The Lost Prophecy: Book 2: Broken Destinies

Chapter 13

Ravenpaw sat as rigid as a rock apart from his fluttering tail-tip. This was it. He would tell Bluestar everything, and then maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.

"Ravenpaw." Bluestar dipped her head warmly. "What is it you wanted to speak to me about?" The pleasantness in her mew made Ravenpaw nervous; Bluestar had absolutely no idea of what he was about to say.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Bluestar watched him, her gaze turning serious as she seemed to notice his discomfort. "What is it?" she asked again.

Ravenpaw took a deep breath. "I need to tell you something." Bluestar tilted her head, frowning. Ravenpaw inhaled again. "It's about Redtail."

Clearly surprised, Bluestar flicked her ears. "What about him?"

Ravenpaw looked over his shoulder to check that they weren't being overheard. "At the battle of Sunningrocks when he died," he meowed, "I saw who did it."

Bluestar began to shake her head slowly before Ravenpaw could say anymore. "Ravenpaw," she began gently. "You don't blame yourself for his death, do you? Because if you believe that you are responsible that is certainly not the case. You were a young apprentice then; it was your first battle. His death was not in any way your fault-"

"That's not it," Ravenpaw whispered, lowering his gaze. Bluestar frowned, waiting for him to continue. "After Tigerclaw sent me from the battle, I was running back to camp but I turned around- I wanted to check that Redtail was alright. I went back to the battle, and- and I- I saw who killed him." He swallowed thickly. "It was-" The name died in his throat.

Bluestar was looking more concerned than he'd ever seen her. He couldn't turn back now.

"Tigerclaw. T-Tigerclaw killed Redtail."

He crouched down to prevent himself from toppling over. It was as though a great chasm had opened underneath him, and Ravenpaw felt like he was falling. Eyes wide, Bluestar watched him. "You saw them," she mewed after a long silence. "From how far away?"

Ravenpaw shivered, trying to remember. "A few fox-lengths... no, closer to a tree-length I think..." He glanced up at Bluestar, whose expression he couldn't read. "Or, well..." How close had he been? Everything had seemed so clear to him. "It was close enough to see what happened." He shut his eyes, trying to block out the image of Tigerclaw sinking his teeth into Redtail's neck. "It was at the end of the fight; the RiverClan cats were running away..." Ravenpaw's heart sank at Bluestar's pitying eyes. She was supposed to believe him!

"Ravenpaw," she began, her eyes sympathetic. "You've been under a great deal of stress lately, and now hearing about how you perceived the battle, I'm concerned. Why would Tigerclaw do such a thing?"

"I'm not sure." Ravenpaw scuffed his paws against the ground. "He wanted the deputyship, maybe?"

Bluestar sighed, closing her eyes. "Tigerclaw is a brave and loyal warrior. Why would he see the need to kill to gain a higher place within ThunderClan?"

Ravenpaw shuddered, unable to come up with a response. How could he put his fears into words? "I don't know."

"There must be some reason," Bluestar prodded lightly.

"He must have told Darkstripe to kill me! That was his plan because he figured out I saw too much!" he burst out, tail lashing in agitation. "That's why Darkstripe keeps trying to find me; he thinks I schemed with Tigerclaw to backstab him!"

To Ravenpaw's dismay, Bluestar shook her head. "Just because Darkstripe said Tigerclaw told him to attack you doesn't mean it's true. He had just found out for attempted murder; we can't trust his words. He wanted to deflect blame."