Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24 Yellowfang turned and pushed her way into the bracken. Whitestorm and the others followed her. Firepaw was tingling with excitement. He didn't feel the damp chill in the air, and his weariness was long forgotten. Yellowfang guided them to a small hollow surrounded by thick undergrowth and pointed out the entrance to the ShadowClan camp. The tangled mass of brambles looked very different from the neat gorse tunnel that led into the ThunderClan camp. The camp boundary was full of holes and gaps and the stench of rotting meat wafted toward them. "You eat crow food?" whispered Graypaw, curling his lip. "Our warriors are used for attacking, not hunting," replied Ashfur. "We eat whatever we can find." "ThunderClan, hide in that clump of bracken over there," hissed Yellowfang. "It's full of toadstools that will disguise your scent. Wait here till you hear me call."

第二十四章黄牙转过身，挤进了蕨菜丛。 白风暴和其他人跟着她。 火爪兴奋得浑身发麻。 他感觉不到空气中潮湿的寒意，也早已忘却了疲倦。 黄牙把他们带到了一个被茂密的灌木丛包围的小山谷，并指出了影族营地的入口。 这片乱成一团的荆棘看起来与通往雷霆部落营地的整齐的金雀花隧道截然不同。 营地的边界到处都是洞和缺口，腐肉的恶臭向他们飘来。 “你吃乌鸦的食物？”灰爪撇着嘴，小声说。 “我们的战士是用来进攻的，不是用来打猎的。”阿什弗回答。 “我们能找到什么就吃什么。” “雷族，躲到那边的蕨菜丛里去。”黄牙嘶嘶地说。 “里面充满了可以掩盖你气味的毒菌。 在这儿等着，听我喊。”

She stepped back to let the other ShadowClan cats lead the way, tucking herself into the center of their group as though she were their prisoner. They headed silently into the camp. The ThunderClan cats settled themselves among the toadstools, tense and alert. Firepaw could feel his coat prickling. He looked at Graypaw beside him. The thick fur on the back of his friend's neck was standing on end, and Firepaw could hear him panting with suppressed excitement. Suddenly yowling erupted from the ShadowClan camp. Without hesitating, the ThunderClan cats sprang from their hiding places and raced through the entrance. Yellowfang, Ashfur, Dawncloud, and Nightpelt were in a well-trodden, muddy clearing, wrestling with six vicious-looking warriors. Firepaw recognized Brokenstar and his deputy, Blackfoot, among them. The warriors looked hungry and battle-scarred, but Firepaw could see the hard muscles pounding beneath their patchy fur. Around the edge of the clearing, groups of

她退后一步，让其他影子家族的猫带路，把自己塞进他们的群体中央，仿佛她是他们的囚犯。 他们默默地向营地走去。 雷族的猫们在毒菌堆里坐了下来，紧张而警觉。 火爪感到自己的外套在刺痛。 他看着身边的格雷paw。 他朋友脖子后面的厚毛竖了起来，火爪可以听到他压抑着兴奋的喘息声。 突然，暗影部落的营地里爆发出一阵哀嚎。 迅雷家族的猫们毫不犹豫地从藏身之处跳了出来，冲进了入口。 黄牙、阿什弗、黎明云和暗夜魔在一片泥泞的空地上与六个面目狰狞的战士搏斗。 火爪认出布罗肯斯塔和他的副手黑脚也在其中。 战士们看起来饥肠辘辘，伤痕累累，但火爪可以看到他们斑驳的皮毛下坚硬的肌肉在跳动。 在空地的边缘，一群群的

scrawny cats stared uncertainly at the mayhem. Their skinny bodies seemed to recoil at the violence, while their dull eyes looked on, shocked and confused. Out of the corner of his eye, Firepaw saw Runningnose back away and hide beneath a bush. At Whitestorm's nodded signal, the ThunderClan cats leaped into the battle. Firepaw grasped a silver tabby with his claws, but was shaken loose. He tumbled over and the ShadowClan warrior turned on him and gripped him with claws as sharp as blackthorns. Firepaw managed to twist and sink his teeth deep into the cat's flesh. The warrior's yowl told him he had found a tender spot, and he bit harder. The warrior screeched again, ripping himself free, and ran off into the bushes. Firepaw stood up. A young ShadowClan apprentice leaped at him from the edge of the camp, its soft kitten fur fluffed up with fear. Firepaw sheathed his claws and batted him away easily. "This is not your battle," he hissed. Whitestorm already had Blackfoot pinned to the ground. He gave him a vicious bite and the

瘦骨嶙峋的猫不确定地盯着混乱的场面。 他们瘦弱的身体似乎在暴力面前退缩，而他们呆滞的眼睛看着，震惊和困惑。 火爪从眼角看到流鼻涕往后退，躲在灌木丛下面。 在白风暴的点头示意下，雷霆家族的猫跳进了战斗。 “火爪”用爪子抓住一只银色虎斑猫，但被甩了出去。 他翻了个身，暗影族战士转过身来，用黑刺一样锋利的爪子抓住了他。 火爪设法扭了扭，把牙齿深深地咬进了猫的肉里。 勇士的嚎叫告诉他，他发现了一个柔软的地方，于是他更用力地咬。 战士又尖叫了一声，挣脱了自己，跑进了灌木丛。 火爪站了起来。一只年轻的影族学徒从营地边缘向他跳了过来，它柔软的小猫毛因恐惧而抖了起来。 火爪收起爪子，轻松地把他赶走了。 “这不是你的战斗，”他嘶嘶地说。 白风暴已经把黑脚钉在地上了。 他狠狠地咬了他一口，然后

injured deputy raced away toward the camp entrance and out into the safety of the forest. "Firepaw!" Firepaw heard Dawncloud screech his name. "Watch out! Clawface is—" He didn't hear the rest. A heavily built brown cat crashed into him. Clawface! Firepaw dug his claws into the ground and whirled around to fight. The warrior that killed Spottedleaf! Rage surged through him and he flung himself onto the brown tom. Firepaw pushed the warrior to the ground and pressed his head into the dirt. Blinded by fury, he prepared to sink his teeth into Clawface's neck. But before he could deal his death blow, Whitestorm knocked him aside and grasped the ShadowClan warrior. "ThunderClan warriors do not kill unless they have to," he growled in Firepaw's ear. "We just need to let them know not to show their faces here again!" He gave Clawface a fierce bite that sent him screaming out of the camp. Still raging, Firepaw looked around wildly. Brokenstar's warriors had gone. An angry screech sounded from behind

受伤的副手跑向营地入口，逃到安全的森林里。 “Firepaw !”火爪听见黎明云尖声叫他的名字。 “小心!爪子脸是——”他没听见后面的话。 一只身材魁梧的棕色猫撞了他。 Clawface !火爪把爪子插进土里，转过身来打起来。 那个杀死斑点叶的战士！他怒不可遏，扑向那只棕色的汤姆。 火爪把战士推倒在地，把他的头按在泥土里。 他被怒火冲昏了头脑，准备把牙齿咬进爪子脸的脖子。 但在他发出致命一击之前，白风暴把他撞到一边，抓住了暗影部落的战士。 “除非万不得已，雷霆族的战士是不会杀人的。”他在火爪耳边咆哮道。 “我们只需要让他们知道不要再在这里露面！”他狠狠地咬了爪子脸一口，把它吓得尖叫着冲出了营地。 火爪仍在愤怒地四处张望。 布罗肯斯塔的战士们走了。 后面传来一声愤怒的尖叫

Graypaw. Graypaw leaped out of the way and Firepaw saw Yellowfang gripping Brokenstar with muddy, bloodstained paws. His body bled from several wounds. His ears were flattened against his head, and his whiskers were drawn back as he crouched, flattened beneath Yellowfang's powerful grasp. "I never thought you would be harder to kill than my father!" he snarled up at her. Yellowfang recoiled as if she had been stung by a bee, her face twisted suddenly by shock and grief. She loosened her grip on Brokenstar, and instantly he threw her aside with a twist of his powerful body. "You killed Raggedstar?" Yellowfang wailed, her eyes wide with disbelief. Brokenstar eyed her coldly. "You found his body. Didn't you recognize my fur between his claws?" Yellowfang stared in horror as he continued. "He was a soft and foolish leader. He deserved to die." "No!" hissed Yellowfang, her head dropping. Then she gave herself a shake. She looked up at Brokenstar, arching her back. "And Brightflower's

Graypaw。灰爪跳开，火爪看见黄牙用沾满泥巴和血迹的爪子抓着布罗肯星。 他身上有几处伤口在流血。 他的耳朵贴着脑袋，胡须向后缩着，蹲在那里，被黄牙有力的抓住。 “我从没想到你比我父亲还难杀！”他对她咆哮道。 黄牙畏缩了一下，好像被蜜蜂蜇了一下，她的脸突然因震惊和悲伤而扭曲。 她松开了对布罗肯斯塔的控制，布罗肯斯塔猛地一扭，把她甩到一边。 “你杀了破烂星？”黄牙哭了起来，眼睛睁得大大的，难以置信。 布罗肯斯塔冷冷地看着她。 “你找到了他的尸体。你没认出他爪子间有我的毛吗？”他继续说，黄牙惊恐地盯着他。 “他是一个软弱而愚蠢的领导人。 他该死。”“不！”黄牙低着头嘶嘶地说。 然后她摇了摇自己。 她抬头看着布罗肯斯塔，拱起了背。 “和Brightflower

kits? Did they deserve to die too?" she rasped. Brokenstar growled and hurled himself at Yellowfang, forcing her onto her belly. Yellowfang didn't even attempt to struggle against his thorn- sharp claws. Firepaw saw with alarm that her eyes were glazed with sadness. "Those kits were weak," Brokenstar hissed, bending his face toward Yellowfang's ear. "They would have been no use to ShadowClan. If I hadn't killed them, some other warrior would have." A wail of grief went up from a black-and- white ShadowClan queen. Brokenstar ignored her. "I should have killed you when I had the chance," he spat at Yellowfang. "It seems I must have some of my father's softness. I was a fool to let you leave ShadowClan alive!" He lunged, teeth bared, ready to sink them into her neck. Firepaw was quicker. He jumped onto Brokenstar's back before he could clamp his jaws shut. Firepaw dug his claws into the matted tabby fur and pulled him off the exhausted queen, flinging him to the edge of the clearing. Brokenstar twisted around in midair to land on

包吗?他们也该死吗？”她厉声问道。 布罗肯斯塔咆哮着扑向黄牙，把她逼到肚子上。 黄牙甚至没有反抗它那尖利的爪子。 火爪惊恐地看到她的眼睛充满了悲伤。 “那些套件太弱了。”布罗肯斯塔压低声音说，把脸凑向黄牙的耳朵。 “他们对影子氏族毫无用处。 就算我没杀他们，也会有别的战士杀了他们。” 一位黑白相间的影族女王哀号起来。 布罗肯斯塔不理她。“我有机会的时候就该杀了你。”他朝黄牙啐了一口。 “看来我一定继承了父亲的温柔。 我真是个傻瓜，竟然让你活着离开了暗影家族！”他扑过去，露出牙齿，准备咬住她的脖子。 火爪更快。他还没来得及合上嘴，就跳到布罗肯斯塔的背上。 火爪把爪子伸进虎斑斑纹的毛皮里，把它从筋疲力尽的蚁后身上拽下来，扔到空地的边缘。 布罗肯星在半空中盘旋着降落