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| - "Well? For all your preaching about a warrior code and all your flaunting of so-called nobility, this is what you've come to. Murdering a cat for merely breathing," Fire said coldly. You know what the worst part was? It was that she wasn't even acting in that moment. I could see it in her eyes. She genuinely wondered how we could have killed Cinnamon. I knew, because I was thinking the exact same thing. And I was thinking, I'm sorry you have to see this. Cinnamon's body must remind her so distinctly of another she-cat, one with ginger-and-white fur and sightless blue eyes, who had also been killed mindlessly. I could see her sorrow for Ariel in her eyes, but there was no trace of it in her voice when she spoke. "We have beaten you once, Oakstar. And now you dare challenge us again. You've overstepped your limits. We might've let you remain in your stupid camp at the edge of our territory before, but now you've sealed your fate. You will most definitely be eradicated." The rogues around her clearly saw it as a threat, but I knew it was really a warning. Fire was trying to impress upon us the magnitude of our actions, and the consequences they would bring. I tried to copy Minkpaw and Oakstar, raising my chin in calm defiance, but it was hard when my knees were knocking together like branches in the wind. "Oakstar!" Cranelegs, Quailfeather, and Daisypaw were coming back towards us, with Duskwatcher crammed between them. Quailfeather's grim gaze was concentrated on the gray tom, and I knew if he made one false move, she'd claw him quicker than a lighting strike. The pale-furred she-cat addressed the rogues as soon as she was in earshot. "It's him you want," she said, jerking her head towards our prisoner. "He killed her. The evidence is directly in front of you. Take the criminal, and leave our Clan alone-" "Silence, Quailfeather." All of us turned to Oakstar in shock. "But-" Quailfeather began to protest. "It isn't Duskwatcher they want. It's me." Our leader bowed his head. "And I will come, if you promise to never touch a SpringClan cat again." My mind was spinning. I heard Oakstar's offer, but I couldn't process it. It was like he was speaking through a waterfall, his words garbled and distorted when they reached my ears. "No," whispered Minkpaw. Quailfeather looked like someone had doused her in ice water. Before Fire could respond to Oakstar, another rogue stepped forward. He was a dark gray tom with brilliant gold eyes the color of liquid sunshine. "We accept. Seize him!" "No!" screamed Daisypaw and I in unison. "Don't fight!" Oakstar roared. He almost never got angry, but his eyes were blazing. "Don't fight, any of you! You'll get yourselves killed!" He was still screaming warnings as the rogues surrounded him. For better or worse, we didn't listen. Cranelegs, who obviously didn't know about Fire's double agent status, threw himself on the ginger she-cat and began grappling with her. Daisypaw, Minkpaw and I tried to fight our way to Oakstar's side, but it was no use. There were seven or eight rogues, and we were no match. Finally, Quailfeather called a retreat. Her eyes burned with hatred. "You will regret this!" she howled as Oakstar and the rogues vanished from view. Clearly shaken, Minkpaw stammered, "I-I don't understand. Why would he do that? Giving himself up is completely useless. Does he honestly think Claron and the League will keep their promise?" "He's an old fool," spat Quailfeather. She looked furious. "He's left the Clan leaderless and clueless. SpringClan is abandoned and ready to fall--and for what? To protect him?" She shot Duskwatcher a baleful look. Minkpaw touched her tail to the she-cat's flank. "We aren't leaderless. You're our leader for now. And would you have us give up Duskwatcher without a fight? Killer or not, he is family. The day we lose our love for each other--that's the day we lose who we are. That's the day we fall." A thunderstorm hit when we got back to the camp. It was miserable. The thickets weren't built for harsh weather. Within a few minutes, we were all soaked to the bone. Cats skulked under gorse plants or pressed themselves against the walls of the stone quarry, trying to seek out any form of meager shelter. Quailfeather had called a conference for all warriors--which, unfortunately, included me. I would much rather have huddled with the Vale Squad, Ryan and Cammy, but instead I was stuck sitting next to Hawkeye and listening to him vividly describe the manner in which we should rip Claron apart piece by piece. "-and then, while she screams in pain, we take the other cats and find a fire-" "Where would we find a fire?" interrupted Nighthawk irritably, flicking raindrops from his eyelashes. "We could-" "Enough," snarled Quailfeather. "Does anyone have any reasonable, sane plan to get Oakstar back?" Silence. The deputy gave a heavy sigh. She looked so disappointed in us all that for a second it was easy to imagine that she was actually our leader, Quailstar, in complete authority over us. No, don't think like that. Oakstar will be back before you know it, I told myself. But if that was true, it certainly didn't feel like it. At least, we wouldn't be the ones to bring him back. We could barely hold ourselves together. In fact, some of us couldn't. After being told what had befallen her mate, Mintwhisker had started shaking uncontrollably. Lionpatch and Blossompaw were with her now, trying to convince her to chew a few herbs to help her calm down. "Younger warriors are dismissed," Quailfeather said, sounding defeated. "Goldenburst, Ivyrose, Thistleblossom, you stay. The rest of you can go, try to stay dry." What a joke, I thought, looking down at the way my fur was plastered to my bones. I gave myself a rough shake and walked over to my friends. Wordlessly, Daisypaw bowed her head and tucked herself under my chin. Minkpaw and Ryan were talking quietly, their ears flat against their heads as they blinked water out of their eyes. Specklepaw was shaking; I couldn't tell if it was from shock or cold. Cammy lay next to him, her normally fluffy coat reduced to a scraggly mess that made her resemble a drowned rat. Lily sat at a distance, watching us aloofly. Too tired to deal with her, I closed my eyes and pressed closer to Daisypaw. "What are we going to do, guys?" I murmured. "I wish I could say I have a plan, but..." Minkpaw trailed off and shook her head. For the second time in a row, I woke up in a dream. Strangely, though, it wasn't my parents who'd summoned me. The cat I saw in front of me, crumpled on the floor in a dark enclosure, wasn't Cloudberry or Ravenwing. It was Oakstar. Immediately, I ran to him, calling his name. He lifted his head, his eyes like dimming stars in the gloom. "Where are you? We have to come break you out!" "Breezeflight," he wheezed hoarsely. "You need to help me. My plan went wrong--I presumed too much, like the fool I am, and I was mistaken. There isn't any time-" "Everyone's always saying that!" I cut him off. "But no one tells me what's actually going on. You tell me, Oakstar. Where are you? Why did you let the League have you like that?" Sighing, he struggled to his feet. "I suppose I have a lot to explain, then. Let me start at the beginning. Breezeflight, you are often visited by your parents in StarClan, correct?" I blinked. "Y-yeah, but how-" "Have you ever wondered what is it that enables StarClan to connect with us?" "No," I admitted cautiously. Oakstar's eyes grew distant. "There have long been stories, passed down from generation to generation. You've heard about the Great Clans, of course. TigerClan, LeopardClan, and LionClan?" "Yes," I said with a bit of reverence. Just hearing the names of the Greats sent chills down my spine. I'd heard stories about them since kithood; TigerClan, enormous hunters painted with fire and night, LeopardClan, spotted gold and more cunning than foxes, and the most famed: LionClan, with glorious manes like the sun's rays and every bit as powerful. "Legend has it that when the last of the Greats left this land, they bequeathed us a gift." "I know. Strength and intelligence, cunning and stealth, and courage and power," I said. "No--not those qualities, though those are a gift as well. I'm talking about something very special. It was a stone, called Life-Rock. It was intended to be used as a gateway to visit StarClan, but it was also extremely powerful, and some cats started to abuse it. They wanted to commit all kinds of crimes--bring cats back from StarClan, gain more than nine lives, and things too horrible to even name. Tired of all the twisted notions the Life-Rock created, one leader called Applestar got rid of it. She hid it where no one could ever find, where its power could never lure another cat onto a dark path." "The Life-Rock is strong enough that we can still feel the effects of its power, even without directly seeing it. That's why Lionpatch, Blossompaw, and many of us can communicate with StarClan. Over time, most cats have forgotten that the Life-Rock even exists; they take this connection with the skies for granted." Until now, I had been one of those cats. I'd never thought to question how we could be linked with our ancestors in the stars. "Oakstar... why are you telling me all of this?" I mewed. "Because I think that that's what Claron is after." I stumbled. "What? She's not even a Clan cat! How can she know about it? I didn't know about it!" Oakstar looked worried. "It explains everything--why StarClan is falling with us. She is fighting us both, though in different ways. I thought that by giving myself over to the League, I could search for the Life-Rock." "And you didn't think to tell anyone else about this plan?" I screeched. "Not even your deputy? Or your mate?" "Being a hero is a dangerous, lonely path. I could never ask anyone to walk it with me," Oakstar said sadly. "Especially not Mintwhisker." "Oakstar-" "I'm not the point, Breezeflight; this isn't about me at all. This is about the heart of who I am: SpringClan. They're keeping me at High-Rock, but the Life-Rock isn't here. I've heard my guards speak of a location called Darkplace. After all my eavesdropping, I've concluded that that has to be where they're keeping the High-Rock. And that's not all. They've kidnapped another leader." "What do you mean?" "From what I've gathered, he stole the Life-Rock first. And they attacked him and took it from him, so now both he and the Rock are at Darkplace, awaiting Claron's judgement." "He stole the... another leader? Do you know what his name is?" "No, but I do know that he's from a group called GreenClan." Shock bolted through me. I remembered Ryan telling me the story of how his parents had been attacked and killed by a Clan called GreenClan. Before I could say anything, Oakstar mewed urgently, "You have to rescue the leader of GreenClan and get the Life-Rock back." Rescue the cat who had hunted down Needle and Spine? The cat who was the reason for Ryan watching his mother drown when he was only a kit? The cat who stole the Life-Rock? "I know you may not want to, but you have to," Oakstar said, and I jumped; it was almost like could read my mind. "I understand," I said resignedly. "Claron wants to harness the power of the Life-Rock, and it can't be for anything good. It's the ultimate sinner's plot, to use an object of light for extreme darkness. But you can stop it. We're counting on you." "But wait. I have no idea where Darkplace is--or what it is." "Unfortunately, I don't either. All I can tell you is that it's near Twolegplace." This plan was sounding worse by the minute. "You want me to go to Twolegplace? But it's forbidden! No warrior would ever-" "Breezeflight." That was all he needed to say. His words came back to me. Being a hero is a dangerous, lonely path. Well, it looked like I was needed on the front lines of heroism--and as ill-equipped as I was, I couldn't ignore the call. But I also knew there was no way I could accomplish anything noteworthy alone. "Can I get my friends to help me?" Oakstar's gaze softened. "Of course. Now wake up! And hurry!" My eyes flew open. I leaped to my feet so fast that I nearly fell back over. I began shaking my other friends with my paws, till they opened their eyes and groggily demanded to know what I was doing. "Come on," I said. "Get up, everyone!" "Where are we going?" said Daisypaw confusedly. "We're going to save SpringClan," I explained. And then, hopefully Oakstar too. We had to find the leader of GreenClan, find the Life-Rock, fight off the inevitable attack Claron would launch to try to stop us, save Oakstar, and make it back alive. Piece of mouse, right?
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