The Hunted

This is a fanfiction written by The Warrior Brothers. It was originally a show (the original can be found here) on the WARRIOR CATS FAN HEADQUARTERS Wiki.

## Chapter I - Wounds

Blizzard’s Wing trudged up the slope that was covered in snow as far as the eye could see. He was a cave guard, carrying prey for a prey hunter.

The tom carried a scrawny vole in his jaws. It was the middle of leaf-bare. He peered through the snowstorm to see the entrance to the Cave of Rushing Water ahead. He sighed with relief as his hunting patrol neared it.

The white tom shivered as freezing water sprayed him. The patrol padded into the cave and Blizzard’s Wing shook out his pelt.

“Hello,” mewed a brown and white she-cat.

“Hey,” replied Blizzard’s Wing. “I don’t suppose anyone else brought back fresh-kill while I was out?”

“Why?” she chuckled. “Are you hungry?”

Blizzard’s Wing shook his head. “There was nothing there when we left. It’s been a hard leaf-bare.”

“And newleaf won’t arrive for a while,” mewed a gray tom, padding up to them.

“Hello, Storm Pelt,” meowed Blizzard’s Wing.

Storm Pelt smiled at Blizzard’s Wing and turned to the brown and white she-cat. “Hi, Spotted Fur.”

“Hello,” mewed Spotted Fur.

“I’d better go talk to Stoneteller,” meowed Blizzard’s Wing.

“Why?” inquired Spotted Fur.

Blizzard’s Wing sighed. “Remember those injuries that Jagged Cliff returned with last quarter moon?”

“Yeah,” mewed Storm Pelt.

“Well, the same thing happened to Shifting Clouds,” continued Blizzard’s Wing, “and I think it’s more than a coincidence.”

“But what could it be?” asked Storm Pelt, looking puzzled.

“Other cats,” mewed Spotted Fur.

“You’re probably right,” meowed Blizzard’s Wing, “and if that’s true, I definitely need to tell Stoneteller about it. He should know.”

Blizzard’s Wing padded away into Stoneteller’s den. He noticed the hard, craggy rock floor, and though there were feathers lining Stoneteller’s nest, it couldn’t be comfortable.

“Hello,” mewed Blizzard’s Wing.

A silver tom sat up in the nest. “What is it?”

“Shifting Clouds came back with wounds similar to Jagged Cliff’s,” meowed Blizzard’s Wing.

Stoneteller got to his paws. “And what did his hunting partner say happened?” he asked.

“Lightning's Claw said she didn’t know,” replied Blizzard’s Wing.

“What does she mean by that?” inquired Stoneteller.

“She said all she saw was a black blur, then she woke up to find Shifting Clouds wounded,” answered Blizzard’s Wing. “She asked Shifting Clouds what happened, he said the same thing, but that he couldn’t remember past that point.”

Stoneteller nodded slowly. “I’ll go address the Tribe.”

Blizzard’s Wing dipped his head as Stoneteller padded past.

As Stoneteller leapt up onto a rock to address the Tribe, he yowled, “Let all cats of the Tribe gather for a meeting!”

The Tribe cats flocked to the rock. Blizzard’s Wing spotted Storm Pelt and Jagged Cliff at the edge of the crowd, and he padded over to join them.

The two toms were deep in conversation when Blizzard’s Wing reached them.

“You can’t deny that there were claw marks on you,” mewed Storm Pelt.

“It could have been a fox,” meowed Jagged Cliff adamantly.

“There are no foxes in the mountains,” Storm Pelt pointed out.

“It could have been an eagle,” mewed Jagged Cliff.

“You said you saw a black blur,” commented Blizzard’s Wing. “Eagles aren’t black. Also, eagles would have left different marks on you. You said there were marks on your belly, but an eagle would swoop down and grab your back or shoulders.”

Before Jagged Cliff could reply, Stoneteller yowled, “Silence!”

He began to address the Tribe. “You all know of Jagged Cliff’s wounds,” he began. “Shifting Clouds returned with the same type of wounds. He claims to have seen a black blur, and then he woke up with Lightning’s Claw bending over him with the same type of wounds. Blizzard’s Wing and several other cats believe that the ambushes were the work of cats.” Stoneteller narrowed his eyes. “Jagged Cliff, the first to be wounded, claims that it was an eagle or some other creature.” He paused before continuing

“Shifting Clouds,” Stoneteller mewed, beckoning with his tail to the gray and white tom, “will tell you what he believes happened.”

“It… it was all too fast,” stammered Shifting Clouds. “Like Stoneteller said, all I can remember is a black blur and waking up with Lightning’s Claw over me.”

“Very well,” meowed Stoneteller. “It is time for a meal.”

The Tribe gathered around the pile of prey in the center of the cave. Blizzard’s Wing sat back on his haunches and took a hawk from the pile. Spotted Fur padded over to him.

“Want to share?” he asked, pointing with his tail to the hawk.

“Sure!” she meowed, leaning down to take a bite.

Blizzard’s Wing took the next, then Spotted Fur again. They continued in this manner until the hawk was gone. Storm Pelt padded up to them. “Hey,” he mewed.

Spotted Fur greeted him with a flick of her tail, and Blizzard’s Wing said, “So, it was obviously a cat, right? Why won’t Stoneteller confirm that?”

Storm Pelt nodded. “Well, let’s go out and get the evidence.”

Spotted Fur’s eyes widened. “You mean go catch the cat?”

“Or cats,” Blizzard’s Wing pointed out. “We don’t know how many there are.”

Storm Pelt nodded again. “If it’s not cats, then no big deal. If it *is* cats, then we report back to Stoneteller.”

“I guess it’s simple enough,” mewed Spotted Fur.

Blizzard’s Wing stood up. “We leave tomorrow,” he meowed.

The other two flicked their ears in acknowledgement, and the three of them padded off to their beds. Blizzard’s Wing settled down in his scoop in the rock floor of the cave, which was lined with feathers. He shifted, too excited to go to sleep right away.

\* \* \*

Blizzard’s Wing awoke and saw Storm Pelt creeping out of his nest. The white tom glanced at the sky. It was filled with milky predawn light. The pair crept over to Spotted Fur’s nest. Blizzard’s Wing glanced mischievously at Storm Pelt when he saw that the she-cat was still asleep.

He bent down and whispered in her ear, “Wake up, sleepy head!”

She shot up, hitting Blizzard’s Wing in the chin as she did. Before she could open her mouth, he recovered and hissed, “Don’t!”

Spotted Fur looked confused, and then she glanced at the pair that was waking her, and at the rest of the Tribe that was still sleeping, and she seemed to remember.

Blizzard’s Wing beckoned with his tail to the pair. They followed the Path of Rushing Water behind the waterfall. Blizzard’s Wing’s paws slipped on the wet surface. He glanced over his shoulder at the others to see Spotted Fur having similar problems and Storm Pelt completely at ease. Blizzard’s Wing wondered how the gray tom had grown so comfortable with surfaces like this, until he remembered how Storm Pelt would always sneak out of the cave by using the path when they were to-bes.

They emerged from behind the waterfall, and padded along a snowy path beside a sheer cliff. Blizzard’s Wing glanced down to his left at what seemed like a never-ending drop into icy oblivion, and then wished he hadn’t. The three cats crept along the rock wall and saw a hole in the side of the mountain.

“Let’s check it out,” suggested Storm Pelt.

“Sure,” mewed Blizzard’s Wing in reply.

“Fine by me,” meowed Spotted Fur.

Blizzard’s Wing let the other two cats fall in beside him. He peered inside the hole. Then everything went black.

## Chapter II - Evidence

Blizzard’s Wing felt his haunches slide through huge snowdrifts. He coughed as the freezing snow shot up his nose.

He glanced to his left and saw Storm Pelt. He stared upward at the animal dragging him. He froze -- not from the snow, but shock. *It’s a cat!* he thought frantically.

He looked to his right to make sure Spotted Fur was there. Sure enough, she was being dragged through the snow by another cat.

The cat dragging Blizzard’s Wing was a broad-shouldered white tom. Spotted Fur was being hauled across the rock by a slender gray she-cat, and Storm Pelt by a burly brown tom.

Blizzard’s Wing wriggled to try to slip out of the grip of the cat holding him. When he slipped free, he opened his jaws to let out a yowl of triumph -- only for a tail to be slapped across his mouth.

“Shut it,” snarled the white tom as he slashed Blizzard’s Wing across the face.

Blizzard’s Wing growled as the tom reached for him again. Blizzard’s Wing stared straight into the other tom’s blazing amber eyes and realized that this cat knew how to fight.

The other tom raked Blizzard’s Wing’s belly, then rolled over to get out of the way. Blizzard’s Wing saw the gray she-cat twist around and race towards him to help the other tom.

“No, you mouse-brain!” yowled the tom battling Blizzard’s Wing.

At that moment, Spotted Fur recovered from being dropped on the rock and sprang at the she-cat that had been dragging her.

A look of confusion flashed through the gray she-cat’s eyes, then she seemed to regain her composure as Spotted Fur flew through the air. The gray she-cat twisted as Spotted Fur landed, but Spotted Fur lashed out with her back claws, hitting the other she-cat square in the shoulders and knocking her to the ground with her belly exposed.

Blizzard’s Wing had been so caught up in watching her that he had failed to notice the white tom creeping up on him from behind.

The tom pounced on Blizzard’s Wing, who whipped away at the last moment, thrusting out with his hind legs. Blizzard’s Wing’s attacker crashed into the cliffside.

“Ice!” shrieked the gray she-cat as she darted across the slippery stone.

Ice stood up. “The she-cat’s coming back around, Falcon!” he yowled. Blizzard’s Wing realized he must be referring to Spotted Fur.

As Spotted Fur attacked Falcon and Blizzard’s Wing resumed his fight with Ice, Storm Pelt twisted free of the brown tom. Hope flared in Blizzard’s Wing. *We can win!* he exclaimed inwardly.

Then five more cats rounded a corner ahead of Blizzard’s Wing and came charging towards them. The spark of hope disappeared as he saw a massive black tom with blazing eyes the color of fire at the head of the patrol. He, Storm Pelt, and Spotted Fur stood no chance against eight enemies!

“Storm Pelt! Spotted Fur!” called Blizzard’s Wing. “We don’t have a chance against them! Stop fighting or we’ll be killed!”

The black tom skidded to a halt just as the other two cats stopped trying to fight. “Who are they?” inquired the black tom as he padded over to Ice.

“Tribe cats,” replied Ice, dipping his head in respect.

“Good,” meowed the black tom.

“We’ll escape! The others did!”

“Tribe cats are foolish,” mewed the black tom simply.

“What kind of answer is that?” spat Storm Pelt, sounding outraged.

The black tom snorted. “They *didn’t* escape.”

His words sent a chill down Blizzard’s Wing’s spine. “W-what do you mean?” he stuttered.

“They never knew we were here,” the black tom replied.

“Why are we telling them all this, Shadow?” asked the brown tom that had been fighting Storm Pelt.

“We will not tell them any more than is necessary, Mud,” answered Shadow coolly.

“But we’re already telling them that--” Falcon was cut off when Shadow clapped his tail over Falcon’s mouth with surprising speed.

“Watch your tongue!” he hissed, then took his tail off. Blizzard’s Wing noted that Falcon was shaking.

Immediately calming down, Shadow meowed, “Let them go back to the Tribe.”

“Fox dung,” hissed Ice under his breath as he watched Blizzard’s Wing and his friends hurry off.

“Fox dung yourself!” shouted Storm Pelt over his shoulder.

Blizzard’s Wing was at his shoulder in seconds. “We don’t want a fight!” he hissed into his friend’s ear.

Storm Pelt shrugged. Ice was hurling insults at them, and Blizzard’s Wing added, “Well, at least you riled him up.”

Storm Pelt stifled a laugh as the three friends padded up the slope. Blizzard’s Wing kept casting nervous glances over his shoulder, but Shadow never moved.

Spotted Fur was grumbling behind them. Blizzard’s Wing dropped back to walk beside her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Stupid ice,” she hissed. She was shaking her paw as if it hurt, and Blizzard’s Wing didn’t know a thing about herbs or wounds or anything of the sort.

“Storm Pelt!” he yowled to his gray friend, who was several fox lengths ahead now. Storm Pelt glanced back and saw the two cats, then hurried back to them.

“What’s wrong?” he inquired.

Nodding at Spotted Fur’s paw, he asked, “What do you think it is?”

Storm Pelt blinked. “A paw?” he replied, his expression playful.

Blizzard’s Wing sighed and gave him a shove with one of his shoulders. “The injury!” he mewed.

Storm Pelt looked at Spotted Fur’s paw, then looked back up at Blizzard’s Wing. “Sprain,” he meowed.

“How do we fix it?” Blizzard’s Wing pressed.

Storm Pelt narrowed his eyes, looking thoughtful. “She should rest for a few days, probably.”

Blizzard’s Wing rolled his eyes. “Mouse dung!” he spat. “We don’t have time for that! We need to get back to the cave! They’ll all know we’re gone by now! It’s already sunhigh!”

Storm Pelt backed away. “How come you’re so mad?”

The fur along Blizzard’s Wing’s spine rose. “I don’t have a good feeling about Shadow and his gang of rogues.”

Storm Pelt shrugged. “Who would? But they’re behind us now, and Spotted Fur needs to rest.”

Blizzard’s Wing spat again. “How far to the cave?”

Storm Pelt narrowed his eyes. “About… three tree-lengths, I’d guess.”

Blizzard’s Wing turned to Spotted Fur. “Can you walk?” he asked.

“I think so,” she grunted, standing up.

Suddenly a brown speck appeared in the sky, growing rapidly larger. Cruel talons and a hooked beak shown in the sunlight. Blizzard’s Wing barely had time to screech “Eagle!” before it was upon them, sinking it’s long talons into Spotted Fur’s shoulders.

## Chapter III - Return

Blizzard’s Wing watched as Spotted Fur screeched. He was frozen with terror. Blizzard’s Wing was snapped out of his trance when he heard Storm Pelt’s yowl beside him.

The white tom leapt at the eagle, slashing furiously at its wings. The huge bird barely loosened its grip. Blizzard’s Wing heard Storm Pelt’s shriek of fury and panic beside him, sounding the same as his own.

Spotted Fur was yowling above their heads. “Help me!” she screeched.

Blizzard’s Wing jumped up and grabbed her legs and yanked. “Attack the eagle!” he yowled to Storm Pelt.

The gray tom nodded as he jumped up and clawed at the eagle’s gnarly legs. The eagle screeched again and jerked upward, bringing Spotted Fur up several mouse-lengths as well. Blood spattered on the cold gray stone as the eagle tried to take off.

Blizzard’s Wing yanked Spotted Fur down as hard as he could, knocking her to the ground. He landed on top of her. He couldn’t move, as much as he knew he should have rolled off right away. Instead, he found himself staring into her eyes.

Storm Pelt padded over. “Er… should we get a move on?”

Blizzard’s Wing got up and shook out his pelt, scattering snow. Storm Pelt jumped backward to avoid being showered by the white flakes.

Blizzard’s Wing nodded and padded up the slope along with his two friends. He saw the opening of the Path of Rushing Water up ahead. Blizzard’s Wing glanced up at the sky. It was well past sunhigh, the first hints of a beautiful sunset creeping into the sky.

A group of cats rushed out to meet them. “Lightning’s Claw,” mewed Blizzard’s Wing mewed, dipping his head.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

“Out looking for evidence,” answered Storm Pelt.

“Of what?” asked a gray tom. Blizzard’s Wing recognized Eagle’s Swoop.

“That *cats* attacked Jagged Cliff and Shifting Clouds,” meowed Blizzard’s Wing.

The white tom narrowed his eyes as he recalled that Lightning’s Claw was the one standing over Shifting Clouds after he had been attacked.

“That’s absurd!” exclaimed Lightning’s Claw.

“Well, we found cats who confessed to having attacked Tribe cats, so how can we trust *you*?” mewed Storm Pelt accusingly.

Blizzard’s Wing was curious to see how Lightning’s Claw would react, thought she only snarled and bared her teeth. “How could you think such a thing?” she yowled furiously.

A light brown tom padded up, and Blizzard’s Wing acknowledged Morning Dew’s presence with a flick of his tail. This tom was his brother.

“Let’s just get back to the cave,” suggested Morning Dew calmly.

Eagle’s Swoop nodded, but Lightning’s Claw was still bristling. She turned and padded up the slope with the others.

Morning Dew dropped back to walk beside Blizzard’s Wing. “What were you doing?” he asked. “You had us all worried sick!”

“We found proof! Our Tribemates were attacked by *cats*!” Blizzard’s Wing declared.

Morning Dew nodded slowly. “So you’re going to report to Stonteller, I assume?” he questioned.

Blizzard’s Wing nodded.

The light brown tom shot a glance at Lightning’s Claw. “You really think that she would do something like this?”

“I never said a thing about that,” replied Blizzard’s Wing. “That was Storm Pelt that accused her.”

“What were the cats like?” pressed Morning Dew. “Who were they?”

“There was Ice, Falcon, Mud, and others whose names were not revealed,” mewed Blizzard’s Wing. “Their leader was Shadow.”

As they entered the cave, cats from the Tribe gazed at them, some looking annoyed, some of the kits in awe, and others that seemed to just be glad they were home and safe.

Blizzard’s Wing headed for Stoneteller’s den immediately.

“Stoneteller?” he mewed, dipping his head.

“Yes?” asked the silver tom.

“We found evidence that cats attacked our Tribemates,” meowed Blizzard’s Wing.

Stoneteller shot straight up and bounded over to meet Blizzard’s Wing. “What sort of cats?” he inquired.

“They appear to be rogues,” reported the white tom.

Stoneteller nodded and raced out of the den. “Cats of the Tribe!” he boomed.

Cats gathered around Stoneteller to hear what he had to say. Their jaws dropped as Stoneteller announced the news.

“So,” he concluded, “we need patrols around the borders to make sure we don’t see these cats in our territory again!”

Storm Pelt was at his paws in an instant. “What borders? What territory?” he yowled.

Stoneteller glared at the gray tom. “The one we will make!” he declared. “It should be easy enough to fight off these cats if they’re near our cave!”

Blizzard’s Wing got to his paws and shouted, “Shadow, the leader, did *not* seem easy to fight off!”

“You *will* follow my orders!” Stoneteller hissed.

“I think that we need new leadership!” yowled Storm Pelt. “All we’ve done is sit here while our cats have been attacked. One will be killed soon, and *you* will have their blood on your paws!”

Blizzard’s Wing stood there, gaping. They hadn’t planned *this*!

“Hand over your position! We *will* elect a new Stoneteller” demanded Storm Pelt. He narrowed his eyes. “Listen to me or be removed by force.”

## Chapter IV - Overthrow

Stoneteller hissed at Storm Pelt’s challenge. “*I* am the leader of this Tribe, and *I* will guide it through this!”

Storm Pelt unsheathed his claws and hissed, “Stand down.”

“Never!” Stoneteller yowled defiantly.

Blizzard’s Wing bounded to his friend’s side. “We don’t need to start a fight with Stoneteller!”

Storm Pelt’s eyes darkened. “Any one of those cats, including us, could have been killed!”

Blizzard’s Wing nodded slowly. “Because Stoneteller wouldn’t take action,” the white tom admitted reluctantly.

Storm Pelt looked at Stoneteller with undisguised anger flaring in the eyes of both toms. Spotted Fur rushed up to Storm Pelt, but Blizzard’s Wing held her back. “He’s not thinking straight,” he meowed to her.

His gray friend’s fur wasn’t fluffed up, like it would be if he was… well, *actually* angry. This was a cold anger, as if he had been planning this, though Blizzard’s Wing didn’t think he had been.

“You will yield!” Storm Pelt yowled as he launched himself into the air.

Stoneteller whipped around and sank his claws into Storm Pelt’s scruff, shaking him violently. The Tribe was in an uproar, cats crashing into one another and stumbling around the cave trying to get to Stoneteller.

Stoneteller was much larger than Storm Pelt, but also clumsier. Storm Pelt reared up on his hind legs and crashed down upon Stoneteller with more strength than Blizzard’s Wing would have thought possible. Blood was seeping from a wound in Stoneteller’s belly.

*Oh no no no no no...* Blizzard’s Wing was desperately trying to get to Stoneteller and Storm Pelt, clawing his Tribemates in the process. “Have you *completely* forgotten our goal?” he hissed in his friend’s ear.

Storm Pelt turned blazing amber eyes toward the white tom. “He needed to be removed,” said his gray friend.

“Now,” Storm Pelt continued, “Who would volunteer to be the next Stoneteller?”

The question sent gasps of surprise around the room, and Stoneteller groaned feebly.

“This will not continue!” he proclaimed in a weak moan. “We will--” he was cut off as he coughed up blood. He hacked up more sticky, red liquid in that one moment than Blizzard’s Wing had ever seen, with the exception of eagle attacks.

The silver tom regained his composure and continued. “We must be strong when the rogues attack! We need to--” he was cut off again as blood gushed from his belly and mouth, even starting to trickle from his nose.

Storm Pelt padded over to the dying tom, a look of dismay in his eyes. “I wasn’t trying to do *this*!” he mewed, sheer despair in his voice.

Blizzard’s Wing tried to comfort his friend. Every cat in the cave was gathered around Stoneteller. The silver tom spat even more blood onto the stones of the cave floor, spasmed, and then grew very still.

“Our leader is dead!” Morning Dew’s shriek came first, and soon after, every other cat added their wails to the commotion.

“*Stop!*” roared Blizzard’s Wing.

Everyone fell silent, and Blizzard’s Wing stalked up to the place where Stoneteller had addressed the Tribe.

“Storm Pelt’s question remains!” he yowled. “Who will be our next Stoneteller?”

Cats looked from one to another until Jagged Cliff stepped forward. “I will *gladly* take the position of Stoneteller,” he mewed coolly, smiling ever so slightly. But it wasn’t a genuine smile.

Blizzard’s Wing’s distrust of this particular cat had grown greatly in the past quarter moon. The attacks combined with the fact that he had seemed to agree with Lightning’s Claw (another cat that he distrusted) on everything didn’t exactly make Blizzard’s Wing very fond of the older tom. However, he couldn’t accuse Jagged Cliff, a senior member of the Tribe, in the open like this.

Blizzard’s Wing narrowed his eyes and reluctantly meowed, “Very well, Stoneteller.”

Storm Pelt looked outraged behind him, and Spotted Fur still looked bewildered by the events that had occurred in the last several minutes.

“Nightfall is almost upon us,” announced Jagged Cliff. “All of us must get some sleep.”

As the Tribe headed for their nests, Storm Pelt made his way over to Blizzard’s Wing and Spotted Fur, looking angrier than he had been at the start of the battle between himself and Stoneteller. “Why did you *do* that?” he hissed. “I’ve just murdered the leader of the Tribe for nothing!”

Blizzard’s Wing winced as he realized that was true.

“We were better off with that useless *elder* that we could have pushed around in the future,” his gray friend continued, “than with this flea-bitten mange pelt!” He flicked his tail at Jagged Cliff.

“He’s right,” mewed Spotted Fur, who looked at Blizzard’s Wing. “All the events that have transpired here lead us to end up with one of the last cats that we would have ever wanted to listen to *leading* us.”

Blizzard’s Wing nodded solemnly. “And now Lightning’s Claw will be the unofficial second-in-command.”

Spotted Fur looked surprised. “What do you mean? Isn’t she still Shifting Clouds’s mate? Did I miss something?”

“No,” Storm Pelt chimed in, “you didn’t. They just seem to agree on everything. And we all know that Jagged Cliff is not the cat that we want leading.”

Storm Pelt had echoed Blizzard’s Wing’s previous thoughts. The white tom heaved a sigh as he curled up to go to sleep.

And Stoneteller’s matted, bloody silver fur was printed in his mind.

## Chapter V - Fall

Blizzard’s Wing awoke to Storm Pelt’s amber eyes a mouse-length from his face.

“Ah!” he exclaimed, scrambling to his paws. When he realized that no more of the Tribe was awake, he hissed more quietly. “What are you doing?”

Storm Pelt stepped out of the way so that Blizzard’s Wing could see Spotted Fur right behind him.

She looked a little nervous. *Jagged Cliff,* he remembered, clenching his jaw grimly.

“We’ve been assigned to another patrol,” she mewed.

“Great.” Blizzard’s Wing shook out his pelt to wake himself up. “It’ll take my mind off you know who.”

Spotted Fur nodded.

“Morning Dew and Lightning’s Claw are coming with us,” she meowed.

Blizzard’s Wing nodded. “Are they ready?”

“Hey!” called Storm Pelt, turning his back to Blizzard’s Wing. “Morning Dew! Lightning’s Claw!”

The two cats hurried over -- though Blizzard’s Wing noticed that Morning Dew came over to them much quicker than LIghtning’s Claw.

“What is it?” grunted Lightning’s Claw. “I’ve only just woken up.”

“We’re going on a hunting patrol,” answered Spotted Fur.

Morning Dew nodded and raced to the Path of Rushing Water, bounding along the slippery rock. Storm Pelt followed, then Lightning’s Claw, Spotted Fur, and Blizzard’s Wing.

Once outside, the five of them raced through the snow. Blizzard’s Wing would have thought that it was pleasant to be sprinting through the ice and snow, carefree -- except that cold winds were smacking his face, bringing freezing snow with it. He shivered, lowered his head, and ran faster.

Lightning’s Claw and Spotted Fur drew slightly ahead, as they were prey-hunters, but Blizzard’s Wing surprised himself with his own speed.

He picked up the scent of a vole and signaled to his Tribemates to slow down. Lightning’s Claw and Spotted Fur nodded to him.

The two prey-hunters stalked up to the prey, and Blizzard’s Wing watched for eagles coming from above. After the previous day’s attack, he wasn’t taking any chances. Lightning’s Claw darted in and chased the vole toward Spotted Fur, who finished it off quickly.

Blizzard’s Wing flicked Spotted Fur on the shoulder. “Good catch,” he mewed.

Storm Pelt nodded, then whipped around and lashed out with one paw. He came up with a mouse in his jaws.

“Whoa!” meowed Spotted Fur. “Nice job!”

“Thanks,” Storm Pelt mumbled around his catch.

Lightning’s Claw only grunted. “Let’s get a move on.”

Blizzard’s Wing nodded.

“I’ll go with Storm Pelt,” she continued, “and Spotted Fur can take Blizzard’s Wing and Morning Dew.”

Blizzard’s Wing narrowed his eyes. Storm Pelt alone with Lightning’s Claw? That couldn’t go well.

“No way.” Blizzard’s Wing padded closer to Lightning’s Claw.

Lightning’s Claw looked slightly surprised at being talked to that way by a much younger member of the Tribe. “What do you mean?” she inquired coldly.

“I mean that you’re *not* going hunting *alone* with Storm Pelt. It can’t be just because you feel like it -- you two hate each other!” Blizzard’s Wing retorted.

He shot a glance at Storm Pelt, who was bristling with fury.

Lightning’s Claw unsheathed her claws, and snarled, “Why do you think that? There’s nothing wrong with me choosing to hunt with one Tribemate or another!” Seeming to realize that this was an unwarranted response, she sheathed her claws again, still furious.

“You argue about everything!” he exclaimed, then added more sarcastically, “I would have thought that would be obvious, but then again, you always have been a mouse-brain.”

Lightning’s Claw’s ears shot up. “What was that?” she growled.

Blizzard’s Wing’s neck fur was bristling. “Why can’t you take *me* with you, if you’re so eager to take Storm Pelt?” He shot back with a question of his own.

Lightning’s Claw was seething now. She leapt at Blizzard’s Wing, pinning him down. Panicking, Blizzard’s Wing lashed out with all four paws, ripping out tufts of gray fur and sending blood dripping onto the stone. Lightning’s Claw yowled with pain and fury, and Blizzard’s Wing wriggled free.

Storm Pelt leapt on Lightning’s Claw, planting his paws across her chest. Blizzard’s Wing rushed over to help. They had pinned the gray she-cat to the stones at the very edge of the mountainside. Cold wind buffeted his fur as Blizzard’s Wing planted his paw on Lightning’s Claw’s stomach.

Storm Pelt growled. “This couldn’t have been caused purely by your dislike of my friend.” He jerked his head at Blizzard’s Wing.

Morning Dew was still standing, horrified, a few fox-lengths away. He gazed at his brother with wide amber eyes. “W-why are you doing this? Why did Lightning’s Claw do that?” he asked shakily.

Storm Pelt growled, and Lightning’s Claw spat in his face. “What do you know?” she hissed.

Storm Pelt picked her up and held her over the edge of the cliff, shaking her violently and provoking screeches of pain from the gray she-cat.

“Do you have something we should know about?” hissed Blizzard’s Wing.

The she-cat hesitated. “Why should I tell you?” she snarled after a moment.

Storm Pelt shook her again.

“I-I’ve been--” she was cut off as a shape came into view for a heartbeat. It lashed out and raced away again.

“Morning Dew! Follow that thing!” yowled Storm Pelt.

The brown tom nodded and raced away through the snow.

Blizzard’s Wing looked down. Lightning’s Claw was losing her footing, stumbling and shrieking as she fell off the side of the mountain.

## Chapter VI - Suspicion

Blizzard’s Wing stared, helpless, as Lightning’s Claw fell down, down, down, crashing into sharp rocks and sending pebbles crashing down with her.

“Help!” was the last word she shrieked before she disappeared from view. Not long after, Blizzard’s Wing heard a splat.

Lightning’s Claw was dead.

Storm Pelt looked horrified. Spotted Fur pressed into Blizzard’s Wing’s shoulder, and Blizzard’s Wing stood still, as if he were afraid to move.

Morning Dew came pelting back. “There’s no sign of the animal that did it!” he shouted, panic flaring in his eyes.

The winds had started to pick up, and snow was hitting Blizzard’s Wing in the face. He squinted to keep it out of his eyes. “Did they have Tribe scent?” he howled over the wind to his brother.

“I couldn’t tell!” the brown tom yowled back.

A sound like thunder suddenly shook the ground beneath Blizzard’s Wing’s paws. He looked up and opened his jaws wide. “Avalanche!” he screeched.

He ran for his life, barely dodging huge masses of snow, threatening to fall on him and suffocate him.

He glanced up again to see a shape that looked like a cat. No, *two* cats. And one of them had mud plastered on their fur -- a Tribe hunting technique.

Before he could get a closer look, more snow fell. He tried to roll out of the way, but a huge mound of snow hit him on the head. Then he couldn’t see anything.

\* \* \*

Blizzard’s Wing woke up in a moss nest. Stoneteller -- the new one -- was bending over him, muttering something inaudible due to the herbs in his jaws.

“W-what happened?” he asked, sitting up.

It was Storm Pelt who answered. “You were hit by a falling rock.”

Stoneteller picked up a leaf from a nearby pile, picked it up, and trickled some of the juice onto Blizzard’s Wing’s wounds. “Where is Lightning’s Claw?” Stoneteller asked, as if he had only just noticed that his Tribemate hadn’t returned from the hunting patrol.

“She… uh… didn’t make it,” answered Storm Pelt.

Stoneteller’s ears shot up. “What?” he asked sharply.

“She was…” Blizzard’s Wing glanced at Storm Pelt, unsure how to explain how their Tribemate had attacked him. “Well, she attacked me, and we pinned her. Then she was about to say something to us, we don’t know what, when a cat pushed her off the cliff. We couldn’t identify them.”

“What a tragedy,” Stoneteller responded. “We shall sit vigil for her tonight.”

Blizzard’s Wing and his friends padded away. Morning Dew had gone to the fresh-kill pile, so the three of them could talk with no interruptions.

“Who do you think it was?” asked Blizzard’s Wing, sitting back on his haunches.

“I don’t know,” mewed Spotted Fur.

“What about Shadow?” Storm Pelt asked. “He’s *definitely* capable of doing that.”

“Yes,” meowed Spotted Fur, “but why would he want to?”

“Well, Lightning’s Claw was about to tell us something when she fell,” Blizzard’s Wing mewed. “We don’t know what that something is, and it could have been important to Shadow.”

“True,” meowed Storm Pelt, looking thoughtful. “But we have to consider other suspects. Morning Dew said that he didn’t know for sure that the attacker was part of the gang of rogues.”

“Are you suggesting that it was one of our Tribemates who killed Lightning’s Claw?” gasped Spotted Fur.

“Well, you have to admit, it’s not out of the question,” mewed Blizzard’s Wing. “Who hated Lightning’s Claw enough to want her dead for one reason or another?”

Storm Pet looked at him incredulously, and Blizzard’s Wing added, “Well, besides us.”

“We would have never done that!” exclaimed Spotted Fur indignantly.

“Don’t be so sure about that,” meowed Storm Pelt.

Spotted Fur’s eyes widened, and Storm Pelt mewed, “But the information was the most important part. Since very few cats would have just killed Lighting’s Claw out of the blue like that, the killer had to have been eavesdropping the whole time. They must have known what Lightning’s Claw was going to give away.”

“Well, we don’t know that,” countered Spotted Fur.

“No, but it’s very likely,” Blizzard’s Wing defended his friend.

“I think it was the rogues,” mewed Spotted Fur. “It has to be. We know that Shadow was attacking the Tribe, so it has to be them!”

“It doesn’t *have* to be anyone,” meowed Storm Pelt darkly. “But that’s definitely the most obvious answer.”

Blizzard’s Wing got up. “This isn’t going to be more productive than it already has been,” he mewed. “I’m going to have a drink.”

He padded over to a pool of water near the Path of Rushing Water and lapped up a few drops. The water was freezing cold, and Blizzard’s Wing nearly spit it out.

He heaved a sigh. He was worn out from the patrol, and even after being knocked unconscious for what must have been hours, he still felt like he’d barely gotten a wink of sleep.

Blizzard’s Wing padded over to his nest and curled up in the soft feathers. \

\* \* \*

Blizzard’s Wing awoke to a low moaning. He crept out of his nest, stretching, and saw that it was Shifting Clouds making the sound.

*Oh, right,* he thought. *Lightning’s Claw was his mate.*

At that moment, Stoneteller came out from his den in the cave and bounded to the center of the Cave of Rushing Water.

“Cats of the Tribe!” he yowled, his voice echoing in the cave. “As many of you already know, Lightning’s Claw has died.” He lowered his head.

Shifting Clouds’s head lowered as well.

“We will sit vigil for her,” continued Stoneteller, “although there is no body.”

Storm Pelt leapt to his paws. “Are you even going to *mention* that she *attacked* us?” he yowled, furious.

Blizzard’s Wing sighed. His headstrong friend sometimes didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.

Shifting Clouds was on his paws in an instant. “She would never do a thing like that!” he hissed.

“Well,” Storm Pelt meowed, “she did.”

Shifting Clouds was bristling with fury. He seemed to be resisting the urge to hurl himself at Storm Pelt, as his mate had before her death.

Blizzard’s Wing hurried up to Storm Pelt. “What are you doing?” he hissed in his friend’s ear. “Last time you did something like this, you killed our leader!”

Storm Pelt’s eyes darkened, and he sat down.

Stoneteller looked annoyed with Blizzard’s Wing’s gray friend. “*As I was saying*,” he continued, “the Tribe will sit vigil for her.”

As the Tribe crouched to sit vigil, Blizzard’s Wing couldn’t grieve like some of his Tribemates. Lightning’s Claw had tried to kill him! And the cat who had killed her was yet to be identified.

*So much deceit,* he thought as he curled up beside his friends. *We need to root out the killer, and we need to do it fast.*

## Chapter VII - Reconnaissance

Blizzard’s Wing awoke to find Storm Pelt and Spotted Fur still asleep beside him. He had fallen asleep during the vigil along with most other Tribe cats.

An idea had come to him overnight, one that he needed to share with his friends. He placed his paws on Storm Pelt’s shoulders and gently shook his gray friend.

Storm Pelt’s eyes shot open. “Oh,” he meowed groggily, “it’s only you.”

Spotted Fur, apparently woken by the noise, arched her back and stretched, letting out a long sigh.

“I have an idea,” he mewed, still whispering. “But I need to run it by you two.”

“Why?” asked Spotted Fur.

“You’ll see once I tell you. Now come on!” Blizzard’s Wing replied, beckoning them behind the waterfall with a flick of his tail.

Once they were behind the wall of water and they were sure no one could hear them, the three friends sat down on the slippery stone path.

“So what’s your idea?” Storm Pelt questioned.

Blizzard’s Wing took a deep breath, then meowed, “We need to find the rogues’ camp and spy on them.”

Storm Pelt’s eyes lit with surprise, but he looked determined, and nodded. Spotted Fur did the same. “But how will we get permission from Stoneteller?” she asked.

“We don’t,” answered Storm Pelt, appearing to have caught on. Turning to Blizzard’s Wing, he added, “This sounds like one of my plans!”

Blizzard’s Wing ignored the joke. “We need to leave *now*, before the rest of the Tribe wakes up.”

“What are they going to think we did?” asked Spotted Fur.

“They won’t think any less of us than they already do,” growled Storm Pelt.

“But seriously,” she mewed, “we could be accused of conspiring with the rogues to kill Stoneteller! Or Shifting Clouds! Or anyone else we don’t like!”

“She makes a good point,” admitted Storm Pelt, turning to Blizzard’s Wing. “What do we do?”

“I would think you’d just move on, taking whatever option you saw as being the best, and leave the two of us to follow you!” meowed Blizzard’s Wing.

“I killed Stoneteller -- the previous one -- the last time I did something like that,” the gray tom answered.

Blizzard’s Wing nodded. “Fair enough. I think we should go ahead with it. What about you?” he asked, flicking one ear at Spotted Fur.

After a moment, she nodded. “We need more information on those rogues. Let’s do it.”

“My vote doesn’t matter,” Storm Pelt butted in, “but I’d like to go ahead with it.”

Blizzard’s Wing nodded. “Regardless of whether or not your vote counts,” he mewed to Storm Pelt, “this decision is unanimous.”

The three friends crept out behind the waterfall, as they had done more than once in the past few days. Once they were out in the snow, Blizzard’s Wing turned to Storm Pelt. “Should we head for the spot where we last met the rogues?” he asked.

“Sure,” his friend replied.

The wind was starting to pick up. As Blizzard’s Wing looked at the sky, snow started falling. Flakes floated down onto his nose, and he shook them off, sneezing.

He continued along the side of the mountain beside Storm Pelt and Spotted Fur. His friends’ warmth against his pelt was comforting, as the wind had picked up. It was howling through the rock far below them, roaring through the air, tearing at the mountainside.

Blizzard’s Wing trekked along the rocky ground, which was beginning to slope upward, as he spotted an eagle in the sky. It dove toward them. Blizzard’s Wing unsheathed his claws and snarled, then realized that the eagle wasn’t heading for them. It was heading for another spot near them. It dove down until it disappeared behind a spike of rock that jutted up from the cliffside. The three friends heard screeching and yowling, and exchanged a glance.

“Come on!” Storm Pelt shouted over the wind. He raced off through the now fast-falling snow and around the spike of rock.

Blizzard’s Wing drew in a deep breath, accidentally sucking in snowflakes, then pelted through the blizzard, coughing up snow as he went.

He could see Storm Pelt up ahead, and Spotted Fur soon drew in front of both of them. When Blizzard’s Wing reached Storm Pelt, the friends rounded a corner to see Spotted Fur hanging on to a steep cliff. She didn’t scream, but there was a look of panic in her eyes. Blizzard’s Wing raced over to her, Storm Pelt beside him. They hauled her up onto the ledge and peered down at the hollow below through the snow still flying around.

Spotted Fur pressed herself into Blizzard’s Wing’s shoulder. “Thanks,” she whispered.

Blizzard’s Wing nodded stiffly in reply. He would have responded differently, but what he saw in the hollow below was shocking. It wasn’t very deep at all -- Blizzard’s Wing guessed only about three fox-lengths to the ground below. But he still wouldn’t want to fall. *The rogues!* he thought. *We found them!*

Storm Pelt was looking equally excited -- but he looked more excited to charge down and kill Shadow than excited to spy, like they were supposed to.

Blizzard’s Wing flicked his gray friend on the shoulder with his tail and jerked his head at the hollow below. “We have to watch,” he hissed.

Storm Pelt’s face changed to a look of determination as he nodded at Blizzard’s Wing. The friends settled down by the ridge to watch the rogues.

One of the cats called inside a den made of sticks. Shadow emerged. Storm Pelt looked like he was going to leap out of their hiding place and attack the cat who had hurt their Tribemates, but Blizzard’s Wing shot his friend a glare. “Just watch!” He had a hard time not yowling the words so every cat could hear.

Storm Pelt still looked incredibly angry, but nodded. “We don’t want to get caught again,” Blizzard’s Wing added.

A cat stepped up to Shadow. “How are things going with--” Shadow slapped his tail over the cat’s mouth. Blizzard’s Wing noticed that the speaker was Falcon, the gray she-cat from their last encounter. Shadow seemed to dislike her. Storm Pelt smirked beside him.

But Blizzard’s Wing was thinking about what Falcon had almost said. *How are things going with what?* he wondered. *With the other rogues? Or… or with the Tribe?*

“I think the rogues are planning an attack on the Tribe,” he mewed immediately to Storm Pelt.

Storm Pelt’s eyes widened, but he said nothing. “They must have murdered Lightning’s Claw!” Spotted Fur added, clearly shocked. “*Shadow* must have murdered Lightning’s Claw!” she nearly shrieked her last sentence. “We need to warn the Tribe!”

Falcon’s head shot up, but a white tom -- Blizzard’s Wing recognized Ice -- was pelting toward them. “Run!” he yelled to his friends. But it was too late. At least six of the rogues were on top of them, and the friends crumpled to the ground underneath in a screeching, thrashing mass of fur and teeth and claws.

## Chapter VIII - Escape

Blizzard’s Wing opened his eyes to find Ice standing over him with a paw planted firmly in his chest. He decided not to try to escape, because the last time they had tried doing that, they had attracted the attention of more rogues.

Blizzard’s Wing saw Storm Pelt and Spotted Fur unconscious behind him. “Where’s Shadow?” he hissed at Ice.

Ice glared down at him. “He had some business to attend to,” the rogue answered gruffly.

Falcon, who was hunched over Spotted Fur, looked like she was tempted to claw the other she-cat’s ears off. Another rogue that Blizzard’s Wing had never seen before was holding down Storm Pelt. She was about as big as Ice, but looked younger. Storm Pelt hadn’t yet woken up. Blizzard’s Wing snorted, imagining what a pain he would be for his guard to handle.

Blizzard’s Wind decided it couldn’t hurt to get to know his enemy -- it could play to his advantage, and at the moment, he had no idea who most of the rogues were.

“So,” he mewed to the she-cat guarding Storm Pelt, “working for Shadow seems to be going pretty well for you.”

She looked rather surprised that he was trying to initiate a friendly conversation, and Blizzard’s Wing snorted again.

“Yes,” she answered cautiously.

“Why do you do it?” he asked, primarily trying to distract her so that Storm Pelt could fight her when he woke up. His gray friend wouldn’t think for an instant about the danger they could be in, just about how much he would want to hurt the rogues. *I bet he would have died by now without Spotted Fur and I there,* Blizzard’s Wing thought, amused.

“There’ll be a reward,” she answered, snapping Blizzard’s Wing back to reality. “A big one.”

Blizzard’s Wing nodded. *Like what?* he wondered, then thought, *Right. The mountains.*

He suddenly remembered how he and his friends needed to warn the Tribe about the attack. Blizzard’s Wing growled, frustrated that even if he somehow managed to escape, his friends would need to escape as well. Suddenly, his ears shot straight up. He had an idea.

“I need to make dirt,” he meowed abruptly, then tried not to cringe. *Great job, that sounded normal.*

“Er… okay,” the rogue replied, looking rather uncomfortable. “Ice, let him make dirt.”

Ice growled at Blizzard’s Wing. “He shouldn’t be left with no guards!” he mewed. “This one’s a trouble maker.”

“Then you’d like to come with me while I make dirt?” Blizzard’s Wing challenged.

Ice shook his head, growling even more. “Fine,” he finally hissed. He lifted his paw off Blizzard’s Wing’s chest.

Blizzard’s Wing arched his back in a quick stretch, trying not to smile, and then padded away through the snow and sparse, leafless bushes.

He emerged from a circle of bramble thickets that lined the clearing and immediately pelted back around to where he thought another entrance would be, if there was a second entrance.

He saw that in the back of the camp, there was a cluster of brambles thicker than the others that he would have to squeeze through to get back into the camp.

He peered through the prickly thorns to see if there were any rogues nearby. There weren’t. Ice and Falcon were pacing, still close to Spotted Fur, but Storm Pelt’s guard had wandered over to another part of the camp to talk to another rogue.

Blizzard’s Wing darted through the bramble thicket, stifling a yowl of pain as the thorns dug into his back, and raced over to Storm Pelt. He shook his friend as hard as he could, but clamped his tail over Storm Pelt’s mouth when the gray tom almost screeched.

“Come on!” he hissed. “We don’t have much time!”

“What?” asked Storm Pelt. “What do you mean?”

“We have to rescue Spotted Fur!” Blizzard’s Wing whispered.

Immediately Storm Pelt’s eyes narrowed and he nodded, getting to his paws and racing back to the bramble thickets with Blizzard’s Wing.

“Fox dung!” Storm Pelt hissed when they were back outside the camp. “Those thorns hurt!”

Blizzard’s Wing just nodded in reply and raced over to another spot by the wall of bramble thickets. He saw Spotted Fur directly ahead. “It would take the entire Tribe of Endless Hunting to pull this off!” Storm Pelt mewed beside Blizzard’s Wing.

“Just do it!” Blizzard’s Wing meowed in reply.

The two toms raced through the thickets, thorns scratching their fur. They left several tufts of fur and a little blood behind, but they were too concerned about getting to Spotted Fur without being seen to be worried about that.

They roused Spotted Fur and dragged her across the camp until she could get to her paws. Once she was on her paws again, she was running alongside them for the thickets.

Blizzard’s Wing heard angry yowls from the camp.

“Where are they?” roared Ice angrily.

“They’ve escaped!” screeched Falcon.

“What are you waiting for? Go after them!” hissed the she-cat that Blizzard’s Wing had met.

A few heartbeats later, the friends heard several cats crashing through the brambles behind them. Blizzard’s Wing’s heart threatened to leap out of his chest. “Keep going!” he shouted to his friends.

The three of them raced up the mountainside, and the rogues reluctantly slowed and stopped once they were near the Cave of Rushing Water. Storm Pelt turned to Blizzard’s Wing and Spotted Fur. “Let’s sneak in through Stoneteller’s den,” he suggested.

“We need to be careful,” warned Blizzard’s Wing. “If he spots us, we’re done for.”

“The Tribe will spot us anyway,” meowed Spotted Fur.

“But Stoneteller’s out to get us,” Storm Pelt pointed out. “If he catches us before the rest of the Tribe notices we were gone, he can accuse us of anything.”

“So then why in the name of the Tribe of Endless Hunting would you try to sneak past him?” questioned Blizzard’s Wing.

“There are quite a few places to hide in Stoneteller’s den,” Storm Pelt responded. “Behind the stone columns, in the shadows, pretty much anywhere in the cave.”

Blizzard’s Wing nodded. “Sounds reasonable. Let’s do it.”

“Alright,” mewed Spotted Fur. “But we’ll need to sneak in through a hole in the cliff. Let’s all look.”

All three friends searched for a crack big enough for a cat to fit through. “I found one!” called Storm Pelt after a little while.

Storm Pelt went in first, then Blizzard’s Wing, then Spotted Fur. What they saw made their blood freeze out of horror -- Shadow and Stoneteller talking calmly in the cave.

## Chapter IX - Revelation

Blizzard’s Wing’s jaw hung open in shock. “Traitor!” hissed Storm Pelt. The gray tom’s shoulders shifted as he tried to climb over the rock they were hiding behind.

“No! Stop!” Blizzard’s Wing whispered. With Spotted Fur’s help, he pulled the gray tom back down.

His paw met Storm Pelt’s face. “Mouse-brain!” he hissed. “You can’t give away our position! Besides, we need to listen to what they’re saying!”

Storm Pelt shakily sat up and pricked his ears to listen to Stoneteller and Shadow’s conversation, shocked into silence by Blizzard’s Wing’s harsh words.

“...the rogues,” Shadow was saying.

Stoneteller nodded. “I understand.”

“And,” Shadow added, examining his long, sharp claws, “you must agree to not harm us. Not now, not ever. We mean you no harm, as you have cooperated, but your Tribe does not yet know about this. Am I correct?”

Stoneteller nodded.

“Then,” mewed Shadow, “no harm will come to my rogues. Do we agree?” Shadow inclined his head. His eyes looked like that of a friend, though the tone of his voice told the three friends that he was a dangerous enemy.

“Yes,” Stoneteller conceded slowly.

Shadow stood up, scattering a few small pebbles and watching as snow fell from his fur. “I will report this to my rogues.”

“But if my Tribe doesn’t know about it,” inquired Stoneteller dangerously, “why are your rogues being informed?”

Blizzard’s Wing waited for an awkward or uncomfortable answer from Shadow, but instead he said coolly, “I will inform them because the alliance simply will not work unless at least one side knows about it. Otherwise, if I decide not to kill one of your cats when I easily could, my rogues will become suspicious. That is not good for the treaty, nor is it good for your Tribe.”

Stoneteller nodded. “It seems we have reached a consensus.”

Shadow flicked his tail, then padded to the exit. At the last second, he looked over his shoulder. “You had better make sure you follow the terms of this agreement, Stoneteller.” The words sent a shiver down Blizzard’s Wing’s spine.

Then Shadow padded out of the cave.

Stoneteller’s eyes gleamed with a mixture of relief and knowingness. Then Storm Pelt’s paw shifted, and a pebble rolled across the stone floor. It was not visible from Stoneteller’s position, so the older cat immediately swept the area with a steely gaze.

Storm Pelt shrunk back, and Spotted Fur pressed herself into Blizzard’s Wing’s side. The white tom held his breath, not daring to move. Stoneteller padded closer. His eyes swept the room again. His head did not turn left or right; only his eyes swiveled in their sockets, searching the room of stone for signs of intruders.

Blizzard’s Wing unsheathed his claws, ready for a fight. However, he was careful not to let his claws scrape the rock.

Stoneteller turned his baleful stare away from the three cats and padded out of the cave.

Blizzard’s Wing let out a barely audible sigh of relief as the three cats crept out from behind the rock. They pelted out of Stoneteller’s den and raced across the Cave of Rushing Water, aiming for the path behind the waterfall.

Blizzard’s Wing saw Morning Dew walking across the cave. The white tom dove for the cover of a rock so he wouldn’t be spotted. When Morning Dew had passed, he darted out from behind the rock and on to the Path of Rushing Water. His two friends sat beside him.

“What just happened?” asked Spotted Fur in a whisper.

“Stoneteller just made a treaty with Shadow,” Storm Pelt meowed. “But he’s not telling the Tribe.”

“Why wouldn’t he tell the Tribe?” asked Blizzard’s Wing. “It’s a good thing that we don’t have to worry about the rogues attacking us anymore.”

“I don’t like this,” mewed Storm Pelt. “Something’s going on here.

“Maybe he’s just being cautious. Doesn’t want to make anyone angry,” suggested Spotted Fur.

“But who would be angry about the fact that the rogues won’t attack us?” challenged Blizzard’s Wing.

“Well, Shifting Clouds probably has a hunch that the rogues killed his mate,” Spotted Fur pointed out. “He wouldn’t want to make peace with them.”

“But he’s being too secretive,” argued Storm Pelt. “Stoneteller’s been doing things, big things, without telling us.”

“Let’s just go to him and ask him about it. We’ll just be honest, tell him we overheard the conversation, and ask him what was happening,” Spotted Fur meowed.

“I’m still pretty sure Stoneteller’s out to get us,” mewed Blizzard’s Wing, “so I don’t want to go to him about this. We figure it out ourselves.”

Spotted Fur’s eyes turned somber, but Storm Pelt’s eyes were gleaming with anger. “We’ll confront him about it all right!” He stood up and walked across the slick surface to the end of the path.

“No!” yowled Spotted Fur frantically as she dug her claws into his flank to hold the heavier cat back. “You’ll give us away! We can’t let him know where we are!”

Blizzard’s Wind clapped his paw over Storm Pelt’s mouth as the gray tom roared with anger and pain. One of his flailing paws hit Blizzard’s Wing in the head, sending him flying into the wall of the path. Stoneteller, who was around the fresh-kill pile, looked up. The older tom’s stare fell on Storm Pelt’s blazing amber eyes.

The Stoneteller yowled a few words that Blizzard’s Wing couldn’t hear. The white tom’s head was throbbing. His vision was fading, and the waterfall thundered beside the blood roaring in his ears. He clawed his way up to stand. The ghost-like form of Spotted Fur was clawing at Storm Pelt. Blizzard’s Wing opened his jaws to yowl. But then the pain in his head pulsed again, and again, faster and more painful. Eventually, the pain was too much for him to bear.

He collapsed against the wall. He saw Spotted Fur run toward him, but he also saw Storm Pelt’s shape, wavering in his darkening vision, claw at Morning Dew’s shoulder. He saw Spotted Fur faintly, but her desperate words were lost in the roar of battle and the waterfall. Spotted Fur’s anguished cry couldn’t be heard by Blizzard’s Wing as she buried her head in his shoulder. Her tears wet his fur, though he scarcely felt them.

He felt a few drops of blood trickle down the side of his head, leaving his fur sticky and wet. His blurred vision perceived a dozen Stonetellers marching toward him as his vision went black.

## Chapter X - Accusation

Blizzard’s Wing’s eyes opened and he saw only darkness. He jerked his head up, trying to find light. *Am I blind? What’s happening?*

He jerked his head back, trying to spot something, but he couldn’t. Then a voice sounded in the dark.

A long, low, pained moan.

Blizzard’s Wing’s eyes lit with fear. He tried to run, but he hit a wall of rock. He lifted a paw to try and climb, but his claws hit rock, and when he tried to dig them in, one was ripped out. He stifled a howl of pain.

The moan sounded again.

The white tom’s wild eyes stared into utter blackness as he smashed against the stone wall. And then again. And again. But it wouldn’t move.

The groan came again.

Blizzard’s Wing bent over and charged with his shoulder into the stone wall. He collapsed in pain, writhing on the rock floor. He heard yowls and chants outside of his prison of stone. He stood up again, only to slip and fall on cold, wet stone. *Stoneteller’s den!*

But Stoneteller wasn’t there. Thoughts raced through his mind, bumping into one another in his panic, as the chants grew louder, and closer:

“Execute them! Execute them!”

Blizzard’s Wing tried to rear up on his hind legs and peer over the wall, desperate to see something other than darkness. But his muzzle slammed against the rock wall once again, and he fell.

He could hear pawsteps now, in the room, marching toward him. He made out Shifting Clouds’s voice, yelling “Kill them! Kill them! They deserve death!”

Something heavy fell to the floor. Then another. And another. And another. Eventually, the top of the stone wall was lined with golden light, streaming in from outside.

Blizzard’s Wing’s relief quickly vanished as he saw who had removed the stones from his prison: Stoneteller. This cat was not to be trusted.

“Silence!” yelled Stoneteller. The cheers died down.

Blizzard’s Wing saw Storm Pelt and Spotted Fur in half-fallen stone prisons of their own. He craned his neck to see them. Stoneteller’s claws met his face, and he jerked back to meet the older tom’s piercing gaze.

The white tom peeled back his lips to show his teeth. Stoneteller’s eyes were blazing with fury.

“This cat and his two friends,” he bellowed, “is responsible for the murder of your friend and Tribemate, Lightning’s Claw!”

The bloodthirsty chants started again, and Stoneteller roared over them. “They will be executed for killing one of our own!”

“What?” shrieked Storm Pelt. “We didn’t do that! It was the rogues!”

“Ah,” replied Stoneteller, a wicked smile creeping onto his face. “There is *some* truth to that, but, it’s just another excuse. Bring out the other prisoner!” he yelled to Eagle’s Swoop.

The broad-shouldered tom nodded and padded away into a cave behind and to the left of Blizzard’s Wing. The white tom knew better than to try and escape after what had happened by the waterfall.

Eagle’s Swoop emerged from the cave dragging something behind him. *No,* Blizzard’s Wing realized. *Some*one*.*

The tom dropped the cat onto the slick floor and stepped back into the horde of angry Tribe cats. The cat lifted her head from the ground with a groan. Blizzard’s Wing gaped at who it was. The rogue he had met at Shadow’s camp!

She raised her head and wearily tried to get to her paws. Blizzard’s Wing guessed her eyes adjusted, because they flared with panic as she arched her back, hissing. Morning Dew and several other cats glared at her, unsheathing their claws.

Stoneteller padded up to her and roughly shoved the rogue toward Blizzard’s Wing and his friends. She staggered over and stood there, her gaze flitting from side to side.

“These four cats,” announced Stoneteller, flicking his tail at them, “killed their Tribemate Lightning’s Claw. They killed her because she knew that they were allying with the rogues and plotting to kill myself and you!” He swept his tail in a wide circle at the Tribe cats.

“The rogues could be in league with them,” Stoneteller continued. “That is why we must kill these four and move swiftly to crush the rogue before any harm is done to our Tribe!”

His words were met with cheers of approval. Blizzard’s Wing desperately sought out Morning Dew in the crowd. His gaze fell on his brother. The brown tom looked crushed, angry, and betrayed. His amber eyes were edged with darkness, and a single tear dripped down his cheek.

Blizzard’s Wing wanted to cry out to the whole Tribe that he didn’t do it. He wanted to shred the deceptive leader of the Tribe right where he stood. But he couldn’t. That would only make it worse for him and his friends.

Blizzard’s Wing’s head hung. Utterly miserable, he hardly heard Storm Pelt’s curses or Spotted Fur’s distraught yowling. He was in his own world, a black cave of endless darkness with no way out.

He racked his brain to see if he could find an excuse that would work, but he couldn’t think of anything. Stoneteller was much smarter than Ice. If Blizzard’s Wing said he had to make dirt, Stoneteller would figure out that something was wrong.

There was no escaping this time.

The rogue’s distressed gaze shot from side to side, frantically searching the room of stone for an escape route. When she couldn’t find any way to get out of the situation, she roared with fury and desperation and charged at Stoneteller.

The older cat looked startled, but Morning Dew caught the rogue off guard with a swipe at her shoulder from her right. She went skidding across the cave and stopped only when she hit a rock wall, which knocked the wind out of her.

*No!* Blizzard’s Wing yelled at his brother inwardly. *You’re helping the wrong cat!*

Stoneteller’s eyes grew cold and hard. “Pick her up,” he mewed.

Eagle’s Swoop and Shifting Clouds lifted the rogue from the floor and held her in front of Stoneteller.

Stoneteller said his next words with a note of heartlessness that Blizzard’s Wing had only ever heard from Shadow: “Kill her.”

## Chapter XI - Execution

Blizzard’s Wing’s eyes widened in shock as Eagle’s Swoop drew a claw up over the rogue’s neck. The rogue shrieked and thrashed around, trying to loosen Shifting Clouds’s grip on her shoulder and back.

Eagle’s Swoop’s eyes were chips of ice as he brought his unsheathed claws down on her neck, slicing through tendons and tearing muscle as they made their way out the other side. Eagle’s Swoop’s bloody paw wet the already slick stone floor as he placed it down.

Then, an eerie silence filled the room, only to be broken by a cruel, hard thump. The rogue’s head hit the ground, and as it fell to the side, the echo of its fall from her severed neck filled the room of stone.

Storm Pelt’s eyes betrayed his terror, Spotted Fur was scratching at the floor in dismay, and Blizzard’s Wing was frozen with horror and shock.

Stoneteller’s face transformed into a ghostly smile, whisked away as his Tribemates turned around.

“Now,” meowed the older cat, turning his eyes toward the three friends and licking one paw. “You three have seen the punishment that you are sentenced with. You will be beheaded tomorrow at sunhigh.”

He turned his back on the three of them and padded to the entrance of the cave. Before leaving, he paused and turned around. “Traitors.” With that, he left.

\* \* \*

Back in his prison, Blizzard’s Wing scored the ground with long, sharp claws. He had almost no sense of time or direction as he stumbled miserably and bleary-eyed over to one of the walls.

*My last night alive.*

He bared his teeth.

*Imprisoned by my own leader!*

He let out a snarl of anger. He scratched the wall again.

*That good for nothing heap of fox dung!*

A ray of light shone through a crack in the wall. A stone fell to the ground. Morning Dew was taking them off the wall of his prison.

“Why would you do this?” growled his brother angrily. A tear fell from his eye.

“Save it,” hissed Blizzard’s Wing. “You don’t believe me. Why should I even try?”

His brother led him out of the enclosure into the cave. Blizzard’s Wing glanced up. *Sunhigh.*

Stoneteller was in the cave. He smiled evilly, and seemed to be expecting Blizzard’s Wing to lash out. But the white tom didn’t. He had made up his mind.

*I’m going to die.*

He pointed his muzzle up at the sky, at his ancestors who were supposed to be watching over him, protecting him. *Why have you abandoned me?*

Stoneteller bared his teeth. “Morning Dew!” the older cat ordered. “Place your claw on the back of Blizzard’s Wing’s neck and wait for further instructions.”

Blizzard’s Wing knelt down, defeated. Morning Dew carried out his orders.

“Eagle’s Swoop,” Stoneteller continued, “do the same to Storm Pelt.”

Storm Pelt’s fiery amber eyes shone with fury as he knelt. Eagle’s Swoop placed his claw in the position he had been ordered to.

“And Shifting Clouds,” mewed Stoneteller, “follow the same orders for Spotted Fur.”

Spotted Fur knelt, her eyes desperate. And Shifting Clouds did what he had been ordered to do.

“And now,” declared Stoneteller, his voice rising to a yowl, “these traitors shall die!”

The three executioners raised their paws. Blizzard’s Wing felt a tear drip down his cheek. Spotted Fur lowered her head in dismay. Storm Pelt growled.

Then Morning Dew let out a yowl and rammed into Eagle’s Swoop, who staggered into Shifting Clouds. The three toms were writhing on the floor of the cave, grappling and spitting at one another. “Go!” shouted Morning Dew. “Get out of here!”

Blizzard’s Wing scrambled to his paws. “Come on!” he shrieked to his friends.

They followed him and pelted across the cave, but a tom blocked their path. Blizzard’s Wing hurled himself at the cat, screeching and yowling furiously as he slashed at their throat. The tom hit Blizzard’s Wing in the chest with his shoulder, knocking the wind out of the white tom. Then the Tribe cat threw him to the ground where Blizzard’s Wing lay, panting, on his back.

Blizzard’s Wing, lost in the fire of battle and wildly trying to escape, swung a paw with unsheathed claws at his Tribemate.

And the claws met flesh.

With a horrible gurgling sound, the cat, Blizzard’s Wing’s Tribemate, fell to the ground and keeled over, dead. Blizzard’s Wing stared in dismay at the corpse. *No!*

But his gaze snapped up as he heard Morning Dew’s yowl of triumph. He had sent Eagle’s Swoop screeching away and Shifting Clouds reeling away in pain.

But Blizzard’s Wing’s brother failed to see Stoneteller creeping up behind him.

Stoneteller sunk his claws into Morning Dew’s back and jumped on, forcing him to the ground. The older cat jumped off and swiftly clamped his teeth around Morning Dew’s throat.

“No!” shrieked Blizzard’s Wing. He hared across the cave, but Shifting Clouds blocked his way. Blizzard’s Wing groped for the brown cat’s eyes, frantically trying to reach his brother. Shifting Clouds hissed and jerked away, and Blizzard’s Wing ran to his brother’s side.

He aimed a hefty blow at Stoneteller, who skidded across the floor of the cave.

But Blizzard’s Wing’s efforts were too late.

He crouched beside his brother, whose ragged breathing seemed to tear Blizzard’s Wing’s heart. “No!” he breathed. “You can’t die!”

“The paths of life are dark,” meowed Morning Dew feebly. He placed a paw on Blizzard’s Wing’s shoulder. “My path ends here. But you have moons ahead of you. Run and live on, brother.”

And the brown tom collapsed, dead.

Tears flooded Blizzard’s Wing’s eyes. He let out a cry of anguish, yowled to his friends, and pelted out of the cave, onto the mountainside, and into a world of pain.

## Chapter XII - Decisions

Blizzard’s Wing pelted along the cliffside, sheer drops to his left and thousand-foot stone walls to his right. The wind was cold and harsh, sharply whipping his back as he hared away from the Cave of Rushing Water.

His paws slapped cold stone as he ran, gasping for breath as he neared an overhang. “Let’s stop here,” he suggested to his friends, who had been running behind him.

Storm Pelt nodded stiffly while Spotted Fur twitched an ear solemnly. All three cats huddled together, facing outward. The endless blue sky yawned before Blizzard’s Wing. Blood-red dawn light shone from the sun, soaking the sky and turning it shades of orange. A tear slid down Blizzard’s Wing’s cheek.

Spotted Fur’s tail whisked along his side. He twitched the tip of his tail slightly, acknowledging her. Storm Pelt’s eyes were bleak, glazed over with tiredness and emptiness.

*Where do we go?* Blizzard’s Wing wondered sadly. *Our own Tribe tried to kill us!*

But another thought lingered in the forefront of all four cats’ minds: the death of Morning Dew.

Blizzard’s Wing growled, but it came out as a sob. *He died saving us.*

Storm Pelt’s tail wrapped around Blizzard’s Wing’s shoulders. The three friends all leaned against each other and listened to the wind whine, racing through gorges, out into the sky and back again, smacking rock walls and chipping pebbles off, one by one by one.

Blizzard’s Wing let his eyes drift closed, but his sleep was haunted by the death of his brother.

\* \* \*

The white tom awoke to rays of sunlight streaming in under the overhang, lighting up the sky and brightening the world. Blizzard’s Wing’s eyes were lighter, more happy now, but they were still shadowed with sadness.

And then Spotted Fur spoke what all three of them were thinking: “What do we do? I, for one, don’t want to live like a rogue until Stoneteller’s dead.”

Storm Pelt’s eyes lit up. “That’s it!”

“What’s it?” asked Blizzard’s Wing.

“We…” Storm Pelt paused, glancing at both of his friends uneasily, as if he wasn’t sure how well his idea would be received. “We may need to join the rogues.”

Blizzard’s Wing’s shot to his paws.

“What?” shrieked Spotted Fur.

“Well,” mewed Storm Pelt, “it’d be a lot harder living out here on our own. If we can get Shadow to trust us, we’ll have more protection there.”

Blizzard’s Wing nodded. “Safety in numbers.”

“But why do we have to join the *rogues*?” Spotted Fur asked angrily. “Their leader murdered Lightning’s Claw!”

Blizzard’s Wing was about to nod again when a thought struck him like lightning. *I’m a mouse-brain. How could I not have put this together before?* “Storm Pelt,” he mewed slowly. “Spotted Fur. I… I don’t think the rogues murdered her. It was Stoneteller.”

Storm Pelt’s eyes widened. Then, the gray tom’s claws slid out. He let out a vicious growl and scored the cliffside with claws as strong as an eagle’s talons. “That traitorous piece of fox dung!”

“But why did he kill her?” Spotted Fur asked, still stunned by the news.

“Well… I don’t know,” confessed Blizzard’s Wing. “Maybe she knew something about him -- something related to the alliance with the rogues, possibly -- and he wanted to silence her.”

“Sounds just like Stoneteller,” the she-cat growled.

“Yes,” agreed Storm Pelt. “It makes sense.”

“So if Shadow probably *didn’t* murder Storm Pelt, and the Tribe is hunting us down, and we’re currently *alone* on a mountain surrounded by enemies, don’t you think we might want to *consider* joining the rogues?” inquired Blizzard’s Wing.

Spotted Fur grudgingly nodded. “You’re right. We’ll have better chances there.” She sighed. “Things have changed so much in the last quarter moon. Just think: before, we were hunting for our Tribe and our biggest problem was prey shortage, and now we’re running away from our leader who tried to execute us!”

Storm Pelt flicked his tail furiously. “So we’re joining the rogues now. Right?”

Blizzard’s Wing sighed resentfully. “Yes.”

Spotted Fur leaned into his shoulder. “Yes,” she breathed.

The three friends stood up and padded out from under the overhang as snow began to fall, lightly touching down on their backs and freezing their fur. The sharp wind picked up, blowing more snow with it as the friends set out for Shadow’s camp.

They pelted along the mountainside, the wind whipping them in the face as they sprinted along, alone, on the side of the jagged mountain.

The friends soon came within sight of a huge barrier of thorns and bramble tendrils, sure to keep out any unwelcome visitors. *The rogues’ camp.*

The last time the friends had been there, they had been prisoners of Shadow and his cruel allies.

But then, the rogues didn’t seem so evil anymore. Not compared to Stoneteller.

The Tribe cats -- *former* Tribe cats -- trotted up to the entrance of the camp and waited. After several seconds, a white head full of scars poked out. *Ice.*

“What are *you* doing here?” the rogue snarled when he saw them.

“We come in peace.” The words caught in Blizzard’s Wing’s throat. *This is it. We’re joining our enemies.*

Ice narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

It was Storm Pelt who answered. “We’d like to join you.”

“Oh, yes, and mice will fly!” snorted Ice. “Get out of here! We’re not interested.”

Blizzard’s Wing let out a growl. Just as all three were about to unsheathe their claws, a smooth voice from behind the thorns said, “Ice, it’s okay. I know what they’ve been up to. They’re among… *friends* now.”

And Shadow’s malicious amber eyes gleamed through a gap in the thorns.

## Chapter XIII - Oath

Blizzard’s Wing held his breath and flexed his claws at the sight of Shadow. The black tom’s muscles rippled beneath his glossy pelt, yet no hint of malice showed beyond his piercing amber gaze.

A silence stretched out, and Ice finally broke it with a grunt. “Are we bringing them into the camp, Shadow?”

“Yes,” replied Shadow.

Ice nodded and jerked his head. Two more cats -- a black tom and a white she-cat -- hurried to the entrance.

The black tom’s head weaved from side to side, and he bared his long, sharp teeth. “Who are they?” he asked Ice aggressively with an abrupt and violent jerk of his head.

“They’re new members, Viper,” Ice responded.

“What?” hissed Viper.

“They’re joining us,” mewed Shadow. “Do you *still* not understand?” he asked with a slight growl.

Viper replied with a venomous hiss and a lash of his tail.

Ice whipped his tail around to point at the white she-cat next to Viper. “Cloud,” he ordered, “show them to the outskirts of the camp. Tell Stone to gather whatever feathers he can to make a nest for these three.” He nodded at Blizzard’s Wing, Storm Pelt, and Spotted Fur.

Cloud nodded, turned around, and raced off through the camp. The three friends trotted after her more slowly, glancing around the camp. The walls of thorns surrounding it looked higher. Then Blizzard’s Wing noticed they were.

There were cats -- at least twenty of them on this task alone -- reinforcing the prickly wall, stacking more thorns up against the wall for others to push in or clawing their way up the wall to place more on top. Blizzard’s Wing was amazed at how solid the wall was; he noticed a burly gray tom climbing up, and the barrier hardly shook. It had to be ten fox lengths high on every side, maybe eleven in some parts.

He looked closer and realized the cats working on the barrier were bruised, cut, and battered, dragging their paws across the stone to gather more thorns or jam more into position. Blizzard’s Wing looked around more; all the cats looked like that. *Soon I will, too,* he thought grimly.

Cloud had sent two toms away to fetch feathers for their nests, while Viper was pacing, tail lashing, screaming orders at a she-cat and a tom. “Hurry up and build some more of the wall before I give you some wounds to lick!” he hissed, flexing his unnaturally long claws.

The friends caught up with Cloud just as the toms finished setting down the nests. One looked rather dim, with a thick tail and huge paws. The other was a muscular, well-built tom that looked like he’d been through a few battles recently: there were claw marks and scrapes all over him.

“Blizzard’s Wing, Storm Pelt, Spotted Fur,” meowed Cloud, sweeping her tail at them. “These are two of your new… friends: Vole--” she pointed to the one with giant paws “--and Stone.” She pointed at the broad-shouldered one.

Vole nodded and Stone grunted.

Blizzard’s Wing would have laid down and went to sleep if not for two things: he wanted to know what was happening now that they’d joined the rogues, and he wanted to know why these three cats were still standing there.

“Er…” mewed Storm Pelt, “are you going to leave now?”

Cloud’s eyes seemed to widen as she turned away hurriedly, saying, “Yes,” over her shoulder hurriedly, as if she had forgotten about that. Stone inclined his head to one side and grinned.

“These sure are a different batch,” muttered Blizzard’s Wing. “All the other rogues look like they’re carved out of stone!”

But Spotted Fur didn’t seem to be paying attention.

“Uh… Spotted Fur?” asked Blizzard’s Wing uncertainty.

“Huh? What?” she replied, turning to him and blinking.

Blizzard’s Wing rolled his eyes. “Never mind.”

He turned to Stone. “So… we’re just rogues now? We don’t have to go through any procedures?”

Stone looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure,” he finally answered.

At that moment, Shadow emerged from another section of the camp, leapt up onto a huge rock, and yowled, “Any cat old enough to fight, gather beneath the Highstone for a meeting!”

The rogues flocked to the “Highstone” eagerly, pushing and shoving once they were there. Blizzard’s Wing noticed that Ice, Viper, and a few other rogues he had met before were at the front. He wasn’t sure how the rogues ranked their members, but he guessed based on Shadow’s announcement that it was based on how well they could fight.

When the rogues had grown quiet, Shadow raised his head high and announced, “We have three new members: Blizzard’s Wing, Storm Pelt, and Spotted Fur, formerly of the Tribe of Rushing Water.”

Gasps of surprise met his words.

“They will now take the Oath!” Shadow continued. “Step forward.” He beckoned the three of them with his tail.

The three of them slowly stepped over to the leader of the rogues. Shadow rested his tail on Blizzard’s Wing’s shoulder. “You must be sure you want to join us. Are you ready to embrace the true way of the wild? To kill or be killed?”

Blizzard’s Wing shifted his paws. *It’s the only chance we have,* he reminded himself. “Yes,” he answered shakily.

Shadow turned to Storm Pelt. “Yes,” the gray tom responded.

“Yes,” replied Spotted Fur when the black tom turned to her.

“Then repeat the Oath: ‘I shall serve my leader to the end of my days. I will follow all orders given, and will never shrink when faced with battle. I will defend my camp and my honor with my life.’”

“I shall serve my leader to the end of my days. I will follow all orders given, and will never shrink when faced with battle. I will defend my camp and my honor with my life.” The three cats then knelt before Shadow.

“I accept you. You are now truly among friends, *Blizzard*, *Storm*, and *Spot*.”

Blizzard’s Wing’s head shot up. *I’m* Blizzard *now,* he thought, *I’m one of them.*

“Yes, Shadow.” Blizzard dipped his head.

“At midnight we’ve got a training session with Ice and Viper,” mewed Shadow briskly. “Be there, Blizzard.”

And Shadow padded away, leaving Blizzard to rest.

## Chapter XIV - Midnight

A paw with claws unsheathed jabbed into Blizzard’s side, leaving beads of blood on his white fur. Blizzard sat up, wincing with pain, and glared at the cat who had woken him. *Viper.*

Ice was behind Viper, and both cats were sitting back on their haunches as if waiting.

Then a shadow moved through the night, a patch of pure blackness against the midnight blue landscape. Some of the glittering stars were blocked out as it moved closer. Then amber eyes shone through the darkness. *Shadow!*

The rogue leader’s eyes flashed. “Are you all ready to train?” he growled.

Blizzard and the other two rogues dipped their heads.

“Good,” mewed the black tom briskly. “Come with me. Viper and Ice, you’ll already be familiar with the training grounds. Blizzard, pay attention to your surroundings. You never know when they might mean life or death.”

Blizzard nodded, but was feeling a little nervous. All four of the rogues padded away from the camp and picked up speed. In not many heartbeats, they had reached a huge hollow with stone walls rising at least five fox-lengths on every side. All the surfaces were slick with ice.

Blizzard padded over to the wall and jammed a claw into the ice covering the rock experimentally. He was hoping that he would be able to climb the wall during the training session, but the ice of that particular section was too thick. He stabbed his claws into a few other places, and occasionally, it worked.

Shadow had moved to the outside of a circle of ice lined by snow in the center of the hollow.. Viper and Ice had taken their places inside the circle.

Blizzard stood there by the wall of the hollow awkwardly until Shadow beckoned to him with his tail. “I want you to get a feel for how these training sessions go,” he murmured to Blizzard. “You’ll need to be familiar with them before participating. They’ll be… different than anything you’ve ever participated in.

Blizzard nodded nervously.

“Go!” yowled Shadow so loud that a few flakes of snow trembled and fell down from the top of the stone walls.

Viper sprang at Ice, claws out, and sank them into the white tom’s shoulder. Shadow was screaming orders at Ice. “Buck him off! Dig into his shoulders! Flip him over!”

Ice flipped over onto his side, crushing Viper with his shoulder and springing back up.

“Fool!” Shadow yowled from the edge of the circle. “Claw him! Bite him!”

Ice tried to get on top of Viper, but the black tom had recovered and hooked Ice’s paws out from under him. Ice crashed to the ground as Viper leapt onto the white tom’s back and scrabbled at his spine furiously. Ice shrieked in agony and tried to throw Viper off, but Viper held on and took hold of Ice’s head, slamming it into the ground.

“Stop!” Shadow yelled. The two toms stopped fighting and stood up, bruised, battered, and bloodstained.

“Now,” Shadow mewed, stepping out into the center of the circle, “all three of you will take me on at once when I say ‘go.’”

Blizzard, Viper, and Ice all nodded.

“Go!” Shadow yowled.

Blizzard pelted around to attack Shadow from the left while Viper attacked from the right, but Shadow leaped over Blizzard and took hold of his scruff, hurling him into Viper. Ice charged at Shadow head-on, but Shadow lowered his shoulder and slammed the bony part into Ice’s face, sending the white tom reeling.

Viper wriggled out from under Blizzard and leapt high into the air, attacking Shadow. Shadow, however, hooked Viper’s chin with one paw and brought the black tom down with one fast swipe, smashing his skull into the ground. Viper lay there, unmoving, while Blizzard darted over to Ice, who was beginning to get up. “You take on Shadow from the left and distract him,” he whispered to Ice, “and I’ll try to get him from the back.”

Ice flicked an ear and charged at Shadow, hooking around to attack from the left. Blizzard ran in a long circle to the back, but Shadow whipped out of the way, fast as a snake, and Blizzard and Ice collided. Viper stood up at the far side of the circle and leapt at Shadow, but the rogue leader easily pinned Viper down. The tom writhed in Shadow’s grip, and Shadow picked him up and threw him across the hollow. Viper slammed into the ice-coated wall.

Blizzard remembered his earlier plan and charged over to the wall, digging all four sets of claws in and clambering his way up the face of the cliff.

Ice followed, but, being heavier than Blizzard, he slid back down.

Shadow immediately sprang onto Ice, bowling him over and tossing the hefty tom aside as if he were a feather. The black tom scrambled up the cliff and bit down hard on Blizzard’s ankle. Blizzard shrieked as Viper clawed his way up beside him. The wiry black tom clawed Shadow’s face, but Shadow growled and flung Blizzard down the cliff to deal with Viper.

Blizzard landed hard. He couldn’t move for several seconds; all the wind was knocked out of him.

Ice tried to make his way up the cliff to join Viper and Shadow, but Shadow hurled Ice down. The white tom landed with a sickening crack. Ice lay there, unmoving. His eyes were glazed over with pain.

Blizzard prodded the white tom in the side. Ice winced and seemed to be holding back a yowl of pain.

Viper crashed down a moment later, and Shadow leapt down lightly after him.

“Shadow!” Blizzard called urgently, beckoning the rogue leader with his tail. “I think Ice is hurt badly.”

Shadow flicked his tail dismissively. “He should learn to live with it.”

“S-so you don’t have a healer to help him?” Blizzard asked, shocked.

“No,” Shadow answered matter-of-factly.

Blizzard was practically gaping at Shadow. The black tom moved on without seeming to care. “Tomorrow we draw up battle plans.” Then he looked at Blizzard. “I *know* what Stoneteller is planning.”

## Chapter XV - Preparation

Blizzard awoke in his nest. The high thorn walls of the rogue camp rose around him, looking almost as battered as he was. The white tom sat up to lick his wounds from the training session the night before.

All the rogues slept outside as it turned out. Well, except Shadow. But Shadow’s den was made mostly of hard rock and didn’t look very comfortable, so Blizzard never envied him.

Shadow had said they would be drawing up battle plans, so Blizzard padded to the middle of the camp. He stood there awkwardly, waiting for Shadow to emerge.

Stone, the rogue from the previous day, walked past him on his way to the fresh-kill pile. The gray rogue flicked his tail in greeting. Blizzard nodded to him uneasily. Even though some of the rogues were friendlier than others, Blizzard still didn’t trust any of them.

Shadow finally emerged, but not yawning and tired like Blizzard would have expected. Shadow was fully awake, eyes as vigilant as ever. He even seemed triumphant for some reason.

He leapt up onto the giant rock in the camp and yelled, “Any cat old enough to fight, gather beneath the Highstone for a meeting!”

Storm and Spot both got up drowsily from their nests. Cloud was hard on their paws. Viper slithered out of his nest and raced across camp while Ice feebly lifted his head from under the rock overhang where he was resting after his injury last night. Stone finished off his mouse and padded over, Vole at his side.

Once the rogues that Blizzard knew -- and many more -- joined him below Shadow, the muscular black tom started to announce what was happening.

“Rogues of the mountains!” shouted Shadow. “I know what you are thinking. ‘When will we take the land?’ ‘When will I rule?’ Fear not! For we have already won!” Shadow bared his teeth -- one of the most frightening sights Blizzard had ever seen.

“The Tribe of Rushing Water will be crushed in our teeth, trampled beneath our paws, and cut open by our claws!” he continued with a note of much-savored vengeance in his voice.

Blizzard’s eyes widened. *We were right! They’re going to attack the Tribe!* Blizzard’s mind raced. *But he has a deal with Stoneteller. Is he going to break the deal? Why does he even* care *about the Tribe?*

Shadow unsheathed his claws. “I have struck a deal with Stoneteller. A treaty that says we will never attack him.” Confused murmurs and angry glares met his words. “But,” the rogue leader continued, “the weak fool will be crushed by his own ambitions. Whether our friends--” he waved his tail at Storm, Blizzard, and Spot “--are aware of it or not, Stoneteller *will* try to attack us. So,” snarled Shadow, “we will let them come to us.”

The rogues chanted and growled with hate, hurling insults at the Tribe from afar. Shadow stood, eyes gleaming, at the top of the rock.

The sea of cats seemed to grow endlessly; more cats were flocking in from all corners of the camp -- and beyond.

Blizzard shifted his paws uneasily, craning his neck and turning his head from side to side to try to spot his friends. This effort was not met with success, and the white tom turned back to Shadow, waiting for the gathering to be over.

As the crowd dispersed and went back to their various tasks, Shadow leapt down from the rock. Blizzard padded up to him, buzzing with questions like a kit on the first day out of its home. “Excuse me, Shadow,” began Blizzard, “but could I talk to you for a second?”

Shadow turned to him and sat back on his haunches. “Make it quick.”

Blizzard dipped his head in acknowledgement and continued. “We… um, we heard you striking the deal with Stoneteller.” Shadow growled faintly. “I was just wondering how you’re going to break the treaty and get away with it.”

Shadow barked a harsh laugh. “Do you still not understand, Blizzard?”

Blizzard shook his head.

“*I* won’t be the one breaking the treaty,” Shadow hissed. “*Stoneteller* will break the treaty.”

Blizzard’s eyes widened. “How do you know he’ll attack us?”

“I… I know what he’s like,” Shadow replied.

“How?” asked Blizzard.

“None of your business,” snarled Stoneteller.

Blizzard dipped his head again, knowing he shouldn’t push the leader any more than he already had. Shadow padded toward his den, but stopped outside and bent down, scoring his claws into the earth. “Ice!” Shadow yowled. “Viper!”

The two summoned cats hurried over quickly. Ice stood like a stone pillar, waiting for orders, while Viper’s gaze flicked from side to side. “What’s this about?” asked Viper.

“Battle plans,” answered Shadow.

Viper and Ice both nodded. Shadow turned to Blizzard. “You come study these too. I trust that you will follow orders when the battle with the Tribe comes.” He gave the white tom a hard stare. “I’m *sure* you are already aware of the fact that any cat who disobeys orders -- *especially* in battle -- will be executed.”

Blizzard swallowed hard. “Yes, Shadow.”

Shadow turned back to his plans and rapidly scratched more lines. Blizzard padded over to stand beside Ice. Shadow had drawn a circle with another, slightly wider circle around it, with marks coming toward and away from it, as well as dots inside the circles.

Shadow stood up and pointed to the inner circle with his tail. “This,” he explained, “is the rogue camp. The outer circle is the barrier of thorns I’ve had my cats build up. The marks coming toward the barrier are Tribe cats. I’ve drawn out a few possibilities for their strategies. I know all of the Tribe’s tactics well, but should they use something other than the common ones I depicted here, I will tell you what to do.” Blizzard shuddered. *How does he know the Tribe’s tactics?*

“In any case,” Shadow mewed, “they’ll most likely send the majority of their cats to attack from the front against what they think is a small army of unsuspecting rogues. What they’ll get is an army of more than seventy, highly-trained, ready cats. Blizzard, you’ll lead about ten cats around the back side of the camp to attack them from the right. Storm will go with you. Spot will lead about the same number of cats to attack from the left. The Tribe will be outflanked and outnumbered. They won’t be able to break into the camp because of the barrier, and they won’t be able to go back because of the cats blocking all their escape routes from behind. Is everyone clear?” asked Shadow, straightening up.

“Yes,” responded Viper and Ice simultaneously. Blizzard said the same a few heartbeats later, trying to digest all the information Shadow had given him.

“Good,” meowed Shadow. “Expect the attack tomorrow. I *know* it will come then.”

## Chapter XVI - Slaughter

Blizzard was awoken from a sound sleep by a battle cry and the thundering of paws against stone. He sat bolt upright in his moss nest, tearing the edge of it to shreds as he rapidly unsheathed his claws and sprinted away. The camp was filled with growling, battle-ready rogues pushing and shoving to get out of the camp.

“The attack is upon us!” Shadow mewed, racing up to Blizzard. “You know what to do.”

Blizzard nodded tensely.

“Take these cats.” Shadow motioned with his tail to a group of roughly ten cats standing behind him.

Blizzard dipped his head to the rogue leader and shouted to his group, “Come on! Let’s go!” He ran off with the other rogues at his tail, heading for the back entrance. They squeezed through the thorns, wincing the slightest bit as the prickly brambles scraped their skin, and raced around the right side of the camp.

The wind buffeted his fur as he ran. He narrowed his eyes against it as he came around to the front of the camp. He gasped at what he saw. No more than thirty Tribe cats were jostling and clawing at rogues, trapped in between the thorn wall of the camp and the cats swarming around them from all sides. Blizzard motioned with his tail for the rogues he was leading to join in the attack. When Blizzard himself didn’t move, a she-cat stopped and asked, “What are *you* going to do?”

“I’ll join you in a few heartbeats,” Blizzard told her. “Now go!”

She raced off with the other rogues as Blizzard debated what to do. His eyes kept landing on his friends from the Tribe. Claw marks ran up and down their flanks already. *The battle’s only been going on for what, a couple minutes? This will be a slaughter!* *I can’t fight my own Tribe!*

But at the same time, the white tom was remembering Shadow’s words from the day before: “Any cat who disobeys orders -- *especially* in battle -- will be executed.”

Blizzard shivered. But how could he murder the cats he had grown up with? Then he saw Storm’s gray pelt flash among the others. He seemed uncertain as well, but less so than Blizzard. He wasn’t openly trying to kill the Tribe cats, but if one came near him, he didn’t hesitate to claw them.

Blizzard sprinted over to his friend, yelling, “Stop! Storm, stop!”

Storm whipped around and clawed Blizzard’s nose before realizing who it was. “Sorry!” he gasped. He ran out of the thickest part of the fight, Blizzard at his side. They stopped on the outskirts of the battle. “What is it?” asked Storm.

“We can’t fight for these rogues! They’ll destroy our entire Tribe!” Blizzard told him.

“You heard what Shadow said,” replied Storm. “If we don’t fight, we’re dead.”

“He doesn’t have to know!” responded Blizzard.

“Look how many rogues there are!” He raised his voice. “We won’t be able to get away with it! They’ll tell Shadow before you can say *mouse*!”

“Quiet!” hissed Blizzard. He briefly lowered his head before lifting it again. “Go after any cats that tried to hurt us while we were in the Tribe,” he decided. “That way, he’ll think we’re fighting for what *he* wants -- to destroy the Tribe -- but really, we’re fighting to get rid of some cats that tried to kill *us*!”

Storm nodded. “I like that idea, I must admit.”

“Good,” meowed Blizzard. “Now let’s fight!”

Storm charged off into the thick of the battle. Blizzard stayed back, looking for a cat to fight. His eyes landed on a brown tom with a vicious scowl on his face. *Shifting Clouds.*

Blizzard raced toward the tom, bowling him over by smashing into his left side. Blizzard clawed at the Tribe cat’s stomach, but Shifting Clouds defended too well, meeting all of Blizzard’s swipes with a swipe of his own.

Blizzard heard a horrible scream and whipped his head around to see what was happening. *Oh no! Shadow!*

Shadow had a Tribe she-cat pinned to the ground. The she-cat was wailing for help. “Stop him! Please! Somebody help!” Shadow smiled evilly and scratched a long, thin line down her belly. She shrieked. He brought both his paws down on her leg, and a sickening crack filled the air. *He broke her leg!*

He cackled and lifted her up by her neck. His claws snagged the skin, but not enough to kill her. As he was about to deliver the killing blow, a rogue she-cat walked up to him. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Shouldn’t we only kill the Tribe cats that are a threat to us?”

Every cat within a fox-length of the confrontation had stopped fighting. Shadow’s head whipped around to face the she-cat’s. His eyes bored into hers for what seemed like a moon. Then, with no warning, he plunged his claws into her heart. The rogue she-cat gasped and dropped to her knees. Shadow curled his claws up and ripped his paw out again. Thick semi-hardened blood coated his paw. The she-cat keeled over and collapsed, her eyes glazed over with death.

Shadow turned back toward the paused battle around him. “What are you waiting for, fools?” he snarled. “Kill all of the Tribe cats!”

As Blizzard’s horror and shock at the gorey demonstration faded, Shifting Clouds caught him off guard. The brown tom hooked Blizzard’s legs out from under him. The white tom collapsed on top of Shifting Clouds, trying to squeeze the air out of his chest. But Shifting Clouds was bigger, and heaved Blizzard off. The brown tom pinned Blizzard down beneath his paws, just as Shadow had pinned the she-cat down only moments before. Blizzard lashed out with all four paws, but none connected with flesh; only one tugged at fur.

Shifting Clouds thrust his muzzle into Blizzard’s face. “You’re going to die, you traitorous heap of fox dung!”

Blizzard writhed, panicking. He kicked out wildly with his hind legs. He was able to kick Shifting Clouds off him. The brown tom landed on his back, but he got right back on his paws. He swiped at Blizzard’s muzzle. Beads of blood dripped down the white tom’s cheek. Shifting Clouds spun on his front paws and kicked out with his hind legs. They scratched Blizzard just above his eye.

Blizzard shook his head rapidly as blood dripped into his eye. Drops of scarlet scattered across the rocks of the mountain. He turned to one side to check on the rest of the battle.

Storm was following the plan: he lashed out at Eagle’s Swoop, but when one of their old friends came up, he avoided a fight.

Viper, however, was showing no mercy. He was repeatedly slashing at one of Blizzard’s old Tribemates. He had already ripped open their upper arm. He dug his claws into the open wound. As the black tom’s claws pierced raw skin, the Tribe cat shrieked with agony. Even when Viper’s claws touched muscle, he didn’t stop. He plunged them deeper until the Tribe cat let out a shrill shriek. *Did he just touch her* bones*?*

The rogues were savage, no better than eagles! But Viper’s attack was nothing compared to what Blizzard saw next. Shadow was fighting his way through a sea of Tribe cats. He impaled one with his bare claws and tore out another’s throat. Blood soaked the rocks as cat after cat keeled over before the leader of the Mountain Rogues. Shadow sank his teeth into a tom’s neck and brutally shook his head from side to side. The tom’s neck cracked and Shadow let go as he fell to the ground.

Blizzard was horrified at the way the battle was unfolding. Tribe cats dying left and right, every one of which stood absolutely no chance against Shadow.

Then the black tom looked up and caught Blizzard’s eye. Shadow’s cunning amber gaze chilled Blizzard to the bone. *Why is he looking at* me *like that?* Then it struck him. *He must have seen me with Storm! He knows I don’t want to fight these cats!* Panicking and desperate to convince Shadow that he was loyal, Blizzard turned back to his fight with Shifting Clouds. The brown tom swiftly hit Blizzard with a few blows due to the fact that Blizzard had been turned away and was now panicking.

Shifting Clouds tried to pin Blizzard, but Blizzard wriggled away and got to his paws. “I’ll *flay* you, you fox-hearted deserter!”

Blizzard clawed at Shifting Clouds’s muzzle as Shifting Clouds clawed at Blizzard’s stomach. Both toms were sent reeling. At that exact moment, a blue-gray head bobbed up among the crowd of fighting cats. “Retreat!” the cat yowled.

It was Stoneteller. The heap of mouse dung! Blizzard raced toward the tom, blindly lashing out at every cat in his path as he tried to get to Stoneteller. But pushing and shoving cats held him back, and the Tribe raced away, bleeding and utterly defeated.

“Quiet!” boomed Shadow. The rogues stopped shoving and looked over at their leader. Shadow narrowed his eyes. “There can’t be more than fifteen Tribe cats left alive.” He whipped his head around. “Viper. Lead a patrol to pursue them. Stop once you’re within seven fox-lengths of their camp. We don’t want to lose anyone on this patrol.”

Then, as Viper raced away, Shadow’s eyes landed on Blizzard. “And,” he snarled slowly, “I’ll have to deal with you and your *Tribe* friends.” And the rogue leader bared his blood coated teeth.

## Chapter XVII - Punishment

Blizzard’s eyes filled with panic as Shadow stalked toward him. The black cat lashed his tail, snarling. “Did you think you could help the Tribe and get away with it?” he asked with wrathful fury.

“Help the Tribe? What are you talking about?” Blizzard asked, pretending not to know what the rogue leader meant.

“You *know* what I’m talking about!” Shadow hissed.

“No, I didn’t--” Blizzard began.

“You didn’t *what*?” Shadow growled. “You are sentenced to a severe beating and working nonstop on the thorn barrier tonight and tomorrow.”

“But--” Blizzard tried to object, but Shadow cut him off again with a low-pitched snarl.

With no warning, Shadow leapt at Blizzard and latched two claws into the white tom’s throat. He tumbled Blizzard to the ground with his claws still sunken in.

“If you had done anything worse,” the rogue growled, “I would open your throat right now.” The black tom picked up Blizzard by the neck and slammed his head into the hard rock. Blizzard screamed.

Shadow did it twice more and then hurled Blizzard into the cliffside. The white tom gasped with pain as he fell off the wall and landed in the cold snow.

“Traitor!” Shadow screeched as he leapt once more at Blizzard, snapping at the white tom’s neck with bloody jaws.

The black tom’s teeth connected with flesh. He dug his fangs in and then tore them out, gravely injuring Blizzard. Blizzard tumbled to the ground, his throat bleeding badly and his breath coming in ragged gasps.

Shadow paced around Blizzard, narrowing his eyes at the tom. “I saw you talking to Storm Pelt about not hurting the rogues,” he snarled menacingly.

Blizzard lifted his head for a defiant reply, but nothing came out of his mouth except for blood. Shadow flattened his ears and turned around. “Storm Pelt,” mewed the rogue leader icily. Come forward.”

Storm Pelt padded forward, eyeing Shadow angrily. Shadow didn’t move for several seconds. Then he lashed out with one paw, hitting Storm Pelt in the side of the head. Storm Pelt was knocked onto his side with the force of Shadow’s blow.

The gray tom attempted to get up, but Shadow smashed a forepaw onto his side, crushing the wind out of him. Storm Pelt gasped and rolled onto his stomach. Shadow lashed out again, this time at Storm Pelt’s spine. The gray tom shrieked with agony.

Shadow hooked his claws into Storm Pelt’s back and pulled him close. Nose to nose with the younger tom, he snarled in his face, “*Whose* orders do you follow?”

“Yours,” hissed Storm Pelt.

“Good.” Shadow dropped Storm Pelt onto the stone again. He whipped his head around to face Blizzard. “Get to work on the barrier.”

Blizzard limped away from the crowd of cats that had amassed during his punishment and started up at the huge wall of thorns. He poked a claw into a spot near the bottom to see how thick it was. His claw didn’t come out on the other side. Instead, it hit a wall of thorns so thick it couldn't move any farther within the wall. *How do I fortify something that’s already this strong? It’s definitely thicker than it was last time I was here!*

Nonetheless, Blizzard set to work. As he was dragging what felt like the hundredth branch of thorns over to the wall, Storm Pelt came up beside him. “What are you doing?” Blizzard asked.

“Helping,” grunted Storm Pelt as he ripped off a few branches from a thornbush. “Shadow made me.”

Blizzard nodded, then continued packing the thorns into gaps in the wall.

“Blizzard!” a voice called from behind him.

The white tom spun around to see Shadow. “How good are the Tribe cats at climbing?” he asked.

Blizzard narrowed his eyes slightly, confused. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Shadow replied.

“Well,” answered Blizzard, not wanting to challenge the rogue leader again after his earlier beating, “they’re pretty good, I guess. They do practice often.”

“Then I want the wall built higher. Get to work,” Shadow ordered. He whipped his tail and walked away.

Blizzard stared up at the huge thorn walls that had to be fifteen times taller than him. *I said the Tribe was good at climbing, but can they really climb this thing?*

With the frustration of having given himself even more work, Blizzard began to scale the tall thorn wall, thinking worriedly about his friends in the Tribe and what a weak state they were in.

## Chapter XVIII - Stone

Blizzard had woken up early that day, just after dawn, in fact, to work on the thorn barrier for Shadow. As he had figured out over the last few days, the rogues had rotating shifts working on the thorn barrier: there were always at least three to five cats working on the thorn barrier at any given time. Blizzard figured that must be how it had gotten so huge so fast.

The rest of the mountain cats were just rolling out of their nests, groaning and blinking sleep out of their eyes. A few were bright-eyed and more cheery, like Stone and Cloud, but others were somber and looked like they just wanted some peace and quiet.

Viper was one of those cats. He came over with Stone and Cloud. He barked something at them just before they came into earshot of Blizzard, and the siblings hurried off to rip a branch from a bramble bush. Storm came bounding over as well, snapping something irritably at one of the rogues that Blizzard guessed had woken him up.

As Stone and Cloud dragged the bramble branch back over to the barrier, Viper mewed gruffly, “Do we have everyone?”

Stone glanced around and nodded.

“Good,” responded Viper with a lash of his tail. “Let’s get to work.”

Blizzard tore a part of the bramble branch off and stabbed it into the barrier. The white tom was surprised to find that it didn’t send vibrations up the structure; the barrier was thick enough to absorb the blow completely. He wiggled it around until it was stuck in firmly, then picked another sharp twig off the branch.

Cloud padded over to Blizzard, dragging another branch. “Hey,” she meowed. “I saw the punishment. Shadow’s brutal sometimes.”

Blizzard didn’t say anything in reply. He only nodded.

“So,” Cloud asked, “how do you like life with the rogues?”

Blizzard shrugged, and not wanting to offend Cloud, answered by saying, “It’s okay.”

Cloud nodded. She hesitated before asking, “Do you ever miss your Tribe?”

Blizzard paused. Do *I miss them?* Blizzard glanced around to make sure Shadow and Viper weren’t near them. “Yes,” he answered sadly. “I miss them a lot.” Thinking of Stoneteller, he added, “Most of them, anyway.”

Cloud nodded sympathetically. They both went back to working, tearing limbs from the branches and thrusting them into the already impenetrable wall. “How can we make this any thicker?” he muttered to himself. He padded over to the bush to get another branch.

Gray and brown fur caught his eye. He turned his head slowly so as not to look overly inquisitive and saw Spot and Stone. Spot murmured something that Blizzard couldn’t quite hear from his position.

Stone softly murmured something back. Love filled Spot’s gaze as she rested her head against his shoulder.

A fire sparked in Blizzard’s eyes. He sheathed and unsheathed his claws over and over again. *What does he think he’s doing?* Blizzard growled and stalked over to the two cats.

Surprise lit Stone’s eyes as the gray cat whipped his head around to face Blizzard. Spot pulled away, looking taken aback by Blizzard’s anger. Not bothering to ask to talk to Stone in private, Blizzard growled at Stone. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked icily.

“I… I was… I’m…” Stone struggled for words as Blizzard glared at him.

“Trying to steal Spot?” Blizzard finished coldly.

Stone’s reply was silence.

“I won’t forget this,” snarled Blizzard. He looked down at Spot. “And I’m talking to you, too.”

With that, the angry white tom stalked away again.

## Chapter XIX - Demonstration

Blizzard sat up in his nest and looked up at the sky. He needed some time to himself.

*Well, at least my punishment is over,* he mused silently. He found comfort in the fact that in the midst of all the bad things that were happening, he could still find something good to think about. But then, he had to turn his mind toward more pressing matters.

*Shadow’s going to finish the entire Tribe off if we don’t do something soon. They’re ragged and defeated, hiding away in a cave.* Frustrated, he thought, *I wish I could help them! No doubt Shadow’s going to try and finish them off within the moon.* However, even then, he found his mind drifting to the events of the previous day.

*Stone! That stupid fleabag. I don’t know why I thought he was any better than the rest of them.* He growled softly as he thought of the scene the previous afternoon.

The rogues began to wake around him as he uttered curses under his breath at Stone. The gray tom was stretching, looking as if this was the best day of his life. He had noticed that Spot had slept closer to Stone overnight.

Blizzard and Stone had not stopped bickering for the remainder of the day once the scene had unfolded. Viper was just flat out annoyed by the whole thing, and had to keep barking orders at the two younger cats to get back to work. Occasionally, he would have to make threats to get them back to enforcing the barrier.

The white tom shook his head, got up, and tried to push the worries out of his mind. He had decided it was probably best not to let down his guard while in the rogue camp.

He pushed his way through the entrance of one of the five dens in the camp. There were four dens for the rogues and one for Shadow. None of the dens were exactly spacious with twenty bodies stuffed into them.

Apparently Shadow had had his rogues stationed in other places, because he was now moving them all into one camp. There had to be a minimum of ninety rogues in the camp, Blizzard guessed.

Until recently, Shadow hadn’t even bothered expanding any of the dens. Just four days ago, the day before the battle with the Tribe, Shadow had given Cloud and Ice -- who was still injured -- the job of expanding two of the dens.

Blizzard padded over to the pool of water near the entrance of the camp. He lapped a little bit of it up and walked over to the center of the camp, where the rogues were talking and moving about.

On his way to Shadow’s den to find out about assignments for the day, Blizzard bumped into Cloud. She looked incredibly nervous for some reason, and her eyes were sparkling with… Blizzard didn’t know what.

He followed her gaze and landed on Storm, who was chatting with Mud. Blizzard noticed that things seemed a little bit tense between the two, as they had fought when Blizzard and his friends had originally sought out information about Shifting Clouds’s wounds.

That all seemed so far behind now.

Turning his attention back to Cloud and the dreamy look in her eyes, he decided he should get moving before she snapped back to her senses and asked Blizzard why he was staring at her.

He resumed padding through the bustling crowd of cats in the middle of the camp. He had gotten no farther than two or three more steps when he saw Falcon walking importantly over in the direction of Shadow’s den.

Viper saw her, shook his head, and hissed, then ducked inside Shadow’s den. The two black cats emerged a few heartbeats later, both sets of cold amber eyes fixed on Falcon.

It was Viper who stepped up to Falcon and growled, “Why can’t you go about asking Shadow a question like a normal cat?”

“Why isn’t this normal?” she sniffed.

“Because you’re walking like a complete idiot, you mouse-brain!” hissed Viper. “Next time, just walk up to the den like a normal cat asking about normal duties!” He added in a lower tone, “Shadow doesn’t like rogues who try to look more important than they are.”

“I’m grateful that you’ve touched on some of my main points,” Falcon mewed as she swaggered up to Shadow.

*What in the name of the Tribe of Endless Hunting does she mean by that?* wondered Blizzard. He saw the confusion on many of the rogues’ faces and guessed that was how he probably looked, too.

“I,” continued Falcon with a haughty air about her, “think that the other rogues and I should get more power.”

Blizzard winced. *Bad move, Falcon.*

“Shadow, you act like you’re a superior being to all of us,” Falcon meowed.

Shadow watched with cold, unmoving amber eyes.

“In fact, you should share some of your power with me and other rogues like me,” she added. “You are not the only one who deserves to rule the Mountain Rogues.”

She watched Shadow closely through narrowed eyes.

Shadow still hadn’t moved. “Are you done yet?” he asked icily.

Falcon nodded.

Then, fast as a snake, he lashed out with one paw and ripped out Falcon’s throat. A look of horror lit every rogue’s eyes. Ice looked as if he was holding back a wail of grief for his dying mate.

Shadow turned his head once, then turned it back. “Well?” he snapped. “What are you all looking at? Get to work!”

## Chapter XX - Spy

Shadow’s actions the previous day had put all the rogues on edge. They had finished their work with hardly a word, gulped down their meals, and gone to their nests.

Blizzard had gotten over Falcon’s death sooner than most of the other rogues -- and most definitely sooner than Ice -- since he wasn’t really acquainted with the gray she-cat apart from the time they had fought. However, Blizzard had other worries on his mind.

As he woke up the next morning, thoughts of Shadow and the Tribe shot into his head. Their impending doom was all he could think about. Shadow was not afraid to kill, and he had proved that time and time again. Blizzard couldn’t help but wonder what Stoneteller was thinking.

*Now* he *knows how it feels to be stuck in an impossible situation!* thought Blizzard with a smirk.

As Blizzard rose to his paws, he discovered that Spot had once again slept close to Stone. The two of them were just getting up as well, and Stone was bright-eyed until he saw Blizzard’s malevolent, icy blue stare.

Spot got up, too, but stepped to one side as she exited the den so as to avoid Blizzard.

Stone followed her, and Blizzard went last.

Blizzard padded out of the den and into the clearing of stone that was the rogue camp. There were still bloody, red stains outside Shadow’s den where Falcon had been slaughtered. All the other cats seemed to notice, too, because they all padded around making small talk with one another, stopping to glance at Shadow's den and make sure the black cat had not yet emerged.

As Blizzard looked at the thorn den, Shadow stepped into the clearing. His eyes flicked from side to side, and a good number of the cats stopped moving and watched him warily. “Viper!” called Shadow.

Viper’s ears pricked. “Yes?”

“I want you to assign the cats their jobs for the day. I have some things I need to take care of,” answered the black tom vaguely.

Viper nodded and started barking orders at the rogues. Blizzard craned his neck, attempting to catch sight of Storm. The gray tom was shoving the other rogues aside, trying to make his way to Blizzard.

The two toms met in the center of the crowd. Apparently they were both thinking the same thing, because when they met, Blizzard blurted, “What’s Shadow doing?” at the same time that Storm asked, “What do you think Shadow’s up to?”

They paused for a second in surprise at how similar their questions were.

“Anyway,” Storm continued, “if we don’t know what’s up with Shadow, why don’t we follow him?”

“Are you crazy?” Blizzard nearly yelled. “He just murdered Falcon for asking for a little more power! You’d have to be insane to go snooping around in Shadow’s own business after that!”

“But he let it slide when we told him we saw the treaty being discussed, remember?” pointed out Storm. “If he did catch us, maybe he’d let it slide this time, too.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Blizzard asked darkly. A foreboding silence stretched out for a few seconds before Storm answered.

“So we won’t get caught,” answered Storm. “After all, we seldom got caught when we were eavesdropping before we left the Tribe.”

“There’s something wrong with your memory, Storm,” Blizzard answered the gray cat. “We got caught almost *every time*!”

“Okay, fine. But we have to try,” Storm replied.

Storm turned around and started to pad away. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “Are you coming, or not?” he asked.

“How do I always get pulled into things like this?” Blizzard muttered, then followed Storm.

“Where’s Shadow?” whispered Storm as he slunk along beside Blizzard.

“Probably behind the den, judging by the--”

“Shh!” Storm cut him off.

Blizzard peered around Storm’s broad shoulder. There, behind the den, he saw Shadow. But he also saw another cat, one that he would never have expected to see in that place: Shifting Clouds.

The brown tom’s face was hard and cold, determined about something unknown to Blizzard.

Blizzard and Storm only caught the end of the conversation between Shadow and the Tribe cat, but what they heard was surprising beyond belief.

“So get the information and get out,” Shadow was ordering. “Remember, you’re spying because of Stoneteller.”

Shifting Clouds nodded.

Shadow’s eyes burned with intensity. “Because Stoneteller murdered your mate, Lightning’s Claw.”

MORE COMING SOON