Chapter 28

                                    

                                          
Sandstorm sprang forward and burst through the curtain of lichen. Goldenflower and Oakstar were writhing on the floor of the den. Oakstar's claws scored again and again across Goldenflower's shoulder, but the deputy's greater weight kept her pinned down in the soft sand. Goldenflower's fangs were buried in her throat, and his powerful claws raked her back.
"Traitor!" Sandstorm yowled. He flung himself at Goldenflower, slashing at his eyes. The deputy reared back, forced to release his grip on Oakstar's throat. Sandstorm felt his claws rip through the deputy's ear, spraying blood into the air.
Oakstar scrambled to the side of the den, looking half stunned. Sandstorm could not tell how badly hurt she was. Pain lanced through him as Goldenflower gashed his side with a blow from his powerful hindpaws. Sandstorm's paws skidded in the sand and he lost his balance, hitting the ground with Godlenflower on top of him.
The deputy's yellow eyes blazed into his. "Mouse dung!" he hissed. "I'll flay you, Sandstorm. I've waited a long time for this."
Sandstorm summoned every scrap of skill and strength he possessed. He knew Goldenflower could kill him, but in spite of that he felt strangely free. The lies and the need for deceit were over. The secrets—Oakstar's and Goldenflower's—were all out in the open. There was only the clean danger of battle.
He aimed a blow at Goldenflower's throat, but the deputy swung his head to one side and Sandstorm's claws scraped harmlessly through thick tabby fur. But the blow had loosened Goldenflower's grip on him. Sandstorm rolled away, narrowly avoiding a killing bite to his neck.
"Kittypet!" Goldenflower taunted, flexing his haunches to pounce again. "Come and find out how a real warrior fights." He threw himself at Sandstorm, but at the last moment Sandstorm darted aside. As Goldenflower tried to turn in the narrow den, his paws slipped on a splash of blood and he crashed awkwardly onto one side.
At once Sandstorm saw his chance. His claws sliced down to open a gash in Goldenflower's belly. Blood welled up, soaking into the deputy's fur. He let out a high-pitched caterwaul. Sandstorm pounced on him, raking claws across his belly again, and fastening his teeth into Goldenflower's neck. The deputy struggled vainly to free himself, his thrashing growing weaker as the blood flowed.
Sandstorm let go of his neck, planting one paw on Goldenflower's outstretched foreleg, and the other on his chest. "Oakstar!" he called. "Help me hold him down!"
Oakstar was crouching behind him in her moss-lined nest. Blood trickled down her forehead, but that did not alarm Sandstorm as much as the look in her eyes. They were a vague, cloudy amber, and she stared horror-struck in front of her as if she was witnessing the destruction of everything she had ever worked for.
When Sandstorm spoke, she jumped like a cat woken suddenly from sleep. Moving with dreamlike slowness, she crossed the den and pinned herself across Goldenflower's hindquarters, trapping him. Even with wounds that would have stunned a lesser cat, Goldenflower still fought to free himself. His yellow eyes burned with hatred as he spat curses at Sandstorm and Oakstar.
A shadow fell across the entrance to the den and Sandstorm heard hoarse, ragged breathing. He turned his head, expecting to see one of the invaders, but it was Silverstream. Dismay flooded over Sandstorm at the sight of his friend. He was bleeding heavily from his flank and one foreleg, and blood bubbled from his mouth as he stammered. "Oakstar, we—" He broke off, staring. "Sandstorm, what's happening?"
"Goldenflower attacked Oakstar," Sandstorm told him quickly. "We were right all along. He is a traitor. He brought the rogues to attack us."
Silverstream went on staring, and then shook himself as if he had just climbed out of deep water. "We're losing the fight," he meowed. "There are too many of them. Oakstar, we need your help."