EOTW: Silent Sacrifice: Chapter Twenty Three

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War
Book 6: Silent Sacrifice
Chapter Twenty Three

     It was time.

     The Silent One knew it, instinctively, the moment it happened. A change came over the air. They were within the tunnels, listening to the steady murmur of the river, when it happened. Their head jerked up, ears flying forward, as if listening for something no ear could hear. Then, the cat faded away like mist.

     In a matter of moments, they reappeared on the open moorland. It was well into the night; crickets and night-birds were giving their songs, and the chill of moonlight threaded through the cat's pelt. They stood in the snow, motionless, as they tried to pin down where the sensation was coming form.

     “She's out there,” Silentstorm murmured in the mind of the Silent One. She could feel it as strongly as Rock, though she didn't understand how or why; Shade was finally ready for battle. Something was tugging their paws to the moor, to the place where the battle would be fought. And yet, even with the sensation of the coming battle in the air, she couldn't sense the Spirit of Darkness anywhere. “She must be. But where?”

     Rock's rasping mew sounded next. “She'll show herself when she's ready,” he told the warrior. “As long as she can make us wait, she holds power over the battle. She won't give that up easily. But it won't be long now.”

     Silentstorm knew he was right. She could feel it in every hair in their pelt, in the tugging at their paws, that the battle was nearing. Whatever games Shade wanted to play, it wouldn't matter for much longer. All that was left was to let their paws carry them to the battleground, and wait for Shade to arrive.

     The Silent One began padding through the snow, letting their mind wander. It had been over half a moon since Silentstorm had allowed Rock to possess her, and ten days since the Silent One had saved Silentstorm's friends on the border. Their wounds from the battle at ThunderClan's camp had long since healed, and the Silent One was back to their full strength. They could feel the strength of the stars pulsing through their blood, the power of the very light itself infused in every hair on their pelt. They were at the height of their power, and they were ready for the battle to come.

     And yet, fear pricked at the back of the Silent One's mind. Both Silentstorm and Rock knew the weight of what was at stake. The only thing that stood between the world and its total destruction from the darkness was the Silent One, and their strength to win the battle ahead. One wrong step, one wrong flash of the claws or turn of the head, and the light would be lost forever. The responsibility of all of life rested on the Silent One's shoulders, and very soon, the battle would determine which side would win.

     For a moment, the Silent One's mind flashed back to the Clans. It was well past moonhigh – they would all be asleep in their nests by now, with no idea that their fates were being decided as they dreamed. In the days since Darkbreeze had led her friends to the city, the weather had turned warmer, prey had become more plentiful, and the medicine cats had used the catmint to cure those sick with greencough. Little by little, the Clans were recovering.

     And yet, if the battle was lost, that would all be ripped away. The entire world was in danger of the darkness, but it was the thought of the Clans being destroyed that sent chills all the way to Silentstorm's bones. The Clans were her family, her love for them was in her blood, even now. Everything she had ever fought for, it could all be torn away today. Her friends, family, her precious kits, they would all be lost to the darkness if the Silent One failed.

     “Breathe,” came Rock's firm mew. “Worrying isn't going to help us win.” The Silent One was still walking calmly through the snowy moor, the body moving forward without emotion as the mind was split apart inside.

     Annoyance pricked at Silentstorm's mind. “Oh, excuse me,” she snapped at the spirit in her head. “The fate of light and dark is going to be decided today, and it's all up to the two of us to stop the dark from taking over forever. So sorry if I'm anxious about messing up and getting everyone I ever loved killed.”

     To her surprise, Rock's mew was calm, almost amused, in their shared mind. “I understand,” he murmured. “It is right to be wary – only a fool wouldn't be afraid, with all that is at stake. But we can win this battle.”

     His words did nothing to calm Silentstorm's fear, or her annoyance with the spirit. It had been Rock who had dragged her into all of this, after all, who had hid the truth at every turn and led her blindly into her fate. ”Because of some vision you had seasons ago?” Silentstorm challenged. She had already made her choice, she was willing to make the sacrifice, no matter what it took to stop the darkness. But now that the moment was so near, her resentment came creeping back. “What makes you so sure that you were right?”

     “Because I trust you,” Rock said simply.

     That was enough to surprise Silentstorm out of her anger. The Silent One's pace faltered as Silentstorm searched for a fitting reply. “Trust me?”

     “Yes.” There was no hesitation in Rock's mew. “I trust your strength in battle, your courage for the task ahead, and your loyalty to your Clan. I trust that you would die to save them, that you would fight like all of TigerClan to defend them, and that you will give everything you have in this fight.” For a moment, amusement colored his tone. “And I trust your stubbornness. You're the sort of cat to keep fighting, no matter the odds, until the last breath is drawn from you. I know you have what it takes to win this fight.”

     Silentstorm hesitated. Part of her was touched by the spirit's confidence in her. But there was still the fear of failure, and letting down everyone who would suffer at the paws of the darkness. “I just hope you're right,” she murmured.

     A soft sigh sounded from Rock's voice in their mind. “I've spent seasons beyond seasons shackled by the knowledge of everything that was to come,” he told Silentstorm. “There is a safety, and also a burden, in having the entire future laid out in front of you. But now, I know nothing for certain. The future is finally lost to me. All either of us has left is to trust each other; it's the only way we can win.”

     The warrior wavered for a moment. Then, her resolve hardened. “I can't say I always like you,” she told the tom. It was easier to be frank when they shared the same mind. “But I trust that you want the darkness defeated as much as I do. We'll hold each other to that today.”

     While the two halves of the mind had been talking, the Silent One had finally reached their destination. They came to a neat halt in the middle of a hollow on the moor. Somehow, without being told, they knew that this was the place. They sat, tail wrapped neatly around their paws as they waited for their enemy to arrive.

     “Not long now,” Silentstorm murmured.

     She was right. The Silent One hadn't been sitting very long before a soft rustling sounded nearby. They stood as another cat padded towards them, her paws hardly making a sound on the snow.

     “Shade,” the Silent One greeted coolly, Rock and Silentstorm speaking as one.

     The cat in front of them gave a small, mocking dip of her head. Just like last time, the Silent One could feel the way that Shade's presence seeped from every pore of Scorch's body. Shade had overwhelmed her host, pushing her out of every inch of her own pelt, filling the cat's body with her own pulsing, shapeless mass of power and darkness. All that was left of Scorch was a tiny sliver in the back of her own mind, barely aware of her surroundings.

     “Hello, Silent One,” Shade crooned, lifting her head again. Though her tone was light, the Silent One could sense her frustration; she had wanted Silentstorm dead long before this moment could come to pass. “So, Rock, you're letting your little plaything call the shots? I knew you were soft, but I thought you had a bit more pride than that.” She gave a dismissive flick of her tail, her sneer cold with indifference. “These cats are like insects under our claws. They can't even begin to comprehend the power we hold. They're ours to play with as we please.”

     The Silent One betrayed no emotion, calmly facing their enemy. “If you think that, you understand nothing,” they mewed simply.

     Shade waited a few moments longer, waiting for more. When she realized she wasn't going to get any more, she gave a lash of her tail, seeming irritated with the Silent One's cryptic answer. “You're the one who should have learned not to underestimate darkness, old fool,” she snarled. She brought her chin up sharply, sneering, “Enough talk. Let's finish this.”

     “Wait.” Shade had started to move to attack, but halted at the Silent One's brief command. They could sense Shade's impatience, but also her curiosity. “Before we begin, there is something we must do.”

     “And what's that?” Shade asked, lips curled in a sneer.

     The Silent One's mew grew firm as they said, “This battle must stay between us. We both have the power to call light and dark spirits to fight beside us – but this battle is not for them to fight.”

     Shade gave a mocking purr. “What's the matter, Silent One?” she cooed. “Afraid some of your precious StarClan spirits will die horribly today if I call some friends to fight on my behalf?”

     “When this battle is finished, there will be plenty of time for spirits of light or dark to do as they wish, depending on who wins,” the Silent One pointed out coolly. “Will it really benefit you to lose your dark spirits to this fight, even if you win? Leave them to terrorize the living another day.”

     Shade paused, hesitating. In truth, Shade was entirely correct; Silentstorm was afraid of her ancestors sacrificing their spirits to fight on her behalf. But she knew that Shade feared the same thing, for different reasons. If she called Dark Forest spirits to fight for her, then the Silent One would call spirits from the light realms to retaliate. Whichever spirit won, some of their army would be lost, and Shade would have less cats to use to torment the living after the battle.

     “Very well,” Shade finally mewed. “But how do I know you won't go back on your end of the deal?”

     The Silent One lifted their chin. “We'll lock the light and dark realms before either of us lifts a claw,” they said firmly. “No spirits can get in, or out, until the battle is over. Whoever wins can unlock whichever realms they choose.”

     Shade mulled their suggestion over for a few moments, before giving a short nod. “Fine,” she sniffed. “I didn't need those little fleas to help beat you anyway.”

     The Silent One closed their eyes, as did Shade. Even as they focused their mind on closing off the light realms, they could feel the switch in the air, like a shifting of stones, as Shade locked off the Dark Forest. There was another shift as The Silent One reached out to the borders of the light realms. Finally, it was done. StarClan, the Tribe of Endless Hunting, they were all closed off from the living. Whoever won would decide whether they would be opened again.

     The tension between the two cats had been building, the anticipation of battle crackling like lighting in the air. Now, the moment had arrived. Without a word between them, the two cats began circling each other, their hackles beginning to bristle. The Silent One heard the rustle of Shade's claws against the snow, and let their own claws slide free of their sheathes, their tail lashing slowly behind them.

     Even as the Silent One moved forward, something was shifting in their mind, a relinquishing of control. “You're the fighter, Silentstorm,” Rock murmured. Slowly, Silentstorm felt control of her own muscles return to her. “You know the steps and patterns of battle better than an old spirit like me. I will give you my strength, and power – you will guide us through the movement of battle.”

     Fear still pricked at the back of Silentstorm's mind. She knew that the battle's loss or win would be down to her, with Rock there for guidance. But slowly, she began to feel something like hope. Rock was right; she knew battle inside and out. She had felt the thrill of it, had learned every move and strategy that Ivypool had taught her, had learned the precision and deftness of claw by heart. This was what she was good at. She could win this battle. She would win this battle – for her own sake, for the sake of the Clans, for the sake of every creature that lived under the light.

     Across from them, Shade curled her lip in a sneer. “What's the matter, kitty?” she sneered. “Getting scared?”

     Silentstorm took a deep breath. She felt Rock's seasons of experience, and his knowledge, flowing through her blood, her mind and strategy backed by his power. The Silent One, fully realized.

     Without any word of command or warning, the Silent One and Shade both sprang at each other.