Alone #4: The Dynasty of Truth

Chapter 8

"You have a plan, you say?" Autumn leaned forward in interest.

Ravenflight lowered her voice, checking the barn for any spying ears before hissing, "Yes. I have a plan. This will all end if Dark is dead. Which means we need to kill Dark."

"Oooh," Autumn whispered back. "We should learn the Art of Assassinating."

"What's that?" Ravenflight questioned.

"A loner tried to join us before you cats came," Autumn explained. "He was a cat assassin. He wasn't allowed to stay because he wasn't peaceful enough, but he'll be real helpful right now."

"We should look for him, then," Ravenflight pawed the ground. They finally had a plan!

Autumn and Ravenflight left the barn the next morning. Autumn knew where he lived, after all, she was the one who had taken him back to his home. At sunhigh, they arrived at a little den on the edges of the woods. Being this close to the ravine camp made Ravenflight shiver. Dark was in there, and he was dangerous.

Ravenflight edged closer to Autumn and they stepped into the den. In the middle of the den was a black cat so black that he camouflaged in the darkness. It took a few blinks for Ravenflight's eyes to adjust and when she could see again, she noticed Autumn had woken the tom up.

"Who're you?" the tom croaked, his dark brown eyes flashing wildly.

"I'm Autumn, do you remember me?" Autumn mewed gently.

"Autumn?" the tom squinted at her. "It is you!"

"Strike, this is Ravenflight. Ravenflight, this is Strike," Autumn introduced Ravenflight, who dipped her head in greetings.

"What can I do for you?" Strike questioned. Ravenflight noticed that his claws were unsheathed and stained red with blood. 

"We need your help. There's this really evil cat, you remember Dark? Yeah, anyways, Dark is back, and he's trying to kill us. We need to kill him." Ravenflight informed him.

"Are you sure? Once you kill a cat, there's no going back," Strike warned.

"I've already killed Dark once. He came back from the dead," Ravenflight pointed out.

"And I've..." Autumn cut herself off. Ravenflight raised her eyebrow. Have you killed a cat, Autumn? Some leader of the peaceful group of cats you are.

"I can't teach you how to fight better," Strike continued. "I can teach you how to be sneaky and how to play dirty. But it's not exactly honorable."

"I don't mind," Autumn insisted.

Ravenflight squirmed a little. This was against the warrior code. But if it would help them defeat Dark, then she would try it. "I don't mind either."

"Very well. Don't say you haven't been warned. We start at dawn tomorrow," Strike looked alert now, his dark eyes glowing with interest. The sleepy cat that Ravenflight had seen a few heartbeats ago was gone, and a killer was in its place.

Autumn and Ravenflight left the tom in his den, padding back to the barn. Autumn left to inform Deer, the Dynasty's deputy, about their plan, while Ravenflight told Amberclaw. They left at dawn the next morning, meeting Strike in a plain, grassy field.

"First step to assassinating," Strike began briskly. "Is to be stealthy. Silent. Quiet. Show me your stalks."

"Stalks?" Ravenflight questioned.

"He means this," Autumn crouched low on the grass, slithering forwards like a snake or adder.

"A crouch?" Ravenflight imitated Autumn, avoiding crunching the grass.

"Both of you failed," Strike snorted. "I could hear you from a mile away."

Ravenflight bristled, although Autumn just nodded. "I know."

"We'll be practicing our stalks, killing bites and leaps today," Strike fell to the ground into a crouch, moving his paws carefully one by one, making sure that he put them down softly enough so that he could move with speed, but also so that he could be silent.

Autumn and Ravenflight copied him, much more soundlessly this time, Ravenflight noticed. They practiced the stalk until Strike was satisfied.

"Good. We're under time pressure, otherwise I would normally spend a bit longer on the stalk. But now at least you can move decently without crunching anything. We're going to have a little activity now. Autumn and Ravenflight, stay here. I'm going to go into the forest, and you must track my scent and attack me without me noticing. Got it?" Strike explained.

"Got it," Autumn confirmed.

Strike swept off into the forest.

Autumn and Ravenflight waited a few minutes before they got to their paws, sniffing his scent. Ravenflight found the trail and beckoned Autumn over. They followed the trail into the forest, until it stopped.

Autumn scouted around, peering under logs and branches until she found the trail again. It turned out that Strike had rolled in some dead leaves to disguise his scent.

They kept on following the trail. Sometimes it led up trees and down ditches, but finally, they spotted Strike's black pelt.

Ravenflight nodded to Autumn, flicking her tail at a tree and pointing at her. Autumn understood and climbed the tree stealthily while Ravenflight crept forwards.

Ravenflight checked the ground underneath her. She was lucky she did, as there was some crunch leaves. Carefully, she dodged them and looked up to see Autumn in position.

Autumn slammed her tail down as a signal and they both flew towards Strike, making sure to still be silent. Strike turned around with lighting fast speed and used his sheathed paws to stop them.

"Good job," Strike praised. "You found my scent and tracked me here. Then, you made a plan. However, I could see you in the corner of my eyes, Autumn, and I could hear you, Ravenflight."

Ravenflight dipped her head in thanks, trying to act respectful. But inside, her heart was bouncing with joy. They were one step closer to killing Dark.