Cursed (Book 2 of the Outcast Quartet) Is Cancelled

Chapter 8 (Juniperpaw)

“Sweetstar isn’t going to like this,” I murmured wearily as I silently slipped out of the camp, followed shortly by Jaded Soul, or just Soul as he preferred. My silver tabby-striped companion let out an annoyed snort while flicking my ear with his furry tail. “Right… I’ll stop worrying,” I sighed.

            “Trust me Sweetstar’s anger will be much easier to handle than Master’s,” Soul snorted while surveying the wide open stretch of land that my Clan called him. “Gah! This wind is ridiculous!” he scowled as a powerful gust buffeted us.

            “You get used to it eventually,” I shrugged while focusing my eyes on the small patch of woodland at the edge of our territory. “But if you’d like, we could head to the forest first.”

            “Better than standing out in the open like this,” Soul flicked his ear crossly before taking the lead while I noted his eager pace. I had assumed that most immortals could care less about the weather, but I guess I was wrong… “So what hints did Master give you? And what are you going to do once you find this cat?”

            “Apparently we need to find a brown cat with a white chest and green eyes. Once I find him I have to… I have to kill him,” I felt my throat constrict as I forced the words out, as a medicine cat I was supposed to save lives, not take them.

            “Hmm… well I guess that’s not as vague as my first assignment and it’s only the first half that’s difficult. Once we find this cat, it’ll be a cinch,” I frowned and resisted directing a sharp glare at my companion, if that was his way of reassuring me than he should just keep his mouth shut.

            “So… you can still remember your first mission?” I wondered, hoping that directing the conversation towards Soul would help settle my racing nerves.

            “We remember everything that occurs once we’ve been turned,” my eyes widened and I focused my attention on Soul’s red-ringed green eyes, searching in hopes of a lie. He was telling the truth… so that means my target’s death would remain in my memories forever.

            “I… I see,” well this sure made things more complicated. Everything Soul said seemed to only make things worse, with that decided I wisely cut off our conversation. At first the silence was fine, I welcomed it and we easily made it to the patch of forest without a single word being uttered between us. It was when we began to approach the border that the peace started to unnerve me. “What did you have to do for your first mission?”

            “Something a lot like what you’re doing, tracking down a cat and killing him,” Soul explained simply, his gaze seemed distant almost like his mind was wandering elsewhere.

            “What happens if you decide not to complete this mission?” the question that was often surfacing in my mind, and one that I feared to hear the answer. Still I had to know, I needed to know if killing this innocent stranger could be avoided.

            “Don’t even consider it!” Soul snapped and I reeled in surprise at the glint of burning anger that suddenly surfaced into his eyes. He paused in his curt stride and closed his eyes, when he opened them they were yet again emotionless and cold. “If you disobey Master, he will punish you until you finally comply to his demands. Words cannot describe the pain he puts you through.”

            What have I gotten myself into? The question that kept coming back resurfaced into my mind and I felt my tail start to droop. I hadn’t even been immortal for a month and I already regretted agreeing to this. It didn’t help that I lost half my sight and half my hearing from that ridiculous agreement I made with Master. While it didn’t really affect me much in my daily life, the fact that someone could stand next to me and I wouldn’t know makes things quite stressful.

            “Look there’s a rogue over there, why don’t you go ask him about your target,” Soul waved his tail to direct my attention towards a silver-gray tom who seemed to have a squint in his left eye. I was about to protest, having never spoken to a rogue in my life, when Soul roughly nudged me towards him.

            As I stumbled closer to him, the rogue froze and directed his sharp orange glare towards me. “Who are you?” he snarled, his fur starting to bristle aggressively.

            “W-wait I don’t wish to fight,” I struggled to keep my voice from shaking as I struggled to regain my composure. “I’m looking for someone a um… brown cat with a white chest. Oh and this cat also has green eyes.”

            The rogue tilted his head slightly as he pondered over the description. “Sorry, never saw someone like that. I heard that there’s going to be a gathering today, why don’t you go there and see if you can find him.”

            “A gathering?” I echoed, could a large group of rogues even meet in peace? Without laws to bind these cats, weren’t they just wild beasts who often fought with each other for territory and prey.

            “That’s right, I’ll take you to the place if you want,” the rogue then glanced impatiently up at the sky. “It’ll be starting soon, so we best be going.”

            “Thank you, that’ll be really helpful,” I managed a smile and, once the rogue turned away, I felt my shoulders sage in relief. It was daunting to speak with non-Clan cats, how was I going to manage a whole assembly of them?

            “You did great Juniperpaw,” Soul meowed softly into my good ear, which made me jerk in surprise. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to talking with strangers as time passes.”

            “Of course I will,” I mumbled icily, I did have an eternity after all. After  that, we didn’t bother to say anything as the rogue led us deeper into the forest. The scraggly trees were slowly replaced by large, sturdy oaks, beeches and elms.

            “This is the place,” the rogue suddenly stopped while gently pawing aside a clump of ferns to reveal a large clearing. I let out a soft gasp, there were so many cats! I had thought SilverClan was large but, upon seeing the contingent of rogues made my Clan seem puny in comparison. “Ask around, I’m sure at least one cat is bound to know who you’re looking for.”

            “Ah… right thanks,” I dipped my head in gratitude before nervously making my way towards the crowd. Soul was close beside me and, for a change, I was relieved to have him by my side.

            For a while I silently slipped through the throng of cats, trying desperately to work up my courage in order to talk with one of them. They all seemed so intimidating… but before I could say a word to any of the rogues, a loud yowl that demanded complete silence reverberated through the clearing.

            Instantly, the crowd grew silent and eyes were directed towards a single tannish-brown tom cat that was now climbing up one of the trees at the edge of the clearing. When his paws grasped the first branch he stopped and turned to face us. “Our leader is, unfortunately, incapable of meeting with you at the moment,” this was met with disapproving murmurs from the rogues. Ignoring this, the tom continued. “But everything I say beyond this point are his words… We have grown to thrice as much since our last meeting. Once I return from my journey, we will lay siege on the group that is called SilverClan. No more will we allow them to selfishly hog their prey rich lands! Upon my return, we will chase these cats off the land which is rightfully ours. That is what our leader said, so until the day he returns continue to spread the word of our group in order for us to grow.”

            “This is awful,” a dismayed whisper escaped from me and I quickly turned to leave. With Soul trailing after me, I shot out of the clearing and tore wildly through the forest. I need to warn them! I can’t let SilverClan be destroyed!