by Erin Hunter
“Do what you feel is right, Talltail,” Barkface called after him.
Talltail lifted his muzzle and gazed toward the moor-top. He could picture the valley beyond as easily as if it were the WindClan camp. He’d memorized the fields, the roll of the hills, the tracks left by rivers and Thunderpaths on the countless patrols he’d spent on Outlook Rock. He could picture it just as Sandgorse could picture the tunnels running below the moor.
His paws itched with sudden excitement. He belonged out there, and StarClan agreed. His destiny was to leave his territory and track down the cat who’d killed his father. He saw it clearly now. His Clanmates didn’t think Sparrow had done anything wrong, but StarClan understood. They were telling him to avenge Sandgorse’s death.
Energy surged beneath his pelt.
I have to leave the moor! My destiny lies beyond the Clans!
CHAPTER 26
Talltail hurried back to the camp. He had to tell Heatherstar. He should leave as soon as he could. That’s why the weather had been so cold and dry. StarClan must be preserving Sparrow’s scent trail for me to follow!
“Talltail! Talltail!”
As he crossed the tussocks, Rabbitkit, Flykit, Wrenkit, and Bristlekit came tearing toward him. He hopped clear as they swarmed around his legs. “I can’t play now,” he told them briskly. “I have to speak with Heatherstar.”
Bristlekit stared at him with round eyes. “But you just spoke with her!”
Wrenkit glanced over her shoulder. “She’s busy.” The WindClan leader was with Reedfeather in the Meeting Hollow. The two cats sat, heads close, deep in conversation.
“She won’t be too busy for this.” Talltail tried to move forward, but Rabbitkit clung to his leg. “Give us a badger ride!” she squeaked. “Cloudrunner says we’re too big now.”
Talltail felt a pang as he met the young cat’s gaze. He would miss his half sister growing up. He’d never even know her warrior name. “Okay,” he conceded, and crouched down. Before he had time to protest, all four kits had scrambled onto his back. They clung to his fur with thorn-sharp claws.
Lilywhisker purred outside the elders’ den. “Come and see this, Flailfoot. Talltail’s bringing us some prey.”
“No, he’s not!” Flykit wriggled on Talltail’s back.
Talltail’s whiskers twitched. “Yes, I am. I’m going to feed you to Lilywhisker and Flailfoot. Elders love the taste of fresh kit.”
“No! No!” Flykit squealed in horror. “I want to get down.”
Stomping his paws like a badger, Talltail carried the kits toward the elders.
Lilywhisker licked her lips. “You’re just in time, Talltail. I’m getting hungry.”
“No!” Flykit squealed.
“Don’t be silly,” Wrenkit chided. “Of course they won’t eat us.”
“But what if they did?”
Talltail felt Flykit scrabble along his spine. “It’s okay, Flykit.” He stopped beside Lilywhisker. “We’re just pulling your tail.”
Lilywhisker reached forward and swung Flykit off Talltail’s back by his snowy scruff. Talltail hunkered down and let the others scramble off. He watched as the kits swarmed over Flailfoot, his heart aching at the sight of the kits and elders. There was so much he would miss. And yet his destiny lay elsewhere—with revenge for his father’s death. And then what?
Talltail pictured the mountains beyond Highstones. There was so much to discover out there, enough to fill countless lifetimes.
“Lilywhisker.” He dipped his head solemnly to the elder. “Thank you for your kindness these past moons.”
The old cat blinked in surprise. “Er, okay.” She looked as if she was about to question him, so Talltail backed away.
“I have to speak with Heatherstar,” he meowed. He turned and trotted over to the Meeting Hollow. “Heatherstar? Can we talk?”
She looked up, her eyes darkening, and nodded to Reedfeather. “We can continue this later,” she murmured to her deputy, and leaped out of the hollow. “Follow me, Talltail.”
He followed her to her den, sliding into its shadow for the second time that day. “I have to leave WindClan.” He blurted out the words before Heatherstar had even sat down.
“Leave WindClan?” She repeated his words almost absently, her gaze wandering as though she was remembering something from a long time ago. “Okay,” she murmured at last.
Wasn’t she going to ask him why? “Sparrow was never punished for killing Sandgorse,” he told her bluntly. “I have to find him and make him pay for what he did.”
“And that’s why you’re leaving.” Heatherstar curled her tail over her paws. “Couldn’t you wait for him to return next greenleaf and punish him then?”
Talltail shifted his paws. Why was she being so calm? He was going to leave WindClan! “There’s more to it than that,” he admitted. “I . . . I want to see what lies beyond the Clans. Don’t you?”
Heatherstar shook her head. “The Clan has always been as much as I need.”
“But my Clanmates don’t understand me. Some of them don’t even like me.”
“You could change that,” she meowed softly. “They respect you. But they can sense your anger and unhappiness. It makes their pelts prick.”
“That’s why I need to go,” Talltail confessed. “I feel trapped here.” Thoughts of tunnels—roaring water and pressing earth—swamped him. He struggled to catch his breath. “I need fresh wind in my pelt.”
“You feel trapped by your home?” Heatherstar tipped her head questioningly. “Are we trapped by the sky, or the earth?” she asked. “Are we trapped because we need prey to live? Or water to drink? Or air to breathe? We depend on all these things, but they don’t make us feel trapped.” Her eyes burned in the darkness. “Can you imagine what your life will be like without the protection of your Clan? You will have to hunt for yourself, heal yourself if you get hurt. There will be no one to share your victories. Or your defeats.”
Talltail’s ears twitched. “But I will be free.”
“You will be free to discover where your heart truly lies.” Heatherstar’s mew was barely a whisper. She seemed to be talking to herself.
Talltail leaned closer. “Barkface had a sign from StarClan.”
“Barkface is a talented young medicine cat.” Heatherstar’s eyes sparked. “But it is Hawkheart who reads signs from StarClan.”
“The sign said I should leave.”
“A cat decides his own path.”
“Don’t we have to do what StarClan tells us?”
Heatherstar purred. “Our ancestors were all cats like us once. They know we shape our own destinies.”
Talltail’s fur tingled. “I’m leaving,” he meowed. “Now.”
“I understand.” Heatherstar sighed and stood up. “I know there is nothing I can say to change your mind. But say farewell to your Clan first.”
“Do I have to?” Talltail swallowed. He didn’t need to explain himself. He only needed to tell them what he planned to do. He followed Heatherstar out of the den, around the rim of the hollow, and stopped beside her at the head of the grassy clearing.
“WindClan!” Heatherstar beckoned her Clanmates forward with a flick of her tail. “Talltail has something to say.”
Aspenfall padded from the prey-heap pile. Cloudrunner got to his paws and crossed the tussocks. Hareflight and Shrewclaw fell in beside him. Mistmouse and Hickorynose climbed from their nests in the bracken patch. Woollytail nearly tripped over Hopkit, Sorrelkit, and Pigeonkit as they dashed ahead of Meadowslip and barged past their Clanmates.
Redclaw halted as the kits bounced past him. “Watch out!”
Wrenkit scrambled over the bumpy clearing with Bristlekit and Flykit at her heels. They crowded around Palebird as she padded out of the nursery.
“What does Talltail want?” Flykit asked his mother anxiously.
Palebird stooped to smooth the white fur between his ears with her tongue. “I don’t know.”
Lilywhisker, Flailfoot, and F
lamepelt padded from the elders’ den, eyes sparking with curiosity, while Hawkheart ducked out of the medicine den.
“Do you know what this is about?” he asked Barkface, who was just behind him. Barkface looked at his paws.
Dawnstripe nosed past her Clanmates. “Talltail? What’s happening?”
Talltail forced himself to take a deep breath, trying not to be alarmed by the faces staring expectantly at him. Did his Clanmates care about him after all? “I’m leaving WindClan,” he announced.
“Leaving?” Dawnstripe’s eyes stretched wide. “You can’t!”
“I have to.” Talltail dipped his head. “I’m sorry, Dawnstripe. I know you hoped I’d be a great warrior one day, but my destiny lies somewhere beyond the Clan.”
“Don’t be such a rabbit-brain.” Woollytail stared at him, ears twitching. “This is your home.”
Talltail didn’t want to get caught up in an argument. He pressed on. “Look after my mother, Woollytail.” He glanced at Palebird. She’d turned her attention to Wrenkit and was washing her with brisk laps of her tongue. Meadowslip nudged her and she looked up.
“What?”
“Talltail’s leaving WindClan,” Meadowslip told her.
Palebird’s gaze sharpened with surprise. “Leaving? But why?”
Talltail glanced at Heatherstar. “Lots of reasons,” he mewed.
Heatherstar took a step forward. “None of us is a prisoner here. I would rather Talltail stayed, just as you all would, but I will not force him against his will. Our hearts and thoughts will travel with him.”
The cats stared at their leader in astonishment. Talltail realized they couldn’t believe Heatherstar wasn’t trying to stop him, reminding him of his loyalty to the Clan and the warrior code, the moons of training he had gone through to become a warrior, the importance of strong, young cats to catch prey and patrol borders on behalf of their Clanmates. Talltail narrowed his eyes. Did Heatherstar want him to leave?
Hareflight leaned forward and rested his muzzle against the top of Talltail’s head. “In that case, go well, and may StarClan light your path.” He sounded baffled, as if he expected Talltail to blurt out that it was all a joke.
“May StarClan light your path,” murmured Cloudrunner and Ryestalk.
“Don’t go!” Wrenkit dashed forward and ducked under Talltail’s belly. Weaving in and out of his legs, she mewed, “You can’t go. Who will play with us?”
He nosed her toward Palebird. “You’ve plenty of denmates to play with.”
“But they can’t give us badger rides!” Wrenkit wailed.
“Don’t worry, dear.” Palebird began washing her again. “He won’t be gone long.”
Talltail scanned the stunned faces of his Clanmates. “I’m going for good,” he told them. “I’ve made up my mind. I’ve spent long enough looking at distant lands from Outlook Rock. I want to see them up close. I want to explore places that no Clan cat has ever been.”
“Heatherstar?” Dawnstripe stared at the WindClan leader. “Are you really going to let him do this?”
“It’s his choice,” Heatherstar answered.
Before anyone else could argue, Talltail padded forward, pushing past his Clanmates.
“Talltail!” Doespring gasped as he passed. “I’ll miss you.”
“Me too,” Stagleap called.
“I don’t understand.” Shrewclaw blinked as Talltail reached him. “How can you leave? We trained together. I thought I’d always have you to hunt alongside.”
Talltail shrugged. “Hunt with someone else.” He met Shrewclaw’s gaze, surprised to find it darkening with sadness. “I thought you’d be glad to see the wormcat leave.”
“I’m sorry.” Shrewclaw’s ear twitched. “I was only ever teasing.”
“It’s more fun teasing than being teased,” Talltail commented. He pushed away his bitterness and lifted his chin. “But that’s not why I’m leaving. There’s something I have to do, and I can’t do it here.”
“Good luck.” Lilywhisker’s rasping mew sounded in his ear. She touched his muzzle to his cheek, and he paused for a moment to breathe in her warm, familiar scent.
“Thank you, Lilywhisker.” Flicking his tail, he marched for the camp entrance, refusing to look back. He pushed through the heather, his mind whirling. I’m actually leaving. After dreaming about what lay beyond the Clan borders for so long, he was going to find out. Fear and excitement surged beneath his pelt.
“Talltail!” Barkface was following him across the grass clearing. “Can I walk with you to the edge of the moor?”
Talltail slowed. “Yes, of course.”
Barkface fell in beside him as they skirted the heather and began to climb the slope to the moor-top.
“You weren’t unhappy all the time, were you?” Barkface mewed as they neared the ridge.
“No.” Talltail’s heart swelled as he remembered his first day’s training when he nearly outran Stagpaw. And all the times he’d skimmed the grass, fast as a bird, the wind streaming through his pelt. His first catch, his first Gathering, his first sight of the Moonstone. “But I’ll only find peace when I’ve made Sparrow pay for killing Sandgorse.”
Barkface’s pelt brushed his flank. “Do you really think that will change anything?”
“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 froz
e. 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.
Had he seen this place from Outlook Rock? He opened his mouth and let scent wash his tongue. The jumble of unfamiliar smells confused him. Pelt pricking, he pictured the view from the moor. This must be the small cluster of Twoleg dens that sat between the Thunderpath and Highstones, sheltering among the curving fields like chicks in a nest. He realized that the tall, wooden wall was part of a huge den. He remembered its roof, wide and square, towering beside a cluster of small stone dens. Lights had shone from the smaller dens and smoke had plumed from their roofs. But no light or smoke had ever flashed from the great wooden nest. Talltail sniffed it and smelled the warm scent of prey. Did Twolegs store fresh-kill there?
Keeping low, Talltail crept toward it, belly growling at the thought of an easy meal. He scanned the wall, searching for gaps in the wood. A dog barked. Talltail stiffened. The barking grew louder and sharpened into an excited yelp. He spun around to see two black-and-white dogs clear a low stone wall that surrounded one of the smaller dens and hurtle toward him. Their eyes blazed with excitement.