**OLD** Valley Cats: Of Sky and Stone 2- Poison Clouds

Chapter Fourteen

 Her plan had worked, although if she was going to be sick at the sight of her own wounds, she was practically shivering as she peered down into the endless blue. With only cloud under her paws and the bright sky seeping into her eyes, Palespeckle turned in a circle to make sure she was dead. Sure enough, she was glowing in the blinding light of the Sacred Sky.

 "Hey, you!" someone barked behind her. The CliffClan warrior whirled around, recognizing the voice. It belonged to one of two cats who sounded almost identical. 

 "Shattersweep?" Palespeckle almost squeaked. Sure enough, the tom was levitating in the cloud, also enjoying the complimentary aura given to the newly deceased.

 "Well? Don't just stand there, tell me how it went!" her mentor grunted, as if they were regrouping after the battle for the Moonpond.

 "Um... Sapphirestar threw me in the water... And CloudClan's been putting prey-bones in it... Oh, and she killed me." she managed.

 "So she's still alive? With her gift?" the gray-and-black tom sighed in defeat. "Ah, well. You did all you could, and so did I. And Beeberry and Aphidflower, too. Now we've got to find a way to-"

 "No, this was my plan!" the she-cat hissed defensively. "I know how cats killed in the Moonstream go to the clouds highest in the Sacred Sky. And you know who else is here?"

 "What in the panther's den are you talking about?" Shattersweep said accusingly. "Your plan was to die in the Moonstream so you can see some other cat in the Highest Sky? Did you think you'd take Sapphirestar with you? I swear for the sun, you've gotten even more scatterbrained than when you were my apprentice!"

 "No, I..." Palespeckle trailed off, furious. Her pan was truly outrageous and many things would have to happen for it to work out. But she still could try. "Alright, so I may not be on to something that's easy to accomplish. Are you going to help me save the spirits or are you going to sulk here for the rest of eternity?"

 Thornspike and Pikastar's directions had seemed entirely ludicrous at first, but after a while Palespeckle had gotten rather used to flying through the etherial air. With Shattersweep angrily swishing behind her, she had been floating straight up for what had seemed like forever when she finally gave in to her dissatisfaction with the afterlife.

 "I know Citrusstar loves watching over the Sacred Sky, but why under the ice does their adoring eye have to be so bright?" she grumbled, pausing to smolder in a thin strand of cirrus.

 "Ugh, Now that I'm dead, I can say that it's really kind of stupid." Shattersweep agreed bluntly, squinting even more as he levitated beside her. It would be the middle of the night if they were still alive, and yet the glaring sun was still harshly commanding their etherial submission. "Honestly, don't they have to blink or something now and then to give us spirits a break? We're not exactly having the time of our lives in this heat!" he yowled at the blazing Sky above.

 "Wait. What is that?" Palespeckle blinked a few times, but the blurry figure on the horizon only got bigger.

 "Is that... Another spirit?" Shattersweep grunted.

 "No, it must be deez." Palespeckle joked, as if she understood Fernflutter and Blizzardblurs' humor. They both are probably dead, she thought suddenly. I wonder who else died in that battle...

 The spirit glided closer, and once it was within range, Palespeckle could make out dark fur. As the cat stopped at an appropriate distance, she realized his striking resemblance to Onyx-eye. But it had to be someone who died in the Moonstream. "Ravenflight?" she guessed.

 "Ah, yes. You're Palespeckle, right?" the dark tom said in a gentle voice. "Magpiepelt has told me all about you. And I know why you two are here."

 "You do?" the young warrior rushed in relief. "That's great! So Turqoisetalon is in the Highest Sky? And you know where he is?"

 "That... You mean..." Shattersweep sounded almost breathless as everything audibly clicked together. "You're going to find Turqoisetalon and get him to take back Sapphirestar's gift? The one that gives her all the power?"

 "Yes, why does that sound like it's so difficult?" Palespeckle would have rolled her eyes if the situation wasn't so dire.

 "Magpiepelt never told me anything about this," Ravenflight observed. "I thought you'd just try to take the gift back by force, with Shattersweep and maybe a few others to help you."

 "Why?" the she-cat flattened her ears, not liking where this was going.

 "Because," the former healer said nervously, "He, um... Turqoisetalon really doesn't like you two. Or any CliffClan cat, really."