Veil of Shadows/Chapter 21

==Chapter description==
:Bristlefrost, along with the rest of ThunderClan, follows the impostor towards ShadowClan territory as they prepare for war. She senses her Clanmates' resentment over her position as deputy, and feels a growing reluctance to participate in the battle. She thinks about how other cats assume she supports Bramblestar and is eager to fight and wonders how he found out about ShadowClan's plan to attack him. She worries that everyone believes she is a traitor, and wonders what she will do once the battle begins, recalling her promise to Squirrelflight to protect Bramblestar's body.
:Mistystar and Harestar arrive, leading their Clans, and they travel together before halting on the SkyClan border. The impostor comments that Leafstar has decided not to show up, and vows to punish her for her betrayal later. The gathered Clans form a half-circle as they approach ShadowClan's camp, and to Bristlefrost's surprise, they find the Clan awake and ready for battle. Tigerstar confronts Bramblestar, demanding to know what's going on. Bramblestar explains that he is there to carry out his decrees and punish codebreakers to uphold the will of StarClan. Tigerstar tells the ThunderClan leader that he will be disgracing StarClan and leading warriors to pointless deaths if he chooses to attack, but ShadowClan will stand its ground. As the two leaders face off with open hostility, Leafstar and her SkyClan warriors emerge from the bushes. Leafstar pretends to be on Bramblestar's side for a moment before calling for her warriors to attack, shocking Bristlefrost and the other warriors in Bramblestar's alliance. Bristlefrost joyfully realizes that Leafstar must have been the one who warned Tigerstar of the attack as the battle begins to rage around her.
:Bristlefrost is determined to make her Clanmates believe she is still loyal to Bramblestar and to protect his body, but she doesn't want to hurt anyone. She tries to dodge around Dewspring, but Mousewhisker charges into them, and Bristlefrost is pinned beneath both of the warriors. Mousewhisker calls for her help, and Bristlefrost is somewhat relieved that she is unable to move, and thus can't be accused of avoiding fighting the SkyClan warrior. As the two fighting warriors roll away, Bristlefrost sees Bramblestar confront Leafstar, calling her a traitor and ordering Shellfur and Leafshade to attack her. The warriors ignore his orders, to Bramblestar's fury, and Bristlefrost is unsure if he is about to attack the SkyClan leader or his own warriors. Tigerstar stalks towards the ThunderClan leader, but then the rebels arrive and interrupt the fight.
:Berrynose rushes towards Bramblestar, but Tawnypelt intercepts him, and after hesitating for a moment, slices him open with her claws. Bristlefrost tries to reach Berrynose to help him, but is unable to fight her way through the crowd. Lionblaze and Harestar are engaged in a vicious fight right in front of her, and despite Bristlefrost's protests, Lionblaze claws Harestar's throat and causes him to lose a life. Lionblaze stands back in shock, and the fighting slowly ceases as other cats notice what has happened. Crowfeather calls for the battle to stop, and Hawkwing questions if Harestar will be able to return to his next life. Nightcloud and other WindClan warriors wail in grief.
:Harestar awakens and is confused for a moment before recalling how he lost a life. He tells them that he visited StarClan, but only saw hazy figures of StarClan warriors fading away, and heard strange distorted voices. All the cats turn to look at Bramblestar, and Crowfeather states that this isn't what the ThunderClan leader described after losing his life. Bramblestar tells Crowfeather not to question him, and states that StarClan is fading because of codebreaking, and that Harestar must be a codebreaker as well. Harestar refutes this, and Tigerstar says that Bramblestar is an impostor, for the real Bramblestar never would have behaved this way. Bramblestar snarls that the others will all be punished when he brings StarClan back. Tigerstar launches himself at Bramblestar, and the leaders fight until Squirrelflight emerges from the crowd, to Bramblestar's shock. Tigerstar uses the distraction to defeat the ThunderClan leader, and Squirrelflight begs him not to kill her mate's body. Tigerstar reluctantly agrees, and they decide to take him prisoner. Tigerstar calls for Shadowsight to treat the impostor's wounds, and Bristlefrost's relief at the end of the battle quickly turns to grief as she sees that Berrynose, Rosepetal, Sandynose, and others she can't yet identify were all killed.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
*Rootspring
==Important events==
===Deaths===
*Berrynose is killed by Tawnypelt.
*Harestar loses a life fighting Lionblaze.
*Rosepetal and Sandynose are killed in battle.
==Notes and references==
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Veil of Shadows
Category:The Broken Code arc