Alone #4: The Dynasty of Truth

Chapter 4

Ravenflight watched as Oak, a sleek brown tom, finally retired to his nest. She leapt up as soon as Oak's breathing slowed, Ebonywind and Amberclaw right behind her.

"Finally! I thought he'd never go to sleep!" Ebonywind exclaimed.

Amberclaw dipped her head in agreement. Ravenflight merely just licked her chest fur before running out of the den.

They went back to the spot where they had seen Ruthless, and to their surprise, it was empty.

"What do you think?" Ravenflight questioned Amberclaw and Ebonywind. "Did they move because they almost caught us?"

"Almost?" Ebonywind pretended to be dying as she flailed around on the ground before standing up, purring. "We almost died!"

Amberclaw's expression was sombre. "We almost died. And that's the point. We're so young! We shouldn't die!"

"Eavesdropping isn't good for young cats, is it?" A silky voice drawled. A silky and familiar voice.

Oh, StarClan!

"Hi, Ruthless," Ravenflight answered without turning around. "Nice to see you."

The same rogues as last night circled them. They were surrounded, outnumbered and trapped.

Ravenflight unsheathed her claws. Amberclaw had unsheathed hers ages ago, and Ebonywind followed swiftly. They faced the rogues with defiant expressions.

"You're going to lose, kittypets," Blue was perched on a rock, a snarl on her face as she glared at them. "This is what you get for spying on us."

"It was by accident!" Ebonywind protested but Ravenflight silenced her.

"We are not kittypets!" Ravenflight yowled. "We are warriors, and we will not lose!"

But even as she said it, she knew she was lying.

Ruthless let out a battle cry and the rogues swarmed them. Three rogues, including Ruthless, immediately headed for Amberclaw. Three other rogues headed for Ebonywind and two rogues, a calico she-cat and a smoky gray tom, and Blue, fought Ravenflight.

Ravenflight tried her best, but she was a medicine cat. She wasn't used to fighting. And Blue was so damn fast. The blue-gray she-cat scratched her flank and dashed back without Ravenflight even seeing her attack.

Ravenflight shook her head but continued fighting.

Beside her, Ebonywind was struggling too. Her main opponent, a dark brown tabby she-cat, was huge, with lots of strength. Ebonywind used his size to her advantage, ducking and dodging, but she simply reached out with a large paw, slamming her to the ground.

Ebonywind struggled to move but continued fighting.

Amberclaw was probably faring the best out of all of them. She fought Ruthless head on, both of them sparking with anger. Two rogues, Dant and Bull, Ravenflight remembered, helped her, occasionally distracting Amberclaw. She had a nick on her ear but was fighting with courage.

Ravenflight glared at Blue before using all her strength to throw the she-cat off of her. "Stop it, you piece of fox-dung!"

Blue just renewed her attacks, slashing at Ravenflight's head while the other two clawed at her flanks. It was hopeless. Her body ached and her paws felt like stone. How could she keep fighting?

Ebonywind collapsed on the ground beside her, crimson liquid gushing out of a wound on her belly, making a puddle on the ground. Ravenflight cried out in horror, crouching beside her. She scanned the ground for herbs, any herbs would help.

Cobwebs!

Ignoring the rogues battering her body, she rolled the cobwebs into a ball and jammed them into Ebonywind's wound. Ebonywind's eyes opened and closed and she muttered feverishly.

"Amberclaw! Help!" Ravenflight had no choice but to call the ferocious warrior.

Amberclaw took in the scene, understanding immediately. She defended Ravenflight as best as she could while the medicine cat tended to Ebonywind's wounds.

There aren't enough cobwebs! I need help. StarClan!

A star seemed to shoot out of the sky. Then another. Now there were three stars falling out of the sky. The stars landed on the ground in front of Ravenflight until they formed Littlecloud, an old ShadowClan medicine cat, Yellowfang, a ShadowClan warrior who had also been a medicine cat, not unlike Ravenflight, and Blackstar, an old ShadowClan leader.

Blackstar yowled his anger, stars sprinkled in his white fur, as he and Yellowfang charged the rogues. Amberclaw purred her relief before joining in. Now, the battle was slightly more fair.

Littlecloud crouched down next to Ravenflight, plucking cobwebs out of thin air. They bandaged the wound together before applying some horsetail and goldenrod.

"Will she be okay?" Ravenflight asked the medicine cat.

"She will," Littlecloud promised, although his eyes betrayed him.

"What's wrong?" Ravenflight demanded.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong," Littlecloud attempted a purr. "You go help fight the rogues. I will stay with Ebonywind."

Ravenflight wanted to argue but she could tell Amberclaw was tiring. She launched herself into battle, knocking Ruthless off her sister.

A chilling yowl echoed through the woods. Ravenflight froze. Ruthless froze. The StarClan warriors froze. Even Ebonywind froze.

A black tom stepped lightly out of the undergrowth, his yellow eyes staring straight at Ravenflight. Then, he looked at Ebonywind. "Keep Ebonywind alive," Dark ordered. "But kill the rest."

Blackstar, Littlecloud and Yellowfang growled, baring their teeth. "You'll have to go through us," Yellowfang declared before adding, "You idiotic fox-dunged mange-pelts."

"That's not a problem. I've killed StarClan cats before. I can do it again," Dark sneered.

"You! That was you?" Littlecloud's voice shook. "You killed our warriors?"

"I'll do it again," Dark repeated, his claws sharp as he stalked towards them.

"I'm sorry, but we can't afford to help you. You must fight this battle on your own." Blackstar told them before he, Yellowfang and Littlecloud started floating in the air.

"We can't run! Ebonywind's injured!" Ravenflight protested angrily.

"We will take care of Ebonywind," Blackstar's voice was calm.

As Ravenflight watched Ebonywind's body, she began to fade and finally, she disappeared with the StarClan cats.

"Two will be easier to fight," Dark growled.

StarClan. He's even bigger than I remember.

"I'll kill you again," Ravenflight warned but she was shaking.

"You don't have the guts," Dark smiled. "Go on. Run. Let's see how long it takes for us to catch you."