Chapter 14

A yowl escaped from Stormsong's lungs when she saw Ravenpaw for the first time since the battle. He was laying in a nest of strange looking yellow grass. His sides were barely rising and falling, and a rasping breath echoed throughout the den.

"Stormsong... I was hoping... I could see... you again." Ravenpaw managed to choke the last words out.

"Why didn't you ask the Clans for help?" Stormsong demanded when she stood beside her father. "Leafpelt could have done something about this!"

"Leafpaw earned her name?" Ravenpaw sounded more like himself now as he spoke of Firestar's daughter.

"Ravenpaw, I wanted to give you your warrior name before... StarClan calls you," Firestar meowed when he joined Stormsong.

The black tom stared at Firestar in surprise. Stormsong winced when she saw how glazed his expression was. He really was dying. Leafpelt had been right after all, much to her dismay.

Stormsong thought that earning a warrior name was something only a Clan cat could have. But Ravenpaw had once been part of ThunderClan. The only reason he had left was because of the threats Tigerstar gave him. Her father had been a noble loner to the end.

"I ask my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. He has learned the warrior code and given up his life in the service of ThunderClan. Let StarClan receive him as a warrior. His name will be Ravenheart, because of his bravery and nobility to the Clan. Let StarClan receive him by the name of Ravenheart."

Firestar's voice was solemn as he looked down at the newly named Ravenheart. Stormsong thought she'd heard a sigh of relief coming from the black tom.

"Stormsong... I am glad... to have seen you before my time came..." Ravenheart stared up at Stormsong, and his eyes glazed over. The rasping breath had ended, and Stormsong knew that his final breath had been taken.

"He deserved more than this," she suddenly murmured as she nuzzled him. She didn't care if she caught the sickness he had. "Thank you for giving him a warrior name."

"That is why I came," Firestar rasped. "I wanted to give him his warrior name before he joined StarClan. Of all the cats I know, he deserved it the most."

She nodded in agreement before bowing her head. Now both of her parents were dead. But she remembered that Firestar and Sandstorm had taken her in when she was a kit. She remembered growing up alongside Squirreltail and Leafpelt.

Even though her parents were gone, she had a feeling that they were watching over her.

"We should bury him near Highstones," Firestar meowed when Barely crept forward to see what had happened. His eyes widened when he realized that Ravenheart was gone.

"My old friend, we would have hunted together if you weren't so stubborn," the black and white loner whispered.

Silence filled the den as Firestar and Barely dragged Ravenheart's body out of it. Stormsong wasn't sure if she wanted to watch the burial. Ravenheart was her father, and she wanted to see him one last time before he faded away.

Every pawstep she took was filled with pain as she followed them. By the time she picked up their scents she saw that Firestar had dug up a hole. They were beside Highstones, where the Moonstone was located.

Her pelt bristled slightly when Stormsong watched Firestar and Barely say their final goodbyes to Ravenheart. She closed her eyes when he was finally buried. The scent of freshly churned mud was all she could detect in the air.

"Goodbye, friend," Firestar whispered when she opened her eyes again. "We should get back. Dawn is coming, and WindClan will be more active."

"Thank you for coming," Barely told them. "I knew his time was coming, but I did not think it would be this soon. I always thought I would die before him." His eyes clouded over before he disappeared into the strange Twoleg nest. Stormsong looked after him and wondered if he would recover from losing a good friend. She knew that he would eventually get over it. Ravenheart walked amongst StarClan now.

OoOoO

Their trek back to ThunderClan didn't feel as long as Stormsong had anticipated. They didn't run into a WindClan patrol, much to her relief.

Stormsong's paws felt heavy when they reached the gorse tunnel. She half-expected everything to be well and cared for while they were gone. Graystripe had been asked to look after the camp while they were gone, and he was a reliable deputy.

Her ears pricked forward when she heard a yowl of alarm coming from the camp.

She didn't bother giving Firestar a chance to recover from the shock. She raced forward through the gorse tunnel just in time to see Frostwind making a run for it. Graystripe was close behind her, his pelt standing on end as he swatted away Dustpelt. Stormsong stared at Graystripe in shock when he pinned Brackenfur to the ground.

"Graystripe stop this!" Firestar yowled when he hared across the clearing and barreled into the deputy. "Why have you turned on your Clanmates?" He had managed to pry Graystripe off of Brackenfur, who skirted away from the fray and choked up blood.

"Frostwind will safe the Clans!" Graystripe screeched. Stormsong noticed for the first time how cloudy his eyes were. They were misted over in a strange liquid as he glared at Firestar. She glanced at Ashfur, who had behaved strangely as well in front of Frostwind. He had no such appearance. "I have seen what she can do, what she is capable of. You are no leader of the Clan!" His voice became a shriek as he spoke out against Firestar.

Stormsong didn't give him another chance to speak. Without warning she lunged forward and was about to give him the scarring of his life. She gasped in pain when some other cat had pushed her aside. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was Frostwind.

"Little kit, you will pay for what you did to me!" Frostwind spat. "I will make you suffer until you breathe your last breath... watch out kitty, I will be waiting for you."

With those final words she fled from the clearing with Graystripe close behind her. Cats sprang out of the way as Graystripe left them with scratches and bite marks. Stormsong could only gape in appalled horror as Frostwind disappeared from view.

"Why would Graystripe betray us like this?" Longtail yowled.

"He fell in love with a RiverClan cat. Once a traitor always a traitor," Mousefur growled.

Stormsong looked down at her paws in shame. She had fallen in love with Hawkfrost. Did that make her a traitor?

"No, Graystripe is not at fault here," Firestar suddenly meowed.

Leafpelt had crept out of her den to check on the cats who were wounded. Brackenfur had been hit the hardest by Graystripe's claws. Dustpelt looked like he was bleeding from an eye wound, but he would recover.

"Frostwind is controlling him somehow," Firestar sighed when he heard gasps echoing throughout the Clan. "We need to be on our guards. There could be others she has turned against us."

Stormsong glanced at Ashfur pointedly.

Maybe I should use my powers against him, she thought. If she could read his mind than maybe she would find out if he had been turned by Frostwind. One less dangerous cat was just what the Clan needed.

Snowpaw was glaring outside the apprentice's den with Larchpaw and Birchpaw close beside her. Her fur was standing on end when Stormsong approached.

"To think I actually looked up to that foxhearted coward!" Snowpaw spat. "I will never trust her again!"

The apprentice skirted away from the den and returned to her nest. Larchpaw looked up at Stormsong with huge amber eyes.

"Are we going to die?" she asked.

'No, of course not." Stormsong was shocked that her apprentice would ask such a question. She nuzzled Larchpaw affectionately before stalking away. She needed to focus her attention on Ashfur, who was busy speaking to Ferncloud now.

She stretched out her thoughts until she thought of Ashfur. Suddenly a swirl of clouds and storms stretched out across her. Stormsong gasped in surprise at the sudden darkness that had begun to overwhelm her. The shadows didn't stop until they were almost pressing against her neck.

"Stormsong!" She made a choking sound as some cat nudged her. When her vision returned Stormsong found herself staggering beside Sootpelt. "You kind of blacked out there... are you okay?" he asked when she shuddered.

"Ye... I'm fine," she finally breathed. "I'm just dizzy after what's happened."

Sootpelt stared at her for a couple of heartbeats before shrugging. They had never been close, aside from the few conversations that were shared during meals or patrols. He simply left it at that and joined his brother beside the fresh-kill pile.

"Everyone is fine aside from Brackenfur and Dustpelt," Leafpelt announced when the Clan had recovered from the shock. "You two need to be in my den while I check you over."

She didn't bother admitting that the Clan was still in shock after what had happened. The Clan didn't need to be told that it was in shock. Graystripe had betrayed them. And nothing could prepare them for what would happen next.