Spring Break soon! Only 1 more week! Yay! (^_^) ~(^_^)~ Whoop whoop!
Chapter 12: The Betrayal
Greytail winced as Lunaclaw applied a chervil police on his deep back wound. "Hey! That hurts!"
Lunaclaw frowned. "You want an infection?"
Greytail scowled, flinching every now and again as Lunaclaw applied cobwebs, pushing the slightly painful police deeper into the wound.
Silver looked at Greytail with curious eyes. "So Greytail, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be with Brokenstar and his band?"
Greytail shook his head no. "Brokenstar lost his last life Starclan gave him many moons ago, after an attack on Thunderclan. A few other cats left with him, and didn't return. Without a leader, we headed for the city. There, we found a few cats that used to be a part of a clan, led by a kittypet. The kittypet died at the paws of a Thunderclan cat. They split up after that.
These cats seemed worse than this clan, no offense. No she-cats were allowed to become warriors. Toms have total control. They could mate with which ever she-cat they wanted. They ate the best prey, giving the scrawniest ones to the shes. Tom kits were taken from their mothers as soon as they were weaned off milk, living with the rest of the toms in luxury. She-kits were taken too, but were forced to learn the rules of their group. It was horrible.
But we joined them. When they heard about this clan, they were outraged that a she-cat was leading a clan under their former name. Their leader, as if he has the privilege of receiving such a high title, Snipe, told me to go find this Bloodclan and kill Shard so he could take over." He looked at Shatterbreeze. "You look so much like her. I'm sorry."
Shatterbreeze flicked her ears in response. She looked back at the sleeping Barley, pressed up against the back bars of the holder. Wasn't he a part of the old Bloodclan? Or is that just a rumor?
While Colddusk, Silver, and Greytail continued to talk, Shatterbreeze slipped silently toward the holder. She hid in the shadows of the rock that held his cold vine. She looked around, before seeing Duskraven slip out of the warrior den. He looked at the group of warriors, ears perked. He had been listening!
Shatterbreeze was about to sound a yowl of alarm, but clamped her paw over her muzzle. She was curious about what he would do.
Duskraven stayed in the shadows, heading toward the holder. Shatterbreeze was afraid she was going to be seen, but he turned, heading toward the other side of the holder. She let out a silent sigh of relief.
She watched as Duskraven prodded the sleeping black-and-white tom with a white paw. Barley stirred, blinking sleepily. He saw Duskraven, and a quiet purr rumbled in his chest. "At first, I thought you were a guard. What's going on?" he whispered.
Duskraven smiled. His fangs gleamed in the moonlight, matching the one rabbit tooth that jutted out unnaturally from the purple band around his neck. "I'm getting you out of here. It's not right what they do to you."
Barley hissed quietly. "And yet you joined those fox-hearts! You've become one of them! You've changed so much!"
A growl rumbled from the black tom. "How could I help you if I was in a cage too?!" Shatterwhisper heard the unsheathing of claws.
Barley's ears flattened on instinct. "I guess you're right. Sorry, Ravenpaw. I mean, Duskraven." His eyes glanced toward Greytail. "So Snipe took over? That's a first. Well, no, not a first. Any Bloodclan is insane."
Shatterbreeze stifled a growl.
Duskraven nodded, quietly biting down on the prongs of the cage. He took a step back, allowing the cage to crack open. She could hear the cold body collar shift and rattle. Then he moved toward the rock that held the cold vine. Shatterbreeze's eyes went wide. Her voice seemed to claw its way up her throat.
"Escape! The loner is escaping!"
Colddusk, Silver, and Greytail all looked toward the holder, getting to their paws. Shatterbreeze had tackled Duskraven, and the two were a mass of growling teeth and claws. As they tumbled, Duskraven knocked into the rock holding the cold vine. The black-and-white tom shot out of the holder, scaling up the rocks with unnatural speed. He paused at the top of the rocks, and said something inaudible, before taking off. The cold vine and body collar lay in the holder.
Colddusk had helped Shatterbreeze pin down Duskraven. He snarled and thrashed, kicking up dirt and pebbles. The black tom's pelt was stripped with claw marks. Silver, snapping out of her shock, had given chase to Barley, but he had had a huge lead. Silver snarled, charging back into camp, empty-pawed.
Chill came out of the den, narrowing his eyes at the scene around him. Darkshard came out too, wearing the same expression. Her voice was cold and icy. "What happened here?"
Silver spoke up. "Me, Colddusk, Shatterbreeze, and Greytail were talking, when Duskraven freed the loner. Shatterbreeze tried to warn us, and tackled Duskraven, but the loner got away."
Chill let out a growl. "Maybe we should put HIM in the cage for a moon!"
Darkshard replied. "No. Take away his apprentice. I don't want my future warriors learning from a traitor. Give his apprentice to Greytail. He's joining." Greytail looked shocked and angered, but said nothing as his tail thumped quietly on the ground.
Darkshard continued. "Take Duskraven to the middle of the camp."
Silver and Chill shoved the tom to his paws as he hissed and spat. Darkshard leapt up to the Bloodrock and called her clan, who emerged from their dens like bees out of a broken hive. Shatterbreeze thought they sounded like bees too, with the buzz of hushed whispers and dragging paws. She saw Sandwhisper glance toward Duskraven, then the holder. Her eyes stared at something for a while, then her attention turned toward Darkshard. Shatterbreeze frowned at the she-cat before doing the same.
Darkshard looked at the gathered cats before speaking. "Duskraven has let the loner free, against my command." Gasps and cries of outrage and harsh words against the tom rose up.
"I cannot have traitors running loose in my clan, and he shall be a fine example for anyone who wishes to break the rules and plot against me. Sandwhisper." The cream-colored she-cat perked her ears at her name. "Since you are a new warrior, wanting to earn your Elite warrior name, this is your task. Kill the traitor."
A gasp escaped the she-cats lips, and she swallowed loudly. Cats backed up and rearranged themselves to form a circle around Sandwhisper. Duskraven was thrown into the circle, a deep gash on his head and a bite mark on his shoulder and flank. He groaned as he got to his paws. He stood a few seconds on shaky legs, a challenge in his eyes as he glared at Sandwhisper. He unsheathed his claws, and let out a growl. Shatterbreeze could tell he didn't want to hurt her, and neither did she. But did she dare go against the leader's words?
Sandwhisper slowly unsheathed her claws, and Chill snarled. "Get on with it! Or I'll do it!"
Conflict flickered across Sandwhisper's face. Duskraven snarled, leaping at Sandwhisper with a savage look in his eyes and features that were twisted into something feral. Sandwhisper suddenly slashed out, then ducked.
Duskraven fell flat, face-down, on the ground. A red puddle began to pool from under his head and neck. Sandwhisper looked horrified at Duskraven's body, and her bloodstained claws. Cat's parted as Darkshard padded into the circle. "This cat has proven her worth in this clan. Because of her strength, she has earned the Elite Warrior name, Sand." The clan was dead silent. Sand didn't move. Darkshard made a new law that only Elites can have mates, because Elites are her most trusted warriors and will never end up like Duskraven, before she dismissed the clan.
As they passed, some cats murmured their congratulations to Sand. Shatterbreeze watched with curiosity from inside the den. Duskraven's body was left in the clearing, his blood left to stain the soil. Sand stood there until all the cats had left. Then she pressed her nose to his flank. Shatterwhisper could barely hear her soft, tear-choked voice. "I..I'm so-so sorry…. You did-didn't deserve to die. "
Something in Shatterbreeze's mind clicked when Sand said that. Even though Duskraven had knocked into the cold vine rock, it was still wedged under it.
And she remembered Barley's words on the rock. "I'm sorry, but you've become one of them."
RIP Ravenpaw/Duskraven.
Barley's betrayal! NOOOO! He knew Ravenpaw had changed into the monster Bloodclan wanted him to be, from the way he acted. All he needed was Duskraven to open the door and take the blame. Heartbreaking! /3 :(
