Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 Jayfeather struggled through snow that reached up to his belly fur. Frozen lumps of it stuck between his pads, making every step painful. Just ahead of him was another cat; he recognized her tabby-and-white pelt, and wailed for her to come back and help him, but she never turned her head. Then the snowy ground gave way beneath his paws, and he was falling, falling... He woke in his own nest, the bedding tossed about by his thrashing limbs. Sitting up, heart still racing from his dream, he heard Leafpool scrabbling about in the depths of the store. A throbbing tide of anguish came from her, so strong that for a heartbeat he thought she was shrieking aloud. Jayfeather sprang to his paws and padded over to the cave entrance. A flame of desperation burned inside him, to ask the medicine cat if she really was his mother, but he couldn't ignore such deep distress. "Leafpool?" he meowed. "What's the matter?"

第22章 松鸦羽在没过肚皮的积雪里艰难跋涉。 冻硬的雪块卡在爪垫缝里，每走一步都疼得厉害。 就在他前面有另一只猫； 他认出了她虎斑加白的皮毛，哀嚎着喊她回来帮自己，可她始终没回头。 接着积雪覆盖的地面在他爪下塌陷，他不停下坠、下坠…… 他在自己的窝里醒来，窝草被他乱蹬的四肢搅得乱七八糟。 他坐起身，心脏还在因为狂跳不止，这时听见叶池在贮粮洞深处扒拉东西的声响。 一阵钻心的痛苦从她身上传来，强烈到那一瞬间他都以为她尖叫出声了。 松鸦羽猛地站起身，轻步走到洞穴入口。 他心底燃着急切的火苗，想问这位巫医她是不是真的自己的母亲，可他没法对这份剧痛坐视不管。 “叶池？”他喵声道。 “出什么事了？”

Leafpool backed out of the store. "I... I told Hollyleaf something I shouldn't have," she confessed. Jayfeather understood at once; now all the secrets were gushing out like water breaking through a dam. He raised his chin in a challenge. "You told her that you're our mother, didn't you?" He heard Leafpool's gasp of shock. "How long have you known?" "I didn't know, until just now. But I've been putting things together, and last night everything fell into place. Squirrelflight's loyalty to the cat who gave birth to us. The vague memories I have of that journey through the snow. The way you behave toward the three of us. And the fact that Mousefur remembers parsley accidentally mixed with her tansy about that time. Parsley is used to stop the milk in nursing mothers. You would have needed to take it to stop your own milk." There was a long silence after he had finished speaking, in which Jayfeather almost thought he could hear his own heart beating. "If you know so much," Leafpool mewed at last, "then do you know what happens next?"

叶池从贮粮洞里退了出来。 “我……我把不该说的事告诉冬青叶了。”她坦白道。 松鸦羽瞬间明白了； 如今所有秘密都像冲破堤坝的水一样涌了出来。 他扬起下巴，带着试探开口。 “你告诉她你是我们的母亲，对不对？” 他听见叶池震惊地倒吸一口凉气。 “你知道多久了？” “我之前一直不确定，直到刚才。 但我一直在拼凑线索，昨晚所有事都对上了。 松鼠飞对我们生母的维护。 我对那次雪中行程的模糊记忆。 你对我们三个的特殊态度。 还有鼠毛记得那段时间她的艾菊里不小心混进了欧芹。 欧芹是用来给哺乳母猫退奶的。 那时候你肯定需要用它来回奶。” 他说完后陷入漫长的沉默，松鸦羽几乎都能听见自己的心跳声。 “既然你知道这么多，”叶池终于开口，“那你知道接下来会发生什么吗？”

"No." Jayfeather felt a strong sensation that there was something else Leafpool wanted to say to him, but she kept silent. He thought about entering her mind to find out what it was, but he didn't quite dare. He didn't like the idea of what he might discover. "You have to help your littermates," Leafpool told him, her voice sharp and urgent. "You must learn to live with this, for the sake of the Clan." You've got no right to tell us what we must do. But Jayfeather did not speak the thought aloud. Part of what the medicine cat said was true. Sooner or later, they all had to find a way forward. "Please," Leafpool mewed, and there was a note of desperation in her voice. "Find Lionblaze and Hollyleaf, before anything else happens." Is there anything else that could go wrong? Jayfeather wondered. But he nodded and backed out of the den. Leafpool was scared for her kits— all three of them—just as she had always been when trouble came to the Clan. He scanned the clearing until he located Lionblaze approaching the fresh-kill pile with a mouthful of prey. Jayfeather bounded over to

“不知道。” 松鸦羽清晰感觉到叶池还有话想对他说，但她始终保持沉默。 他想过探入她的思绪弄清真相，可他没那个胆子。 他不想面对自己可能发现的结果。 “你得帮你的同窝手足，”叶池对他说，声音尖锐又急切。 “为了族群，你们必须学着接受这件事。” 你根本没资格对我们指手画脚。 但松鸦羽没有把这个想法说出口。 这位巫医说的话有一半是对的。 他们迟早都要找到往前走的路。 “求你了，”叶池唤道，声音里满是绝望。 “在出事之前，找到狮焰和冬青叶。” 还能出什么更糟的事吗？ 松鸦羽暗暗想道。 但他还是点了点头，退出了巫医巢穴。 叶池在担心她的幼崽——三个孩子都担心——就像从前族群遇到麻烦时她一贯的样子。 他扫视营地空地，看见狮焰叼着猎物正朝新鲜猎物堆走去。 松鸦羽快步朝

him. "Leave that and come with me," he meowed, jerking his head. "We have to talk." Jayfeather could feel Lionblaze's confusion, but his brother didn't protest, just dropped his prey on the pile and padded beside him toward the camp entrance. "Where's Hollyleaf?" Jayfeather asked. The sense of approaching disaster loomed even closer as he realized that this new knowledge would hurt her hardest of all. The warrior code means so much to her! "I've no idea," Lionblaze replied. "I think she left camp, but I haven't seen her since the end of the vigil." "We have to find her," Jayfeather mewed as they emerged from the tunnel into the forest. "She... she's found out something that could upset her." "What?" "I'll tell you when we find Hollyleaf." Jayfeather lifted his head to taste the air, searching for a trace of their sister's scent. "Tell me now," Lionblaze insisted. "Haven't there been enough secrets? Even the three of us

他跑去。 “放下猎物跟我走，”他歪了歪头，喵声道。 “我们得谈谈。” 松鸦羽能感觉到狮焰的困惑，但他哥哥没有反对，只是把猎物放在堆上，跟着他往营地入口走。 “冬青叶在哪儿？” 松鸦羽问道。 他知道这个新真相会给冬青叶带来最大的伤害，灾难将至的预感越来越强烈。 武士守则对她来说太重要了！ “我不知道，”狮焰回答。 “我觉得她出营地了，守夜结束之后我就没见过她。” “我们得找到她，”他们走出隧道进入森林时，松鸦羽说道。 “她……她发现了一件会让她崩溃的事。” “什么事？” “找到冬青叶我再告诉你。” 松鸦羽抬起头嗅了嗅空气，寻找妹妹的气味痕迹。 “现在就告诉我，”狮焰坚持道。 “难道秘密还不够多吗？ 哪怕是我们三个

hardly seem to talk anymore." Jayfeather turned to face him. "Leafpool is our mother." He sensed shock like a bolt of lightning flashing through his brother. "I don't believe it!" Lionblaze gasped. "She's a medicine cat. It's impossible!" "You'd better start believing it," Jayfeather mewed bleakly. "She told me so herself. And we have to decide what we're going to do about it." After a long search through the forest, trying to follow confusing traces of their sister's scent, they discovered Hollyleaf at the top of the mossy bank that sloped down toward the lake. Jayfeather sensed her tension as soon as he bounded up to her. "Hollyleaf, we need to talk," he meowed. "There's nothing to discuss." Hollyleaf's voice was distant. Jayfeather could tell that she hadn't turned to face him and Lionblaze. Instead she was gazing across the water as if the answers were hidden among the waves. "We have to find out who our real father is. And that will be the end of all the secrets."

几乎都不再说话了。” 松鸦羽转过身面向他。 “叶池是我们的母亲。” 他感觉到一阵震惊，像一道闪电划过哥哥的全身。 “我不敢相信！” 狮焰倒吸一口冷气。 “她是一名巫医， 这根本不可能！” “你最好快点接受这个事实，”松鸦羽凄凉地小声说道。 “这是她亲口告诉我的。 我们得决定接下来该怎么处理这件事。” 他们在森林里找了很久，顺着妹妹模糊难辨的气味踪迹追踪，最终在通向湖面、长满苔藓的坡顶找到了冬青叶。 松鸦羽刚跳到她身边，就察觉到了她的紧张。 “冬青叶，我们得谈谈，”他说道。 “没什么好谈的。” 冬青叶的声音冷冷淡淡的。 松鸦羽感觉得出来，她并没有转身面对他和狮焰。 她反而凝视着湖水对岸，仿佛答案就藏在波浪之间。 “我们得找出我们亲生父亲是谁， 所有秘密也会就此终结。”

"What do you mean?" Lionblaze asked, padding up to join them. "No cat knows yet who killed Ashfur, not unless Sol confesses. That's one secret that the Clan won't let rest." "Too bad." Hollyleaf's voice was dismissive, though Jayfeather detected a new surge of tension within her. "There are more important secrets than that. We must know who our father is." "You're right," Jayfeather agreed, curiosity prickling in every hair on his pelt. "But it's not going to be that easy figuring it out on our own. Did you ask Leafpool?" "No, and I don't think she would tell us if we did." Jayfeather realized she was right. He couldn't imagine that Leafpool would want to tell the truth about their father now, when she had kept the secret for so many moons. Once the rest of the Clan found out what she had done—and they would find out, because Jayfeather couldn't see how the secret could be contained any longer— her life would be ruined. She wouldn't want that to happen to another cat as well. "Wait a moment," Lionblaze meowed. "Do we

“你这话是什么意思？” 狮焰一边问，一边轻步走来加入他们。 “现在还没人知道是谁杀了灰毛，除非日神亲口承认， 这个秘密族群绝不会就此罢休。” “那太糟了。” 冬青叶的语气满不在乎，可松鸦羽察觉到她内心又涌起一阵紧张。 “有比这更重要的秘密， 我们必须知道父亲是谁。” “你说得对，”松鸦羽赞同道，浑身每根毛发都因好奇隐隐发痒。 “但靠我们自己找出来可没那么容易， 你问过叶池了吗？” “没问，而且就算我们问了，她也不会说的。” 松鸦羽明白她说得没错。 这个秘密她已经藏了那么多个月，他根本想不到叶池现在愿意说出他们父亲的真相。 一旦族群其他猫发现她做的事——而且他们肯定会发现，松鸦羽也想不到这个秘密还能藏多久——她这辈子就毁了。 她也不希望这种事落到别的猫身上。 “等一下，”狮焰开口说道。 “我们