Omen of the Sun Book Three: Dusk

Chapter Forty-Eight

Sunpool

Applestar's smile disappeared, and Sunpool knew she was going to lunge.

She whirled to the side, unsheathed her claws and hopped forward. Not enough to land on her back, but to put her right next to her. Claws moving with a ferocity she didn't know she possessed, she reared onto her hind paws and peppered blow upon blow onto Applestar's earline.

Applestar didn't even blink. She rolled forward and tore the cobweb off of Sunpool's stomach, sliding her claws into the wound. Sunpool screeched and jerked back, and they grappled with each other for a few moments.

Then they sprang apart. Sunpool's stomach was sending painful shivers down her spine, and Applestar was breathing heavier than usual. There had only been a very small amount of the fight, but Sunpool already knew that she wasn't going to be able to win unless something changed.

So she did the only thing she could think of: stall.

"So, Applestar," she said loudly. Over compensating for her fear. "This is it, is it?"

"Yes, that's the general idea of a last fight," Applestar replied. Her claws flexed into the ground, and her eyes gleamed. 

Sunpool's mind was working overdrive to try and formulate a plan. She'd have to attack quickly, get out of range before Applestar could attack back. "True."

Applestar rolled her eyes and said, "Quit stalling, Sunpool." She darted forward, and suddenly, a splitting pain cracked Sunpool's head. The pain came with words.

Onelifeonelifeonelifeonelifeonelife

Sunpool screeched and rolled to the side, and Applestar's outstretched claws caught her ears instead of her eyes, nicking the side. Sunpool's head was pounding, but the pain was receeding quickly with every heartbeat. The words 'one life' were still playing over and over, though.

Sunpool shook her head and rolled back at Applestar, her smaller size allowing her to slip under Applestar's belly. She sliced at Applestar's belly, but Applestar, who knew the trick well, did something Sunpool had never seen: she grasped her paws around Sunpool's belly and rolled so that Sunpool was on the top. 

Sunpool's blood boiled, and she slipped off before Applestar could attack her. She bit down on Applestar's leg, hard, until she felt her teeth hit something hard that she assumed was bone. Blood was in her mouth, making her gag, but she removed her jaws from Applestar's leg and spat it out. When almost all of the metallic taste was gone, she was able to focus slightly better.

One life, Sunpool, one life

The voice in Sunpool's head was back, and the sound of it sounded so familiar to her that she knew she had heard it before... but when...?

And then the memory came back to her. Moons ago, she'd been fighting Applestar, and a voice had come into her head and helped her to fight. This had to be the same voice. So she had to listen to it.

One life? What did that mean? Sunpool circled around Applestar, thinking. It had come into her mind when big things happened in the fight. When she was going to attack Applestar, or when she was attacking Applestar, or when Applestar was attacking her. One life. One life. One life.

Leaders had nine lives. Applestar was a leader. Unless....

One life! It clicked into place. Applestar only had one life. How could that be?

But she knew she couldn't dwell on it. She just had to kill Applestar, and now that she didn't have to do it nine times over, it was going to be a lot easier.