Chapter Six

I saw shadowy cats watching me from behind trees, sets of red eyes glowing from every bush. My beloved forest now haunted me, and I could've sworn I kept seeing a cat watching me from the shadows.

Voices began whispering in the wind that rattled the trees.

Look at the pathetic Bumblestripe!

Alone in life, and he'll be alone in death too!

Kill Dovewing you weakling!

Or just kill that mouse-brain Tigerheart!

Scared to kill? You are more of a coward than a kit!

"Stop!" I screeched aloud.

"Who are you talking too?" A shape melted out of the shadows. I stiffened before seeing the familiar face of Icecloud.

I sighed dejectedly.

Icecloud seemed concerned. "What's wrong? Is it Dovewing?"

I backed away as her coat seemed to change colors before my eyes. The fluffy white fur smoothed into a sleek dark brown pelt, and the icy blue eyes flashed a dark amber.

Before me stood the young, handsome tom that I hated the most. Tigerheart.

The scent of ShadowClan filled my nostrils and I unsheathed my claws. "What are you doing in ThunderClan territory?"

Tigerheart opened his mouth. "What do you mean?"

The voice didn't sound quite like his. It was smoother and softer, more ingratiating. "What's wrong with your voice?" I asked.

Tigerheart's eyes widened. "I'm sorry?"

Momentarily, I was jolted back to reality. Tigerheart's massive, muscular frame shrunk back into the skinny form of Icecloud.

I blinked a few times, certain that the pungent odor of ShadowClan still lingered in my nostrils, and shook my head as confusion filled my mind. "I don't know what's wrong with me. That stupid she-cat didn't just steal my heart; she stole my sanity too. I just... I just don't know what to do."

Icecloud looked uneasy and I couldn't blame her. I probably looked crazy...maybe I was crazy.

My world spun. A shadowy haze of blackness threatened to envelop me, to swallow me whole. I could distantly feel my legs collapsing beneath me. I fought my way back to consciousness to find Tigerheart standing over me, a triumphant gleam in his amber eyes, whispering, "She's mine."

I struggled to rise to my paws. To my surprise, Tigerheart helped me stand, shoving his shoulder against my side and pushing me onto my feet. The ShadowClan scent was overwhelming and I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

Tigerheart lifted his head. "She loves me and she couldn't give a mouse-tail about you!"

Rage made my vision blur to a red mist. My claws had eyes of their own; they aimed on their own accord at Tigerheart's throat. The tom shrieked in surprise and fell to the ground. A paroxysm of coughing seized him and scarlet blood bubbled in his throat. A spasm passed through his body as he struggled to suck air into his lungs. After a few heartbeats, the ShadowClan warrior fell still.

I turned my back on the dead tom, still quivering with fury. "You deserved it." I kicked dust over the lifeless body. "You deserved to die."

I looked over my shoulder. "You never deserved to live a...at..."

My words caught in my throat. "At all..." What have I done?

I hadn't killed Tigerheart after all. I had murdered my kind, caring, innocent Clanmate. Icecloud was dead and there was nothing I could do to change it.