Warriors: Shadows of Blood (COMPLETE)

Chapter 14

Bloodpaw's heart pounded as he sprinted through the cold forest. His pads hurt with each stride, and he wondered if they were bleeding. He'd been awake all night, and between his training and the trek to and from the moonstone, his whole body was begging for rest. But he didn't dare stop. Dewstorm was dying. Depthstar was counting on him.

He reached the thunderpath and paused, his stomach churning with unease. He'd only crossed this once, and Swiftstalker had been at his side. Now, he was alone. And it was night. How would he be able to see the monsters coming?

Forget it! You have to cross! Bloodpaw prepared to run, then froze as a set of lights appeared in the distance. He turned his head and bristled. Great StarClan! A monster roared along the path toward him, glaring at him, glowing at him with blinding yellow eyes. It looks so angry! He crouched, eyes round as the monster passed him. Well, at least I'll be able to see them coming! He looked from side to side, and couldn't see any more lights nearing. He drew in a deep breath and bounded across the thunderpath, the hard stone causing his sore pads to hurt even more.

He felt scared and vulnerable as he crossed into ThunderClan territory. The last time he had been here, he had been with his clan launching a surprise attack. He figured most of the clan was asleep, so he didn't have to worry about patrols. But the camp would be guarded. This was confirmed when he neared the camp, crouching in the bushes. He peered out at two ThunderClan warriors guarding the entrance, looking drowsy.

Okay... I don't want to seem aggressive... Oh, StarClan, help me! Bloodpaw swallowed nervously before stepping out of the bushes. "H-hello!"

The two warriors blinked their tiredness away, looking alarmed at first, then defensive, their fur fluffing up. One of the warriors bared his teeth. "ShadowClan!"

"I come in peace!" Bloodpaw meowed quickly, dipping his head. "I-"

"Who are you?" One warrior growled. "Come to attack us again?"

"No!" Bloodpaw's heart pounded nervously as he faced the warriors, keeping a fair distance. "I'm Bloodpaw of ShadowClan. Depthstar-"

One guard bristled. "What do you want?"

If you hadn't cut me off, I would have told you! Bloodpaw thought. "Depthstar sent me," He explained. "There was a rogue attack at highstones. Starfaith is dead, and Dewstorm can't hold on for much longer." He swallowed. "He sent me to fetch Spice-"

"What's going on?"

He froze, staring up nervously as Strawberrystar emerged from the thorn tunnel, narrowing her amber eyes at him. "Why is a ShadowClan apprentice on our territory?"

"Strawberrystar," Bloodpaw dipped his head respectfully to the she-cat, aware of her sharp tongue and knowing that one wrong word could rub her the wrong way. "There was an attack at highstones. Two of the medicine cats were there, Dewstorm and Starfaith. Starfaith is dead, and Dewstorm is barely holding on."

The spotted she-cat twitched her ear. "And how is this ThunderClan's problem?" She demanded.

Bloodpaw's heart pounded. "Depthstar sent me to fetch Spicewhisker," He meowed, staring at her nervously. "Please, can he come to ShadowClan to save Dewstorm?"

To his dismay, the ThunderClan leader snorted. "You think I'm going to lend my medicine cat to ShadowClan?" He demanded. "The clan who accused my clan of murder, and launched an unjustified attack on us? Killed one of my warriors?"