Tallstar's Revenge (17 page)

C
HAPTER
15

“Tallpaw!” Claws grabbed his flanks and
dragged him backward. “Stop!”

Tallpaw slammed to the ground as Dawnstripe knocked his legs from under him. His chin hit the grass with a thump. He struggled to his paws and glared at her. “What are you doing?”

She glared back. “They're
allowed
to be here.”

Tallpaw blinked.

“It's their route to Mothermouth.”

Tallpaw's pelt burned.
What a rabbit-brain!
Swallowing, he turned and faced the ThunderClan warriors. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Dawnstripe nodded toward the younger cats. “Fuzzypaw and Robinpaw are probably going to share tongues with StarClan at the Moonstone. That's right, isn't it, Dappletail?”

The tortoiseshell let her fur lie flat again. “Yes. Thank you, Dawnstripe.”

The gray warrior's whiskers twitched. “I thought we were going to get shredded for a moment.”

Tallpaw fluffed out his chest. “I could shred—”

Dawnstripe padded in front of him before he could finish. “You know how eager apprentices can be.” She dipped her head to the gray tom. “Windflight, I'm sorry if he alarmed you.”

Fuzzypaw peered around Dawnstripe at Tallpaw. “We thought he was a rabbit,” he mewed.

Tallpaw shook out his black-and-white fur. “You must have some weird-looking rabbits in the forest.”

Robinpaw sniffed. “Not as weird-looking as you.”

“I'm sure you'll want to be on your way,” Dawnstripe meowed firmly. As she shooed them away with a flick of her tail, Aspenfall and Stagleap caught up.

Aspenfall's gaze flashed toward Tallpaw. “You managed to stop the war, then?”

“Only just,” Dawnstripe muttered.

“Your apprentice is very fast,” Windflight meowed generously.

“That's true,” Dawnstripe agreed. “He'll be a good warrior when he's learned a little common sense.”

“I forgot about the routes to Mothermouth over the moor.” Tallpaw felt the fur bristle along his spine.
“Okay?”

Stagleap nudged his shoulder. “Come on. Let's check the border anyway.” He headed down the slope, weaving through the bracken stems.

Relieved to escape the stares of the ThunderClan apprentices, Tallpaw padded after him, breaking into a run when he reached a flat stretch of grass. He hared after Stagleap, the wind streaming through his pelt. Pushing harder with every stride, Tallpaw realized how easily he was gaining on the stocky, young warrior. He curved his spine deeper, stretched out farther, and within moments he was neck and neck with Stagleap. He relaxed, matching his pace to Stagleap's.

Stagleap glanced sideways at him as the moor sloped more steeply toward the Fourtrees border, and both cats slowed. “Have you grown?”

“You've shrunk,” Tallpaw teased. He could taste the air growing rich with the scent of tree sap as the sweet smell of heather faded behind them.

Stagleap pulled up first as they reached the scent line, and Tallpaw scrambled to a halt a moment later, skidding across the border half a tail-length before leaping back onto WindClan territory. Through the trees, he could just make out the tops of the Great Oaks at Fourtrees.

“This way.” Stagleap led him along the trees toward a thicket of brambles that spilled out of the trees nearer to ShadowClan territory. Tallpaw swerved to avoid the tangle of prickly branches, glad that the brambles on the moor were few and far between. He'd hate to be trapped among thorns, unable to run without snagging his pelt at every turn. He sniffed gingerly at a bramble tendril, scared a prickle might lose its grip and let a branch whip across his muzzle.

The fresh scent of pinesap bathed his tongue.
ShadowClan?
There was bound to be ShadowClan scent here, Tallpaw reminded himself. They were tail-lengths from the border. And yet the scent smelled fresh, as though many pelts had brushed past not long ago. Tallpaw glanced at Stagleap. Should he say something?

His ear twitched. He wasn't ready to make another rabbit-brained mistake. Not so soon. There was probably a good reason that there was ShadowClan scent here. Perhaps a ShadowClan patrol was on its way to the Moonstone, too. Perhaps the jumble of smells had drifted over the border and clung to the brambles. Surely if something were wrong, Stagleap would have noticed it?

Stagleap was veering away from Fourtrees and heading for the ShadowClan border line as it sloped toward the Thunderpath. Tallpaw knew that the ShadowClan camp was on the far side of the Thunderpath, but they had spread their scent marks on this side too, along the edge of the trees as far as the hollow with the Great Oaks. WindClan didn't object; they didn't want the trees for themselves.

Tallpaw caught up to his Clanmate. “Did you smell anything?” he asked casually. “Back there, I mean.”

“Only the wind.” Stagleap paused as Aspenfall and Dawnstripe appeared at the crest of the hill. He called to them. “Has ThunderClan declared war?”

Aspenfall's tail quivered. “They know it was an honest mistake.”

Dawnstripe pulled up beside Tallpaw. “How's the border?” She sniffed the air. “Have you started marking it?”

“Not yet.” Tallpaw realized that he'd been so busy worrying about ShadowClan scent, he'd forgotten to leave his own. He quickly sprayed a clump of grass and followed Stagleap down the slope. After a few strides, he paused and scanned the hillside. Far away, along the Thunderpath, he could see the ThunderClan patrol, specks now. Tallpaw winced as he imagined the story the apprentices would tell on their return, of a rabbit-brained WindClan apprentice who thought they were attacking WindClan at a steady walk.

He suddenly noticed that Stagleap had slowed. The dark brown warrior sniffed the grass, padded forward a tail-length, then sniffed again. His hackles rose.

“Is something wrong?” Aspenfall asked.

“I keep getting whiffs of ShadowClan on this side of the border.”

Aspenfall trotted over and ran his muzzle across the grass. He wrinkled his nose.

Dawnstripe opened her mouth. “I can smell it from here,” she growled. “A ShadowClan patrol has crossed the border.”

“They didn't go far.” Stagleap was checking the grass deeper into WindClan territory. “There's no scent here.”

“Why would they cross at all?” Aspenfall asked.

Tallpaw glanced up the slope toward the brambles. “I smelled ShadowClan up there, too.”

Aspenfall jerked his head up and stared at him. “Why didn't you say?”

“I thought they might be on their way to the Moonstone like the ThunderClan cats.”

“ShadowClan doesn't need to cross our territory to reach the Moonstone,” Aspenfall snapped. “Their camp is on the other side of the Thunderpath, just like Highstones.”

Tallpaw gulped. “There were
a lot
of scents up there.”

Aspenfall broke into a run and bounded up the slope. Dawnstripe raced after him with Stagleap at her heels. Tallpaw followed, his heart pounding. What had he done? He caught up with his Clanmates as they investigated the bramble thicket.

Aspenfall dodged back and forth, sniffing leaves. “There are too many scents to count.”

“Why didn't you mention this before, Tallpaw?” Dawnstripe's pelt was spiked along her spine.

“I didn't want to be wrong again.” Tallpaw felt cold. “What does it mean?”

“A huge ShadowClan patrol has crossed the border.” Stagleap had his muzzle pressed to the ground, following a line of trampled grass across the moor. “They headed this way.”

“Toward the camp!” Aspenfall charged past Stagleap and plunged into the heather.

Dawnstripe launched herself across the grass. “Come on, Tallpaw!”

Tallpaw bolted after her, Stagleap racing at his side. Tallpaw ran faster than he'd ever run before. Stagleap fell behind as Tallpaw pushed harder, hearing nothing but the blood roaring in his ears. Aspenfall and Dawnstripe were just a few paces ahead of him, swerving along a rabbit trail through a dense swathe of gorse and then bursting into the clearing outside camp.

Yowls rang out beyond the heather wall. An agonized screech. A terrified wail.

Dawnstripe skidded to a halt. Tallpaw slammed into her flank as Aspenfall pulled up beside her. “Why are we stopping?” Tallpaw gasped.

Stagleap caught up with them, panting.

“Fetch the patrol that's hunting near the RiverClan border!” Dawnstripe ordered Tallpaw. “We'll need every spare warrior.”

“I want to fight!” Tallpaw protested. If it hadn't been for him missing the first signs of invasion, they might have stopped the ShadowClan patrol from reaching the camp.

“I'll go.” Aspenfall hurtled away.

“Okay, then.” Dawnstripe stared at Tallpaw. “Are you ready?”

Tallpaw nodded. “Ready.”

“Come on!” With a battle yowl, Dawnstripe raced through the entrance. Tallpaw shot after her, Stagleap crowding his heels. Tallpaw burst out of the heather, claws unsheathed, and stared in horror.

The camp seethed with snarling cats. Tails lashed. Paws flailed. The stench of pinesap mingled with the tang of blood. At the center Stonetooth, the ShadowClan deputy, reared up on his hind paws, teeth bared.

“Spare no one!” he snarled, slamming his paws down on Hareflight's spine. Hareflight rolled clear and leaped to his paws, hissing.

Tallpaw looked around, frozen.

“Circle the clearing and pick off the outsiders!” Dawnstripe ordered before she leaped into the middle of the fighting. As she disappeared beneath a huge tabby, Tallpaw scanned the edges of the camp.

Algernon and Bess were outside the nursery: one ducking, the other slicing at ShadowClan attackers. Meadowslip and Palebird were nowhere to be seen, so Tallpaw figured they must be inside the nursery. Reena crouched in the entrance, slashing at any ShadowClan muzzle that came near.

Shrewpaw and Hareflight wrestled a ShadowClan tom at the entrance to the medicine den. Hareflight grasped him in his claws and dragged him backward. Unbalanced, the ShadowClan warrior kicked out. Quick as a bird, Shrewpaw swooped and sank his teeth into the tom's hind legs.

“Nice move, Shrewpaw!” Brackenwing called to her kit across the clearing. Without pausing for breath, she ducked and spun around, knocking a ShadowClan she-cat to the ground with a well-aimed blow.

Sparrow crouched at the entrance to the elders' den, pelt bushed up. Redclaw was braced at his side as two ShadowClan toms stalked toward them.

“You need rogues to defend you?” one of the ShadowClan warriors sneered, showing his teeth.

Sparrow lashed out and knocked him flying. Redclaw lunged and sent the other tom reeling with a blow to his muzzle.

Heart pounding in his ears, Tallpaw crept forward.
Circle the clearing and pick off the outsiders.
He recognized Frogpaw's dark gray pelt from the Gathering. Belly flat to the grass, the ShadowClan apprentice was creeping up on Ryestalk as she grappled with Newtpaw. Newtpaw dived beneath Ryestalk and flipped her onto her back, then started battering Ryestalk's muzzle. Ryestalk thrashed like wounded prey, trying to find her paws, her soft belly exposed. Frogpaw crouched even lower.

He's going to attack!
Tallpaw raced toward him, yowling in fury. The ShadowClan apprentice leaped up, eyes wide. Tallpaw slammed into him. Frogpaw staggered backward, eyes flashing with rage. Hissing, he reared up and sliced Tallpaw's muzzle. Pain scorched through Tallpaw, but rage kept him on his feet. He narrowed his eyes and lashed out, keeping his hind paws firmly planted on the grass.

Ryestalk rolled past him, her claws dug deep into Newtpaw's flanks. “Are you okay?” she yowled to Tallpaw.

Tallpaw dodged a blow from Frogpaw and hooked the apprentice's legs from beneath him with a well-aimed kick. “I'm great!”

As Frogpaw hit the ground, Tallpaw sank his claws into the ShadowClan cat's shoulders. “Who smells of nettles now?” he growled, pressing Frogpaw's muzzle into the grass.