Melt

Prologue

The clearing was alive with chaos. Cats wreathing on the ground as their opponets tore through fur and flesh with blood-soaked claws, the screaming of losing warriors, and the hot reek of blood and fear. A queen leaped to her mate's aid, who lay limp on the ground, and tore her claws across the face of the attacker, only to be hit with a blow of retaliation that ended her life with a sharp crack of her neck. Two apprentices, siblings, lashed out desperately at their attacker; the bigger tabby lunged at them and sank it's teeth into the she-cat's throat, cutting off her gurgled wail. Her brother tried to run, but the claws were already in his tail, yanking him back so they could tear his belly open.

A pale ginger she-cat crouched in the bushes at the edge of the clearing, her blue eyes huge as she pressed against her trembling kits. A young white tom rolled past her bush, eyes meeting hers through the branches; he yowled and reached his claws in, trying to hook them into the pelt of one of the kits, but the ginger cat sank her teeth into the paw with a scream and he pulled back with a hiss, tumbling away. "Sunwhisker?" The queen whirled around, fur fluffing up; cramped into the bush like this, there was no room for her to fight to defend her kits, but she wasn't about to go down without a fight. Her eyes darkened when she took in the cat standing before her, a huge black and white tom. His green eyes flashed when they took in the three tiny kits huddled against the she-cat's belly.

"Are you going to kill them, too, Blackshade?" Sunwhisker spat, her tail lashing once. "Are you going to kill your kits like you killed Cinderwing's?" Blackshade stiffened, a low growl rumbling through his throat.

"The death of Cinderwing's kits wasn't my fault!" He snapped, fur bristling. "They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time!"

"She's your sister!" Sunwhisker roared, making the kits flinch. "They were your kin! And you murdered them!" Blackshade shook his head, growling, but didn't bother arguing.

"I'm going to get you out, Sunwhisker," He whispered, closing his eyes. "The Clan may not think of you as innocent any more but I know you still are. As are the kits. I can help you out." The ginger queen growled and looked down at the three tiny kits at her paws. She lifted her blue eyes to Blackshade's.

"Fine," She growled, claws digging into the soil. "Get us out. Save your kits. Just know it won't make up for killing Cinderwing's." Blackshade sighed, his long tail swishing.

"Nothing'll ever make up for that," He murmured, shaking his head. "Now let's go. Follow me." He stooped and sank his teeth into the loose scruff of one of the kits, turning so Sunwhisker could lift the second onto his back. She scooped up the third and nodded at Blackshade to lead the way. Making sure the kit on his back was holding on, Blackshade crawled out from under the bush and held the branches aside so Sunwhisker could shove past them.

"This way," The black and white tom mumbled around the kit in his jaws. He pointed with his nose toward the west side of the clearing, though nothing was visible through the mass of fighting cats. "There's a fox's hole that has two exits. We'll be able to get halfway across the territory, where we can run without being seen." And with that, he took off, the kit in his jaws bouncing with every stride. Sunwhisker gave this only a moment's thought before racing after him.

Sunwhisker's heart pounded; she was positive someone was going to knock into her, pull her away from Blackshade and fight her till her and the kit were dead. Only once did a huge gray tom block her path and prepare to attack, but was sent reeling with one blow across the eyes from Blackshade, who stared after the fleeing tom with a look of ice.

Sunwhisker bumped into something warm and sturdy, automatically screeching before noticing it was Blackshade, who had stopped at a thick bramble bush. He nudged her flank until she rolled under the bush, and a moment later the tom joined her, struggling to fit his shoulders in the cramped space.

"The tunnel's here," He murmured, brushing some bracken away with a paw to reveal a dark hole reeking of fox. "Don't worry, we chased the fox off moons ago. It's one tunnel, just follow it until you get to the exit." He turned so Sunwhisker could pry the kit off his back, and she set it down with a scowl.

"You're not coming with us?" She hated that her voice shook, and wrapped her tail tightly around her kits.

"I can't. They'll notice if I'm gone. You'll be fine once you're out of the tunnels, just head out of territory - and no matter what, don't come back. Ever. You'll be counted as a traitor and slaughtered if you do, whether or not you have the kits with you." The ginger queen whimpered but nodded, and began to usher her kits together and into the tunnel.

"And, Sunwhisker?" She twisted her neck around to look back at Blackshade - and for a moment he was the tom she fell in love with again. Young and cocky, all sleek black and white fur and broad shoulders and green eyes. But then the screeching of dying cats broke through the vision and he was a bloodthirsty monster again, the monster that had killed his own sister's kits and turned his Clan against itself and forced her to assist him.

"What?"

"Be careful." Sunwhisker mashed her lips together and nodded once before plunging into the tunnel. Leaving her mate and the war of her old Clan behind.

Chapter One

Coming soon!