The Ebony Jury (Warriors, Book 2)

Chapter 12

A panicked mew sailed through the ThunderClan camp. The scent of blood was sharp on Hauntedstar's tongue. Only three moons as leader... there's been no chaos yet, He thought, the fur along his spine rising as Hauntedstar sprang to his paws and began padding to the entrance or exit of his den. So what's going on..?

As Hauntedstar burst through the exit of his den, he squinted against the sun. It was hard for him to tell what was going on until his eyes adjusted to the bright, winter light. Leaf-bare had set in, and though the Clans were lucky that the sun still shone bright in the sky, the snow still fluffed up Hauntedstar's fur and frost edged every rock and tree. He sensed the tension in his clanmates, too, and as his eyes adjusted to the bright light of the sun, he saw that the queen's had shooed their kits inside and a few warriors, including Darkfur, had advised the elders to shelter in their log.

The smelly scent of fish caught on Hauntedstar's scent glands as well. RiverClan? But the smell wasn't sharp; only one RiverClan cat was in the camp.

"Please!" A mew called. Hauntedstar whipped around. "Please, help!" A small tabby cat, about the size of an apprentice stood at the entrance. Their deep blue gaze was wild with terror, and one thin scratch pierced their side.

Hauntedstar took a deep breath, then put on his 'I-am-a-super-great-leader-who-definetly-knows-how-to-lead' voice, before letting his fur lie flat. He padded through the frosty ground until he was eye to eye with the apprentice. "What is it?" He asked. Different answers raced through his head.

"Its awful!" The apprentice cried, their eyes slits. "The camp just got attacked! A BILLION kittypets and rogues just CHARGED into the camp! They shredded everyone! Fur was flying everywhere! Most of the kittypets have already ran away," The apprentice added with more emotion than words. "But the rogues are SO strong! M- my father is already dead!" The RiverClan cat's mew was cracked with grief. "Please, please help us."

"Stop, stop." Hauntedstar mewed, his tail twitching. "We'll help you. But how many cats are there actually?"

"About five kittypets and twenty rogues."

Hauntedstar turned, raising his voice so the entire Clan could hear. "I need a patrol! Darkfur, Bubbleheart, Ironfur, Waspheart, Willowshade, Desertstorm, Whitethistle, Blackedge! Treepool and Echowhisper, please ready some herbs!"

The chosen cats gathered around, their pelts bristing. Hauntedstar switched his attention back to the RiverClan apprentice. "Lead the way."

The apprentice didn't need to be asked; they raced out of the fern tunnel and soon burst into the grassy forest. The snow thick beneath the patrol's paws, they raced along the snow. The RiverClan cat checked behind his shoulder every few moments, as if he wasn't used to having a bunch of cats following him. Accisonally the apprentice stumbled or was scraped by a thorn, but they kept moving, regardless.

Something golden flashed at the corner of Hauntedstar's eye. He stopped, dead in his track. "Hauntedstar?" The mew came from Bubbleheart.

"I'll catch up," Promised Hauntedstar. Bubbleheart nodded, then bounded away, his silver-blue fur disappearing with the patrol. Hauntedstar hoped they'd be fine without them. He switched his attention back to the thing he saw.

A wooden square was hanging behind a large rock; Hauntedstar thought it might be those 'boxes' Jaguar had told him about. It was hollow, he realized. Padding closer to it, Hauntedstar peered inside. His heart leaped. Jaguar's scent was all over the box, drifting around it like fog. But in it was treasure more important than Hauntedstar's own tail.

Two tiny kits were curled up inside. One had dark, almost black spots on it, and stone-colored fur. The other one looked so, so close to Jaguar; it had golden fur with black spots on it. Both of the kit's eyes were squeezed shut; frost coated their pelts.