Shattered Sky

by Erin Hunter

  Darktail let out a mrrow of mockery. “Is that true?”

  Violetpaw nodded vigorously. “It is, I promise!”

  Without another word, Darktail signaled to Sleekwhisker, and the two rogue cats seized Needletail and pushed her back under the surface of the lake.

  “No!” Violetpaw yowled, seeing how weak her friend’s struggles were becoming. “Don’t—please!”

  Darktail turned his malignant gaze on her. “Killing Needletail is a better punishment than if I killed you.” The calm in his voice chilled Violetpaw more than savage anger ever could have. “You’re so attached to this treacherous cat, you’re more afraid of her death than your own. I want you to know what it’s like to live with the pain and grief of losing the one cat who befriended you and took care of you.”

  “Oh, please . . . please, no!” Violetpaw begged again. Every hair on her pelt, every muscle in her body, felt as if it was shrieking in agony.

  “I can’t believe I once thought you and Needletail would be my loyal Kin,” Darktail mewed bitterly. “Needletail was the first Clan cat who gave me any notice. I thought she would help me build something here. But then she got involved with that traitor, Rain—and it’s clear to me now that you, Violetpaw, are just as disloyal.”

  By now Needletail had stopped struggling; the lake was still around Darktail and Sleekwhisker, who stood holding her down in water up to their bellies. Violetpaw felt something break inside her, like a tree branch giving way under the weight of snow in leaf-bare.

  Needletail is the closest thing I have to true kin now, she thought, horror gripping her like a badger’s claws. I don’t even know whether Twigpaw is alive! What will I do without Needletail? Memories of her friend crowded in on her. She sneaked me out of camp to go and visit Twigpaw. She always defended me from Darktail!

  Then Darktail’s menacing gaze suddenly softened. “Maybe you’re right, Violetpaw,” he meowed. “Maybe I should give Needletail another chance. What do you think?”

  “Oh, yes!” Violetpaw gave a huge gasp of relief. Maybe this has just been another one of Darktail’s cruel tests! “Please give her another chance! I’ll do anything you want!”

  Darktail took a pace back, and nodded to Sleekwhisker to do the same. For a moment there was no movement below the surface. Violetpaw stared helplessly at the spot where her friend had disappeared. Oh, StarClan, don’t let it be too late!

  Then Needletail’s head broke the surface, her silver-gray fur darkened by the water and plastered to her skull. Her jaws parted and she coughed up a stream of lake water, then took a wheezing breath. Her terrified gaze sought out Violetpaw, but she didn’t speak.

  “We’ve been discussing the situation,” Darktail told her, his voice as calm as if they were back in camp, talking over strategy around the fresh-kill pile. “And we have all agreed that we should give you another chance. After all, it’s not really fair to punish you for Violetpaw’s mistake—isn’t that right, Needletail?”

  Needletail didn’t respond. Far from looking relieved, her eyes had widened with a look of deep apprehension, as if she was expecting Darktail to say something horrible.

  Darktail waited for a moment, then continued, “I’ll be happy to spare your life, Needletail, if you’ll do something for me.”

  “What?” Needletail rasped.

  “If you kill Violetpaw yourself.”

  Violetpaw couldn’t believe what was happening. Deep shudders ran through her body, and her belly cramped as if she was going to vomit as she watched Darktail and Sleek-whisker back farther off, to let Needletail crawl, dripping, out of the lake.

  Needletail looked once more at Violetpaw, but Violetpaw couldn’t read any clue to what she meant to do. It was as if there was no cat at all inside her eyes, just terrible emptiness.

  “Bring her to me.” Needletail’s voice was ragged, but she was standing erect now, as if she was summoning every scrap of strength she had left.

  At her words, Darktail exchanged a surprised glance with his Kin, and Roach let out a snort of laughter. Disgusted, Violetpaw realized they had never expected Needletail to obey. It had just been a cruel joke—another way to torture them both.

  Roach and Raven propelled Violetpaw forward until she stood in front of Needletail.

  She’s going to do it, Violetpaw thought, still trying to read her friend’s heart in her eyes. She’s going to kill me. And I can’t blame her. I sort of deserve it. Needletail should do what she must to save herself. Didn’t she give me the same advice?

  Roach and Raven gave her a final shove; Violetpaw stumbled and fell onto her side. Needletail stared at her as she dropped into a crouch. I wish it could all be over faster, Violetpaw thought despairingly.

  Needletail pounced. She landed on top of Violetpaw, who realized with a shock of understanding that her friend’s claws were sheathed. “Run!” she snarled into Violetpaw’s ear.

  Then, faster than Violetpaw could have believed possible, Needletail swiveled around and leaped at Roach and Raven, all outstretched claws and bared teeth. Taken completely by surprise, the two rogues staggered back, not even trying to defend themselves.

  For a moment, Violetpaw stared at them, too stunned to react.

  “Run! Now!” Needletail screeched at her. “Make this count, Violetpaw!”

  As Roach and Raven sprang forward again, Darktail and Sleekwhisker began to splash their way out of the lake. Needletail whirled to attack them, too. Violetpaw’s last glimpse of her was of a taut knot of fury, vanishing beneath all four cats at once, her claws still striking out.

  She’s sacrificing her life for mine, Violetpaw realized. Of course she is. I should never have doubted her. She’s truly the best friend I’ve ever had, and I can never repay her.

  These thoughts took barely a moment to pass through Violetpaw’s mind. Then, feeling as though her heart would break, she turned to run.

  Violetpaw dashed along the lakeshore and through the stream that flowed from what had been RiverClan’s camp. Once across, she headed farther inland, dodging around trees and through thorn thickets, looking for narrow places she could slip through that might slow down a bigger cat. She was too scared to work out exactly where she was going, but she knew that, somehow, she had to make it to ThunderClan.

  Soon Violetpaw realized that some cat was on her trail. The breeze carried Raven’s scent to her. Needletail’s yowls still split the air behind her, a mixture of rage and pain.

  They’re killing her! Violetpaw thought. But she had to push away all her pity and grief, or she knew that she would break under the despair.

  I have to lose Raven and get to safety. . . . I have to make sure Needletail’s sacrifice wasn’t for nothing!

  CHAPTER 17

  Alderheart’s pads prickled with nervousness, his heart thumping in his chest as he padded along the edge of the lake, a leaf wrap of herbs in his jaws. He was bringing up the rear of the group of cats who had been chosen to attack the rogues in RiverClan territory. Bramblestar was in the lead, with Rowanstar and Mistystar, followed by many of Alderheart’s Clanmates and warriors from ShadowClan and RiverClan.

  I hope Violetpaw managed to sneak those poppy seeds into the prey for Darktail and his Kin.

  Before they’d left camp, Bramblestar had called out to Alderheart and beckoned him over. “I want you to come with us,” he meowed. “We don’t know what shape the prisoners will be in, and we’ll need to get them to safety quickly. And if the rogues fight back, things become much more complicated. We’ll need to hold them off long enough to get the prisoners away.” He sighed. “I’ll feel better if we have a medicine cat close by.”

  Alderheart had nodded. “I’m happy to come with you,” he’d agreed. “I’ll get some herbs ready.”

  “Good.” Bramblestar had blinked in satisfaction. “We leave at sunset.”

  The last streaks of scarlet had faded from the sky by the time the cats reached the halfbridge and the small Thunderpath that separated ShadowClan territory from RiverC
lan. They slipped across the hard surface, silent as moving shadows, and crept into hiding in the bushes on the far side, well out of scent-range of the rogues’ camp.

  “Right,” Bramblestar mewed when every cat was crouched around him; his amber eyes glowed in the near darkness. “Remember, as much as we want Darktail’s group out, our goal tonight is to free the prisoners.”

  “And any ShadowClan warriors who are regretting the choice they made to stay with Darktail,” Rowanstar reminded him. The ShadowClan leader’s tone was faintly resentful; Alderheart guessed he was annoyed that Bramblestar had taken the lead.

  Bramblestar dipped his head; if he had noticed the edge to the ShadowClan leader’s voice, he gave no sign of it. “Of course,” he responded. “The point is, we have come to bring all those cats to safety in the ThunderClan camp. Don’t get distracted by the fighting; it’s a means to an end. We’ll deal with Darktail later. It’s a long walk back through ShadowClan territory, so every cat will need their full strength.”

  “Curse WindClan for closing their borders,” Mallownose of RiverClan grumbled. “If they were still talking to us, we could use their camp—it’s closer than ThunderClan’s.”

  Alderheart saw Bramblestar’s jaws tighten as if he was biting back a sharp retort, and he heard Cloudtail, who was sitting near him, mutter, “Mouse-brain,” under his breath.

  “There’s no point in going over all that again,” Mistystar told her warrior with an irritated twitch of her whiskers. “It’s just wasting time.”

  “Besides,” Bramblestar added, “it’s not too much farther to ThunderClan. And whichever direction we go, we will have to cross a stream.”

  “I guess so,” Mallownose mumbled, giving his chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks.

  “So,” Bramblestar continued briskly, “we only fight if the rogues resist. I’m hoping that the ShadowClan cats will join us, and without Darktail and his most loyal fighters, the rogues will be outnumbered.”

  There was a snort of amusement from Cloudtail. “Wouldn’t that be lovely,” he commented. “But things haven’t exactly gone the easy way since Darktail showed up.”

  Alderheart tended to agree with the senior warrior. Everything he had heard about Darktail—everything he had seen for himself—told him that the rogue leader and his Kin were relentless. We might pull this off, he told himself, but it won’t be easy.

  The one thing he was looking forward to was seeing Needletail again. I hope she’s coping okay with being a prisoner.

  “Any questions?” Bramblestar asked, rising to his paws, ready to lead his cats into enemy territory.

  Before any cat could reply, a fierce commotion ripped through the quiet of the night. Alderheart could hear yowls, shrieks, and hisses, as if a fight had suddenly broken out. Angling his ears, he could tell that it was coming from the direction of the RiverClan camp.

  All the cats sprang up, exchanging startled glances, their neck fur beginning to rise.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Lionblaze said.

  “They shouldn’t be fighting yet,” Tigerheart meowed. “They were supposed to wait for our move. Something’s gone wrong!”

  Bramblestar flattened his ears and let out a growl. “Then we need to go!”

  Plunging out of the bushes, the attacking cats raced along the lakeshore, then veered inland toward the RiverClan camp. Alderheart grabbed his leaf wrap of herbs and followed.

  The cats splashed through the stream that bordered the camp and thrust their way through the fringe of reeds at the water’s edge. Scrambling up the slope into the camp, Alderheart spotted the four RiverClan prisoners locked in furious combat with some of Darktail’s rogues. A small tabby she-cat was fighting alongside them.

  They’ve risen up! he thought, his heart pounding with excitement. They weren’t meant to fight before we got here—but maybe they’re stronger than we thought! Then he looked more closely and realized that one particular cat was missing from the fight. Wait—where’s Violetpaw?

  He felt a prickle of unease beneath his pelt.

  The prisoners were fighting hard, though. They looked desperately skinny and frail, but their eyes glared and their fur was bristling; all their rage against the rogues was pouring out in well-trained Clan battle moves. With a fearsome yowl, the rest of the Clan cats hurled themselves to fight by their side.

  As Alderheart hovered at the edge of the fray, ready to drag out any cat too badly wounded to go on fighting, he was pleased to see that Darktail’s forces seemed smaller—just as they’d planned. But then he spotted Nettle and one or two others of Darktail’s closest Kin, and his excitement ebbed away, to be replaced by bewilderment.

  Why are they awake? he asked himself. They were supposed to get poppy seeds. But Darktail is missing. And so is Violetpaw.

  Had her attempt to drug the cats failed? He searched the screeching crowd of battling cats but couldn’t see the young she-cat anywhere. Needletail was missing, too—and she was one of the prisoners. Darktail must have taken her somewhere. Fear weighed Alderheart’s belly down like a heavy stone. Does that mean . . . ? He felt himself tremble as he wondered what would happen if Darktail had caught Violetpaw trying to sneak the poppy seeds into his food. But he forced himself to shake off the fear. No—I won’t believe it. I’ve lost Twigpaw. I can’t bear to lose Violetpaw as well!

  A heartbeat later, Roach and Sleekwhisker appeared from outside the camp and flung themselves into the battle with shrieks of fury. More of the former ShadowClan cats had joined in the fight, too, but Alderheart noticed they were fighting on the side of the prisoners and the other Clan cats. He spotted Scorchfur and a young black tom that he didn’t recognize, and Puddleshine hovering behind them, waiting to deal with injuries just as he was.

  The rogues are outnumbered, Alderheart thought, his heart racing again. We’re going to win!

  Already the battle was beginning to wane, some of the rogues breaking away and fleeing out of the camp. But Roach, Sleekwhisker, and Nettle kept on fighting furiously, and then at last Darktail appeared, racing up from the direction of the lake.

  Alderheart stared at him incredulously. Deep scratches furrowed Darktail’s fur, and his white pelt was heavy with water and dotted with blood.

  What in the name of StarClan happened to him?

  As soon as Darktail appeared, several Clan cats broke away from the main battle to pile on top of the rogue leader, striking out with teeth and claws. For a few moments, Darktail fought back, but he was too badly outnumbered. Struggling free, he yowled, “Kin! Retreat!” and fled out of the camp in the direction of the border with ShadowClan.

  His Kin streamed after him. Bramblestar followed at the head of the Clan cats, only to halt at the edge of the camp.

  “Let them go,” he panted. “They won’t be back in a hurry.”

  “No, those maggot-ridden excuses for cats will be infesting my territory,” Rowanstar growled.

  “We’ll clear them out soon,” Bramblestar asserted confidently. “After all, you’ve got most of your warriors back now.”

  “That’s if I let them come back.” Rowanstar turned to stare balefully at the former ShadowClan warriors, who were clustered together a couple of tail-lengths away, gazing uncertainly at their Clan leader.

  “We’re sorry, Rowanstar,” Scorchfur meowed. “Most of us have wanted to come back for a long time, but Darktail wouldn’t let us leave.”

  “Mouse-hearts!” Rowanstar snorted.

  “Oh, come on!” Tawnypelt padded up to her mate and nudged him with her shoulder. “We all know what Darktail and his Kin were like. And none of us realized how much of a threat he was at first—even you.”

  Rowanstar glared at his mate for a moment longer, then shrugged. “Very well, they can come back,” he meowed. “But if they put one paw out of line . . .”

  A relieved chorus of sighs came from the ShadowClan cats.

  “We won’t!”

  “Thank you, Rowanstar!”

  Alderheart wat
ched with satisfaction as the returning warriors gathered around their leader, then turned to examine the RiverClan prisoners. All four of them lay on the ground, their chests heaving and their paws limp with exhaustion. Alderheart was surprised they had been able to fight so bravely.

  Mistystar was crouching beside them, and she looked up anxiously as Alderheart approached. “Are they badly hurt?” she asked.

  It was her deputy, Reedwhisker, who replied. “We’re fine,” he croaked, managing to raise his head a little. “That was the best thing we’ve ever done, sinking our claws into those mange-pelts.”

  Looking more closely at each of the RiverClan warriors in turn, Alderheart was relieved to see that none of their injuries were serious. One of Reedwhisker’s ears was bleeding, Mintfur and Brackenpelt were both missing small clumps of fur, and Icewing had a long scratch on one shoulder, but it was reassuringly shallow.

  “They’ll be okay,” Alderheart reassured Mistystar. “We’ll get those scratches cleaned up and then put on a poultice of marigold.”

  “But what happened?” The voice was Bramblestar’s; he came padding up with Squirrelflight, Scorchfur, and the young tabby she-cat who was a stranger to Alderheart.

  “It looked like Violetpaw had planned to put Darktail and his closest kin to sleep with poppy seeds,” Scorchfur replied. “But I guess you know all about that. Anyway, her plan didn’t work. Darktail got wind of it somehow and dragged her over to the prisoners’ den.”

  “He dragged Needletail out,” the tabby she-cat continued. “Then he took both of them—Violetpaw and Needletail—down toward the lake. I . . . don’t know what happened to them after that.”

  Cold dread began to gather in Alderheart’s belly. He wanted to race off right away and look for his friends, but he knew he had duties here.

  “We heard Darktail say that he was going to punish Needletail for what Violetpaw had done,” Reedwhisker mewed hoarsely. “When they’d left, we decided it was time to act. We knew we had to do something to stop Darktail’s evil. So we broke out of our den. Zelda here”—he gestured with his tail toward the young tabby she-cat—“was on guard with Nettle. When we started to fight, Zelda joined in on our side. And so did most of the ShadowClan cats. Then you arrived,” he finished with a nod to Bramblestar. “I have never been so glad to see any cats in all my life.”