Cursed Division - Kindred Whispers book 2)

Chapter 10

Midnight awoke with a grunt. Her body wasn't aching as bad as she expected. Ember must of let her return with minor pain, because that fall would of broken some of her legs at the least. But her body felt fine.
What confused her, was her surroundings. She lay in a feathered nest in a sheltered den. A thick furred gray cat milled around, gathering leaves together and storing them.
It was then, Midnight recalled the unfamiliar cats that had found her before she had lost consciousness. Whoever they were, they brought her back to their home.
"Excuse me." Midnight murmured softly.

The thick furred cat turned. She gazed at Midnight with relief.
"Oh thank goodness!" she exclaimed. "I almost thought you wouldn't awake!"
Midnight blinked at her. The gray cat had a wad of leaves in her paws. She was a healer, like Althea and MoonPebble back in PeaceLeaf Forest.
"Where am I?" Midnight asked.
"You are in my Tribe's home. We are called The Kindreds, which I believe you know already. Our leader, Frostine said she recognized you and spoke to you in a vision. You are apparently our prophet."
Midnight coul hardly believe her ears.
I made it! I made it to the Tribe! Oh thank you heavens! Thank you for guiding me on a this long journey. I haven't failed after all!

"The journey here was hard," Midnight admitted. "But I am so glad I made it."
"Us too. We've been waiting for you for seasons."
"Whatever I was called here for, the threat must be serious." Midnight meowed darkly. In her words, something in the healer's expression changed. A look of utter fear clouded her green eyes and she saw a haunted look there. Clearly whatever threat these cats were facing, was disturbing them deeply.
"Serious, yes. Our Tribe may not survive it without you."
Midnight pricked her ears. What threat could be so serious that they'd need a cat from so far away to handle? Maybe it was connected to her nightmare back in the rocky cave, her clone perhaps. Whoever that cat was that looked like her, plagued some sort of threat. The vision was clear enough.
Before Midnight could answer, she heard the sound of paws scuffing outside the den.

A beautiful glossy white she-cat padded in, her eyes so blue, the most beautiful eyes Midnight had ever seen. It was the familiar cat Midnight had seen in her visions.
The white cat dipped her head to Midnight.
"I'm sure you remember me. I'm Frostine, the cat who came to you in your visions. We welcome you to The Kindreds, Midnight."
Midnight returned the greeting. "Thank you, Frostine. I'm glad to receive a warm welcome."

The Tribe leader glanced cat the healer who gave a respectful nod.
"Thank you for tending to her, Lilac. But she appears to be unharmed. I still expect we will be giving her time to recover."
Liclac nodded. "It seems so. She'll be taken care of well."
Frostine gave a wave of her tail, signaling for Lilac to leave. The healer did so without a word, leaving Midnight alone with the tribe leader.
When they both settled, the leader spoke.
"I'm glad you made it here mostly unharmed," she began. "But my patrol found you injured. One of our cats, HoneyFlower said it felt like you had a few broken bones. But by the time they returned you here, Lilac said you were most unharmed except for minor scratches and exhaustion."
Midnight ducked her head. So it was true. Ember did make sure she returned mainly unharmed. It wouldn't be the first time she'd done something like that.
"Well, on my journey, I got severely injured in a fight between rogue cats in a city. I was saved by the spirits then. They came and helped me fight that gang of vicious cats."
Frostine's eyes widened. "Really? Usually they don't come to the physical world but they must of been eager to protect you on your quest if they came to help so many times and perhaps even spoke to you."
Midnight nodded in agreement. "You must be in real dire need."
The white cat closed her eyes sadly, shaking her head. "More than you know." she murmured. "The worst of it hasn't begun yet but I fear it isn't long."
Midnight frowned. Clearly something bad was looming for this distant and desolate tribe. She could only wonder what darkness lay over the horizon. Her first vision must of been what it could be. But while she tried to recall it, Frostine spoke again.
"There is a cat who looks a lot like you. She is of supernatural force. She bears powers I've never seen in a cat before. She has history with our tribe. History I don't want to discuss. But she won't stop until we are all dead."
Midnight leaned forward. "She looks like me, you said. I had a recent vision about her. She made me claw my own throat out. She controlled me."
Frostine gave a quick nod. "She has the ability to make others do what they want. Right now, we face one of her other threats, a wolf named Cronos. He has already killed a couple of my tribe members. I don't want him to kill anymore."
"I won't let him and that cat kill any more of your tribe!" Midnight hissed, determined. She had never seen a wolf before but she had heard stories about them. They were big broad creatures, savage, yet skittish.
"The cat who looks like you bears a similar name. Her name is Midnight Rose." Frostine stopped for a moment, ending her words abruptly, as if hesitant to continue. But she did.
"When I look at you, I see so much resemblance. It's almost as if you're the same cat."
Midnight gasped. Was it true? It couldn't be! "That's not possible!"
But the leader said no more. "Are you fit enough to meet some of my tribe?"
Midnight didn't question her sudden change in subject. Instead, she gave an uncertain glance at her paws.