Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28 Jayfeather followed Leafpool back into the camp. A dawn breeze whispered across the clearing, and he could hear the beginnings of birdsong in the trees above the hollow. A hush lay over the camp; Jayfeather could detect mingled feelings of grief and bewilderment as the cats tried to adjust to the fact that Ashfur was dead. He followed Leafpool as she padded into the center of the clearing where Ashfur's body lay. Jayfeather picked up the chill, watery scent that still clung to his fur, and the scents of Lionblaze, Birchfall, Whitewing, and Thornclaw, who still kept vigil beside him. "He feels so cold and wet," Leafpool murmured, crouching beside Ashfur. "This isn't how we should send him to his warrior ancestors." Jayfeather heard the rasp of her tongue as she began to lick the dead warrior's fur. Feelings of sorrow surged out of her in waves, almost like a mother grieving for her kit. She wasn't in love with Ashfur, was she? Jayfeather wondered. She's

第28章 松针爪跟着叶池回到营地。 黎明的微风拂过空地，山谷上方的林子里已经传来了初初的鸟鸣。 整个营地一片寂静； 松针爪能感觉到，族猫们接受灰毛死去的事实时，满心混杂着悲痛和困惑。 他跟着叶池，慢慢走到空地中央，灰毛的尸体就躺在这里。 松针爪闻到了他毛发上残留的冰冷水汽，还有一直守在他身旁的狮焰、桦落、白翅和刺掌的气味。 "他摸起来又冰又湿，"叶池蹲在灰毛身边轻声说。 "我们不该这样送他去见武士祖先的。" 叶池开始舔舐这只死去武士的毛发，松针爪听到了她舔毛时粗哑的声响。 悲伤像潮水一样从她身上涌出来，几乎就像母亲为幼崽悲伤那样。 她难道爱上灰毛了吗？ 松针爪不禁疑惑。 她可是

a medicine cat! Gradually the cats around Ashfur's body began to withdraw and creep back to their den. Lionblaze was the last to go, touching Jayfeather's shoulder briefly with his tail before he left. Not knowing what else to do, Jayfeather settled down opposite Leafpool and began to help her lick the dead warrior's fur. Sleep began to drift over him as he lapped with long, rhythmic strokes. A gasp from Leafpool jolted him awake. Horror swirled around her like a stream in flood. "What's the matter?" he meowed. For a heartbeat he heard her tongue working busily. Then she hissed, "Come look at this." Jayfeather bit back the sarcastic reply that he couldn't look at anything. He worked his way around Ashfur's body until he was crouching next to his mentor. All Leafpool's muscles were stiff and her neck fur was standing on end. Jayfeather sniffed, picking up the scent of blood and raw flesh. Investigating with one paw, he felt the edges of a gash in Ashfur's throat, the kind of mark he would expect to see on a cleanly

一名巫医啊！ 渐渐的，围着灰毛尸体的族猫们开始退开，悄悄回了自己的巢穴。 狮焰是最后走的，离开前他用尾巴轻轻碰了碰松针爪的肩膀。 松针爪不知道该做什么，于是在叶池对面坐下，帮着她一起舔舐死去武士的毛发。 他规律地长长舔着，困意慢慢漫上心头。 叶池的一声抽气吓得他一下子醒了过来。 恐惧像泛滥的河水一样将她团团裹住。 "出什么事了？"他开口问道。 有那么一小会儿，他只听到叶池忙乱舔毛的声音。 接着她嘶声说："快来看看这个。" 松针爪把那句“我看不见任何东西”的讽刺话咽了回去。 他绕到灰毛尸体的另一边，蹲在了导师叶池的身边。 叶池浑身肌肉僵硬，颈后的毛全都炸了起来。 松针爪嗅了嗅，闻到了鲜血和新鲜伤口的气味。 他用一只爪子探过去，摸到了灰毛喉咙上那道伤口的边缘，那伤口干净利落，就像

killed piece of prey. The kind of mark a cat didn't get from falling into a stream and drowning, but was made deliberately. With a slash of claws. "He didn't drown," Leafpool whispered hoarsely. "He was murdered!" Jayfeather's mind whirled. If it wasn't for Leafpool's care over the dead warrior's body, no cat would ever have known how he had died. What would happen now? "I'm going to tell Firestar," Leafpool meowed. Jayfeather heard her racing across the clearing toward the tumbled rocks. A few moments later two sets of paw steps returned and Firestar crouched beside him to examine the body. "Who would do this?" Firestar sounded completely bewildered. "WindClan?" Leafpool suggested, her voice sharp with suspicion. "We found him on the WindClan border." "You know very well there was no WindClan scent on him," Firestar reminded her. Jayfeather could feel strong sensations of doubt coming from his Clan leader. "I know the water could

被杀死的猎物那样。 这种伤不可能是掉进溪流淹死造成的，是被人故意划出来的。 是爪子狠狠划出来的。 "他不是淹死的，"叶池沙哑地轻声说。 "他是被谋杀的！" 松针爪脑子里乱成了一团。 如果不是叶池仔细整理了灰毛的尸体，根本不会有猫发现他真正的死因。 接下来会发生什么呢？ "我去告诉火星，"叶池说。 松针爪听到她快步跑过空地，朝着乱石堆去了。 过了一小会儿，传来了两组脚步声，火星蹲下来检查了尸体。 "谁会做出这种事？" 火星的语气里满是困惑。 "是风族吗？" 叶池猜测道，声音里带着浓浓的怀疑。 "我们是在风族边界找到他的。" "你很清楚他身上根本没有风族的气味，"火星提醒她。 松针爪能感觉到这位族长心里满是强烈的疑虑。 "我知道水有可能

have washed it away, but..." His voice grew softer, as if he was arguing with himself. "Why would WindClan kill just one warrior? Were they trying to warn us? But we're not a threat to WindClan." "And Ashfur was Clanborn," Jayfeather put in. "WindClan has no reason to quarrel with him personally." "True," Firestar murmured. Jayfeather could hear his claws scoring the earth. "But if it wasn't WindClan... then a ThunderClan cat must have killed Ashfur." "No!" Leafpool's horrified whisper cut through Jayfeather like an eagle's talon. "No ThunderClan cat would do such a thing. It must have been WindClan." To Jayfeather it sounded as if she was trying to convince herself as much as Firestar. "What should we do?" she asked tensely. The Clan leader hesitated. "This is no reason not to give honor to his body," he decided at last. "We'll let the elders go ahead and bury him. Then I'll speak to the Clan." "I'll fetch Mousefur and Longtail," Leafpool meowed.

把气味冲掉了，可是……"他的声音轻了下去，像是在和自己争辩。 "风族为什么要杀我们仅仅一名武士？ 他们是想警告我们吗？ 可我们根本没有威胁到风族啊。" "而且灰毛是雷族出生的，"松针爪补充道。 "风族没有理由和他私人结怨啊。" "说得对，"火星轻声说。 松针爪听到他的爪子刮着地面的声音。 "可如果不是风族……那杀灰毛的一定是雷族猫。" "不可能！" 叶池惊恐的低语像鹰爪一样扎进松针爪心里。 "没有雷族猫会做出这种事。 一定是风族干的。" 松针爪听出来，她这话更像是在说服她自己，而非火星。 "我们现在该怎么办？" 她紧张地问道。 这位雷族族长犹豫了。 "就算这样，我们也该给他的尸体体面，"他最终做出决定。 "我们让长老们来安葬他， 之后我会对全族说明这件事。" "我去叫鼠毛和长尾过来，"叶池说。

Jayfeather waited while the elders appeared from their den and the rest of the Clan gathered around to say farewell to Ashfur. Leafpool must have licked his fur back over the gash in his neck, because none of them seemed to notice it. When Mousefur and Longtail had left the clearing with the gray warrior's body dragging between them, Brambleclaw padded up to Firestar. "I'll take the dawn patrol along the WindClan border," he announced. "There might be some traces there to tell us what happened." "Good idea," Firestar replied. "But don't go just yet. There's something I need to say to the whole Clan." Jayfeather picked up the deputy's puzzlement, then jumped when Lionblaze muttered into his ear: "What's going on?" Part of Jayfeather wanted to tell Lionblaze exactly what he had found. But he couldn't find the words. The discovery was too huge, with too many consequences that he couldn't begin to imagine. "You'll know soon enough," he replied. He stood beside his brother, his claws working in the earth, while he waited for the

松鸦羽静候着，看着长老们走出巢穴，族群其余成员聚在一起送别灰烬毛。 叶池肯定把他脖子伤口处的毛发舔顺了，所以所有猫都没发现这个伤口。 鼠毛和长尾拖着这只灰毛武士的尸体离开空地后，黑莓掌缓步走到火星面前。 "我带队去风族边界进行黎明巡逻，"他宣布道。 "说不定那里能找到线索，告诉我们事情的经过。" "好主意，"火星回应道。 "但先别急着出发。 我有话要对整个族群说。" 松鸦羽感知到副族长的困惑，狮焰凑到他耳边低语，吓了他一跳："出什么事了？" 松鸦羽有一半心思，想把自己的发现全告诉狮焰。 可他根本说不出口。 这个发现太惊人了，会带来太多他完全无法想象的后果。 "你很快就会知道了，"他答道。 他站在兄弟身旁，爪子抠着泥土，静静等待长老们

elders to return. Hollyleaf came to join them, anxiety boiling out of her like bees buzzing out of a tree. "Something terrible is going to happen," she whispered. "I can feel it." Eventually Mousefur and Longtail pushed their way through the thorns, back into the clearing. Firestar climbed up to the Highledge; Jayfeather heard his voice raised to carry to every corner of the camp. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting." Most of the Clan were already out in the open, though Jayfeather heard movement by the nursery as Daisy and Millie emerged with their kits. Foxpaw and Icepaw scampered into the middle of the clearing, excited rather than worried by the unexpected summons. Jayfeather caught the scent of Squirrelflight standing not far away. "We've discovered more about Ashfur's death," Firestar began as soon as all the cats were assembled. "It wasn't an accident. There was a gash in his throat, and that means he was

回来。 冬青叶过来和他们汇合，焦虑从她身上涌出来，就像蜜蜂从树洞里蜂拥而出。 "要出大事了，"她轻声说。 "我能感觉到。" 终于，鼠毛和长尾穿过荆丛，回到了空地上。 火星登上了高石台； 松鸦羽听见他抬高声音，好让营地每个角落都能听见。 "所有能独立捕猎的猫，都到高石台下集合，开族群会议。" 大部分猫本来就在空地上，松鸦羽还是听见育婴室那边有动静，黛西和米莉带着幼猫走了出来。 狐爪和冰爪蹦蹦跳跳跑到空地中央，这突如其来的召集没让他们不安，反而让他们很兴奋。 松鸦羽闻到了不远处松鼠飞的气味。 等所有猫都集合完毕，火星开口道："我们发现了更多关于灰烬毛死亡的真相。" "这不是一场意外。 他喉咙上有一道伤口，这说明他是