Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 Hollypaw crouched low, pressing her belly against the boulder. It was still warm from the sun, which was dipping behind the distant hills. A cold wind rolling from the mountains ruffled her fur. From here she could see green fields unfolding toward a swath of forest; somewhere beyond those trees lay the lake, and home. Though the trees were still in full leaf, they were a shabby green, and the air had a new, musty taste that hadn't been there on the journey to the mountains. Leaf-fall is coming, she thought. She couldn't wait to be home. It felt as though they had been with the Tribe for moons. At least they were safely out of the mountains. The ground would be softer underpaw from here on, the hunting easier, and the territory steadily more familiar than rock and water and stunted trees. She glanced over her shoulder. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were talking in low voices with Stormfur and Brook. Tawnypelt and Crowfeather leaned in beside them. Were they saying good

第一章 冬青爪伏低身子，肚皮紧紧贴在巨石上。 巨石还留着太阳的余温，太阳正缓缓沉向远处的山丘背后。 从山里卷来的冷风，吹乱了她的皮毛。 从这里望去，翠绿原野一直铺向一片森林； 树林那头的某处就是湖泊，也是家的方向。 虽然树木依旧枝繁叶茂，但叶片已是暗淡的灰绿，空气里也多了一股去山里途中没有的陈腐气息。 落叶季就要来了，她想。 她迫不及待想要回家。 她们感觉自己已经在部落待了好几个月了。 至少她们已经平安走出了大山。 从这儿往后，爪下的土地会更松软，捕猎也更容易，领地也比满是岩石、溪水和矮树的山里亲切得多。 她回头瞥了一眼。 黑莓掌和松鼠飞正和暴毛、溪儿低声交谈。 褐皮和鸦羽凑到了他们身旁。 他们是在道

bye? Hollypaw was still shocked that Stormfur and Brook were staying behind. Last night, at the farewell feast in the cave behind the waterfall, Stormfur had announced that he and Brook would accompany the Clan cats to the foothills, but no farther. Jaypaw, of course, had just shrugged and nodded, as though he'd known all along the two cats would not be returning to ThunderClan. But Hollypaw could only guess at why any cat would want to stay in the mountains when they could live by the lake. Brook must feel the same way about the mountains as I do about my home. And Stormfur loves her enough to stay with her, wherever she is. Suddenly, a flash of brown feather caught her eye. An eagle was skimming over the rough slope below her. Ahead of it a hare pelted in terror, throwing up dirt and grass from its long back feet. Folding its wings deftly against its sides, the eagle attacked, tumbling the hare head over heels before pinning it to the ground with thorn-sharp talons. Hollypaw envied the eagle's speed. To be able

别？ 冬青爪至今仍很吃惊，暴毛和溪儿竟然要留下来。 昨晚，在瀑布后方洞穴的饯别宴上，暴毛宣布，他和溪儿只会送族猫到山脚，不会再往前走了。 当然，松鸦爪只是耸耸肩点了点头，好像他早就知道这两只猫不会回雷族。 可冬青爪怎么也想不通，明明能住在湖边，为什么会有猫想要留在山里。 溪儿对大山的感情，肯定就像我对自己家的感情一样。 而暴毛爱她，所以不管她去哪，他都愿意留下来陪她。 突然，一抹棕羽的闪光映入了她的眼帘。 一只秃鹰正从她下方崎岖的山坡上掠过。 鹰的前方，一只野兔惊慌狂奔，长长的后爪刨起了泥土和草屑。 鹰灵巧地把翅膀收拢在身侧发起攻击，将野兔一把掀得打了个滚，再用荆棘般锋利的爪把它按在了地上。 冬青爪羡慕鹰的速度。 真希望自己能

to fly like that! She closed her eyes and imagined skimming over the grass, paws hardly touching the ground, light as air, faster than the fastest prey.... "I wish we could get moving again." Lionpaw's impatient mew broke into her thoughts. He padded onto the boulder and stood beside her, following her gaze toward the eagle feasting on its catch. "I wish I had something in my belly," he mewed. "Do you suppose we'll ever be able to fly?" Hollypaw murmured. Lionpaw turned and looked at her as though she'd gone crazy. "I mean," she tried to explain hurriedly, "Jaypaw said we have the power of the stars in our paws." It still felt strange to say it out loud. "We don't really know what that means. I was just wondering if—" "Flying cats!" Lionpaw scoffed. "What'd be the point of that?" Hollypaw's ears were hot with embarrassment. "You've got no imagination," she snapped. "Here we are with more power than any other cat ever,

像那样飞啊！ 她闭上眼，想象自己擦着草地滑翔，爪子几乎不沾地面，轻得像空气，比最快的猎物还要快…… "真希望我们能继续赶路了。" 狮爪不耐烦的叫声打断了她的思绪。 他跃上巨石站在她身边，顺着她的目光望向正在享用猎物的鹰。 "我真希望肚子里能有点东西，"他喵声道。 "你说我们到底能不能飞呀？" 冬青爪轻声喃喃道。 狮爪转过身看着她，好像她已经疯了。 "我是说，"她连忙解释，"松鸦爪说我们爪上拥有星辰的力量。" 把这话大声说出来，连她自己都觉得怪怪的。 "我们其实也不知道这句话是什么意思。 我只是在想会不会——" "会飞的猫！" 狮爪嗤笑一声。 "这有什么意义呢？" 冬青爪的耳朵臊得发烫。 "你一点想象力都没有，"她怒冲冲地说。 如今我们拥有了比以往任何猫都更强大的力量，

and you act like it's nothing at all! Why shouldn't we be able to fly, or do anything we want to? And stop laughing at me!" "I'm not laughing at you." Lionpaw flicked Hollypaw's flank with his tail. "I just think we'd look stupid with wings." Frustration surged in Hollypaw's chest. She rounded on her brother, glaring. "You're not taking this seriously enough! We've got to figure out exactly what this prophecy means!" Lionpaw blinked and took a step backward. "Keep your fur on. You know Jaypaw and his visions. They sound great, but we have to live in the real world." "What does the real world mean, now that we have the power of the stars in our paws? We'll be able to do anything! Imagine how much we'll be able to help our Clan!" Lionpaw frowned. "The prophecy didn't say anything about helping our Clan; it just mentioned the three of us." Hollypaw stared at him. "But the warrior code says we must protect our Clan before anything else!"

可你却表现得好像这根本无所谓！ 为什么我们不能飞，不能做任何我们想做的事？ 别再笑我了！" "我没笑你啊。" 狮爪用尾巴扫了下冬青爪的侧腹。 "我只是觉得我们长翅膀的话，肯定看起来蠢透了。" 挫败感涌上了冬青爪的心头。 她转身冲着哥哥，怒目而视。 "你根本没把这事当回事！ 我们得搞清楚这个预言到底是什么意思！" 狮爪眨了眨眼，往后退了一步。 "别这么大火气嘛。 你又不是不知道松鸦爪和他那些幻象。 听起来是很厉害，但我们总得活在现实里啊。" "我们爪上都有星辰的力量了，现实又算什么？ 我们能做到任何事！ 想想看我们能帮到族群多少啊！" 狮爪皱起了眉头。 "预言根本没提帮助族群的事，它只说到了我们三个。" 冬青爪怔怔地看着他。 "但武士守则说，我们必须把保护族群放在第一位！"

Lionpaw's gaze drifted to the distant hills. "Are we bound by the warrior code if we're more powerful than StarClan?" he wondered out loud. "How could you say such a thing?" Hollypaw scolded, but a shiver of foreboding ran along her spine. If the prophecy meant that they had to live outside the warrior code, how would she know what was right? How would she know what she was supposed to do if it came to a choice between her own safety and her Clan's? Jaypaw's pelt brushed hers as he jumped up beside them. "Could you two speak a bit louder?" he hissed. "I think some of the others didn't hear you." His blue eyes were flashing with anger. Blindness had not robbed them of showing feeling. Hollypaw spun around to see if any of the other cats had been listening, but the warriors were still deep in their own conversation. "No one's taking any notice of us," she reassured him. "Not every cat has got such good hearing as you," Lionpaw added. "I'm just warning you to be careful, okay?" Jaypaw mewed. "We have to keep this a secret."

狮爪的目光飘向了远处的山丘。 “如果我们比星族还强大，还要被武士守则束缚吗？” 他出声说出了心底的疑惑。 “你怎么能说这种话？” 冬青爪出声责备，可一缕不祥的寒意顺着她的脊梁爬过。 如果预言注定他们要活在武士守则之外，她该怎么分辨对错呢？ 万一要在自身安危和部族之间做选择，她怎么知道该怎么做呢？ 松鸦爪跳到他俩身边，皮毛蹭到了冬青爪的身体。 “你俩能不能说话大点声？”他低声喝道。 “我觉得有些同伴没听见你们说的话。” 他的蓝眼睛里闪动着怒火。 就算失明，也没能让他的眼睛失去流露情绪的神采。 冬青爪连忙转身，看看有没有别的猫偷听，可武士们都还沉浸在自己的聊天里。 “没人注意我们的，”她安抚松鸦爪说。 “又不是所有猫都像你听力这么好，”狮爪补充道。 “我只是提醒你们小心点，知道吗？” 松鸦爪轻声说。 “我们必须把这个秘密藏好。”

"We know," Lionpaw assured him. "Actually, I don't think you do," Jaypaw argued. "How do you think the other cats would react if they found out we've been born with more power than StarClan?" Lionpaw glanced at Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. "They'd never believe it." "I hardly believe it myself," Hollypaw admitted. "They'd believe it, all right." Jaypaw's voice was icy. "But I don't think they'd like it." "Why not?" Hollypaw felt a jolt of alarm. She hadn't thought about how her Clanmates would take the news. Surely they'd be glad? They must know she would only use her power to help them! Lionpaw seemed to agree with her. "Won't they want us to be the best warriors we can be?" "This prophecy isn't about being a good warrior!" Jaypaw warned. His claws scraped against the surface of the boulder in frustration. "It's about having more power than StarClan. Don't you think ordinary cats might find that a bit scary?" "But we're not going to do anything bad,"

“我们知道的，”狮爪向他保证。 “才不是，我觉得你们根本没上心，”松鸦爪反驳道。 “要是其他猫发现我们生来就比星族还强大，你觉得他们会是什么反应？” 狮爪瞥了一眼松鼠飞和黑莓掌。 “他们才不会信呢。” “我自己都几乎不敢信，”冬青爪承认道。 “不，他们肯定会信的。” 松鸦爪的声音冷冰冰的。 “但他们肯定不会喜欢这件事。” “为什么不会？” 冬青爪心头猛地一惊。 她从来没想过族猫会怎么看待这件事。 他们肯定会开心的，对不对？ 他们肯定知道，她只会用力量帮助大家呀！ 狮爪好像也同意她的想法。 “难道他们不希望我们成为最好的武士吗？” “这个预言根本和当好武士没关系！” 松鸦爪警告道。 他恼火地用爪子刮蹭着巨石的表面。 “它说的就是我们拥有比星族更强大的力量。 你不觉得普通猫会觉得这件事很可怕吗？” “可我们不会做任何坏事呀，”