Chapter 13,
Demonshadow sat, looking for Stone.
The young silver tabby padded up.
"Demonshadow," he meowed, sitting down.
"I have been on earth," he said and I know where Moonhowl is."
"Where?"
Demonshadow asked.
Stone scooted up to her until his face was only a nose-length away.
"I can't tell you that," he whispered.
"Why not?" Demonshadow asked.
"It is your destiny to find out," Stone breathed.
Demonshadow looked into his eyes. "We need to help her." She breathed back.
Stone looked right back.
"Are you're dead?" Demonshadow asked.
He moved his face a tiny bit closer. "Soon you will see me…alive."
Demonshadow stared at him. "Thank you, Stone."
He grinned. "I am not Stone."
Demonshadow looked at him.
"You will soon find out who I really am…"
OoOoO
"Demonshadow!" a voice yowled above her head.
Demonshadow sat up. "Hello? What's the problem?"
Ravenshadow skittered into view. "I'm going to look for Moonhowl," he said.
"I'll come with you," Demonshadow decided. She stood up and left the camp.
Ravenshadow pelted on ahead.
"Wait!" Demonshadow called. "Do you know where she is?"
He pelted back. "No, but I know she is somewhere in or by the lake."
Demonshadow looked over at the wide expanse of shimmering water. "We should go around it, and look. I'm a pretty good swimmer."
She started trotting along the edge and peering into the water and on the edges.
The day was long. When sunhigh came, they were only finishing the edge of ThunderClan territory.
"This is hopeless," Demonshadow grumbled.
Ravenshadow shook his head. "We need to be in somewhere near…RiverClan territory."
"We still have WindClan territory to check," Demonshadow pointed out.
Ravenshadow shrugged. "Forget it."
"But we have to go around half the lake to get to RiverClan territory," Demonshadow meowed.
Ravenshadow began to run. Demonshadow followed.
They ran and ran. "Ravenshadow!" Demonshadow called. "We have to stop! This is tiring me out."
Ravenshadow stopped, but not because of what Demonshadow had said.
Standing there, a few foxlengths away was a WindClan patrol, with Rainfeather in the lead.
"Stop!" Rainfeather spat. She pelted down the hill and faced her daughter. "Do you think WindClan is weak? If you are planning an ambush, we are strong enough to defend ourselves."
That was Rainfeather, always quick to think that there was a threat, even when there wasn't.
Demonshadow looked at her mother and Rainfeather winced at her mean face. "We are not here for an ambush," she meowed.
Rainfeather gave a snarl and leapt on the ShadowClan cats.
Demonshadow gave Rainfeather a swat. The WindClan deputy slashed her claws over Demonshadow's face.
Demonshadow drove her teeth into Rainfeather's shoulder. The smocky black she cat raked her claws down her flanks, and Demonshadow flipped over on her back and pounded her mother's underbelly with her hindpaws. Rainfeather flew off, and Demonshadow leapt, her long claws scratching her mothers face.
Rainfeather sunk her teeth into Demonshadow's hind leg, and scratched her chest.
Demonshadow broke free. "Ravenshadow!" she yowled, knocking off a furious Rainfeather. "We can't keep going! They won't let us! Let's go!"
Ravenshadow gave her a furious look. "We have to get Moonhowl!"
Demonshadow slashed her claws down Rainfeather's flank. The smoky black she-cat just leapt again.
Demonshadow bit her shoulder.
"Excuse me," she shouted at Ravenshadow, "But I am your deputy!"
Ravenshadow narrowed his eyes. But still he broke away from his opponent and raced over to the ThunderClan border.
They ran on until they were in ShadowClan territory, and they padded into the camp.
A line of cats waited there, with Smokestar in front.
"Demonshadow!" he yowled. "I found something out! You killed Tawnypelt!"
OoOoO
Moonhowl spat at the cat nearest her.
"Let me go!" she snarled. She had to go alert the Clans that there were dangerous cats nearby.
The cat, Beechshore just looked at her. Moonhowl was skinny and ungroomed.
Hawkfrost padded in with a rabbit and two mice.
"Feed her," Reedwhisker commanded.
Hawkfrost stumbled over his rabbit. He dropped it, and brought a mouse to Moonhowl.
"No." Reedwhisker growled. "She gets both mice. Boss doesn't want her skinny."
Moonhowl gobbled up the two mice. She spat a bone out at Reedwhisker.
He snorted. "Bury this," he commanded. Swallowtail jumped up and put it in the ground.
Moonhowl paced back and forth in the little amount of cave that the RiverClan warriors aloud her to walk in. She had injured a leg when she fell off the cliff, and it had grown stiff.
"Stop it!" Stonestream grumbled, who had a paw over his eye as he tried to sleep.
"Don't worry," Reedwhisker said for the seventh time. "She won't be here for much longer."
Every time he said that Moonhowl shivered. Where were they going to put her? It was a dark mystery that she wanted to find out.
Moonhowl stopped her pacing and sat down.
One warrior padded past, on there way to the back of the cave. Moonhowl wasn't aloud back there.
Rippleclaw pulled himself out of the water and into the cave. He looked at her as he passed, but didn't say anything.
Moonhowl lay down, hoping that somebody would find her.
OoOoO
"I have proof!" Smokestar yowled. "There was your fur between her claws, and your sent on her pelt!"
Demonshadow stopped. "What…what do you mean?"
Smokestar looked around at the other warriors. "Hah! She says 'what do you mean!' how stupid!"
The Clan all glared at her.
"What to do?" Smokestar said, scrunching up his face with mock confusion.
Several of the crazy cats gave him blank looks.
"Of course!" laughed Smokestar, "We chase her out!"
He jumped up, a wild crazy grin on his face. "get out! Out!"
He jumped at her with claws unsheathed, and Demonshadow turned around and began to run, her mouth open in a soundless wail. Confusion blinded her, and she blundered on through the forest.
Finally she stopped. She was in the middle of RiverClan territory. The sun had sunk.
I've been running for a really long time, Demonshadow thought.
She turned around and plodded in the direction of ShadowClan territory.
"You're not welcome there anymore," said a kind voice. Demonshadow turned around. It was Stone.
Demonshadow looked at him for a long time. "Why are you here?" she finally asked.
"Touch me," he commanded. Demonshadow never knew starshine could do so much to a cat. His pelt looked like silver spots were dancing on his fur.
She put her paw on him. This time it didn't just sink through.
"I am real tonight," he said. "On land I am a real cat."
It was all very confusing. Demonshadow looked at him.
"Demonshadow," he said and his eyes were serious. "Listen to me. There is a cliff near by. Wait for a black cat to come to you, and one more. Then follow the trail of the ginger one, and defend your ShadowClan friend. The evil want revenge on him, and if they are destroyed, the Moon will loose all hope."
Demonshadow stared at him. "Who are these cats?" she asked.
"You will soon see." He said and began to get brighter and brighter, as he had done before.
Soon Demonshadow was alone in the blowing grass.
There was a puffing from behind her and Ravenshadow appeared.
"I followed you," he said gruffly.
He started sniffing around, and suddenly his head snapped up. "There's ThunderClan sent here!" he sniffed again. "Moonhowl!" he yowled, then his head fell. "But it's stale. But there's something else…"
He bounded over. "Thornclaw! Very fresh! Come on, let's go find Moonhowl!"
Demonshadow looked around. Stone had said that she had to wait for one more.
"Um…" she began.
"Yes?" Ravenshadow asked.
"Well…"
"It's all right," whispered a soft voice beside her. "I'm here,"
Demonshadow looked. It was Spottedleaf.
"Let's go!" Demonshadow yowled. She charged foreword, following Moonhowl's sent.
It veered suddenly to the side, at the edge of a cliff. Demonshadow walked carefully, because frozen water crossed her path.
The path went lower. Demonshadow continued to climb down. Ravenshadow followed.
"There's a cave down there!" he yowled suddenly.
Demonshadow looked. "How do we get in it?"
Spottedleaf walked up.
"We fly," she answered, and dove off the edge.
Demonshadow jumped after. She plummeted into the freezing water. Another splash beside her said that Ravenshadow had done the same.
Demonshadow began to sink. "Help me Spottedleaf!" she yowled.
Her words echoed around, bouncing off the mountains.
Spottedleaf…Spottedleaf…Spottedleaf…
Please review! I'm building up to an exciting ending! (Well, maybe a sad ending, for a cat will die…try to guess who it is!
