Tallstar’s Revenge

Had he found him already? Perhaps this wood was where the rogues holed up for leaf-bare, sheltering like prey beneath the branches. Talltail leaned down and sniffed the ground. Paws had passed this way. He walked slowly forward, muzzle close to the ground. The scent trail headed down the far slope and disappeared beneath brambles. Screwing up his eyes against the thorns, Talltail followed it. He ignored the prickles scraping his spine as he wriggled underneath, and eventually emerged onto boggy ground where his paws sank into cold mud. The scent trail was fresher here. He was gaining ground.

Talltail’s thoughts whirled. Sparrow was at the end of this track. He knew it. He imagined sighting the rogue’s short, brown fur between the trees and creeping silently up behind him. He swallowed back a growl as he pictured plunging his claws deep into Sparrow’s flesh. His pelt spiked with excitement and he hurried forward, darting over the mud as easily as crossing grass. Bracken blocked his path but he pushed through, ears flattening as the stench of tom led him forward. As he weaved through the tawny stems, he spotted movement ahead.

Sparrow! Fur flashed behind a bush. I’ve got you! Triumph surged through his paws. He broke into a run. With a hiss, he skidded around the bush and sprang. He landed a whisker from the tom, snarling. “You thought you’d gotten away—”

He stopped, his eyes bulging with surprise.

A shocked gray tom stared back at him, blinking. “What in the stars are you doing?”

Talltail backed away. “I—I thought you were someone else,” he stammered. He smelled fear-scent on the tom and sheathed his claws. “I wasn’t going to—”

“I hope not!” The tom straightened up and Talltail realized how scrawny he was. His pelt was clumped in sticky knots as though he hardly washed. Was this a kittypet? Talltail knew they were lazy, but too lazy to wash?

The tom glared at him. “Who did you think I was?”

“Just another cat,” Talltail mumbled.

“Not a friend, I guess.”

“Not exactly. Someone I used to know.”

The tom opened his mouth, tasting Talltail’s scent. “You smell of Clan,” he grunted. “Were you looking for one of your own?” Talltail shook his head. “Good.” The tom sat down and whisked his tail over his paws. “One Clan cat is bad enough.” He narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing out here?” He snorted. “Don’t answer. I don’t want to know.”

“I’m looking for some rogues. I really need to find them.”

The tom rolled his eyes. “I said don’t answer.” He sighed heavily. “What rogues?”

“They used to visit us every greenleaf,” Talltail told him.

“You’re a moor cat, right?” The tom’s nose was twitching. “I can smell the heather on you.” He glanced between the trees. “I once knew some cats who spent time on the moor.”

“Was one of them brown?” Talltail leaned forward.

“I don’t remember,” the tom answered.

“Did they travel in a group? A black-and-white one, and a ginger one, and a gray tom with a ruffled pelt?” Talltail’s paws pricked.

“Slow down, Clan cat,” the tom muttered. “I’m not used to answering questions.”

Talltail took a breath. This old cat wasn’t going to be rushed. He might not share anything if Talltail annoyed him. “I just wondered if you’d seen them recently,” he meowed.

“Might have.”

Talltail curled his claws into the earth. “This moon? Last moon?”

The tom looked thoughtful. “Last moon,” he grunted eventually. “Near a Nofur’s den.”

“Which den?” Talltail had seen countless Twoleg dens from Outlook Rock.

“Sun-up way. Dark gray,” the tom told him. “Bigger than some. It has a spike sticking up at one end like a tail.”

Talltail frowned, trying to remember if he’d seen a den like that.

“Don’t go inside,” the tom warned. “It’s colder than death and when the Twoleg shuts the door, there’s no way out.” The thought seemed to alarm him. He got to his paws, his tail quivering. “I was trapped there once for three sun-ups. Glad they had a water-pool.”

Talltail’s mind was whirling. Gray den with a spike. He began to head away.

“Where are you going?” the tom called after him. “Do you want to share prey? I hear Clan cats are good hunters.”

Talltail called over his shoulder. “I can’t stop. I have to find this cat.” His heart raced and he broke into a run, swerving clumsily between the trees.

I’m on your trail, Sparrow. You’d better start sleeping with one eye open!

Chapter 28