Firestar stared, speechless with shock, as Scourge1 turned away and disappeared through the lines of his own warriors3. Silently the cats of BloodClan fell in behind him and vanished into the bushes with scarcely a rustle5. Firestar tracked their departure through the movement of branches up the side of the hollow, and then they were gone.
Firestar looked down at the body of Tigerstar. The huge tabby’s legs were splayed and his teeth bared in a last snarl6 of defiance7 at death. The amber8 eyes that had smoldered9 with savage10 ambition were blank and sightless.
Faced with the death of his enemy, Firestar knew he should feel triumphant11. He had known for a long time now that the only hope for peace in the forest was the death of Tigerstar. But Firestar had always expected that he would be the cat that struck his enemy down, risking his own life in combat with the massive warrior2. Instead, now that Tigerstar lay at his paws, staining them with his blood, he found himself struggling with the strangest feeling of all—grief. Tigerstar had received from StarClan all the strength, skill, and intelligence to make himself truly great, a legend among cats. But he had misused12 his gifts, murdered and lied and plotted revenge, until his ambition brought him to this terrible end. And nothing had been solved. The fate of every Clan4 still hung in the balance, and the tide of blood still flowed.
We need your strength, Tigerstar, Firestar whispered. Just as we need every cat who can fight, to drive BloodClan out of the forest.
He became aware that another cat was standing13 beside him, and he turned his head to see Graystripe. The rest of the ThunderClan cats were still drawn14 up in their battle lines at the far side of the clearing, with Tallstar and the WindClan warriors beside them.
“Firestar?” Graystripe’s yellow eyes were huge with fear. “Are you okay?”
Firestar shook himself. “I will be. Don’t worry, Graystripe. Come on—I need to talk to Tallstar.”
As they turned away, Graystripe glanced down at the dead S h a d o w C l an leader and a shudder15 passed through him. “I never want to see anything like that again,” he meowed hoarsely16.
“If we don’t get rid of Scourge, you probably will,” Firestar replied.
He paced slowly back toward the WindClan leader, using the time it took to cross the clearing to think. When he stood in front of Tallstar, he saw his own shock reflected in the eyes of the older cat.
“I can’t believe what I’ve just seen,” the WindClan leader. “Nine lives gone—just like that.”
Firestar nodded. “No cat would blame you if you took your Clan and left the forest to find another place to live.” He did not doubt Tallstar’s courage, but felt unable to assume that he would stay to fight such a terrible enemy.
Tallstar stiffened17 and his neck fur bristled18. “WindClan was driven from the forest once,” he hissed19. “Never again. Our territory is o u r s, and we’ll fight for it. Is ThunderClan with us?”
Even before Firestar replied he heard a murmuring from his own cats, defiance and determination mingled20 together. “We’ll fight,” he promised. “And we’ll be proud to stand side by side with WindClan.”
The two leaders looked into each other’s eyes for a few heartbeats. Firestar could see that Tallstar shared the fear neither of them had spoken, that their resolve to fight the invading cats could mean the destruction of both their Clans21.
“We’ll go now to prepare ourselves,” Tallstar meowed at last. “And we’ll meet you here again in three days, at dawn.”
“At dawn,” Firestar echoed. “And may StarClan be with us all.”
He watched the WindClan cats retreat up the slope toward their territory before he turned to his own warriors. They looked subdued22, eyes wide with apprehension23, yet Firestar knew that none of them would flinch24 from the coming battle. They had followed him to Fourtrees expecting to fight, and even though their enemies were more terrible than any cat could have imagined, they would still defy them to keep the forest that they loved.
“I’m proud of you all,” Firestar mewed quietly. “If an y cats can drive out BloodClan, you can.”
Sandstorm padded over to him and pressed her muzzle25 against his shoulder. “With you to lead us, we will do anything,” she promised
For a moment Firestar felt too overwhelmed to speak. Far from lifting his spirits, his warriors’ expectations weighed on him heavily. “Let’s get back to camp,” he managed to meow at last. “We’ve a lot to do. Graystripe, Cloudtail, scout26 ahead. I wouldn’t put it past Scourge to lay an ambush27 for us.”
The two warriors bounded away in the direction of the ThunderClan camp. A few moments later Firestar led the rest of his cats after them, putting Dustpelt at the rear to keep watch. As they headed swiftly through the forest Firestar thought that he could feel Scourge’s cold, malignant28 eyes following their pawsteps. Once before, when the dog pack was loose, Firestar had felt like prey29 in the forest, and now his enemy had a face all the more terrible for being one of his own kind.
But if the BloodClan leader was watching them he gave no sign of it, and the ThunderClan warriors reached the ravine unchallenged.
Firestar noticed that Bramblepaw had begun to lag behind, his tail trailing on the ground. “What’s wrong?” he asked gently.
Bramblepaw raised his eyes to his mentor30’s, and Firestar was shocked by the depths of sick horror in his gaze.
“I thought I hated my father,” he mewed quietly. “I didn’t want to join his Clan. But I didn’t want him to die like that.”
“I know.” Firestar pressed his muzzle against the young cat’s side. “But it’s over now, and you’re free of him.”
Bramblepaw turned his head away. “I don’t think I’ll ever be free of him,” he murmured. “Even now that he’s dead, no cat will forget that I’m his son. And what about Tawnypaw?” His voice choked. “How could she choose to follow him?”
“I don’t know.” Firestar understood how much pain Tawnypaw’s betrayal must have caused her brother. “But if we come through this, I promise that we’ll find a way of talking to her.”
“Does that mean you will let her come back to ThunderClan?”
“I can’t be sure of anything,” Firestar admitted. “We don’t even know if she wants to come back. But I’ll give her a fair hearing, and do the best I can for her.”
“Thank you, Firestar.” Bramblepaw’s voice was tired and defeated. “I suppose that’s more than she deserves.” He dipped his head to his mentor and padded on toward the gorse tunnel.
Firestar gazed down from the Highrock as the cats of ThunderClan emerged from their dens31 and gathered below him. He could see from their horror-struck expressions that the news of BloodClan’s threat and Tigerstar’s terrible death had already spread throughout the camp. He knew that it was his duty to give them hope and courage, but he did not know if he could, when he had so little for himself.
The sun was going down, and the rock cast a long shadow across the sandy floor of the clearing. The scarlet33 rays of the dying sun made it too easy for Firestar to imagine that the camp was already washed in blood. He wondered if it wasn’t a sign from StarClan, that all his friends, all his warriors, would be destroyed. After all, the warrior ancestors had shown no sign of anger when Scourge had ripped Tigerstar’s nine lives out of him and let all his life’s blood run into the sacred ground at Fourtrees.
No, Firestar told himself. To think like that was to despair and do nothing. He had to go on believing that BloodClan could be defeated.
Clearing his throat, he began to speak. “Cats of ThunderClan, you have heard of the threat that faces us. BloodClan has come from Twolegplace and laid claim to the forest. They want us to run away and let them take over without a fight. But three days from now, we will stand together with WindClan and make BloodClan fight for every mouselength of the forest.”
In the clearing below, Cloudtail leaped to his paws and yowled agreement. Several cats echoed him, but Firestar could see that some glanced doubtfully at one another, as if they were not sure they had a chance of surviving against BloodClan and their fearsome leader.
“What about RiverClan and ShadowClan?” asked Whitestorm. “Will they fight? And if they do, which side will they be on?”
“That’s a good question,” Firestar replied. “And I don’t know the answer. The TigerClan warriors ran away when Tigerstar died.”
“Then we need to know where they went,” Whitestorm meowed.
“I could slip over into RiverClan territory to see,” suggested Mistyfoot, getting up from where she sat at the base of the rock. “I know all the best places to hide.”
“No,” Firestar ordered. “You’re in more danger over there than any cat. We don’t know if TigerClan are still persecuting34 half-Clan cats, and I don’t want to lose you. ThunderClan needs you.”
For a moment Mistyfoot looked as if she would have liked to argue, but she dipped her head and sat down again as Whitestorm meowed, “We can find out most of what we need from border patrols.”
Firestar nodded. “That’s your job, Whitestorm. I want extra patrols along the ShadowClan and RiverClan borders. Their main task is to find out what the other Clans are doing, but they can keep their eyes open for BloodClan as well. If Scourge decides to attack before the three days are up, I don’t want us to be caught napping.”
Whitestorm flicked35 his tail in agreement. “Consider it done.”
Firestar could see that his deputy’s calm efficiency had encouraged the rest of the Clan, and he went on quickly before their fears could return. “Next, every cat in the Clan must be prepared to fight.”
“Even the kits36?” That was Sorrelkit, springing eagerly to her paws. “Can we be in the battle? Can we be apprentices37?”
In spite of the danger they were in, Firestar suppressed a purr of amusement. “No, you’re too young to be apprentices,” he told Sorrelkit gently. “And I can’t take you into battle. But if BloodClan win, they’ll come here, and you’ll need to be able to defend yourselves. Sandstorm, will you be responsible for training the kits?”
“I will, Firestar.” Sandstorm’s green eyes flashed with approval at Sorrelkit and her littermates, Sootkit and Rainkit, who had scrambled39 up to stand beside their sister. “They’ll be able to give BloodClan a nasty surprise by the time I’ve finished with them.”
“What about Brightheart?” Cloudtail called. “Her fighting moves are coming along well.”
“I want to fight in the battle,” Brightheart mewed determinedly40. “Can I, Firestar?”
Firestar hesitated. Brightheart was stronger now, and she had been training hard with Cloudtail. “I’ll think about it,” he promised. “Are you ready for an assessment42?”
Brightheart nodded. “Anytime, Firestar.”
“We’ll fight with you, too,” Mistyfoot put in from where she sat near the base of the rock. Featherpaw and Stormpaw, sitting beside her, straightened up and looked determined41. “We’re all strong enough, thanks to you.”
“Good. As for the rest of you”—Firestar’s gaze swept the clearing—“warriors, apprentices, and elders, you have three days to prep are. Graystripe, will you supervise a training program?”
His friend’s eyes lit up and his ears pricked43. “No problem, Firestar.”
“Get a couple of the others to help you…and rotate the training sessions so Whitestorm has enough cats for his patrols, and for hunting.” Glancing around, he spotted44 the medicine cat sitting near the fern tunnel that led to her den32. “Cinderpelt, are you ready to look after the wounded?”
Privately45, Firestar knew there was no need to ask; he had never known Cinderpelt not to be ready, but he knew it would reassure46 the other cats to hear her say so out loud.
The look Cinderpelt gave him showed that she understood. “Everything’s prepared,” she replied. “But there’ll be a lot to do once the fighting starts. If you could let me have an apprentice38 to help, that would be great.”
“Of course.” As Firestar wondered which apprentice to choose, his gaze rested on Fernpaw, and he remembered her gentleness and sensitivity to other cats’ injuries. “You can have Fernpaw,” he announced, and saw Dustpelt flash him a relieved look. “Fernpaw, if that’s okay with you?”
The gray she-cat dipped her head in assent47. For a moment Firestar wondered if he had forgotten anything, but he couldn’t think what else they could do to prep are for what lay ahead.
Gazing down at his Clan, their shapes beginning to melt into the twilight48, he took a deep breath. “Now eat well, and get a good sleep tonight,” he ordered. “Tomorrow we’ll begin—and in three days we’ll be ready to show Scourge and his Clan that our forest will never be theirs for the taking.”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
scourge
|
|
| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
warrior
|
|
| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
warriors
|
|
| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
clan
|
|
| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
rustle
|
|
| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
snarl
|
|
| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
defiance
|
|
| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
amber
|
|
| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
smoldered
|
|
| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
triumphant
|
|
| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
misused
|
|
| v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
hoarsely
|
|
| adv.嘶哑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
stiffened
|
|
| 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
bristled
|
|
| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
hissed
|
|
| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
clans
|
|
| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
subdued
|
|
| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
apprehension
|
|
| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
flinch
|
|
| v.畏缩，退缩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
muzzle
|
|
| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
scout
|
|
| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
ambush
|
|
| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
malignant
|
|
| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
mentor
|
|
| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
dens
|
|
| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
den
|
|
| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
persecuting
|
|
| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的现在分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
flicked
|
|
| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
kits
|
|
| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
apprentices
|
|
| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
apprentice
|
|
| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
scrambled
|
|
| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
determinedly
|
|
| adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
assessment
|
|
| n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
pricked
|
|
| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
privately
|
|
| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
reassure
|
|
| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
assent
|
|
| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
twilight
|
|
| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |