Eclipse

Chapter 15

Lionpaw lunged at the last RiverClan warrior. The other three had fled wailing into the forest already, but this one was cornered, backed up against a bramble so tangled that even a ThunderClan cat would think twice about trying to escape through it.

Mosspelt. Lionpaw recognized the blue-eyed tortoiseshell from Gatherings. But this wasn’t a Gathering, and he was going to make her sorry she’d ever set paw on his land.

She crouched, trembling, in front of him as he padded toward her, rage darkening his vision until all he could see was her round, frightened eyes.

“Lionpaw!” Firestar’s sharp mew made him freeze.

Mosspelt darted past him and disappeared into the trees.

“Now look what you’ve done!” Lionpaw turned on his leader. “I could have finished her off.”

Wariness glittered in Firestar’s eyes. “I think she knew she was beaten.”

Lionpaw glanced down at his fur, clumped with blood, some fresh, some drying. What had he done? In the heat of battle he wasn’t always sure how he fought. He simply smelled blood and felt flesh tear beneath his claws.

“What about WindClan?” Lionpaw wondered if the rest of the invaders had been beaten yet.

“We’ve just seen the last one back over the border,” Firestar told him.

Ashfur and Berrynose slid from the undergrowth, Spiderleg and Poppyfrost beside them. Ashfur was sticky with blood.

One of Berrynose’s ears was shredded at the tip. Spiderleg was limping badly, and Poppyfrost, ruffled and bleeding, was round eyed with shock.

“What about the other patrols?” Lionpaw insisted. “We should go help them now that we’ve finished here.”

Firestar flicked his tail. “Spiderleg’s got a bad belly wound.

We need to get him back to camp before we check the rest of the territory.”

Spiderleg was lying down, flanks heaving and blood oozing onto the forest floor. Ashfur dug his nose under his denmate’s shoulder and pushed him to his paws. “Come on,” he encouraged. “We’ll get you back to Leafpool.” Berrynose pressed against Spiderleg’s other flank, and, between them, the two warriors began to half guide, half carry their injured Clanmate back toward the hollow.

“I’ll go see if I can help the other patrols while you take Spiderleg back.” Lionpaw wasn’t ready to return home. He could hear the other battles raging in the distance. He ought to be there, fighting.

“I can’t let you go into the forest alone,” Firestar told him.

Was that fear in his eyes?

Frustrated, Lionpaw joined his Clanmates as they headed for home. He tried to hurry them on by padding ahead, but Firestar kept calling him back. Spiderleg was panting, groaning with each step. Hurry up!

At last they headed down the slope toward the thorn barrier. Lionpaw halted at the entrance to let Ashfur and Berrynose help Spiderleg through. Firestar followed them in, but Lionpaw hesitated. He could hear rustling in the bushes behind him.

He stared in surprise. “Jaypaw?” His brother was trotting out of the trees with Mousewhisker.

“Are you okay?” Jaypaw called. His nose was twitching. “I can smell blood.”

Lionpaw shrugged. “It’s not mine.”

Mousewhisker’s eye was closed and swollen to the size of an apple.

“Is he okay?” Lionpaw asked.

“The cut just needs cleaning,” Jaypaw told him.

“Apart from a few scratches, it’s my only injury,” Mousewhisker meowed proudly. Jaypaw guided the injured warrior into camp, and Lionpaw trailed after them. His claws itched to be fighting again.

“RiverClan have come to help WindClan,” Jaypaw was reporting to Firestar. “But Blackstar has sent some cats to help us.”

Surprise lit Firestar’s eyes. “Blackstar’s helping us?”

“He sent a whole patrol.”

Firestar drew in a deep breath. “Then all four Clans are fighting on our territory.”

Jaypaw nodded.

“You’d better help Leafpool treat the injured.”

Leafpool was already crouching over Spiderleg, pressing leaves to his belly to stanch the bleeding.

Firestar turned back to the entrance, signaling to his patrol with his tail.

At last! Lionpaw flexed his claws and followed his leader through the barrier, refusing to step aside when he felt Ashfur pressing on his heels.

His mentor slid past him as they emerged from the tunnel.

“You should clean yourself up,” he meowed, glancing at Lionpaw’s sticky pelt.

“There’ll be plenty of time for that after the battle,” Lionpaw replied.

Ashfur veered away from the patrol, shadowing its flank, his dark pelt rippling as he slid through the undergrowth. The sun was up now, rising above the trees into a pale, empty sky.

Ashfur paused, pricking his ears, and Firestar signaled for the rest of the patrol to halt.

“Cats approaching from WindClan’s direction,” Ashfur hissed.

Lionpaw tasted the air.

WindClan.

A whole patrol.

He stiffened, tasting the air again to be sure.

Heatherpaw!

He bolted toward the approaching patrol, ignoring Firestar’s cry for him to stop. As he darted like a bird through the undergrowth, his paws skimmed the ground. The sunlight glittered golden through the trees, making it easy to spot the WindClan patrol slinking like weasels through the forest.

They were heading for the lake, hoping to finish off Dustpelt’s patrol, no doubt.

Lionpaw could hear his Clanmates’ paws thrumming after him. They exploded from the bushes around him as he reached the WindClan cats.

The enemy patrol scattered in panic, but not quickly enough. Ashfur knocked a brown tabby warrior to the ground, while Firestar flung himself at a black tom. Lionpaw charged through two WindClan apprentices, shoving them aside. Behind them Heatherpaw reared up on her hind legs, her blue eyes wide with shock. Lionpaw lunged at her and grasped her scruff between his teeth. She struggled, wailing, as he dragged her through a wall of ferns and flung her to the ground in the small clearing beyond. Enclosed in the pale green cave, he pinned her down, letting his paws prick her skin.

“You told them about the tunnels!” he hissed. “I can’t believe you betrayed me. I thought I could trust you to keep your mouth shut.”

“It wasn’t me!”

Rage surged beneath his pelt. “So why is my forest filled with your Clan?”

Heatherpaw struggled to escape from his grasp, twisting and biting him hard on the foreleg.

“I don’t lie,” she growled. “It wasn’t me! It was Sedgekit!”

“Why would he do that?” Lionpaw couldn’t believe it. “I saved his life!”

“He was boasting to Weaselfur about the tunnels he found, and then every cat in the Clan knew.”

Lionpaw stared down at her, stifling the urge to shred her fur. “I don’t believe you,” he breathed. “You’ve never forgiven me for wanting to be a loyal Clan warrior.” He leaned closer and dug in his claws as she tried to wriggle away from his hot breath. “I’ll never forget this, Heatherpaw. I will be your enemy forever.”

He released her and turned away, swishing through the ferns with his paws trembling with rage. Had he really loved her once? He had been a different cat then. Now he was one of the three, and he walked a path Heatherpaw couldn’t even dream of.

Green eyes flashed in front of him. “Where’s Heatherpaw?” Crowfeather was blocking his path.

“Get out of my way!”

The WindClan warrior peered past Lionpaw. “What have you done with her?”

“Get out of my way!” Lionpaw lunged at Crowfeather. Hooking his claws into the dark gray warrior’s neck, he flung him through the ferns and thumped him onto the ground. Still gripping his throat, he leaped on top, tearing at his flesh in a frenzy.

Suddenly teeth sank into Lionpaw’s shoulder and claws dug into his flank.

Heatherpaw was dragging him off. “Stop it!” she shrieked.

“What are you doing?”

Startled by the terror in her voice, Lionpaw froze. Crowfeather lay among the green ferns by his forepaws, bright red blood bubbling at his throat.

Heatherpaw crouched over her mentor. “Crowfeather!”

“I’m okay.” He lifted his head. Heatherpaw backed away as he staggered, spluttering, to his paws.

Shame seared Lionpaw’s pelt. The warrior code told him he didn’t need to kill a cat to prove the battle was won. If Heatherpaw hadn’t stopped him, he would have left Crowfeather dead.

What have I become?

Suddenly the light changed.

The bright morning air softened into shadow. Dawn seemed to give way to dusk. The birds fell silent. The screeching and wailing of battle ceased. Even the buzz of insects quieted as darkness seeped through the trees.

Lionpaw looked up.

The sun was disappearing, swallowed by a great black disk, darker and more sharply defined than any cloud.

“What’s happening?” Heatherpaw’s terrified mew hissed in Lionpaw’s ear, but he couldn’t answer. His voice was trapped in his throat, and his claws rooted him to the ground. Around him the air chilled. And above, the sun vanished completely, plunging the forest into night.

“StarClan’s killed the sun!” The shriek of a WindClan warrior rang through the forest. Instantly cats began wailing, and the woods shivered as they fled, their paws thrumming through the pitch-black forest.

“We’ve got to get home.” Crowfeather coughed. He dragged at Heatherpaw’s scruff as she stood petrified beside Lionpaw.

“Come on!”

Wild-eyed, Heatherpaw turned to follow her mentor.

“I won’t forget,” Lionpaw hissed in her ear.

As she disappeared into the forest, he watched the sun’s dying rays bleed from the edge of the wide black circle.