Chapter Twenty-one: Stolen

Windstar's paws seemed to barely skim the ground as he ran, his heart pounding a steady rhythm. He had to make sure that Dreamstar hadn't been taken.

The cats in ShadowClan's camp raised their heads, eyes showing confusion at their leader's urgency. Applebird padded up to him.

"What's wrong?" The ginger she-cat asked, flicking her tail.

"Where's Littlecloud?" Windstar hissed, sinking his claws into the ground. His hatred for whoever possessed Littlecloud was so strong...

"He's in his den. Why?"

"You'll see." Windstar flicked his ears. "Just make sure no one comes in there, all right? And Applebird..."

"Yes?" She meowed.

"If you hear anything... anyone... don't listen to them."

"Windstar," Applebird growled. "What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"Just trust me on this," the white tom murmured, touching his nose to hers. "Just... trust me." Not saying another word, he ran into Littlecloud's den.

The light brown medicine cat was arranging herbs, looking kind and peaceful. For a moment, Windstar wondered in Swift and Blizzard were wrong. But as he thought this, Littlecloud looked up to face him.

As Windstar stared at Littlecloud's amber eyes, he began to tremble. They were glazed, like a dead cat's, but had a shadow in them... a shadow that signaled to the fact that a cat was in there. A cat who wasn't Littlecloud.

To his horror, Windstar recognized this cat. He had hated him... and this wasn't the first time he tried to steal someone close to Windstar. He could barely believe the name he spoke in a snarl.

"Robinpelt."

xxx

Calicofur backed up to the corner of her den. Her eyes were wide with fear and shock, and she didn't know what to do. Something told her not to touch this shadowy cat, though it seemed like not doing anything would mean death.

"Who are you?" She asked softly. "I feel like I know you..."


The dark cat slipped in and out of sight, never staying out of the darkness long enough for Calicofur to see her. "You do."

Sniffing the air, Calicofur tried to recognize the cat's scent. It was familiar, but mixed with something. Something that was just... evil was the only way to describe it.

Fur brushed against Calicofur's pelt, and the medicine cat whipped around. Whoever it was was out of sight again. Judging from the voice, this intruder was definitely a she-cat, but more power than a tom could ever have seemed to come from her tone.

A gasp was torn from Calicofur as the cat came closer. So many things were different about it, but it was still that same face...

"No!"

Jerking to her paws, Calicofur panted, looking around the den. It was moonhigh, and everything was silent.

"Just... just a dream," She murmured, relief flooding through her. But that feeling of unease wouldn't leave her. She couldn't remember the cat's face, but... but it had terrified her. I should tell Dreamstar, she thought, rushing up towards Highledge.

"Dreamstar?" There was no answer to Calicofur's call, and she cautiously took a step into the den. It wasn't that she expected her friend to attack her... she was just on edge. To her surprise, the den was empty, the moss nest rumpled.

"Where are you?" Calicofur muttered, more to herself than anybody. She looked around, sniffing carefully for any scents. Nothing besides Dreamstar...

"Nightkit? No... Nighkit!"

Pricking her ears, Calicofur bounded down Highledge, pelt bristling with tension. Palelegs was racing around camp, amber eyes wide. The young queen seemed desperate, and her flanks heaved up and down.

"Palelegs, what's wrong with Nightkit?" Calicofur asked sharply, padding up to her side. "Is he sick again?"

"No..." Palelegs looked at her paws, and her words came out as a whisper. "He's missing."
The memory of when Dreamstar's kits went missing flashed through Calicofur's mind. Now she knew what it was like. "How... how's Stripedkit?" She choked out.

"Fine," Palelegs mewed desperately. "But I need to find Nightkit! I need to find my son!"

She needs to find her son? Calicofur thought bitterly. Nightkit wasn't Palelegs's kit by blood, but she was already so attatched to him. Still... that was the point, for her kit to have a mother who was able to take care of him...

"Where's Dreamstar?" Palelegs meowed urgently.

"I don't know," Calicofur confessed. "She's no where in sight or scent. We'll have to wake Birchpelt, I guess."

The two she-cats bounded to the warriors' den, where the big gray tabby tom slept. Calicofur jabbed him with her paw.

"Huh? What?" He exclaimed, standing and brushing one paw over his ear, eyes still sleepy.

"Nightkit's missing, and we can't find Dreamstar," Calicofur reported. "We need patrols out looking for him."

"What about Dreamstar?" Birchpelt questioned.

A pang of worry hit Calicofur. Yesterday, her friend had been acting so strange... but she was sure it was nothing. "This is the cat who helped kill Blackstar and Robinpelt," She breathed, trying to convince herself as well. "This is Sun! She'll be fine. Probably just hunting."

"It's a bad time for that," Palelegs sighed, looking overwhelmed with hopelessness.

"All right," Birchpelt decided, and began waking the other warriors. A kit going missing while the leader was gone was a major thing.

xxx

Dreamstar wasn't out of the camp.

In fact, she wasn't sure what she was doing. It was like she was in a haze, and was unable to control her own pawsteps. But a warrior's experience was still with the leader, and nobody saw her as she slinked through the shadows. She kept where the wind was blowing in a direction so that nobody could smell her.

The medicine cat's den. Scarletpaw slept there, Calicofur gone. Dreamstar could feel her claws unsheathing, and not of her own accord.

No! She cried inwardly, suddenly realizing what she was about to do.

Sorry, the voice chuckled, controlling her every move. I would say it's nothing personal, but that would be a lie, wouldn't it?

Young Scarletpaw's sides rose and fell peacefully. She would be healed soon, but still couldn't defend herself.

Dreamstar suddenly seemed out of her body. She was watched herself crouched near her daughter's peaceful form, eyes empty and glazed, but with someone still looking out of them.

Darkness.

You're... you're changing me, she whispered to the voice. All of me.

Oh, don't worry, 'it' told her. You'll still be recognizable enough so that everyone can see that you murdered your own kit, and took the other two and your friend's forbidden kit to DeathClan as sacrifices to show your loyalty to them.

What...? No! As she raised her paw, deadly claws extended and ready to sink into Scarletpaw's throat, Dreamstar focused all her energy on fighting back. I... won't... let... you!

Her paw went to the ground.

Looks like I won't be able to kill her, the voice growled. At least not in this body. However, there are other ways...

But Dreamstar didn't respond. She was just staring into her daughter's open eyes, hearing a voice that was torturing her. For, before she put her paw down, Scarletpaw had awaken.

She saw her own mother about to kill her.

"Mother?" She whispered as Dreamstar set her paw down.

And though she wanted to tell her daughter what was going on, the golden she-cat ran. She was realizing what was happening... control had been taken. It had been complete when she took Nightkit, but now, she had a tiny bit left in her own paws... enough to go to where she had taken the little black kit.

The Moonstone.

xxx

Things are getting exciting, huh?