Hum dee dum dee dum…. This is definitely a finally. Finally I finished this and published it. Finally some real action happens. Finally we begin to understand the grand finale… :D Be excited.
"You can't be serious."
Silence hung in the air like a dense, strangulating fog.
"As far as I can tell, it's the only way."
"StarClan will condemn you."
"I don't think they will."
Sparrowtail's eyes were wide with astonishment and fear. The fur along her spine was rigid, her claws unsheathed.
"Do you expect me to sanction those actions? It would go against everything I have ever learned and believed in," she choked, her whiskers quivering.
"Certainly not, if you feel that way," Icestar replied, swiping her tail impassively against the mossy floor of the medicine clearing. "I'm merely asking your opinion, as a medicine cat and trusted friend."
"What you propose is heresy of the most abhorrent kind," Sparrowtail breathed, probably quoting Shortwhisker. "As your medicine cat, I would spit at your feet and adamantly refuse to discuss this matter further, but as your friend, I would most desperately implore you to reconsider. Please, Icestar, you cannot, you will not, do this."
"I will," Icestar said sharply, her voice suddenly biting. Her eyes sparked as she rose to her feet and gazed down the length of her muzzle at Sparrowtail's panicked expression. "I am the leader of this Clan, and I know what is best. We will not survive the next leaf-bare with these few warriors. If you have any sense at all, Sparrowtail, you must understand this. Considering the lives we lost over this past season, we cannot sustain the same number of losses and recover. The other Clans will destroy us and divide our territory before we can beg for our lives. Perhaps you have seen this future in one of your dreams," she spat, her tail lashing.
"StarClan has shown me no such thing," Sparrowtail retorted, her jaw firm but her voice quavering violently. "I have seen only prosperity in ThunderClan's future."
"Proof that my venture shall succeed," Icestar meowed harshly. "Now I will trust you not to speak a word of this to Shortwhisker, or any other. I've told you how to explain my absence, and I expect you to keep your word. If when I return things are not precisely the way I left them, I will have only you to blame for it."
Sparrowtail stared at her for a long moment, and Icestar briefly feared that the shivering tortoiseshell she-cat would really defy her, after all the time she had spent cultivating the young medicine cat into a steadfast ally. But after a minute Sparrowtail turned away and hung her head, her whiskers drooping.
"I suppose you know what's best for the Clan," murmured the apprentice, her eyes downcast. "And I'm just the medicine cat apprentice. I can't really tell you what's right or wrong."
Icestar felt a prickle of guilt, and stepped forward to nudge Sparrowtail's shoulder. "It isn't that," she meowed. "I consult you about these things because you're my medicine cat, and I entrust you with the welfare of the Clan. But sometimes the paths you walk are different from those I follow. My heart tells me this is the way, as yours warns you against it. I don't pretend to teach you what to believe, Sparrowtail, and as leader I must sometimes disregard the guidelines set down by our ancestors. After all, that is what leadership is often about: judging what is right and what is wrong based on the present circumstances." She tried to force a smile past the impatience urging her to leave.
Sparrowtail nodded, and Icestar shrugged before turning and padding away. She felt uneasy about the truce, as Sparrowtail's secrecy was vital. No other cat could know about this plan, or Icestar would be exposed. And once one evil deed came to the surface, who knew what others would rise with it?
"Worrying, again?" came a low meow. Icestar turned slightly as Stonepelt trotted to her side, his pelt glistening in the sunlight.
"There's always something," she grumbled, her light tone sounding extremely forced.
"You can tell me, you know," Stonepelt meowed, giving her a kindly smile. His eyes were bright, his whiskers straight. He looked cheerful, strong and well-fed, and Icestar felt welcome warmth in her pads, chasing away the chill from her conversation with Sparrowtail. It was always like this, nowadays – her 'inner cold', as she called it now, battling with the newleaf warmth that was spreading through the forest.
"It's nothing important," Icestar mewed quietly, silently adding, at least not for you. Her thoughts wandered to the recent Gathering, and her discourse with StarClan. The ominous words of their prophecy still rang in her ears: "ice and fire burn as one". She hadn't yet deduced the full meaning of the prophecy; although part of it she could understand. The coldness that had been described as an inescapable part of her was as painful as licks of flame: when she felt it rising within her, the same panic flared in her chest that she would feel at the onslaught of a vicious fire.
"It's still early," Stonepelt spoke up, whisking his tail across her shoulders. "Maybe we should go out and hunt for a bit. Ashfoot says the mice are coming out of their holes."
Icestar shrugged away from his touch and shook her head. "Not today. You and Ashfoot go, and take Owlpaw and Redpaw with you. I have some business to take care of." Without waiting for his answer Icestar hurried away, heading for the warriors' den. She felt his curious gaze prick her pelt as she slid through the brambles, but didn't turn. She would have plenty of time to explain herself after it was finished.
"Eagleclaw? Are you ready?" she whispered into the den, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. A rustle focused her gaze on a nest in the corner of the den, where Eagleclaw's head rose from a pile of down feathers and bracken.
"It's that time already?" she grumbled, reluctantly rising to her feet. She raked some pieces of moss from her pelt before traipsing after Icestar as she turned and left the den. "It's almost sunhigh. We can't be caught by the dusk patrol," Icestar mewed quietly, leading Eagleclaw across the camp towards the bramble tunnel. The golden tabby she-cat yawned widely, her tail lashing, and nodded agreement.
"They won't catch us," she promised. "Remember, I have the best nose in the Clan. I'll smell them coming from a mile away, the way they stink."
"Their scent won't be as strong when we're inside their territory," Icestar reminded her.
"I know that," Eagleclaw snapped, her eyes flashing. "You don't have to treat me like an apprentice anymore." She turned away from Icestar and bounded ahead, slipping through the brambles without a backward glance. Icestar wasn't so hasty. She paused outside the bramble tunnel, looking back at the camp and taking a deep breath. No cat but Sparrowtail knew their mission, and she had made sure that the other warriors were far away from her destination. If anyone saw them, the two she-cats looked like any other hunting party. As long as Sparrowtail kept her mouth shut, this entire operation would go off without a hitch. And the future of the Clan was counting on that.
The camp was virtually empty. It seemed that Stonepelt had taken her advice and gone hunting with Ashfoot and the apprentices. Thrushwing was leading a patrol near Twolegplace. Shortwhisker was out gathering herbs by Sunningrocks, and Sparrowtail was inside her den, sorting through the leftovers from the harsh leafbare. The walls of the camp had been repaired after the fire, and everything looked as it had when Icestar had first come to ThunderClan as a tiny apprentice. She felt a twinge of something like nostalgia, but there was no sweetness to her remembrances. This was a place that she loved, in her own unique way, but it was also a place that Icestar would never entirely understand.
Blinking, the white she-cat turned to the bramble tunnel. A few tufts of fur hung in the thorns, belonging to many different pelts. She recognized the pale gold of Yellowstripe, the rich ginger of Redpaw, and Shortwhisker's smoky gray. The trail through the bush was worn smooth by so many paws over so many years, and as Icestar padded into the shadows, she wondered briefly if any cat had passed through this maze with the same intentions as she had now. She wondered if any leader, as agonized with the fate of their Clan as she was, had made the same decisions and walked the same path that now lay before her.
Are they in StarClan? She asked herself wearily. I didn't see them there. Her fleeting visit to the Place of No Stars had finally instilled in her a fear of that place. If it was true that her soul, as tainted as it must be, would ascend to the sky after her death, where would it come to rest? Had she long ago forsaken a place in the lush fields of StarClan, or was there still a sunny spot awaiting her arrival? And if she carried out this plan today, what would be the price? Would it be worth the continued survival of the Clan, in exchange for everlasting loneliness and torment in the dark forests of Silverpelt?
"Icestar? Hurry up! You said yourself we couldn't be late!"
Eagleclaw's irritated whisper interrupted Icestar's train of thought, and she shook her head with a grateful sigh. There was no use pondering these things. As far as Icestar should be concerned, there was no StarClan. All that mattered were her actions here, today, and what they meant for ThunderClan's future.
"Of course," she growled, darting past Eagleclaw as she emerged from the bramble tunnel. "Let's go."
They made their way through the sunlit forest towards the Thunderpath, keeping silent and watchful, all senses alert. Eagleclaw had her lips parted, her muzzle lifted to scent the air, and Icestar kept her sharp gaze on the horizon as they neared the enemy's border. New growth was everywhere: tightly furled green fronds popped out of the dead bracken, young sparrows and robins chirped cheerfully high in the branches, and tiny new blossoms speckled the shrubs.
"We're almost there," Eagleclaw growled, pausing suddenly. Her golden pelt was dappled with sun, glittering like the moonstone.
"Any patrols?" Icestar questioned, trying to peer through the trees. She sensed nothing, and once again admired the strength of Eagleclaw's nose.
"Not that I can tell, but the scent markers are fresh. They might be nearby."
"What about something we can use to mask our scent?" Icestar suggested, glancing sideways at the tabby she-cat. Her ears were pricked, her tongue lapping at the breeze.
"There's an abandoned fox den in that direction," she mewed, waving her tail to their right. "But the scent is faint and stale. It probably wouldn't cling to our pelts. We could look around for something."
"How about the Thunderpath?" Icestar meowed.
"It's close by," Eagleclaw growled.
"No," the white she-cat snorted. "I mean to cover our scents."
Eagleclaw stared at her in shock. "Yuck," she spat. "I'd smell like that for weeks!"
"Exactly."
Icestar didn't wait around for more complaining. She sped forward, keeping low to the ground, watching her surroundings intently. After a few moments she could feel the rumble of the Thunderpath beneath her paws and taste its acrid stench on the air. A second later the stretch of black stone was visible through the trees, and the faint hint of ShadowClan stink tainted the breeze as well.
"Do you mean roll around on that?" Eagleclaw mewed with a shudder, creeping to Icestar's side. A giant, glittering blue monster roared past, spewing gravel in its wake. The wind it stirred up tugged Icestar's fur in all directions.
"It's the only way. We can't have a single cat recognize us. None. If that happens, everything is over." She turned to meet Eagleclaw's wide gaze. "Everything."
"Alright, alright, got it," muttered the tabby warrior, lowering her gaze and shuffling her paws.
"When the time is right, go and gather the scent. Then come back to this side of the border. We don't want to spend moons lolling about in the path of those monsters," Icestar meowed, bracing herself as another beast charged past.
"I'll go first," Eagleclaw volunteered, bunching her muscles and preparing to spring. Icestar leaned out over the path as far as she could, looking in both directions. Everything was still.
"Go," she hissed, nudging Eagleclaw forward.
The golden tabby leapt forward, keeping to the edge of the path, and flopped on her side, smearing her fur with dark oil and rubbing it onto her face with her paws. By the time she was finished, a layer of grime dulled the bright luster of her pelt and she was barely recognizable. Icestar wrinkled her nose as the she-cat returned, her tail dragging in the dust. The stench was almost unbearable, searing her nose and making her eyes water.
"This is possibly the most disgusting and disgraceful thing I have done in my entire life," Eagleclaw whimpered, her voice small as she stared down at her ruined fur. "I'll have to spend three moons licking this filth off my paws."
"It's better than being torn to pieces by an angry queen," Icestar retorted, and darted past her friend.
No monsters were looming on the horizon, so Icestar ventured forward bravely, trying to hold her breath as the awful smell surrounded her. Closing her eyes and entrusting her safety to Eagleclaw, she dropped to the ground and began to roll, ignoring the discomfort of having the sticky tar work its way through her pristine pelt. She shuddered as the goo tangled in her belly fur, but persevered until every inch of her white pelt was coated with slime. Grimacing, the leader bounded back to Eagleclaw's side. A moment later, three monsters trundled past in succession, making Icestar's pelt prickle.
"This place is dangerous," Eagleclaw meowed in a low voice, her eyes trained on the monsters' giant black paws as they flashed by. "No wonder all cats are afraid of it."
"And that's why we teach even young kits never to stray too close to the ShadowClan border," Icestar meowed, her tail, streaked brown, whisking back and forth.
"That and the fact that ShadowClan warriors will catch them and skin them alive like fresh kill!" snorted the golden she-cat.
Icestar shrugged and turned her gaze to the Thunderpath once more. One more monster rolled past, and then it was empty. With a wave of her tail, she motioned to Eagleclaw to run. The tabby warrior jumped forward, dashing across the hot black stone with her belly low to the ground. Icestar waited a second before following, in case a monster was on its way. Luckily, both cats managed to cross without incident, and they were unnoticed as they slipped into the undergrowth on the opposite side of the path.
"Well, we definitely won't be recognized as ThunderClan cats by our scent," Eagleclaw reflected as they darted side by side into the safety of a thorn bush. The spiny thorns dragged at Icestar's pelt, but she was already so uncomfortable from the slime of the Thunderpath that she barely noticed.
"That's the idea," Icestar growled, peering intently from the shrub. She couldn't smell any strong ShadowClan scent nearby, despite how potent it normally seemed. Then again, most of the forest scents were masked by the offending stench from her own pelt, so she nudged Eagleclaw's shoulder and asked her quietly, "Nose?"
Understanding, Eagleclaw thrust her muzzle out of the bush, into the open air. A chilly breeze was blowing through the pines, thick with myriad smells. The golden tabby's nose twitched, her whisker quivering. After a moment, she leaned back into the bush and whispered, "It looks like the last patrol here was from this morning, or some time before sunhigh. ShadowClan scent is thick but stale, and there's nothing else of significance, except for some prey. Are you hungry?"
"We don't have to time eat, mousebrain," muttered Icestar, kneading the earth with her claws. "We have to finish this before moonhigh or cats in camp will be suspicious."
"Fine, fine," Eagleclaw murmured, shrugging.
"Let's go then." Icestar rose and emerged from the bush, shaking some leaf scraps from her dirty pelt. The forest was eerily quietly around them, except for the distant rumble of the Thunderpath from behind. A few birds chirped, but all together the area seemed empty.
"Do we even know where the camp is?" Eagleclaw growled as the two she-cats picked their way cautiously through the forest. The undergrowth here was different from the sunny woodlands of ThunderClan territory. Instead of brambles and ferns, ivy and marshy grasses covered the empty spaces beneath the jagged boughs of pine trees.
"I think so. Cinderstar described it a couple of times. We're not supposed to know, but as leader I have access to certain information that the average warrior doesn't," Icestar mewed in a haughty tone of voice.
"High and mighty, much?" grumbled Eagleclaw. She kept silent from then on, keeping her eyes on the forest in front of them and her ears pricked to pick up sounds of approaching warriors.
As they neared the site where the ShadowClan camp was supposedly located, Icestar slowed her careful walk to a delicate creep, twitching her whiskers to indicate that Eagleclaw follow suit.
"Cinderstar once said that you could walk into the ShadowClan camp before you even know it's there, aside from the smell," she hissed. "Keep your eyes open."
"They are open," Eagleclaw snapped in quiet voice, blinking rapidly for emphasis.
"Keep the wise talk to yourself, for the time being," Icestar growled. "This is not the time for cracking ridiculous jokes. Just be alert and do what I say, please."
Wrinkling her nose, Eagleclaw nodded agreement and fell silent once more.
As they tiptoed at a snail's pace through the brush, Icestar scented the air constantly, relying on her nose before her eyes. Though she might not be in top sniffing condition, so to speak, she figured the ShadowClan camp would be unmistakable no matter how clogged her senses were.
"Wait," Eagleclaw mewed suddenly, nudging Icestar's flank. The leader stopped and turned to blink questioningly at her friend. "Hear that?" Her ears swiveled in the direction of a copse of pine trees just visible in front of them.
A barely perceptible murmur rose from the space among the trees. When she focused, Icestar could just make out some distinctive meows. Thankfully, it seemed the camp was rather empty.
"Maybe it's our lucky day. Maybe WindClan is attacking somewhere and the entire camp is cleared out," Eagleclaw whispered, crouching close to the forest floor.
"Don't count on it," Icestar hissed, and then padded forward.
They stopped at another tangle of thorn bushes to gaze down into the ShadowClan camp. It was surrounded on all sides by a thick wall of pine trees and ferns, and to Icestar's eyes looked cramped and chaotic. Dens were buried into the ferns or dug beneath some boulders lying about, but there were few open spaces save for a well-trodden square at the base of a tree stump, which she assumed was used for announcements like the Highrock.
It was true that the camp was nearly empty, and for a brief moment Icestar wondered if the warriors really were occupied elsewhere. But then she saw a group of them slither out of the shadows near a bramble thicket and make their way across the camp to another den.
"How are we going to get in there unnoticed, huh?" Eagleclaw growled under her breath. "Have you even though this through?"
"Of course I have," hissed Icestar. She turned to gaze meaningfully into Eagleclaw's wide amber eyes. The she-cat stared back for a moment, before her eyes flashed and her pelt bristled.
"No way! Absolutely not! I can't believe you brought me all the way here before even telling me your plan!" gasped the tabby warrior, aghast.
"Well, it's your fault for not asking. Besides, it's not like tracking is your only skill. I've seen you run like a scared rabbit when you try," muttered Icestar, smothering a chuckle.
"Why didn't you bring Redpaw? She's tiny and easy to lose track of in this thick undergrowth. She'd get away without a scratch!" Eagleclaw meowed indignantly, her whiskers quivering.
"So will you, if you put your mind to it. Now get on with the plan, Eagleclaw." Grinning, Icestar nudged Eagleclaw's shoulder.
"This is not going to end well," grumbled the she-cat, but she slipped away nonetheless. Icestar waited patiently, scenting the air and keeping her eyes on the ShadowClan camp. Not three minutes later, a loud caterwaul shattered the gentle silence. Icestar blinked rapidly and narrowed her eyes, trying to make out Eagleclaw's grimy golden stripes among the ferns.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are, you slimy toad-faced turncoats!" The loud shout echoed unmistakably through the trees. Not to mention the colorful language, which could only be Eagleclaw. It only took a split second for the three warriors that they had observed earlier come shooting out of their den, gazing around in shock.
"Over here, lazy-lizards! Yellow-bellied dirt-eaters! Come and get me, you mouse-brained excuses for kits! Can't catch me!" Icestar watched as the warriors whirled in confusion, trying to find the source of the insults. Then a flash of gold caught Icestar's eye, and she smothered a howl of laughter as she saw Eagleclaw come charging into the camp, thorns and leaves tangled in her nearly unrecognizable pelt. Her eyes were wild, her whiskers frazzled, her tail puffed out.
The three warriors backed away from her intimidating form for a moment, alarmed. Then she opened her mouth and growled at them defiantly. "Your as fat as badgers, and slow too!" she spat, and then whirled and darted back into the ferns. The three warriors exchanged mystified glances, but quickly dashed into the shadows to give chase. Pleased, Icestar rose from her position hidden beneath the leaves and made her way down the slight slope, into the thickets that concealed the camp. As soon as she poked her head back into the light, she raced across the open square until she came to a hole beneath a tall boulder.
This is probably madness, she thought to herself, but shrugged the thoughts away. Madness or not, she had made her decision. This was the only thing left that would save her clan from sure destruction.
She darted from den to den, sticking her nose into the darkness and blinking, backing away with a frustrated growl each time she struck out.
Finally, she approached the fifth den, nestled in a bed of ferns and concealed by some mossy rocks. There were some sounds from within, and she felt a tingle of apprehension.
"What was that?" someone was murmuring. "Is there an intruder in the camp?"
"Look, Brightkit is scared. Ssh, sweet one. I'm sure your father will chase away the nasty rogue," whispered a second voice.
"I smell something funny," said the first voice again. "I hope that rogue doesn't attack them."
"Addercoil will be fine, Morningcloud," reassured the second. "It's probably just some crazy kittypet who thinks it wants to be a warrior."
Icestar froze in her approach of the nursery. Her heart stammered for a second, and then picked up speed. Just some crazy kittypet. The words echoed in her mind, each one falling like a stone. Just some crazy kittypet who thinks it wants to be a warrior. Is that what I am?
A growl rose in Icestar's throat. Abandoning caution, she leaped the last few steps toward the den and rounded the corner just as a menacing snarl ripped from between her teeth.
Just some crazy kittypet.