Hailstorm's Fear

Chapter Fourteen

    Stripedclaw dumped the half-eaten mouse in front of them,earning a few hisses. He straightened,a blaze in his eyes.

"They've been stealing prey!"Stripedclaw declared,whirling around to face Creekstar on the Highrock. "Surely this is an act of war?Not only that,they've been stirring up trouble with RiverClan as well!"

"WindClan has gone too far,"Creekstar meowed loudly over the echoing yowls of agreement. "We will have to teach them a lesson."

Thrushflight flicked his ears in disgust and bowed his head low to talk to Cloverheart. "Another battle. When will the Clans ever stop?"

"Say something,then!"Cloverheart whispered back. "You're the medicine cat. They're bound to listen to you."

"With all due respect,Creekstar,"To his surprise,Hawkstripe had gotten to his paws. "I think we should wait. Leaf-bare is arriving,and we don't want injuries on top of the cold later on. Thrushflight?"

"You're right,Hawkstripe,"He blinked gratefully at the deputy before raising his voice to address everyone. "It's too close to leaf-bare to start a battle."

"What do you suggest we do?"Stripedclaw challenged. "Wait until WindClan takes all of our prey?We need it too for leaf-bare!"

"We'll wait until they provoke us again,"Cloverheart countered,kneading her paws restlessly. "Then we can strike. Maybe RiverClan will do the job for us after the WindClan scents have been getting too far into their territory."

Thrushflight looked at Stripedclaw,who was at a loss for words. Silently agreeing with his friend,it was the best course of action. When he turned to Creekstar,the leader was frozen.

Everyone was frozen.

He jumped to his paws,and realised that he was only a faint outline of his real body. The mysterious tom was back at the bramble entrance,his eyes full of urgency as he beckoned Thrushflight to follow.

It was another game of chase. The tom took long strides as they made their way over to the river in no time.

There,a battle between RiverClan and WindClan was frozen in place too. Thrushflight recognised Lionwhisker and Hailstorm amongst the RiverClan cats. They were fighting four against six. In the distance,another WindClan group seemed to be making their way over from Fourtrees,numbering around five warriors with Eaglepelt among them.

"You'll have to help RiverClan,"The tom urged. "WindClan will go back peacefully into their shell once you do."

"Okay."Thrushflight widened his eyes.

"Save RiverClan. Tell Cloudstar I was here."

"Cloudstar?Why?"The scene started to fade,and Thrushflight felt reality bleed back into his paws.

"He knows me,"The tom's voice was sorrowful. "I'm Shadeheart,and I was once a warrior of RiverClan."

With a gasp,Thrushflight was pulled back into his body,his paws week and wobbly. Cloverheart was pressing into his side,her eyes wide and urgent. Everyone was staring at him.

"What happened?"

"WindClan,"He managed to say in between breaths. "They have crossed the RiverClan border through the bridge."