Tallstar’s Revenge

“I’ll hold them off!” Tallpaw unsheathed his claws, ready to sink them into the first warrior he reached. Paw steps thrummed behind him. His patrol was catching up. He wouldn’t have to fight alone.

The ThunderClan cats backed away, their ears flat.

Tallpaw leaped at the gray warrior. “Trespassers! WindClan, attack!”

Chapter 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.”