'Flowers open, winter's spoken
The same world but the view has changed
A veil has lifted, the ground has shifted
What you only long for is here.'
'Here' - Sarah Blasko
¢нαρтєя тнιятєєη: αѕѕαѕѕιη
Crimson had not been pleased to see Jinx returning without the bodies of those five cats she was so obsessed with. She'd shouted, yowled, struck and then stormed off, Frozengaze trailing after her with a smug grin scrawled across his muzzle.
That had been ages ago when the sun had been only just started to rise. Now it was near sunhigh and Crimson had yet to return. After their disappearance from the island Crimson had transported only the elite soldiers alongside her, Tornheart and Frozengaze, to a heavily wooded area just beyond the valley; but only after informing Jinx to head back to RogueClan's camp and bring the five cats left there. If they were gone it was her duty to track them down, but not to kill them.
"It was a stupid task," Jinx grumbled as she fiddled absently with a pebble, rolling it around under her paw. She was supposed to be training the soldiers, making sure they didn't get rusty, but she didn't see the point. There was a reason they were known as the elite soldiers. They were the best of the best, even if the majority of them were brainwashed. Besides, why would she want to train a bunch of brain-dead morons for a she-cat that did nothing but use her?
"What was a stupid task?" a thin voice hissed.
Jinx didn't have to look to know who it was. "Nothing that you need to bother your small and befuddled mind with, Raz."
The tom reclined on the soft grass beside her watching with calculating green eyes. He smirked when Jinx glared at him through hooded eyes. "Aren't I allowed to ask what small, probably insignificant thing is bothering my leader?" Raz purred mockingly.
"Don't let Crimson hear you calling me leader. She might rip off your tail and shove it down your throat."
"Well," the tom leaned precariously close to her ear, "you're going to be the leader someday, aren't you? Or was that all just big-talk to get close to Crimson's strongest, living soldier?" He puffed his chest out and winked.
Jinx groaned loudly, shoving him with her shoulder to create some space. "I'm working on it. She's been getting really paranoid recently, checking everything twice, and sending soldiers on more frequent border checks. It's getting ridiculous. How does she expect to have an army ready to attack on a moment's notice when half of them are exhausted all the time!?"
He sighed heavily and Jinx could see the exhaustion tugging at his muscles, the way his eyes were a little glazed and unfocused. "We living elites have also noticed what you have noticed. Crimson is changing in both physique and mentality. Her stomach is no longer slim. It bulges more each day and we've placed bets that Frozengaze is the cause of that. Perhaps that is why her mentality has been changing. She fears for the lives she now carries in her womb."
A small smile have been growing larger on Jinx's face as she listened to Raz speak. He'd forgotten to keep his smart little brain hidden away. "Now there's the Raz I've missed. Why do you find it necessary to act stupid around everybody else?"
"No one suspects the thick-headed soldier," Raz grinned toothily.
"But everyone suspects the Blood-Oath taker with an obvious distaste for her leader," Jinx muttered darkly.
Raz swiped the pebble Jinx had been playing with out from under her paw and pushed it into a dapple of sunlight. It illuminated the pebble's tiny gouges and different shades of speckles that were scattered across its surface. "Everyone's true colours come out when the sun shines on them. You've managed to hide yours for a long time now, even when you've been in the sun. I think you'll do just fine until the time comes that you plan on making your move," he offered with a warm smile that lie up his eyes.
"Don't you go getting soft on me now!"
"Never."
Jinx huffed, rolling onto her back with a muffled groan. The bones in her back popped loudly as she rolled to face the thick canopy above her. She could still smell the smoke as it no-doubt rolled over the mountain tops in thick clouds. "Just imagine a world without any Clan cats whatsoever; a world without anyone governing over anyone. A free world full of free cats that travel wherever they want without having to worry about straying into some Clan's territory. Now that's a world I want to live in."
"And how exactly are you planning on making sure new Clans don't rise from the ashes? How are you going to stop those city cats from electing new bosses?" Raz questioned lightly. "You'd have to become the one thing you want to eradicate; a governor, a leader."
"No. I won't allow myself to become what Crimson is. I won't be a governor. I won't be a leader. I'll just watch from afar, only ever interfering if some cat decides he or she can make the world a better place by ruling over it," Jinx murmured.
Raz cocked his head to one side, "sounds like a full on job."
She chuckled lightly, turning her head to look over at her companion. "The world will learn over time that a ruler is not needed and thus cats will stop trying to become that ruler. It's logical."
"But the world won't learn that during the short time you have to live. As soon as you die a cat will rise up and smash everything you spent an entire life creating to bits."
"Heirs, Raz, heirs. Surely you haven't thought that perhaps that's what Crimson's doing? She's attempting to secure her kingdom beyond her lifespan, however long that may be; by having kits with some otherworldly tom that possesses a heap of strength. She mightn't be going about it the right way, but Crimson isn't stupid."
"Never said she was," he retorted. "Who are you planning on producing little heirs with then?"
Jinx shrugged, "I haven't planned that far yet. I'm sure in the seasons to come I'll run into a tom who'll make my heart skip and I'll fall head over heels. Next thing you know I'll have my heirs. The future of this world will be secured and I'll be able to die happily knowing that my years of struggling have not been for nothing."
"Sounds like you've got this all pretty well planned but you might want to focus on your first little issue, the one that happens to be walking this way right now," Raz hissed as he hurriedly got to his paws and trotted off, shooting Jinx a sympathetic glance over his shoulder.
"Jinx!" Crimson's voice made Jinx curl her lip in irritation. "I have something you can do to get yourself back into my favour after your most recent screw up."
The black-pelted she-cat held herself in a strong manner; all the anger that had been dragging her down was no longer present. Beside her, strolling regally as if he was the most important being in the whole world, was Frozengaze. He turned his icy gaze onto Jinx and she shivered. It felt like he was looking into her soul, seeing all the plans she and Raz had planned.
"What would that be?" Jinx demanded after she had found her voice. She narrowed her eyes and glared up at Crimson making no attempt to rise to her paws or dip her head in respect.
"Seeing as you failed to apprehend five Clan warriors even though you had an entire squadron of soldiers you will be the one I shall transport to the city to speak with Apollo," Crimson explained coldly.
Jinx couldn't help but rise to the chance to push Crimson around a little. "What if I decline your so very gracious offer?"
It was as if Crimson had been expecting Jinx to decline for she smirked darkly and indicated for a brainwashed soldier to join her. "Go and get Tornheart," she ordered the soldier who obeyed immediately.
A cold feeling spread throughout Jinx. She hadn't seen any sign of Tornheart since Crimson practically hauled the ex-Clan cat away from the thrones on High Star Isle. There was no imagining just what Crimson had done to the young she-cat who had allowed herself to be so easily caught by RogueClan, who had been being used by those five Clan cats as a way to get to Crimson. A sudden thought forced its way into the back of Jinx's mind. Tornheart had been acting odd for a little while before she'd abruptly left the mountain, and when they'd found her she'd acted surprisingly normal despite supposedly being brainwashed. Had Tornheart managed to somehow free herself from Crimson's hold?
Heavy breathing assaulted Jinx's hearing and she snapped her head up from her paws to stare up at the body the soldier had thrown roughly onto the ground before her. It was Tornheart, Jinx was sure of that much. But whether the she-cat was alive was an entirely different story. She wasn't moving save for the slight rise and fall of her flanks. Blood stained most of her pelt, deep cuts still oozing the red liquid. One of her hind-legs was bent at an awkward angle and her face had been practically torn apart. It was an unpleasant sight to see the young she-cat that had once been Crimson's closest bloodied and beaten.
"Was nearly beating her to death entirely necessary? She didn't know those Clan cats were attempting to kill you," Jinx snarled.
Crimson laughed loudly. "You obviously don't know what that little vixen was planning. She knew damn well what those Clan cats were planning on doing. She didn't just wander into RogueClan's territory on accident. She was there for a reason; to recruit the last one. Tornheart was conspiring against me and has been for about a moon now. Somehow she managed to free herself from my power. I don't know why she decided to recruit Clan cats to help her overthrow me but now she knows that she has failed."
"What else was she hiding from you?" Jinx asked curiously, arching a single brow as she glanced down at the mutilated Tornheart with a look of mild admiration. Apparently Jinx wasn't the only one planning to overthrow Crimson. She crushed down the sudden feeling of fear that was racing through her body.
"Those five Clan cats that you let escape call themselves the 'Chosen' and believe that they have been chosen by higher powers to kill me and bring peace back to the Clans," Crimson scoffed. "But they will also fail just as Tornheart has because I know everything about them. I know who their families are, who they love, what they fear and what they want. Just another pathetic rebellion I'll have to crush and make an example out of."
She hoped the discomfort was showing in the way she poked Tornheart's body with a single claw, watching closely for any signs of life. Thankfully Tornheart's flank twitched slightly and Jinx had to stop herself from letting out a sigh of relief. She needed another ally on her side. Tornheart would do just nicely, if she survived. "How'd you get Tornheart to tell you all this? She wouldn't have told you willingly and all of her family is dead so you couldn't have used them as blackmail."
"Every cat eventually breaks under the pain of torture," Frozengaze rumbled. "Tornheart was no different, though it did take a little longer than normal. Personally I'd be surprised if she ever wakes up again. The internal injuries she sustained during her torture were large and fatal."
"That's nice to know," Jinx hissed through gritted teeth.
Crimson flicked her tail. "Unless you'd like to end up like Tornheart I recommend you accept my gracious offer and allow me to transport you to the city to find Apollo."
There was no way Jinx was declining, not after having seen what Crimson and Frozengaze had done to Tornheart. "Am I to go alone?"
"No. The city is still under the control of those irritating city bosses, so it would be dangerous for you to go alone in case someone was to recognise you as my Blood-Oath taker. Raz," Crimson called, "you will go with Jinx. Keep her safe. Her life is more important that yours will ever be."
"Will do," Raz dipped his head.
"Close your eyes and don't open them until you feel solid ground under your paws. I'd rather not have one of you experience the effects of witnessing teleportation with open eyes," Crimson ordered.
Jinx shared a quick glance with Raz before she squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath and waited for the strange feeling of being transported to another location. A tingling in her toes alerted her to the beginning, a tingling that quickly spread throughout her entire body. Whistling wind rushed past her ears as bright flashes of colour lit up her closed eyelids. The sudden urge to heave had to be squashed down as Jinx's stomach did large flips and spins.
The teleportation lasted only mere heartbeats before Jinx felt cold stone under her paws. She gingerly unsheathed her claws and scratched them against the stone, sighing when they made a quiet screeching sound.
"Is it safe to open my eyes yet?" Raz's woozy voice confirmed Jinx's suspicions that they had arrived successfully. She blinked open her eyelids only to wish she could close them again. The city had to be the biggest dump around. It was made up primarily of the ruins of an old civilisation that existed seasons ago. According to the stories Jinx had only half-heartedly listened to Frozengaze tell, the creatures of the old civilisation had walked upright on two legs and been furless save for a patch that varied in length on top of their head.
"Yeah, it's safe," Jinx replied before turning to survey her surroundings.
They'd been transported to a shady, well-trodden pathway that snaked around thick, crumbling pillars of uneven stone. Weeds and all sorts of other foliage grew in thick patches all over the place, growing in the cracks in the stone pathway. In the distance rose a large stone structure.
"Where are we headed?" Raz asked breaking the soft silence that had fell over them.
Jinx nodded towards the large structure in the distance. "Probably over there."
"What is that?" the tom muttered as he trotted to keep up with Jinx's fast walk. "It looks pretty ugly."
"That, my forest cat friend, is a building. Or at least the remains of one. The city used to be filled with all sorts of buildings; tall, short, thin, wide. An old civilisation used them as homes, or so Frozengaze says but I don't think much that he says is true," Jinx meowed dryly.
Raz chortled, "it's certainly not a pretty place." He indicated to the sagging stone structures that surrounded them and the foliage that choked them. "Is this place really worth all the lives Crimson's wasted fighting for it?"
"The city is an important place for most cats. All sorts of business – both shady and normal – goes on here. Not to mention that quite a few large groups of cats lead by pretty influential bosses have called this city home for generations. If Crimson wants to extend her rule over the entirety of the world then the city is the best place to start, though she might've underestimated the strength of the city cats."
"Hasn't she underestimated everyone she's gone up against?" Raz pointed out.
Jinx nodded as she ducked under a low-hanging beam of wood. "She has, and she probably always will. It's one of her weakpoints. She expects everyone to hear her name, cower and immediately proclaim her their leader. But the world is a big place and few cats have even heard of Crimson. All they know is that something big is happening thanks to the blood moon we have hanging over us all the time, not to mention the fact that the sun is rising less and less each day."
"Ah, so you have noticed the sun," Raz murmured. "It's a little worrying don't you think?"
"Rather. Crimson hasn't noticed it. She's been too busy fussing about keeping her soon to be born kits a secret," she hissed.
"I'm sure she'll notice when the sun doesn't come up one morning."
"And the world will be plunged into chaos."
Raz inclined his head in a sad manner. "You'll just have to take Crimson down before that happens.
"It's not that easy," Jinx sighed. "The sun is sinking at an increasing rate. It won't be more than a few moons at least before it just doesn't rise one morning. Taking Crimson down without being killed in the process is going to take a lot of planning and secrecy, not to mention more allies. You saw what Crimson did to Tornheart! She nearly killed her!"
The tom pressed his nose into Jinx's shoulder fur. "Calm down. Panicking certainly won't help you stay hidden. Plan everything out before you even think about making a move and tell me everything you plan to do so that I can help you with it. Going about this alone will only end up with you getting killed."
"Planning to overthrow your own leader? Naughty."
Both cats jumped a little at the sudden intrusion into their conversation by a clear, feminine voice that was brimming with sharpness and coldness. Jinx glanced upwards to find a lithe, slim, white-furred she-cat lounging comfortably across some sagging rubble. Whoever it was stared down at the two forest cats with intelligent blue eyes and flicked a black tail casually from side-to-side.
"What are two forest cats such as yourselves doing in the city?" the she-cat pressed.
"Looking for someone," Jinx replied shortly.
The she-cat straightened up into a sitting position nearly immediately. "Now that is something I can help you with. Knowing majority of the important cats in this city has its benefits. Who're you looking for? One of the city bosses? A high ranking fighter?"
"Neither. We're looking for a cat called Apollo. Apparently she has a certain skill set that my leader wishes to take advantage of," Jinx informed coolly.
A sly look appeared on the she-cat's face, "you're looking for Apollo, aye? Well you won't have to go far at all, not far at all."
"Get on with it then, where can I find Apollo?" Jinx snapped. The strange she-cat was beginning to annoy her.
"You're looking at her," the she-cat smirked.
Jinx couldn't help but snort, "you're Apollo?"
"The one and only," Apollo rose to her paws and bounded gracefully down the rubble to the pathway where Jinx and Raz were stood. "What does your leader want me to do? I assume you know what particular skill set I have."
"No, actually, I don't," Raz spoke up after having fallen silent.
Apollo feigned hurt. "I'm not surprised. Those that do know are usually pretty shady or are on the receiving end," she shrugged. "I'm an assassin, the best at the moment. Now who does your leader want dead, I don't have all day."
An assassin? Jinx allowed her eyes to wander over the she-cat's appearance. She was about a head or so taller, well-muscled under her thick and soft looking white fur that was dappled with black spots over her haunches. Her tail looked to be dipped in shadow, inky black from the tip to where it joined the rest of the body. A multitude of scars showed that Apollo had been in more than one fight, but a particular scar that sat directly over her heart looked to be particularly nasty. The fur on it was still pretty thin so it allowed the puckered, pink, raised skin to be seen. Three long gouge marks crossed over it. Her eyes held a haunted look to them as well as a lot of intelligence; they weren't just pretty blue orbs.
"I don't care whether you're the best. My leader has decided that you are the best for this job for some reason. You are to track down and kill a group of five Clan cats that have only recently left the valley that they usually stay in. A tom called Eaglestrike is their leader and a she-cat called Littleflame is their weakest link. Willowclaw is thick-headed tom but a strong fighter. Rainpatch, another tom, is an allrounder, average at most things. Icepetal, a she-cat, is cold and calculating; she fights to kill and is very good at it. They were last seen going over the waterfall behind SnowClan's territory, though I doubt you know where that is," Jinx explained.
"You doubt me. I know where SnowClan's territory is and I know of the waterfall you speak of. Tell your leader that the job will be done and I expect adequate payment when I'm done. Where will I meet your leader to get my payment?" Apollo queried in a bored tone.
Jinx held back the urge to swipe her claws across Apollo's muzzle. "The big mountain that appeared a few moons back. You'll find her there."
"Pleasure doing business with you," Apollo purred icily before she turned and vanished into the crumbling buildings.
"Why did Crimson decide an assassin would be necessary to take care of those five Clan warriors that are after her? Surely she could've just sent a heap of soldiers?" Raz mumbled.
"She's scared."
Raz furrowed his brow. "What do you mean she' scared?"
"She's scared because she doesn't have anybody else to trust anymore. Tornheart's betrayed her, she's never trusted me, trusting Frozengaze would be a stupid idea and she doesn't have anybody else that doesn't want to kill her. Crimson is scared that the Chosen are actually going to kill her."
AN: I like Raz's character, he's fun to write. I'd like to thank Swyfte for giving me the idea of wiping out humanity, hence the reason the city is rundown and lacking in any humans. This story is slowly becoming more and more complex with each passing chapter.
-нυηтєя