Chapter 25

Shadepaw crawled of her nest. She had a long stretch and climbed up the mountains so she could continue her spying mission. It was sunhigh before she reached the cave, so she told herself she would have to relocate her nest. She carefully peered in before sliding down the tumble of rocks and hiding herself in the shadows.

There weren't any cats out in the space below. Shadepaw parted her jaws, tasting the air around her. The scent of them was stale. They been there yesterday, but now there wasn't a trace of them. She slowly emerged from the shadows, but didn't let her guard down. A scary thought struck her; Had they already left to do battle? The medicine cat apprentice trembled in fear, wishing desperately she knew her clan was safe.

She told herself not to panic. Surely their malicious leader Blade would have said something to his cats yesterday if they were going on a raid today? For all she knew they could be hunting or something.

Which means I should take advantage of this opportunity, the voice in her head told her. Shadepaw explored the cave. First, she followed a path that led to a den.

The den was circular in shape. There were little pools of water all around and one large one in the center. A hole in the roof suggested that was how the water had gotten in. On the back wall, Sahdepaw noted, was a single pointed stone. This must be the Cave of The Pointed Stones, Shadepaw thought. That little rock was the physical proof Shadepaw had needed to confirm this was the Cave of Rushing Water.

She still wondered what happened to them. Every second that wasn't filled with worry for Riverclan, was of curiosity for the Tribe. Shadepaw bowed her head and stood silent for a minute, for respect, before taking the path out to the main part of the cave. She followed other tunnels, but they were just sleeping chambers. Nothing of interest. The last area was the tumble or rocks in the center of the cave, the one that Blade used when he spoke to the cats. It was similar to Mossroock. Too late, she noticed shadows at the top of the waterfall. The cats must be on their way back. Her heart started pounding fearfully.

There was nowhere to hide now. Blade and his cats streamed into their camp. Shadepaw was so completely spaced out, she had forgotten to be careful. She forgotten to keep her guard those malevolent eyes were glaring daggers at her. Shadepaw shrank back, more terrified than she had ever been in her life. Blade hissed and hustled up the rock in what seemed like no time at all.

She had never been so close to such a cat. She could see those long curved claws, those unreal eyes that made her feel like a ghost again. His frightening voice hissed at her and roared, "WHO ARE YOU! How dare you come here!" he swiped a claw at her, causing her cheek to bleed. She felt in go deep into her, breaking through fur and skin. She tried backing away, but Blade wasn't having that. "Oh no! You aren't going anywhere." He jumped over her, turned, and blocked her escape. Blade arched his back and showed her his teeth.

They looked like fangs to Shadepaw. She took a step back and then another. Her hind paws skids on loose rocks before she found herself falling from the rocks to the ground below. The cats below began stalking close to her. Shadepaw was praying desperately to Starclan. "No! No cat is to harm her. That is my pleasure and mine alone." Blade called. Automatically the cats stopped, and formed a circle around her. With a flying leap, he was next to Shadepaw again. He sank into a crouch and stalked her.

Shadepaw's legs trembled. She shook with fear, radiating with it from every hair on her pelt. He leaped on her, pinning her to the ground easily. Having trained as a medicine cat, she had no fighting skills. Shadepaw waited for Blade to finish her, sending a prayer to Starclan to keep the clans safe. He did raise his claws and rake them through her fur, but on her belly. "Who are you? Why are you here?" he snarled. "Answer the questions, or face my anger." The apprentice could easily tell this was one cat whose anger she did not want to see.

She knew he was serious. The twin pains she had, cheek and belly, proved it. She swallowed nervously and squeaked out, "I.. I am Shadepaw." She hated how feeble she sounded next to Blade and forced her voice to be strong. "I am traveling over these mountains and I am looking for shelter. I saw this cave and there wasn't anyone inside."

Blade still glared down at her, dissatisfied. "Didn't you smell our scents?" Uh oh. Shadepaw hadn't a clue what to say, but she had to say something. She opened her mouth and found herself meowing, "No. I had fallen in the waterfall and there was water in my nose." She was surprised at just how easily the words tumbled from her mouth. No slip-ups or hesitation; she was better at lying than she thought. She almost believed these stories herself. Blade narrowed his eyes.

"You aren't to leave! You found our cave. You know far too much." That was the truth. Blade continued on, those burgundy eyes still smoldering, "You are now our prisoner. You will have two guards with you at all times, and aren't to leaving your chamber. Don't expect to be treated properly. We will keep you alive. But just barely." Those words sent shivers down Shadepaw's spine all the way down to her toes. "You may be of some use to me later. Snake, Ice!" The two cats pushed their way through the crowd to stand next to Shadepaw.

"Yes Blade?" The white one, presumably Ice, said.

"You keep a guard over her first. Take her to the empty sleep chamber." The crowd of cats moved to create a path for them. Blade got off her and Ice and Snake, a tortoiseshell tom, picked her up by her scruff to get her to her feet. The three felines made their way to the back of the cave, and into the only spare sleeping hollow.

As soon as possible, she drew as far away from them as possible. This was a waking nightmare! "Sleep well now, precious." Ice said, mocking her with the sarcastic edge to his tone. She turned away from him, rolled her eyes, and curled up for the night. Secretly, she felt terrified, sad and homesick. She had taken her safety for granted and was now having a wakeup call.

The next morning, her muscles were awfully sore. Ice and Snake were not in the chamber, but a pair of black she-cats were. Shadepaw thought one of them could be Knight, but of course she was not sure. One of them eyed her scornfully, but neither spoke. The silence felt awkward to Shadepaw. To make it worse, her stomach growled loud enough for them to her. She was ravenous. The last meal she had at least a day and a half ago. One of the cats, Knight?, spoke. "Come. We'll get you some food." Shadepaw should have found relief in her words, but the voice was too harsh.

The cave was alive with fighting, screeching cats when they padded out of the chamber. The fresh-kill pile was behind the tumble of rocks. In it were mostly hawks and mice. She took a mouse, and settled down to eat it. It seemed to fill her with new strength and resolve. She licked he lips around her muzzle, and then gave herself a quick grooming. When she finished, she started to watch the mock fights. The intensity of it scared her. Back in Riverclan, all claws were sheathed for practice. Here there truly was no mercy.

She spotted Snake and Ice tussling with each other, and further away, Blade wrestled with Flame. Shadepaw thought it might be interesting to watch if it weren't so brutal. They used moves that were unfamiliar to her. Against her will, her paws were itching to learn them. After several minutes, Blade and Flame fell apart. It seemed like Blade meowed something to him, and then strutted around the cave. He watched the cats practice, sometimes intervening with tips. But he never gave praise. To him praise was a waste of time and only for the weak. When he reached Shadepaw he said, "I said I knew I would find a use of you, and this morning I did. I shall use you as my sparring partner, to demonstrate new moves to my cats."

A/N: Finally! I mean I was so intimidated and unsure by this chapter, it took forever to write and think of ideas. I would like to thank Gingersplash of Time for the awesome suggestion of Shadefall. So that'll be her name later. And I really hope you guys like this cause I was up till 11:41 writing it. Review? Thanks sooooo much‼