Prologue

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The red-furred tom padded through the forest, following the stale scent of his clanmate. Two more cats padded beside him.

"Did you find anything yet, Cedarscar?" A white she-cat called.

"Not yet Mothfur. The scent trail is pretty stale from last nights rain."

"Cedarscar, Mothfur, hurry! I found something we should take a look at."

The two cats followed the voice until they found their gray-furred patrolmate Stonefur. Cedarscar's stomach lurched. His clanmate was standing next to a pool of almost-dry blood and unmistakable gray fur. Their clanmate's stale scent abruptly vanished once they got too far from the pool. 

"A fox or a badger must have gotten her." Mothfur sighed. "It's too bad, she had her whole life ahead of her." 

Cedarscar nodded. "I was proud to stand beside Mistpool in battle. She was a good warrior." He stared at the scene, then quickly looked away when his reflection began to show in the puddle of blood. "We should get back to camp to tell Fawnstar."

Mothfur nodded, waving her tail before padding away in the direction of camp. Cedarscar and Stonefur followed. Voices sounded from the camp.

"I want to go back out! She's my sister!"

"I'm sorry but I can't let you do that. You've been out nonstop since the day she went missing, almost three days ago. You need to stay here and rest and eat."

"Please! If I lose her, I don't know what I'll do!"

"Fawnstar!" Mothfur called as they entered the camp. 

Their clanmate, Ivytail, ran up to them first. "Did you find anything? Is my sister alive?" 

Fawnstar followed, and Mothfur dipped her head. "We did find something. But it's not exactly good news." She turned to Ivytail. "I'm so sorry. Mistpool is dead." 

A shadowed look crept into Ivytail's eyes. She crumpled to the ground and let out a wail of grief that echoed throughout the camp. 

The sound made Cedarscar's heart shatter. Unsure if he should, he tentatively laid his tail gently on her back in an attempt to comfort her.

"She can't be dead, she can't be." Ivytail whispered hoarsely. She looked up at him with dark green eyes so beautiful that he felt as if her could stare into them forever. Mouse-brain! Pay attention! He scolded himself.  

Ivytail stood up. "Take me there. To where she died." 

Cedarscar glanced at his leader for permission, and Fawnstar nodded.

"Follow me." He meowed simply, then bounded off in the direction they had come. 

She followed. They came upon the pool of blood and fur, and Ivytail's eyes grew wide with horror. She gently touched a tuft of blood-stained gray fur. Cedarscar was close enough to hear her say, "I'm sorry Mistpool. I'm so sorry you had to die like this." She then turned to him. "This was not a fox or a badger. There's no scents anywhere. Plus, my sister would not be one to be beaten by something like this. This was a cat, and I'll find out who."

Cedarscar just nodded. She's grieving. I can explain to her later.  

Cedarscar heard her whisper. "I vow that I'll get revenge for you. As soon as I find out who did this." And she turned away and headed back to camp.        

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