C h a p t e r 28
"Are you alright?" Silverstreak asked anxiously. "Should we rest?"
"I'm fine," Forest growled, but the way he was gritting his teeth, she knew he was lying. Glancing over her shoulder towards the Peak, she sighed.
"There's no one following us, and we're over the river. We can rest for a few minutes before we continue."
"I told you, I'm not tired!" Forest snapped. She blinked at him, hurt by his tone, and his green eyes gentled.
"I'm not going to let you be captured because of me, okay? We'll keep going until we get there, it can't be that far. I'm strong enough for this, honestly."
He gave her a small smile, before taking a step forward. She moved quickly to support him, and they continued into the forest.
"There," she said quickly, flicking her tail towards a bush. He blinked with surprise.
"I don't even scent anything," he meowed. "Are you sure it's the right one?"
She nodded. "They're probably using the mud again, I'd expect. Come on." She led him to the bush, pushing the leaves away gently with her side and ushering him down, before following.
Upon entering, she was nearly knocked over by a sleek silver streak of fur. She blinked down, to find Shimmer blinking up at her solemnly.
"Glad you back," she mewed seriously.
"Silverstreak!" Reedrush and Frostfeather exclaimed in unison.
"Really, I'm fine, don't worry," Forest joked. Frostfeather shot him an amused glance.
"Everything went okay?" Reedrush asked anxiously. "Frostfeather told us that you made it out of camp, but were stuck on the Peak!"
Silverstreak nodded, touching Shimmer's fur gently with her tail. "We were stuck for the night, yeah, but it wasn't so bad. They posted guards on the way down the Peak, though. I, er, knocked her out." She frowned, feeling a prickle of unease; she and Forest had crouched in waiting, thinking to escape when the guards changed, only to be happily surprised when the ginger tom had left his place to hunt. While watching, she had seen that the golden she-cat was a kind soul, and only doing her duty for the Clan.
Did I hit her too hard? She thought, feeling anxiety clench her belly.
"They'll be after us soon, I expect," Forest meowed, laying down with a slight sigh. "
But I doubt they'll be able to find us here."
"We caught some fresh prey, in case things were bad," Reedrush said, and Frostfeather nodded. "They're buried nearby."
She purred, heartened by their quick-thinking. "That's great! But we shouldn't dip into it if things aren't so bad at first…only when we really need it." She rose to her paws. "I want to see if they've sent anyone down yet, okay? I might catch something while I'm at it. It's pretty early still, their new leader is probably just getting home, but it can't hurt."
"I'll come with you," Frostfeather offered, but Silverstreak shook her head.
"If something happens, I can just run off; you've got kits to feed. I'll be back soon, don't worry; you know how careful I am."
"Careful like kidnapping a cripple in broad moonlight?" Frostfeather asked wryly, glancing at Forest. "No offense."
He gave her a little shrug, and she smiled at him, a slight gleam in her eyes. Silverstreak recognized that look, and she looked away quickly, her fur prickling uncomfortably. "I'll be back," she said, turning away.
. . .
She headed to the river first, making sure to cover herself in mud. From here, she could almost see their old camp, where she and Forest had been together for so long. For some reason, the thought of those days made her sad, and she averted her gaze, making sure to get behind her ears with the mud. She flicked her ears clean of excess mud, before turning her head to make sure she got everything.
A scent reached her with a jolt, and her eyes widened. Before she even had time to think, her instincts were propelling her up the nearest tree, a large ash. She crouched, looking for the source of the scent. Her eyes narrowed as she found it; a large patrol headed by an oddly familiar-looking tom. She frowned, before her eyes widened as she remembered her face from her little jump in the river during the storm.
Rainwind, she thought, and looked for his apprentice; it wasn't hard to spot his dusty-golden coat. She found that she was smiling as she watched them; after all, they had been kind enough to feel some sort of concern for her, even though they didn't know her. They were good cats, even if they came from PeakClan.
She didn't recognize any of the others, however, and watched anxiously as the patrol continued; without the foliage of newleaf, it was easy to track their progress. She knew they were heading towards the old camp; from there, they'd either continue along the river, or go back to the other camp where they had captured Forest and Frostfeather. She let out a soft breath of relief, knowing that they would find nothing no matter how hard they looked, before her ears swiveled to pick up forest noise. After all, she was here to hunt, and now she knew exactly where the patrol was going. Things looked good.
Springing down from the ash as soon as the patrol was out of sight, she opened her mouth to catch the scent of prey. Her eyes narrowed as her keen ears zoomed in on the sound of claws against leaves.
Creeping forward, she licked her whiskers as she spotted the tiny mouse, scrabbling against the leaves, not realizing the noise he was making for her excellent ears. Smiling, she crept forward, making sure not to even brush the ground, lest she alert the mouse. She froze as his tiny ear twitched and he paused in his scrabbling. His shiny black eyes darted towards her, but she didn't move and he returned his attention to his leaves. Smirking just slightly at his ignorance of imminent death, she coiled her muscles, preparing to spring.
Without warning, a bird burst from a nearby bush. Silverstreak and the mouse both jumped with surprise, and Silverstreak watched as the mouse scampered away. Glancing towards the bush, she sniffed it curiously. Something had to make the bird flee, right? She thought. Springing into the closest tree, she looked down, searching for the cause of the bird's flight. Opening her mouth, her ears flattened as she scented the familiar smell of PeakClan.
The patrol already went through here; are they so incompetent that they sent two patrols over the same area in less than an hour?
Then, she realized there was a strangeness to the scent; it carried the smell of dried leaves with it, and scents of the forest plants.
Medicine cat, she realized, then blinked. Blackmoon!
Did she dare go to greet him? It was true that he had probably saved her life, by allowing her to escape, and he had saved Forest's life much earlier than that. But was it possible that he was having doubts? She knew he was very attached to his Clan before, and now that he had become medicine cat…surely he was under great pressure.
But still, she owed him at least a thank-you, didn't she? An apology for still being there, putting him in this position in the first place?
Springing down from the tree, she followed the scent cautiously, creeping forward as if she was still stalking her mouse. She paused, spotting his familiar black coat. It looked as if he was staring up at the sky, although she couldn't see what he was looking for. Between his paws, he had collected a bunch of leaves. Cautiously, she stood.
"Blackmoon?"
He turned quickly, and emotions flashed through his blue eyes, so quickly she couldn't read them. He glanced her up and down, then looked away.
"You're angry," Silverstreak mewed, taking a step forward. "I'm sorry, Blackmoon, really. I would have told you what we were doing, but…I was afraid you'd tell PeakClan."
"And you think I won't now? You think I'll betray my Clan by letting you hide?" His voice was sharp, pained.
"N-no, that's not what I meant," she stammered. "I know you're angry, I'm sorry. Believe me, if we could leave you and your Clan in peace, we would. I mean, I hope we can still be peaceful, but we can't leave. StarClan told me that this was where I have to build a new Clan." She hesitated. "It's kind of a long story, if you want to hear it…."
"I don't."
Her tail twitched; this wasn't how she had thought that things would go. "I'm sorry—"
He interrupted her. "So you're never leaving? You're intent upon creating a Clan?"
She nodded, and his eyes narrowed. He stared down at his paws, looking at the clump of leaves. Then, he rose to his paws, moving towards her. She watched him uncertainly, turning as he moved past her, plucking a leaf from the bush behind her. Craning her neck, she watched him; he appeared to be thinking.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. She blinked at him.
"What—" Her voice broke off as Blackmoon sprang forward suddenly, his outstretched paws hitting her in the back. Her face hit the ground, earth crumbling in her mouth as she let out a cry of shock.
"I'm not a traitor to my Clan," Blackmoon hissed into her ear. "I'm truly sorry about this, Silverstreak…but I cannot allow my Clan to be torn apart by this…or anything else." The words seemed almost more to himself than her, but she didn't have time to dwell. She struggled, but he had her pinned down firmly, his mouth against the back of her neck; one wrong move and she'd find herself bleeding out on the ground. Yowling for help flitted into her mind for a brief moment, but she pushed it away. I can't let everyone be captured too, she thought.
Blackmoon suddenly let out a yowling call, sending Silverstreak's ears ringing. There was a brief pause, before he yowled again, calling for the patrol. Taking advantage of the movement, Silverstreak raised her head, struggling to see past the dark earth.
"Don't move," Blackmoon warned. "I don't want to hurt you."
She spat, letting out an angry hiss. "Northstar has no such qualms!"
Blackmoon's blue eyes hardened. "Stonestar won't let anything happen to you if you cooperate. We just want you to leave." His gaze softened slightly. "I'll let you go if you just say you'll leave. Please…I'm not completely sure I can protect you from Northstar. He's stronger than I thought."
"He killed your leader!" she snarled.
"Lightstar jumped," Blackmoon said calmly. "He told me."
"You believed that liar?" she demanded, flailing with her paws, to no avail.
"It makes sense; even if Northstar wanted to be leader, killing Lightstar wouldn't help him. He hadn't mentored an apprentice, he couldn't be deputy; now he just has another leader with nine new lives to wait out. It wouldn't make sense for Northstar to kill Lightstar; if he killed Stoneheart once he had mentored an apprentice, he could have taken advantage of Lightstar's weakness and ruled without having to be leader at all, or then killed Lightstar. He didn't kill my leader."
She had nothing to reply with at that moment, but it didn't matter. The gray tom, Rainwind, pushed through the brush, the rest of the patrol filling out behind him.
Rainwind's eyes widened as he saw Silverstreak, and she knew he recognized her, but he was smart enough not to say so. "Is that one of the rogues?"
"Their leader," Blackmoon informed him. He flicked his tail, and the patrol moved forward, creating a wall of cats behind her. Blackmoon stepped back, allowing her to rise to her paws, but she knew she didn't have a hope of escaping so many cats.
"My name is Silverstreak, and I'm no rogue," she said defiantly, raising her chin. Her blue eyes flashed at Blackmoon, who at least had the shame to look away. "StarClan sent me here."
A small ginger-and-white tom let out a snort. "StarClan sent a bunch of rogues to settle in PeakClan territory?"
"We aren't rogues!" she hissed. "We're Clan cats, just like you! I come from the same place as Northstar!"
At this, the cats looked unsettled, glancing at one another.
"Were you in the same Clan?" a brown apprentice asked eagerly, but the ginger-and-white tom pushed him with his shoulder.
"Don't say anything else, Hawkpaw," he ordered. "Stonestar will want to see her right away. And Northstar will too, I'm sure."
"Smallfire, Hawkpaw, keep to the rear please," Blackmoon mewed. "Rainwind and Mousepaw will be on either side, I'll head the front."
The cats began spreading out, but Silverstreak didn't move until Rainwind pushed her with his shoulder, forcing her forward. Sending a look dripping with venom at Blackmoon as he moved to the front, she trailed after him, keeping her head high. Inside, she felt as if she was about to collapse at the mere thought of coming nose-to-nose with Northstar, but she would not allow these cats to see that.
They kept keen eyes on her the entire way, keeping close as they walked single-file up the Peak's path. She could feel her legs trembling slightly as the scent of camp drifted down to her, but she steeled herself, clenching her jaw.
She felt the Clan ripple with shock as she strode into their camp. At first, Northstar was nowhere to be seen, but he appeared in the entrance of the nursery. Her lip curled with hatred as her blue eyes met his hot yellow gaze, and she could see him forcibly stopping himself from lunging forward, probably to claw her throat.
"Who is this?"
She turned, recognizing the deep, soothing voice. The gray tom from the deputy ceremony was standing there in front of her: Stonestar.
Blackmoon opened his mouth, but she pushed past him. "My name is Silverstreak," she growled, meeting Stonestar's gaze firmly. "StarClan sent me here."
A blink was the only sign from the leader than she had surprised him. "In my den," he ordered.
"Shouldn't we put her in the prisoner den?" Smallfire asked, but Stonestar silenced him with a glance.
Hope fluttered in her chest. Was it possible that he would listen to reason? Could she save her budding Clan after all?
"Stonestar!" Northstar's voice shattered her delusions as the tom stormed forward. "Stonestar, I must ask that you do not let this she-cat out of anyone's sight! You do not know what I know about her."
Stonestar turned towards him slowly. "Yes, Northstar? What is it that you know?"
"We share a past," Northstar growled. "She is the cause of my exile in my home Clan."
Silverstreak's eyes widened at his words; anger rose inside of her and she opened her mouth to argue, but Northstar continued,
"She betrayed me, Stonestar. She spread lies about me through my Clan, undermined my authority. She killed my deputy, seeking the position for herself. She aligned herself with rogues, rogues that attacked me in the midst of speaking with StarClan! She intimidated my medicine cat into silence, so that he would not speak the truth about me, instead only repeating her lies. She forced my Clan to cast me out so that she could take leadership for herself!" His eyes flashed. "Look at her now! She does not even call herself Silverstar! StarClan did not accept her as they did me. My Clan must have pushed her out when they realized they'd been betrayed."
"I never—" she shouted, but he silenced her with a look; she could feel the Clan's tension building, confusion turning towards ready hatred. They had always been used to hating outsiders; why would they change for her?
"And these rogues she travels with now are the same that she harbored before," he continued, with a glance towards Blackmoon. "Our medicine cat heard the tom prisoner say something to me; something that I asked him not to share. I did not realize the danger the rogues held at the time. But you should all know now, now that we have their leader in our midst. He asked if I remembered him. Those injuries you saw were the ones that I gave him."
Several cats looked surprised; others intrigued. Silverstreak's stomach was plunging as she realized where he was going, but there was nothing she could do to stand in his way. Who would they trust? The word of a rogue they already hated, or the powerful tom who had already saved one of their queens?
"I stumbled upon him in the forest, although I did not recognize him at the time. I took it upon myself to rid PeakClan of a dangerous rogue. It appears I did not do my job well enough. But I now know that this tom, Forest, is very close to our dear Silverstreak. They are allies. And they seek to overthrow PeakClan, as they overthrew me."
"We only want to establish our own Clan—"
"Do you think it will turn out any better this time than the last?" Northstar snarled, and this time she knew the words were for her alone, not the rest of the Clan. "Do you think the encroachers will be any more successful than last time?"
To PeakClan, it simply sounded like she and her rouges were the encroachers. But she knew Northstar was talking about her father, and every other forest cat that had invaded FrozenClan's home, stealing their territory.
"I can't let you make the mistake of trusting her," Northstar said more quietly, addressing his leader now. "She is extremely dangerous. I made the same mistake once myself, but never again. Stonestar, if you were to take my advice, you would hold her until her rogue friends come forward and attempt to rescue her. Lay a trap for them, capture them. Then…whatever you do is your decision, of course. All that matters is that PeakClan must be safe.
Stonestar was quiet for a moment. Then, he sighed.
"I must speak of this with Sandpelt and Blackmoon," he said finally, flicking his tail. "Come with me. Rainwind, place her in the prisoner's den for now."
Her heart sank into her paws as she saw Northstar's eyes flash, he knew he had already won. Numbly, she followed Rainwind into the den.
It still smelled of Frostfeather, bringing a pang of loneliness with it. Rainwind left with a nervous glance, probably thinking that the wily Silverstreak might rat him out after all. She watched him go, and turned to face the wall.
She let out a gentle sigh, almost a moan. I'm an idiot, she berated herself. We had food, we were safe! I should have never even left the den…now I'm the one who has been captured. I'm the one stuck here, with Frostfeather and Forest on the outside. What am I supposed to do now? What can I do, really? I can't stop them from coming to help me, I can't stop them from bumbling into the trap….There isn't going to be a dead leader to save them.
I can't just sit here. But what can I do? Northstar has them, like clay in his paws. They'll believe him over me easily. He's probably talking to them right down, dripping lies from his flea-bitten mouth…he knows Frostfeather and Ravenwing are with me, probably Eaglestrike too; he can give their names to add credence to his story, to prove that he really does know them.
His story even makes sense to Blackmoon, doesn't it? He thinks I deceived him – which I did, I suppose – in order to gain power for myself and destroy Northstar. He probably thinks that the only reason I'm even here is because I followed Northstar, to take some sort of twisted revenge for my own destroyed rule! They'll never ally with us now.
Her ears pricked as a shadow fell over the den. Rainwind was standing there, staring down at her.
"Stonestar's ready to decide," he said quietly. "Come with me."
She rose to her paws, following him. "I'm not going to say anything about our meeting, if that's what you're wondering," she whispered as she brushed past him. "It's none of his business."
Relief flashed over his face, followed by wariness; he was obviously sizing up her motives for secrecy. She glanced at him, but had nothing to say; why he thought she changed her mind didn't matter. Stonestar's opinion was the only one that mattered, and she was sure that she already knew it.
Stonestar was sitting in the center of camp, watching her. She sat down, facing him calmly.
"What Northstar has told us is worrying," Stonestar said slowly, "but it only adds to our already-existing problem. We cannot let any cats, rogue or Clanborn, stake a claim on our territory. I understand that we have been lax on security; that is the reason you were here so long undetected. But I assure you that under my rule, we will not make those mistakes. Silverstreak, you are our prisoner. We will capture your allies. And once we have you all, we will decide what to do with you."
Silverstreak's ears flattened. "Please, let me explain; I can give you a good reason for everything. I can tell you that—"
Stonestar held up his tail. "You lurked in our territory for at least a moon. One of your cats was in a battle with one of ours. You never once attempted to make contact with us. If you had, perhaps I would have been inclined to listen to you now. If StarClan sent you, that is unfortunate; apparently you are not the cat they should have picked, if you thought that running around in the shadows and leeching off of our resources was the way to build a Clan of your own. If what Northstar said is true, then I can see why your rule collapsed."
He flicked his tail. "Send her back to the prisoner den."
Rainwind nodded, and began gently pushing Silverstreak towards the den, but Stonestar was still speaking, and Silverstreak craned her neck to listen.
"I want another patrol going by where we captured her tomorrow," he continued, "following the path that Rainwind's patrol took. Speak of her capture as much as you can, but be discreet. By tomorrow, I want every bird in the forest singing of her capture and every squirrel chattering about it, understand? We must flush them out."
Silverstreak's shoulders slumped in defeat. There was no way her friends could resist the news of her capture; they would rescue her immediately, and find themselves captured. It was only a matter of time.
. . .
She did not sleep that night; instead she stared at the entrance of the den, imagining Northstar every time she closed her eyes. She could hear breathing outside of her den and knew a cat was on guard, but who would stop Northstar if he wanted to speak with her?
Her mind was kept awake by other things as well; thinking of her friends, for one. By now they knew she wasn't coming back. Where they already planning to get her? Did they have any idea of what awaited them in PeakClan's camp?
Stonestar was right, she thought miserably. I was too caught up in everything else to realize that perhaps I should have simply spoke with them. Lightstar might have attempted to hurt us…but he would have died, and Stonestar would have listened; he's obviously more sensible. If I had at least appeared to want some sort of partnership, rather than skulking around in the shadows of the forest….Was he right in doubting StarClan's wisdom for choosing me, of all cats, to rebuild this Clan? Father has faith in me, but perhaps it was misplaced….
The thoughts kept her awake until she was greeted by the soft colors of dawn. Although she was desperately tired, she forced herself to keep awake, to listen as the Clan began to stir. Her claws clenched the dirt as she heard the sounds of the first patrol leaving, knowing they would be spreading the news until 'every bird in the forest was singing of her capture'.
And so, she waited, listening to the sounds of the Clan going about its life, listening to mentors admonishing apprentices, cats sharing tongues, and the squeaking of nearby kits tumbling over each other in play. Anxiety slashed at her stomach with sharp claws, but there was nothing she could do to relieve it, not until she knew for sure whether or not her friends were coming.
But as the first day, and the second day, and the third day dragged on, she was forced to confront another thought: What if her friends didn't come after her at all?
