Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27 "Run!" Fireheart ordered his apprentice. "Run like you've never run before!" Already he was pelting through the trees, not waiting to see if Cloudpaw could keep up. There was just a faint hope that he could outpace Tigerclaw and the rogues, and warn the Clan. He sent out all those patrols this morning, Fireheart thought, fighting back panic. And he told me to follow Cloudpaw. He left the camp with barely a warrior to defend it. He's been planning this all along! Fireheart hurtled through the trees, his powerful muscles bunching and stretching as he drove himself on. But when he reached the ravine, he realized that he had not run fast enough. The hindquarters and tails of the last of the rogues were just vanishing into the gorse tunnel. Launching himself down the steep side of the ravine, with Cloudpaw scrabbling down behind him, Fireheart let out a yowl. "ThunderClan! Enemies! Attack!" He hurled himself into the tunnel and at the same moment he heard another yowl from the camp ahead.

第二十七章“快跑！”火心命令他的徒弟。 “跑吧，就像你从没跑过一样！”他已经在树林里奔跑了，没有等着看云爪能不能跟上。 只有一线渺茫的希望，他能赶在虎爪和那些流氓前面，警告氏族。 他今天早上派出了所有的巡逻队，火心心想，竭力压制恐慌。 他让我跟着云爪。 他离开营地时几乎没有一个战士来保卫它。 他一直在计划这件事！火心在树林里疾驰而过，他那强壮的肌肉一边向前冲，一边绷紧、伸展。 但当他到达峡谷时，他意识到自己跑得不够快。 最后一个无赖的后腿和尾巴正消失在金雀花隧道里。 火心纵身跃下陡峭的峡谷，云爪跟在他身后，他嚎叫一声。 “ThunderClan !敌人!攻击!”他一头扎进隧道，就在这时，他听到前方营地传来另一声嚎叫。

"To me, ThunderClan!" It was the familiar battle cry, but the voice was Tigerclaw's. A thought flickered into Fireheart's shocked mind: What if he had made a mistake? What if the rogues had been chasing Tigerclaw, not following him? He burst into the clearing just as Tigerclaw whirled on the band of rogues, who scattered, yowling, from his attack. The deputy certainly looked as if he were trying to drive enemies from the camp, but Fireheart was close enough to see that his claws were sheathed. His heart plummeted. Tigerclaw's brave defense was all a sham. He had brought these enemy cats here, but he was cunning enough to conceal his own treachery. There was no time for any more thought. However they had come here, the rogue cats were now attacking the camp. Fireheart turned swiftly to Cloudpaw. "Go and find the patrols and tell them to come back," he ordered. "Whitestorm is somewhere along the RiverClan boundary, and Sandstorm went to Snakerocks."

“对我来说，雷霆家族！”这是熟悉的战斗喊声，但声音是虎爪的。 一个想法在火心震惊的脑海里闪过：如果他犯了一个错误怎么办？ 如果盗贼是在追虎爪，而不是跟踪他呢？ 他冲进空地，虎爪正朝着那群流氓旋转，流氓们嚎叫着躲避他的攻击，四散而逃。 副手看上去确实像是要把敌人赶出营地，但火心离得很近，可以看到他的爪子被护住了。 他的心猛地一跳。虎爪勇敢的辩护都是假的。 他把这些敌人的猫带到这里来，但他很狡猾，掩盖了自己的背叛。 没有时间再多想了。 不管它们是怎么来的，这些流浪猫现在正在攻击营地。 火心迅速转向云爪。 “去找巡逻队，叫他们回来。”他命令道。 “白风暴在河族边界附近，沙暴则去了蛇石城。”

"Yes, Fireheart." Cloudpaw raced back into the tunnel. Fireheart sprang at the nearest rogue, a dark mottled tabby, and raked his claws down his side. The rogue snarled and twisted toward him, paws splayed for attack. He tried to pin Fireheart down; Fireheart's hindpaws pummeled his belly, and the rogue broke away howling. Fireheart scrambled to his paws and crouched with tail lashing and fur bristling as he looked around for another enemy. Outside the entrance to the nursery, Graystripe was wrestling a rogue with a pale coat, the two of them rolling over and over as they tried to get hold with teeth and claws. Brindleface and Speckletail were fighting against a warrior twice their size. Near the warriors' den, Mousefur dug her front claws into the shoulder of a huge tabby, while her back claws shredded his flank. Then Fireheart froze with shock. At the other side of the clearing, Brokentail had pounced on his guard, Dustpelt, fastening his teeth in the younger cat's throat. Dustpelt was struggling furiously to free himself. Though Brokentail was blind, he was

“是的,Fireheart。”云爪跑回隧道。 火心扑向离他最近的一只黑色斑纹虎斑猫，用爪子扒着他的侧身。 那流氓咆哮着扭向他，张开爪子准备攻击。 他想把火心钉住；火心的后腿捶打着它的肚子，这只无赖嚎叫着跑开了。 火心慌忙爬起爪子，缩成一团，甩着尾巴，竖起毛发，四下张望，寻找另一个敌人。 在保育室的入口外，灰条正在和一个长着白毛的流氓扭打，他们俩用牙齿和爪子试图抓住对方，在地上滚来滚去。 斑脸和斑点尾巴正在和一个比他们大一倍的战士战斗。 在战士的巢穴附近，鼠毛用前爪咬住了一只巨大的虎斑猫的肩膀，而她的后爪则撕碎了它的侧翼。 然后火心吓呆了。 在空地的另一边，布罗肯泰尔扑向他的守卫达斯特尔，咬住了那只年轻的猫的喉咙。 尘土飞扬地挣扎着要挣脱出来。 虽然布罗肯泰尔双目失明，但他确实失明了

still a formidable fighter, and he hung on. Fireheart realized with dread that he was fighting on the side of his old rogue companions, the cats who had left ShadowClan with him—not for ThunderClan, who had risked so much to defend him when he was injured and alone. A tiny picture flashed into Fireheart's mind, of Tigerclaw and Brokentail lying side by side, sharing tongues. That had not been evidence of the deputy's compassion. Tigerclaw had been planning this with the former ShadowClan tyrant! There was no time to think about that now. Fireheart plunged across the clearing to help Dustpelt, but before he got halfway he was bowled over by a rogue cat. His flank stung as claws raked down it. Green eyes glared a mouse- length from his own. Fireheart bared his fangs and tried to bite down into the enemy's shoulder, but the rogue cat batted him away. Claws ripped into his ear. His belly was exposed and he couldn't twist free. Suddenly his attacker let out a wail and released him. Fireheart caught a glimpse of the young apprentice Thornpaw with his teeth fastened into the rogue's tail; the rogue dragged

他仍然是一个强大的战士，他坚持了下来。 火心惊恐地意识到，他是在和他的老流氓伙伴——那些和他一起离开阴影氏族的猫——并肩作战，而不是为了雷霆氏族，他们在他受伤和孤独的时候冒了那么大的风险来保护他。 火心的脑海里闪过一幅小小的画面，虎爪和破碎尾巴并排躺在一起，互相说着话。 这并不是代表同情的证据。 虎爪一直在和前影族暴君一起计划这件事！现在没有时间考虑这个问题了。 火心冲过空地去帮助灰尘，但还没走到一半，他就被一只淘气的猫撞倒了。 爪子顺着它的侧翼向下刮，刺痛了它。 绿色的眼睛瞪着他那老鼠那么大的眼睛。 火心露出獠牙，想咬进敌人的肩膀，但那只淘气的猫把他赶走了。 爪子咬住了他的耳朵。 他的肚子露在外面，扭动不出来。 突然，攻击他的人发出一声哀号，把他放了。 火心瞥见了年轻的学徒刺爪，他的牙齿紧咬着流氓的尾巴；流氓拖着

him through the dust until Thornpaw released him and the enemy fled. Panting, Fireheart scrambled to his paws. "Thanks," he gasped. "Well done." Thornpaw nodded briefly before racing off to where Graystripe still battled in front of the nursery. Fireheart looked around again. Dustpelt had vanished and Brokentail was stumbling farther into the clearing, letting out a weird wailing that struck a chill into Fireheart's heart. Even blind, the former ShadowClan leader possessed a terrifying power that seemed driven by something more than mortal. The clearing heaved with struggling cats, but as Fireheart poised himself to rejoin the fray he realized something that sent an even colder pang of fear along his spine. Where was Bluestar? In a heartbeat, Fireheart realized that he couldn't see Tigerclaw either. Every instinct told him that danger was looming. He dodged around Willowpelt, who was clinging to the back of a much bigger rogue, her teeth fastened in his ear, and made for Bluestar's den. To his relief, as he approached the entrance he heard Bluestar meow

他穿过尘土，直到桑爪把他释放，敌人逃走了。 火心气喘吁吁地爬起来。 “谢谢。”他喘着气说。“做得好”。 桑爪短暂地点了点头，然后奔向仍在育儿室前战斗的灰条纹。 火心又环顾四周。 尘埃粒不见了，布罗肯泰尔踉跄着走进空地，发出一声奇怪的哀号，吓得火心打了个寒颤。 即使双目失明，这位前影子氏族领袖仍然拥有一种可怕的力量，这种力量似乎是由超越凡人的东西驱动的。 空地上到处都是挣扎的猫，但当火心准备重新加入战斗时，他意识到一件事，让他的脊椎感到更冷的恐惧。 蓝星在哪里？突然间，火心意识到他也看不见虎爪。 每一种本能都告诉他危险即将来临。 他绕过威洛佩特，向蓝星的巢穴走去。威洛佩特正紧紧抓住一只比他大得多的流氓的后背，它的牙齿咬住了他的耳朵。 让他松了一口气的是，当他走近入口时，他听到蓝星在叫

from inside, "We can worry about that later, Tigerclaw. The Clan needs us now." For a few heartbeats there was no reply. Then Fireheart heard Bluestar's voice again, surprised. "Tigerclaw? What are you doing?" An answering snarl. "Remember me to StarClan, Bluestar." "Tigerclaw, what is this?" Bluestar's meow was sharper now, edged with anger, not fear. "I'm the leader of your Clan, or have you forgotten that?" "Not for much longer," Tigerclaw growled. "I'm going to kill you, and kill you again. As many times as it takes for you to join StarClan forever. It's time for me to lead this Clan!" Bluestar's answering protest was suddenly cut short by the sound of paws thudding against the hard floor of the den, followed by a dreadful snarling.

“这个我们以后再担心吧，虎爪。 氏族现在需要我们。”心跳了几下，没有回答。 然后火心又听到了蓝星的声音，很惊讶。 “Tigerclaw ?你在干什么？”一个回应的咆哮。 “请代我问候StarClan， Bluestar。” “虎爪，这是什么？”蓝星的叫声现在更尖锐了，夹杂着愤怒，而不是恐惧。 “我是你们氏族的首领，你忘了吗？”“撑不了多久了。”虎爪咆哮道。 “我要杀了你，再杀一次。 你永远加入StarClan需要多少次。 是时候让我来领导这个部落了！”蓝星反驳的声音突然被爪子撞击洞穴坚硬地板的声音打断，接着是一声可怕的咆哮。