There was nothing to do but remain impassive. Already, Nightchaser could feel eyes on him and he willed himself to remain calm. Bramblepaw and Wrenpaw would find a way of joining them during their assessment or even after it was over. Regardless of the outcomes of the battle, they would not let themselves be separated from the rest of the rebels.

    Putting his trust in the two apprentices, Nightchaser congratulated the kits on their retelling of Sootstar's tale before letting Cinderblossom and Cherrypool take them away to the nursery. Cinderblossom gave him a knowing look, having come to the same conclusion, and the truth-teller felt himself relax further. Everything would work out in the end; it had to.

    "Join me for a hunting patrol tomorrow morning?" Sprucetail padded up to him, face completely blank. Nightchaser nodded immediately, knowing the she-cat would have some sort of plan forming already – she always did.

    "Get a good night's rest, then," she suggested. "I will come get you at dawn."

    Nightchaser nodded, glad to have Sprucetail on his side. Yawning, he realized she was right in recommending an early night in and he let his paws lead him to the log den. For a moment, he paused, considering watching the camp from his usual perch for a few moments more. Another yawn persuaded him to turn in and he flopped down into his nest, mind still buzzing.

    So many questions filled him: questions about his mother, about how the attack would go through, about whether or not Dawnstar really knew what was happening right underneath her nose – or if everything, including the warrior assessment beginning today, were just coincidental and lucky guesses. There was no way to find out without giving the rebels away and, this close to the attack, Nightchaser was not willing to jeopardize their movement.

    Tomorrow, he would speak with Sprucetail, Goosepelt, and Birchfrost and, together, they would come up with an attack plan for the night of the new moon. Even if the alley cats, as Bronco had called them, did not show up or did not have a plan of their own, Nightchaser wanted something to fall back on, something that would get them all away from DarkClan.

    And, once DarkClan had been defeated and the rebels could start again as a new, better Clan, everyone who had been kept apart for so long would finally be together. Thistleshade and Oakshade, along with Reedkit and Rainkit, would finally be a family; Cinderblossom would be able to have her kits without fear of execution; and he and Wrenpaw wouldn't have to hide ever again, free to be with each other whenever they wished.

    The truth-teller fell asleep with these visions in mind, keeping the darkness and despair at bay.

    When he woke, it was sudden, and almost as if he had not closed his eyes in the first place. Outside, crickets chirped a soft tune and the sky remained black. Nightchaser perked his ears, lifting his head slightly, listening for whatever had woken him. It couldn't possibly be Sprucetail; it was not close enough to dawn yet.

    A scuffle and quickly murmured words just outside of the log den. Nightchaser felt his shoulders tense and, as quietly as he could, he rose out of his moss nest. Creeping forward as Sprucetail taught him, he had almost made it to the den entrance when a large, grey figure blocked his path.

    "Looks like we'll have to take him by force," Smoketalon growled before lifting a giant paw and bringing it down on Nightchaser's head. The truth-teller, too slow to dodge, felt his head pound with the weight. Then, he slipped into darkness once more – but not before catching sight of a familiar ginger pelt standing just behind his attacker.

    //

    The pounding in his head refused to subside and Nightchaser was reminded of his shoulder injury, which pained him for days on end. Would he have to spend his days in the healer's den once more, waiting for the pain to go away?

    He opened his eyes, narrowing them into the tiniest of slits. The light was too bright and too dim at the same time.

    Where am I? Blinking a couple of times, he let his eyes adjust.

    "Nightchaser, thank StarClan!" Mothpaw's voice startled the tom and he turned to see her sitting a tail length away, watching him apprehensively. He half expected to be in the medicine den, with Mothpaw watching over him, but to his surprise he found himself surrounded by rough stony walls and cats he did not know.

    Then, the realization hit him.

    "Mothpaw, what happened?" he asked, rising to his paws too quickly. His head spun and he hit the ground again. Two others stepped forward to help him up and Nightchaser's heart fell when he recognized Cinderblossom and Swallowstorm.

    "Someone told Dawnstar who was in on the plan," came Cedarheart's grave voice from a shaded part of the prisoner cave. "Someone betrayed us."

    Nightchaser felt as if his heart had turned to stone. "She... She knows?"

    To his dismay, both Swallowstorm and Birchfrost, who sat about a fox length away, nodded. Glancing around, Nightchaser also found Snailwhisker with them, his small tabby body curled up in a tight ball.

    "But who would have done such a thing?" Mothpaw asked, voice panicked. "Who could have possibly given us away? Did someone really betray us or did Dawnstar figure it out on her own?"

    Swallowstorm wrapped her tail around her daughter, soothing her. "It could have been anyone, not necessarily someone within our own ranks."

    "It's still a possibility," Birchfrost said quietly, mismatched eyes troubled. "As much as all of us would like to think we were not betrayed by a fellow rebel."

    The seven of them – Nightchaser, Swallowstorm, Birchfrost, Cedarheart, Mothpaw, Cinderblossom, and Snailwhisker – fell silent.

    "So what do you plan to do now?" The new voice belonged to Bronco, the dark tabby prisoner. "What happens to us if you can't come free us?"

    "There are others," Nightchaser replied quickly. "We are only half of the group."

    "If they've figured us out they'll figure out the others too," Mothpaw whispered. "And then... Then it's all over."

    Everyone shifted uncomfortably. They knew what their fate would be.

    "I guess we just wait." Cinderblossom's voice, though quiet, still echoed about the small cave.

    Staring up at the grate blocking their only way to freedom, Nightchaser heaved a deep sigh. His paws itched to act, but what could he possibly do? They were trapped.

    The hours passed slowly. When the sun reached its zenith and began its descent, a shadow passed over the grate – a new guard come to replace the old one – but no one called down to them and they did not shout up to the world above either. Nightchaser wondered if either Goosepelt or Jaystrike were on guard duty and, if it was them, why they remained silent. Had they been the ones to turn them in?

    He shook the traitorous thoughts out of his head. It couldn't have been a fellow rebel; if it had, why had they only turned in these seven particular cats and not the others? It had to have been someone outside of the rebel circle, someone watchful and eager to please Dawnstar.

    The image of Flamestrike beside him atop the log den flashed through his mind, the words watch your back imprinted in his head forever. When the bile rose into his throat, Nightchaser shook the image out of his head. He refused to believe it.

    Darkness began to fall early, the bright blue sky suddenly crowded with heavy storm clouds. Even when the heavens opened up, unleashing their torrent upon the earth, Nightchaser remained sitting below the grate, paying no mind to the drops that hit his ears, his nose, his chest. The other prisoners retreated to the safety of the walls, out of reach of the water, and watched him with curious eyes.

    Show me a sign, Nightchaser pleaded. Everything we've done cannot have been a waste.

    He had lost track of time as the clouds obscured everything, but it must have been moonhigh when a shadow fell across the floor of the prisoner cave and, just above the grate, a ginger face appeared.

    "Nightchaser?"

    The black tom narrowed his eyes up at the figure. "Flamestrike."

    "I've come with a message from Dawnstar," the guardian continued, shuffling his paws. "You can either turn yourself in and buy the freedom of the others or you can remain here to die with them."

    "Nightchaser, no," breathed Cinderblossom from off to his left, but Nightchaser payed her no mind.

    "Interesting proposition," Nightchaser said. It was very reminiscent of Heatherstar's deal which, if he had counted correctly, would be up on the night of the new moon. If he turned himself in to Dawnstar, he would also be turning himself in to Heatherstar; two deals in one.

    "She gives you until the new moon," Flamestrike continued before turning to the other imprisoned DarkClan members. "And the rest of you can save yourselves as well. All it takes is a name or two of your fellow rebels."

    "Take your deal out of our sights," snarled Swallowstorm. "We want no part in this."

    "Willing to betray their Clan but not the other rebels," said a new voice thoughtfully. Smoketalon stepped into view just behind Flamestrike. "No sense of self-preservation whatsoever." His eyes surveyed the cats below before falling on Cinderblossom, who flinched and looked away.

    "You must have an answer by next moonhigh," Flamestrike said, this time speaking once more to Nightchaser. "You could save all of them, you know." His amber eyes flashed, a mixture of disgust and concern – for what, Nightchaser did not know. The black tom stared back at his littermate, suddenly recognizing the one emotion reflected in both of them: doubt.

    "You've already turned me in," the truth-teller said softly. "What difference does it make if I do it myself?"

    The grief in Flamestrike's face told Nightchaser all he needed to know. A moment later, the ginger warrior's features had hardened once more.

    "Tomorrow night, or all of you die," he said. Without another word, he turned away, Smoketalon lingering for only a moment longer before following suit.

    Has the darkness truly swallowed you up, brother? the imprisoned tom thought. Or are you simply better at self-preservation than we are?

    The truth-teller breathed a sigh, tensed muscles he had not noticed earlier returning to a relaxed state. Gazing back up at the grate, he followed the movements of the storm clouds, willing himself to keep calm. No matter what he did, he would lose and Dawnstar would win. If he turned himself in she would kill him and, though he wanted to believe she would let the others go, he knew she would force them to remain under DarkClan's cruel laws; if he did not turn himself in, they would be executed.

    It all made his head spin.

    Shaking out the dizziness, he looked back out at the sky. The storm clouds had shifted enough to show a bit of sky and, in that small piece of sky, shone something Nightchaser had not seen in much too long.

    A group of seven, tiny twinkling stars.

    Seven, he thought. There are seven of us trapped in this cave.

    The storm clouds moved further apart, opening up above him. Slowly, more and more of the indigo sky came into view and, with it, the pricks of light he had watched for for all those nights. The darkness, broken by their light, suddenly didn't seem so foreboding.

    "There are stars," he breathed. He rose to his paws, hardly noticing the puddle that had formed at his paws, rising onto his hind legs and reaching for the light.

    Suddenly, his vision went black, and he opened his eyes again to the swaying grasses of the moors. Before him stood a very familiar tom.

    "Sootstar," Nightchaser said.

    "Nightchaser, we see each other again at last," Sootstar mewed in response. "But we must be quick, I don't know how long before Heatherstar realizes what has happened."

    "Did you escape from her?" the black tom asked anxiously.

    "For the time being," Sootstar replied. "We are fighting our own battle up here while you fight yours down there. Quickly now, before they catch us. The others have been rounded up by Sprucetail and they plan on freeing you as the alley cats attack the camp. I don't know what your plan is but, whatever you do, do not attack the camp. DarkClan is too strong to be taken down, especially with Heatherstar's backing, and you will only lose lives. Run and hide – when the time is right, these territories will once more belong to StarClan's followers."

    "But this rebellion..." Nightchaser began haltingly, finding his words. "The whole point was to bring down DarkClan, to get rid of the darkness. On the darkest of nights, DarkClan is supposed to fall."

    "Then the darkest of nights is not yet here," Sootstar replied, looking over his shoulder. "Now go, before they catch us. StarClan will be with you, Nightchaser."

    As quickly as the vision had appeared, it faded into darkness. With a gasp, Nightchaser was throw out of the dream and he woke with a start to see many concerned faces above him. Murmurs sounded all around him, asking what had happened.

    Only Mothpaw knew. "A vision from StarClan?"

    Nightchaser, looking up at the sky, saw the twinkle of the stars once more. "Yes, StarClan is back."

    Swallowstorm drew in a sharp breath. "And what have they told you?"

    "That we must wait patiently," he said, glancing over at Cinderblossom, who had first voiced this course of action. "And that when the time comes, we will be free of DarkClan."

    A new air filled the prisoner cave, charged with excitement. Even the other prisoners, some of whom had been trapped within the cave for moons, seemed more bright-eyed.

    "I will help you, whatever the plan is," Bronco said, amber eyes meeting Nightchaser's own. The same defiance shone in them, even after moons of captivity. "Once I am finally free, DarkClan will feel my claws."

    "I too." A new tom stepped forward, dark brown in colour and sporting a very thick tail. "It's about time we returned to the alley cats, isn't it Bronco?"

    The dark tabby nodded. "We've been gone far too long."

    "We will help as well," said a white she-cat and Nightchaser remembered her as the skeptical one from when he had first told the prisoners of the attack. She stepped forward with a light grey tabby tom at her side, evidently her mate.

    The truth-teller dipped his head gratefully to each of them in turn. "You will all be free soon enough," he assured. "But, for now..." He turned once more to Cinderblossom, who sat curled up with her tail wrapped neatly over her swelling stomach.

    "We wait," she finished for him, hazel eyes shining.

    Above, the clouds were once more on the move, blocking out the light of the stars.

// Extra update this week to celebrate! I've actually finished writing the novel (as part of this year's Camp NaNo) and wanted to share this chapter today rather than waiting until Sunday. Only a couple chapters left after this one!