Silent Shadows: Book Two - The River of Secrets

XIX

Content warning: Suicide, descriptions of severe physical torture, insects and rats.

Daisyfoot has betrayed me. Perhaps she is a coward, running away from me. Hiding from guilt, does she not realize that the one who owns the world is to eradicate pain and suffering?

Failure. I will never allow myself to be described by that. I will never be simply a failed attempt at a God. I will never fail in eradicating pain, in exterminating evil. No, I am beyond life and death, I am the one who runs it's course. And so, none will be defied by me. None will defy fate.

"Father, why have you brought me here?" Autumnthistle asked, following the BlazeClan leader through a dark portion of the forest. The moon had begun it's rise among the treetops, darkening the sky into a deep, yet dim, blue.

Pebblestar remained silent, not even turning his face toward her as they trekked toward a wide stream. I will not fail, and I will hurt you to ensure this.

He continued, until finally, the trees separated to show the river. Once those things from BlazeClan believe me to be dead, none of them can come stop me from this final step.

He slowly stepped toward the edge of the river. He watched the current, noting that it was a suitable speed. Fast enough for his daughter to believe him dead, slow enough for him to escape, and not be killed in the process. 

"Father? What are you doing?" Autumnheart asked, once again, confused and unaware.

Pebblestar simply turned toward her, speaking one word that'd ensure his victory.

"Goodbye."

Autumnthistle didn't react with an exclamation, simply silence. Unbothered, he turned away once again and gazed upon the river. With a deep breath, he ignored his instinct for survival and slipped forth to become apart of the current. His daughter's cries of shock did nothing to impact his action, as he dived his head beneath the current. The freezing cold of the water stung, with waves carrying him upward and downward and bubbles roaring in his ears. Yet, he didn't allow himself to stop. He had to succeed in this plan.

Once her cries had fallen quiet, he rose his head above the water again. With a desperate gasp for air, Pebblestar lashed out at the current, continuing to swim onward until he was sure that another movement in the step had been taken. He turned and grappled onto the bank, slowly pulling himself from the water's cold grip.

He stood upon the bank, coughing up several mouthfuls of water. It felt disgraceful, being soaked in such muddy water. However, it was simply a temporary problem. Once he'd truly succeeded, he'd never have to feel dirt upon his pelt again.

The mercenaries. I'll find them, now, he thought. In the last few moons, the mercenaries working for him had begun vanishing, presumably being killed. Each time he'd recruited a new one, another one disappeared. A variety of possibilities rushed through his mind, thoughts he forced himself to repress and crush them beneath his claws to prevent himself from flying into a blind rage. 

No, I will continue. I will continue this final step, and none of the ones I use will be destroyed.

"Well, I told you he would do something that meant we'd have to go anyway," Joshua spoke, in an amused tone despite his apparent frustration. 

"I can't predict the future, JoJo," Sirene hissed. 

"'JoJo'? Don't you dare nickname me! That's the worst name I've ever heard!" he hissed. 

Pebblestar raked his claws across the ground, cutting the two off and prompting them to look at him again. "Stop bickering, you young fools."

Sirene sighed, as the two gave him an annoyed look. He felt another wave of fury course through him, as he raked his claws across the tabby tom's shoulder. "I will have no choice but to kill both of you if you cannot be quiet and obedient." 

"We just think it's a waste of time, taking all thirty remaining mercenaries on a mission to kill two cats," Sirene spoke. "So many of them died in the massacre of NightClan. And more have been killed by possible vigilantes. You can't just throw them away, over something so foolish."

Pebblestar felt a final, tidal wave of fury. In a rage, he jumped forth from his sitting position and slammed his paws down upon the ground. "How dare you!" he threw his head up, gazing down upon the two with wild eyes. "Once all is done, I will no longer have to worry about anything being bellow me! Once this mission is finished, I will rule everything!"

Suddenly recomposing himself, he withdrew and sat back, once again maintaining a regal pose. "Do you know what I did, to two survivors of the massacre?" he spoke in a sudden, unsettling calmness.

Joshua stared at him, not even wishing to answer him.

"I killed the first. It was an easy kill, really, just a slash down the side and a slit on the throat. The second one was an easier catch. Killing may have been easy, but she'd been fighting me and letting me kill her so that the other one could climb up a tree and escape. Don't worry, I solved that."

The two continued staring, speechless.

"After a little searching, I found her, alone and crying to herself. She was badly wounded already, and mentally, barely there. And so, I took her and trapped her. I decided to have her suffer, suffer for trying to elude me. No, I knew who this she-cat was. If she were to die, I knew it must be painful."

"What did you do?" Sirene asked.

Pebblestar chuckled. "I tortured her. Cut her, wounded her, used rats and centipedes in an attempt to instill fear in her. I tried to blind her with claws, but only partially succeeded. It's strange, she didn't even scream. Considering she'd seen her awful  family and Clan be massacred first, she must've, mentally, been broken. Somehow, that only made it more delightful. I used rocks to crush her, to try and immobilize her take away her ability to escape. Believe it or not, after a few days, she did try to escape, on simply her forepaws. Unlucky for her, I found her, slit her throat and left her. That should've finished her."

The two sitting in front of her were speechless.

"Why? You know her, you were sent by me to try to kill her."

"You mean...her? That she-cat...Selenostar's daughter?"

Pebblestar simply smiled.

"That's awful! She...she was a child!"

"Just a child. So? You helped me, you killed kits and apprentices during the massacre of NightClan."

"And...and what?"

"And? You tried to kill her too."