Fading Echoes

Then the noise began. Every breath, every rip of fur, every scrape of tooth on bone. Growls and shrieks tore at her senses. As she struggled to shut out the chaos of sound, the scent of fear and of blood swamped her tongue. Was that Dustpelt’s breath knocked from him as a warrior hurled him to the ground? Was that pain in Sorreltail’s shriek, or was it triumph?

A cream pelt flashed toward her. Paws slammed her shoulders and knocked her flying; then claws gripped her flank. The ShadowClan she-cat smelled like Tigerheart.

Dawnpelt?

Instinctively Dovepaw battered the warrior’s belly with her hind paws until the she-cat let go. It was Dawnpelt! Dovepaw jumped to her paws and ducked under Dawnpelt’s belly, breaking from the line, racing forward, slipping through the ShadowClan ranks as she desperately tried to escape the shrieking mass of warriors.

Her ears twitched with too much noise. Was that the sound of more ShadowClan warriors pounding through the undergrowth toward her?

Her paws skidded underneath her. The ShadowClan cats had driven ThunderClan back toward the middle of the clearing. Dovepaw couldn’t get a grip on the slippery grass. Her claws couldn’t reach through to solid ground.

Dawnpelt was on her tail.

She turned and reared and met the ShadowClan warrior in a clumsy flurry of swiping blows. Dawnpelt fought back. Knocked her muzzle. Unbalanced her.

Help me, StarClan!

She tried to spring up but Dawnpelt held her down, raking her spine with hind claws. Pain seared her pelt and a yowl escaped her. Writhing to escape, she glimpsed golden fur.

Lionblaze was staring down at her. “You seem to have strayed from your Clanmates,” he growled.

There was a blur of movement above Dovepaw, and suddenly Dawnpelt let go. Raising her head with a wince, Dovepaw saw Lionblaze fling the ShadowClan warrior away.

“Can you manage now?” he asked.

She nodded, hoping she could, and Lionblaze dashed back toward the battle line.

Ivypaw slowed to a halt beside her. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Dovepaw panted. She fought to block out the yowling of her Clanmates.

“Look out!” Ivypaw warned.

Dovepaw spun around as Foxleap backed into her. His forepaws were raised as he swiped at an advancing ShadowClan warrior.

Crowfrost.

Two ShadowClan apprentices—Starlingpaw and Pinepaw—flanked the black-and-white tom, their eyes fixed on Foxleap as they drove the ThunderClan warrior toward the pine forest, separating him from his Clanmates.

Ivypaw darted forward and nipped Starlingpaw’s foreleg. Dovepaw knew what she had to do. Yowling, she hurled herself at Pinepaw, knocking her backward with such ferocity that Crowfrost glanced up to see if his Clanmate was okay. In an instant, Foxleap regained his balance, dropped onto four paws, and launched himself forward. He sent Crowfrost hurtling backward and the pair rolled away while Dovepaw dug her claws into Pinepaw’s flanks and tore until the she-cat shrieked and struggled from her grip.

Starlingpaw was dragging at the grass as Ivypaw pulled him backward and sank her teeth into his neck. Dovepaw froze. Her sister looked as though she were killing prey. She felt a flash of relief as Ivypaw let go and Starlingpaw raced back toward his Clanmates.

Ivypaw turned to face Dovepaw, curling her lip to reveal teeth stained with blood. “Who next?”

Suddenly Brackenfur and Thornclaw appeared, pulling up in front of Dovepaw and Ivypaw, their breath clouding the air.

“Brambleclaw wants us to try something different,” Brackenfur panted.

His gaze fell upon Foxleap; the tawny tabby was beating Crowfrost backward, helped now by Toadstep. Overwhelmed, the ShadowClan warrior turned and slipped back among his own ranks. Brackenfur nodded approvingly and beckoned with his tail.

Foxleap raced over, Toadstep a pace behind. “What is it?”

“ShadowClan keeps regrouping,” Thornclaw told them. “They’re pushing us back across the field.”

Toadstep nodded. “It’s impossible to get a good grip on this grass.”

“Brambleclaw wants us to outflank them,” Brackenfur told him.

Ivypaw leaned forward. “How?”

“I’m going to lead a separate patrol,” Thornclaw meowed, “and try to draw ShadowClan away from the clearing, back into their own territory.”

Brackenfur rubbed his muzzle with one paw. “We stand a better chance in the woods,” he growled. “There are brambles and trees. The ground will feel more familiar. And we can try out our new tree tactics.”

Dovepaw’s eyes widened. “But won’t ShadowClan just fight harder if we invade their territory?”

“That’s a risk we’ll have to take,” Brackenfur muttered. “We’ll never beat them out here in the open.”

Lionblaze bounded toward them, Rosepetal and Sorreltail behind him. “Are you ready?” he asked Thornclaw.

Thornclaw nodded and headed toward ShadowClan’s woods.

Dovepaw glanced at her sister. What if they were caught between two rows of ShadowClan warriors?

But Ivypaw seemed undaunted. She scrambled after Thornclaw. Dovepaw hurtled after, her heart pounding.

“Hey! Where are they going?”