CHAPTER ELEVEN

The forest was dark and creepy, but we all took hope in the faint glimmer of starlight above us. At least it was not the Dark Forest—but for all we knew, the Place of No Stars could just be a branch of this horrible, cold realm of nightmares.

As we walked along uneasily, the wind rustled through the bushes. I shivered. This place may not have been the Dark Forest, but it was still spooky.

I pressed close to Lion's Roar for comfort. He was nearly the size he had been when he was Lionblaze now, and he smelled almost the same. I breathed in his scent and purred, glad to find some warmth in this gloomy place.

Jay's Wing was ahead of Lion's Roar and I, trying to lead the way. He was muttering under his breath and clawing at the ground as he walked. Beside him was Dove's Wing, who looked nervous and apprehensive.

Wolf, walking just behind her, swished her tail in anticipation. She was actually eager for whatever was to come—apparently, she was much more excited at the prospect of adventure than I was. Then again, Wolf hadn't had to build the Clans. She had probably been missing the sense of danger and risk. I, however, felt that I had had enough adventure to last a lifetime. Sadly, Rock and the Originals had other things in mind.

At least we were finally getting some explanations for what was going on, instead of having to just jump in paws-first and hope we didn't mess up. Still, the Originals—especially First and Also—had been awfully cryptic about why they were working together, and really, the whole purpose of dragging us here.

Lion's Roar seemed to sense my grumpiness and purred in my ear as we walked along through the Dark Realm. My frame in this body was slight, much slighter than I had been as both Gingerstar and Shadow, and he towered over me even at his softpaw age.

"It'll all work out, Annie," he murmured. I looked up at him.

"Do you really think so?" I whispered.

"It always has before," the golden tom replied. "Trust in StarClan."

"The thing is, this is before StarClan," I muttered, but Lion's Roar didn't hear me. Jay's Wing had snarled out a curse word and stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" Wolf asked, scowling.

Anger flashed in the tabby tom's bright blue eyes. "I'm sure I've seen that rock before!" he hissed, pointing his tail at the offending lump of stone. "We've passed this way already!"

"Don't tell me we're going around in circles," Wolf groaned. "Why did we let you lead?"

"Would you like to take lead?" Jay's Wing growled.

"I would gladly do so!" my gray-furred friend snapped, fluffing out her fur. Her amber eyes were angry slits. "Move aside!"

Lion's Roar stepped in front of her, a disapproving look on his face. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Dove's Wing looked upset. I swished my tail uneasily, hoping that my mate could sort things out.

"Calm down, Wolf," he said soothingly. "Jay's Wing is just uncertain, he needs help, but this is his territory."

"Yes, calm do—" Dove's Wing began, but Wolf cut her off.

"Oh, really?" the big gray she-cat growled to Lion's Roar. "I thought we were in the Dark Realm, the territory of evil spirits, not the mountains. Or are you suggesting that he's an evil spirit, too?"

"No, that's not what—"

"I am not an evil spirit!" Jay's Wing yowled. "Honestly, I make one wrong turn, and you all gang up on me!"

"I wasn't ganging up on you," I protested. "Lion's Roar wasn't either!"

The tabby tom ignored me, instead whirling on Wolf. "Why are you even here?" he demanded. "You're a ShadowClan cat; the only thing you ever did in the forest was kill ThunderClan's leader!"

"Slow down, now," Wolf spat, advancing on him. "If you haven't forgotten, she killed me as well. And I could say the same for you—why are you here after deserting your Clan to live in the past?"

Livid, Jay's Wing unsheathed his claws and crouched, preparing for a fight. "Take that back! You have no idea what I've been through!"

"Stop it!" Dove's Wing pleaded, but no one paid any attention to her.

"Oh, it's a fight you want?" Wolf hissed. She, too, crouched and unsheathed her claws. I was growing rapidly worried. We needed to work together, and attacking each other was not the way to do that. Lion's Roar was flummoxed and had stepped back. He couldn't understand what everyone was arguing about.

"I'll have you know that I was one of the best fighters around the Lake," Wolf continued. "What were you? A medicine cat?"

Jay's Wing yowled in rage and sprang, but Wolf quickly rolled out of the way. She was much bigger than him, and, admittedly, was one of the most skilled fighters I had ever met. Only Lionblaze had been better than her—and I had been her match. Jay's Wing had been a medicine cat when he was by the Lake. He hadn't received any battle training!

I stared in mute shock as Wolf leapt on top of him and sank her claws into his fur. There was a murmuring noise from the other side of the clearing, and I vaguely recognized Dove's Wing's voice, though I didn't pay much attention to it.

Jay's Wing out let out a yowl of pain and flipped over onto his back as hard as he could. Wolf hit the mossy forest floor with an 'oof!' as the wind was knocked out of her. I remembered that Jay's Wing had been the founder of SkyClan, and revised my previous assumption that he would be horribly beaten. He had to have some knowledge of battle.

Jay's Wing shook himself free of the gray she-cat's grip and got to his paws, the light of battle in his eyes. He turned to attack his winded opponent, but Wolf had already recovered and was on her feet, glaring murderously at him. They crouched again and began to circle, but just as Wolf bunched her muscles for another attack, Dove's Wing's voice rang out loud and clear over the chaos.

"Stop!"

Her words were forceful and full of disappointment. She sounded very world-weary—though after having lived years as some sort of oracle for the Clans, all by herself, she probably was.

Wolf and Jay's Wing both froze, only their eyes moving toward the pale gray she-cat.

"What are you two doing?" she said in disgust, her eyes flashing. "We're supposed to be working together! And you two!" Dove's Wing turned to me and Lion's Roar. "Why didn't you say anything? You just stepped aside and let it happen!"

"Well—so did you!" I protested.

"You may not have heard me, but I was pleading with them to stop the whole time," the other she-cat said coldly. I winced, now remembering her earlier protests and soothing murmurs during the fight. She was right. I had just stood by and let it happen. At least Lion's Roar had attempted something before he became so confused he had to step back.

Dove's Wing turned back to the still crouching gray cats. Guilt showed in Jay's Wing's eyes, and Wolf's fur had laid back down flat and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Jay's Wing was only asking for help, Wolf," the smaller she-cat scolded. "You should not have tried to grab power. We are currently guests in Jay's Wing's territory while we are awake, and I am fairly sure that right now we are asleep, but our bodies are still lying in the Cave of Rushing Water, which is his territory." She took a deep breath and glanced at Jay's Wing.

"I understand that you were frustrated, Jay's Wing, but the remarks about Wolf's Clan were uncalled for. From what I gather from what you have told me about your adventures without me, you were the founder of SkyClan. Snow over here was the founder of ShadowClan. We can be friends—and more than friends—without being in the same Clan forever." At this remark, Dove's Wing glanced at Lion's Roar and I. I flushed slightly.

"We should have talked this out, not fought," Dove's Wing continued. "Now. Wolf, Jay's Wing—apologize."

Jay's Wing glanced at his paws, scowling. Wolf looked over his head and said stiffly, "I'm sorry. Let's not fight in the future."

"I'm sorry, too," the tom said gruffly, still looking at the ground.

"Now, isn't that better?" Dove's Wing said soothingly.

"We're all lost anyways," Lion's Roar said quietly. "I mean—we weren't given any instructions. We're just sort of wandering around. We don't know where we're going, so that argument was kind of pointless."

I swallowed a chuckle, but Dove's Wing laughed a little too, and suddenly the tension began to relax in the clearing.

Then, from the darkness behind me, a rumbling voice said, "Oh, very good. You did better than I expected."

We all whirled around, our claws unsheathed. Out of the bracken stepped a huge—and I mean huge, nearly twice the size of Wolf—cat with deep red fur. No—its fur wasn't red... I could see flecks of white beneath the red, and the longer hairs were tangled and clotted with a sticky liquid... was that blood?

The cat's fur was so matted and bloodstained that it stank of battle. Its eyes were amber and filled with bloodlust and hate, and its ridiculously long claws were caked with blood. It seemed to emanate an aura of fear and anger, and I instinctively quailed from this terrifying monster. I noticed the others around me shrinking back as well.

Except not Dove's Wing.

The small, fluffy gray she-cat stood bravely in front of us, not disturbed at all by this menace. I don't specify a gender for the beastly cat because it had none. It was simply... a spirit. I knew it was a spirit, and could easily guess that this was Slaughter, the spirit of war.

I felt a hot, furious ball of anger welling up inside of me. Who was this cat to stand in the way of our quest? I heard the growls of my companions around me as they straightened with new purpose and hate, preparing for battle, until Dove's Wing said, calmly and clearly, "Don't attack. That's what it wants you to do. It will beat you easily that way."

Her words pierced through my shield of battle hunger, and I fell back. Lion's Roar was still growling, though, until I cuffed him softly on the head with a sheathed paw. "Listen to Dove's Wing," I ordered.

"Very clever, little kitten," Slaughter rumbled. Its voice was dark and menacing. I was stunned that Dove's Wing was continuing to hold strong in the face of this ghastly creature.

"Very clever," Slaughter repeated. "I thought I had your group torn apart when they were fighting" —he flicked a massive tail at Jay's Wing and Wolf, who now, amusingly crouched side by side— "but you figured out what I was doing."

"Yes, I did," Dove's Wing said in a neutral tone.

"Why have you come, little kittens?" Slaughter growled, pawing at the ground. His enormous claws left deep scars in the earthy ground. "Why have you entered my realm?"

"We are sent from Star and Moon," Dove's Wing said boldly. I noted with slight interest that she excluded First, Also, and Rock. "We are their emissaries, asking in peace whether you and your brethren will allow the formation of spirit groups for the cats."

"My, they took their time in asking," Slaughter said, shaking its huge head. It's malevolent gaze passed over each of us, and seemed to look at me for the longest time. As its eyes met mine, I remembered every fight—whether it be a squabble with a sibling or an inter-Clan war—that I had ever participated in. Blood swam in my vision, and I felt full of rage and the fury of battle.

But then Slaughter looked back at Dove's Wing. "You come in peace, you say. But I am Slaughter, I am war! I do not want peace. Why should I allow this?"

"It will not affect your realm," the gray she-cat replied softly. "Wars will still go on, no matter how much your opposite, Peace, and all the peace-loving cats in the world wish they would not. You will have enough blood. This simply gives the cats who have died because of you a place to rest before they are called upon to fight once more." A dark undertone crept into her voice as she added, "And they will be called upon again."

I shivered slightly, remembering the Dark Forest war, where both living and dead cats had fought side by side.

Slaughter's gaze swept across us again, and I was forced to go through reliving every battle I had every fought again. At last, its gaze returned to Dove's Wing. How could she stand it?

"I have had worse arguments from others," it said. "And you have passed my test. I do not know if I could manipulate your party again." It closed its eyes for a moment, and the tension in the air lessened. Then the yellow orbs became visible again as its lids lifted. "Very well. I, Slaughter, spirit of war, give permission for Star and Moon, Originals of the Cats, to organize their spirits." A dark red ripple of power spread from him and through the trees, turning my vision cerise for a moment.

Slaughter lifted its huge head to stare at Dove's Wing. "You have done well, Messenger of Peace," it growled. "But know this: your last pawsteps will be haunted by blood, and you will not fade from your world in peace."

Then it straightened to its full height, rearing up on its hind legs. It let out a fearsome, blood-chilling roar like a lion and then dropped back down. "Now leave my territory, little kittens! You will find Hunger amongst the sickly trees, in the starless place. I am only the first spirit you must appease; four more await you, and their tests will be just as hard as mine."

Then it turned and disappeared back into the tall bracken fronds, leaving only a spatter of blood on the ground in its wake.