CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 23

Squirrelflight lashed¹ her tail. “Go backto camp,” she ordered Ashfur. “Fetch more cats to help.”

Before she finished speaking, Leafpool was already racing³ through the undergrowth, not caring when trailing brambles clawed at her fur. Squirrelflight bounded along at her shoulder. Neither of them spoke⁴. Ashfur’s fear-scent⁵ was strong along his trail, showing them which way to go.

Leafpool’s belly⁶ churned. Now she understood the premonition of danger that had flooded over her in the nursery. What could be worse than losing their Clan⁷ leader—Firestar, the father she loved?

Her mistrust of Brambleclaw swelled⁸ into a giant wave that threatened to crash down and swamp her. The tabby warrior⁹ was strong and brave, but Tigerstar’s evil influence was surely too much for him.

Before the lake came in sight she began to pick up the scent of cats and, even stronger, the reek¹⁰ of fresh blood. Her heart seemed to stop for a moment. No cat could lose that much blood and survive.

She skidded¹¹ around the roots of a tree and came to a halt just above the water’s edge. Firestar lay on his side in front of her, not moving. Brambleclaw was standing¹² over him, his paws matted with blood.

I was right! Brambleclaw is a traitor¹³. He murdered my father so he can be Clan leader

Before she could speak, Firestar stirred and opened his eyes. “Leafpool,” he whispered. “It’s okay. Hawkfrost set a trap for me, but Brambleclaw killed him.”

He shifted his foreleg, revealing the broken fox trap, and when Leafpool looked closer at Firestar, she could see that his neck, though badly scratched, was not bleeding heavily enough to produce this scarlet¹⁴ pool that lapped at her paws. The blood on Brambleclaw’s paws was not her father’s; instead, his claws were muddy and broken, which meant he must have dug up the stick and saved her father’s life. Yet there was no pride or satisfaction in his gaze; his eyes were shadowed with horror, and he seemed to be listening to something no other cat could hear.

Squirrelflight flung herself past Leafpool and crouched¹⁵ beside her father, nosing him from ears to tail-tip. “Brambleclaw, thank you. You saved his life!”

Brambleclaw blinked as if he had only just realized she was there. “I only did what any cat would have done.”

Leafpool padded past her father, feeling blood well up, damp and sticky, between her pads.Where did all that blood come from?

A trail led through the ferns to the lakeshore, leaving the stems flattened¹⁶ and broken—and stained with blood. Peering through, Leafpool saw Hawkfrost’s dark tabby body lying unmoving in the shallows at the edge of the lake. Blood still spilled from a wound in his throat, clouding the water with a glaring splash of scarlet. Waves lapped heavily against the shore, turning the pebbles¹⁷ red.

“Before all is peaceful, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red,” she whispered.

At last Leafpool understood. Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost were kin²; blood had indeed spilled blood. Brambleclaw had killed his half brother to save Firestar. She had been right about Hawkfrost—he was too ambitious, too much like his father, Tigerstar—but she had never imagined that Brambleclaw would be the cat to stop him.

The prophecy that had haunted her pawsteps for so long was finally fulfilled. Now the Clans¹⁸ could look forward to the peace that it had promised. And now that Hawkfrost was dead, Mothwing would be free of his attempts to control her. The secret of the moth’s wing sign would be safe forever.

Leafpool turned away from Hawkfrost’s body and went to join her father and Squirrelflight. Leaning on Squirrelflight’s shoulder, Firestar had managed to sit up. Brambleclaw stood in silence beside them, still apparently¹⁹ stunned²⁰ with shock, not even trying to clean Hawkfrost’s blood from his paws.

“It’s over,” Leafpool told them quietly. She squared her shoulders and turned her face to the rising sun. “It’s over, and peace has come.”

1 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

3 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

6 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

7 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

8 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

9 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

10 reek   

v.发出臭气；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• Where there's reek,there's heat.哪里有恶臭，哪里必发热。
• That reek is from the fox.那股恶臭是狐狸发出的。

11 skidded   

v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区

参考例句：

• The car skidded and hit a lamp post. 那辆汽车打滑撞上了路灯杆。
• The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

14 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

15 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

16 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

17 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

18 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

19 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

20 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。