Warriors: The Trail of Centuries

Chapter 26

Author's Note: I seriously...cannot figure out why Wattpad is deleting all of my indentations and em dashes—I've even double checked my postings on the browser, and they show up just fine until they...aren't.

Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy. ♡
-eve

     "Her."

     A silence seemed to fall over the clearing in the moments after Frostheart singled out Spottedpath. The tension was palpable, crackling in the air and setting every cat's fur on end. The cats of SwiftClan watched the Gorge invaders with bated breath, waiting for someone to make the first move. Spottedpath dared a glance toward Fishstar, who had barely moved from the stump.

     "Spottedpath is a warrior of SwiftClan, Frostheart," he mewed slowly, his voice level as he studied the grey tom before him. Then, he turned to Clawtail, who stood behind Frostheart with Snowface. "Clawtail, it isn't too late to turn back. There's no need to cause such suffering here."

     "That's enough," Frostheart growled before the regent could speak, though his eyes never left the golden tabby he'd called out. Spottedpath swallowed thickly and held his accusing gaze. He's acting like he has more power than Clawtail, but something seems off, she realized, feeling a pit of uncertainty form in her belly. It was the same feeling she'd got when Deadeye held an apprentice ceremony for his children only moments after finding out they had caught whitecough—and now two of those apprentices were dead.

     "Frostheart," Fishstar called to him, and Spottedpath noticed a flicker in his gaze that mirrored how she felt, "Surely all of this isn't out of your loyalty for Deadeye. Back down now, and I promise, we'll let you leave peacefully." Spottedpath narrowed her eyes and glanced around the clearing in an attempt to calculate their odds. Hollyheart, beneath the mangled stump that Fishstar perched on, still sported a wound from the ambush that killed Grassheart. Several other warriors in the crowd were in a similar disadvantage. Spottedpath knew that Deadeye trained his warriors to kill, not to defend, and even if the SwiftClan warriors had better numbers, there was a slim chance of them fending off the Gorge trespassers. 

     "He said that's enough," Snowface growled at Fishstar, the end of his sentence turning into a snarl as he threw himself at the leader. At once, the central clearing of the camp broke out into a flurry of flashing claws and hissing cats.

     "Spottedpath, with us," Muddapple hissed into Spottedpath's ear before nudging her in the direction of the medicine den. Before the warrior could voice her objection, Frostheart gave a sneer from behind them.

     "I don't think so," he growled, narrowing his eyes when the trio turned back to him. "I'm sure you already know this, but I'm not against killing a medicine cat or two to get to her."

     Wordlessly, Brightpelt moved to stand protectively in front of Spottedpath, while Muddapple stayed tensely rooted on her other side. Spottedpath glanced between them in disbelief, starting forward when Frostheart took a threatening step forward.

     "Let me handle this," she urged them, giving Brightpelt a soft nudge. "I have to do this. Go, keep yourselves safe." 

     "Spottedpath, if you die—" Brightpelt's turquoise gaze rested on her, and she gave a visible shudder at the thought.

     "I've got no plans to die, Brightpelt," Spottedpath reassured her, feeling her anxiety heighten when Frostheart moved in her peripheral vision. Muddapple brushed against Spottedpath in an attempt to encourage her before leading Brightpelt away from the fighting.

     "How noble of you," Frostheart called to her, taking on a sickeningly sarcastic tone. "I'll get you for what you did to me, Spottedpath."