Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24 On the morning after the storm, Lionblaze was chosen for the dawn patrol with Brackenfur, Sorreltail, and Cinderheart. Strengthening daylight shone down through the trees as they padded away from the stone hollow. There was scarcely a breeze to disturb the leaves that still remained on the trees. Lionblaze could almost pretend that he had dreamed the storm, if it wasn't for the litter of twigs and branches on the forest floor, and the blackened husks of the trees struck by lightning. His pelt itched all the time he was away from the stone hollow, as he wondered what he would find when he returned, what accusations and gasps of shock would greet him. But the camp was peaceful, with Brambleclaw directing the repairs to the dens. Thornclaw and Mousewhisker were busy patching the last gaps in the brambles around the nursery; Foxpaw and Icepaw were carrying in huge bundles of fresh bedding. Cloudtail and Brightheart worked together, dragging burnt branches away from the

第二十四章 暴风雨过后的清晨，狮焰被选中和蕨毛、栗尾、炭心一同执行黎明巡逻 当他们踏着步子离开石山谷时，愈发明亮的日光透过树梢洒了下来 几乎没有微风能吹动树上还留着的叶片 要不是林间地面满是散落的细枝断木，还有被闪电击中烧焦的残树，狮焰几乎都要以为那场暴风雨只是一场梦 离开石山谷的一路上，狮焰一直心神不宁，不知道回去后会面对什么，会迎来怎样的指责和震惊的抽气声 但营地一片安宁，黑莓掌正指挥着大家维修巢穴 刺爪和鼠须忙着补好育婴室周边荆棘墙最后的几处缺口 狐爪和冰爪正搬运着大捆大捆的新鲜垫草 云尾和亮心一同干活，正把烧焦的树枝拖离

warriors" den, while Whitewing, Birchfall, and Berrynose cleared debris from the floor of the clearing. Lionblaze overheard Berrynose grumbling that this wasn't a job for a warrior. Nothing's changed! he thought. He couldn't spot Ashfur among the cats in the clearing, but obviously the gray warrior hadn't revealed the secret yet. Lionblaze tried to believe that the storm of the discovery had passed away like the rain and thunder, leaving calm behind, but he knew in his heart that the damage from Squirrelflight's revelation would last for moons and moons. "We need to talk about this," Hollyleaf muttered in his ear while they helped Dustpelt drag thorn branches into place to make a new barrier at the entrance to the camp. "Meet me in the forest. I'll fetch Jayfeather." She bounded across to the medicine cats" den and emerged a moment later with Jayfeather following her. Lionblaze watched them go out at the edge of the barrier where the dirtplace tunnel used to be. He waited for a few moments, then padded over to Dustpelt.

武士巢穴，而白翅、桦落和莓鼻正在清理空地地面上的碎石杂物 狮焰听见莓鼻在抱怨，说这根本不是武士该做的活 一切都没变！ 他心想 他在空地的猫群里没找到灰毛，不过显然这只灰色武士还没有说出那个秘密 狮焰试着相信，秘密曝光的风波已经像雷雨一样过去，只留下平静，但他心底清楚，松鼠飞说出真相带来的伤害会绵延好多个月 “我们得谈谈这件事，”冬青叶凑在他耳边轻声说，当时他们正帮尘毛拖荆棘枝，去营地入口搭建新屏障 到森林里找我 我去叫松鸦羽。" 她蹦跳着跑到巫医巢穴，没一会儿就走了出来，松鸦羽跟在她身后 狮焰看着他俩从屏障边缘、也就是原来厕洞所在的位置走了出去 他等了一小会儿，接着轻步走到尘毛身边

"I think I'll go hunt," he meowed. "The fresh-kill pile needs restocking." "There are hunting patrols out already," Dustpelt grumbled. "Is fetching branches a bit boring for you? Oh, go on then," he added, flicking his tail at Lionblaze. "But you'd better bring back something worth eating." Lionblaze headed out at a fast trot, before the senior warrior could change his mind. He picked up his littermates" scent trail, and followed them into the forest. Pausing at the edge of a clearing, he looked around, tasting the air. An urgent hiss sounded from under the trees. "Lionblaze! Over here!" Lionblaze spotted Hollyleaf peering out from a clump of bracken. "What took you so long?" she demanded. "I thought it best to wait a bit," Lionblaze explained as he padded over to her and slid in among the bracken stalks. "I didn't want any cat suspecting we were meeting in secret." Behind the bracken, the ground fell away into a shallow scoop where Jayfeather was sitting; he raised his head as Lionblaze scrambled down to

“我想我出去捕猎，”他喵声道 “猎物堆需要补充新猎物了。" “已经有捕猎巡逻队出去了，”尘毛嘟囔道 “搬树枝对你来说有点无聊了对不对？ 哦，那去吧，”他补了一句，冲狮焰甩了甩尾巴 “不过你最好带点能吃的东西回来。" 趁这位资深武士还没改主意，狮焰快步小跑着出发了 他嗅出了同窝手足的气味踪迹，跟着他们走进了森林 他在一块空地边缘停下，四下张望，嗅着空气中的气味 树下传来一声急促的嘶声 “狮焰！ 过来！" 狮焰看见冬青叶从一丛蕨类里探出头来 “你怎么这么久？”她质问道 “我觉得最好等一会儿，”狮焰一边解释，一边走到她身边挤进了蕨秆中间 “我不想让任何猫怀疑我们在秘密碰面。" 蕨丛后方的地面向下陷成一块浅凹地，松鸦羽正坐在那里； 松鸦羽抬起头，见狮焰正爬下到

join him. "Okay," he meowed. "Now we're all here, we have to decide what we're going to do." "There's only one thing we can do." Hollyleaf's claws worked furiously in the soft earth. "We have to find out who our real parents are. Squirrelflight won't tell us, but we need to know!" "No, I don't agree," Lionblaze argued. "What? But you said—" Lionblaze raised his tail to silence her. "I want to know who our mother and father are, just as much as you do. But that's not the most important thing right now. Our biggest problem is what to do about Ashfur." "I hate Ashfur!" Hollyleaf lashed her tail; she was working herself up into another storm of fear and frustration. Lionblaze laid his tail across her shoulders. "He's madder than a fox in a fit, but that's not the point." Suddenly he remembered the fight he had once had with Ashfur when the gray warrior was his mentor. Ashfur's blue eyes had blazed with battle fury. Was he trying to kill me then, to hurt Squirrelflight? "Somehow we have to come

和他会合。 “好了，”他喵声道 “现在我们都到齐了，得决定接下来要怎么做。" “我们只能做一件事。" 冬青叶的爪子在软土里疯狂地刨动着 “我们得找出我们的亲生父母是谁。 松鼠飞不肯告诉我们，但我们必须知道！" “不，我不同意，”狮焰反驳道 “什么？ 你明明说过——”狮焰抬起尾巴让她安静 “我和你一样，也非常想知道我们的爸爸妈妈是谁。 但现在这不是最重要的事 我们最大的问题是该怎么对付灰毛。" “我恨灰毛！" 冬青叶狠狠甩着尾巴；她又陷入了一阵恐惧又沮丧的情绪风暴 狮焰把尾巴搭在了她的肩膀上 “他现在疯得像发癫的狐狸，但这不是重点。" 突然间，他想起了从前和灰毛打的一架，那时灰毛还是他的导师 灰毛的蓝眼睛里燃着熊熊的战斗怒火 那时候他是不是就想杀了我，好伤害松鼠飞？ 不管怎样，我们必须

up with a plan to keep him quiet. Squirrelflight will be in big trouble if this gets out." Hollyleaf flicked her ears dismissively. "That's Squirrelflight's problem, not ours." "It's a problem for all of us." Lionblaze couldn't help a pang of sympathy for Squirrelflight. True, she had lied to them, but she had always done her best for them, as if she really was their mother. "As long as Ashfur knows our secret, he has power over all of us." Every hair on his pelt tingled as he tried to imagine what that might mean. "You don't get it, do you?" Hollyleaf snapped. Her gaze burned with green fire. "Don't you realize—we might not be Clan cats!" Lionblaze opened his jaws to reply, but said nothing, too taken aback by what Hollyleaf was implying. "We might have been born outside the Clan— outside the warrior code." She sounded as if she couldn't think of anything worse. "What if Squirrelflight took pity on a passing loner or a kittypet?" "But—but we're the three," Lionblaze

想出一个能让他闭嘴的计划。 这事要是传出去，松鼠飞就会倒大霉。" 冬青叶不以为然地甩了甩耳朵。 "那是松鼠飞的麻烦，不关我们的事。" "这是我们所有人的麻烦。" 狮焰忍不住对松鼠飞涌起一阵同情。 没错，她骗了他们，可她一直都尽全力对他们好，真的就像他们的亲生妈妈一样。 "只要蜡毛知道我们的秘密，他就能拿捏我们所有人。" 他试着猜想这会带来什么后果，浑身每根毛都绷得发紧。 "你还没搞懂，对不对？" 冬青叶厉声喝道。 她的眼神燃着绿色的火焰。 "你还不明白吗——我们说不定根本不是族群猫！" 狮焰张开嘴想回答，可什么都没说出来，他被冬青叶话里的意思惊呆了。 "我们说不定出生在族群之外——不被武士守则接纳。" 她的语气听起来，这已经是天底下最糟糕的事了。 "万一松鼠飞只是可怜了路过的独行猫或是宠物猫呢？" "可——可我们就是那三只啊，"狮焰

stammered. "The prophecy is about us. We have the power to be greater than the stars. How can we not be Clan cats?" "I think you're both forgetting something," Jayfeather broke in, speaking for the first time; his voice was cool and detached. "The prophecy told Firestar that "There will be three, kin of your kin..." If Squirrelflight isn't our mother, then we're not Firestar's kin, are we?" Lionblaze and Hollyleaf stared at their brother. The small tabby was sitting calmly with his tail wrapped around his paws. "Well, are we?" he repeated. "Cloudtail's Firestar's kin..." Lionblaze began confusedly, but Hollyleaf's shriek drowned his words. "I knew it! There's nothing special about us! You're just really good at fighting, and as for Jayfeather—well, he's a medicine cat, of course he's going to have dreams!" Lionblaze felt the blood chill and slow in his veins. Could it be true? But what about the way I feel in battle? I know I can never be hurt. I know I could take on a whole Clan of enemies single

结结巴巴地说。 "预言说的就是我们。 我们拥有比群星更强大的力量。 我们怎么可能不是族群猫呢？" "我觉得你们俩都忘了一件事，"松鸦羽第一次开口插话; 他的声音冷静又平淡。 "预言告诉火星“将有三只猫，你血脉的至亲..." 如果松鼠飞不是我们的妈妈，那我们就不是火星的亲人，对不对？" 狮焰和冬青叶都盯着他们的弟弟。 这只小斑猫平静地坐着，尾巴绕在爪子边。 "说啊，我们是不是？"他重复问道。 "云尾是火星的亲人..." 狮焰晕乎乎地刚开口，就被冬青叶的尖叫盖过了。 "我就知道！ 我们根本没什么特别的！ 你只是天生会打架而已，至于松鸦羽——唉，他本来就是巫医，当然会有预言梦啦！" 狮焰感觉自己血管里的血都变冷变慢了。 这真的会是真的吗？ 可我在战场上的那种感觉是怎么回事？ 我清楚我永远不会受伤。 我知道我能一个人对抗整整一个族群的敌