Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23 Lionblaze slid out of the camp through the dirtplace tunnel and skirted the rim of the hollow until he came to the place where he and his littermates had nearly been burned alive on the night of the storm. The grass was still blackened, and debris from charred branches was scattered around. Lionblaze shuddered as he remembered the leaping flames and the mad glare in Ashfur's eyes. Above his head the moon floated in the indigo sky, waxing toward full and surrounded by the frosty glitter of stars. No clouds blurred their light. Does that mean you approve of what I'm doing, StarClan? Lionblaze silently addressed his warrior ancestors. He had made this plan as soon as he realized that he and his littermates were still part of the prophecy, but it had taken him another day to decide to put it into action. Whatever you think, I have to do this. Looking down into the hollow, he could see the thornbush where Sol was a prisoner, and

第二十三章 狮熖溜出营地，穿过排便地道，沿着山谷边缘绕行，来到暴风雨夜他和同窝手足差点被活活烧死的地方。 草还是焦黑色的，烧焦树枝的碎块散落得到处都是。 想起窜动的火苗和蜡毛眼中疯狂的凶光，狮焰不由得打了个寒颤。 月亮飘在他头顶靛蓝色的夜空，渐渐盈满，周围环绕着星星冰冷的闪光。 没有云朵遮蔽星光。 星族，这说明你们同意我这么做吗？ 狮焰在心里默默对武士祖先发问。 自从发现自己和同窝手足仍然是预言的一部分，他就定下了这个计划，却又多花了一天才下定决心付诸行动。 不管你们怎么想，我都必须这么做。 低头望向山谷，他看见了关押索尔的那丛荆棘，

Birchfall, crouched on watch just beyond the outer branches. The thick, criss-crossing growth of the thorn hid Sol from Lionblaze's sight, but Sol's scent drifted up to him as he tasted the air. "Right," Lionblaze whispered. "Let's go!" Paw step by paw step, he crept down the cliff face, testing each foothold before he dared put his weight on it. He wasn't just afraid of falling; if he dislodged a stone, or slipped and had to scrabble to save himself, he would alert Birchfall. He froze once as he brushed against a straggling bush growing from a crack, and once when a shower of grit spurted up from under his paws and pattered down into the camp. But Birchfall didn't move. Snoozing on watch? Lionblaze wondered. Moons seemed to have passed before he leaped down the last fox-length to land lightly on the ground beside the bush. His legs trembled. With a swift glance toward the slumbering shape of Birchfall, he crawled underneath the branches of the thornbush. In the dim light that filtered through the twigs, he saw Sol curled up in a mossy nest, his tail wrapped over his nose and his sides heaving with

桦落蹲在荆棘外侧不远处站岗。 浓密交错的荆棘挡住了狮焰的视线，让他看不到索尔，但当他嗅探空气时，索尔的气味飘到了他面前。 “好了，”狮焰低声说。 “我们走！” 他一爪一爪顺着崖壁往下爬，每一处落脚地都先试探好，才敢把体重放上去。 他不只是害怕摔下去； 要是碰掉石头，或是打滑不得不挣扎稳住，就会惊动桦落。 他有两次僵住不动：一次蹭到了石缝里长出的散生灌木，一次爪子带起一阵沙砾，噼里啪啦掉落到营地中。 可桦落丝毫没有动静。 站岗的时候在打盹吗？ 狮焰暗自疑惑。 仿佛过了好几个月，他才跳下最后一段距离，轻轻落在荆棘旁的地面上。 他的腿都在发抖。 他飞快扫了一眼熟睡的桦落，爬进了荆棘丛的枝桠下方。 透过细枝漏下的昏暗光线，他看见索尔蜷在苔藓窝里，尾巴盖着鼻子，肋随着

the rhythmic breathing of sleep. Lionblaze crept over to him and prodded his shoulder. Sol's eyes flew open, and for a heartbeat Lionblaze thought he saw surprise flicker in their amber depths. His jaws opened, but Lionblaze slapped his tail over the loner's muzzle before he could utter a sound. "Quiet!" Sol nodded, and Lionblaze took his tail away. "I'm sorry, Lionblaze. For a moment I thought you were that snake." Sol was composed once more, his hushed voice barely reaching Lionblaze's ears. "What can I do for you?" "I... I need to talk to you." Now that Lionblaze had succeeded in coming face-to-face with his Clan's prisoner, it was harder than he had expected to say what he had to say. "I've found out that my mother isn't who I thought she was, and I need to figure out if it affects the prophecy." "Good," Sol mewed softly. He sat up and began to groom moss out of his fur. "You can start by helping me get out of here." "I—I can't do that!" Lionblaze only just remembered to keep his voice down. "Of course you can. You must have climbed

睡眠有节奏地起伏着。 狮焰悄悄爬过去，戳了戳他的肩膀。 索尔猛地睁开眼睛，一瞬间狮焰在他琥珀色的眼珠里看到了一闪而过的惊讶。 索尔张开嘴，可狮焰没等他发出声音，就把尾巴拍在了这个独行猫的嘴巴上。 “安静！” 索尔点了点头，狮焰把尾巴拿开了。 “对不起，狮焰。 我刚才还以为是那个坏蛋来了。” 索尔很快恢复了平静，他压着声音，轻得几乎只有狮焰能听见。 “你找我有什么事？” “我……我需要和你谈谈。” 现在狮焰真的和这个囚禁在族群里的猫面对面了，却发现要说出口比预想难得多。 “我发现我的母亲不是我原本以为的那只猫，我需要弄清楚这会不会影响预言。” “很好，”索尔轻声喵道。 他坐起身，开始把沾在毛上的苔藓舔掉。 “你可以先帮我从这里出去。” “我——我不能那么做！” 狮焰好不容易才想起要压低声音。 “你当然可以。 你肯定是爬

down the cliff to get here without Birchfall seeing you. You can show me the way to get back up. I didn't kill Ashfur. You know I didn't." "As far as ThunderClan is concerned, you're the only cat it could have been," Lionblaze retorted. He wasn't sure what he thought himself. He couldn't forget how Sol had promised to help him fulfill the prophecy—and how much he needed that help now—but he also shrank from betraying his Clan by letting the loner escape. "Why should I help you if you won't help me?" Sol gave Lionblaze a long look from glowing amber eyes, then calmly licked one paw and started to wash his face. Lionblaze stared at him in frustration. I can't make him talk, but I can't show him the way out, either! "Okay," he muttered. "I'm leaving. I can't help you escape, it would cause too much trouble." "For you?" Sol queried. "For my Clan," Lionblaze hissed. It was too easy to imagine what the other Clan leaders would think when they heard Sol was on the loose. They'd blame ThunderClan, that was for

下悬崖到这里的，没被桦落发现。 你可以带我爬上去。 我没有杀蜡毛。 你知道我没杀他。” “对雷族来说，你是唯一可能动手的猫，”狮焰反驳道。 他自己也不确定他是怎么想的。 他没法忘记索尔曾经说过要帮他实现预言——而他现在多么需要这份帮助，但放这个独行猫逃走又意味着背叛自己的族群，这让他退缩了。 “你不帮我，我为什么要帮你？” 索尔用闪闪发光的琥珀色眼睛久久看着狮焰，然后平静地舔了舔爪子，开始洗脸。 狮焰沮丧地盯着他。 我没法逼他说话，可我也不能带他出去啊！ “好吧，”他咕哝道。 “我走了。 我帮不了你逃跑，这会惹出大麻烦。” “对你来说？”索尔问道。 “为了我的族群，”狮焰嘶声道。 他太容易想到其他族群的首领听到索尔逃跑的消息会怎么想了。 他们肯定会责怪雷族，肯定

sure. He flattened himself to the ground so he could wriggle out under the thorn branches. "Wait! Don't you want to know who your father is?" Lionblaze stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "You know that?" "Of course." Sol passed his paw over one ear. "So who is he?" Lionblaze asked, his belly churning. Sol's eyes glinted with amusement. "Nothing for nothing, Lionblaze. I'll tell you the truth when you get me out of here." "And how do I know I can trust you?" The words came out louder than Lionblaze had intended; he froze as a scuffling sound came from outside the den. "Sol?" Birchfall called. "Are you okay?" Sol paused, his whiskers twitching. Ants crawled through Lionblaze's pelt and he held his breath as he waited to be discovered. Firestar will strip my pelt off and throw it out for the crows! "Sol?" Birchfall's voice came again, sounding more anxious. "I'm fine, Birchfall," the loner replied. "Just

好的。 他把身子贴紧地面，从荆棘枝底下钻了出去。 “等等！ 你不想知道你的父亲是谁吗？” 狮焰停下脚步，回头望去。 “你真的知道？” “那当然。” 索尔抬爪抹了抹自己的一只耳朵。 “那他是谁？” 狮焰问道，心七上八下直打鼓。 索尔的眼睛里闪过一丝玩味的光。 世上没有免费的好处，狮焰。 你把我从这儿救出去，我就告诉你真相。” “那我怎么知道我能信你？” 这话出口比狮焰预想的要大得多； 巢穴外传来一阵窸窣声，他瞬间僵住了。 “索尔？” 桦落喊道。 “你没事吧？” 索尔顿了顿，胡须轻轻颤动着。 狮焰感觉像有蚂蚁爬过皮毛，他屏住呼吸，等着被发现。 火星一定会扒了我的皮，扔出去喂乌鸦！ “索尔？” 桦落的声音再次传来，听着更着急了。 “我没事，桦落，”这只独行猫回答。 只是

talking to myself." "Okay, good night." Lionblaze relaxed as he heard Birchfall settling down again, though his pelt still felt hot with tension. "How do you know you can trust me?" Sol went on. He sounded amused. "You don't. But knowledge is power, Lionblaze, and right now I have more knowledge than any of the Clan cats." "All right," Lionblaze mewed slowly. "I'll show you how to get out. But you must promise to tell me about my father... and advise me about the prophecy." Sol dipped his head. "You have my word." Whatever that's worth... "Okay, follow me," Lionblaze whispered. "Put your paws where I put mine. It's a tricky climb, and it'll be ten times harder because we mustn't be spotted." He pushed his way out through the thorns with Sol hard on his paws and began to haul himself up. The cliff seemed to stretch above his head forever, and Lionblaze couldn't believe that no cat would see them splayed out against the rock in the bright moonlight. But no accusing

我在自言自语呢。” “好啦，晚安。” 听见桦落重新安顿下来，狮焰才放松下来，可他的皮毛还因为紧张发烫。 “你怎么知道你能信我？” 索尔接着说道。 他的语气带着笑意。 你没法确定。 但知识就是力量，狮焰，现在我比任何一只族群猫知道的都多。” “好吧，”狮焰缓缓开口。 “我带你出去。 但你必须答应告诉我我父亲是谁……还要给我讲讲预言的事。” 索尔点了点头。 “我向你保证。” 管它这承诺算不算数呢…… “好了，跟我来，”狮焰小声说。 “我爪子踩哪你就踩哪。 这条路不好爬，而且我们不能被发现，难度还要大十倍。” 他钻出荆棘丛，索尔紧跟着他，他开始使劲往上爬。 悬崖在头顶仿佛延伸得没有尽头，明亮月光把他们印在岩石上，狮焰不敢相信居然没猫看见他们。 可没有一句指责的