Hollypaw crouched1 low, pressing her bellyagainst the boulder3. It was still warm from the sun, which was dipping behind the distant hills. A cold wind rolling from the mountains ruffled4 her fur. From here she could see green fields unfolding toward a swath of forest; somewhere beyond those trees lay the lake, and home.
Though the trees were still in full leaf, they were a shabby green, and the air had a new, musty taste that hadn’t been there on the journey to the mountains. Leaf-fall is coming,she thought.
She couldn’t wait to be home. It felt as though they had been with the Tribe for moons. At least they were safely out of the mountains. The ground would be softer underpaw from here on, the hunting easier, and the territory steadily5 more familiar than rock and water and stunted6 trees.
She glanced over her shoulder. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were talking in low voices with Stormfur and Brook7. Tawnypelt and Crowfeather leaned in beside them. Were they saying good-bye?
Hollypaw was still shocked that Stormfur and Brook were staying behind. Last night, at the farewell feast in the cave behind the waterfall, Stormfur had announced that he and Brook would accompany the Clan9 cats to the foothills, but no farther. Jaypaw, of course, had just shrugged10 and nodded, as though he’d known all along the two cats would not be returning to ThunderClan. But Hollypaw could only guess at why any cat would want to stay in the mountains when they could live by the lake. Brook must feel the same way about the mountains as I do about my home. And Stormfur loves her enough to stay with her, wherever she is.
Suddenly, a flash of brown feather caught her eye. An eagle was skimming over the rough slope below her. Ahead of it a hare pelted11 in terror, throwing up dirt and grass from its long back feet. Folding its wings deftly12 against its sides, the eagle attacked, tumbling the hare head over heels before pinning it to the ground with thorn-sharp talons13.
Hollypaw envied the eagle’s speed. To be able to fly like that! She closed her eyes and imagined skimming over the grass, paws hardly touching14 the ground, light as air, faster than the fastest prey15….
“I wish we could get moving again.” Lionpaw’s impatient mew broke into her thoughts. He padded onto the boulder and stood beside her, following her gaze toward the eagle feasting on its catch. “I wish I had something in mybelly,” he mewed.
“Do you suppose we’ll ever be able to fly?” Hollypaw murmured.
Lionpaw turned and looked at her as though she’d gone crazy.
“I mean,” she tried to explain hurriedly, “Jaypaw said we have the power of the stars in our paws.” It still felt strange to say it out loud. “We don’t really know what that means. I was just wondering if—”
“Flying cats!” Lionpaw scoffed16. “What’d be the point of that?”
Hollypaw’s ears were hot with embarrassment17. “You’ve got no imagination,” she snapped. “Here we are with more power than any other cat ever, and you act like it’s nothing at all! Why shouldn’t we be able to fly, or do anythingwe want to? And stop laughing at me!”
“I’m not laughing at you.” Lionpaw flicked18 Hollypaw’s flank with his tail. “I just think we’d look stupid with wings.”
Frustration19 surged in Hollypaw’s chest. She rounded on her brother, glaring. “You’re not taking this seriously enough! We’ve got to figure out exactly what this prophecy means!”
Lionpaw blinked and took a step backward. “Keep your fur on. You know Jaypaw and his visions. They sound great, but we have to live in the real world.”
“What does the real world mean, now that we have the power of the stars in our paws? We’ll be able to do anything! Imagine how much we’ll be able to help our Clan!”
Lionpaw frowned. “The prophecy didn’t say anything about helping20 our Clan; it just mentioned the three of us.”
Hollypaw stared at him. “But the warrior21 code says we must protect our Clan before anything else!”
Lionpaw’s gaze drifted to the distant hills. “Are we bound by the warrior code if we’re more powerful than StarClan?” he wondered out loud.
“How could you say such a thing?” Hollypaw scolded, but a shiver of foreboding ran along her spine22. If the prophecy meant that they had to live outside the warrior code, how would she know what was right? How would she know what she was supposed to do if it came to a choice between her own safety and her Clan’s?
Jaypaw’s pelt8 brushed hers as he jumped up beside them. “Could you two speak a bit louder?” he hissed24. “I think some of the others didn’t hear you.” His blue eyes were flashing with anger. Blindness had not robbed them of showing feeling.
Hollypaw spun25 around to see if any of the other cats had been listening, but the warriors26 were still deep in their own conversation. “No one’s taking any notice of us,” she reassured27 him.
“Not every cat has got such good hearing as you,” Lionpaw added.
“I’m just warning you to be careful, okay?” Jaypaw mewed. “We have to keep this a secret.”
“We know,” Lionpaw assured him.
“Actually, I don’t think you do,” Jaypaw argued. “How do you think the other cats would react if they found out we’ve been born with more power than StarClan?”
Lionpaw glanced at Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. “They’d never believe it.”
“I hardly believe it myself,” Hollypaw admitted.
“They’d believe it, all right.” Jaypaw’s voice was icy. “But I don’t think they’d like it.”
“Why not?” Hollypaw felt a jolt28 of alarm. She hadn’t thought about how her Clanmates would take the news. Surely they’d be glad? They must know she would only use her power to help them!
Lionpaw seemed to agree with her. “Won’t they want us to be the best warriors we can be?”
“This prophecy isn’t about being a good warrior!” Jaypaw warned. His claws scraped against the surface of the boulder in frustration. “It’s about having more power than StarClan. Don’t you think ordinary cats might find that a bit scary?”
“But we’re not going to do anything bad,” Hollypaw insisted. “This is a gift to our whole Clan, not just us.” What did Jaypaw think they were going to do with their powers?
“Shh!” Jaypaw’s hiss23 cut her off as Squirrelflight bounded toward them.
She halted at the edge of the boulder. “What are you bickering29 about?”
“Hollypaw and Lionpaw are just arguing about who’s the best hunter,” Jaypaw mewed smoothly30.
Hollypaw opened her mouth to object, then stopped herself. She hated lying, but she couldn’t give their secret away, not here.
“You shouldn’t be standing31 around chatting,” Squirrelflight told them. “Not when Brambleclaw has just told you to find fresh-kill. He wants to make sure Stormfur and Brook have something to take back to the Tribe.”
They had been so busy arguing, they hadn’t heard the order.
“You shouldn’t haveto be asked twice,” Squirrelflight scolded.
Hollypaw hung her head. “Sorry.”
Squirrelflight flicked her tail toward a cluster of trees at the side of the slope. “Try there, and hurry up!” The copse cast a long shadow that stretched up the hillside. The sun would be setting soon.
Lionpaw licked his lips. “There should be plenty of prey in there.”
“Enough for everyone,” Squirrelflight agreed. She turned to Jaypaw. “Will you come check Tawnypelt’s pads? One of them is bruised32 where she trod on a sharp stone.”
There had been enough sharp stones to bruise33 everyone’s pads on the trek34 down from the mountain; Hollypaw guessed that Squirrelflight was finding Jaypaw something useful to do, since he couldn’t hunt. She tensed, knowing how oversensitive Jaypaw could be. But her littermate just nodded and followed Squirrelflight back toward the warriors. He didn’t even bristle35 when his mother bent36 down to lick a grubby patch of fur behind his ear.
The gesture pricked37 at Hollypaw’s heart. Squirrelflight still saw them as kits38. It would be easier if they still were; kits didn’t have to worry about having more power than their warrior ancestors. But things change,she told herself. She turned away, suddenly anxious. Would there come a time when Squirrelflight would be afraid of her own kits?
“What’s ruffling39 your pelt?” Lionpaw asked.
Hollypaw licked the fur prickling on her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter.” She nodded toward the copse. “Let’s hunt.”
She padded to the front of the boulder and let her paws slide over the edge. It was a short, steep drop, but the grass below looked like it would make a soft landing. She leaped. As she landed, a flurry of fur and paws knocked the breath from her body and sent her flying. Who’s attacking me?Gasping40, she scrambled41 to her paws and prepared to defend herself.
“Why did you get in the way?”
Breezepaw!
The black WindClan apprentice42 was shaking out his fur beside her. “I almost had that mouse!”
“Sorr—” she began to apologize, then bristled43. Why didn’t the dumb furball look where he was going? “I thought we were supposed to be hunting over there!” She flicked her tail toward the copse.
“Idecide where I hunt!” Breezepaw snapped. He glanced up at Lionpaw, who was peering over the edge of the boulder. “At least I washunting and not sitting around chatting with my denmates.”
“Your denmates wouldn’t want to sit around and chat with you even if they were here!” Hollypaw retorted. She felt instantly guilty. Even though he was as bad-tempered44 as his father and twice as smug, she had begun to feel sorry for Breezepaw. Crowfeather treated his son with such scorn that Breezepaw sometimes seemed a loner among his own Clanmates
Lionpaw jumped down beside her. “Are you okay?”
“Of course she is!” Breezepaw snorted. “She’d be even better if she were hunting like she’s supposed to, instead of getting in my way. The sooner we get this fresh-kill, the better. Then we can go home.”
It had been obvious from the start that Breezepaw hadn’t wanted to come to the mountains. And Crowfeather hadn’t acted like he was glad to have him along. He didn’t seem proud of anything Breezepaw did, unlike Brambleclaw, who made Hollypaw feel like the best warrior in ThunderClan when he praised her. Compassion45 welled in her chest as she looked at the miserable46 WindClan apprentice. “We’ll be back at the lake before long,” she mewed gently.
Breezepaw glared at her. “Why do we have to find fresh-kill for the Tribe, anyway? Why can’t they hunt for themselves?”
The compassion evaporated. Hollypaw wondered if she should remind Breezepaw that the Tribe cats were exhausted47 by their recent battle, and that prey was scarcer than ever in the mountains because of the gang of rogues48 who had invaded their land and forced them to set borders around their hunting grounds. But if he didn’t know that already, she wasn’t going to waste her breath. Let him figure it out. All she wanted now was to be back home, warm in her nest with a full belly2 and her denmates sleeping peacefully around her. She glanced at her brother. Would he set Breezepaw straight?
But Lionpaw just rolled his eyes at the WindClan apprentice. “Go catch a rabbit.” He snorted and stomped49 away across the grass.
Breezepaw curled his lip. “ThunderClan cats think they’re so special,” he sneered50 before stalking down the slope.
Hollypaw hurried after her brother. He was muttering under his breath as she caught up to him.
“I wish I had the power to shut that furball up once and for all!”
Is he joking?Hollypaw looked sideways to see if Lionpaw’s eyes were shining with their usual good humor, but they were half closed in a frown. She skipped in front of him and blocked his path. “You don’t mean that, do you?”
Lionpaw flicked his tail. “Of course not,” he grumped. “I’m just tired.”
“But do you think that’s what ‘the power of the stars’ means?” Hollypaw persisted. “The power to make any cat do what we want?”
Lionpaw shrugged but didn’t meet her gaze. “I suppose,” he answered. “I haven’t really thought about it.”
“You must have!”
Lionpaw padded around her and kept going for a few moments before he spoke51 again. “I hope it will make me stronger than any other cat, so that I can always win battles.” He paused. “What about you?”
“I hope it means I’ll know things other cats don’t.”
“Like what?” Mischief52 lit his gaze. “How to speak to Twolegs?”
“Don’t be stupid!” Hollypaw’s claws itched53 with impatience54. “I mean the power to understand”—she groped for the words to explain—“everything,” she mewed at last.
Lionpaw nudged her shoulder affectionately. “Is that all?”
Hollypaw flicked him away. “You know what I mean.”
They had almost reached the trees before Lionpaw spoke again. “Perhaps each of us will feel the power differently,” he ventured. “Jaypaw can already tell what cats are thinking, can’t he?” He caught Hollypaw’s eye. “He does it to you, right?”
Hollypaw nodded.
“Leafpool can’t do that,” Lionpaw went on. “None of the medicine cats can. Jaypaw is already making predictions about trouble in other Clans55, too. That must be his power—to see things other cats can’t.”
“He’s the least blind of us all,” Hollypaw murmured, feeling her pelt prickle the way it did when Jaypaw said exactly what was running through her mind.
Thick foliage56 grew at the edge of the wood, and she halted to let Lionpaw take the lead. “Have you felt anything yet?” she ventured as he began to nose his way into the bushes.
To her surprise, Lionpaw spun around to face her. His eyes glittered with a strange intensity57. “At the start of our journey, we stopped on the ridge58 to look down on the lake, remember? Then you went off to catch prey and rest, but I wasn’t hungry.” He blinked. “As I was looking at the territories, I started to feel…well, kind of strange.”
Hollypaw leaned forward. “Strange? How?”
“I felt like I could do anything!” Her brother’s eyes flashed. “Run to the farthest horizon without getting tired, fight any enemy and win, face any battle without being afraid.”
Hollypaw shifted on her paws and realized that she was backing away from him. Something about him suddenly made her feel uncomfortable: the way he had tensed his shoulders so that he looked more powerful than before, the faraway look in his eyes, as though he could see beyond her, beyond the woods, to some distant place where he could take on enemies single-pawed. She thought back to how he had fought for the Tribe; how he had come staggering out of the battle covered in blood—none of it his own—still ready to fight until there were no cats left standing.
The fire in his eyes sent a shiver through her pelt.
How could she be scared of her own brother?
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1
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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pelted
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| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
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deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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16
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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18
flicked
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| （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） | |
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frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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23
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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28
jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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bickering
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| v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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bruise
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| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
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trek
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| vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行 | |
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35
bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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37
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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38
kits
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| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
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39
ruffling
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| 弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱 | |
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40
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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41
scrambled
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| 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 | |
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42
apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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43
bristled
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| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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44
bad-tempered
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| adj.脾气坏的 | |
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45
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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46
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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47
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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48
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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49
stomped
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| v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
spoke
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| 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 | |
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52
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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53
itched
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| v.发痒( itch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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55
clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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56
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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57
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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