Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 Lionblaze woke to the sound of excited mewing and movement around him. He lifted his head to see his Clanmates pushing their way out of the warriors" den and into the clearing. He staggered to his paws, wincing at the stabs of pain from his aching muscles, and shouldered his way through the branches after them. The sky was clear, but the sun hadn't risen far enough to penetrate the hollow. Deep shadows hung over the dens and blanketed Spiderleg in near darkness where he crouched, on watch outside Sol's nest. But even though it was so early, it looked as if most of ThunderClan was gathered in the clearing. Daisy, Millie, and Whitewing were sitting outside the nursery. Lionblaze saw that they had their tails curled protectively around the kits, who gazed out across the stone hollow with wide, scared eyes. Foxpaw and Icepaw bounded across to join the warriors, feeling the need to be close to the older, more experienced cats. Hollyleaf was already up, standing with

第十六章 狮焰被周围兴奋的喵叫声和动静吵醒了。 他抬起头，看见族友们正挤出武士巢穴，往空地走去。 他踉踉跄跄站起身，酸痛肌肉传来的刺痛让他不由皱眉，挤过树枝跟了上去。 天空晴朗无云，但太阳升得还不够高，阳光照不进山谷。 浓密的阴影笼罩着各个巢穴，几乎把蹲在索尔巢穴外放哨的蜘蛛足埋在了黑暗里。 可即便天还这么早，雷族大半的猫好像都已经聚集在空地上了。 黛西、米莉和白翅坐在育婴室外。 狮焰看见她们把尾巴保护性地卷在幼崽身旁，幼崽们睁着惊恐的大眼睛，眺望着石谷对岸。 狐爪和冰爪蹦蹦跳跳跑过来加入武士群，他们想待在年纪更长、更有经验的猫身边。 冬青叶已经起床了，正站在

Hazeltail and Brackenfur. She didn't glance at Lionblaze, and somehow his paws wouldn't carry him over to her. It's as if part of us, part of what we used to be, died with Ashfur! Firestar emerged from his den on the Highledge and ran lightly down the tumbled rocks to join Graystripe at the bottom. At the appearance of the Clan leader, the excitement in the clearing mounted. "Here's Firestar!" "Now something's bound to happen!" Lionblaze flexed his muscles, trying to work the stiffness out of them. He heard a flurry of paw steps, and the dawn patrol raced back into the camp with Thornclaw at their head. "What's going on?" the golden brown warrior panted as he skidded to a standstill in the middle of the clearing. "Have we missed anything?" Brambleclaw padded over to him. "What are you doing here so early?" he demanded. "You can't have been all the way along the ShadowClan border." "Oh, everything's quiet," Berrynose mewed,

榛尾和蕨荫身边。 她没看狮焰一眼，而狮焰也挪不动爪子走过去找她。 就好像我们的一部分，我们从前样子的一部分，已经跟着蜡毛一起死了！ 火星从高岩上的巢穴走出来，轻快跑下凹凸不平的岩石，到谷底和灰条会合。 族长一露面，空地里的兴奋情绪更浓烈了。 “火星来了！” “这下肯定要有大事发生了！” 狮焰舒展了一下肌肉，想揉掉身上的僵硬感。 他听见一阵纷乱的脚步声，以棘毛为首的黎明巡逻队冲回了营地。 “出什么事了？” 这只金棕色武士喘着气，打滑停在了空地中央。 “我们错过什么了吗？” 黑莓掌缓步朝他走了过去。 “你们怎么这么早就回来了？”他质问道。 “你们不可能走完影族边界全程啊。” “噢，一切都很平静，”莓鼻喵呜着说道，

peering over Thornclaw's shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about." Brambleclaw's tail-tip twitched. "All right," he growled. "But take longer over it next time." He turned back to the cluster of warriors outside their den. "Hunting patrols," he announced. "Sandstorm, will you lead one, please. And Brightheart, you can— "He broke off, his tail flicking with irritation when he realized that no cat was listening to him. He glanced frustratedly at Firestar, who padded up to him with Graystripe at his side. "They won't settle," Brambleclaw meowed. "No cat even wants to eat." Graystripe nodded, and leaned over to murmur into Firestar's ear. Lionblaze just caught the soft words: "You may as well get this done now." Firestar's ears pricked. "You're right. Brambleclaw, go and fetch Sol." Every cat's gaze was fixed on the deputy as he padded across to the bush where Sol had slept. He exchanged a quick word with Spiderleg, then vanished under the branches. A few heartbeats

从棘毛的肩膀后面探出头张望。 “根本没什么好担心的。” 黑莓掌的尾尖轻轻抽动了一下。 “好吧，”他低吼道。 “不过下次多花点时间走完全程。” 他转身走回武士巢穴外攒聚的猫群那里。 “安排狩猎巡逻队，”他宣布道。 “沙风，麻烦你带一队吧。 还有亮心，你可以——” 他话没说完就停住了，发现没猫在听他说话，尾巴烦躁地甩了甩。 他沮丧地瞥了火星一眼，火星正带着灰条朝他走来。 “他们静不下来，”黑莓掌说道。 “根本没猫想吃东西。” 灰条点点头，凑过去在火星耳边轻声说话。 狮焰刚好听清那句软语：“你倒不如现在就把这件事办了。” 火星的耳朵一下子竖了起来。 “你说得对。 黑莓掌，去把索尔带过来。” 所有猫的目光都牢牢锁在副族长身上，看着他走向索尔过夜的灌木丛。 他和蜘蛛足飞快说了一句话，就消失在了树枝下方。 仅仅几次心跳的功夫

later he emerged again with Sol behind him. As the loner padded over to Firestar, the first rays of the sun slid over the rim of the hollow and shone on his fur. He looked as sleek as if he had spent the last moon grooming his pelt, instead of trekking through the Twolegplace and across open country to reach the camp. Lionblaze felt tired and scruffy in comparison. As Brambleclaw escorted Sol to the center of the clearing, the ThunderClan cats drew back on either side, their eyes wide and their fur fluffed up. What's wrong with them? Lionblaze wondered with a flash of irritation. Sol's just a cat! Why are they acting like a lot of cowardly rabbits? "Sol! Wait for me!" Purdy's yowl echoed around the hollow as he erupted from the elders" den, with Mousefur and Longtail following. They halted just beyond the outer branches of the hazel bush, while Purdy lumbered farther into the clearing. His fur was sticking up on end, covered with scraps of moss, and his eyes blazed with anger. Brackenfur intercepted him before he could

过后，他重新走了出来，索尔跟在他身后。 当这只独行猫走到火星面前时，第一缕阳光越过山谷边缘洒下，照亮了他的皮毛。 他的皮毛顺滑极了，就好像过去一个月他都在打理皮毛，根本没穿过两脚兽地盘、跨过大旷野来到营地。 相比之下，狮焰觉得自己又累又邋遢。 当黑莓掌领着索尔走到空地中央时，雷族猫纷纷向两侧退开，个个睁大眼睛，毛发都炸了起来。 他们这是怎么了？ 狮焰烦躁地暗自纳闷。 索尔不过就是一只猫而已！ 他们为什么要表现得像一群胆小的兔子？ “索尔！等等我！” 波弟的吼声传遍山谷，他从长老巢穴冲了出来，鼠毛和长尾跟在他身后。 他们在榛树丛的外层枝条边停下，只有波弟笨重地继续往空地走。 他的毛发炸得蓬起，沾满碎苔藓，眼睛里燃烧着熊熊怒火。 还没等他上前，蕨荫就拦住了他

reach Sol. "Take it easy, Purdy," he mewed quietly. "No cat is harming Sol. Just keep back with the others." Purdy gaped in shock, but before he could reply, Hazeltail padded up to him and nudged him over to sit beside her and Birchfall. Firestar stood face to face with Sol in the middle of the circle of cats. "Do you know why we've brought you here?" he asked. Sol tilted his head to one side. "A cat has been murdered, and you think I'm responsible." He confidently met Firestar's gaze. His fur gleamed in the pale, cold sunlight. "You killed Ashfur!" Thornclaw snarled at him. "Yes," Cloudtail growled. "You were seen on the WindClan border. Don't try to deny it!" "Why did you kill him?" Sorreltail demanded. "What had he ever done to you?" Sol ignored the hostile yowling and kept his gaze fixed on Firestar as the Clan leader waved his tail for silence. "One of our warriors was found in the WindClan border stream, with bitemarks in his throat," Firestar meowed when the clamor had

找到索尔。 “放轻松，珀迪，”他轻声喵道。 “没有猫会伤害索尔。 你和其他猫退到后面去就好。” 珀迪吃惊地张大了嘴，可还没等他开口回应，榛尾就轻步走到他身边，把他挤到自己和桦落身边坐下。 火星站在猫群围成的圆圈中央，和索尔面对面。 “你知道我们为什么把你带到这儿来吗？”他问道。 索尔微微歪了歪头。 “有猫被杀了，你们觉得是我干的。” 他镇定地迎上火星的目光。 他的皮毛在清冷苍白的阳光下泛着光泽。 “你杀了梣毛！” 荆爪对着他怒吼道。 “没错，”云尾低吼道。 有人看见你在风族边境。 别想否认！” “你为什么要杀他？” 蕨尾逼问道。 “他到底对你做过什么？” 索尔无视猫群充满敌意的嚎叫，目光一直锁定在火星身上，这时族长大挥尾巴示意大家安静。 “我们有一名武士被发现死在风族边境的小溪里，喉咙上留着咬痕，”喧闹平息后，火星说道

died down. "Do you deny it was you?" Sol stared at him without blinking. "Think about what you are saying, Firestar. The truth will be known when it is time." Lionblaze caught a flash of frustration in Firestar's green eyes. Sol had neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. "Make him confess!" some cat hissed from the back of the crowd. Firestar ignored the fierce words, his gaze still fixed on Sol. "What were you doing on the WindClan border?" he asked. Sol shrugged. "How should I remember? It was many sunrises ago." "Did you see Ashfur there?" Lionblaze could tell how hard Firestar found it to keep his voice even and calm as he questioned the loner. "Ashfur...?" "A powerful tom with thick gray fur." There was an edge of irritation in Firestar's tone; Lionblaze guessed that Sol knew very well who Ashfur was. Sol shook his head. "I didn't see any cat there." "Did you scent any?"

平息了。 “你敢否认这事不是你干的吗？” 索尔一眨不眨地盯着他。 “好好想想你说的话，火星。 时机到了真相自然会水落石出。” 狮焰看出火星绿色的眼眸里闪过一丝挫败。 索尔既没有承认也没有否认这项指控。 “让他认罪！” 猫群后排有一只猫嘶声说道。 火星没有理会这句激愤的话，目光依然牢牢锁在索尔身上。 “你在风族边境做什么？”他问道。 索尔耸了耸肩。 我哪记得住？ 这事都过去好多天了。” “你在那儿见过梣毛吗？” 狮焰看得出来，火星盘问这只独行猫时，费了多大劲才保持声音平稳冷静。 “梣毛……？” “是一只强壮的公猫，长着浓密的灰色皮毛。” 火星的语气里带着一丝怒意； 狮焰猜索尔明明清楚梣毛是谁。 索尔摇了摇头。 “我在那儿半只猫都没看见。” “那你闻到猫的气味了吗？