The Kill Of Dawn- Book 2

Chapter 23

The wind howled amongst the great oaks, sending clouds in the full moons direction. 
Greystar sat, overlooking the clans, eyes concerned.
Something felt very wrong this gathering. 
It felt like something was going to happen. 
He could tell he was not the only one who felt a sense of unease. 
Onestar couldn't keep still, his paws lightly thrumming at the rock as Mistystar gave her speech. Some cats below were looking suspiciously at the edges of the clearing. 
Then it was Greystars turn to speak. 
"ThunderClan has been doing grea-" Greystar trailed off, eyes narrowing as he caught glimpse of a black tail from amongst the bracken. 
"Did you see that?" a few cats started to whisper to one another. 
"I have this strange feeling we are not alone," Daggerstar growled. 
"Me too," Greystar unsheathed his claws nervously. 
"Well, then you'd be right," a familiar voice hissed from behind the leaders. 
It was Venom. 
The former deputy of BloodClan. 
BloodClan. 
Just thinking of the name brought Greystar back, back to so many bad memories. 
"What are you doing here?" Daggerstar snarled, eyes blazing with rage. How did he climb up the rock unnoticed? Greystar wondered with a shudder. 
"Oh, nothing, just taking back what is rightfully mine," Venom smiled. 
"And what exactly is that?" Mistystar inquired as she paced around the rock, eyes locked on the black and white tom. 
"Well, you may remember all those moons ago when these lands belonged to BloodClan-" Venom was cut off as Onestar spun round abruptly, a snarl erupting from inside of him. 
"Never speak of that name in this sacred place again!" he spat. Greystar was slightly taken aback at the pure rage in Onestar's voice. 
"Get used to it, because they are who own these forests from here on," Venom shook out his fur as if he really did own the place. 
"You really think you can win against all of us?" Mistystar sounded as if she was holding back a laugh. 
"Don't worry, it isn't just me," Venom insured her with a low growl. 
Suddenly more cats started to emerge from the edges of the clearing. Greystar recognised a few as former BloodClan cats and- 
Is that Dart and the other BloodClan cats? Greystar almost gasped aloud.
"Leave before you regret it," Daggerstar bared his teeth. 
"I will never regret this," Venom crouched down as if preparing to pounce ,"Attack!" he screeched, launching himself at Daggerstar. Greystar watched in shock as the two toms hurtled off the edge of the rock, his stomach churning as he heard the thud of one of the hitting the ground. Greystar looked down to see Daggerstar splayed out on the ground, blood streaming from his head. 
"He hit a rock!" a cat gasped. 
"Fool!" Irispetal yowled, tackling Viper to the ground, who had still been gloating over his victory. He must not know about Daggerstar becoming a leader. He would return from the dead and Viper would still have to kill him eight times over if he wanted to get rid of him. 
Greystar stopped worrying about what Venom was doing and skidded down the side of the rock, barreling into a dark ginger tom. It was Viper, another former BloodClan cat. 
"How dare you attack us in the midst of a peace gathering!" Greystar spat in disgust, raking his claws down the toms flank. 
"It'll take more than words to stop us now!" Viper replied with a snarl, lunging forward to attack the grey tom that stood before him. 
Greystar barely managed to get out of the way in time. 
These rouges were outmatched, and outnumbered from the looks of it. 
It was hard to tell, the gathering looked like a swarm of angry bees now. 
Suddenly Greystar felt claws rip through the flesh on his cheek followed by warm, sticky blood that immediately started to clump his fur. 
Greystar hissed in anger, slamming Viper's body to the ground, biting down on his shoulder. 
"Give in," he mumbled around a mouth full of fur. 
"Never," Viper winced. Greystar dug his teeth in deeper. 
"Give in," he repeated. 
"No!" Viper defied. Greystar started to pull at the flesh. 
"Give in!" he snarled. 
"Okay, okay!" Viper yowled, body shivering with pain. Greystar released him immediately, watching as he skidded into the bushes, blood streaming from his shoulder. 
Greystar looked for another cat to fight but struggled to find the enemy. The clans were definitely winning. 
"Retreat!" a yowl suddenly echoed from the centre of the clearing. Greystar watched as all remaining rouges tore away from their opponents, bounding after their leader. 
"Don't come back!" Cometflame caterwauled after them, chest puffed out. Venom countered his yowl with a glare full of more despise than Greystar thought was possible to be portrayed simply through ones gaze. The tom did not speak however, he just ran, ran from the battle he had started. 

The ambush had been a surprise to every cat. 
They had been lucky Daggerstar was the only one to loose his life, or at least one of them. He had revived shortly after Venom's retreat.
Littlecloud, Barkface and Tulipwater had their paws full with all the casualties. 
The former ThunderClan medicine cat still refused to talk to Greystar, not after the lie he had told. 
Greystar still felt guilty for it but wished Littlecloud could understand he did it for the greater good of his clan. That was what leaders were supposed to do! 
"Greystar, it's Mousefur. She's got it bad," Longtail informed his leader, his face concerned. 
Greystar trotted over to see just how bad it was. Mousefur was splayed out across the ground, fur matted with blood and eyes dull. Her fur was torn and blood pooled around her weakened body. Tulipwater was frantically pressing cobwebs against the brown she-cat's wounds. 
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Greystar asked, leaning closer, the pungent smell of blood making his nose twitch. 
"Yes, can you press down on this wound with the cobweb over it until the bleeding stops," Tulipwater asked. Greystar did as instructed, feeling Mousefur twitch painfully. 
"We've got the herbs you asked for!" Bramblepaw yelped as he barrelled through the bushes, closely followed by Fernpaw. 
"Good, well done," Tulipwater desperately tried to force a smile as she attended to the slowly bleeding out warrior. She chewed up the herbs and spat the pulp onto every wound she could find before continuing to press down. Now that the pulp was on she applied more layers of cobweb, making Mousefur start to take the appearance of a brown and white she-cat. 

The night slowly passed as the three medicine cats raced around the place, trying to save the wounded from having to walk up the starry pathway some may be doomed to walk.