Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 "Where? How many warriors?" Fireheart demanded. "Over there." Brackenpaw flicked his tail toward the deeper forest. "I don't know how many. They're creeping through the undergrowth." "Okay." Fireheart thought quickly, trying to ignore the sudden thumping of his heart. "Go back to camp. Warn Bluestar and Tigerclaw. We need some warriors out here right now." "Yes, Fireheart." Brackenpaw spun around and raced off down the ravine. As soon as he had gone, Fireheart headed into the forest, prowling with new caution beneath the arching ferns. At first all seemed quiet, though it wasn't long before he picked up the rank scent of many intruding cats—the scents of WindClan and ShadowClan. Somewhere ahead, a bird sounded a stuttering alarm call. Fireheart took cover behind a tree. He could still see nothing. His fur prickled with anticipation. He bunched his hindquarters and sprang,

第二十章“在哪儿？”有多少战士？”Fireheart问道。 “在那里。”爪子朝森林深处甩了甩尾巴。 “我不知道有多少。他们正在灌木丛中爬行。” “好吧。”火心飞快地想了想，尽量不去理会自己心脏突然怦怦直跳的声音。 “回营地去。警告蓝星和虎爪。 我们现在需要一些勇士。” “是的,Fireheart。”爪子转过身，跑下了峡谷。 他一走，火心就走进森林，在拱形的蕨类植物下小心翼翼地徘徊。 起初，一切似乎都很安静，但没过多久，他就闻到了许多闯入的猫的难闻气味——风氏族和影氏族的气味。 前方某处，一只鸟断断续续地发出了警报。 火心躲在一棵树后面。 他还是什么也看不见。 他的毛因期待而刺痛。 他蜷缩着后腿跳了起来，

clawing his way up the trunk of the tree until he could scramble onto a low branch. Crouching there, he peered down through the leaves. The forest floor seemed empty, with not even a beetle stirring. Then Fireheart caught sight of a fern quivering. Something flashed white and was gone. Moments later a dark head poked out of the undergrowth below the tree. Fireheart recognized Nightstar. A soft mew came from him. "Follow me!" The ShadowClan leader emerged from the bracken and raced across a stretch of open ground. A band of cats streamed after him; Fireheart grew even more tense when he saw how many. Warriors from WindClan and ShadowClan bore down on his camp together; Fireheart saw Tallstar and Cinderfur, Deadfoot and Stumpytail, Wetfoot and Onewhisker, running side by side as if they were littermates. Not long ago, these cats had been fighting each other in the snowbound WindClan camp. Now they were united in their hatred of Brokentail and of ThunderClan for sheltering him. Fireheart knew he would have to fight them.

爬上树干，爬到一根低矮的树枝上。 他蹲在那里，透过树叶往下看。 森林的地面似乎空荡荡的，连一只甲虫也没有动静。 接着，火心看到一株蕨类植物在颤抖。 有什么东西闪着白光消失了。 过了一会儿，一个黑头从树下的矮树丛里探了出来。 火心认出了夜星。 他发出一声轻柔的叫声。“跟我来!”暗影氏族的首领从蕨类植物中出来，跑过一片开阔的土地。 一群猫跟在他后面；火心看到这么多，心里更加紧张了。 风氏族和影氏族的战士们一起冲进了他的营地；火心看见高星和灰姑娘，死脚和树桩尾巴，湿脚和一须，并排跑着，好像他们是窝里的伙伴。 不久前，这些猫还在被大雪困住的风氏族营地里互相厮杀。 现在他们团结起来，憎恨布罗肯泰尔和庇护他的雷霆家族。 火心知道他必须和他们战斗。

Even though he thought of the WindClan warriors as his friends, he would have to stand by his leader and his own Clan. As Fireheart braced himself to spring down, he heard a single furious caterwaul from the direction of the camp, and recognized Tigerclaw's voice summoning the warriors to battle. For all his distrust of the deputy, Fireheart couldn't help feeling relieved. Right now, ThunderClan needed all of Tigerclaw's fierce courage and fighting skills. Fireheart scrambled down the tree, hit the ground with all four paws, and streaked toward the battle, no longer trying to hide from the invaders. When he broke out of the trees, he saw that the open ground at the top of the ravine was covered with a mass of writhing, spitting cats. Tigerclaw and Nightstar wrestled together, clawing furiously. Darkstripe had pinned down a WindClan warrior. Mousefur flung herself, screeching in fury, on top of Cinderfur. Morningflower, a WindClan queen, raked her claws down Longtail's flank and sent him howling back down the slope. Fireheart sprang at Morningflower, anger

尽管他把风氏族的战士视为朋友，但他必须站在他的领袖和他自己的氏族一边。 正当火心准备跳下去时，他听到从营地方向传来一声狂怒的咆哮，认出是虎爪在召唤勇士们战斗的声音。 火心虽然不信任副手，但还是感到如释重负。 现在，雷霆家族需要虎爪的勇猛和战斗技巧。 火心爬下树，四只爪子着地，向战场飞奔而去，不再试图躲避入侵者。 当他从树林里跳出来时，他看到峡谷顶上的空地上覆盖着一群扭动着、吐着痰的猫。 虎爪和夜星扭打在一起，拼命地抓。 暗条纹制服了一个风氏族战士。 老鼠毛暴跳如雷，尖叫着扑到灰姑娘身上。 晨花，风之族的女王，用爪子抓着长尾的侧翼，把他嚎叫着赶回斜坡。 火心愤怒地扑向晨花

pounding through his veins. He couldn't help remembering how he had helped this same queen carry her kit on the way back to WindClan's camp after Brokenstar had driven out her Clan. She leaped around as Fireheart landed beside her, and pulled back just as she was about to swipe him with her claws. For a few heartbeats both cats stared at each other. Morningflower's eyes were filled with sorrow, and Fireheart could see that she too remembered what they had endured together. He could not bring himself to strike her, and after a moment she backed away from him and disappeared into the heaving mass of cats. Before he could draw breath, a cat slammed into Fireheart from behind, knocking him onto the damp ground. He scrabbled vainly to get up. Twisting his neck, he gazed up into the fierce eyes of the ShadowClan warrior Stumpytail; a heartbeat later the ShadowClan warrior's teeth sank into his shoulder. Letting out a yowl of pain, Fireheart battered at Stumpytail's belly with his back legs, clawing out great clumps of his brown tabby fur. Stumpytail's blood spattered him as the ShadowClan warrior reared back in agony and was

在他的血管里跳动。 他不禁想起，在布罗肯之星驱逐了这位女王的氏族之后，他是如何在返回风氏族营地的路上帮助她搬运装备的。 火心落在她身边时，她跳了起来，刚要用爪子抓他，她又缩回来。 两只猫对视了几下。 晨花的眼里充满了悲伤，火心看得出来，她也记得他们一起经历的一切。 他不忍心打她，过了一会儿，她从他身边退了回去，消失在起伏的猫群中。 他还没来得及喘气，一只猫就从背后扑向火心，把他撞倒在潮湿的地上。 他徒劳无功地爬了起来。 他扭了扭脖子，抬头凝视着暗影族战士树尾巴凶狠的眼睛；一个心跳之后，暗影族战士的牙齿咬进了他的肩膀。 火心发出一声痛苦的嚎叫，用后腿猛击着树钉尾巴的肚子，揪出它那大团大团的褐色虎斑毛。 树桩尾巴的血溅得到处都是，这名影族战士痛苦地向后仰起身子

gone. Fireheart scrambled up and looked around, panting. The fiercest fighting had shifted to the bottom of the ravine. The enemy cats were pushing forward, clearly determined to invade the camp. The outnumbered ThunderClan warriors were unable to keep them back. And where was Bluestar? Then Fireheart saw her. With Whitestorm and Dustpelt, she crouched at the entrance to the gorse tunnel, ready to bar the way with her life. Already Onewhisker and Wetfoot had broken through Tigerclaw's defense, and as Fireheart stared, horrified, Wetfoot flung himself at Bluestar. Fireheart raced along the top of the ravine. Out of the whole of ThunderClan, only he and Yellowfang knew that Bluestar was on the last of her nine lives. If she died in this battle, ThunderClan would be without a leader—or worse, would be left to the control of Tigerclaw. When he was above the tunnel entrance, Fireheart plunged straight down the slope, his paws barely touching the treacherously steep

一去不复返了。火心爬了起来，气喘吁吁地环顾四周。 最激烈的战斗已经转移到了峡谷的底部。 敌军正在向前推进，显然决心要侵入营地。 寡不敌众的雷霆族战士无法阻挡他们。 蓝星在哪里？然后火心看到了她。 她带着“白风暴”和“灰尘”蹲在金雀花隧道的入口，准备用生命来挡住这条路。 一须和韦特福特已经突破了虎爪的防线，火心惊恐地盯着，韦特福特扑向蓝星。 火心沿着峡谷的顶端狂奔。 在整个雷族中，只有他和黄牙知道蓝星已经到了九条命的最后。 如果她在这场战斗中死去，雷霆氏族将失去一个领袖，或者更糟的是，将被虎爪控制。 当他到达隧道入口上方时，火心径直冲下斜坡，他的爪子几乎没有碰到险峻的陡坡

rocks, to land, skidding, in the thick of the fight. His teeth tore into Wetfoot's neck, dragging the warrior off Bluestar. The ThunderClan leader slashed her claws at the gray tabby tom until he scrabbled backward and fled. A wave of fighting cats bore down on Fireheart and the other cats by the gorse tunnel. Fireheart bit and scratched instinctively without knowing which cat he was fighting. Sharp claws slashed his forehead and blood began trickling into his eyes. He took a gasping breath, feeling as if he were about to suffocate in the rank scent of his enemies. Then he heard Bluestar meowing close to his ear. "They're pushing through the wall! Fall back —defend the camp!" Fireheart scrabbled to keep on his paws as the invaders carried the battle into the tunnel itself. The gorse tore at his fur like hostile claws. It was impossible to fight here, so he turned along his own length and struggled through the gorse into the camp. In the clearing, Willowpelt, Runningwind, and Sandstorm had rushed to guard the nursery, ready

岩石，着陆，打滑，在激烈的战斗中。 他的牙齿咬进韦特福特的脖子，把他从蓝星拖了出来。 雷霆氏族首领用利爪猛砍灰虎斑猫，直到它挣扎着向后逃窜。 一波打架的猫向火心和其他猫涌来。 火心本能地又咬又抓，不知道他在和哪只猫打架。 锋利的爪子划破了他的前额，鲜血开始流进他的眼睛。 他倒吸了一口气，觉得自己好像要被敌人的恶臭窒息了。 然后他听到蓝星在他耳边喵喵叫。 “他们在推墙！”后退——保卫营地！”当入侵者将战斗带进隧道时，火心挣扎着站稳脚跟。 金雀像凶恶的爪子一样撕扯着他的皮毛。 在这里是不可能战斗的，所以他沿着自己的长度转身，挣扎着穿过金雀花进入营地。 在空地上，柳皮、奔风和沙暴已经冲到苗圃里，准备好了