Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24 Fireheart emerged from the warriors' den and paused. He gazed across the clearing to where Sandstorm was crouched by the nettle patch, gulping down a piece of fresh-kill. He had chosen some of the warriors he wanted to come with him to Snakerocks, but so far he had not spoken to Sandstorm. He was reluctant to risk her life on this dangerous mission, and afraid that she would refuse to come if it meant following his orders. Yet he knew that he could not imagine going without her. Taking a deep breath, he padded over to the nettle patch and sat down beside her. Sandstorm swallowed the last mouthful of squirrel. "Fireheart? What is it?" Quietly Fireheart told her what Longtail had discovered at Snakerocks. "I want you to come with us," he told her. "You're fast and brave, and the Clan needs you." The she-cat turned her green gaze on him, but Fireheart could not read the expression there. "I need you," he blurted out, afraid she was about to refuse. "For Bluestar's sake, as well as the

第二十四章火心从战士的洞穴里出来，停了下来。 他凝视着那片空地，沙暴正蹲在荨麻地里，大口吞下一块刚宰杀的猎物。 他已经挑选了几位勇士，想和他一起去蛇岩，但到目前为止，他还没有和沙暴说过话。 他不愿意拿她的生命去冒险，因为他担心如果这意味着服从他的命令，她会拒绝来。 然而他知道他无法想象没有她在身边。 他深吸了一口气，蹑手蹑脚地走到荨麻地里，坐在她身边。 沙暴吞下了最后一口松鼠。 “Fireheart ?这是什么？”火心悄悄地把长尾巴在蛇岩的发现告诉了她。 “我想让你和我们一起去，”他对她说。 “你又快又勇敢，氏族需要你。” 母猫把绿色的目光转向他，但火心看不懂她的表情。 “我需要你。”他脱口而出，生怕她会拒绝。 “为了蓝星，也为了

Clan's. I know things haven't been right between us ever since I stopped the battle with WindClan. But I trust you. Whatever you think about me, do it for the Clan." Sandstorm nodded slowly. She was looking thoughtful, and a small seed of hope began to grow in Fireheart's heart. "I know why you didn't want to fight WindClan," she began. "In a way, I thought you were right. But it was hard to know you had gone behind Bluestar's back without telling the rest of us." "I know, but—" "But you're the deputy," Sandstorm interrupted, reaching one paw toward him for silence. "You have responsibilities the rest of us can't understand. And I can see how torn you must have felt—between loyalty to Bluestar and loyalty to the Clan." Hesitating, staring down at her paws, she added, "I was torn too. I wanted to be loyal to the warrior code, and I wanted to be loyal to you, Fireheart." Fireheart felt too full of emotion to answer. He stretched out his head to press against her flank, and to his delight she did not move away. Instead

家族的。我知道自从我阻止了与风氏族的战斗之后我们之间的关系就不太好。 但我相信你。不管你怎么看我，都是为了氏族。” 沙暴慢慢地点点头。她看上去若有所思，一颗小小的希望种子开始在火心的心中发芽。 “我知道你为什么不想和风氏族战斗。”她开始说。 “在某种程度上，我认为你是对的。 但我们很难知道你背着蓝星做了什么而不告诉我们其他人。” “我知道，可是——”“可是你是副警长啊。”沙暴打断他的话，伸出一只爪子让他闭嘴。 “你有我们其他人无法理解的责任。 我能理解你在忠于蓝星和忠于氏族之间是多么纠结。” 她犹豫了一下，低头看着自己的爪子，补充道：“我也被撕碎了。 我想忠于战士的准则，我也想忠于你，火心。” 火心激动得说不出话来。 他伸出头来贴着她的腰，使他高兴的是她没有走开。 而不是

she looked up at him again, and he felt as if he were drowning in the depths of her green gaze. "I'm sorry, Sandstorm," he murmured. "I never meant to hurt you." His voice barely more than a whisper, he added, "I love you." Sandstorm's eyes glowed. "I love you too, Fireheart," she whispered. "That's why it hurt so much when you asked Bluestar if Brackenfur could mentor Tawnypaw. I thought you didn't respect me." "I made a mistake." Fireheart's voice shook. "I don't know how I could have been so mouse- brained." Sandstorm let out a purr and touched her nose to his. "I want you beside me always." Fireheart breathed in her scent, rejoicing in the warmth of her body. He suddenly felt that he would always be happy if he could stay like that forever. But he knew that he could not. "Sandstorm," he told her, lifting his head. "I know what we're going to face out there. It's more dangerous than I ever imagined. I'm not ordering you to come, but I still want you with me."

她又抬起头来望着他，他觉得自己仿佛被她那绿色的目光淹没了。 “对不起，沙暴。”他喃喃地说。 “我从没想过要伤害你。” 他用耳语般的声音补充道：“我爱你。” 沙暴的眼睛闪闪发光。“我也爱你，火心。” “这就是为什么当你向蓝星询问布拉肯弗是否可以指导唐柏时，我如此伤心。 我以为你不尊重我。” “我犯了一个错误。”火心的声音颤抖着。 “我不知道我怎么会这么笨。” 沙暴发出一声呼噜声，用鼻子碰了碰他的鼻子。 “我要你永远在我身边。” 火心吸着她的气味，为她身体的温暖而欣喜。 他突然觉得，如果他能永远这样下去，他就会永远幸福。 但他知道他做不到。 “沙暴。”他抬起头告诉她。 “我知道我们将在那里面对什么。 这比我想象的还要危险。 我不是命令你来，但我还是希望你和我在一起。”

Sandstorm's purr grew deeper, a vibration that filled her whole body. "Of course I'm coming, you stupid furball," she mewed. Fireheart set a double watch on the camp that night and kept vigil himself in the center of the clearing. A growing sense of horror crept over him as he listened to the wind sighing through the bare trees. It seemed to carry Spottedleaf's voice to him, murmuring about the enemy that never slept: Tigerstar, the dogs—or both. The enemy was about to unleash its fury, and no cat was safe. The next day, Fireheart knew, could see the final destruction of his Clan. As he watched the moon above him, barely waning from the full, Cinderpelt emerged from her den and padded across the clearing to sit beside him. "If you're leading a patrol tomorrow, you should get some sleep," she advised. "You'll need your strength." "I know," Fireheart agreed. "But I don't think I could sleep." He raised his eyes to the moon again and the glittering stars of Silverpelt. "It looks so

沙暴的咕噜声越来越深，一种振动充满了她的整个身体。 “我当然会来，你这个愚蠢的毛球。”她叫道。 那天晚上，火心派了两个人看守营地，自己则在空地中央守夜。 当他听着风穿过光秃秃的树林发出的叹息声时，一种越来越强烈的恐惧感爬上了他的心头。 它似乎把点点树叶的声音传给了他，嘀咕着那个从不睡觉的敌人：虎星，狗——或者两者兼而有之。 敌人要发泄怒火了，没有一只猫是安全的。 火心知道，第二天他的氏族就会被彻底毁灭。 他看着头顶上的月亮，刚刚从满月中消失，灰姑娘从她的洞穴里出来，穿过空地坐在他身边。 “如果你明天要带队巡逻，你应该睡一会儿，”她建议道。 “你需要你的力量。” “我知道。”火心同意道。 “但我想我睡不着。” 他再次抬起眼睛，望着月亮和银滩上闪闪发光的星星。 “看起来是这样。

peaceful up there. But down here…" "Yes," murmured Cinderpelt. "Down here I can feel the evil growing. The forest is dark with it, and StarClan cannot help us. It's up to us." "So you really don't believe that StarClan has sent this pack to punish us?" Cinderpelt met his gaze, her eyes shining with the reflected light of the moon. "No, Fireheart, I don't." She leaned toward him and let her muzzle brush lightly against the side of his face. "You're not alone, Fireheart," she promised. "I'm with you. And so is the rest of the Clan." Fireheart hoped she was right. The Clan would survive only if it united and faced this dark threat together. They had supported him in the battle that wasn't fought against WindClan, but would they join him in facing the pack? After a few moments Cinderpelt asked, "What will you tell Bluestar?" "Nothing," Fireheart replied. "Not until we've had a look around, at least. There's no point in upsetting her. She doesn't have the strength to cope with this—not now." Cinderpelt murmured agreement. She kept

那里很平静。“是的，”灰姑娘喃喃地说。 “在这里，我能感觉到邪恶在滋长。 森林里一片漆黑，星际战队帮不了我们。 这取决于我们。”“所以你真的不相信StarClan派了这个包来惩罚我们？”灰姑娘迎着他的目光，她的眼睛闪烁着月亮的反射光。 “不，火心，我不知道。”她向他倾过身来，用嘴轻轻拂过他的脸。 “你不是一个人，火心。” “我支持你。氏族的其他成员也是如此。” 火心希望她是对的。 氏族只有团结起来共同面对黑暗的威胁才能生存。 他们在与风氏族的战斗中支持他，但他们会和他一起面对狼群吗？ 过了一会儿，灰姑娘问：“你要对蓝星说什么？”“没什么。”火心回答。 “至少在我们四处看看之前是不会的。 没必要惹她生气。 她现在还没有足够的力量来处理这件事。” 灰姑娘低声表示同意。 她一直

watch with him in silence until the moon began to set. Then she meowed, "Fireheart, I'm telling you as your medicine cat that you need to rest. What happens tomorrow could determine the very future of this Clan, and we need all our warriors to be at full strength." Reluctantly Fireheart had to admit that she was right. Giving Cinderpelt's ear a farewell lick, he got to his paws, padded off to the warriors' den, and curled himself into the moss beside Sandstorm. But his sleep was broken, and his dreams were dark. Once he thought he saw Spottedleaf bounding toward him, and his heart lifted in joy, but before she reached him she turned into a huge dog with gaping jaws and eyes like flames. Fireheart woke, shuddering, to see that the first light of dawn was beginning to seep into the sky. This could be the last dawn I'll ever see, he thought. Death waits for us out there. Then as he raised his head he saw that Sandstorm was sitting beside him, watching over him while he slept. As he saw the love in her eyes he felt new strength flowing through his limbs. He sat up and gave the she-cat's ear a gentle lick. "It's

和他一起静静地看着，直到月亮开始落山。 然后她喵喵地叫道：“火心，作为你的药猫，我告诉你，你需要休息。 明天发生的事情可能会决定这个部落的未来，我们需要所有的战士都全力以赴。” 火心不情愿地承认她是对的。 他在灰姑娘的耳朵上舔了一下告别，然后爬上爪子，蹑手蹑脚地走到勇士的洞穴里，蜷缩在沙暴旁边的苔藓里。 但是他的睡眠被打破了，他的梦是黑暗的。 有一次，他仿佛看见点点树叶正向他跳来，他的心顿时高兴起来，但还没等她靠近他，她就变成了一条大狗，嘴巴张着，眼睛像火焰一样。 火心战战兢兢地醒了过来，看到第一缕晨光开始渗进天空。 这可能是我见到的最后一个黎明了，他想。 死亡在外面等着我们 当他抬起头时，他看到沙暴正坐在他身边，在他睡觉的时候守护着他。 当他看到她眼中的爱时，他感到新的力量流过他的四肢。 他坐起来，轻轻地舔了舔母猫的耳朵。 “这是