Warriors: The Trail of Centuries

Chapter 32

     Spottedpath clawed impatiently at the earth beneath her, ignoring how the pine needles poked at the pads of her paws. The warriors of both SwiftClan and NightClan, along with the three warriors that had left the Gorge, clustered near the main entrance to the NightClan camp. At the front of the crowd, Spottedpath saw Brackenstar standing with his tail lashing. The brown-furred tom looked distracted, but at the same time eager to get into the forest.

     Next to him, Harestar sat facing the cats of the two Clans. Her eyes glittered with anticipation, but even so, her expression was steely and intimidating. Her muscles rippled under her pelt as she flexed her forelegs impatiently, and Spottedpath realized how scary she'd be to face in a battle. A little further from the crowd sat the deputies, Petalheart and Birchtail. Birchtail still looked uncomfortable and shy, going so far as to shrink down when Petalheart stepped forward to make an announcement.

     "This is the war that decides our fate!" the grey-and-white she-cat called out. "Remember your training, and fight well, fellow warriors! Deadeye's reign of terror ends today!"

     Spottedpath reared onto her hindlegs with the cats around her, letting out a fierce battle cry that was drowned out in the yowling of her Clanmates. With a single, unified movement, they all rushed forward and burst into the forest. Leading the charge were the two leaders, heads held high as they raced through the forest. Spottedpath found herself in the middle of the crowd. On one side, Mouseberry raced with his tail streaming behind him; Nightstream pelted alongside Spottedpath's other flank.

     The warriors' muscles rippled underneath their pelts, and their paws thundered against the cold forest floor. The early morning frost stung Spottedpath's paws with each step, and her breaths billowed out in plumes of misty frost that got whisked away as soon as it appeared.

     Harestar led them to the RushClan border first, almost immediately the river-bound cats and the BlazeClan cats appeared out of the undergrowth. Spottedpath couldn't help noticing that Heatherstar led the forces for both Clans with Bumbleflight and Yellowheart close on her tail. Kinkstar ran in step behind his own deputy, looking strained as he struggled to keep up the pace. The four leaders only exchanged a grim glance before they veered on their paths, leading all four Clans to the Gathering Stones.

     As they quickly neared the sacred gathering spot, Spottedpath realized how ironic it was that the leaders chose to meet Deadeye's forces there. Instead of meeting under the peace of the truce, they were meeting for a war that decided the fate of the Clans—the entire forest. 

     "We're going to fight like the Great Clans once did," Mouseberry whispered as they entered the clearing. "We'll put this battle down in the history of our Clans forever."

     Once inside, the warriors pressed close together and shifted to the center of the Gathering clearing while they awaited Deadeye's arrival. Each and every cat waited on bated breath, their eyes scanning the edges of the clearing carefully. The air grew thick with tension and anticipation, and Spottedpath swore she could hear it crackling in the air, like the calm before a storm. 

     The snap of a twig far out of sight caused them all to tense up, and Spottedpath struggled to breathe as everyone squeezed more tightly together. Straight across from them, the bushes rustled, and Deadeye slowly started to slink into sight. Close behind him were Greyheart, Snowface, Ace, Aldric, and Clawtail. As soon as they were in plain sight, Spottedpath noticed countless sets of eyes peering at them through the hedges, and with a painful gulp she realized that they had let themselves become surrounded at the base of the Gathering Stones.

     "How unfortunate," Deadeye called to them, his voice taunting. "You've all chosen to follow a heretic to your collective doom. We could have been so great together, too." Spottedpath shuddered at his words and felt her friends press closer against her.