The sky be heavy and gray. Gusts of cold wind drive rain into our faces. The weather reflects my mood as I stand at the back of the ThunderClan patrol just above Fourtrees. There was no banter or laughter on the walk from camp. The silence reminds me too much of the way ShadowClan holds vigil for dead clanmates. Will any of the cats I'm standin' here with die today? Will they kill my friends? My brother? Will Tigerstar or one of my other former clanmates kill me?
Some of 'em ain't happy about me being on the patrol. Firestar had his work cut out for him explainin' why bringing a ShadowClan exile along to fight ShadowClan is a good idea. Rather than the prophecy and Mama walkin' in his dreams, he focuses on how I might be useful in exposing Tigerstar's crimes. The few tail-lengths of space around me says ThunderClan still got reservations.
"You all know why we're here," Firestar says solemnly. "Tigerstar wants us to join his clan, and he won't take no for an answer. I hope we can get out of this without a fight, but-"
The ThunderClan leader stops when Cloudtail flicks him on the shoulder. We follow the white tom's gaze and see WindClan showin' up. They still look messed up from yesterday's battle. If they have the courage to come and fight, I think, so do I.
My admiration dims slightly when Tallstar stops beside Firestar and scans the ThunderClan patrol, his eyes narrowing as he glowers at me. The fur along his lean shoulders stands straight up. "Firestar, why have you brought one of Tigerstar's rogues with you? Is she a prisoner?" he demands. Been there, done that, I think wryly.
"Nettlethorn is just as much a victim of Tigerstar as the rest of us," Firestar says evenly. Real quick, he explains 'bout the half-clan cats and, of course, me. I reckon he's got the story down by now. A few WindClan cats still give me distrustful looks, but I see sympathy and maybe even admiration on a few faces.
Then, the two leaders talk quietly for a moment. The clans come together, and Firestar leads the way into the clearing. Bushes on the other side of the hollow part, and Tigerstar strides out. Seein' him again makes all my doubts and fears come rushin' back. Is Firestar really up to fightin' him? I never seen Tigerstar defeated in battle. I know this ain't rational. He was overpowered before he was exiled from ThunderClan. But I still feel his weight pinnin' me down, his claws rippin' me open.
I run my eyes over each of the warriors who came with him. The cats from RiverClan, very much including their leader, look like they be dead inside. A few of the ShadowClan warriors snarl or unsheathe claws when they see me, but most just look away. Boulder is here beside Russetfur, and Lightningpaw stands with Jaggedtooth and Rowanpaw, a nasty scratch above her right eye. But Nightwhisper ain't in sight. Tigerstar just left him to guard the camp, I tell myself. But far from calmin' me down, my brother's absence makes me even more nervous. The feelin' that we're all missin' something sticks to me like a bad smell.
"Greetings, Tigerstar," Firestar calls, his voice cool and confident. "You came, then. Not still looking for those prisoners you lost from RiverClan territory, I hope? ThunderClan is always happy to take in the warriors you've driven away with your cruelty."
"You'll regret that day's work, Firestar," Tigerstar sneers. "As will you, traitor." His malevolent amber gaze pins me like a claw to the throat.
It's hard not to flinch, so I turn to my usual defense: sarcasm. "A warm nest instead of a dark, stinkin' foxhole, real prey instead of crowfood, no fightin' friends to the death, what's not to regret? Honestly, I had a hard time gettin' outa my nest this mornin' without some cat tellin' me how inferior my blood is," I quip.
This gets some murmurs and chuckles from ThunderClan and WindClan. In the TigerClan line, Lightningpaw's whiskers start to twitch. Jaggedtooth cuffs her upside the head, claws unsheathed. I do my best to let him know, through my eyes, that I'm imagining him being eaten alive by dogs. He curls his lip in an answering sneer.
Tigerstar digs his claws into the earth but otherwise ignores me. "Have you thought about my offer?" he asks the other two leaders. "Join with me and accept my leadership, or be destroyed."
"Wow, what a choice," Cloudtail mutters sarcastically.
"Silence, kittypet!" Tigerstar snarls, lashing his tail.
"Tigerstar and Darkstripe are really bad at shit-talkin'," I say to Cloudtail. "Once they get past kittypet and traitor, they're pretty much lost."
"I've noticed that," the white tom says. Sandstorm hisses at us to be quiet, but her green eyes flash with mirth.
Firestar and Tallstar exchange a look. They're both absolutely determined. "We reject your offer," Firestar speaks for all of us. "The forest was never meant to be ruled by one clan, especially not one led by a dishonorable murderer."
Tigerstar ain't even denyin' the dishonorable-murderer thing at this point. I guess he figures too many cats know what's what. "But it will be, Firestar. With or without you, it will be. By sunset today, the time of four clans will be over," he purrs.
"The answer is still no. ThunderClan will never submit," Firestar meows.
"Nor will WindClan," Tallstar chimes in.
"Then your courage is matched only by your stupidity," Tigerstar jeers.
I reckon the fight's on then, but Tigerstar don't order his warriors to attack. Surely he ain't gonna wait for Firestar to make the first move?
The tense standoff is broken by a choked gasp of, "Tawnypaw!" The cry comes from the apprentice standing at Firestar's side. I noticed the resemblance between Bramblepaw and his dad when I got him outa that burnin' tree, but it's even more pronounced now. He's lookin' at a young tortoiseshell she-cat standin' next to Oakfur, clearly his new apprentice.
"Tigerstar did steal her!" snarls another ThunderClan warrior whose name I ain't gotten straight yet.
"Steal her? Not at all. Tawnypaw came to us willingly," Tigerstar says silkily.
"But you're a ThunderClan cat—come back to us!" Bramblepaw yowls.
Tawnypaw don't let out so much as a squeak, but Tigerstar got plenty on his mind. "No, Bramblepaw, you come to us. Your sister made the right choice. TigerClan will rule over the whole forest, and you can share our power. ThunderClan is finished. There's nothing for you there."
Why has he brought his own kit to a big, dangerous battle while leavin' the brother of a traitor safe in camp? It don't make sense, and I don't like it. Where is Nightwhisper?
"Join you? I'd rather die!" Bramblepaw growls.
"Are you sure?" Tigerstar hisses. "Stay with them, and you will die."
"Then at least I'll go to StarClan as a loyal ThunderClan cat," the apprentice snaps, to cheers from his clanmates. I don't call out, but I admire his courage.
"Fool! Stay, then, and die with these other fools," Tigerstar spits.
Still no order to attack. "This ain't right," I whisper to Sandstorm, who stands just in front of me. "Tigerstar's up to somethin', I feel it with every hair on my pelt. It's like he be stallin' for ti-"
The words die in my throat as Blackfoot raises his tail in a signal. More cats line up behind the TigerClan warriors, ranks and ranks of 'em. Skinny, mangy cats with teeth embedded in their collars or stuck to their claws. This ain't a BloodClan patrol like the one I fought on ShadowClan territory; this is all of 'em. Bone's in the lead like always, but I know that this group's true leader is the tiny black tom in my old tormentor's shadow, the one none of the warriors have noticed yet.
Scourge didn't have much to do with us when we were part of BloodClan. We saw him sometimes, but mostly his name was whispered fearfully among Mama and the very few cats she could trust. I saw him at initiations though, his eyes like pools of icy water watchin' kits fight and die. If Mama hadn't got up the nerve to run when she did, those eyes would've watched me. Now they sweep the forest cats with complete contempt, sure that everything will play out just like Scourge wants, 'cause it always has. This is what Boulder tried to warn me about yesterday before Firestar and Sandstorm scared him off. My soft murmur of, "No, no, no" is lost among the shocked gasps of ThunderClan and WindClan.
"Look at their collars!" exclaims an apprentice. "They're kittypets! We won't have any trouble beating them."
I wanna tell him he oughtta shut up, he ain't never been more wrong in his whole life and won't be if he lives another fifty seasons. But I might as well be made of wood or stone for all I can move. I was prey in BloodClan, and prey's first instinct is to hide. My thoughts are like the scattered bits of twoleg trash that pile up around dumpsters when the wind blows real strong. How can all of this—everything I've been and done since comin' to the forest—have brought me full circle? Was I always destined to die at the claws of BloodClan? Was everything Mama and StarClan said meaningless? And—the absolute most terrifying thought of all—has Bone already taken his revenge on my littermate? Tigerstar's threat about sendin' me back to him echoes in my head.
I've missed some of the conversation. By the time my ears start processin' sound again, Tigerstar is gloatin' about how much better he is than the rest of us. "You see, Firestar? I am even more powerful than StarClan, for I've changed the clans in the forest from four to two. TigerClan and BloodClan will rule the forest together."
Fear flickers in the ThunderClan leader's gaze, but he still sounds calm when he says, "No, Tigerstar. If you want to fight, let's fight. StarClan will judge who is in the right."
He done lost his mind, I think. Ain't no way we can fight TigerClan and BloodClan. Unless StarClan plans to come down here and use their claws, I don't see what use they'll be.
The idea of makin' a run for it comes to me then, so vivid I actually see myself streakin' back into the trees. I can make it to the road on the other side of ThunderClan territory, cross over into ShadowClan, and find my brother. But I can't leave these brave, stupid cats to be ripped apart. And it ain't just 'cause Boulder and Lightningpaw are here, or Blackfoot's taunt about runnin' away being my specialty. The clans ain't perfect, but I've come to believe in what they stand for. And like my brother said the night we agreed to join the ShadowClan exiles, "I'm tired of always runnin'." It's Nightwhisper's words in my head that keep my paws right where they are.
"You mouse-brained fool!" Tigerstar snarls at Firestar. "I was prepared to come here and talk with you today. Just remember that it was you who drove us to this. And when your clanmates are dying around you, they will blame you with their last breath." Turnin' to the cats lined up behind him, he yowls, "Attack!"
None of the BloodClan fighters moves so much as a whisker, which he would've known was gonna happen if he'd actually lived in town. "Attack, I order you!" Tigerstar bellows, like the useless idiot he is.
And suddenly I've got my voice back, crackin' with what could be rage or despair as I yowl, "You ain't got no idea what you've done, do you, Tigerstar? You're like a kit playin' in the road. BloodClan ain't gonna listen to you."
Every eye in the clearing be on me now. A few are hostile, but most are just wide with shock. Scourge is the first one to speak.
"You're Cici, aren't you? You used to live among my clan as a kit. I can't say I remember you, but Bone and Tigerstar have told me all about you. They both want you dead," the BloodClan leader says silkily.
"My name's Nettlethorn," I say, which is pretty ridiculous given the circumstances.
"Cici, Nettlethorn, whatever you call yourself these days, you're right about one thing. Tigerstar, my warriors don't attack unless I command it." Turning to Firestar and Tallstar, he adds, "I am Scourge, leader of BloodClan."
Firestar steps toward him. Graystripe hisses at his friend to be careful as I say sharply, "Keep away from him. He's way more dangerous than he looks and faster than you'd ever believe."
Is that the tiniest flicker of dbout I see in Blackfoot's eyes as he flashes a glance at his sister Fernshade? Deerfoot, Ratscar, Newtspeck, Frogtail, Tallpoppy, and Flintfang are also lookin' a lot more nervous now that their leader's plan don't seem to be workin' so good.
Firestar stops between his own warriors and those of TigerClan and BloodClan. Maybe he does get it, I think. Or at least he has a tiny inkling of how bad this could be. We all be walkin' on broken glass now. Just one wrong pawstep...
"Greetings, Scourge," Firestar meows steadily. "I am Firestar, leader of ThunderClan. I wish I could say you are welcome in the forest. But you would not believe me if I did, and I have no wish to lie to you. Unlike your supposed ally here, I am a cat of honor. If you've believed any promises Tigerstar made to you, you're mistaken."
"Tigerstar told me he had enemies in the forest. Why should I believe you instead of him?" Scourge meows, but he sounds interested, which means we ain't gettin' our fur ripped off quite yet.
Firestar launches into the story he been wantin' to tell ever since the last Gathering. Tigerstar tries to look scornful. "Meow away, little kittypet," he sneers. "It won't change anything."
I'm more interested in watchin' the TigerClan cats. They start out real skeptical. "Of course ThunderClan wants to make Tigerstar look bad," I can almost hear 'em sayin'.
But as the ginger tom goes on, especially when the dogs come up, some of those doubtful expressions turn to dismay. They've seen Tigerstar's ruthlessness, his demand for unquestioning obedience. They can't brush this off as accusations from an enemy.
"If we hadn't found out about Tigerstar's plan in time to escape, the dogs would've ripped every cat in ThunderClan to pieces," Firestar finishes.
"Good riddance," Tigerstar growls.
Fernshade actually cringes away from her leader, disgust and horror plain in every line of her face. Darkstripe snarls and shoves her back into line, but I reckon the damage is done. I can practically see the image of the leader my clanmates have built up in their minds fallin' apart. Will they turn on him? Break and run? Or will their fear of him keep 'em in line even now?
Scourge's eyes are narrowed in thought. "Tigerstar told me what he planned to do with the dogs when he visited two moons ago. He never told me his plan failed," the BloodClan leader says icily.
"None of that matters now. We have an agreement. Fight beside me now, and you'll have all I offered you," Tigerstar snaps.
"I must think on what I've just heard. There will be no battle today," Scourge says.
"Traitor!" Tigerstar snarls, his muscles bunching.
I reckon that what happens next is somethin' every cat who saw it will carry in their mind for the rest of their lives. When I think back on it, I wonder if I could've stopped it. A fool idea, probably. I already gave Tigerstar all the warning any cat should've needed about not messin' with BloodClan. But I still wonder if yowling, "Don't do it!" could've made any difference. It all happens as if in slow motion.
We watch Scourge avoid the swipe of Tigerstar's massive paws, like it's easier than breathin'. Then, Scourge unbalances Tigerstar with a blow to the shoulder. He's only off-kilter for a few heartbeats, but every cat in town knows Scourge is fast. Deadly fast. Those sharp claws, reenforced with dogs' teeth, plunge into Tigerstar's throat, then rip him practically in half.
Blood pools in the grass around the Great Rock as Tigerstar writhes and screeches. The wail of loss and terror that rises from TigerClan ain't like any sound I ever heard before. And I almost join in. Because as evil as Tigerstar is, as much as I want him stopped, the agony he's clearly in is more than even he deserves.
When Tigerstar finally goes still, Stumpytail cries, "He's just lost a life, but he'll be fine." But the brown warrior's voice is far from steady.
Fine is the last thing Tigerstar's ever gonna be again. He jerks violently as his terrible wound starts to close. But the healin' quits partway through. Tigerstar convulses again, lettin' out a shriek too high for a cat his size. That screech cuts off with a choking gasp as, again, he goes still. Is he really gonna die seven more times?
He does. Seven more times he yowls and writhes and chokes, paws and tail flailin'. No cat goes to him. Not his clanmates, his daughter, or his deputy. The last thing to leave his amber eyes, before he goes still for that final time, is his fury. That stays with him until the end. But even it goes eventually, and the cat who tricked and inspired and hurt and humiliated me is nothin' but a lump of unmoving fur on the grass.
The ShadowClan cats try to run for their territory, but at a flick of Scourge's tail, BloodClan cuts off their retreat. ShadowClan huddles together like they're takin' shelter from a storm. My heart hurts, seein' 'em so shattered. It reminds me of how the clan was during the worst of the sickness, when Tigerstar brought us in to help. It may have just been another ruse to him, another path to power, but for me, helpin' those pushed-to-the-brink cats was the start of a whole new way to think and live. And now, Scourge is threatening to destroy it all.
"This is what happens to those who defy BloodClan. Your friend over there thought he could control us," the black cat says, flickin' his tail scornfully at Tigerstar's body.
"We don't want to control you," Firestar says, but even he don't sound as calm and collected as before. Who could, after seein' that? "All we want is to lead our lives in peace," the ThunderClan leader continues. "We're sorry that Tigerstar brought you here with lies. Please feel free to hunt before you go home."
Is he for real? Ain't no way BloodClan's goin' home, not after they've seen the forest. How did someone this naive get to be clan leader?
"Go home?" Scourge sneers. "We're not going anywhere, forest fool. We are taking over this territory now. I shall rule the forest as well as the town. But I understand that you may need some time to reflect on this. You have three days to leave—or meet my clan in battle. I shall wait for your decision at dawn." And without another peep, his cats follow him into the woods.
ShadowClan don't look at the other clans. They run into the pine forest: not a line of warriors ready for battle, but a disorganized mass of cats fleeing for their lives. They don't look much like a clan in that moment, each wrapped in her or his own unique nightmare.
"Sandstorm, I gotta go with them," I say.
The pale ginger she-cat looks at me like I'm growin' an extra head. I reckon a clanborn cat would ask permission instead of just runnin' off, but mouse dung to that. With every heartbeat, my panic about Nightwhisper grows.
"Are you crazy?" Sandstorm demands. "TigerClan could very well be part of BloodClan now."
"I won't believe that," I growl. "And yeah, I'm probably a little crazy, but didn't you see them? I don't reckon they can take on an angry mouse right now, let alone get on my case about the half-clan business again. We all got way bigger things to worry about. Plus, I ain't seen my brother, and I need to know he's all right. My clanmates have done bad stuff, I know, but they don't deserve to face Scourge alone."
My clanmates. The words just slipped out, but they feel right and true, despite my in-clan exile and the sneers and the foxhole. There's also sharin' tongues with Boulder after a successful hunt, training with Nightwhisper, laughin' with my friends on patrol and in the warriors' den, playin' with Lightningpaw. I need to be with the cats I love and find out if there can still be a home for me in ShadowClan. ShadowClan probably won't even exist in a few days, says a dark, cynical inner voice. In a few days, the clans will all be scattered and in exile. These moons in the forest will just be one little interlude in a life spent scroungin' out of dumpsters and goin' to bed every night with paws aching from the hardblack.
Sandstorm's green eyes flick nervously to Tigerstar's corpse, then back to me. "I guess you're right about bigger problems. If you really want to go after ShadowClan, I can't stop you. I'll tell Firestar where you've gone. Stay safe, Nettlethorn."
"Thanks for everything, Sandstorm," I meow before dashing back toward my own territory.