The Darkest of Nights: A Warrior Cats Fanfiction

Chapter 4

Sorry this chapter's short. The next one will be a lot longer, I promise.  And please comment and review!

Jayfeather POV

After Lionblaze left with Cinderheart, Jayfeather headed back to his den to nap for a bit. By now, he trusted Snowpaw to take care of things. That young apprentice really did know what he was doing and was a lot better than Jayfeather had expected, which was saying a lot.

But just before he fell asleep, a white-hot pain struck his throat, like someone was slicing it open with a claw. His eyes shot open, and he felt at his throat, but there was no wound. There could only be one explanation for this, and that was that this pain was what Lionblaze was experiencing. “No!” Jayfeather screamed. No cat could survive this kind of pain. Someone was killing his brother! Horror ran through the medicine cat, and he sprinted as fast as he could up to the Highledge, where Bramblestar was napping.

“Bramblestar!” Jayfeather yelled desperately. In less than a few moments, he explained what was happening, and without wasting a second, Bramblestar sprinted outside and began gathering warriors. Before another moment had passed, Sorreltail, Brackenfur, Thornclaw, Cloudtail, Squirrelflight, Leafpool, Foxleap, and Mousewhisker were racing towards an old Twoleg nest, where Dovewing claimed Lionblaze where. Before Dovewing could tell them what exactly was happening, she lost her concentration and fell down because of the exhaustion of raising three kits.

Jayfeather sank to the ground helplessly, and Bramblestar joined him without a word. They both knew that it was probably too late to save Lionblaze from whatever had gotten him. Jayfeather had felt the pain at the same time as Lionblaze, which meant that the enemy had had time to slice again and again at his brother. Only a miracle could save Lionblaze now.

Cinderheart POV

She screeched as loud as she possibly could, but it wasn’t enough to express what she felt right now. She was being forced to watch Breezepelt slice her mate’s throat. The first time it happened, blood spurted out of Lionblaze’s throat like water splashing out of the lake. Lionblaze had passed out, but he wasn’t dead yet. At least he wasn’t conscious enough to feel most of the pain.

As Breezepelt lifted his blood-stained claw again, Cinderheart felt fury reach through every part of her. Power flooded through her, and she felt the power of every StarClan warrior in her paws.

She ran into Dawnpelt and Rosepetal and knocked them down as easily if they were newborn kits. She flung herself at Breezepelt, who was too surprised for a moment to fight back. Cinderheart used the opportunity to slice at Breezepelt’s muzzle, leaving a long scratch there that would probably scar.

At this point, Dawnpelt and Rosepetal dragged her off of Breezepelt, who lied there panting on the ground for a moment before pushing himself up with his blood-stained red paws. Cinderheart realized in horror that most of that blood was Lionblaze’s.

Cinderheart struggled in the grips of the warriors, but she was too weak to fight them both off. She was now going to have to watch Breezepelt deliver the killing blow. Breezepelt evilly said, “Now I’ll finish off this half-Clan rogue, and you can’t stop me again, Cinderheart.”

She closed her eyes, but they shot open when she recognized her father’s voice saying, “You will do no such thing.” Brackenfur flicked his tail forward, and the patrol attacked, subduing the three traitors.

While Cloudtail, Thornclaw, Foxleap, and Mousewhisker began to lead the prisoners away, Sorreltail rushed to Cinderheart’s side and laid her tail on her shoulder as they watched Squirrelflight and Leafpool run to Lionblaze’s side. To Cinderheart’s surprise, Leafpool called out, “He’s alive, but he won’t before long unless we get him back to camp.”

Cinderheart rushed to her mate’s side and gently picked up his scruff with her jaws. The others each grabbed another part of the fallen warrior. They begin to go as fast as they could towards home without worsening the wound. Cinderheart muttered around the fur, “StarClan, please let him survive to see hundreds of sunrises; let him live, please.”

Lionblaze POV

Pain, so much pain, was rushing through him. Even passed out, he could feel his neck throbbing, perhaps because he wasn’t fully unconscious. He could hear everything going on, yet he was powerless to stop it.

Why would StarClan do this to him, put him in this kind of situation, having to live with this much pain? It would’ve been better just to die immediately from the banished warrior’s claws, instead of having it prolonged to this. Lionblaze sent a silent prayer to StarClan to end this, one way or another.

When he heard Cinderheart attack, he was hopeful for a moment, but disappointment crashed through him as she was overwhelmed by all three warriors. Then, the patrol came, and he actually was saved. Relief flooded through him, but then the pain reminded him he wasn’t clear yet, and that one slash of Breezepelt’s claws could’ve killed him.

The pain amplified by a hundred when some cats picked him up, but there was no way for him to tell them to stop before it overwhelmed him. He used every piece of power available to him and forced his amber eyes, which were filled with pain, open. The first thing he saw was Cinderheart, her blue eyes staring happily at his. He tried to speak to her, but all that came out was a gurgle. She reassured him quietly, “You don’t need to speak, it’s okay. Just rest and we’ll be with Jayfeather in a short time.” Her peaceful words lulled him back into unconsciousness, this time for real.