CHAPTER28
Jayfeather followed Leafpool back into thecamp. A dawn breeze whispered across the clearing, and he could hear the beginnings of birdsong in the trees above the hollow. A hush1 lay over the camp; Jayfeather could detect mingled2 feelings of grief and bewilderment as the cats tried to adjust to the fact that Ashfur was dead.
He followed Leafpool as she padded into the center of the clearing where Ashfur’s body lay. Jayfeather picked up the chill, watery3 scent4 that still clung to his fur, and the scents5 of Lionblaze, Birchfall, Whitewing, and Thornclaw, who still kept vigil beside him.
“He feels so cold and wet,” Leafpool murmured, crouching6 beside Ashfur. “This isn’t how we should send him to his warrior7 ancestors.”
Jayfeather heard the rasp of her tongue as she began to lick the dead warrior’s fur. Feelings of sorrow surged out of her in waves, almost like a mother grieving for her kit8. She wasn’t in love with Ashfur, was she?Jayfeather wondered. She’s a medicine cat!
Gradually the cats around Ashfur’s body began to withdraw and creep back to their den9. Lionblaze was the last to go, touching10 Jayfeather’s shoulder briefly11 with his tail before he left. Not knowing what else to do, Jayfeather settled down opposite Leafpool and began to help her lick the dead warrior’s fur. Sleep began to drift over him as he lapped with long, rhythmic12 strokes.
A gasp13 from Leafpool jolted14 him awake. Horror swirled15 around her like a stream in flood. “What’s the matter?” he meowed
For a heartbeat he heard her tongue working busily. Then she hissed16, “Come look at this.”
Jayfeather bit back the sarcastic17 reply that he couldn’t lookat anything. He worked his way around Ashfur’s body until he was crouching next to his mentor18. All Leafpool’s muscles were stiff and her neck fur was standing19 on end.
Jayfeather sniffed20, picking up the scent of blood and raw flesh. Investigating with one paw, he felt the edges of a gash21 in Ashfur’s throat, the kind of mark he would expect to see on a cleanly killed piece of prey22.
The kind of mark a cat didn’t get from falling into a stream and drowning, but was made deliberately23. With a slash24 of claws.
“He didn’t drown,” Leafpool whispered hoarsely25. “He was murdered!”
Jayfeather’s mind whirled. If it wasn’t for Leafpool’s care over the dead warrior’s body, no cat would ever have known how he had died. What would happen now?
“I’m going to tell Firestar,” Leafpool meowed.
Jayfeather heard her racing26 across the clearing toward the tumbled rocks. A few moments later two sets of paw steps returned and Firestar crouched27 beside him to examine the body.
“Who would do this?” Firestar sounded completely bewildered
“WindClan?” Leafpool suggested, her voice sharp with suspicion. “We found him on the WindClan border.”
“You know very well there was no WindClan scent on him,” Firestar reminded her. Jayfeather could feel strong sensations of doubt coming from his Clan28 leader. “I know the water could have washed it away, but…” His voice grew softer, as if he was arguing with himself. “Why would WindClan kill just one warrior? Were they trying to warn us? But we’re not a threat to WindClan.”
“And Ashfur was Clanborn,” Jayfeather put in. “WindClan has no reason to quarrel with him personally.”
“True,” Firestar murmured. Jayfeather could hear his claws scoring the earth. “But if it wasn’t WindClan…then a ThunderClan cat must have killed Ashfur.”
“No!” Leafpool’s horrified29 whisper cut through Jayfeather like an eagle’s talon30. “No ThunderClan cat would do such a thing. It musthave been WindClan.” To Jayfeather it sounded as if she was trying to convince herself as much as Firestar. “What should we do?” she asked tensely.
The Clan leader hesitated. “This is no reason not to give honor to his body,” he decided31 at last. “We’ll let the elders go ahead and bury him. Then I’ll speak to the Clan.”
“I’ll fetch Mousefur and Longtail,” Leafpool meowed.
Jayfeather waited while the elders appeared from their den and the rest of the Clan gathered around to say farewell to Ashfur. Leafpool must have licked his fur back over the gash in his neck, because none of them seemed to notice it.
When Mousefur and Longtail had left the clearing with the gray warrior’s body dragging between them, Brambleclaw padded up to Firestar. “I’ll take the dawn patrol along the WindClan border,” he announced. “There might be some traces there to tell us what happened.”
“Good idea,” Firestar replied. “But don’t go just yet. There’s something I need to say to the whole Clan.”
Jayfeather picked up the deputy’s puzzlement, then jumped when Lionblaze muttered into his ear: “What’s going on?”
Part of Jayfeather wanted to tell Lionblaze exactly what he had found. But he couldn’t find the words. The discovery was too huge, with too many consequences that he couldn’t begin to imagine. “You’ll know soon enough,” he replied.
He stood beside his brother, his claws working in the earth, while he waited for the elders to return. Hollyleaf came to join them, anxiety boiling out of her like bees buzzing out of a tree. “Something terrible is going to happen,” she whispered. “I can feel it.”
Eventually Mousefur and Longtail pushed their way through the thorns, back into the clearing. Firestar climbed up to the Highledge; Jayfeather heard his voice raised to carry to every corner of the camp.
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting.”
Most of the Clan were already out in the open, though Jayfeather heard movement by the nursery as Daisy and Millie emerged with their kits32. Foxpaw and Icepaw scampered33 into the middle of the clearing, excited rather than worried by the unexpected summons. Jayfeather caught the scent of Squirrelflight standing not far away.
“We’ve discovered more about Ashfur’s death,” Firestar began as soon as all the cats were assembled. “It wasn’t an accident. There was a gash in his throat, and that means he was deliberately killed.”
Yowls of dismay rose up from every part of the clearing. Jayfeather’s belly34 churned when he heard the terrible truth put into words; he could feel Hollyleaf and Lionblaze stiffen35, and picked up their sense of horror. Fear and distress36 swept over him from Squirrelflight.
“Did a fox do it?” Dustpelt demanded, raising his voice to be heard over the clamor.
“There was no fox scent.” The noise died down as Firestar spoke37 again. “And a fox would have eaten him.”
“Did he fall into the stream and cut his throat on a rock or a branch?” Squirrelflight asked; Jayfeather could tell how desperately38 she wanted that to be true.
“I doubt it,” Firestar told her; there was regret in his voice as if he, too, would have been comforted by that explanation. “It was a clean wound, like a hunting warrior would make on their prey.”
“You’re saying that a catkilled him?” Cloudtail’s voice rang out disbelievingly.
“WindClan!” Thornclaw yowled. “They must have found him by the border and killed him. We should attack them now!”
Caterwauls of agreement followed his words; it was several moments before Firestar could make himself heard again.
“We mustn’t act too quickly,” he warned his Clan. “There was no WindClan scent on Ashfur’s body. In fact, there’s no evidence at all that he was killed by a cat from another Clan.”
Frozen silence filled the clearing. When Brackenfur broke it, his voice was shaking. “Are you saying that one of uskilled Ashfur?”
Jayfeather’s heart thudded as he waited for Firestar’s reply. His littermates tensed beside him, and he could hear Squirrelflight trying not to gulp39 for air as if she were being smothered40.
“Do any of you know a reason why anyone in ThunderClan might want Ashfur dead?” Firestar asked.
Beside him, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf quivered under the weight of what they knew. A little farther away, Squirrelflight held her breath altogether. Jayfeather knew they were all thinking of the scene on top of the cliff, when Squirrelflight’s terrible secret had been shared in storm and fire. That, and that alone, had to be the reason for Ashfur’s murder.
Now, for their own sakes and the sake of their Clan, they must all conspire41 to keep the truth hidden forever.Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Cherith Baldry
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1
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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3
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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6
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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rhythmic
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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jolted
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| （使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
swirled
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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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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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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21
gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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22
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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23
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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slash
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| vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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29
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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30
talon
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| n.爪；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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32
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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33
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
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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stiffen
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| v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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37
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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38
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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39
gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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40
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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41
conspire
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| v.密谋，（事件等）巧合，共同导致 | |
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