Tallstar’s Revenge

“Of course it will!” The dark fury that slumbered in Talltail’s belly began to stir. He wanted Sparrow to suffer as Sandgorse must have suffered.

“You can always come back afterward,” Barkface murmured.

Come back? Talltail didn’t answer. He was never coming back.

They reached the peak of the moor. Talltail looked out across the valley, the wind lifting his pelt. “Good-bye, Barkface.” He faced his friend. “You’re going to be a great medicine cat.” Then he bounded down the slope, all the way across the border toward the Thunderpath. He fought the urge to turn and see Barkface silhouetted against the sky. His future lay ahead of him, not behind.

Chapter 27

Talltail scrambled into the ditch beside the Thunderpath as a monster roared past. Flattening his ears, he waited for a gap. Sparrow was somewhere on the other side and he was going to track him down. That heartless rogue was going to pay for destroying his life.

As soon as the roar of monsters quieted down, Talltail hurtled across the flat, black stone. He scrambled through the hedge on the far side, its brown leaves rattling as he scraped between the gnarled branches and burst into the open field. Which way would the rogues have gone? Through stinging eyes, Talltail scanned the landscape. A muddy field stretched ahead of him, bordered on each side by brown hedges. Overhead a buzzard wheeled, its wings outstretched to catch the wind. Talltail crept along the side of the field, keeping close to the hedge as the ground sloped upward. A wide, muddy track formed the far edge of the field, uneven and specked with stones. Ditches ran on either side and Talltail hesitated, wondering whether to keep to the hedge and trek through the long, damp grass, or leap the ditch and follow the stony track.

Instinct kept him near the hedge, but the grass dragged at his fur, soaking him until he was chilled to the bone. Nettles grew thickly among the roots of the hedge, shriveled and browned by leaf-bare but still vicious enough to sting his nose. When he got sick of trying to avoid them, Talltail backtracked, leaped the ditch, and padded warily along the open track, his heart pounding.

Every scent was new, every noise strange: a far-off whine; a distant crack; the banging of wood against wood. Talltail’s sodden pelt began to spike. Had Sparrow walked this way? Talltail lifted his chin. Sparrow would never have let fear slow his paws. He would have walked the path as though he owned it. The arrogant tom acted like every territory was his own. Talltail flexed his claws. It was time someone taught him a lesson.

He glanced at the sky. The sun was sliding toward Highstones. Was this the way he’d come when he visited Mothermouth? He tasted the air, trying to recognize scents. A sharp Thunderpath scent bathed his tongue. His ears pricked as a low rumbling sounded nearby. Talltail froze. Something huge was growling, moving closer fast.

A huge monster lurched around the corner and bounded along the track toward him. Its round, black paws were huge, each as big as a regular monster. A Twoleg sat scowling on top, swaying and jerking as the monster bounced beneath him.

Talltail’s pelt bushed up. He leaped for the edge of the path and plunged into the ditch. He tumbled to the bottom, gasping with cold as he dropped into stagnant water. The monster growled past and bumped away along the track. Trembling, Talltail dragged himself out of the ditch. His pelt was rank with green slime, and dripping wet. He shook it, queasy at the thought of washing the putrid stench out. Angry with himself for being caught off-guard by the monster, he slunk along the hedgeside, ears pricked and mouth open, tasting for danger with every breath. The grass clung wetly to his fur and he was shivering violently by the time the hedge dwindled, leaving long strands of spiked, silver vines in its place to mark the edge of the field.

Talltail sniffed the vines. There was no scent of earth or wood to them. They ran long and barbed between wooden stalks. Beyond the row of stalks, a path of smooth, white stone stretched to a wooden wall that loomed up, taller than a tree. Eager to get clear of the soggy grass, Talltail ducked beneath the lowest vine and padded onto the white stone. The clearing was wide and square, walled by stone on either side.