Tallstar’s Revenge

What will the Clan think when the rogues don’t appear next greenleaf? Will they think something terrible has happened? Or will they remember Sandgorse’s death, and think that the rogues are too ashamed to return? Talltail shook himself. He had left WindClan. What they felt about something far in the future was not his concern.

Jake hurried to meet him as he emerged from the bracken. “Is everything okay?”

Talltail nodded, heading between the trees.

Jake fell in beside him. “Did Sandgorse really save Sparrow?”

Fresh grief welled in Talltail’s throat. “Yes,” he meowed thickly.

Jake pressed against him. “Then your father died a hero,” he murmured.

Talltail couldn’t answer, his eyes clouding.

They padded through the woods, heading upslope until they reached the clearing where they’d first made camp. The hollow between the oak roots was still lined with wool and Talltail climbed in gratefully, too weary to hunt.

“I’ll catch something,” Jake offered. He headed away, returning as the sun touched the tops of the trees. He was carrying a tattered, old blackbird.

Talltail wrinkled his nose. “Couldn’t you find one that was even older?” he teased, climbing out to sniff the ancient bird.

Jake lifted his muzzle. “I caught it, didn’t I?” He took a bite, screwing up his face as he chewed the tough flesh.

Talltail bit into the bird. The blackbird was more sinew than meat, but he swallowed it anyway, grateful for Jake’s new hunting skills.

“Will you go home now?” Jake’s mew was muffled by feathers.

“I don’t know if I have a home.” Talltail took another bite.

“Of course you do!” Jake struggled to swallow. “You have WindClan!”

“I left WindClan.”

“They’d let you back.”

“I thought I’d keep traveling for a while,” Talltail muttered. “Would you like that?”

Jake took another bite of blackbird and chewed. “I think you should go home.”

“Home?” Talltail blinked at him. “I have no home. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

Jake leaned forward and rested his muzzle on the top of Talltail’s head. His chin felt warm and soft. “I know who you are. You’re my best friend, and you always will be.”

Chapter 39

Talltail was dreaming. Stars whirled around him, twirling him through blackness. Then he plummeted down until the wind pulled at his fur and his eyes watered. Exhilaration surged through him as he fell, until soft peat touched his pads and Talltail realized he was standing on the ground. He blinked, and the darkness cleared. Light spilled around him, flooding the landscape. Above, a wide, blue sky stretched to the horizon. Heather as purple as dusk rippled over the soft curve of a hill. Grass, greener than Jake’s eyes, lay in swathes between the bushes, its scent so rich it made Talltail dizzy. A tawny pelt was slinking through the heather.

Brackenwing!

Talltail’s heart leaped. He bounded toward the she-cat, but she was moving too swiftly. Other pelts showed around her—black, gray, tortoiseshell—pelts he didn’t recognize. But he knew their scent as well as his own. WindClan. He was in StarClan’s hunting grounds.

“Brackenwing!” he called across the heather, but Brackenwing didn’t stop. Talltail hurried after her, trying to catch the eye of the other cats as he passed. But no cat seemed to notice him. A tabby looked straight through him as though he didn’t exist. A striped tom didn’t flinch as Talltail raced by.

I must catch Brackenwing! She’ll know me.

He burst from the heather onto a grassy summit. Brackenwing was looking down into a valley.

Talltail raced to her side. “It’s me, Talltail!” he cried.

Brackenwing didn’t move. She just kept staring down the slope. Talltail followed her gaze. Cats were moving over the grass below. Palebird. Dawnstripe. Hareflight. Hickorynose. Talltail’s heart lurched as he recognized their pelts. Brackenwing was watching what was happening in WindClan territory. Talltail’s paws ached with pain that felt like longing. Slowly at first, then faster, his feet carried him forward until Talltail found himself racing down the slope toward his Clanmates.

“Palebird!” He yowled his mother’s name, the sight of her tugging deep in his belly as though she’d hooked her claws in and was pulling him closer. Talltail’s mother didn’t look around.

“Dawnstripe!” Surely she would speak to him? But his mentor kept padding across the grass, her tail down.

Talltail ran faster. He had to make them see him! But his paws grew heavier with each step. The harder he pushed, the slower he ran, as though the air around him had turned to water and was holding him back.