Chapter 0 Prologue

THE NEW PROPHECY WARRIORS SUNSET ERIN HUNTER #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

新预言 猫武士 日落 艾琳·亨特 《纽约时报》排名第一的畅销书作家

PROLOGUE Night lay heavily over the forest. No wind stirred the long grass at the edge of the path where a massive tabby cat stalked through the shadows. He paused, ears pricked, amber eyes narrowed. No moon or stars shone in the sky above his head but tree trunks thick with fungus shed an eerie glow on the bare earth beneath his paws. The huge tom opened his jaws to draw in air, though he did not expect to taste the scent of prey. He knew that the twitching of the ferns meant nothing, and the flickering scraps of darkness that he could see from the corner of his eye would vanish like mist if he pounced on them. There was no hunger in this place, but he longed for the sensation of claws sinking into prey and the first warm bite of fresh-kill after a successful hunt. The fur on his neck and shoulders rose as a new scent drifted toward him: the scent of cat, but not the two he had met here before. This was a different cat, a cat he knew from long ago. He stalked forward, following the scent, until the

序章 沉沉夜幕笼罩着森林。 小径边的长草纹丝不动，一只大块头虎斑猫悄无声息穿行在阴影中。 他停下脚步，竖起耳朵，琥珀色的眼睛眯了起来。 头顶天空看不见月亮和星星，长满真菌的树干在他爪下的裸地上投下诡异的光。 这只大公猫张开嘴吸了吸空气，尽管他没指望能闻到猎物的气味。 他清楚蕨类抽搐不算什么，眼角瞥见的晃荡黑影，扑过去也会像雾气一样消散。 这里不存在饥饿，可他还是渴望爪子刺进猎物、狩猎成功后咬下第一口温热鲜肉的感觉。 一阵陌生气味飘来，他脖子和肩膀的毛都竖了起来：那是猫的气味，但不是之前在这里遇到的那两只。 这是另一只猫，一只他很久以前就认识的猫。 他追踪着气味悄悄往前走，一直走到

trees thinned out and he stood at the edge of a clearing washed by sickly light. The other cat came bounding across the open space to meet him, ears flattened and eyes wild with terror. "Tigerstar!" he gasped, sliding to a halt and cowering to the ground. "Where did you come from? I thought I was alone here." "Get up, Darkstripe." The tabby tom's voice was a rumble of disgust. "Stop cringing like a terrified kit." Darkstripe rose to his paws and gave his fur a couple of quick licks. Once sleek like a well-fed fish, his pelt was now thin and tangled with burrs. "I don't understand this place," he meowed. "Where are we? Where is StarClan?" "StarClan does not walk here." Darkstripe's eyes stretched wide. "Why not? And why is it always dark here? Where is the moon?" A shiver ran through him. "I thought we would be hunting across the sky with our warrior ancestors, and watching over our Clanmates." Tigerstar let out a faint hiss. "That way is not for us. But I don't need starlight to follow my path. If StarClan thinks they can forget about us,

树林变得稀疏，他站在林间空地边缘，空地被惨白诡异的光线笼罩着。 另一只猫穿过空地朝他奔来，耳朵平贴在头上，眼睛里满是恐惧。 "虎星！" 他大口喘着气，猛地停住脚，蜷缩着伏在地上。 "你从哪儿来？ 我以为这里只有我一个人。" "起来，黑条。" 虎斑公猫的声音带着厌恶，低沉地隆隆作响。 "别像吓坏的幼崽一样缩头缩脑的。" 黑条站起身，快速舔了两下自己的毛。 他的皮毛曾经像饱食的鱼一样顺滑，现在却又薄又乱，还沾满了刺果。 "我搞不懂这个地方，"他喵呜说道。 "我们到底在哪儿？ 星族呢？" "星族不会来这里。" 黑条一下子瞪大了眼睛。 "为什么不会？ 为什么这里总是黑黢黢的？ 月亮去哪儿了？" 一阵战栗扫过他的全身。 "我还以为我们会和武士祖先一起在天空狩猎，守护我们的族猫呢。" 虎星轻轻发出一声嘶鸣。 "那条路不属于我们。 但我不需要星光，照样能走自己的路。 如果星族以为他们能把我们忘得一干二净，

they're wrong." He turned his back on Darkstripe, shouldering his way through the ferns without waiting to see whether the other cat followed him or not. "Wait," Darkstripe panted, scrambling after him. "Tell me what you mean." The massive tabby glanced back, his amber eyes reflecting the pale light. "Firestar thought he won when Scourge took my nine lives. He is a fool. What lies between us is not over yet." "But what can you do to Firestar now?" Darkstripe protested. "You can't leave this forest. I know—I've tried. But however far I walk, the trees never end, and there's no light anywhere." Tigerstar did not reply at once. He padded on through the undergrowth with Darkstripe following close behind. The smaller cat started at every rustle among the ferns and every flickering shadow that fell across his path. Once he halted, eyes staring, jaws open to taste the air. "I can scent Brokenstar!" he exclaimed. "Is he here too? Brokenstar, where are you?" Tigerstar stopped and looked back. "Save your

他们错了。" 他转过身背对着黑条，不等黑条跟不跟上来，就挤着穿过了蕨丛。 "等等，"黑条喘着气，跌跌撞撞跟上来。 "告诉我你这话是什么意思。" 这只大块头虎斑猫回头瞥了一眼，琥珀色的眼睛反射着淡淡的光。 长鞭取走我九条命的时候，火星以为他赢了。 他真是个傻瓜。 我们之间的恩怨还没结束呢。" "可你现在还能对火星做什么呢？" 黑条不服气地问道。 "你根本没法离开这片森林。 我试过——我真的试过了。 可不管我走多远，林子都走不到头，哪儿都没有光。" 虎星没有立刻回答。 他继续在灌木丛里穿行，黑条紧紧跟在他身后。 这只小个子猫每听到蕨丛沙沙响、每看到影子晃过小路都吓一跳。 有一次他停住脚，眼睛直勾勾盯着，张开嘴辨闻空气中的气味。 "我闻到断星的气味了！" 他惊呼道。 "他也在这里吗？ 断星，你在哪儿？" 虎星停住脚步，回过头来。 "省省你的

breath. Brokenstar won't answer you. You will sense traces of many cats here, but seldom will you meet one face-to-face. We may be trapped in one place, but we are trapped alone." "Then how do you expect to deal with Firestar?" Darkstripe asked. "He doesn't even walk this forest." "I won't deal with him." Tigerstar's voice was a soft, threatening growl. "My sons will. Together, Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw will show Firestar that the battle is far from won." Darkstripe's gaze flickered to his former leader's face and away again. "But how can you make Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw do what you want?" Tigerstar silenced him with a single lash of his tail. His claws flexed in and out, scoring the earth beneath his paws. "I have learned to walk in the paths of their dreams," he hissed. "And I have time. All the time in the world. When they have destroyed that mangy kittypet, I'll make them leaders of their Clans, and show them what true power is." Darkstripe flinched back into the shelter of a

力气吧。 断星不会回答你的。 你在这里会闻到很多猫的痕迹，但很少能和他们面对面遇上。 我们或许都困在这片地方，但都是孤零零地被困着。" "那你打算怎么对付火星呢？" 黑条问道。 "他根本不会踏进这片森林。" "用不着我对付他。" 虎星的声音低沉轻柔，带着威胁的低吼。 "我的儿子们会动手。 鹰霜和黑莓掌联手，会让火星明白，战争远远没有结束。" 黑条的目光扫过这位前任族长的脸，立刻又移开了。 "可你怎么能让鹰霜和黑莓掌听你的吩咐呢？" 虎星甩了一下尾巴，就让他闭嘴了。 他爪子一张一合，抓挠着脚下的泥土。 "我已经学会走进他们的梦境了，"他嘶声说。 "而且我有的是时间。 多得数不清的时间。 等他们除掉那个脏宠物猫，我就会让他们当上各自族群的族长，让他们看看什么才是真正的力量。" 黑条往后一缩，躲进了一棵

clump of bracken. "They couldn't have a better teacher," he meowed. "They will learn the best fighting skills in the forest," Tigerstar went on, as if the other cat had not spoken. "They will learn to have no mercy on any cat who tries to oppose them. And in the end, they will divide the entire territory around the lake between them." "But there are four Clans—" "And soon there will be only two. Two Clans of purebred warriors, not weakened by kittypets and half-Clan cats. Firestar has already taken in that useless lump of fur from the horseplace, and her whining kits. Is that any way to lead a Clan?" Darkstripe bowed his head, ears flattened in agreement. "Hawkfrost is fearless," Tigerstar growled approvingly. "He proved that when he drove a badger out of RiverClan's territory. And he showed great wisdom when he helped his sister become a medicine cat. Her support will smooth his path to leadership, and Hawkfrost knows that. He knows that power comes only to those who want it most."

一丛蕨。 “他们不可能有更好的老师了，”他喵声道。 “他们会学到森林里最强的格斗技巧，”虎星接着说，就当对方没开过口。 “他们会学会不对任何反抗他们的猫心慈手软。 “到最后，湖周边的整片领地都会被他们两人瓜分。” “可是现在有四个族群——” “很快就只剩两个了。 两个纯种武士组成的族群，不会被宠物猫和混血族群猫拖垮。 火星早就收留了马场来的那团没用的毛，还有她那群哼哼唧唧的幼崽。 这也配带领族群？” 黑条低下头，耳朵抿平，表示赞同。 “鹰霜天不怕地不怕，”虎星满意地低吼道。 他把獾赶出河族领地的时候，就已经证明了这点。 他帮妹妹当上巫医，足以看出他的智谋。 有她支持，鹰霜通往族长之位的路会顺畅很多，这点他心知肚明。 他明白，权力只会留给最渴望它的猫。”