Heads
A/N: Here's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long. I'm pretty proud of this one but I must warn you I think I went overboard on the gore.
Time to announce Hollytail's killer! And the killer is...
Read the chapter to find out! Also, thanks so much to all of you who took some time to review my story. It really helped me get the inspiration to write. Special thanks to The Spirit That Comes At Night for mentioning Tales of the Evil in your latest update! You guys should check out her stories, they are amazing! Enough of me, on with the story!
Characters
Eaglefeather – Dark brown tom with lighter stripes and umber eyes
Frostfall – Pale gray tom with dark yellow eyes
Twistedfang – Tan tom with blue eyes and a malformed tooth (Warrior of NightClan)
Shatteredspirit – White she-cat with dark green eyes
So, you've come for a tale have you? You know of the execution that is taking place tonight, correct? Good. I'll tell you why there is one on the night of this Gathering. But, don't tell anyone I shared this with you. You're not supposed to find out. Now, let's begin.
"This is what you deserve, you mangy crowfood eater. You're a filthy murderer and this is what we do to your kind."
Sorrow clouded the other tom's eye, "I agree with you that murderers deserve this, but as I have said before, it wasn't me who did that," Redclaw's voice was strong despite the agony that burned inside him, "I saw you. I saw you kill her that night. You are the true murderer Eaglefeather and mark my words; it won't be a secret forever."
The first execution was over with a swipe of a paw. Claws cut deep into the throat of the "murderer" ripping open the windpipe and ending the life of Redclaw.
No cat had dared speak during the execution. One cat had overheard the toms' conversation. This cat knew he had to keep this secret or he would be the next one dead.
A pale gray tom followed his Clanmates home through a stretch of jungle, trying to forget what he had overheard. He did not have a hard time believing Eaglefeather murdered Lilystream. She had rejected him for Ashsky. He had trouble understanding why he did it the way he did. Surely not for the sheer pleasure of it.
The tom also could not find valid reasoning to commit such a grisly, horrid murder. All that had been found of poor Lilystream was her head. There was no body to be found. Her dark gray head had been spattered in her own blood and the soulless eyes still open. Her jaws were parted in a final shriek of fear. White bone was seen on the underside of it as well as the windpipe and the bloody meat of her neck.
The mere thought of this made him shiver with fright. They had left the trees behind for the barren wasteland that was their home. Redclaw had been the one to stumble across the remnants of his Clanmate. He had burst into the camp, fear lighting his eyes, and yowled for Icestar. He asked her to follow him out of the camp. The Clan had waited in anxious silence for their leader's return.
When she did, horror and disgust shone in her eyes. She had leaped onto the Spire and made a chilling announcement: "Lilystream is dead, and was killed by a vile monster. Redclaw here had the unfortunate luck of finding the only thing left of her, her head. We must find this killer and put it to death!"
The Spire was exactly that, a large twisting thing, seemingly trying to touch the sky. It was made out of cooled lava from the old volcano. It never erupted anymore, of course, but it was a grim reminder of a time when even the air was poison.
"Frostfall! You're falling behind!" Eaglefeather's voice snapped Frostfall out of his dark, tumbling thoughts. The brown tom had fallen in beside his friend, "You okay? You look like you just saw a Dark Forest warrior!"
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine Eaglefeather," Frostfall meowed, turning his white head to look at him. How could he accuse his best friend of this heinous crime? Had all the tension from the past few days gone to his head?
He picked up his pace to catch up with the others. It felt odd to be without the presence of Redclaw. The red tom had been a valued member of the Clan. Frostfall would have to learn to deal with it though, for nothing would bring him back.
They had reached the camp. It was a cave at the base of the volcano, the roof was cooled lava. It had formed softer than the surrounding area, enabling the first BoneClan cats to hollow out the inside and create caverns that served as dens. There was a hole in the roof which helped to tell the time of day for those that stayed in the camp.
The gray tom padded to the first cavern on the left upon entering the camp. This was the warrior's den. The others of the Gathering patrol dispersed to their respective dens. Most curled up in their soft nests and went to sleep; a few remained awake to share the news of the Gathering.
Frostfall lay in his nest staring at the hard gray ceiling. Thoughts clouded his mind like annoying flies. It wasn't until all cats had fallen asleep and all was silent that he began to doze off. The last thought to cross his mind as he succumbed to the cozy blackness was: Did Eaglefeather really do it?
A tan tom slid through the shadows of the trees, dragging behind him the unconscious body of his Clanmate. His malformed tooth began to ache from the strain when he reached the meeting point. But now he faced a new challenge; he had to haul his tortoiseshell load up the tree to a high branch.
"Eaglefeather! I need some help down here," he whispered up the tree. The tom knew he wouldn't be able to get her up there himself. Luckily, there was another cat there to help him.
"What?" came the irritated reply. Two umber eyes shined through the leaves as Eaglefeather looked down at the tan tom, "You can't handle her yourself, Twistedfang?"
"No, I can't. Now get your lazy tail down here and help me!" the tan tom, Twistedfang shouted silently back. Eaglefeather sighed and leaped to the ground. He then turned and sank his fangs into part of the tortoiseshell she-cat's scruff and began to scale the tree.
Twistedfang followed behind him, shoving the unconscious she-cat up the tree. Upon reaching the branch they had chosen, Twistedfang breathed a deep sigh, for he knew what was to come.
When the cat awoke, unless she gave them a sign that she agreed to the proposition, he would have to kill her.
If he didn't, they would kill him, 'they' being Eaglefeather and Shatteredspirit. Shatteredspirit was a white she-cat with dark green eyes. She wanted revenge on the NightClan leader for inadvertently causing her death. When the cruel Clan leader at the time gave the white she-cat her warrior name, she was mercilessly taunted and teased.
Soon, it escalated to the point of vicious attacks, often by groups of three to four cats. One of these attacks had been what killed poor Shatteredspirit. She wanted to murder the one that had started it all; Breezestar.
The foolish leader had no idea it was her that had been hanging his precious warriors. But that was just the beginning of the white she-cat's plan of vengeance. She planned to take control of all the Clans from the inside, and then hand them over to the Dark Forest.
She knew what it was like to want vengeance and wished to help those dark cats get theirs. Besides, it was their trainees Shatteredspirit was using to take over.
Twistedfang shook his head to get rid of his troublesome thoughts. He must be ready to strike as soon as the she-cat awoke from her meeting with Shatteredspirit.
After what seemed to be moons of waiting, the lump of tortoiseshell fur began to awaken. Twistedfang stiffened and prepared to slice open her throat.
She rose to her paws, her back to him. She spun around as a mrrow of laughter escaped Eaglefeather's jaws and her eyes widened with shock at the sight of Twistedfang. He knew she did not agree to Shatteredspirit's proposal. He raised his paw and unsheathed his claws.
Her gasp of shock lapsed into silence as his claws tore open her throat and she fell to the ground, dead. Eaglefeather laughed again as she hit the ground. He seemed to enjoy the death of others, especially ones that were painful and slow.
He had told Twistedfang of what he had done to his Clanmate. He said it was an act of revenge but Twistedfang suspected it was for the sheer joy of causing another cat's agony. This sickened the tan tom but he dared not let Eaglefeather know that. For he wanted revenge too, on the one who sent his family to their deaths.
It had been about a moon after his warrior ceremony. He was doing a little night hunting, to bring in extra prey, for leaf-bare had dug its vicious talons into the earth. He had just caught a scrawny vole when and agonized screech split the air.
Twistedfang had dropped his prey and raced toward the sound. When he arrived at the scene, it was too late. Blood stained the snow red and fur flecked the ground. His mother, father, and brothers lay in pools of their own blood. As he moved closer, Twistedfang had realized with horror that their heads were missing. Ghostly white bone and bloody meat was all there was.
Twistedfang knew with all his heart that it had been Eaglefeather. But, he also knew Breezestar had something to do with it. He had seen the two toms together before. They had had their heads close together and they were muttering to one another.
"Twistedfang, return to camp. We have no further use for you tonight," meowed Eaglefeather, snapping the tan tom out of his thoughts. Twistedfang dipped his head and disappeared into the shadows.
He returned to camp with no problems and sank into his nest. As he sank into sleep, he heard a shriek and shuddered. Eaglefeather had found his next victim.
Eaglefeather made quick work of the she-cat before him. It was a cat from his own Clan; she had come to bring him home. He slowly ripped flesh from her neck, causing her to wail with pain. The sound was music to his ears as he continued.
Her wails were broken off as the spine was broken. But still Eaglefeather continued, ripping and tearing at the flesh. Soon enough, Eaglefeather sank his bloodied fangs into her ear and pulled. There was the sound of skin tearing and bone snapping and - the head came off.
Blood soaked into the ground and as Eaglefeather walked away, his trophy in his jaws, red pawprints shone on the grass, shining in the faint moonlight.
Frostfall stood, pacing, at the meeting point. Eaglefeather had told him to meet him there, what for he had no clue. He hoped it was to make plans for when Eaglefeather became leader. Frostfall had been promised deputyship as long as he completed one task.
He wanted more than anything for Eaglefeather to reveal what he had to do to gain power. He dug his claws into the hollow stump that was their meeting place. The surrounding area was covered in moss. The trees, the rocks, everything was partially hidden under a coat of the damp green plant.
This was the better part of the territory, near the HiddenClan border. It consisted of dense undergrowth and towering oak trees; but it was still a worse bit of territory than anything of HiddenClan's-whose territory was just the same as this bit-because of the damage caused by the old volcano.
Just then, the sound of rustling bushes met Frostfall's ears. As Eaglefeather shoved his way through the bushes, Frostfall leaped back in surprise and horror.
Dangling from Eaglefeather's jaws was a small, dusty brown tabby head. It was flecked with blood and the foul liquid still leaked in tiny droplets to the ground. Soulless, green eyes locked with Frostfall's own yellow ones.
The brown killer let the head fall to the ground. It landed with a soft, sickening thud on the soft ground, "What? You act like you've never seen a dead body before," Eaglefeather sneered as if Frostfall should be ashamed for the way he reacted.
"I-I h-have. J-Just not o-one so cruelly k-killed," Frostfall stuttered in reply. His gaze was fixed in horror on the bodiless head before him. In that moment, doubt clouded his mind making him question whether he should follow this demented killer or not. On one paw, Eaglefeather would give him power, power he had never dreamed of having before. The power to make his Clanmates do whatever he wanted. Frostfall relished this thought.
And on the other, the path to power would be like wading through and ocean of blood and severed heads. Frostfall didn't kill for joy, like his comrade, but for power. He did not take pride in these deeds. He would have to kill many more times to achieve his goals.
Eaglefeather cackled with demonic laughter, "Well, you better get used to it if you want to be my deputy," he then motioned with his tail to the bloody head lying on the ground, "Throw that in the stump."
"The-The stump?" Frostfall repeated in confusion.
"Yes!" the brown tabby showed his blood stained fangs in an attempted smile, "With Lilystream," a hysterical laughing fit followed what Eaglefeather thought was a hilarious joke.
Frostfall looked down into the hollow stump. At the bottom lay a rotting corpse, a headless gray corpse, "Lilystream!" he gasped quietly. The shape was barely visible in the darkness of the night but the light of the moon illuminated the horrific scene. Grief welled in his eyes as he picked up the Eaglefeather's latest gruesome trophy and let it fall into the abyss below.
It landed with a thump on Lilystream's ribcage and rolled off her decaying corpse and into the darkness beyond. A shiver ran down Frostfall's spine, causing his fur to stand on end. That was the moment he made his decision.
I will never again follow that tyrant! But for now, as Frostfall realized, he would have to make Eaglefeather unaware of his conscious decision. He turned away from the stump, plastering a cold, heartless look to his face; I will avenge you, Lilystream and Dustpaw.
"Well, it seems someone has come to terms with what has to be done," meowed Eaglefeather, no longer sounding like a cat with rabies, but more like a cold, cunning murderer. The tabby turned and began pushing his way through the bushes, "Let's return to camp before we're missed."
His voice held barely concealed malice, making Frostfall wrinkle his nose in disgust. He followed Eaglefeather back to camp, his mind churning as he tried to find a way to reveal his treachery to the Clan but not end up on the wrong side of Eaglefeather's teeth.
Eaglefeather headed straight to his nest as he reached the camp. His mind was clear and he was calm, almost as if none of the events of the past night had happened. There was just one problem; his fur stank of blood and his teeth were covered in so much blood it was hard not to notice something had happened.
As he sat in his bed of moss, he picked dried blood out of his fur and licked it off his teeth and claws the best he could. He still smelt of blood but not enough for any cat, even the best of trackers, to distinguish it as cat blood.
A gust of wind blew through the camp, causing an eerie whistling sound. The fur rose along Eaglefeather's spine. He may act like he had no fear, but even the most evil-hearted cats have fears. The brown tabby's was the wind. The sound of the wind blowing across the dried magma gave him nightmares.
He had no idea why it scared him the way it did. He had been told it was from the trauma of his mother being blown off a rock ledge when he was little. The wind had been unnaturally strong that year and it was hard to avoid being tossed every which way.
The gust ended and all was silent. Eaglefeather burrowed his way deeper into the moss of his nest. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Then, as he was on the verge of sleep, he heard something.
It was like a whisper, only wilder and more savage, Look what you have done, all the innocent lives you've taken. You're a monster, you deserve to rot.
The brown tabby thought the voice was familiar, but from where he had not a clue, You know who I am. You have always known I would disapprove of your actions, son. You have shamed this family beyond compare.
At this, Eaglefeather's eyes shot open and he let out a startled whimper, "M-M-Mother? I-I'm sorry. It's the only way."
No, there was another path you could have chosen. One that would have given you everything you wanted and spared the innocent lives you so gruesomely took.
To this, Eaglefeather had no response. He now realized he truly was a monster. For the first time in his life, Eaglefeather felt remorse; he regretted what he had done. But, as his mother did not realize, this was the only way he could achieve his goals.
Heed my warning son, you can still fix this but if you choose not to your end will be slow and painful…
And with that, the voice was gone. The brown tom shrugged off his mother's warning, thinking his choice was the right one and the spirit was wrong. He forgot completely about the conversation and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Frostfall woke early the next morning. He exited the camp silent as a snake and broke into a run towards the NightClan border. He had arranged to meet the other ally of Eaglefeather, Twistedfang. The gray tom knew Twistedfang wanted Eaglefeather dead and planned to use this to his advantage.
When Frostfall arrived, Twistedfang was sitting by an old pine on his side of the border. The tan tom looked frightened.
"I'm here," meowed Frostfall. Twistedfang looked up, grief in his eyes, "What's wrong?"
"She finally managed to hang Breezestar. I'm leader now," Twistedfang responded solemnly, "I'm Twistedstar now."
Frostfall was not surprised. Shatteredspirit had devoted her entire afterlife to getting revenge and she finally got it.
"I'm sorry. I only hope you can resist Shatteredspirit's forces," Frostfall crossed the border and sat down next to the newly named Twistedstar.
"What's the plan?" asked Twistedstar.
"We have to lure Eaglefeather into a trap. If we kill him, Shatteredspirit's plan will unravel," Frostfall looked away, "The only problem is I don't know if I can fool him much longer."
"Then we'll have to act fast. Do you know where he'll be around sunhigh tomorrow?" asked Twistedstar. The tan leader's attitude had improved and he seemed more confident.
"Yes. He will be tracking down his next victim. Who that may be, he hasn't told me yet," Frostfall replied.
"Then here's what we'll do…"
Sunhigh was fast approaching as a ginger tom headed towards the old volcano. He was clueless as to why the deputy wanted to meet him out here. He leaped over a mound of dried lava and turned toward what seemed to be a giant gray hill up close. Farther away, though, one could see that it was indeed an inactive volcano.
The tom climbed the steep, rocky slope his breath coming in gasps. He reached the top of the volcano weary and sore. He was in no condition to defend himself from what happened next.
As the tom sat down, a brown blur knocked him to the ground. Teeth hooked into the side of his neck before he knew what was happening. The brown cat tore off skin and fur with a quick jerk of his head and had to hold back a purr of pleasure as the ginger tabby shrieked in agony. The only thing that kept him from purring was that this shriek formed a word.
"Now!" At the tom's yowl, two cats leaped out of the Lava Pit, or the training area. The brown killer had neglected to check if he was alone with his victim before attacking.
"Eaglefeather! Your reign of terror ends now," meowed Frostfall. The gray tom and Twistedstar had been able to track down Eaglefeather's next victim and concocted a plan to capture the brown tom. Twistedstar leapt on top of Eaglefeather and knocked him to the ground. The two toms became a screeching ball of fur, rolling around the rim of the volcano.
Twistedstar dug his claws into the brown tom's back and dragged him into the Lava Pit. Eaglefeather shook him off and backed away to the edge of the pit. He was bleeding from many wounds, especially a large gash across the left side of his mouth. Twistedstar was not faring much better. The tan tom was suffering from a large crack in his malformed tooth and a deep bite mark on his right foreleg.
Frostfall and the ginger tom leaped down to help the injured leader but Twistedstar signaled with his tail that this was his battle, "I have a score to settle with this snake-heart."
Breathing hard, the two toms circled each other. Eaglefeather hissed and feinted to the right. Twistedstar was not fooled, though, and dodged. He leapt forward and scored his claws across Eaglefeather's side, then retreated to the edge of their arena.
The brown tabby hissed and charged, anger and malice flickering in his amber eyes. Twistedstar had no time to dodge and was forced to meet the charge head on. The impact of the charge knocked the leader off his paws and he slammed into the rim.
As Twistedstar yowled in pain, Eaglefeather prepared to sink his fangs into the leader's thoat. Quick as a snake, teeth were driven deep into Twistedstar's throat. Instead of a yowl, all that came was a strange gurgling cry, then silence.
No one spoke. Eaglefeather stood bloody but triumphant. But, Frostfall and the ginger tom did not react. They knew that in the heat of battle, Eaglefeather would forget about the nine lives of a leader.
"Now," Eaglefeather rasped turning his attention to the two other cats, "Prepare to die!" Before he could leap, a wheezing gasp sounded from Twistedstar and the leader surged upward to tear into his opponent's throat.
Teeth met skin as the leader cut off Eaglefeather's breathing. He didn't let go until the killer collapsed beneath him. Twistedstar lifted his head and gazed around triumphantly.
"Did you kill him?" asked the ginger tom. He and Frostfall had not moved throughout the whole duel, as they knew how it would end.
"No. He will be executed, for that is far worse than anything I could do to the mangy rat," replied the tan tom, his blue eyes filled with hatred for the brown murderer, "Now, let's get this killer to your camp."
Eaglefeather was executed at the next Gathering. Icestar had ordered he be killed in the same, painful way his victims had perished. The new BoneClan deputy, Frostfall, took no pleasure in this bloody task. Many cats had to leave the temple and retch and others began to experience nightmares.
The body was taken and buried in the farthest corner of the territoty, far away from the burial field of his Clan. As the burial party headed home, one heard a whisper on the wind, and it chilled him to the bone, I'll be back.
I hope you enjoyed my story. Remember, don't tell anyone I told you. Oh, and watch your backs out there.
A full moon shone in the sky above four great oaks. Within these oaks sat hundreds of starry cats, most were faded.
"Shatteredspirit! Step forward," a lithe blue-gray she-cat yowled from atop a giant boulder. The she-cat was faded, almost to the point that you could see the trees through her. The white she-cat sauntered through the crowd, which parted as she drew near, "You have betrayed all of StarClan. You do not deserve to rest here."
Another, a fiery-pelted tom, sat beside her. This cat was almost as faded as his companion. He now stood up, "You know the price for betraying StarClan," he paused, his green eyes flashing with what seemed to be sorrow, "Shatteredspirit, by the power of the stars we banish you to the Dark Forest for crimes against StarClan."
The she-cat stepped forward again, "And if you ever happen to return to our hunting grounds, any StarClan warrior has permission to kill you," the blue she-cat's blue eyes showed her hatred as she said this, "Now leave us and never return."
Shatteredspirit had listened to her sentence with cold, calculating green eyes. Now those eyes burned with hatred, "I will leave, Bluestar, but mark my words, this is not the last you will see of me. I will have my revenge!"
With that, she whipped around and stalked out of the clearing head and tail up. The crowd of starry warriors jeered and jostled her as she left Fourtrees and headed toward the border between StarClan and the Dark Forest, creating a new plan for revenge the whole way.
"How long until she returns, Bluestar?" asked the fiery-pelted tom. Sadness still shone in his eyes and Bluestar knew he was thinking of when they had to banish Ashfur after he lied trying to get Hollyleaf banished.
"I don't know, Firestar. Hopefully not soon," she replied with a sigh. She jumped down from the rock and left the clearing. At this, the crowd dispersed and cats disappeared into the dark. Firestar followed last, lost in thought.
The flame-colored tom wandered through the forest for a while before finally settling down in the old ThunderClan camp in the ravine. He fell asleep wondering what Shatteredspirit planned to unleash upon the Clans of Emoria.
A/N: I was just going to end this one at Eaglefeather's execution but I thought I should include something extra. I hope you enjoyed! And please review it means a lot to me if you take your time to tell me what you think!
-Creekrunner
