(New!) - Wings of Power - Warrior Cats

Chapter 9:

What to do? What to do? She could hear the voices of cats coming toward the den. The ceiling! She jumped up as quick as she could, clawing out two small paw-holds as she waited with bated breath as ShellStar, WaspSting, KiwiPaw (as far as she had heard), BlazingFire, and MockingValley enter the mud den and glance around. She held her breath, not daring to move a muscle as the patrol stared in confusion. "SplashStep!" the leader stormed out, and Vulture guessed she was talking to the guard. The WindClan cats swapped anxious looks before turning to leave the den. Vulture watched her sisters tan and white-speckled pelt bristle as they left. Oh no, her sister's beautiful face had a scar running alone it, right across her jawbone. Did she do that? She almost lost her footing as she watched in horror. Be strong. Her sister was the last to leave and as she heard them pad away, she slinked down off the wall, she had placed herself above the entrance, so they didn't spot her. She started placing careful paws on the ground as she snuck toward the small hole. She heard a yowl, that must be SplashStep. Once she was out, she crept into a near-by willow tree to watch the clan, making sure to press herself tightly to the whiter spots of the trunk in an attempt to be camouflaged. ShellStar was growling viciously at Vultures guard, and SplashStep had a little cut on her nose. She almost felt sorry. Don't worry, SplashStep, you won't have to deal with that mange-pelt for much longer.

She sat in the tree for a long time, watching the leader yell at her guard, yowling at the WindClan cats to leave, then finally telling everyone to head to their dens, as she had been watching the leader, a plan had formed in her head. The eagle she planned to use sat on the branch next to her, it was a huge black and white bird with yellow legs, claws as long as branches, eyes as bright yellow as Vultures, and large wings.

"I can't believe it!" the leader was yowling to herself. "Now those WindClan cats probably think we are too weak to hold our own prisoners!" her angry mewed echoed around the empty camp, the rest of the clan had gown to sleep in the dens, how could anyone sleep through that racket?

She tensed, now, she told the eagle. The eagle nodded and opened its magnificent wings, rapidly eating up the distance between it, and the leader. The leader had underestimated her, and now ShellStar must pay the price. ShellStar was to be lost in her furious outburst that she didn't notice the great bird that was descending on her. She watched in glee as the leader turned around in surprise to see the eagle. It grabbed her by the throat, it pinned her down on the ground, ShellStar was letting out strangled choking sounds, but none were loud enough to warn anyone. Still pinning the trashing leader with one leg, it lifted the other one up pulling one of its long talons through the leader's neck. The leader gave a shudder and the eagle stepped of her, turning its golden eyes back on her for further instruction. She was dead! The leader has more lives though, if you do enough damage, she won't come back, she told the eagle and it nodded. Reaching down its dagger-like talons again to curl them into the leader's chest. Blood started to swamp the rock the leader had been pacing on. The eagle leapt up again, leaving the still body of the leader. It quietly perched itself next to her again, wiping some of the excess blood on the branch. Good, I'm in your debt, she bowed her head to the majestic bird, and it nodded. Vulture was originally going to leave, but she wanted to see how the murder of a leader would play out for RiverClan. You have played your part ShellStar, thank you for helping me ruin the clans. Part of her couldn't believe she had just killed a leader, and the other part of her was proud at pulling off the daring scheme. Well, I guess I should get some sleep. She slipped of the branches of the willow tree and found a dense bush to huddle under. She sighed then closed her eyes... The last thing she saw was the black outline of a crow flying toward her hiding place, flapping over the desolate clearing and she guessed it had come to guard her...

"ShellStar!" a terrified yowl woke her from her dream, and she looked around in confusion. Where am I? Oh, wait, I remember! She crawled back onto the willow she had sat on last night and looked down. A yellow tom was staring at the leader's body in shock. "RiverMist!" he yowled. She watched as the grey medicine cat slink from his den.

"What is it," he was blinking away sleep.

"It's ShellStar!" the medicine cat suddenly seemed to focus and ran up to their leader. "She was attacked!" the medicine cat ran up and started to check over the wounds.

"She is gown," he bent his head in confusion and shame to touch his leader's head, gently closing her eyes with his paws. "But how?" he murmured, his voice cracking slightly. "These cuts are clean and strait, whatever got her wanted to do it quietly and quickly..." he gazed around, looking for clues.

"I can't smell anything," the yellow tom that had found ShellStar's body, was sniffing around and searching the rocks.

"I found something!" the medicine cat yowled to his clanmate, and the yellow tom came to his side.

"Ah, what is it!" she whispered to herself annoyed. "There was nothing last time I checked," she muttered under her breath. The thing the cats had found was behind the leader's body and out of view for her. She tried to hear what they were saying but they seemed to talk more quietly. She would just have to stay and see how everything turned out...

Suddenly the medicine cat straightened and stood up on the rock the leader lay on. "Clan meeting!" his yowl was taught with rage as he waited for RiverClan to assemble, really slowly, she added to herself. Warriors and apprentices wobbled out through the dens, stumbling at first, but when they spotted the body lying in the rock, they all began to rush, their eyes widening with shock.

"ShellStar?!" a few wailed.

"Who did this?"

"No!" the deputy suddenly spotted his leader and ran up, ears flat against his head as he pulled up next to the cold corpse. "What happened?" he asked the medicine cat, his eyes wide.

"She has been attacked during the night; we don't know who it is-" he was cut off as MistleSplash tried to reassure himself.

"-ShellStar still has 6 lives though! She'll be back soon, no need to worry." His eyes brightened and the rest of the clan joined in. The medicine cat shook his head sadly and met the deputy's eyes.

"I'm deeply sorry, but the wounds that had been inflicted on ShellStar were meant to kill..." he pause, glancing at his paws, "all her lives." Shocked murmurs started to ripple around camp, causing waves of confusion as RiverMist's word sunk in. "You are the new leader MistleSplash," he dipped his head in respect and the rest of the clan did the same. "We will find out who or what has killed ShellStar, but for now we must have a strong leader and deputy. I also want a patrol sent to WindClan." Vulture saw the medicine cat whisper something in the new leader's ear, then passed him something black. The leader looked at it with suspicion before heading to the leader's den. Vulture ripped at the willow's bark with anger. What did they find?