Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 Shivering, Leafpool peered out into the clearing. If Tigerstar looked up, she felt as if his amber gaze could have burned away the tree trunk to reveal her cowering behind it. Instead, his eyes were fixed on his sons. But this was a dream! Had Tigerstar called them to him as they slept, in the same way that medicine cats walked in dreams with StarClan? He had brought them somewhere Leafpool had never been before, a place of endless night where living cats never set paw. Even StarClan, she guessed, had never breathed the dank airs of this forest, or padded through its sickly light. "Courage matters more than anything," Tigerstar was saying. "Remember that, when you are leaders." Hawkfrost meowed something that Leafpool didn't catch; Tigerstar twitched his tail impatiently. "Of course courage in battle is important," he rasped, "but I'm talking about courage in the way you deal with your own Clan. They must accept

第十四章 叶池浑身发抖，探出头望向空地。 要是虎星抬头，她觉得他那双琥珀色眼睛能烧穿树干，把躲在后面的她暴露出来。 可他的眼睛偏偏死死盯着自己的两个儿子。 可这明明是一场梦啊！ 巫医会和星族在梦中相会，虎星难道也是这样，趁儿子们睡觉时把他们叫到这儿来的吗？ 他把他们带到了一处叶池从未去过的地方，这里漫无边际全是黑夜，活猫从未踏足此地。 叶池猜测，就算是星族，也从未呼吸过这片森林阴湿的空气，也从未在这片昏浊的微光中行走。 “勇气比任何东西都重要，”虎星说道。 “等你们当上族长，一定要记住这点。” 鹰霜喵了一声，叶池没听清他说什么；虎星不耐烦地甩了甩尾巴。 “战场上的勇气当然重要，”他哑着嗓子说，“但我说的是处理自己族群事务时需要的勇气。 他们必须接受

your orders, and if they question you, back up your decisions with tooth and claw." Leafpool's eyes stretched wide in disbelief. Firestar had never attacked a member of his Clan, even if they disagreed with him. "Weakness is dangerous," the huge tabby continued. "You must hide your doubts—or better still, don't have doubts at all. You must always be certain that what you are doing is right." Was that how Tigerstar had felt, Leafpool wondered, when he had murdered Redtail and plotted the murder of Bluestar so that he could be Clan leader? When he led the dog pack to the ThunderClan camp to gain revenge, and brought BloodClan into the forest to help him force the other Clans into submission—had he been completely sure that he was right? Hawkfrost's ice-blue eyes were fixed on his father; he was obviously drinking in every word. Brambleclaw had his back to Leafpool so she couldn't see his expression, but his ears were pricked. Icy claws gripped her heart. Tigerstar was training his sons, like a warrior preparing an

你的命令，如果他们敢质疑，就用尖牙和利爪捍卫你的决定。” 叶池满脸不敢相信，眼睛瞪得大大的。 火星从来没攻击过自己族群的猫，就算对方不同意他的决定也不会。 “软弱十分危险，”这只大块头虎斑猫继续说道。 “你必须藏起你的疑惑——或者最好干脆就不要有疑惑。 你必须永远认定，自己做的事情是对的。” 叶池不禁心想，当年虎星杀害红尾、谋害蓝星抢族长位置的时候，他也是这么想的吗？ 当年他把狗群引到雷族营地复仇，把血族带进森林逼其他族群臣服的时候，他也完全确定自己是对的吗？ 鹰霜冰蓝色的眼睛死死盯着父亲，明明白白把每句话都刻进了心里。 黑莓掌背对着叶池，叶池看不清他的表情，但他的耳朵竖得笔直。 冰冷的爪子狠狠揪住了叶池的心。 虎星正在训练自己的儿子们，就像一名武士准备培养

apprentice for battle! He was trying to turn them into the kind of murderous tyrant he had been. "But how do we become leaders?" Brambleclaw asked. "I don't think Firestar will ever make me his deputy. I haven't even had an apprentice yet." The fur on Tigerstar's shoulders bristled. "When you hunt, do you expect the mice to leap into your jaws?" he hissed. "No. You scent your prey, you stalk it, and then you pounce. It's the same with power. It won't come to you unless you seek it." Brambleclaw muttered something, and Leafpool saw Tigerstar's neck fur lie flat again. "Don't worry," he meowed. "Both of you have the true spirit of warriors. I know you will succeed if you follow my pawsteps closely." "We will!" Hawkfrost leapt to his paws. "We'll do whatever you tell us." His enthusiasm chilled Leafpool. What could this bloodthirsty cat command his sons to do? She shrank back, shivering, and although she didn't think she had made a sound, the huge tabby's head swung around and he peered into

学徒作战！ 他想把他们变成和他一样嗜杀的暴君。 “可我们要怎么当上族长呢？” 黑莓掌问道。 “我觉得火星永远不会选我当副族长。 我甚至还从来没有过自己的学徒呢。” 虎星肩膀的毛发一下炸了起来。 “你打猎的时候，难道还等着老鼠自己跳进你嘴里吗？”他嘶声说道。 “不对。你得嗅出猎物的踪迹，悄悄靠近，然后扑上去。 权力也是同样的道理。 你不去主动追寻，它绝不会主动来找你。” 黑莓掌嘟囔了几句，叶池看见虎星脖子上的毛发又顺平了。 “别担心，”他说道。 “你们两个都拥有真正的武士之魂。 我知道只要你们紧紧跟着我的脚步，就一定能成功。” “我们一定会的！” 鹰霜一下子跳了起来。 “你吩咐我们做什么，我们就做什么。” 他的这份热情让叶池浑身发冷。 这只嗜血的恶猫，会命令他的儿子们做出什么事来？ 她缩着身子不住发抖，虽然她觉得自己没发出一点声音，这只大虎斑猫还是猛地转过头，望向

the shadows where she was hiding. Terrified, Leafpool turned and fled, blundering among roots and trailing stems of bramble, bracing herself to hear sounds of pursuit and to feel a massive paw grabbing her by the throat. There were no paths out of the dark forest. Trees stretched endlessly on every side, and there was no birdsong or rustle of prey, no sign that any living creature had ever trodden among these dark thickets. Where am I? There was no reply to Leafpool's silent wail. What had brought her to this place where StarClan had never set paw, where the spirit of a murderous cat could call his sons to him in dreams? In her panic-stricken flight Leafpool didn't look where she was going. Suddenly the ground gave way under her paws. She let out a shocked yowl as she plunged into darkness; her body hit the ground with a thump that drove the breath out of her. Her eyes flew open and she let out a gasp of terror. A tabby head was a mouse-length away from hers, amber eyes staring down at her.

她藏身的阴影里。 叶池吓得转身就跑，慌慌张张撞在树根和黑莓藤蔓上，她提心吊胆，等着听见追捕的声音，等着巨爪掐住自己的喉咙。 这片黑暗森林根本没有出路。 四面八方全是望不到头的树木，这里没有鸟鸣，没有猎物走动的沙沙声，从来没有活物踏足过这片黑暗的灌木丛。 我在哪里？ 叶池无声的哭喊没有得到任何回应。 究竟是什么把她带到了这个星族从未踏足、杀猫恶魂能在梦中召唤儿子的地方？ 慌不择路逃跑的叶池根本没看脚下的路。 突然，她脚下的地面一下子塌了下去。 她吃惊地惨叫一声，一头坠入了黑暗； 她的身体重重砸在地上，震得她喘不过气来。 她猛地睁开眼睛，吓得倒抽一口冷气。 一只虎斑猫的脑袋离她只有一只老鼠那么远，一双琥珀色眼睛正低头盯着她。

"Are you okay?" Brambleclaw meowed. Leafpool scrambled into a sitting position, scattering scraps of moss. She was in her nest outside Cinderpelt's den. The creamy light of dawn was seeping into the sky above the trees. "Leafpool?" Brambleclaw sounded concerned. His pelt was ruffled, with bits of bracken sticking to it, as if he had only recently roused from his own nest in the warriors" den. "Is something the matter? I heard you cry out." "What? No—no, I'm fine." Leafpool stared uncertainly up at Brambleclaw. Had he come to tell her that he'd seen her in his dream? "Firestar is choosing cats to go to the Gathering tonight," he meowed, yawning. "Are you fit to come? I know you had a long journey yesterday." Relief swept through Leafpool from ears to tail-tip. If Brambleclaw had really had the same dream, he hadn't noticed her in the shadows. But her relief faded as she wondered if he had chosen to visit his father in the dark forest. What was Tigerstar going to make him do to become Clan leader?

“你没事吧？” 黑莓掌喵呜问道。 叶池慌忙坐起身，弄散了满地苔藓碎。 她正躺在炭毛巢穴外自己的窝里。 奶白色的晨光正顺着树顶渗进天空。 “叶池？” 黑莓掌的声音满是担心。 他的毛发蓬乱，还沾着好几片蕨叶，看样子刚从武士巢穴自己的窝里醒过来没多久。 “出什么事了吗？ 我听到你叫出声了。” “什么？ 没——没事，我挺好的。” 叶池疑惑不定地抬头望着黑莓掌。 他难道是来告诉她，自己在梦里见到她了吗？ “火星正在选今晚去森林大会的猫，”他打着哈欠说。 “你的身体能跟去吗？ 我知道你昨天走了很远的路。” 叶池从耳朵到尾巴尖都松了一口气。 就算黑莓掌真的做了同一个梦，也没发现躲在阴影里的她。 可没过多久，她的欣慰就消失了，她忍不住猜想，他会不会是去黑森林找他父亲了。 虎星会逼他做什么，才能让他当上族群族长呢？

She got up, still feeling shaky but determined to hide it. "I'm fine," she repeated. "Tell Firestar I'd like to come." Brambleclaw dipped his head and backed away. Leafpool took a few deep breaths before giving her pelt a quick grooming. She had completely forgotten that this was the night of the full moon. Even though her pelt prickled with fear, she wanted to watch Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw together. Would they give away what was happening as they slept? How often had Tigerstar called them to him in dreams before now? Leafpool knew there was no cat she could ask for advice. Firestar and Cinderpelt both took her dreams from StarClan very seriously, but this dream was different. She didn't dare tell them about it; she was terrified of what the dream might mean, for she had never heard of any other medicine cat walking where she had walked. In that forest, she had felt farther than ever from her warrior ancestors. If she lost touch with them altogether, would she be condemned to wander forever in that dark place, and never find her way

她站起身，身子还在发抖，可还是下定决心要藏好。 “我没事，”她重复道。 “告诉火星我想去。” 黑莓掌点点头，转身退了出去。 叶池深吸好几口气，飞快地把皮毛舔顺。 她居然完全忘了今天是满月之夜。 就算她怕得浑身都发紧，还是想亲眼看看鹰霜和黑莓掌待在一起的样子。 他们会不会露出马脚，说出梦里发生的事？ 在这之前，虎星已经多少次在梦里叫他们过去了呀？ 叶池知道，她找不到任何一只猫可以商量。 火星和炭毛都很看重她来自星族的梦，可这个梦不一样。 她不敢把这个梦告诉他们； 她太害怕这个梦的含义了，因为她从没听过有哪个巫医去过她去过的那个地方。 在那片森林里，她觉得自己离武士祖先比任何时候都要遥远。 要是她彻底和他们断了联系，会不会永远困在那片黑暗之地，再也找不到回去