Free Tallstar's Revenge by Erin Hunter

endless tail, wrapping protectively around the moor. Tallpaw’s legs were aching by the time they halted at the top of a steep descent. The smooth grass swept down into a line of dense trees.
    â€œThat’s the way to Fourtrees,” Dawnstripe told him.
    Tallpaw stared at the canopy of green leaves trembling in the breeze. “Where’s the Great Rock?” He peered through the branches, trying to glimpse the huge rock he’d heard his Clanmates talking about when they returned from Gatherings.
    Dawnstripe flicked her tail. “It’s hidden at the moment, but you’ll see it soon enough.”
    Tallpaw’s heart leaped. He’d forgotten that he’d be allowed to attend Gatherings now that he was an apprentice. Paws pricking with excitement, he trotted after Dawnstripe as she continued around the edge of the moor. “That’s ShadowClan territory,” she told him as he fell in beside her.
    Tallpaw followed her gaze to the swathe of pines that had taken over from the brighter green trees of ThunderClan’s territory. A bare, gray strip divided the pines from the rest of the forest, cutting a path like a river across the landscape. A faint roar touched Tallpaw’s ear fur and he watched tiny shapes move along the strip, flashing like drops of water in the sunshine. “Is that the Thunderpath?”
    â€œYes,” Dawnstripe meowed over her shoulder. “You’ll learn how to cross when you go to Highstones.” Tallpaw’s fur pricked. Dawnstripe was talking about his visit to the Moonstone, where cats shared tongues with StarClan. For a moment his head spun with excitement, and he had to stop until the ground felt steady beneath his paws again.
    Ahead of them, the grass sloped more steeply and before long they were trekking through deep gorse once more. “This is the high-moor,” Dawnstripe explained. “We’re heading for the very edge of Clan territory.”
    The edge of Clan territory? Tallpaw paused and reared onto his hind legs, trying to catch a glimpse. But the ridge of earth they had been walking on had given way to a rutted sheep trail, and gorse blocked his view.
    â€œYou’ll see soon enough.” Dawnstripe veered onto a rabbit trail, roofed by heather fronds. Tallpaw ducked after her, his pelt pricking uneasily as the heather closed around him. The air was stuffy and still. Imagine how much worse a tunnel would be . Tallpaw took a deep breath and focused on Dawnstripe’s golden tail as it bounced in front of him.
    Suddenly he felt wind on his whiskers as the heather opened onto a grassy hilltop. Tallpaw blinked with relief as short, wind-dappled grass rolled away in front of him. He could breathe again! The grass sloped down to the Thunderpath, pale and flat and striking against the soft landscape. It was closer here, and Tallpaw flinched as a monster tore past, roaring louder than the wind. Beyond the Thunderpath, squares of grass marked out by thin rows of bushes surrounded a cluster of dark gray Twoleg nests and, farther still, tall cliffs marked the beginning of a range of jagged peaks. “Is that Highstones?” Tallpaw whispered, his gaze on the distant horizon.
    â€œHighstones are the cliffs.” Dawnstripe stood beside him, her ears stiff against the streaming wind. “You’ll travel there one day, when you visit Mothermouth and touch the Moonstone.”
    Tallpaw shivered as the wind lifted his fur. Every WindClan apprentice shared tongues with StarClan at the Moonstone before they received their warrior name. He shifted his paws, trying to ignore his stinging pads. The long walk around WindClan’s territory had left them tender and grazed. How would he ever make it to Highstones?
    â€œLook out!” A voice echoed from the heather behind. “Mud-hole!” There was alarm in the mew.
    Tallpaw whipped around and scanned the heather. “What was that?”
    Dawnstripe padded toward a