Secret of the Lily

Prologue
"Topaz! Come here, Topaz! Aww, good girl..."

"I love you, Topaz! You're never leaving me..."

The spotted she-cat's mind whirled as flashbacks whizzed in her mind, haunting her.

''There were muffled cries as pale, tall, lanky cream shapes weeped. "Topaz has been gone for months... She's dead! I just know it!"''

"We'll get a new cat, dear. I promise."

I'm sorry, the she-cat managed to think as her head ached from all the memories and visions of the present.

''"I saw a cat who looked just like Topaz in that creepy pine forest... Do you think she misses us?" The she-cat's favourite Twoleg whimpered, her voice quivering with hope.''

''"Or maybe she's dead!" A male sneer came from the background.''

''"Hey! Don't say that! I love Topaz!" The favourite Twoleg shrieked again, her sobs like thunder.''

The spotted she-cat let out a groan of pain, as one last vision flooded through her mind, piercing her heart like a bramble spiking her fur.

''"Topaz, you haven't come back for so long. You may be... uh..." The female Twoleg's speech paused, her voice quavering with every word. "Th-this is a memorial for you... We love you, Topaz. I love you."''

Awakening from the horrible visions, the spotted she-cat groaned, her once glittering yellow eyes dull.

"About time that vicious rat woke up." A deep, throaty snarl sounded from a far, far way away. ''Where am I? '' It seemed as though she was in a dungeon, and it was slick, wet rock - possibly from the snowmelt. ''But how would snowmelt get all the way down here? It's obvious I'm far away from the entrance to this dungeon or whatever it is. ''

A long, winding channel of darkness and shadow lay ahead, the faintest, smallest beam of light up ahead in a jagged circle. ''A... tunnel?''

The spotted she-cat jumped back with a start as she spotted gleaming green eyes from the dark - the poor she-cat knew that this cat's villainous green eyes were focused on her, and looking quite determined. The she-cat caught the outline of pricked ears as the bulky tom padded into her dungeon; she could barely see him, despite squinting as hard as she could.

"Already looking slender - no, skinny. Worthless and pathetic fool. Catch that, Furyheart?" The huge tom yowled.

"Yes, Bloodstar!" A female voice responded. The spotted she-cat's fur prickled uneasily - she recognised that voice... She rocked her brain for memories, traces of what had happened before she was taken, the voices who hissed and snarled to her, the last glimpse of her sweet daughters... Yes! That was it. The voice from above was the she-cat who stole her. But the tom - Bloodstar, as he was addressed to - in front of the she-cat was very different. A bad difference, too. He snorted, his glowing green eyes flickering with amusement like green flames.

"It's quite amusing that she's so thin. She was as plump as a kittypet when we took her." Bloodstar snidely remarked, a sly grin curling around his muscular chin. The spotted she-cat couldn't help herself from retorting,

"Actually, I was already quite thin, mind you. It's leaf-bare!" She spat.

"Oh yes, but you're forgetting where you are. Where we are. As you can see, every rib of mine is literally jutting out of my skin!" Bloodstar spat, rotating his body so the pale light from above caught his skinny stomach. The she-cat sighed, too sad and weary to even roll her eyes. Bloodstar nosed a small bird with a long tail towards her, and the she-cat's nose twitched with delight as the scent of fresh magpie put her in a glorious trance. But suddenly, the delicious fresh-kill was yanked away with a crush of teeth.

"Yoink! Haha, I know you wanted that magpie. Look at your eyes dilate..." Bloodstar murmured, the lifeless magpie pierced on his long, threatening claw as he waved it around in the air. Caught by a wave of exhaustion, the spotted she-cat was way too exhausted to even look up. The she-cat heard a shrill call as the magpie Bloodstar was playing with fluttered its wings, awakening. "What the?!" He shrieked, fury burning in his eyes. How stupid that they don't properly kill their prey.

There was a sickening crunch as the mangy tom in front of the spotted she-cat popped the magpie into his mouth. "Well... it's dead now." he mumbled through a mouthful.

"Why tease me with prey?" The spotted she-cat growled. "How cruel, you know I'm practically starved in here!" She drooped her head, her calm, loving exterior gone from being stuck in here for what might've been days.

"You she-cats. So ungrateful...  No. You get rotten food for being a rotten cat." His sudden mew made the she-cat's head jerk up. A bird was clamped in Bloodstar's jaws, his green gaze locked with the she-cat's yellow eyes. The fresh-kill fell from his jaws as his lips curled into a wordless, menacing snarl. His eyes were narrowed into slits, "Now... Eat. It." He took one more stride toward the she-cat, kicking the fresh-kill until its still beak touched the spotted cat's nose. Except it wasn't fresh-kill. She visibly recoiled at the strong, dank stench flowing from the carcass of a limp pheasant.

"It's crow-food!" The spotted she-cat commented, glancing at the rotting flesh and mangy feathers. She shuddered at the thought of maggots crawling beneath it.

Bloodstar met her with a cold stare. "Yes, genius. It is, too bad." He meowed plainly, his green eyes mocking her. But the she-cat couldn't worry about that now, another thought was dancing on her mind.

"Where are my daughters?"

"Dead." Bloodstar paused, purring as he saw the she-cat's jaw drop open. His purr was unlike any other cat; it sounded like a monster, a dog, a fox, a badger, lightning, thunder and a jaguar curled up into one terrible beast of a feline. "Just kidding. You need a punishment for being so ungrateful... I wonder..." the big tom tapped his chin lightly with a curved, broken claw. His claws were all curved, broken, jagged and twisted. But they still seemed so powerful. Bloodstar finally ordered after what seemed like an eternity, "Ragenight! Bring the kit in."

''A kit? Then that means... Oh no...''

A matted black tom with a brown tabby tail, unusually long fangs and deep golden eyes stepped forward, a small, squealing shape hanging from his powerful jaws. That's the tom who hurt my dear Foxpaw! He dropped the small she-kit roughly, and the tiny creature hit the rock with a thump, her blue-grey body crumpled. The blue-grey she-kit had darker blue-grey tiger-like stripes, and with a shudder the spotted she-cat realised how similar her stripes looked to one of her daughter's - Wolfpaw's.

Wolfpaw didn't even come on that walk...

Big, innocent midnight blue eyes looked up at the spotted she-cat in fear. "You wouldn't," the she-cat hissed, her voice and body shaking. She narrowed her eyes to the big, evil (as the she-cat thought he was) tom in front of her, his eyes gleaming in pleasure. With a flick of his tail, Ragenight rushed forward. "No!" the she-cat yowled, pausing the two rogue toms for a moment. Ragenight seized the spotted she-cat, his claws digging into her head raised in agony. She let out a piercing shriek as he slashed her flank, large gashes opening up like dripping, red blossoms.

"Bind her up! Quick!" The horrible Bloodstar yowled. Thick forest green vines clasped around the spotted she-cat's legs, and the thickest one was thrown across her neck and muzzle, clamping her jaws together tightly. The she-cat let out a muffled scream, her sharp teeth aching from the pressure.

"Too late," Ragenight hissed, lashing his tail to and fro. Bloodstar turned to the kit, squinting at it.

"I'm going to have a lot of fun with this one." He hissed. The spotted she-cat stared back desperately, blood welling at her muzzle after a fierce blow across the nose from Ragenight. Bloodstar held up the blue-grey she-kit with his teeth, turning his head slowly around, possibly testing how it would react. "Some more violence for me. Good, since being leader of a band of rogues who stick closely to my rules gets boring after a while." Bloodstar mused. He dropped the kit, reared up on his hind legs, and caught the she-kit in his large claws. He rocked his forepaws side to side, cooing silkily to the terrified she-kit, "Aww, sweet little Rainkit. You're about to hear the best lullaby of your life... Your own dying screams."

"You're a psychopath," The spotted she-cat spat, the only three words she could muster with her lips pressed tightly together. "Leave Rainkit alone," she choked out. She fixed her yellow eyes desperately on Bloodstar's claws... and Rainkit.

"Aww, how sad!" Bloodstar mimicked. "Oh, oops!" he hissed as he forced an exaggerated lunge. Rainkit squealed hopelessly as she found herself slipping through the tom's claws, then crashing onto the hard wet rock below, darkness swallowing its crumpled body.

"No!" The spotted she-cat shrieked, pain filling her heart. Bloodstar slammed his massive claws into the back of Rainkit's neck, and they were so ginormous compared to the she-kit's little body to the point they were bigger than her. The tom smirked, letting out a low hiss as his claws ripped through Rainkit's back, shredding open skin and fur. Scarlet blood drops scattered everywhere as Rainkit shrieked in agony, writhing among Bloodstar's claws uselessly. Swiftly, Bloodstar scooped up Rainkit, blood pulsing from her neck and spinal wounds, then he slammed her into a sharp, jagged rock on the side of the cave wall, her skull stabbed. Rainkit let out a final yowl, soon cut off as connection to her respiratory system failed due to the brain wound after the protective case was cracked open. Bloodstar flung the long, delicate blue-grey body over his shoulder, not even glancing back at his kill.

"Perfect," he purred his monstrous, scary purr again. Lapping up the glistening blood off his claws, he spun around and with Ragenight following, slipped away with drumming paw-steps into the endless night - the darkness swallowing them like the clouds overtaking the sun.

''My name is Sorrelflower, mother of eight, and I will mourn for dear Rainkit. Just like my own daughter.''