Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 As soon as Lionblaze had caught more prey, he headed back toward the old Twoleg nest. Dropping the fresh-kill in the tree trunk, he noticed that the rest of the catch he had brought earlier had disappeared, and some cat had scratched earth over the soggy leavings. Slightly reassured that the sick cats were back to their normal routine, he doubled back and headed deeper into the forest toward the entrance to the tunnel. Fear raised every hair on his pelt, but Lionblaze quickened his pace until he was racing through the trees. He felt sick at the thought of going through the tunnels in the dark. He wanted to do it while there was still some chance of daylight. He halted a few fox-lengths away from the tunnel mouth, glancing around warily with his ears pricked and his mouth open to pick up any trace of his Clanmates. No cat must know what he was about to do. This was his and Jaypaw's secret, because the tunnels between the Clans

第20章 狮焰刚捕到更多猎物，就立刻往两脚兽旧巢穴赶回去。 他把新猎物放在树干里，发现之前带来的剩下猎物不见了，还有猫用泥土盖住了湿乎乎的残渣。 确认生病的猫已经恢复了正常作息，狮焰稍微放了心，转身折回，往森林深处的隧道入口走去。 恐惧让狮焰全身的毛发都竖了起来，但他还是加快脚步，在树林里飞奔。 一想到要在黑暗里穿过隧道，他心里就直发闷。 他得趁还有日光的时候赶紧办完这事。 他在离隧道口还有几个狐狸身长的地方停下，警惕地环顾四周，耳朵竖起，嗅着任何族猫的痕迹。 绝对不能让任何猫知道他要做什么。 这是他和松鸦爪的秘密，因为族群之间的隧道

represented nothing but invasion and bloodshed. To his relief, the only ThunderClan scent was stale; he guessed that the dawn patrol had passed this spot earlier in the day. Flattening himself to the ground until his belly fur brushed the grass, Lionblaze crept through the undergrowth and into the tunnel. A couple of tail-lengths down he encountered the thorn barrier he and his Clanmates had put there after the battle, to stop WindClan coming back that way. By the time he had scrabbled his way through the obstacle he had scratched shoulders and pricked pads, and left tufts of golden fur on the thorns behind him. StarClan, please don't let any cat come here to check before I get back. Darkness closed around Lionblaze as he walked along the passage. There was no sound except for his soft paw steps and rapid breathing, but his heart seemed to be thudding loudly enough to be heard in the WindClan camp. It wasn't the WindClan warriors he was afraid of, though. If he met any of them, he would fight and take the consequences afterward when

本来就只代表入侵和流血。 让他松了口气的是，雷族留下的气味都已经淡了； 他猜黎明巡逻队今天早些时候已经来过这里了。 狮焰把身子紧紧贴住地面，肚子都擦到草了，顺着灌木丛爬进了隧道。 往里走了几个尾长之后，他碰到了战后他和族猫设下的荆棘屏障，用来阻止风族从这条路进来。 等他费力爬过这个障碍，肩膀被刮破了，爪垫也扎伤了，荆棘上还留下了几撮他的金色毛发。 星族啊，求求你们，别让任何猫在我回去之前来这里查看。 狮沿着通道往前走，黑暗将狮焰团团包围。 除了他轻轻的脚步声和急促的呼吸声，什么声音都没有，可他觉得自己的心跳声大得连风族营地都能听见。 不过，他害怕的并不是风族武士。 就算真碰到他们，他也会一战，之后再承担后果，哪怕

Onestar complained to Firestar. The vision of his dream was what scared him, and he seemed to smell the reek of Heatherpaw's blood already. At last Lionblaze realized that the darkness was giving way to a gray light. Ahead of him he could hear the sound of rushing water. Moments later he stepped out into the cave where the river flowed, its surface faintly reflecting the light from the gap in the roof. He glanced up at the ledge where Heatherpaw used to sit when she was Heatherstar, leader of DarkClan, but it was empty now. Lionblaze felt a stabbing pain in his heart as if an enemy had sunk teeth into it. He couldn't wish for those days to come back again, when he was lying to his Clan and losing so much sleep that he couldn't train properly. He didn't want to remember them, either, not after Heatherpaw had betrayed him. He shook himself vigorously as if he was scattering raindrops from his pelt, then headed for the tunnel that led up into WindClan territory. Soon he saw the crack ahead of him, a shaft of daylight breaking through it. Beyond he

一星去向火星告状。 让他恐惧的是他梦里的幻象，他好像已经闻到了石楠爪的血腥味。 终于，狮焰发现黑暗渐渐退去，透出了灰蒙蒙的光。 他听到前方传来流水奔腾的声音。 没过多久，他走到了河流穿过的洞穴，水面微微反射着洞顶缝隙照进来的光。 他抬头看向那个岩架——当初石楠爪还是暗族族长石楠星的时候，总坐在那里，可现在那里空无一人。 狮焰的心一阵刺痛，就像敌人一口咬在了他的心上。 他不希望那些日子回来，那段日子他对族群撒谎，天天失眠，连正常训练都做不了。 他也不想想起那些日子，毕竟石楠爪背叛了他。 他用力抖了抖身子，像是要把身上的雨滴抖掉，然后朝着通往风族领地的隧道走去。 很快他就看到前方有一道裂缝，一缕日光从那里透了进来。 裂缝另一边，他

could see more rock and tough moorland grass. Lionblaze paused, alert again, this time for the sound or scent of WindClan. But all he could hear was the faint whine of the wind as it brushed through the grass, and there was no scent of WindClan cats at all. Padding forward, he dared to poke his head out of the tunnel. The place was just as Jaypaw had described it: a tumble of rough, lichen-covered rocks, with wiry moorland grass growing between them. A spring of water welling up between two rocks... Lionblaze's ears pricked, and he made out the sound of a tiny trickle. Checking once again for scent, he picked up a new trace of WindClan, but couldn't see or hear any cats. Warily he emerged from the tunnel and crept toward the sound, pressing himself flat to the ground and taking advantage of all the cover the rocks offered him. Every hair on his pelt was bristling; he imagined his scent spreading all over WindClan territory, drawing every cat toward him, and the faint brush of his paws through the grass sounded as loud as an owl's screech. Lionblaze felt as if several moons had passed,

能看到更多岩石和坚韧的沼地野草。 狮焰停下脚步，再次警惕起来，留意着风族的声音和气味。 可他只听到风扫过草叶的轻响，完全闻不到风族猫的气味。 他慢慢往前走，壮着胆子把头探出隧道。 这里和松鸦爪描述的一模一样：一堆凹凸不平、长着地衣的岩石，石缝里长着坚韧的沼地草。 两块岩石之间涌出一汪泉水……狮焰竖起耳朵，听清了细细的水流声。 他再次检查气味，闻到了一丝新的风族气味，但看不到也听不到任何猫的踪迹。 他警惕地走出隧道，贴着地面朝水流声爬去，利用所有岩石能提供的遮挡慢慢前进。 他全身上下的毛发都竖了起来； 他觉得自己的气味已经散遍了风族领地，会把所有猫都引来，爪子蹭过草叶的轻响都大得像猫头鹰的尖叫。 狮焰感觉就像过去了好几个月，

but it was only a few moments before he crawled around the base of a rock and spotted the stream that Jaypaw had told him about. It welled up from a crack into a tiny pool; huge clumps of catmint grew around it. He felt a pang of envy that another Clan had so much, when ThunderClan cats were dying for need of it. Padding forward, Lionblaze buried his nose in one of the clumps, resisting the temptation to roll in the herb and soak his pelt in the clean, sharp scent. That wasn't why he had come. Working quickly, he bit off the stems until he had a massive bundle, as much as he could carry. Gathering the herbs into his jaws, Lionblaze headed back to the tunnel. The catmint drowned any other scent, but he kept his ears pricked, and his gaze flickered all around him, alert for rival warriors. He saw no cat. Slipping back through the crack into the tunnel, he relaxed, thankful to be away from the risk of the accusing gaze of WindClan cats. Quickening his pace, Lionblaze bounded along as the tunnel grew wider, to halt abruptly

可没过去多久，他绕到一块岩石底部，就发现了松鸦羽说过的那条小溪。 溪水从石缝涌出积成小水洼，水洼边长满了大丛大丛的猫薄荷。 看到别的族群有这么多猫薄荷，雷族猫却因缺它濒临死亡，狮焰心头一阵发酸嫉妒。 狮焰走上前，把鼻子埋进一丛猫薄荷里，忍住了在药草打滚、让皮毛沾满清爽浓香的念头。 他可不是为这个来的。 他飞快咬断茎干，攒出好大一捆，刚好是他能叼动的分量。 狮焰把药草叼进嘴里，转身朝隧道走去。 猫薄荷盖过了所有其他气味，可他还是支着耳朵，扫过四周，警惕敌方武士出现。 他半只猫影都没看见。 溜回隧道后他才放松下来，庆幸自己躲开了风族猫质疑的目光。 狮焰加快脚步沿着变宽的隧道大步奔跑，却猛地停住了脚

when he burst into the cave. Standing in front of him, her light brown tabby pelt bristling and her blue eyes blazing, was Heatherpaw. "Thief!" Lionblaze's jaws dropped open, letting the catmint fall. "Heatherpaw!" "Heathertail," the she-cat snarled. "You thought you'd got away with it," she went on, her voice scathing. "But I spotted you, creeping among the rocks. I guessed you would use the tunnels to get back to your own territory." "Then... then why didn't you call for a patrol?" Lionblaze stammered. Heathertail's eyes flashed and her lip curled. "You're not worth it. You may think that you're the best fighter in all the Clans, but you don't scare me." The red glare of blood surged through Lionblaze's mind, filling his eyes. "Traitor!" he yowled, leaping for Heathertail with his paws outstretched. He could feel his claws slicing through her throat, and the blood pouring out, soaking her fur and his own, pooling out on the cave floor. A rasping sound of horror came from

就在他冲进洞穴的时候。 站在他面前的是石楠尾，她浅棕虎斑毛倒竖，蓝眼睛里烧着熊熊怒火。 "小偷！" 狮焰惊得张大嘴，嘴里的猫薄荷全掉在了地上。 "石楠爪！" "是石楠尾。"母猫低吼着纠正。 "你以为你得手就能溜走，"她接着说，语气满是刻薄， "可我看见你了，在岩石堆里偷偷摸摸。 我猜你肯定要走隧道回你自己的领地。" "那…那你为什么不叫巡逻队？" 狮焰结结巴巴地问。 石楠尾眼神一闪，撇了撇嘴唇。 "你还不配我这么做。 你说不定觉得你是全族群最强的武士，可你吓不倒我。" 狮焰脑子里瞬间涌上血腥红雾，糊住了他的眼睛。 "叛徒！"他大吼着伸爪朝石楠尾扑了过去。 他仿佛感觉到爪子划开她喉咙，鲜血涌出来，浸满她和自己的毛，积在洞穴地上成滩。 一声惊恐的粗喘从