cover the moon. Why? Her beliefs were starting to break apart. StarClan must stop this battle! Spiritstorm ignored the fact that both cats were finished, doomed to death. What can I do?

Before she could realize it, she had started to shoulder past the gathered cats, causing snarls to erupt from the already-bristling warriors. "Shadowstripe! Shadowstripe!"

Spiritstorm stopped before the two cats. They were hardly able to keep on their paws. The dark-brown tabby glanced at her, and she ignored how Jaggedstar's eyes were also on her, full of jealousy and hate as she advanced upon the broken body of Shadowstripe. "Shadowstripe," she whispered, fury raging inside. "Shadowstripe."

The brown tabby looked up at her, and his eyes were losing its once-vibrant hue. "I did it," he whispered. "You saw, didn't you, Stormspirit? I killed him. We'll be together now, in StarClan."

"Yes, don't you remember, Shadowstripe? To the end of StarClan, we promised, but… but…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Shadowstripe murmured, "Your eyes. They're…" Instead of finishing, he collapsed onto a pool of blood. At the same time Jaggedstar's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and there was a faint splash as he collapsed onto an even darker crimson pool.

Staring at the two bloody bodies stupidly, images started to flash before her mind's eye, as the other Clans started to cry out, demanding to know what was going on. She saw the same field of flowers, the wolves, and most of all, Shadowstripe.

Run! The voice cried, like a half-forgotten melody. She saw herself—or was it really Spiritstorm standing there, amongst the flowers?—as the same gray wolf stood in front of them, while four of the other wolves took them by surprise and started to rip the white cat apart…

The images stopped abruptly as the wolves howled over their dead prey, while the distant figure of Shadowstripe was disappearing into the distance. Spiritstorm was herself again—but before her, was a silver-white cat with blue eyes. "Are you Stormspirit?"