Cranewing sat alone atop a small gray boulder just outside of the main encampment. He had grown tired of the air of nerves and restlessness that hung like a cloud of gnats above the two battle patrols. Their darting eyes felt like individual pricks of a thorn bush as they flicked back and forth between him, Cougarstar, and Roach. One, two, three, one, two, three. It was all he could do to prevent himself from screeching at them all to stop looking at him.
This waiting was painful. His paws itched with the irritation of scabbed skin. His pelt felt as if it was running with fleas. His ears twitched without rest as the cacophony of nighttime rang through the forest.
"Cranewing, sir."
The spell was broken by an unfamiliar, cautious voice. Cranewing turned slowly to find an uneasy looking gray rogue standing beside his rock.
"What?" Cranewing snapped.
The rogue was avoiding looking at him. Cranewing's claws itched.
"CedarClan is advancing." the rogue tom said. "They just crossed the dry stream bed."
A muscle in Cranewing's face twitched. "Go away," he said flatly.
The rogue, looking startled, scrambled away.
Cranewing looked back out towards the forest. After a moment of internal struggle that felt like fighting the urge to vomit, he spoke to the night.
"Unfortunately," he began to no one, "We still have the CedarClan problem."
There was silence. Cranewing waited. Then the voice spoke.
"As luck would have it," the tense voice filled his head and drowned out the distracting sounds of low mutters and the swish of wind on rock and snow. "We needed them to stay."
Cranewing felt himself relax slightly. "Something went wrong, then?"
The voice spoke through gritted teeth. "I should never have trusted that fool, Snakefeather."
Cranewing didn't respond. He waited for her to continue instead.
"It seems that I have to do everything myself. Again." she growled.
Cranewing closed his eyes and purred to himself.
"Shut up." she said, stung.
"What do you need me to do?" Cranewing pressed.
"I still want this battle to happen. I need chaos. I don't care who wins. I just need them to fight."
"As you wish."
"Cranewing," the voice lost its edge and softened. A chill shot up Cranewing's spine that had nothing to do with the icy air. He opened his eyes to find her before him. Her green eyes pierced him.
"Try not to get yourself killed. I still need you." she said quietly. Cranewing thought he could almost feel her breath tickle his whiskers. Then she was gone. Cranewing closed his eyes and breathed in, pretending he could smell her on the wind.
"Cranewing!" A hoarse voice hissed.
He turned and saw Roach standing just behind him. Her yellow eyes were stretched wide with awe.
"Was that her?" the little cat breathed. It sounded painful. Cranewing flinched as he always did at the sight of the silver tendril throttling Roach's neck.
He turned away from her and looked back into the dark forest. "Yes."
He heard Roach give a tiny murmur of reverence.
"What does she need of us?" she scraped out.
Cranewing scoffed quietly. Such devotion. If only she knew.
"Chaos." He said.
. . .
Silence blanketed the mountainside. The scarce trees held their branches still even in the slight winter breeze. An air of tension settled like snow over every surface. A set of razor-sharp claws gripped the throat of the quiet, ready to strike.
A screech split the air. Then another. An indistinct cry was cut off before it could form any words.
Heronflight's ears strained. Did he recognize that voice?
"Come on!" Hawkstrike hissed in his ear.
Heronflight jumped a little and scrambled up the tree trunk. He focused his mind on the task before him; get AlderClan into the fight before CedarClan was overrun.
He couldn't help but wonder if Whiteshade's plan was one that Blizzardstar would have given his clearance. Heronflight and Hawkstrike were to sneak into the AlderClan camp and tell them they had allies while the rest of the CedarClan patrol led the enemy on a chase through the forest. If all went as planned, the rogue and WillowClan force would be pincered between CedarClan and the steepest part of the mountain territory, and the whole of AlderClan.
Heronflight had been hesitant to leave the main patrol and abandon his watch on Crowfrost, but now that Dawnheart had appeared there was a third pair of eyes to keep guard.
Heronflight settled himself on a thick branch and peered down through the darkness at the tumble of rocks he knew to be the AlderClan camp entrance. A few shadows of cats sat there. Four in total. Their backs were stiff and their pricked ears were barely outlined against the gray rock behind them.
"Should we just ambush them?" Breathed Hawkstrike in Heronflight's ear.
Heronflight didn't know. If they failed to incapacitate the guard, some could escape and warn the invaders of a second force. AlderClan would be turned on and trapped in their rocky hollow. Their defense would become WillowClan's offense.
Another distant screech sent shivers up Heronflight's spine. He saw one of the guards look around stiffly. They were on edge.
A crazy idea drifted into Heronflight's mind. As if called by his thoughts, a white shape appeared in the corner of his eye. Heronflight glanced at her.
Do you think you can distract them?
She gave a tiny nod and drifted down to the forest floor on paws as light as air. Heronflight watched her as she skimmed the ground without sound.
Hawkstrike gave a gasp over Heronflight's shoulder. "Is that...?"
Heronflight raised his tail to silence his brother. There would be time later to explain.
Snowbreeze had been seen.
"You!" Barked one of the guards. "Who sent you?"
Snowbreeze did not answer. The other guards stood up, hackles raising.
"Speak!" the lead guard demanded.
Heronflight knew what was coming next. He turned to warn Hawkstrike but was too late. A hauntingly familiar screech pierced Heronflight through to his core, making him grip the branch with all four paws.
Hawkstrike jumped so badly he almost fell out of the tree. Heronflight steadied him just in time.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Snowbreeze turned and shot away into the darkness.
"What the hell was that?!" howled one of the guards.
"Go after her!" The lead guard ordered. His voice was shaking. "Our orders are to hold any cat that comes near."
"I'm not going after that thing!" gasped a third cat.
"Fine. Stay here with Pike." the first voice spat impatiently. "Milky, come with me."
Two of the guards stayed behind as their fellows sped off into the darkness. Heronflight waited until he was sure they would not hear any commotion and motioned for Hawkstrike to ready himself.
Together they leapt down from the tree branch and streaked across the stony and frozen ground. Fortunately, the remaining guards were still focused on where Snowbreeze had vanished and didn't see the CedarClan warriors coming until it was too late.
Heronflight met the first, a skinny brown tom with large frightened eyes, with a head-on tackle that would have made Kestrelfeather proud. A second later, Hawkstrike bowled over the second cat with a similar move.
The rogues only had time to squeak with surprise before they found themselves fully and completely pinned to the ground by their attackers.
"Make a sound and I'll call my friend back here." Heronflight hissed with as much danger as he could muster.
The tom gulped and nodded, terrified. Hawkstrike's quarry was less willing to comply. He struggled fiercely against Hawkstrike's hold, hissing and raising his voice in an angry yowl.
Heronflight was about to jump over to help when, in a smooth movement, Hawkstrike gave the rogue just enough slack to scramble onto his belly. Before the spitting cat could stand all the way up, Hawkstrike came down shoulder first onto the back of the cat's neck, slamming his face into the dirt and muffling the noises of fury.
Heronflight blinked at his brother. "That was brilliant," he said despite himself.
Hawkstrike shot him a triumphant look. "Thanks." he panted.
Heronflight looked down at his captive. The skinny tom gazed up into his eyes with fear and awe.
"Are you one of them?" the tom squeaked. "Can you speak to the Gods?"
"Yes," hissed Heronflight, having no idea what the cat was talking about, but using the fear in his face to guide him. "And if you don't do exactly as I say, I'll call her back here."
"Don't listen to him, Frog, he's a heret-" The second rogue's sentence was cut off as Hawkstrike shoved his face back down into the earth.
Frog's eyes flicked back and forth between his companion and Heronflight. He gave a shudder and nodded. "I'll do as you say." he breathed.
Heronflight exchanged glances with Hawkstrike. He looked like he had a good hold on his captive.
"I'm going to let you up." Heronflight said to Frog. "You are to stay silent. You are to walk ahead of me. Make any move to escape and-" He paused for dramatic effect.
Frog's eyes widened with fear and he nodded. Satisfied, Heronflight backed up off of Frog's chest. The skinny tom scrambled to his paws. His companion gave a desperate, muffled grunt, but Hawkstrike was still holding him fast.
Heronflight positioned himself just behind Frog. "Walk," he commanded. Frog did as he was told.
Heronflight nudged the rogue up to the rock fall. Frog began to climb, shaking slightly. Heronflight made sure to keep himself hidden. He didn't need to be accidentally attacked by any of AlderClan's defenses.
As the odd pair reached the top of the rocks, Heronflight hissed for Frog to halt. He pricked his ears and listened hard. Could he hear the sound of paws shifting on stone?
Cautiously, he called out in a low voice. "I've come from CedarClan."
A voice hissed out from the darkness. "Heronpaw?"
Heronflight narrowed his eyes and saw a familiar long-legged cat lifting herself out from a crevice in the rock wall. Her blue eyes shone with shock.
"Skyclaw." Heronflight said, relieved.
The tall tabby narrowed her eyes at Frog. The rogue dropped his eyes to his paws and tucked his tail under his flank.
"It's alright." Skyclaw said. As she spoke, three other warriors revealed themselves from similar hiding places.
Heronflight shivered despite himself. He silently thanked StarClan that Skyclaw had had the sense to hold back an ambush.
Skyclaw turned and disappeared over the top of the rocks. Heronflight nudged Frog forward. One of the three AlderClan warriors took up the rear.
The AlderClan camp was deathly quiet. The shadows of cats flitted in and out of the starlight. Heronflight's belly lurched as he caught sight of two motionless bodies lying prone in the middle of camp. AlderClan had already sustained losses. He searched for Eaglestar's golden pelt. He spotted it huddled amid a small group of warriors.
Skyclaw called out to her leader as she trotted across the stone. Eaglestar looked up and around. He stood up as Skyclaw and Heronflight drew near. The surrounding warriors backed away, muttering excitedly.
Eaglestar twitched his ears as he looked Heronflight and Frog over. "Back again, I see," he said flatly.
Heronflight bowed his head. "CedarClan has come to help in the fight."
Some of the AlderClan warriors made sounds of excitement and relief. Heronflight even heard a few whisper Coalpaw's name. Eaglestar's expression was hard to read.
"Blizzardstar sent an apprentice to announce himself?" he said skeptically.
Heronflight drew himself up. "I'm a warrior now. My Clanmate is waiting at the entrance."
Eaglestar's eyes widened slightly. He turned them on Frog. "Who is this?"
Heronflight couldn't help but feel a little harried. CedarClan would have engaged the enemy by now. AlderClan needed to move and soon.
"A rogue I overpowered." Heronflight said. "Eaglestar, my Clan is distracting the invaders. They are counting on AlderClan reinforcements to win the fight."
The AlderClan deputy, Riverwhisper, had joined them while Heronflight spoke. Eaglestar gave her a look. She nodded and darted away.
"I need confirmation that this isn't a trap." Eaglestar rumbled.
Heronflight itched to argue but he held his tongue. He wouldn't blame his own leader for taking such precautions, but it was still hard to wait.
It wasn't long before Riverwhisper returned. "He's right, Eaglestar. Our scouts confirmed that both forces moved out not long ago."
Heronflight stiffened. That had not been the plan. They had expected a fraction, maybe half, of the invaders to follow CedarClan, not all of them.
An excited ripple moved through the gathered AlderClan warriors. Heronflight looked expectantly at Eaglestar. The leader paused for just a moment before lifting his head and staring around at his cats.
"Prepare for battle!"
Immediately there was much movement and commotion as warriors and apprentices began crowding their deputy for instructions. Eaglestar ordered Frog to be taken and guarded, then he looked back at Heronflight.
"You should go back to your Clan. We will be with you shortly."
Heronflight nodded and sprang to his feet. He turned on his heel and dashed away. He paused only to leave the second rogue with the AlderClan guards and to collect Hawkstrike. Together the brothers sped through the forest.
. . .
The darkness of night was beginning to lift. Beyond the lake the horizon was bleeding into a dark grayish blue. Puffs of frozen air escaped the lips of the CedarClan warriors as they ran. Distant sounds of swishing pines, the clatter of rocks, and the occasional snap of a broken branch were the only signs that they were being chased by a force almost three times their number.
Crowfrost ran beside his Clanmates. No cat spoke as they scrambled over the unfamiliar territory. Whiteshade hadn't expected the entire enemy patrol to follow them. No one had. Now they had dozens of pursuers at their heels.
Crowfrost's mind was working fast. He knew that Songbird was behind the force that was bearing down on his Clan. What power did she have to prevent their slaughter? Not for the first time he began to doubt his trust in her.
A flash of color in the trees to his left shook Crowfrost out of his thoughts. Multi-colored pelts were flitting between the trees. Instinctively Crowfrost drew in closer to the cat on his right. The cat, Dawnheart, did the same. The simple movement rippled across the CedarClan patrol until they had all adjusted their course.
They're herding us! The thought came to Crowfrost with a burst of anxiety. Where did the enemy intend to move them?
His answer came as the patrol burst out of the cover of the scant trees and began half-running, half-sliding down a steep, rocky slope at the end of which lay the vast white lake.
Crowfrost heard his Clanmates shout with surprise and fear. Whiteshade's yowl of command was lost as the patrol tried their best not to tumble down the hill. With horror, Crowfrost saw Shadowgrove lose his footing completely. The older warrior fell hard against a half-buried boulder. Others skidded to a halt to prevent falling too.
"Regroup!" Whiteshade was yelling. "They're still coming!"
Crowfrost slid to a neat halt against a tree stump and looked up the slope. WillowClan and rogue fighters alike were appearing from behind trees and rocks at the top of the hill. As he watched, Cougarstar herself leapt up onto a high rocky perch and stared down at her quarry.
"Your plan was ill-conceived!" she crowed down at the CedarClan patrol. "Was this really the best you could do, Blizzardstar?"
Her pale green eyes drifted over the CedarClan cats. "But where is he?" she mocked. "Too cowardly to face me again?"
"You're the coward!" Kestrelfeather lashed his tail angrily and glared up at the WillowClan leader.
Cougarstar's eyes glinted with glee. "Such big words, Kestrelfeather." She raised her short tail and her cats advanced a few steps. CedarClan, including Crowfrost and Kestrelfeather, backed up.
"This forest has become weak. I have been called by StarClan to make us strong again!" Cougarstar yowled from her perch.
Crowfrost was dimly aware of his Clanmates shouting back, but he was too busy raking the ranks of advancing cats for familiar green eyes to pay much attention. He couldn't find any sign of her. Where was she? How long would she let this go on?
"StarClan guides us all, not just you." Whiteshade shot boldly.
Crowfrost flinched a little. Whiteshade did not have Blizzardstar's confidence. There was a clear air of uncertainty in the deputy's voice.
Cougarstar's eyes glinted in the breaking dawn. "StarClan has given me power over you. Their will is clear."
She gave the signal to attack.