Tallstar's Revenge (35 page)

Talltail felt Jake's gaze on him as he leaned down and bit into the warm flesh of the mouse. It tasted sweet. “Have some.” He pushed it back toward Jake.

Jake took a bite, sitting up to chew. Talltail watched his eyes soften. “Do you like it?”

“Yes,” Jake purred, and he took another bite, crunching through bone like a Clanborn cat. He nudged the carcass toward Talltail. “You finish it,” he ordered. “You still need to get your strength back.” Talltail didn't argue. His legs felt shaky from the hunt. “Do you want to rest?” Jake asked as he finished the last scrap.

Talltail looked across the stretch of meadows toward the woods. “Let's keep going.” He wanted to reach the trees before dark. Woodland was gloomy enough at sunhigh. It would be as suffocating as a tunnel when dusk approached. He stood up and shook out his fur. Jake licked his lips. Together they headed across the grass, which rippled around them like water in the cold breeze.

By the time they reached the trees, Talltail's paws were trembling with tiredness. He fluffed out his fur, suddenly chilled to the bone.

Jake brushed against him. “You look exhausted.”

Talltail shrugged. “I'm okay.”

“Why don't we find a place to rest?” Jake glanced up at the sun. It was beginning to slide toward the hilltop behind them. “We've traveled far enough.”

Talltail's pelt twitched. “We need to catch the rogues.”

“They won't be traveling fast,” Jake meowed confidently. “They're rogues. They can travel where they like, when they like. What's the hurry?” Talltail was too weary to argue. He let Jake lead him into the shelter of the trees. The kittypet stared up in wonder at the crisscrossing canopy of branches. “It's like a huge den!”

Talltail didn't look. It was bad enough listening to the branches rattle in the wind. Trunks crowded around him, bushes and shadow pressing between them, trapping his paws, shutting out the breeze. Jake bounded forward and padded around a tree, staring up. A scent had caught his attention. He darted over to sniff a bramble that tumbled out from between two trunks. “It's busier than Twolegplace!” he meowed excitedly. “There are prey smells everywhere.”

Talltail sat down. “Great,” he muttered.

Jake glanced over his shoulder. “Look for a hollow to rest in,” he mewed. He nodded toward a dip between the roots of an oak. “That might make a good nest.” He ducked away past a hawthorn.

Talltail felt a twinge of anxiety as Jake's tail disappeared. “Where are you going?”

“I'll be back,” Jake's mew echoed from the trees. “You rest.”

Talltail padded heavily toward the oak roots. The hollow was deep, and moss grew on the damp earth inside. Talltail clambered over the edge and curled into it. The moss was wet but he was too tired to care. Closing his eyes, he must have dozed. The next thing he knew, paws were pattering across the forest floor toward him. He tensed and peeked over the rim of the nest.

Jake bounded from the trees with a wad of leaves and feathers clasped between his jaws. He stopped at the edge of the hollow and dropped them in. “You can line your nest with these.” Talltail ducked as leaves, twigs, and feathers showered his pelt. He stood up and shook out his fur. “Thanks.” Leaning down, he picked up a short stick between his teeth and tossed it out of the nest. “You might want to check for sharp bits next time.”

“Sorry.” Jake hopped down beside him and began picking twigs from the litter. He tossed them out, then paddled the soft moss with his paws. “That feels better!”

“In WindClan, we line our nests with sheepswool,” Talltail remarked.

“I'll get some.” Jake jumped out.

“It's okay; you don't have to.” Bones aching with tiredness, Talltail sat down.

Jake was already heading toward the edge of the trees. “I won't be long!”

Talltail curled back into the moss, ignoring the dampness. He rested his nose on his paws and closed his eyes. Just a few more moments' sleep and he'd feel better. Darkness swirled through his thoughts and pulled him into tumbling dreams.

Talltail!
His father's voice echoed from the shadows. Talltail, dreaming, stared around. Shadows crowded against his pelt, turning the air thick until he struggled for breath. Then something started falling on him—cold, wet earth, heavy as stones, more and more until his mouth and nose were clogged. He was inside the gorge tunnel! Suddenly eyes blinked in the blackness.
Sparrow!
Talltail recognized the cold, amber gaze of the rogue flashing in the dark.

“Where's Sandgorse? Have you left him behind?” Panic surged beneath Talltail's pelt. “Sandgorse? Sandgorse?” He pushed past Sparrow, calling into the darkness. Water rumbled in the distance, its roar growing louder, and sticky mud dragged at Talltail's legs. “You abandoned him!” Talltail turned on Sparrow, lashing his soaked tail.

But the flashing eyes had gone, and he was alone underground. More earth slid weightily onto Talltail's flank. He struggled, trying to kick free of the mud as it flooded around his paws. It lapped against his belly and dragged at his fur. “Sandgorse!” he shrieked in panic.

“Talltail!” His father's voice returned his call. “Talltail! Talltail!”

A paw shook his shoulder. Talltail jerked up his head. Jake was in the nest beside him, poking him. His eyes were wide with excitement. “You have to come and see this!”

Sheepswool surrounded Talltail, soft against his pelt. “Did you collect all that?” Talltail stared at it, still dazed from his dream.

“Yes!” Jake hopped out of the nest. “But I found something else. Come on!”

Talltail struggled to his paws, fighting the heaviness of sleep. “I'm coming.” He hauled himself out of the nest and followed Jake.

Jake padded briskly between the trees, weaving past brambles and bracken, and hopped a rotting log. Talltail scrambled over it, still drowsy. “What is it?” Irritation itched beneath his fur. Couldn't Jake have let him sleep?

“Look!” Jake stopped beside a beech trunk and nodded toward the ground. “Smell that.” Talltail's nose was already twitching. “Cat scent,” Jake announced proudly. “When I'd fetched the wool, I decided to have a sniff around. And I found this.”

A jumble of scents clung to the leaf-strewn soil between the tree roots. Talltail leaned closer, opening his mouth.

“Is it the rogues?” Jake demanded.

There was a familiar hint to the smell. “I think it might be!” Talltail straightened up and stared at Jake, feeling a worm of excitement stir in his belly. The scents were too frozen to tell for sure. But they were definitely cat scent and
definitely
familiar. “They're stale.” He unsheathed his claws and sank them into the cold, damp earth. “But we're on the right trail!”

C
HAPTER
34

Talltail woke in the wool-lined hollow
between the oak roots. He could feel Jake breathing beside him, his pelt warm where their fur touched. He lifted his head, tasting the air. The icy chill had gone, replaced by dampness. The musty aroma of dying leaves flooded the nest.

“Jake.” Talltail nudged the kittypet. Unfrozen, the cat scents they'd found last night would be much stronger. He hopped out of the nest, his paws sliding on the soggy leaves that had crunched underpaw yesterday.

Jake blinked open his eyes. “What is it?” He yawned.

“The weather's changed,” Talltail told him. “There might be a trail we can follow.”

Jake scrambled out of the nest, his nose twitching. He glanced at the remains of the squirrel Talltail had caught last night and licked his lips. “Should we hunt first?”

Talltail blinked. “We can hunt later.”
We have to check those scents!
Heart quickening, Talltail headed for the trail Jake had led him along yesterday, mouth open, tasting for scents. He smelled moldy bark and damp leaves. Prey-scent hung heavy on the air, and the stale tang of fox.

Jake trotted after him. “Can you remember where they were?”

How could I forget?
Talltail's fur rippled along his spine. It was his first real evidence that he was on the trail of the rogues.
If it
is
the rogues.
He broke into a run. He recognized Sparrow's scent before he'd even reached the beech where the rogues had sheltered. Loosened by the mild frost, the smell flooded the damp air, stale but clear. Talltail skidded to a halt beside the flattened leaves where the rogues had clearly spent more than one night. In the pale dawn light he noticed the bones of prey scattered nearby and spotted a thin film of fur clinging to the craggy bark at the base of the tree.

Jake stopped beside him, panting. “I thought I'd lost you for a moment,” he puffed.

“I had to know if it was them.” Talltail stood with his legs braced, his old rage surging back as Sparrow's scent filled his nose. He could taste Reena's scent too, and Bess's. A pang tugged his heart as he remembered how welcoming he'd been when the rogues had first arrived. How could he have been so foolish and trusting? He should have known they were trouble the moment they set paw on WindClan territory. Why didn't his Clanmates understand the threat of letting strangers into the camp?
Rabbit-brains!
They believed the rogues were their friends, even after Sparrow had caused Sandgorse's death! Talltail curled his claws into the soft earth, a growl rumbling in his throat.
I'll make you sorry!

“Talltail?” Jake was staring at him. “Are you okay?”

Talltail flicked the tip of his tail. “I'm fine,” he muttered. “I just want to find those cats.”

Jake dipped his head. “We'll find them,” he promised.

Talltail paced the edge of the abandoned nest until he found a scent trail leading away between the trees. It was old, but still strong enough to track. Pelt pricking, he began to follow it.

“Where are we going?” Jake called.

“Can't you smell their trail?”

Jake caught up. “I can only smell trees and leaves.” He stuck out his tongue. “There are so many new scents out here. It's hard to tell them apart.”

“You'll get used to it.” Talltail glanced at Jake, suddenly realizing that the tom was supposed to be going home. “Aren't you heading back to Twolegplace?” he asked.

Jake blinked at him. “What? Now that we've found the trail? I can't leave you to face Sparrow alone.”

“But this is my mission. I should . . .” Talltail's mew trailed away. He didn't want Jake to go. He searched the kittypet's green gaze. “You don't have to come.”

“I
want
to!” Jake shifted his paws, adding quietly, “If you don't mind, that is.”

Talltail glanced at the ground, feeling hot. “I don't mind,” he murmured. “It's good to have company.”

“That's settled, then.” Jake marched away, tail high. “I know it's your mission, and I won't put my whiskers where they don't belong.” He plunged past a clump of shriveled ferns. “But I can help you track Sparrow down. After that, it's up to you.”

Talltail purred. “Thanks, Jake.” He tasted the air. “Er, you do know that you're heading the wrong way, don't you?” The scent trail headed along a ridge in the forest floor. Jake was tramping uphill, veering away through the trees.

Jake stopped and tasted the air. “I am?” His ears flattened. “Maybe you should lead the way,” he mewed.

Amused, Talltail headed along the ridge, his paws slipping on the layer of decaying leaves. He was used to grass and peat, firm turf that sprang beneath his feet. Jake trotted beside him, more at ease with the slippery trail, until brambles started to crowd the path.

“Ow!” Jake tripped over a prickly tendril, hopping on three legs and shaking his injured paw.

“Are you okay?” Talltail stopped and sniffed Jake's leg.
No blood scent.

“I'd be better if that hadn't tripped me up.” Jake glared at the bramble.

Talltail scanned the woods. The scent trail headed through bracken where fallen branches and rotting logs crisscrossed the forest floor, echoing the tangled canopy above. The rogues seemed to tackle every obstacle head-on, moving forward regardless of the territory.

“Come on.” Talltail padded around the bramble, watching for spiky tendrils. He hopped over a fallen branch and pushed his way into the bracken. Broken stems showed the rogues' trail, tainted with their scent. A decaying tree lay across the path and he scrambled over it, his paws slipping on the slimy moss. On the other side, the ground turned boggy. Talltail slowed as the sucking mud dragged at his paws.

“I thought you said that rogues chose the easiest path,” Jake grunted, shaking mud from his forepaw.

“It was probably frozen when they passed,” Talltail guessed.

“Can you tell how old the scents are?” Jake scrambled onto harder ground and shook crumbs of leaf litter from his whiskers.

“No. The smell's quite fresh,” Talltail told him. “But the frost might have preserved it.” He glanced at the sky, gray above the treetops. “Come on.” He pulled his paws free of the cloying mud. “If it starts raining, the scents might be washed away.”

The trees here were younger and thicker, their leaf-bare branches jutting low to the ground. Talltail had to keep low, ducking one branch and leaping another like a squirrel. He heard wood crack and split as Jake blundered after him. Talltail stopped and turned, breathless, as they reached a clearing.

“This is tough going—” Jake's gaze flashed with alarm. “Look out!” He barged past Talltail, his orange pelt bushing out.

Where are you going?
Talltail whipped around. A dark russet shape was blazing toward them.
Fox!

Jake hurled himself in its path as the fox lunged at Talltail. The kittypet reared up and slashed at the fox's muzzle. The fox ducked away, showing its sharp, yellow teeth, then sprang at Jake again. Quick as a bird, Talltail shot forward, slicing the fox's muzzle. The fox yelped, eyes sparking with rage. Talltail felt fur brush his flank. Jake was beside him. Talltail reared up on his hind legs as the fox attacked again. Jake reared up too. Talltail launched a flurry of blows at the fox and Jake joined in.

The fox snapped at them—one side, then the other. Talltail's claws hooked flesh, and he felt blood spurt against his cheek. The fox yelped, then growled, its eyes narrowing. Talltail's heart lurched.
We're just making it angry!
He glanced sideways at Jake. Eyes narrow, ears flat, Jake was hissing as viciously as any warrior. He slammed a front paw against the fox's muzzle. Talltail matched his blow. They fell into a steady rhythm, lashing out at the fox with relentless fury. Then Talltail stumbled over a fallen twig. He lost his balance and dropped onto all fours. Jake dropped beside him. Talltail let the momentum take him down to the ground and rolled all the way over. Jake rolled with him, and they leaped to their paws beside the fox's flank and began swiping again. The fox shrieked.

“He can't fight us both!” Talltail yowled with a rush of triumph.

“Can you hold him while I go for his tail?” Jake called back.

“Not for long.” Talltail gritted his teeth and lashed out even more fiercely as Jake darted toward the fox's haunches and clamped his teeth around the base of its tail. Talltail heard a crunch as Jake bit down hard. The fox writhed, yelping, and as Jake let go, it tore past Talltail and fled away through the trees. Talltail dropped onto all fours, panting. His forepaw stung where the fox's teeth had grazed it.

“Did it hurt you?” Jake was at his side in a moment, sniffing for wounds.

“Just a scratch.” Talltail showed him the scrape along his paw. “Not deep. Barkface would treat it with dock.”

“I'll find some.” Jake trotted away past the ferns. He was back a few moments later with a wad of dock in his jaws. He dropped it at Talltail's paws. Lumps of fur were sticking out around Jake's neck, and his orange pelt was darkened with spots of blood.

Talltail sat down. “Are you okay?”

“I've had worse wounds from next door's tom.” He dipped his head to show Talltail a long-healed nick in his ear.

Talltail sniffed it, a rush of gratitude sweeping through him as Jake's warm scent touched his nose. “Thank you, Jake,” he murmured.

“What for?” Jake straightened up.

“You saved my life.” Talltail paused.
“Again.”

Jake purred. “No problem.” He sniffed the dock. “Do you wrap this around your paw or what?”

“You chew it and lick it into the wound,” Talltail told him. Jake wrinkled his nose. Talltail's whiskers twitched with amusement. “It's okay. I can do it myself.” He grabbed a leaf in his jaws and began chewing.

Jake watched as he pulped it and worked it into the scratch with his tongue. “Will that really make it better?”

“It'll stop the wound from going bad,” Talltail meowed.

Jake waited until Talltail had used up all of the leaf. “Can you walk?” he asked.

Talltail's wound stung and his hind leg ached where he'd strained it, rearing up. But he wanted to keep following the rogues' scent. A heavy shower might wash it away. “I'm fine,” he insisted. He limped across the clearing, sniffing the ground, his tail twitching as he picked up Reena's scent. Algernon's and Sparrow's mingled with it, and he could smell Bess and Mole, too. He followed the trail through a hawthorn bush and past a gorse thicket, stumbling as leaves slid beneath his paws. Jake darted to his side, pressing against him.

“Lean on me,” he ordered.

“I'm okay,” Talltail meowed, but he let some of his weight rest against Jake's soft shoulder. They padded on through the forest, Talltail sniffing for scent, Jake watching the ground for twigs and ruts. Talltail slowed as he saw the forest lighten ahead. They must be near the edge.

Jake stiffened beside him. “Can you hear that?”

Talltail pricked his ears. A buzzing, like swarming bees, hummed in the distance. “What is it?” A Thunderpath stench touched his nose, but the noise was too whiny to be monsters.

“It sounds like a grass-cutter,” Jake told him.

Talltail blinked at him. “A what?”

“The Twolegs use them to shave the grass.”

Twolegs are rabbit-brains.
Talltail strained to see past the trees. “Why would they be using one here?”

Jake sniffed. “Perhaps there's a den beyond the trees.”

“Let's find out.”

They crept through the trunks, slowing as they neared the edge of the woods. Talltail flattened his ears as the buzzing pierced his pelt, much louder now. The ground trembled beneath his paws. As they broke from the trees, Talltail halted. A hillside sloped past them. The grass had been churned into wide circles of mud as though huge claws had reached down and raked it. The Thunderpath stench was so strong, Jake coughed. “That's not a grass-cutter,” he choked. “What is it?”