CHAPTER NINETEEN

The LightningClan cats stood silently, absorbing the occasional sign of the coming cats. Then he appeared. Frogstar, his black and brown pelt almost invisible among the forest growth. The big black and white tom behind him was not invisible. Badger. Agony's second in command and his favorite cat. Frogstar stopped. He must have seen the line of cats guarding the camp, for he flicked his tail, and the cats behind him stopped trying to be quiet. Frogstar led the cats up to the line, then stalked up to Mothstar and thrust his muzzle into her face. His breath billowed out in a small cloud, and Mothstar dimly recalled that greenleaf was almost over.

"So," Frogstar spat, "you think you are ready for me."

"We don't think we're ready for you, we are ready for you. LightningClan will never join your Clan. After all, if you want to jointly rule one Clan, why would you name it after yourself? We would die before being ruled by you."

Frogstar made no move to try and defend himself against the accusations. Instead he said, "Very well." He unsheathed his claws, and Mothstar thought he would leap on her right then. Instead he stepped back and waved his tail. Another smaller group of cats came out of the trees, equally as large and muscular as Badger himself. Reinforcements. Frogstar had not come unprepared.

"Now," Frogstar meowed smugly, "we can fight. Attack, FrogClan!"

The small clearing immediately exploded into battle. A black tabby hurled himself at Mothstar, and she stepped to the side to avoid him. She crashed into a giant white she-cat who was clawing Dewpaw. The she-cat looked up and abandoned the small light gray apprentice. The black tabby joined the white cat in wounding Mothstar. The black tom held Mothstar down while the white cat inflicted injury after injury. Dewpaw, bleeding from her back and leg, was about to limp away until she saw how badly Mothstar was faring. She pounced onto the white cat's back and clung on with her claws. That just left the black tabby. Mothstar lashed out at his face while he was still trying to make sense of what just happened. That brought him back to his senses, and he dodged away from Mothstar's claws and darted behind her. Mothstar quickly whirled around and cuffed his ears. The tom yowled and tried to dash behind her again, but he fell back with a startled screech. Dewpaw had her teeth and claws fastened into his tail. This tom wasn't going anywhere. Mothstar wounded him over and over, and the tom howled his surrender. Dewpaw released him, and he scurried away into the fray.

"Thanks, Dewpaw!" Mothstar panted. Dewpaw nodded, turning to claw a cat trying to sneak up on her. Mothstar reminded herself to ask the StreamClan mentors how long their apprentices had been trained. Dewpaw was great in battle. She might be sitting vigil soon.

"You!"

Frogstar's incredulous meow sounded above the noise. Forcing her way through the crowd, Mothstar finally saw Frogstar. He had Sparrowsplash pinned with unsheathed claws planted on his throat.

"You were my supporter! I promised you deputyship! And now you're fighting with them? How could you?"

"I…didn't agree…with what you were doing," Sparrowsplash managed to choke out. "Murdering and lying…if I supported you…I would be as bad as you are."

"I trusted you! I thought you would support me!" Frogstar's tone was rising in pitch.

"I trusted…you too…then your plans became more murderous and deceitful…I couldn't live knowing that I was helping a murderer…so I left."

"I don't believe it!" Then his face twisted into an expression of anger. "You deserve to die." Frogstar dug his claws slowly into Sparrowsplash's throat, looking evilly happy as Sparrowsplash struggled for breath. "Oh, let's not prolong it now, shall we?" Frogstar removed and shook his claws, then dug them harder into Sparrowsplash. Blood welled up around his claws, and a thin line of it began trickling out of Sparrowsplash's mouth. Then Frogstar bent down; Mothstar could just hear the words he whispered to his former supporter. "See you in StarClan, Sparrrowsplash." He tore his claws out and stood back. Sparrowsplash visibly convulsed as he vainly searched for air that wasn't there.

"No!" Acornfur cried. She dashed up to Sparrowsplash and crouched by him. "Don't die, Sparrowsplash! Please!"

"It…is too…late for me…," Sparrowsplash managed to gasp. "Besides…we…couldn't be….together."

Acornfur began gently grooming his brown tabby pelt. "You would have been a good mate," she murmured. "If we had been in the same Clan."

Sparrowsplash moved his mouth as if he was trying to say something, but only a harsh rasping sound came out.

"We will be together in StarClan," she mewed softy. Sparrowsplash let out a long, shuddering sigh, and his flank's rising and falling slowed, then stopped. Acornfur let out a mournful yowl and pushed her nose into his fur. Frogstar looked on contemptuously.

"Foolish cat," he growled, nudging Acornfur roughly away from Sparrowsplash's body. "You know that he helped me now, and he's dead—why would you still love him?"

"He didn't know how bad it was to help you," she mewed. "And he stopped." Acornfur bent down and dragged Sparrowsplash's body into the bramble tunnel. Her gaze was hard when she emerged—she was ready to avenge Sparrowsplash's death.

Mothstar expected Frogstar to yowl "Attack!" again, and she was right. The clearing exploded into battle once again.

A dark gray tom clawed Mothstar's side, and Mothstar boxed his ears. He reared up onto his hind legs, and Mothstar barely dodged as he threw himself down. While he lay stunned Mothstar dealt a vicious blow to his back. Blood spattered Mothstar's golden paws. She half expected the tom to flee, but he didn't give up easily. He heaved himself to his paws and began aiming blow after blow at her face. Mothstar darted in and nipped his foreleg, then got out of his range before he could retailiate. The gray tom growled and tried to get behind Mothstar, but his size decreased his speed. Mothstar gave him a deep side wound as he passed, and the startled tom blundered into Tigerstripe, who had just sent a cat away yowling. The tabby lashed out at the rouge's face with his claws, which were still clogged with bloodstained fur clumps. The gray cat shrieked as one of his eyes began to spout blood, and was gone in a heartbeat. Tigerstripe wiped his bloody claws on the grass and gave Mothstar a quick nod before disappearing into the fighting.

Mothstar glanced around, searching for anyone who needed assistance. Stonepaw and Ripplepaw were nipping a defensive tabby tom; they wouldn't be happy to have her interfere. Willowstripe was attacking Badger with Robinheart by her side; the black-and-white-striped cat was bleeding from multiple wounds that stained his white stripes red, yet he would not give up. The scars dappling his coat showed a history of valiant perseverance such as this. Willowstripe and Robinheart were also injured but they were okay. The cats still held a barrier in front of the camp; as she watched, Sleetfang clouted a black rogue's face and sent it away howling. Pinetail was on his back legs swatting at a tortoiseshell. A mottled brown tom pounced on him; at the same instant Mousefrost leapt forward and dragged the tom off of Pinetail, spitting, "Get off of my father!" Blossomtail was faring badly against two black tabbies. Her tortoiseshell pelt was splotched with blood and she was exhausted. Mothstar hurled herself onto the back of one of Blossomtail's opponents and bit down hard onto one of his ears. Blood spurted out, and Mothstar clawed out clumps of fur from his back. The tom circled vainly, trying to reach Mothstar. Mothstar bit his neck, careful not to go too deep. The wound was enough, though, and the tom shook Mothstar off and fled. Blossomtail was doing a bit better, though she was still on the defensive and her eyes were glazed with pain. The tom growled in satisfaction and lunged to deal a death blow to Blossomtail's neck.

Before he sank his teeth into her throat, a white form shot out of the bushes and bowled over the tom. Blizzardwing! No, this wasn't Blizzardwing. Blizzardwing had blue eyes, while this white she-cat had green eyes. Besides, this one smelled of FrogClan. She had the tom pinned on his belly.

"Never knew when to stop, did you, Dark?" she hissed into his ear. Then she clawed the tom's back fiercely, but got off of him when he started to writhe in pain and let him flee, watching him disappear into the bracken.

"Thanks!" Blossomtail gasped.

"You're welcome. I'm Bright, by the way. But this is no place to talk." An eerie wail suddenly sounded from the camp. Mothstar began padding toward the bramble tunnel, but Bright stepped in front of her. "You're needed here. Let me go instead. I'll gather some cats and check on your queens and elders." Mothstar wasn't sure whether to trust the she-cat, but Bright had saved Blossomtail. Mothstar nodded, and Bright dashed into the fighting. Mothstar looked around again; every cat seemed to be doing okay. Mothstar ran into the camp.

Frogstar and a few of his rogue warriors were in the camp. That wasn't what made Mothstar freeze. It was Moonfoot. The queen had been tossed aside like a piece of fresh-kill. Her limbs were limp and she was bleeding from a neck wound. Her head hung at an awkward angle—her spine had been snapped. She was dead. Frogstar looked at Mothstar when she entered.

"Mothstar. I was just explaining to these cats how I am going to take every Clan and join it with FrogClan. If you won't come voluntarily, I'll take every Clan by force! No one has dared to oppose me!"

"That's where you're wrong, Frogstar!"

Behind Mothstar, Bright had appeared with a group of FrogClan cats. "As long as there is the slightest amount of resistance, there is still a chance that your plan will fail!"

Frogstar spat wordlessly at Bright and the group of FrogClan cats. "I knew you weren't good for life in FrogClan! Stay or go, what do I care? I want only loyal warriors. Judging by what happened with my other warriors, I'd bet every piece of prey I've caught that you will just run to your buddies in LightningClan." He shrugged, and Mothstar caught a hint of fear in his eyes. He was afraid! The additions of the StreamClan and rogue cats to LightningClan might mean that Frogstar had met his match. Frogstar gathered his warriors with a flick of his tail. They bunched around him protectively, but Frogstar shook them off. He padded out of the camp and interrupted the fighting with a deafening caterwaul.

"FrogClan! We have no more business here for now!" Mothstar noticed that he carefully avoided saying 'retreat'; he must not want to aggravate his rogue-warriors. The FrogClan cats departed, spitting insults at the LightningClan cats as they left. Soon the only sign of the battle were the clumps of fur littering the ground, the bloodstained turf, and the occasional body. Mothstar forced herself to her tired paws and raised her voice to address the cats.

"We need to check the cats before we leave, take those who need treatment or burial. If you find a dead FrogClan rogue, bury it. Those rogues have no need for ceremony." Mothstar began sniffing at the nearest body, a rogue. It was already dead, and Mothstar hastily dug a hole and dragged the body into it. She finished scraping earth over it and looked up to see her warriors doing the same. Her heart filled with pride at these exhausted cats doing her command—because they were loyal. It was likely that the FrogClan rogues had not obeyed at first. They were loyal to that cat Agony, not Frogstar. But Frogstar had probably forced the issue. Forced loyalty was no way to live, with threats backing the loyalty. The troublemakers were probably dead. Mothstar glanced up at a cat calling her. Brackenflower was pulling a body that was covered with so much blood that it was almost impossible to recognize it.

"Mothstar. I'm sorry." Then she padded away. Brackenflower was speaking with Blizzardwing, who came over.

"I have some sad news for you. Take a look at this cat." Blizzardwing pushed the body closer. Mothstar lapped some of the blood off of the cat's head. Her heart almost stopped when she figured out its identity. No LightningClan cat had mottled fur this shade of red and brown. Except…

Mothstar's voice was hoarse when she spoke. "Emberclaw."

"Brackenflower told me this news would come better from me." Blizzardwing pushed her muzzle into Mothstar's bloody golden fur in an attempt to comfort her. "He died like a warrior. He was defending the queens and elders when Frogstar came in. He put up quite a fight."

"Waterclaw?" Mothstar rasped.

"Injured pretty badly and emotionally crushed. He keeps blaming himself for the deaths of Moonfoot, Emberclaw, and Birchfoot." Mothstar looked up in shock. "The news didn't get to you yet. If it wasn't for Birchfoot, Waterclaw might be with StarClan. He probably wishes he was, though. He's taking it pretty hard."

"I'll go see him." Mothstar began to rise, but Blizzardwing stopped her.

"You need a break. How about you bring your brother's body back to camp and sit vigil for him? Then you can get some sleep." Mothstar consented, pulling Emberclaw's body back to camp. Most of the cats had returned. Mothstar totaled up the dead in her mind as she settled beside her kin's body: Moonfoot, Emberclaw, Sparrowsplash, Birchfoot, Cloudfoot, Stonepelt, and Yewpaw. The ginger apprentice had been named for his dark ginger coat that resembled yew berries—or deathberries, their more common name. Mothstar was guiltily glad that he was dead; he was Frogstar's son, and Mothstar did not want him to be like that tyrant. For some reason, four of the StreamClan apprentices—Ripplepaw; Hawkpaw, who had been Yewpaw's best friend; and Yewpaw's littermates, Riverpaw and Shellpaw—seemed to feel the same as Mothstar did about Yewpaw's death. Mothstar reminded herself to ask them why, then began her vigil for her brother.

After her vigil she stumbled tiredly to her den. An apprentice had left a fat rabbit for her, and she tore into it with famished gulps. She had barely finished the last bite before she collapsed onto the moss and fell asleep.