Prophecy of the Runes

Skystar moved her paws through the churning water. She saw the tip of Mintypaw's head barely above the surface. She lunged for her apprentice, but a scream came from the she-cat, and she was dragged under. "NO!" Skystar yowled, plunging into the water where Mintypaw had disappeared. Skystar felt her body hurled down, down, down into the deep water. She hit the bottom, except it was no longer the bottom.

She was lying in a grassy field. The sandy she-cat raised her head to see Light Stones, where she had recived her nine lives. It must be a dream from StarClan, she thought. But what are they trying to tell me?

A voice suddenly echoed around the clearing. No, not just one voice. It was a multitude of voices, tom and she-cat, kit and elder, honey smooth to claw sharp. But all the voices uttered the same words....

The red sun will rise. The dawn of destruction is coming. The dove will fly to the heavens. A notch will leave it's mark in the clan. But through this pain, only a child of the darkness can save us all.

"Ngah!!" Skystar woke in her den, panting heavily. A scruffle was heard outside her den. Mintypaw poked her head in. "Skystar? Are you okay?" Skystar stared at her apprentice, remembering how her head had been sucked underwater in her dream.

"I'm okay," she managed. "Go back to sleep. Everything's fine."

Liar, she told herself.

~~~~~~

Far away, on a hill shrouded in darkness by the twisting branches of a tree, a cat the color of liquid night sat at attention under the skyscraping branches. His eyes glowed pale yellow, matching the moon who's light dappled his fur. The light also touched the long scar on his left side, exposing the pale pink skin to all cats who wished to look upon him.

This cat opened his mouth, showing his razor-sharp teeth, and yowled to the empty clearing. Wait, did I say empty? The space around the hill was filled with cats of all shapes and sizes. "Bring the prisoner forward," the black cat growled with a voice like the scraping of bone on rock. Three cats emerged from the mass below the hill.

One, a ginger she-cat, held herself like StarClan been her idea. Her green eyes glinted with malice. On her left side, a brown and white tom limped on three legs. His front left paw was horribly twisted, and there was a pink scar where one of his eyes should have been.

The black cat watched, impassive, his eyes fixed on the third member of the party: a young chestnut tabby she-cat.

The she-cat met his eyes and stared on, trying not to let her fear show. The black cat's gaze took in every inch of the apprentice-aged cat: her chestnut fur, her purple eyes, the spot of white on her chest, her three white paws.

"So, this is the infamous Purple-Eyed One," the black cat choked out a laugh. The tabby she-cat flashed him a piercing stare. "My name is-"

"Never mind what your name is!" the black cat growled, suddenly serious, turning to the ginger cat. "How did you catch her?"

The ginger cat smiled evily. "She was sleeping under a tree. It took us a while to find her, the little pest had covered herself in leaves to disguise her scent."

"Excellent work Flare," the black cat hissed.

The brown and white tom who was missing an eye spoke up in a low, smooth voice, "What do we do now, Shadow?"

"Now the uncatchable one tells us what we need to know," Shadow hissed. "Go ahead, Purple-Eyed One. Tell us the information."

"You tell me something first," the chestnut cat demanded. "Tell me what you did with my family." Her eyes were hard, like chips of amethysts.

"All you need to know," hissed Shadow. "Is that we are your new family. Now, about that information?"

"Never!", hissed the purple-eyed cat.

"Then we will have to use a little....persuasion. Flare, will you do the honors?"

Flare held up a paw, her claws glinting in the moonlight. "With pleasure."