Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, but I do own the characters created for this story. Please don't steal them.
Chapter 16
Rowanwind turned and slashed a paw at the tom who'd jumped down at him. One of the crows swooped down at him, but Rowanwind rolled out of the way. Using Rowanwind's distraction, the tom came in and clawed at Rowanwind's belly. Rowanwind gave a cry of pain as he felt the claws pierce his flesh.
"Rowanwind!" Thunderstripe gasped, but he was distracted by the two other crows.
Rowanwind flipped back onto his paws.
"Stupid light demon!" the tom who'd clawed him snarled.
Rowanwind gave a ferious snarl as he tackled the tom to the ground. They wrestled together through the leaves, neither of them quite getting the upperhand. Rowanwind tried his hardest to pin the tom to the ground. Every time he tried the tom would wiggle too much and get free.
Rowanwind heard a battle cry and glanced up to see Granitetail, Thornfur, Meadowlark, Stormypelt, and Cedarspirit come flying from the forest. Hope flared in his chest when he saw the patrol coming to their aide.
"Attack!" an unfamiliar voice shouted.
Rowanwind looked up as more cats began to appear in the trees above. His eyes widened when he realized that, even with the new ThunderClan members here to fight, they were still outnumbered. The hope he'd felt moments ago disappeared.
A flash of ginger caught Rowanwind's eye. It was Cedarspirit.
"Cedarspirit!" Rowanwind shouted. "Get WindClan! Go now!"
Cedarspirit gave him a quick nod before taking off. Hopefully, the tom would be able to get more help before this battle turned deadly.
The tom Rowanwind had been fighting tackled him to the ground suddenly. Rowanwind wiggled free and slashed at the tom's face. He felt satisfaction as blood began to ooze from the tom's face, blinding him in one eye. Despite the new setback, the tom launched himself at Rowanwind again. Rowanwind kicked at the tom's belly with his back legs, sending the tom flying in the other direction.
He looked over his shoulder to try and see where the tom had gone when he felt sharp talons pricking his shoulders. Rowanwind spun and slashed at the crow attacking him. The crow cawed at him and flapped higher into the air.
Rowanwind took a moment to look around. His Clanmates were fighting at least three DarkClan cats each, not to mention the now five or six crows there were. Black feathers fell down out of the sky whenever one of his Clanmates caught a claw in one of the birds. They needed something that could help them...like a badger.
Rowanwind looked around at his Clanmates, trying to determine who was the most like a badger. Granitetail was a good choice.
"Ghenatoteal as e betgoh!" Rowanwind shouted.
Granitetail's attackers paused as the tom began to change shape. Granitetail gave a frightened mew until he realized what was happening to him. With a ferocious roar, he stood up onto his hind paws and slashed his new claws at his opponents.
"Rowanwind!" Stormypelt screeched in warning.
Rowanwind turned in time to brace himself for another attack. The DarkClan she-cat dug her thorn-sharp claws into Rowanwind's shoulders. Instead of trying to shake her loose, Rowanwind rolled over and crushed her beneath him. The she-cat yowled in pain, and her grip loosened. Rowanwind rolled away from her and got back onto his feet.
Another crow came flapping down at him. Remembering the way Quickleaf had attached herself to the crow just before she'd died, Rowanwind launched himself into the air. His claws connected with the back of the crow and he scrambled at the crow's belly with his hind paws. The crow screamed in terror as Rowanwind's weight made them start losing altitude. Black feathers flew everywhere as Rowanwind continued scrambling at the crow's belly. The crow suddenly crash-landed in a bush. Rowanwind finally let go as the crow began to transform back into a cat.
He slid out of the bush and looked around, trying to find someone who needed help. Wetpelt was being pinned to the ground. He rushed over and dug his claws into the shoulders of the tom sitting on top of Wetpelt. With as much strength as he could muster, Rowanwind threw the tom off of Wetpelt.
"Thanks!" Wetpelt gasped out.
"No problem!" Rowanwind replied.
Another battle cry rang out. Rowanwind looked over to see Cedarspirit leading a WindClan patrol. He recognized Rumbleclaw, Brownclaw, Orangefoot, Rustclaw, and Nightstripe from WindClan. Maybe with their help, the DarkClan cats would be defeated.
"Hello," a voice hissed in Rowanwind's ear.
He turned to see Sly standing a few fox-lengths away. His orange eyes glinted in the rays of light from the sunrise. Rowanwind's heart thundered in his chest. Was this it? Was this the final battle? Would he actually have to kill a cat today?
"Calm yourself, Rowanwind," a familiar voice whispered. He glanced sideways to see Deathmask standing beside him. "Remember, Ghostlight will be there in the final battle!"
He'd completely forgotten Ghostlight's plan to tire out Sly so Rowanwind could go in for the kill. His heart slowed its fast pace.
"Aren't you going to come and get me?" Sly snarled.
Rowanwind growled at him. "I've got better things to do today, Sly!" Sly glared at him, his orange eyes turning to slits.
"Fine!" The black tom disappeared, but he didn't call a retreat. Instead, he shouted, "Kill one of them!"
The battle continued around Rowanwind. The DarkClan cats were fighting even more fiercely than before. Would one of them really kill one of the ThunderClan or WindClan cats? Did Sly really have that much authority over his Clan?
A crow came at Rowanwind. He ducked out of the way, but the crow turned to come at him again. There was a rumbling growl as Granitetail, still in the form of a badger, ambled over. One of his large paws swiped through the air, and the crow went flying into a tree. It fell to the the ground in a crumpled heap, transforming back to a cat as it fell.
"Keep it up, Granitetail!" Rowanwind shouted.
"There are more!" Rustclaw shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear.
ThunderClan and WindClan cats' heads turned to see four more DarkClan cats rushing into the battle. Rowanwind cursed. How many DarkClan cats could they possibly withstand fighting before someone fell?
"You're crowfood, light demon!"
Rowanwind turned and blocked a flashing paw coming at him. He reared up onto his hind paws and slammed his forepaws into the tom's shoulders. The tom screeched and rolled over, trying to claw at Rowanwind's belly. Still balancing on his hind legs, Rowanwind jumped back and dodged the claws.
"Stupid light demon!" the tom screeched.
Rowanwind felt a blow hit him from behind. He spun to see a she-cat crouched behind him. He went down on four paws again as she came at him once more. He tried to block her oncoming claws, but the tom clawed him from behind and distracted him. The she-cat's claws connected with his face, leaving behind oozing scratches. It was two against once now.
Rowanwind flipped over, slamming the tom into the ground. The she-cat's claws came at him again, but he was able to wiggle out of the way again. The tom got back onto his feet. The two DarkClan cats advanced on him, forcing him back. Rowanwind lashed his tail back and forth as he wondered the best way to get out of this predicament. He chanced a glance over his shoulder and realized they were backing him up into a tree. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage.
Rowanwind allowed the two cats to back him up into the tree. Choosing just the right moment, Rowanwind spun around and clawed his way up to the first thick branch jutting out of the trunk. He looked down at the two cats, who stared back up at him with curious expressions. With a caterwaul, Rowanwind launched himself from the branch and landed on the back of the tom. They rolled together across the ground, hissing and clawing at each other's faces. Rowanwind was finally able to catch the upperhand and was able to slam the tom's shoulders into the ground.
Pain ran through his shoulders as another crow caught its talons in his fur. He tumbled off of the tom he'd been fighting and slashed a paw over his back to try and dislodge the crow but that didn't help. Rowanwind rolled onto his side and crushed the crow beneath him. A sharp beak came up and snatched at his ear. Blood spurted everywhere as the beak caught his ear.
"Die, light demon!" the crow cawed loudly.
Rowanwind twisted and slapped his claws across the crow's face. More blood spurted everyone as blood oozed from the bird's face. Taking his chance, Rowanwind bit down on one of the bird's legs. The crow cawed in pain and finally dislodged its last few talons from his back. Rowanwind found his feet beneath him again and raced away.
"Help!" Rustclaw shouted as he went down beneath a large, black tom.
Rowanwind went to help his WindClan friend. The tom growled at him and refused to budge from atop Rustclaw.
"A em e fux!" Rowanwind shouted.
The black tom watched as Rowanwind became a fox. The transformation happened very quickly this time. One moment, Rowanwind was a normal, ginger tom. In the next second, he was a fox.
Growling, Rowanwind jumped and pushed the black tom off of Rustclaw. He turned and raced away, letting the tom chase him. Rowanwind spun around and clamped his teeth down on the tom's front leg. There was a nasty snap as Rowanwind jerked his head. The tom cried out in pain. When Rowanwind let go, the tom turned and limped away from the battle.
"Rowanwind, over here!" he heard Stormypelt shout. She and Thornfur were fighting against a crow that just did not want to go down.
Rowanwind ran over to them and jumped up onto the back of the crow. With a squawk, the crow fell to the ground with Rowanwind on top of it. He clawed out some of the feathers on its back before leaping off.
"Thanks," Stormypelt said. "I can take it from here."
His mate slipped over and began to claw at the crow's face. Thornfur latched on to one of the crow's weakly flapping feathers and began to pull out more feathers.
"Sly's orders have been fulfilled! DarkClan retreat!" a DarkClan tom suddenly shouted.
There were some tense moments of confusion as the ThunderClan and WindClan cats watched the last DarkClan crows turn into cats again. The DarkClan cats all converged into a huge group before disappearing into the shadows. The forest around the cats echoed with triumphant laughter, even after the DarkClan cats had disappeared.
Rowanwind barely felt himself changing back into a cat. He shook himself, splattering the nearby leaves with drops of blood. How had such a peaceful morning turned into such a dreadful battle?
"Rowanwind!" Wetpelt suddenly screamed.
His blood ran cold as he turned to see Wetpelt standing over the motionless body of a gray she-cat with a dark gray tail. Rowanwind's heart slowly began to slip downward as he padded over to the lifeless body of Meadowlark.
"It will be okay, Rowanwind." He glanced up to see Meadowlark's spirit sitting beside her body. She looked younger than she'd been when she was alive. "Tell Thunderstripe I'm very proud of him," Meadowlark meowed before disappearing.
Rowanwind sat down beside Meadowlark's body. He turned slightly to see Thunderstripe slowly walking over, limping on a bloody foot.
"Meadowlark..." Thunderstripe whispered. He lay beside his mentor. "Oh, Meadowlark...why you?"
Rowanwind knew the reason. It had been Sly's order. Sly was the reason Meadowlark was dead. A white hot rage spread through Rowanwind's icy veins, warming his entire body with hate. Sly was going to pay. He was going to pay for every death he'd caused...
Ashfang...
Cottonbrave...
Dapplefoot...
Quickleaf...
...and now Meadowlark.
Sly was going to die. And Rowanwind was going to be the one who killed him.
Author's Notes: Sly has no idea what he's gotten himself into now! An angry Rowanwind is not a cat you want to cross! Things are really starting to heat up! The end is near! Can you feel it?
End of Chapter Sixteen