Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 Brambleclaw raced through the dark forest. He felt as though every limb, every hair on his pelt, was bursting with energy. He couldn't wait to tell his father and Hawkfrost the news. Clan deputy! When Firestar made the announcement, he hadn't been able to believe it. But it was true. Not only Firestar, but StarClan themselves had chosen him. Now he had the chance to show the whole of ThunderClan what he could do. He pelted into the clearing where Tigerstar waited on his rock with Hawkfrost sitting on the ground below. "Tigerstar!" he panted. "Great news!" Tigerstar fixed him with an amber gaze that brimmed with pride and satisfaction, and Brambleclaw realized that he already knew. "ThunderClan deputy," he meowed. "You have done well." "Deputy!" Hawkfrost exclaimed. Brambleclaw caught the glitter of jealousy in his ice-blue eyes. "Without an apprentice?" "I was StarClan's choice," Brambleclaw

第18章 黑莓掌在黑暗森林里狂奔。 他感觉自己每一寸四肢、每一根毛发都迸发着能量。 他迫不及待要把这个消息告诉父亲和鹰霜。 族群副族长！ 火星宣布这个任命的时候，他简直不敢相信。 但这千真万确。 不仅是火星，连星族都选中了他。 现在他终于有机会向整个雷族证明自己的能力了。 他冲进空地，虎星正等在高岩上，鹰霜坐在岩下的地面上。 “虎星！” 他喘着气说。 “天大的好消息！” 虎星用满是骄傲与满足的琥珀色目光望向他，黑莓掌这才意识到他早就知道了。 “雷族副族长，”他开口道。 “你做得很好。” “副族长！” 鹰霜惊呼出声。 黑莓掌在他冰蓝色的眼眸里捕捉到了一丝嫉妒的闪光。 “连学徒都还没有？” “我是星族选中的，”黑莓掌

explained. "They sent Leafpool a sign." Tigerstar spoke sharply. "Do not speak of StarClan here. You have gained your position through your own skills and through everything you have learned from me. And yet when power was within your paws you almost threw it away." His gaze darkened, so that Brambleclaw had to brace himself not to flinch. "Why did you remind Firestar that you hadn't had an apprentice?" "I'm sorry," Brambleclaw meowed. "I was so shocked I couldn't believe what he was saying." To his relief, Tigerstar nodded. "Perhaps it was not so foolish after all," he decided. "Now none of your Clan can accuse you of seeking power unfairly." He swiped his tongue around his jaws and turned to Hawkfrost. "As for you, your time will come." Hawkfrost's lip curled, showing his sharp teeth. "I doubt it. It sometimes seems like Leopardstar and Mistyfoot will live forever." Tigerstar lashed his tail. "No son of mine admits defeat. Leopardstar is the oldest of the Clan leaders, and when she goes to join StarClan, who else could Mistyfoot appoint as deputy?

解释道。 “他们给叶池托了预兆。” 虎星厉声说道。 “别在这里提起星族。 你能坐上这个位置，靠的是你自己的本事，还有你从我这里学到的一切。 可权力都到你爪子边了，你差点就把它拱手扔掉。” 他的眼神沉了下来，黑莓掌绷紧身子才没有退缩。 “你为什么要提醒火星你还没带过学徒？” “对不起，”黑莓掌说道。 “我太震惊了，根本不敢相信他说的话。” 让黑莓掌松了口气的是，虎星点了点头。 “也许这说到底也没那么蠢，”他评判道。 “现在你的族猫没人能指责你用不正当的方式夺权。” 他舔了舔嘴巴，转向鹰霜。 “至于你，你的机会总会来的。” 鹰霜撇了撇嘴，露出尖利的牙齿。 “我可不觉得。 有时候我觉得豹星和雾脚会永远活下去。” 虎星猛地甩了下尾巴。 “我的儿子绝不认输。 豹星是最年长的族长，等她去了星族，雾脚还能任命谁当副族长呢？”

Don't forget that you have already been deputy once." Hawkfrost nodded and seemed to make an effort to shrug off his ill temper. "Congratulations," he mewed to Brambleclaw. "Thanks," Brambleclaw replied. "I'm sure you won't have to wait long for your turn." "Enough of this," Tigerstar meowed with a flick of his tail. "There are more plans for us to make. The two of you are destined to rule the whole forest, and every cat will do as you command. Not one bite of prey will be eaten by any cat unless you say so." Hawkfrost's eyes gleamed, but Brambleclaw took a pace back. What was Tigerstar talking about? It was a huge step from being Clan deputy to ruling the entire forest. "What do you mean?" he asked. "How can—?" Tigerstar silenced him with a snarl. "Once you are both leaders, Hawkfrost will take over ShadowClan as well as RiverClan. They will welcome him because I was their leader once, and he is my son. And you, Brambleclaw, will

别忘了你曾经已经当过一次副族长了。” 鹰霜点了点头，似乎努力驱散了自己的坏脾气。 “恭喜你，”他对黑莓掌说。 “谢谢，”黑莓掌回应道。 “我相信你不用等太久就能轮到你。” “够了，”虎星甩了下尾巴说道。 “我们还有更多计划要制定。 你们俩命中注定要统治整座森林，所有猫都得听你们号令。 没有我的允许，任何猫都别想吃到一口猎物。” 鹰霜的眼睛亮了起来，可黑莓掌往后退了一步。 虎星到底在说什么？ 从当族群副族长到统治整座森林，这一步也太大了。 “你是什么意思？”他问道。 “怎么可——？” 虎星一声咆哮，让他住了嘴。 “等你们俩都当上族长，鹰霜就能同时接管影族和河族。 他们会欢迎他的，毕竟我曾经是他们的族长，他是我的儿子。 而你，黑莓掌，将会

lead WindClan alongside ThunderClan." "But Onestar leads WindClan!" Brambleclaw pointed out. "And they've been ThunderClan allies for many seasons." Tigerstar's tail-tip twitched. "Which is why taking control of their Clan won't be a problem. Those weak fools in WindClan are so used to taking orders from ThunderClan that they'll hardly notice the difference." Brambleclaw stared up at his father, daunted by the blaze of certainty in his amber eyes. "But there have always been four Clans," he objected, knowing how feeble his words must sound. "There used to be, in the forest." Tigerstar flicked his ears, dismissing the Clans" former home. "But now that everything else has changed, perhaps it's time for that to change too. It will change, if you have the strength." For a few heartbeats, Brambleclaw let himself get swept up in his father's vision of the future. It was tempting to imagine himself controlling a vast swath of land, with two Clans of strong, powerful warriors at his command. He could lead them well, he knew. StarClan had chosen him to

同时统领风族和雷族。” “可是现在风族是一星在领导啊！” 黑莓掌指出。 “而且他们和雷族已经结盟很多个季节了。” 虎星的尾尖抖了一下。 “所以接管他们的族群根本不成问题。 风族那些软弱的傻瓜早就习惯听雷族命令了，他们几乎察觉不出区别。” 黑莓掌抬头望着父亲，他琥珀色眼眸里那团势在必得的火焰让他心生胆怯。 “可一直以来都有四个族群啊，”他反对道，也清楚自己这番话有多无力。 “以前在旧森林确实是这样。” 虎星抖了抖耳朵，没把旧家园当回事。 “可既然其他一切都变了，也许这件事也该变一变了。 只要你有勇气，这件事就能成。” 有那么片刻，黑莓掌忍不住被父亲对未来的构想带动了情绪。 想象自己掌控大片土地，指挥着两个族群的强壮武士，这太诱人了。 他知道自己能带领他们发展得很好。 星族已经选中了他去

be ThunderClan's deputy; perhaps this was just the first tiny pawstep on his way to a glorious destiny. "Of course we have the strength," Hawkfrost meowed. "At the next Gathering we should start making friends in our future Clans, so that we'll have their support when we take over." Tigerstar nodded, but Hawkfrost's words disturbed Brambleclaw. He already had friends in WindClan. They wouldn't support him if he tried to take over; they would think he had betrayed them. He glanced at Hawkfrost, who was obviously waiting for him to respond, and gave a noncommittal murmur. He wasn't going to agree to anything until he'd had time to think this through. "A Gathering would be the perfect opportunity to take power," Hawkfrost went on, his eyes gleaming. "Brambleclaw, when you and I are leaders of our Clans, we could choose our strongest cats to come with us to the Gathering—" "Cats who will carry out your orders without question," Tigerstar put in, dipping his head to

成为雷族的副族长； 说不定这只是他迈向辉煌命运的小小第一步。 “我们当然拥有足够的实力，”鹰霜喵呜说道。 “下次森林大会上，我们就要去未来归属的族群交朋友，这样我们夺权的时候就能得到他们的支持了。” 虎星点了点头，可鹰霜的话让黑莓掌心神不宁。 他本来就在风族有朋友。 如果他要夺权，朋友们绝不会支持他，只会觉得他背叛了他们。 他瞥了鹰霜一眼，对方明摆着在等他回应，于是他不置可否地咕哝了一声。 在把这事想清楚之前，他不会同意任何事。 “森林大会正是夺权的绝佳机会，”鹰霜接着说，眼睛闪闪发亮。 “黑莓掌，等你我当上各自族群的族长，我们就能挑最强壮的猫跟着我们去大会——”“那些会毫不犹豫执行你命令的猫，”虎星插话，低下头朝

Hawkfrost as if he already guessed his son's plan and approved of it. "Of course. And then we simply kill the other two leaders and take over their Clans while they're all trapped on the island." "What?" Brambleclaw felt his neck fur rising. He couldn't believe what he had heard. "At a Gathering?" "Yes—that's the clever part of it," Hawkfrost explained. "No cat will be expecting trouble." "And two strong warriors will be all you need to guard the end of the tree-bridge," Tigerclaw added. "No cat will be able to escape." Brambleclaw took a step back. "How can you suggest killing at a Gathering? StarClan would never forgive us if we broke their truce." Hawkfrost shrugged. "StarClan was angry when the fight broke out at the last Gathering— or so Barkface said. But I didn't see any cat being hurt because of it." "Everything is possible." Tigerstar's voice growled deep in his chest; his amber eyes were fixed on Brambleclaw with a baleful glare. "You will never be a powerful leader if you keep

鹰霜，仿佛他早就猜到儿子的计划，并且表示赞同。 “那当然。 等所有猫都困在岛上的时候，我们直接杀掉另外两个族长，夺走他们的族群就行了。” “你说什么？” 黑莓掌感觉后颈的毛都竖了起来。 他根本不敢相信自己听到的这番话。 “居然要在森林大会动手？” “没错——这正是这个计划高明的地方，”鹰霜解释道。 “没有猫会料到会出事情。” “再找两名强壮的武士守住树桥的尽头，”虎爪补充道。 “没有猫能逃得出去。” 黑莓掌往后退了一步。 “你怎么能提议在森林大会上杀人？ 如果我们破坏了星族的休战约定，星族永远不会原谅我们的。” 鹰霜耸了耸肩膀。 “上次大会爆发打斗后星族很生气——至少巴克菲斯是这么说的。 可我没见有哪只猫因此受到伤害呀。” “一切皆有可能。” 虎星的声音从胸腔深处隆隆传出； 他琥珀色的眼睛带着恶毒的怒光死死盯着黑莓掌。 “你永远成不了强大的族长，如果你一直