Silverwing's Story: The Prophecy Begins

Chapter Thirty-One

Everything was a blur. Silverpaw could barely tell which pelts belonged to her clanmates or to her enemies through the sea of cats. She whipped her head to where Sparrowsong and Skipfoot had been before. Luckily her companions were still beside her. Thank Starclan!

Skipfoot was winded, still shocked that Crow had ordered the rest of the rogues to murder him. His breath must have quickened along with his heart. Beside Silverpaw, Sparrowsong's cheek was pouring out blood, and it dripped into a rapidly growing puddle of gore below her. She didn't even bother touching her wound, but rather got to her unsheathed paws and rose the fur along her spine. A heartbeat later, the golden she-cat leaped into the battle to help her clanmates.

Silverpaw instinctively followed her, but was immediately barreled to the ground by unknown claws. A skinny body slammed atop her, pinning her down. Silverpaw swerved her head to identify the rogue, and once her vision cleared she recognized him as Raven. Surprise struck her like lightning. Now this rogue was treating her like an enemy? She thought it was unfair that after she was finally starting to treat him like an acquaintance, he decided he'd rather fight her than continue to share information with her.

Regaining her focus, Silverpaw raked her hind claws against Raven's stomach, easily ripping the soft flesh. He yowled in pain and flew off her. Silverpaw narrowed her eyes at him, glaring at his black-and-brown pelt. She sprang forward before he could recover his footing, with quick examination, and turned around so her back faced his. She transferred her weight to her forepaws and kicked out with her back legs, contacting with the rogue. Satisfaction flashed through her as he stumbled forward and tripped over his own clumsy paws. Take that, foxpelt!

With the few free heartbeats she had, Silverpaw scanned the clearing for her mentor. Her eyes landed on a brown tom on the far side of the clearing. It was Bark, and he had her mentor pinned down. She remembered the last order Crow had given the rogues, and prepared her legs to race over to push the rogue off Sparrowsong. However, before she could do so, Raven tackled her again, digging his blood-clogged claws into her pelt. She quickly flipped onto her backside, but he leaped off her flank before she could crush him.

Silverpaw sprang to her paws as soon as her back touched the cool grass beneath her. She was greeted with a smack to the cheek. She was expecting to feel pain in the area where her opponent had struck her, but instead she noticed Raven's forepaw claws were sheathed when he attacked the left side of her face. Was the tom even trying?

Whatever he was planning, Silverpaw couldn't hesitate any longer. She whirled around to face the spot she'd seen her mentor before. Unfortunately, Sparrowsong and Bark were nowhere to be seen. She frantically glanced around, trying to catch a glimpse of her mentor's beautiful golden fur.

To her annoyance, Raven once again attacked Silverpaw. He ducked underneath her and thrust himself upward, causing her to fling onto his back and roll down his bony spine. Once she was back on the blood spattered forest floor, he stepped over her and pinned her down. So she wouldn't strike his stomach again, he placed his own hind paws on her stomach as he pinned her, digging his claws into the soft flesh.

Out of options except for one, Silverpaw went limp. She relaxed all her muscles and looked to her right, all the tenseness in her body gone. When she felt the rogue loosen his grip, she kicked him as hard as she could, breaking through his hind leg barrier. As Raven flew across the clearing, Silverpaw sprang to her paws. Her head was spinning, and she lunged for the rogue, using the warrior skills she'd practiced since she first became an apprentice.

First, she slashed Raven across the back just as he landed on the bloody ground. A heartbeat after her attack, Silverpaw pinned him down with his bony spine pressing against the grass. Panicked, the black-and-brown tom thrashed around under her paws. Silverpaw barely lifted her forepaw before he broke away from her claws and rolled where her paw was placed a moment before. Once he stopped turning over, Silverpaw grabbed Raven's tail in her jaws, crushing the bone harder each second until she felt blood trickling over her tongue. Raven yowled in a high-pitched screech, causing an owl that was watching from above rustle its feathers and prepare its wings before flapping deeper into the forest.