Embers in the Snow

Chapter 21

"RiverClan, attack!" Shellstar yowled, and several cats battled down the slope on to the hollow.
A tabby named Berryfall jumped on to Snowshade and held on to his back. The tabby was weak, however, and fresh scratches had blood oozing out of them. Snowshade threw him off and pinned him to the ground. He raised one paw in the air and swiped at his throat, killing him in an instant. There was a time when he wouldn't have killed a cat, but that was before he knew of his destiny to rule the superior Clan. He wouldn't let anything get in his way now.
Berryfall's limp body laid on the ground, and he turned around when he heard a gasp. "Snowshade you didn't." Cherrymoon whispered.
The white tom didn't know what to say. "I-I had to."
"You're a monster." She hissed, and sped off to face another cat. That wasn't the first time he'd been called that. All those moons ago when he was accused of killing Sunkit. Could the snow in his claws possibly have been an evil omen, not that he killed Sunkit, but that blood and death would be in his future?
He felt dizzy with all the fighting around him. He stumbled through the crowd of corpses and fighting cats as he tried to find Honeystorm. She was dead. Laying on the ground with blood pouring out of her throat.
"No!" He yowled. It was true he truly never loved Honeystorm, but he would have loved their kits. No cat tried to attack him, all the others were already locked in battle, or dead.
Palefrost laid motionless, Silvernose, Cloudrunner, Gingerleaf... All over a battle they knew nothing about.
"Snowshade!" Flintstar yowled in pain.
He turned and saw his leader under Shellstar's claws. "Flintstar!" Snowshade called back and raced to his aid. He scratched Shellstar's flank and bit his ear, while Flintstar ran his claws down his stomach. The RiverClan leader fled, screaming, "retreat!" and his warriors chased after him.
"We won." Flintstar breathed.
Snowshade didn't feel like they had won. His friends, his mate, his kits... all dead. "What do we do now?" He whimpered, feeling like a little kit again.
"We take over the forest, and you will be my deputy."
The white tom felt as though the world had been ruined. As though he were living for no purpose, no reason. 'All the blood shed, all the lives lost, was so you could achieve your destiny.' He told himself. "What Clan will be be?" He asked.
Flintstar's voice was clear, clearer than it had ever been. "Long ago, way before I was even born, there was a Clan that threatened to take over the other Clans. They failed, but once we gather our allies we will not fail. We learn from their mistakes. In honor of them, we will rule the forest as BloodClan."
"BloodClan." Snowshade repeated.
Batwing looked up from here he was laying. "We are BloodClan."
Birchflight, Goldensplash, Mouseclaw, all laying in pools of blood, lifted their heads and shakily began to stand up as they hollered to the stars. "We are BloodClan!"
It was then that Snowshade felt complete. The emptiness he felt right after the battle was filled. All with those three simple words, we are BloodClan. Yet, guilt still nagged at his stomach. He made a lot of sacrifices to get where he was now. He remembered Cherrymoon's harsh words after he killed Berryfall. Now, he couldn't even find her among the crowd. 'She's either dead or she fled.' He lost so much while keeping the secret of BloodClan. His destiny had seemed like embers in the snow, scattered all around him. But he was going to be leader one day. Was being leader worth also being known as a monster?