Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28 Fireheart sprang forward and burst through the curtain of lichen. Tigerclaw and Bluestar were writhing on the floor of the den. Bluestar's claws scored again and again across Tigerclaw's shoulder, but the deputy's greater weight kept her pinned down in the soft sand. Tigerclaw's fangs were buried in her throat, and his powerful claws raked her back. "Traitor!" Fireheart yowled. He flung himself at Tigerclaw, slashing at his eyes. The deputy reared back, forced to release his grip on Bluestar's throat. Fireheart felt his claws rip through the deputy's ear, spraying blood into the air. Bluestar scrambled to the side of the den, looking half stunned. Fireheart could not tell how badly hurt she was. Pain lanced through him as Tigerclaw gashed his side with a blow from his powerful hindpaws. Fireheart's paws skidded in the sand and he lost his balance, hitting the ground with Tigerclaw on top of him. The deputy's amber eyes blazed into his. "Mousedung!" he hissed. "I'll flay you, Fireheart. I've waited a long time for this."

第二十八章火心跳上前去，冲破了地衣的帘幕。 虎爪和蓝星在洞穴的地板上扭动着。 蓝星的爪子一次又一次地抓过虎爪的肩膀，但那副警官更大的体重把她压在柔软的沙子里。 虎爪的尖牙嵌在她的喉咙里，有力的爪子在她的背上抓来抓去。 “叛徒!”Fireheart大哭大叫。 他扑向虎爪，猛砍他的眼睛。 警官后退了几步，被迫松开了对蓝星喉咙的控制。 火心感到他的爪子撕裂了副警长的耳朵，鲜血喷向空中。 蓝星爬到洞穴的一边，看起来有点震惊。 火心看不出自己伤得有多严重。 虎爪用他有力的后爪猛击着他的身体，疼痛刺透了他的全身。 火心的爪子在沙地上打滑，他失去了平衡，摔在地上，虎爪压在他身上。 副警长那双琥珀色的眼睛瞪着他。 “老鼠！”他嘶嘶地说。“我要剥了你的皮，火心。 我等这一刻已经等了很久了。”

Fireheart summoned every scrap of skill and strength he possessed. He knew Tigerclaw could kill him, but in spite of that he felt strangely free. The lies and the need for deceit were over. The secrets—Bluestar's and Tigerclaw's—were all out in the open. There was only the clean danger of battle. He aimed a blow at Tigerclaw's throat, but the deputy swung his head to one side and Fireheart's claws scraped harmlessly through thick tabby fur. But the blow had loosened Tigerclaw's grip on him. Fireheart rolled away, narrowly avoiding a killing bite to his neck. "Kittypet!" Tigerclaw taunted, flexing his haunches to pounce again. "Come and find out how a real warrior fights." He threw himself at Fireheart, but at the last moment Fireheart darted aside. As Tigerclaw tried to turn in the narrow den, his paws slipped on a splash of blood and he crashed awkwardly onto one side. At once Fireheart saw his chance. His claws sliced down to open a gash in Tigerclaw's belly. Blood welled up, soaking into the deputy's fur. He let out a high-pitched caterwaul. Fireheart

火心用尽了他所有的技巧和力量。 他知道虎爪会杀了他，但尽管如此，他还是感到奇怪的自由。 谎言和欺骗的需要都结束了。 蓝星和虎爪的秘密都公开了。 只有战斗的危险。 他对准虎爪的喉咙打了一拳，但虎爪的头一歪，火心的爪子划破了虎斑猫的厚毛，没有造成伤害。 但是这一击松开了虎爪抓在他身上的手。 火心滚开了，险些被咬死。 “Kittypet !”虎爪嘲弄着，弯着腰又扑了上去。 “来看看真正的战士是怎么战斗的。” 他扑向火心，但在最后一刻，火心躲开了。 当虎爪想在狭窄的洞穴里转身时，他的爪子滑到了一滩血上，尴尬地摔到了一边。 火心立刻看到了机会。 他的爪子在虎爪的肚子上划了一个口子。 血涌了出来，浸透了副警长的皮毛。 他发出一声尖厉的叫声。 Fireheart

pounced on him, raking claws across his belly again, and fastening his teeth into Tigerclaw's neck. The deputy struggled vainly to free himself, his thrashing growing weaker as the blood flowed. Fireheart let go of his neck, planting one paw on Tigerclaw's outstretched foreleg, and the other on his chest. "Bluestar!" he called. "Help me hold him down!" Bluestar was crouching behind him in her moss-lined nest. Blood trickled down her forehead, but that did not alarm Fireheart as much as the look in her eyes. They were a vague, cloudy blue, and she stared horror-struck in front of her as if she was witnessing the destruction of everything she had ever worked for. When Fireheart spoke, she jumped like a cat woken suddenly from sleep. Moving with dreamlike slowness, she crossed the den and pinned herself across Tigerclaw's hindquarters, trapping him. Even with wounds that would have stunned a lesser cat, Tigerclaw still fought to free himself. His amber eyes burned with hatred as he spat curses at Fireheart and Bluestar. A shadow fell across the entrance to the den

扑向他，又用爪子在虎爪的肚子上抓来抓去，用牙齿咬住了虎爪的脖子。 副警长徒劳无功地挣扎着要挣脱，随着血液的流动，他的抽打变得越来越弱。 火心松开了他的脖子，一只爪子搭在虎爪伸出的前腿上，另一只爪子搭在他的胸前。 “蓝星！”他喊道。“帮我按住他！”蓝星蹲在他身后布满青苔的巢里。 血从她的额头流下来，但火心更担心的是她的眼神。 那是一种模糊的、浑浊的蓝色，她惊恐地盯着前方，仿佛她正在目睹自己为之奋斗的一切被毁灭。 火心说话时，她跳了起来，像只刚从睡梦中惊醒的猫。 她像做梦一样缓慢地穿过洞穴，夹在虎爪的后腿上，把他困住了。 虎爪受的伤即使是小一点的猫也会被吓呆的，但它还是奋力挣脱了。 他朝火心和蓝星吐着咒语，琥珀色的眼睛里充满了仇恨。 一个影子落在书房的入口处

and Fireheart heard hoarse, ragged breathing. He turned his head, expecting to see one of the invaders, but it was Graystripe. Dismay flooded over Fireheart at the sight of his friend. He was bleeding heavily from his flank and one foreleg, and blood bubbled from his mouth as he stammered, "Bluestar, we—" He broke off, staring. "Fireheart, what's happening?" "Tigerclaw attacked Bluestar," Fireheart told him quickly. "We were right all along. He is a traitor. He brought the rogues to attack us." Graystripe went on staring, and then shook himself as if he had just climbed out of deep water. "We're losing the fight," he meowed. "There are too many of them. Bluestar, we need your help." The leader looked at him but did not reply. Fireheart could see that her eyes were still dull and unseeing, as if the discovery of the truth about Tigerclaw had bruised her spirit beyond repair. "I'll come," Fireheart offered. "Graystripe, can you help Bluestar hold on to Tigerclaw? We'll deal with him when the battle's over."

火心听到了沙哑、急促的呼吸声。 他转过头，以为会看到一个入侵者，没想到是格雷stripe。 看到他的朋友，火心顿时惊慌失措。 他的侧腹和一条前腿流血不止，嘴里淌着血，结结巴巴地说：“蓝星，我们——”他停了下来，瞪着眼睛。 “火心，怎么了？”“虎爪袭击了蓝星。”火心很快告诉他。 “我们一直都是对的。他是个叛徒。 他带着流氓来攻击我们。” 灰条继续盯着看，然后抖了抖身子，好像刚从深水里爬出来。 “我们要输了，”他叫道。 “他们人太多了。 蓝星，我们需要你的帮助。” 首领看着他，没有回答。 火心看得出来，她的眼睛仍然呆滞而茫然，仿佛发现了虎爪的真相，使她的心灵受到了无法弥补的伤害。 “我来。”火心说。 “灰条，你能帮蓝星抓住虎爪吗？” 等战争结束，我们再对付他。”

"You can try, kittypet," Tigerclaw sneered through a mouthful of sand. Graystripe limped across the den and took Fireheart's place, planting his claws on Tigerclaw's chest. For a heartbeat Fireheart hesitated, uncertain that wounded Graystripe and Bluestar in a state of shock would be a match for Tigerclaw. But the deputy was still losing blood, and his struggles were definitely getting weaker. Swiftly Fireheart turned and raced outside again. At first glance the clearing seemed to be filled with rogues, as if all the ThunderClan warriors had been driven out. Then Fireheart caught a glimpse of familiar shapes here and there— Longtail squirming underneath a huge tabby tom; Patchpelt scrabbling just out of reach of a skinny gray outlaw, whirling around to rake his nose with outstretched claws before he hurled himself at the rogue's belly. Fireheart tried to collect his strength. The fight with Tigerclaw had exhausted him, and the wounds where the deputy had clawed him burned like fire. He did not know how long he could keep on. He rolled over instinctively as a ginger she-cat

“你可以试试，小猫咪。”虎爪从满嘴的沙子中讥笑道。 灰条一瘸一拐地穿过洞穴，站在火心的位置上，把爪子放在虎爪的胸膛上。 火心犹豫了一下，不确定受伤的灰条和蓝星是不是虎爪的对手。 但警官仍在失血，他的挣扎也明显减弱了。 火心迅速转身，又跑了出去。 乍一看，空地上似乎挤满了盗贼，好像所有的雷霆族战士都被赶出去了。 接着，火心瞥见了一些熟悉的身影——长尾巴在一只巨大的虎斑猫下面蠕动；Patchpelt在一个瘦骨嶙峋的灰色歹徒够不着的地方挣扎着，转过身来，用伸出的爪子抓着他的鼻子，然后扑向那个流氓的肚子。 火心试图集中他的力量。 和虎爪的搏斗使他筋疲力尽，副手抓他的伤口像火一样灼烧着。 他不知道自己还能坚持多久。 他本能地翻了个身，就像一只姜黄色的母猫

tried to drive her claws into his back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a lithe, blue-gray body racing across the clearing, yowling a challenge. Bluestar! he thought in astonishment, and wondered what had happened to Tigerclaw. Then he realized that the warrior he had seen was not Bluestar. It was Mistyfoot! With a massive effort Fireheart tore free of the ginger cat and scrambled to his paws. RiverClan warriors were pouring out of the tunnel. Leopardfur, Stonefur, Blackclaw… After them came Whitestorm and the rest of his patrol. They were strong and full of energy, and they fell on the invaders with claws outstretched and tails lashing in fury. Terrified by the sudden appearance of reinforcements, the rogue cats scattered. The ginger she-cat fled with a shocked howl. Others followed her. Fireheart staggered a few paces in pursuit, hissing and spitting to speed them on their way, but there was no need. Surprised when they thought their victory was certain, and leaderless now that Tigerclaw had been caught, the rogues had no fight left in them.

想用爪子咬他的背。 他从眼角看到一个轻盈的蓝灰色躯体在空地上奔跑，嚎叫着要挑战。 蓝星!他惊讶地想，不知道虎爪出了什么事。 然后他意识到他所看到的战士并不是蓝星。 是雾脚！火心费了很大的劲才挣脱了姜黄色的猫，爬上了它的爪子。 大河氏族的战士们从隧道里涌了出来。 豹皮、石皮、黑爪……在他们之后是白风暴和他的其他巡逻队。 它们身体强壮，精力充沛，它们伸出爪子，愤怒地甩动尾巴，扑向入侵者。 突然出现的援军吓坏了这些流浪猫，它们四散而逃。 那只姜黄色母猫惊恐地嚎叫着逃走了。 其他人跟着她。火心踉踉跄跄地追了几步，发出嘶嘶声和吐痰声，想加快他们的速度，但没有必要。 当他们以为胜利已成定局时，他们感到很惊讶，而虎爪已经被抓住，他们又失去了领导，这些流氓们已经没有斗志了。