Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter Nineteen

"What do you mean she's gone?" Meadowshine shouted in disbelief.

"I can't find her anywhere! Her trail leads deeper into the forest, but there's other cat scents there as well," Elkleap explained.

"Which direction does her scent lead?" Brokensong asked.

"It heads that way for a bit before veering left," he explained.

"We will have to follow her trail!" Sootsplash growled, "if they touch a single hair on her pelt, I'll shred them!"

"We should leave at once," Elkleap meowed.

Instantly, the patrol stood and started to follow after him. Inwardly, Frostfeather wondered who would have the guts to take Lionpaw.

"Were you sure that Dewdrop was really dead?" she asked Pineheart worriedly.

"As dead as fresh-kill," he cofirmed, "it had to have been someone else."

The rest of the group was utterly silent as they trekked through the trees. A thin rain had started to fall, threatening to sweep Lionpaw's scent away.

"We need to pick up the pace! What if we lose her scent forever!" Meadowshine wailed. They started to run, Lionpaw's scent barely bathing their tongues.

Strange cat scent whirled around them, dark and menacing. Eventually, they broke through the trees to face a massive, rushing river. Frostfeather looked up at the horizon, glad to see the sun was setting in front of them.

Atleast we are still traveling in the right direction, she thought hopefully.

As they neared the river, Sootsplash began to rapidly pace at the bank. His tail flicked angrily as he looked up and down the watery terrain. "What do we do now?" Meadowshine whimpered.

"We will have to find somewhere to cross," Elkleap explained, "Lionpaw's scent leads this way, there might be a crossing place there." He pointed his tail upstream, where a tiny path was tread through the grass.

There was no time to waste, the group started to bound upstream after her trail. Eventually, they found a suitable place to cross. An enormous oak tree had fallen across the water, making a perfect bridge for the cats to cross.

"I can smell Lionpaw," Elkleap meowed as he scoured the earth near the trunk with his nose. Sootsplash and Meadowshine instantly leapt onto the tree and ran across, fast as lightning. Brokensong was quick to follow, Frostfeather and Pineheart on her tail. The bark was slippery with rain but thankfully no one tumbled into the river below.

They were still pelting full force after the missing apprentice, not taking any time to be cautious of their new surroundings. Scant trees and bushes dotted the landscape but there was more open space than anything else.

"I think we are getting close," Sootsplash yowled. Frostfeather took a deep breath, Lionpaw's fresh scent bathing her senses.

But suddenly, a shadowed shape flew towards Sootsplash from a nearby bush. The shape landed on top of him, pushing to the ground.

"Halt!" it growled, turning to face the other Clan cats. "You're on Cassius's land!"

"You better let my daughter go, you mange breathed fox heart!" Sootsplash shrieked, bucking beneath the rogue like a bull in a blind rage.

"Oh you mean that little russet she-cat? No, I don't think we will be letting her go," the rogue sneered.

As the rest of them came to a stop, a ring of strange rogues began to surround them. "Just let her go and no one needs to get hurt," Elkleap called, his tone calm but threatening.