The Beginning

Chapter 23

"Wait, WHAT?"

"Yes, they are gone. I checked their den a few moments ago, and they just... vanished," he growled.

"We have to tell Riley and her friends," she said.

"No," her brother said, shaking his head. "I don't want to ruin their excitement for the tournament."

"But surely you're going to tell them?" Clauchice asked.

"Yes, I will. Not right now," he said. "It's best to tell them when the time is right."

"Fine," she grumbled.

A white blur shot down from the sky. Hazefhur stopped, panting. "Need.. help.. at.. Camp," he said.

"Why are you breathing so hard?" Jhaufyther asked.

"I had to come over as fast as I could. You know those newcomers that you captured two weeks ago?" he asked.

Jhaufyther's eyes gleamed. "Yeah, what about them?"

"Well, they're building some sort of weapon," Hazefhur answered him.

"What's bad about that?" Clauchice said.

"No, you didn't let me finish. It's human sized."

A shudder passed through Clauchice. Human sized... that can't be good. Their plan that Jhaufyther guesses is coming into place.

Jhaufyther's fur bristled angrily. "It's WHAT?" he growled.

Hazefhur shifted his paws nervously. "It's human sized," he repeated. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you."

Jhaufyther stormed off, a cold breeze coming off his fur. Hazefhur looked at Clauchice helplessly, then ran after him.

Clauchice needed to find Riley. She stomped to Riley's den, and found her chatting with Carlos and Sam.

Riley was having an excellent morning. After successfully figuring out how Jhaufyther's energy purifier worked-almost zapping Carlos in the process, and giving him a massive scare- she was telling Carlos and Sam how to use it when Clauchice's massive shadow covered her. Her fur was bristling, and her eyes were glaring. "Uh... what happened?" Carlos asked nervously.

Clauchice glared at Riley, pushing an image into her mind. It showed the newbies building some sort of weapon. Riley's heart dropped. That is not a Catwing sized weapon, she realized.

"What? WHAT?" Carlos asked.

"Um.. the newbies are building a weapon," Riley said.

"Okay, why are you so freaked out about that?" Sam asked.

"It's a person-sized one," she said, a shudder passing through her.

Carlos' eyes widened, connecting the dots. "Oh no. Does that mean..."

"Their plan is coming into action," Clauchice finished for him. "We need to make sure to hide you three."

"When do you think they'll..." Carlos said, trailing off.

"I don't know," Clauchice said. Her eyes were filled with a cold anger. "Just... just make sure to lie low. I'll go deal with them at night. They shouldn't be making weapons behind your back." She stormed off, her footsteps getting fainter and fainter. Riley jumped out of the den. "What do we do?" she said, trying to remain calm. She will NOT let her friends see her panic. I don't want to make this a bigger deal than it already is, she thought.

"Let's do what Clauchice said," Sam offered. "We do need to hide if that weapon is for us."

"I agree with her," Carlos interjected. "If they want to kill us, it's better if we hide than just lie out in the open like pieces of meat getting grabbed by vultures."