AN: Yay I got this chapter finished! I was planning on waiting to update it, but than I decided against it. So thanks to the reviewers who actually left a review (Still only one by the way). You get a...Hollowstorm plushie!
-Chapter 11-
Reeds rustled around Willowshine as she crept through the undergrowth. She could hear the distant sound of waves lapping against the lake's shore. A steady rain had begun to fall, trickling down her pelt like spiders crawling across her. She tried to hide the overwhelming sense of fear that was becoming increasingly stronger. Minnowtail had left with Reedwhisker, who seemed unaware of the constant whispers flowing between the dark gray she-cat and Hollowstorm. His casual tone had become relevant. Willowshine wondered if he even knew that something was wrong.
She cast the thoughts aside when she spotted Minnowtail's dark gray pelt. The young warrior had led Reedwhisker to a clearing surrounded by birch trees. Their silvery trunks had been stripped bare by the claws of a warrior. She could only watch as Minnowtail began to explain how the bark had been stripped. Her ears flattened in disgust as Reedwhisker listened intensely.
"You're saying a ShadowClan warrior did this?" he asked after Minnowtail finished her tale.
"Yes," she replied with a casual wave of her tail.
"How did their scents get washed away than?" Reedwhisker looked at Minnowtail challengingly.
Curiosity coursed through Willowshine. She wondered how Minnowtail would explain herself this time. The young warrior managed to outsmart Reedwhisker so far. She doubted that Minnowtail would come up with something as witty as this.
To her surprise, the dark gray she-cat shook her head. "Their scents must have been washed away by this rain," she murmured.
Reedwhisker's eyes narrowed slightly. Her explanation made sense, to Willowshine. Most of the scents around her had been washed away by the steady rain. Her pelt bristled slightly when a flash of lightning streaked across the sky. This was turning into a deadlier storm than she originally thought.
Minnowtail's tail lashed in annoyance as Reedwhisker glanced at the bare trees. His eyes narrowed into tiny slits. When he glanced down at her paws, the younger cat shifted uncomfortably. A dull silence fell upon the two as thunder crackled ahead.
"What kind of a fool do you take me for?" His voice turned into a piercing snarl.
He knows! Willowshine's heart skipped a beat as she watched. He'd known all along that something was wrong! Hope flared within her when he took a threatening step towards Minnowtail, whose pelt stood on end with fear.
"I've seen the way your claws work," he spat when Minnowtail dropped into a submissive crouch. "I've seen the way you strip the trees when you climb them. This is your work." He was now glaring at Minnowtail whose body had dropped to the crouch of an apprentice.
Willowshine was about to reveal herself for Minnowtail's sake. The warrior may have been a fool for following Hollowstorm, but she didn't need this.
The sudden snap of a twig made Willowshine stop in mid-step. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a dark tabby pelt hiding in the undergrowth that surrounded the trees. Fear wormed its way into her belly.
She was about to call out an alarm when she felt the claws of a warrior drag across her pelt. She screeched in agony as pain coursed down her back. The warrior hissed in annoyance when she whirled around to face her opponent. To her dismay, it was Grasspelt.
The light brown warrior jumped to the side when she made an attempt to fight back. Her moves were pitiful as he dodged from side to side. She was desperate to make a strike. Within the following heartbeat her claws raked down his face.
"Why are you doing this?" she hissed after Grasspelt grabbed her by the scruff.
"The Clans need to be united, like Hollowstorm said," he snarled. "You're in the way."
It didn't take him long to drag her into the clearing. Her eyes were hollow with shock when she saw that Reedwhisker was dragged into the clearing as well. Minnowtail's eyes gleamed with triumph as she held a paw on his neck. The black-furred deputy's eyes were wide with terror.
Willowshine knew what was happening before it even started. The dark tabby form of Hollowstorm emerged from the soaked undergrowth. His amber eyes were dark as he glared coldly at Willowshine.
"You are the Light that I was warned about," he sneered when he approached the struggling cats. "My friends told me that you would try to stop me."
"Hollowstorm, please..." Willowshine gasped when Grasspelt's paw pressed harder against her neck. Reedwhisker turned slightly to face her. Shock spread across his face when he saw the light gleaming from her fur.
"Enough!" Hollowstorm's voice rose into a pitch as he glared at her. "I've waited too long to become the leader of all Clans. I've passed through the Place Of No Stars too often to lose. You will not get in my way!"
She winced inwardly. How could the Darkness have become so powerful already? This was far beyond her own level of fighting. She was only a medicine cat. One medicine cat who didn't know how to fight.
Suddenly her eyes widened at the thoughts that coursed through her. I don't need to fight! she realized. Hollowstorm needed to fight off the Darkness himself. If he could pry off the Darkness, than there would be no need for bloodshed.
"You need to fight it," she choked as the paw that held her became lighter. "Fight the Darkness, Hollowstorm!"
Hollowstorm's glare became darker as he listened to her. Somehow she knew that there was a small part of him. A small part that longed to be free. Lifted of the Darkness that had slowly consumed his heart.
He shook his head furiously. "No, I am the Darkness," he spat. "There is nothing I want more than to claw the life out of you!" He suddenly took a step forward and thrust his muzzle into her own. "But I want to see you suffer," he whispered venomously. "I want to see the look in your eyes when you see your world fall apart. Before you die under my claws and teeth."
She tried to hide the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. It was like a bite that plagued her mind. He didn't seem interested in her life, like she'd hoped. Instead he was planning her death in front of Reedwhisker and the others.
"As for this mangepelt," Hollowstorm growled, "Throw him into the lake. Make sure he doesn't get back."
Slowly Minnowtail nodded. There was a question in her eyes, but she dared not say a word. Hollowstorm was already in a bad mood after what Willowshine told him. The last thing she wanted was to feel his wrath.
She flicked her tail towards another cat that hid in the undergrowth. This one was Otterheart, a dark brown she-cat who'd been a fine warrior before she joined Hollowstorm. Willowshine held back her disgust as the two dragged a struggling Reedwhisker towards the lake. They could have had a better life if they chose to ignore Hollowstorm and the Darkness that took over him.
After the three cats were gone, Hollowstorm stalked towards the bed of undergrowth that had concealed him. By now the rain stopped, but thunder still rumbled in the distance.
"Lets go, before the sun fades," he snapped.
Grasspelt's teeth cracked together as he dragged Willowshine back towards the camp. She struggled to get away, but her strength was already failing. A trail of blood followed where she'd been. If she lost anymore, her life would slowly fade away as well.
Maybe that's a good thing, she thought dully. I don't want to suffer anymore. I want to join StarClan, where there isn't any Darkness.
Her heart felt torn between what she had once thought was right, and what she believed in now. She was desperate to get away from these two cats. The group that Hollowstorm formed was a formidable one. Grasspelt's arrogance had won him over. Otterheart's need for power led her to Hollowstorm. Minnowtail and Tinypaw were a different story, as far as Willowshine was concerned.
"Hollowstorm, Grasspelt! What in StarClan's name are you doing?" Beechfur was on guard duty. His fur bristled when he saw Willowshine's torn body grasped between Grasspelt's teeth.
"We are doing what should have been done moons ago," Hollowstorm hissed.
He ignored Beechfur's gasp of shock. Without a second thought he pushed his way into the clearing.
Owlkit and Featherkit were chasing a feather that one of the warriors must have found. Featherkit ran into Hollowstorm when she spotted what looked like the feather. Her eyes widened when she realized what she did.
Willowshine forced her eyes shut when she heard the kit's terrified screech. Hollowstorm didn't care who or what was in his way. All that mattered to him was that the Darkness spread. And Willowshine didn't have the power to stop him.
