Chapter 28

CHAPTER 29 Firestar opened his eyes. He was lying on the grass of Fourtrees with moonlight washing around him and the rustle of leaves above his head. For a few heartbeats he relaxed, reveling in the warm air of greenleaf. Then he remembered Fourtrees as he had last seen it, the branches black and stark in the depths of leaf-bare and the clearing thronged with screeching, warring cats. Abruptly he sat up. He was not alone. The warriors of StarClan lined the clearing, illuminating it with the shimmer of their pelts and the gleam in their eyes. In the front rank Firestar could see the cats who had given him his nine lives: Bluestar, Yellowfang, and Spottedleaf, Lionheart…and a newcomer, Whitestorm, restored to his youthful strength, with starlight glimmering in his thick fur. "Welcome, Firestar," meowed the white warrior. Firestar scrambled to his paws. "Why…why have you brought me here?" he demanded. "I should be back there, fighting to save my Clan."

第二十九章火星睁开了眼睛。 他躺在四棵树的草地上，月光冲刷着他的四周，头顶上树叶沙沙作响。 心跳了几下，他放松下来，陶醉在绿叶的温暖空气中。 这时，他想起了他上次见到的四棵树，光秃秃的树叶深处的树枝又黑又枯，空地上挤满了尖叫、搏斗的猫。 他突然坐了起来。他并不孤单。 星际氏族的战士们站在空地上，用皮毛的微光和眼睛的光芒照亮了空地。 在最前面的一排，火星可以看到那些给了他九条命的猫：蓝星、黄牙、斑叶、狮心……还有一只新来的白风暴，它恢复了青春的活力，浓密的皮毛上闪烁着星光。 “欢迎你，火星，”白人战士喵喵地叫道。 火星爬到他的爪子上。 “为什么……你为什么把我带到这里来？” “我应该回到那里，为拯救我的部落而战。”

It was Bluestar who replied. "Look, Firestar." Firestar saw there was a space beside her. At first he thought it was empty, but suddenly he realized that it was filled by the faintest outline of a flame-colored cat. His green eyes glowed so pale they barely reflected the starlight that filled the hollow, but Firestar recognized him at once. "You have lost your first life," Bluestar meowed gently. A shiver ran through Firestar. So this was what it felt like to die. He stared in mingled curiosity and fear at the pale copy of himself in the middle of the clearing, and as his gaze locked with the ghost cat's he suddenly saw himself, hunched and bleeding, his fur ragged and the light of desperation burning in his eyes. Firestar wrenched his head aside to break the contact. There was no time for this. Surely the whole point of having nine lives was so that he could keep going? "Send me back," he begged. "If we're losing the battle, BloodClan will rule the forest!" Bluestar stepped forward. "Patience, Firestar. Your body needs a moment to recover. You will

是蓝星回复的。 “看,Firestar。”火星看到她旁边有个空位。 起初他以为里面是空的，但突然他意识到里面是一只火红色的猫的最模糊的轮廓。 他的绿眼睛发着苍白的光，几乎反射不出山谷里的星光，但火星立刻认出了他。 “你失去了你的第一个生命，”蓝星温柔地喵喵叫道。 火星浑身打了个寒颤。 这就是死亡的感觉。 他既好奇又害怕地盯着空地中央那个苍白的自己，当他的目光与鬼猫的目光相遇时，他突然看到了自己，驼背流血，皮毛褴褛，眼中闪烁着绝望的光芒。 火星把他的头扭到一边，切断了接触。 没有时间了。 难道拥有九条命的全部意义就是为了让他能继续活下去吗？ “送我回去吧，”他恳求道。 “如果我们输了这场战斗，血族就会统治森林！”蓝星走上前去。 “耐心、Firestar。你的身体需要一点时间来恢复。 你会

go back soon enough." "But it might not be in time! Bluestar, why are you letting this happen? Will StarClan not help us, even now?" The former ThunderClan leader did not reply directly. Instead she sat down, her blue eyes glowing with wisdom. "No cat could have done more than you for ThunderClan," she meowed. "Even though you are not forest-born, you have the heart of a true Clan cat…more than ever Tigerstar or Darkstripe did, for though they taunted you with being a kittypet, they both ended up betraying the Clan of their birth for the sake of their own ambition." Firestar's paws worked impatiently in the grass. What was the use of empty praise? He could not tear his mind away from what was happening in that other clearing, where loyal cats were fighting and dying. "Bluestar—" The she-cat raised her tail to silence him. "Perhaps your quarrel with Tigerstar gave you the strength you need," she went on. "All along, you did what you thought was right, even when your Clan mates disagreed with you. You suffered

赶快回去吧。”“但它可能赶不上！”蓝星，你为什么要让这种事发生？ 即使是现在，StarClan也不会帮助我们吗？”这位前雷霆氏族首领没有直接回答。 她坐了下来，蓝眼睛里闪着智慧的光芒。 “没有猫能比你为雷霆家族做的更多。”她喵喵地说。 “尽管你不是出生在森林里，但你有一颗真正的氏族猫的心……比虎星或暗条纹都要多，因为尽管他们嘲笑你是一只小猫，但他们最终都为了自己的野心背叛了自己出生的氏族。” 火星的爪子在草地上不耐烦地挠着。 空洞的赞美有什么用呢？ 他无法从另一片空地上正在发生的事情上移开自己的思绪，那里忠诚的猫正在战斗和死亡。 “蓝星——”母猫扬起尾巴，让他闭嘴。 “也许你和虎星的争吵给了你所需的力量，”她接着说。 “一直以来，你都在做你认为正确的事情，即使你的部落成员不同意你的观点。 你遭受了

loneliness and uncertainty, and that has made you what you are now…a gifted, intelligent leader with the courage to lead your Clan in its darkest hour." "But I'm not leading them!" Firestar hissed. "And I can't save them—I'm not strong enough. We're going to lose the battle. Bluestar, this can't be the will of StarClan! We've always believed our warrior ancestors wanted there to be four Clans in the forest. Have we been so wrong?" There was a ripple of movement from the front rank of the starry warriors. Bluestar rose to her paws as she was joined by the other eight cats who had given Firestar a life at the ceremony beside the Moonstone. All nine of them encircled the young cat who stood defiantly in the center of the clearing. A voice spoke—not Bluestar this time, but an echo vibrating inside Firestar's head as if all nine cats were speaking to him at once. "Firestar, you are wrong. There were never four Clans in the forest." As Firestar stared, rigid with shock, the voice went on: "There were always five."

孤独和不确定，这些造就了现在的你……一个有天赋、有智慧的领袖，有勇气在最黑暗的时刻领导你的部族。” “但我没有领导他们！”Firestar发出嘘嘘的声音。 “我救不了他们——我不够强壮。 我们要输了。 蓝星，这不可能是星族的意志！我们一直相信我们的战士祖先希望森林里有四个氏族。 难道我们错得这么离谱吗？”星光灿烂的战士们的前线掀起了一阵涟漪。 在月光石旁的仪式上，蓝星站了起来，和其他八只给了火星生命的猫站在一起。 他们九只都把那只站在空地中央挑衅的小猫团团围住了。 一个声音在说话——这次不是蓝星，而是在火星脑袋里震动的回声，好像九只猫同时在对他说话。 “火星，你错了。森林里从来没有四个氏族。” 火星吓得僵住了，盯着他看，那个声音接着说：“总是有五个人。”

Firestar felt nine pairs of eyes, alight with wisdom, rest on him. "Fight bravely, Firestar. You may return to the battle now, and the spirits of StarClan will go with you." The shapes of the StarClan warriors seemed to dissolve into light. Firestar felt their strength flooding through him as water soaked into the thirsty ground, and he knew the courage that came with faith restored. He opened his eyes. The sounds of battle rushed into his ears and he sprang to his paws. Straight in front of him he saw Cloudtail battling with Scourge. The young white warrior was on the ground, blood flowing freely from his wounds as Scourge shook him by the scruff and raked claws across his flank. But Cloudtail had his teeth fastened in Scourge's leg, and even though he was terribly injured he would not let go. "Scourge!" Firestar yowled. "Turn and face me!" The small black cat whipped around, letting go of Cloudtail in his shock. "How…I killed you." "You did," Firestar spat back at him. "But I am a leader with nine lives who fights alongside

火星感到有九双充满智慧的眼睛落在他身上。 “勇敢地战斗吧，火星。你现在可以回去战斗了，星族的灵魂会和你一起去的。” 星族战士的身影似乎消融在光中。 当水渗入干渴的土地时，火星感到他们的力量在他体内涌动，他知道信心恢复带来的勇气。 他睁开眼睛。战斗的声音冲进了他的耳朵，他跳了起来。 就在他的正前方，他看到云尾巴和天灾正在战斗。 年轻的白人战士倒在地上，鲜血从他的伤口汩汩流出，天灾抖着他的颈背，用爪子划过他的侧腹。 但是云尾巴咬住了天灾的腿，即使他受了重伤，他也不放手。 “祸害!”Firestar大哭大叫。 “转过身来面对我！”小黑猫猛地转过身来，吓得松开了云尾巴。 “怎么……我杀了你。”“是你干的。” “但我是一个有九条命并肩作战的领袖

StarClan. Can you say as much?" For the first time he thought he saw a flicker of uncertainty in Scourge's cold eyes, and at last Firestar understood what Barley had told him. Scourge's lack of belief in StarClan was his greatest weakness. Without belief, without the laws and customs of the forest Clans, Scourge did not have the nine lives of a true leader. When he died, he would be dead forever. The BloodClan leader's uncertainty lasted no more than a heartbeat. He aimed a final blow at Cloudtail, dislodging the weakening warrior and tossing him up against the Great Rock. Firestar launched himself at his enemy. And with every stride, he was aware of the StarClan warriors racing alongside him, matching his pace: Lionheart's golden strength; the lithe, muscular body of Runningwind; Redtail's dark fur, his bushy red tail streaming out behind him; Yellowfang with her claws outstretched; Spottedleaf, swift and determined; Bluestar with all her strength and skill in battle restored. Firestar seemed to cover the ground on winged paws. His claws raked along Scourge's side and he

StarClan。你能这么说吗？”他第一次觉得自己在天灾冰冷的眼睛里看到了一丝不确定的闪烁，火星终于明白了巴利对他说的话。 天灾对星际部落缺乏信心是他最大的弱点。 没有信仰，没有森林氏族的法律和习俗，天灾军团就没有真正领袖的九条命。 当他死了，他就永远死了。 血族首领的不确定只持续了一个心跳。 他瞄准了云尾巴最后一击，把虚弱的战士推倒，扔到巨石上。 火星向他的敌人发起攻击。 每迈一步，他都意识到星际部落的战士们在他身边奔跑，配合着他的步伐：狮心王的黄金力量；Runningwind柔韧、肌肉发达的身体；小红尾巴的深色皮毛，毛茸茸的红色尾巴在身后飘动；黄牙伸出爪子；斑点叶，迅速而坚定；蓝星在战斗中恢复了所有的力量和技能。 火星似乎用长着翅膀的爪子在地面上行走。 他的爪子沿着天灾的侧面刮着，他