Lies, Secrets, and the Storm | Book One of the LSatS Trilogy

Chapter Fourteen

Clearspirit followed Featherstar out of the camp. He paused, casting a glance over his shoulder. He saw his apprentice approaching Stormpaw, who seemed to be staring into space. The brown tabby jumped as Lilypaw approached. Should I go and make sure Lilypaw has this covered? he asked himself. He thought for a moment before shaking his head. He trusted Lilypaw. She could handle it.

He padded after the ThunderClan leader as she veered to the right and paused in a clearing dappled with the leaves of trees in the sunset light. He settled next to her as Shellripple padded over, followed by Brindlelight and Blackstrike taking the rear. They all sat, forming a circle between all of them.

"As you know," Featherstar began. "We're here to discuss what we should do about Foxspots. Do we send a rescue party, or do we do nothing?" She flicked her tail to Brindlelight, who sat to her left. Clearspirit flicked his ear in interest. The she-cat was smart, and he wondered what she would say. Of course, he already had a decent idea as she began.

"I think we should send a rescue party," Brindlelight meowed. "Foxspots is in danger. He's a noble warrior of our Clan; we should send a rescue party no matter who it is!" Clearspirit turned his head to see Featherstar nodding thoughtfully. She flicked her tail tip to Blackstrike, who was next in the circle.

"I agree with Brindlelight," the jet black tom meowed, dipping his head. "It would be terrible to loose a warrior like him."

"I think it's a terrible idea," Shellripple protested, who was next to Blackstrike and Clearspirit. "If this BloodClan exists, we could be putting ourselves in huge danger. Besides, how do we know that Stormpaw isn't lying?"

"Why would an apprentice make something like this up?" Clearspirit demanded. Featherstar's tail rested on his shoulder in attempt to calm him. He shook it off stubbornly but felt himself grow calmer from the touch.

"We don't," Brindlelight meowed. "But, has Stormpaw ever shown us before that we couldn't believe her?"

"No. Plus, didn't you see the fresh slashes on her?" Blackstrike added. "No cat could have done it themselves."

"She probably got then from attacking Foxspots!" Shellripple snapped. Clearspirit felt a rage build within him. He got to his paws, about to say something, when Featherstar beat him to it.

"That's mousebrained," Featherstar meowed. Clearspirit could see disappointment bright in her eyes as she looked at Shellripple. It disappeared when she looked at him. "Well? What do you think, Clearspirit?" Clearspirit blinked. Foxspots' fate rested on his very paws.

"I say we send a rescue party," the medicine cat decided. He saw Shellripple's eyes briefly flash with fury before it faded, so quickly that Clearspirit questioned if he really saw it or not.

"Very well," Featherstar meowed. "Then we send a rescue party in two days time, enough time for the chosen cats to prepare."

"Who is going?" Blackstrike asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"I will announce it tomorrow," the leader meowed after a moment of silence. "Let's head home now."

Clearspirit followed Featherstar out of the clearing and into the camp. He headed to the medicine den and paused to observe Stormpaw and Coalpaw curled around each other, both fast asleep. His whiskers twitched with amusement. Young love is always the cutest. He looked aside and saw that Lilypaw was putting the herbs that they collected earlier that day away.

"Good work," he meowed quietly. Lilypaw spun around, her eyes round at his praise. She nodded vigorously before wrapping up her work and padding over to her nest. Clearspirit padded to his own and closed his eyes. Perhaps he deserved a break.

~~~

The feline watched Brindlelight follow the other cats on the patrol. She walked beside Blackstrike, their pelts brushing slightly. The cat scowled. Who needed love? It remembered Kestrel's orders. "I need you to dispose of are Clearspirit, Brindlelight, Coalpaw, and Stormpaw." The cat knew that there was no chance of getting rid of Clearspirit at the moment, and Stormpaw was under high watch. Perhaps Coalpaw would be next, but this was the perfect chance to take out Brindlelight.

"Let's go hunting," it heard Blackstrike murmur. Brindlelight paused as if hesitating before nodding. The two padded off, and the feline began to follow them. It scrambled into a nearby tree and continued to follow them. The duo paused before Blackstrike hared away after a rabbit and Brindlelight began to follow before halting, tasting the air. The feline in the tree tasted the air as well and picked up the scent of mouse. Perfect! It thought, swiping it's tongue over its jaws.

Brindlelight got into a hunters' crouch and slowly stalked along. Smirking, the cat in the tree unsheathed its claws before diving out of the tree, landing squarely on the she-cat's shoulders. Brindlelight yowled in surprise, but it was cut short when the feline shoved her muzzle into the dirt. Brindlelight thrashed for a moment before falling limp. Too easy, the feline thought crossly as it released it's grip. Quicker than a flash, the she-cat was up, raking her claws down the feline's cheek. Her eyes lit with surprise before fury.

"You!" she hissed. The feline narrowed it's eyes before lunging forward, leaping high over her head. It landed behind her and whipped around, lashing out its claws as Brindlelight whipped around. She let out a gurgling gasp as the feline struck a death blow. Brindlelight's eyes flashed with remorse before they rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed. The killer narrowed it's eyes before grabbing the dead warrior by her scruff and dragging her away scruff.

It took a while, but the killer managed to haul the body to a badger set. It knew a badger still lived there; he was the only one who currently knew where it was. Beady eyes glinted in the dusk light that filtered into the den. The killer threw Brindlelight's body to the badger before backing away. The badger blinked before slithering out of the den and grabbing Brindlelight by the leg before dragging her inside.

"Have a wonderful meal," the killer meowed darkly before turning and grabbing a leaf and smearing badger dung onto it. The killer made a trail of badger scent from the den to the spot where the warrior had been murdered before discarding the leaf. It scented the air. The only scents it could smell were blood and badger. It had completely hid its scent. It slithered away and began to clean itself up. One cat down, three to go...