Chapter Seventeen

Cinder's eyes were full of disbelief and fury as she faced Shadowheart. The screeches of the cats had faded into the back of Shadowheart's mind. Bracing himself, he was about to leap at his sister when Stonetail suddenly darted between them.

"Stop!" he yowled, his eyes wide with distress.

"Who are you?" Cinder snarled, her eyes pinned back. "Get out of the way!"

Stonetail stared at Shadowheart in disbelief. "She's your sister! Why were you about to attack her?" Before Shadowheart could defend himself, his father turned to look at Cinder. "So you're Cinder?"

Cinder twitched an ear, her eyes wary. "What's that to you?"

"So it's true!" Stonetail's eyes lit up. "Cinder, oh, my precious daughter...what have those rogues done to you? Won't you come home, where you belong?"

"Daughter?" Cinder's voice was harsh, the coldness returned to her ice blue eyes. "I have no parents. I already told Shadowheart. I have no family. I belong to the rogues now! Now get out of my way!"

Slashing at Stonetail, she shoved past him and Shadowheart as she dashed into the throng of cats. Stonetail stared after her, devastation clear across his face. Wanting to comfort his father, Shadowheart stepped forward to be close to him but was quickly snapped back to the battle when he heard Firelight's screech. Spinning around, he saw that Leaf had her pinned under her claws while Pinefrost looked on helplessly. Dashing to her rescue, he slammed into Leaf and the two toms locked into battle as they tumbled across the snowy ground. Clawing at Leaf's belly with his hind legs, Shadowheart sunk his teeth into the rogue's foreleg. Letting out a screech of pain, Leaf let go and leaped back, blood oozing from the bite on his leg. Snarling he stepped forward to keep fighting, only to stop when the yowls of retreat from the rogues rang across the clearing. Shooting a hostile glare at Shadowheart, Leaf turned and limped off after his companions as they all fled the clearing; a few LeafClan and ReedClan warriors giving chase.

Panting heavily, Shadowheart looked around the clearing. Blood had stained the once bright white snow a dark crimson, and a few cats lay motionless while the others who fought bore nasty battle wounds. Shadowheart glanced back at Firelight, relieved to see that aside from some nasty scratches, she was mostly unharmed. Stonetail was already with his own Clanmates, helping a few of them to their paws. Blackflame was over by Sandpool, scratches oozing on his flanks as the she-cat helped to lead him back towards camp. Glad to see that his brother and father were also okay, he rushed off back to camp in hopes that the rogues hadn't caused too much destruction to his home.

The camp was in tatters, evidence of fighting in every inch of the clearing. Frosttail let out a low wail as she sat beside Jayeyes, the elder lay in a crumpled heap as Dune had left him—clearly dead. Nettleleaf sat beside her denmate, her eyes soft with sadness and sympathy. Cloudflight and Yellowsky stood outside the nursery, their eyes wild with fight as they looked around for any rogue that dare come towards the nursery. Over by the warriors den, Shadowheart could see a tear in the brambles that covered it. There was one last cat he had to know was okay, the one who had saved him from Dune earlier.

As he approached where he saw him last, he stumbled over something. Letting out a shriek of horror, he saw it was Sagepelt, blood oozing heavily from his flank as he barely breathed. The blood flowed under Shadowheart's paws as he rushed to his mentor's side, pressing his paws across the gash to try and stop the blood from pouring out.

"...Shadowheart?" the barely audible rasp came from Sagepelt as his eyes flickered open.

"Don't talk!" Shadowheart urged him, panic rising in his throat as he frantically tried to keep his paws from slipping on Sagepelt's blood. "Pinefrost will be here soon and then you'll be okay, alright?"

Sagepelt's eyes closed for a brief moment, before opening again. "This wound is fatal, Shadowheart. I…I will be with Sleetwhisker in StarClan soon."

Shadowheart tensed, pressing harder to keep the blood from coming. "No! No you won't! I won't let you die! You can't die!"

Coughing slightly, Sagepelt struggled to lift his head. "Shadowheart…" he rasped, his voice crackling with effort. "I've lost too much blood...StarClan has called to me...you have to let go."

"No! Sagepelt, please don't leave me!" Shadowheart pleaded, his body trembling. "What about Hollycloud? And Rainfall, Redfur, and Silverleaf? You have to stay here! We need you here!"

Sagepelt gazed at him, his eyes full of love. "You were always a good apprentice..." he breathed out. "I...I always thought of you as one of my own. Shadowheart, you have a great future ahead of you. And I will watch from StarClan always..."

As he drifted off, Shadowheart continued to press on his wound. "No! No! No! You won't die! You can't die! I won't let you die!"

The sounds of his cries must have caught the attention of his Clanmates while they filed back into camp. Firelight and Blackflame watched from afar, their eyes full of shock and sadness, while Foxstar yelled for Pinefrost. Shadowheart was scarcely aware of any of it, too busy trying to push the blood back into Sagepelt's wound, his paws stained heavily with his blood. Pinefrost was at his side quickly, carrying a wad of different herbs, but stopped as she gazed at Sagepelt's broken body.

"What are you doing?" Shadowheart demanded, turning on his friend. "He's dying! Can't you see he's dying! Do something!"

Pinefrost met his gaze with soft sympathy. "Shadowheart, he…he rests with StarClan now. I'm so sorry."

Despair filled Shadowheart's chest and he let out a defiant snarl. "No! He isn't gone yet! See? I've been keeping the blood from coming out! He's still alive! He-"

"Shadowheart!" Firelight's voice broke him off. She approached him, her eyes steady. "Shadowheart, he's gone. There's nothing we can do."

Tears blurring his vision, he looked back down at Sagepelt. His former mentor was still and his breathing has stopped. His eyes had a glossy film over them as he stared blankly ahead. Sagepelt was dead.

Letting out a wail, he buried his face into his flank. Pinefrost rested her tail across his shoulders, and the camp was covered in an eerie silence. Shadowheart found it so hard to believe his former mentor was the dead. The kind, caring, and wise warrior that welcomed him so warmly when he first came to LeafClan was gone; in the stars with the other great warriors before him. No cat had made him feel so welcome, so loved. For the longest time Shadowheart looked up to Sagepelt. The gentle warrior was always so reliable and accepting. When he returned to LeafClan, he was the first to welcome back Shadowheart with an understanding gaze. And now, now that was gone. Shadowheart would never see him again. Dune had taken that from him. Eyes burning, he looked up a fire burning in his heart.

I will make that snake heart pay, Shadowheart vowed, unsheathing his blood stained claws. I will make him regret this day if it's the last thing I do.