Cedarblaze stood on the edge of the gorge, the ground crumbled away at his paws. His eyes wide as he stared down at his his brother, the deputy of DustClan - Mapleface, and the leader of DustClan - Beetstar. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears as the two cats yowled soundlessly at him.
Realisation hit him. The crashing currents from the river below and the desperate cries of the cats at his feet - slowly loosing their grip on the dry earth - almost knocked him off his paws. He steadied himself and reviewed the situation, frozen to the ground with fear.
"Wh-what happened..?" His voice shook as he dared ask to question.
"BROTHER!" The reddish brown deputy called to him, "Our plan failed! Beetstar knocked you unconscious during the ambush and while we were fighting we both lost are footing on the fringe of the drop!" Mapleface bellowed with resentment, his face a mixture of fear and anger. "Unfortunately she hasn't lost her grasp of the dirt before it have." The hissed through gritted teeth.
It was all coming back to Cedarblaze. Their plan to murder the weak leader. They would tell the clan she had fallen off the gorge while saving the two toms from rogues, the rogues which would have died too in their lie. Then Mapleface would become leader and Cedarblaze his deputy and they'd make DustClan strong and powerful again.
Cedarblaze took tentative steps towards the cleft until he stood between Mapleface and Beetstar.
"Brother, help me up so we can complete are task to eliminate the weak!" Mapleface's demanding but desperate yowl sounded in his right ear, but he didn't turn face him.
"You black-hearted cats! You don't deserve the honour of being called warriors of DustClan!" The black she-cat wailed with deviancy, grit falling from the ledge as she hung on for her life. The dark brown tabby turned to meet the leader's frantic golden gaze, his hazel eyes narrowed to slits.
Cedarblaze stalked forward, the wind tugging his long fur, he unsheathed his claws as he drew nearer to the leader. The DustClan Tom stood above her, his eyes glinted as the slowly setting sun met the horizon. With a sudden movement he dug his his claws into the black she-cat's shoulders and she gasped with pain.
"YES, BROTHER! Finish her!" Mapleface screamed, his icy eyes wide with pleasure.
Cedarblaze dragged Beetstar up over the edge of the edge of the gorge until she lay panting on the flat surface, safe from the wild river. Cedarblaze got to his paws and drew in a sharp breath, turning his head to meet his brother's flabbergasted face.
"WHAT?! Are you mad?! Our plan to KILL her, not SAVE her you eejit!" Mapleface howl was a mixture of disbelief and fury. "What happened to our plan? That I'd become leader and you deputy?! We'd make DustClan GREAT again!" The Tom was outrageous as he faced his brother who had betrayed him after so many moons of planning.
"Yes that was our plan." Cedarblaze's voice was cool, but his eyes seemed to burn as the the sun reflected off them.
"Before Beetstar accepted me as her mate, before Beetstar was expecting my kits, before I told Beetstar WHAT A BLOODY TRAITOR YOU ARE TO DUSTCLAN!" His voice roared above the the current of the water at the bottom of the gorge, and his claws dug into the crusty ground impulsively.
Beetstar stood behind Cedarblaze, her belly slightly plump with the kits she carried and her face shadowed with foreboding as she stared down at the deputy.
"DustClan has no room for traitors." Cedarblaze growled softly, almost a whisper for Mapleface to hear before he pushed him off the brink of the gorge, with unsheathed claws that pierced into his brother's flesh.
Mapleface thrashed wildly in the air, cursing to the twilight sky where no stars shone to welcome him, before hitting the river, and the dark waters engulfed the tom.
