11 The Rat King

CHAPTER 11 THE RAT KING Tag, Skyla, and Blaze huddled together in the dark tunnel. The orange-eyed creatures stared at them. There were all kinds of underground animals: moles, badgers, even a few fluffy bunnies. They seemed to be under a spell, just like Thorn's spies had been.

第十一章鼠王泰格、斯凯拉和火焰在黑暗的隧道里挤作一团。 橙色眼睛的生物盯着他们。 地下有各种各样的动物：鼹鼠、獾，甚至还有几只毛茸茸的小兔子。 他们似乎中了魔咒，就像索恩的间谍一样。

"We can help you!" Skyla cried as the spies moved closer. She looked at Tag. "Blaze, use your magic," Tag whispered. Skyla nodded. "Try your firehawk cry!" Blaze opened her beak, but no sound came out. She frowned. "My magic isn't working!" she said.

“我们可以帮助你！”间谍们走近时，斯凯拉叫了起来。 她看着泰格。“火焰，使用你的魔法。”泰格低声说。 Skyla点点头。“试试你的火鹰叫声！”布雷兹张开嘴，但没有发出声音。 她皱起了眉头。“我的魔法不管用了！”

Two large badgers stepped forward. They grabbed the friends and pushed them down the path. "Where are you taking us?" Skyla demanded. She tried to wriggle away from the badger, but he was impossibly strong. Tag saw a dull glow at the end of the tunnel. They found themselves standing inside a wide open cavern. Fire torches stuck out of the walls. Their light shone dimly. In the center of the cavern was the biggest rat Tag had ever seen. Tag gulped. The rat was white with red eyes and a long, thick tail that trailed down to the ground. He sat on a throne made from the same twisted roots they had seen outside. Long, sharp thorns stuck out from the roots. And on his head, the rat wore a crown made from bones!

两只大獾走上前来。 他们抓住朋友们，把他们推下小路。 “你要带我们去哪儿？”Skyla问道。 她想挣脱那只獾，但它实在太强壮了。 泰格看到隧道尽头有一道暗淡的光。 他们发现自己站在一个敞开的山洞里。 火把从墙上伸出来。 他们的灯光暗淡。洞穴中央有一只泰格从未见过的最大的老鼠。 标签一饮而尽。这只老鼠是白色的，眼睛是红色的，尾巴又长又粗，一直拖到地上。 他坐在一个用他们在外面看到的扭曲的树根做成的宝座上。 又长又尖的刺从根部伸出来。 在他的头上，老鼠戴着一个骨头做的王冠！

Beside the rat sat a twisted wooden cage. There was a shadowy figure inside. Is that The Shadow? Tag thought. But then the figure moved into the light. "Mom!" Blaze cried. A dark cloud swirled around Talia. She saw Blaze and her eyes went wide. Then she pointed her beak toward three empty cages next to her.

老鼠旁边放着一个扭曲的木笼子。 里面有一个模糊的身影。 那是影子吗？标签的想法。 但随后那个身影移到了灯光下。 “妈妈!”大火哭了。一团乌云在塔利亚周围盘旋。 她看到布雷兹，眼睛都睁大了。 然后她用嘴指着她旁边的三个空笼子。

Is she telling us to run? Tag wondered. "What have you done to her?" Blaze shouted at the huge rat. The rat smiled. "Let's welcome our guests!" he snarled. There was a loud rumble and the room filled with rats. They ran along the ground like a river of brown and white and gray. They lifted the friends and threw Tag and Skyla into two of the empty cages.

她是让我们逃跑吗？标签很好奇。 “你对她做了什么？”Blaze朝那只大老鼠喊道。 老鼠笑了。“欢迎我们的客人！”他咆哮道。 一声巨响，房间里满是老鼠。 它们像一条棕色、白色和灰色的河流一样在地上奔跑。 他们举起朋友们，把泰格和斯凯拉扔进两个空笼子里。