The Forgotten Warrior

I can’t die like this! she thought despairingly. Not under Breezepelt’s claws!

Suddenly Breezepelt’s weight vanished. Dovewing scrambled up to see that Ivypool had sunk her teeth in his scruff and was shaking his head from side to side. After a moment she released him, and while he was still groggy, she hooked his paws out from under him and dealt him a couple of hard blows on the soft part of his belly. Breezepelt rolled away from her, struggled to his paws, and fled.

“Thanks!” Dovewing gasped. “Ivypool, you fight really well!”

“You’re welcome,” Ivypool mewed, before spinning around and flinging herself back into the battle.

Dovewing realized that the sounds of fighting she had heard in the tunnel were all around her now. She didn’t need her special senses, as the other patrols were pouring into the cavern, filling it with fierce caterwauls and shrieks of pain. Everywhere Dovewing looked, she saw a mass of wailing, thrashing cats.

“No sign of Onestar,” Ivypool panted, reappearing beside Dovewing for a brief moment as she glared around to find her next enemy.

Dovewing nodded. “I can’t see Ashfoot either. This isn’t the whole of WindClan, just the cats Sol managed to trick.” And we outnumber them, thank StarClan! she added to herself.

She leaped forward and let the battle sweep her away, lashing out at any cat that dared to face her. As she grew tired, she kept forgetting to keep her moves small and tight, and her paws ached from being banged against the cavern walls.

How long can we keep this up? she wondered.

In a tight knot of battling cats she leaped onto a brown tabby’s back. A heartbeat later she was shocked to see Dustpelt glaring up at her.

“For StarClan’s sake, get down,” he snapped, shrugging her off. “Haven’t we got enough trouble with WindClan?”

“Sorry,” Dovewing muttered, jumping back into the fray.

Hollyleaf’s voice rang out above the sounds of battle. “Force them into the tunnels!”

Dovewing did the best she could, charging into the side of Owlwhisker and shoving him toward the nearest tunnel opening. Owlwhisker pushed back, but his paws were unsteady, and after a few heartbeats he turned and limped away. Glancing around, Dovewing realized that the other WindClan cats were on the run, fleeing into the tunnels. ThunderClan warriors screeched in triumph as they gave chase.

But then another voice was raised in a yowl. “WindClan! Stand and fight! You have no greater enemy than ThunderClan!”

Dovewing whipped around to see Sol standing in the entrance to the biggest tunnel. Defeated cats were stumbling past him; his eyes brimmed with fury, glowing in the half-light, as he tried to stop them.

“Traitor!” The shriek of rage came from Hollyleaf, who raced past Dovewing and flung herself at Sol. “Liar!”

Sol turned tail and fled into the tunnel; without a heartbeat’s pause Hollyleaf hurled herself after him.

“Hollyleaf, no!” Dovewing cried out. The black she-cat was so much smaller and lighter than Sol. “Wait!” she added. “Wait for me!”

Forcing her tired paws to move, she pelted across the cavern and into the tunnel. Almost at once she caught up to the two cats; Hollyleaf had trapped Sol in a side tunnel, a dead end still faintly lit by the light from the cavern.

Dovewing could hear Sol hissing in the darkness. Both he and Hollyleaf were moving confidently, striking out at each other as they prepared to come together in a close tussle. Dovewing noticed that Sol was unwounded, his sleek fur barely ruffled, while Hollyleaf had scratches over her shoulders and down one side, and tufts of fur missing from her hindquarters.

I don’t think Sol has been fighting at all, Dovewing thought. He’s been hiding, and letting WindClan do his dirty work!

“Leave the Clans alone,” Hollyleaf growled. “You have hurt us enough.”

“Never!” Sol retorted. “Not until I’ve destroyed everything the Clans stand for.” His lips peeled back in a snarl. “Many seasons ago, I knew another of your Clans, far away in a gorge. They scorned me, too; they told me I wasn’t good enough to be one of their precious warriors! So I vowed to prove to all of you that the warrior code means nothing. In the end, you will kill one another for reasons that aren’t worth so much as a mousetail.”

“No, you’re wrong,” Hollyleaf hissed softly, crouching ready to spring. “The way of the Clans is always worth fighting for—and dying for, if necessary.”

With a screech of fury she leaped on Sol, battering at him with all four paws. The loner fought back, trying to overwhelm her with his greater weight.

He’s no fighter, Dovewing realized, shocked. He doesn’t have warrior skills.