CHAPTER25
Sunhigh had come and gone bythe time Hollyleaf and her brothers were able to slip away and head for the old Twoleg nest. Clouds had gathered during the night, and by the time they reached the border of their own territory, rain was hissing2 down steadily3.
Once they had crossed the border, Lionblaze led them by a roundabout route through the spindly trees, keeping as far away as possible from the ShadowClan border. All three cats stayed alert for any sign of a ShadowClan patrol.
There’ll be real trouble if we’re caught this time,Hollyleaf thought.
When they reached the old Twoleg nest, Sol was sitting in the entrance as if he had been expecting them.
“Greetings,” he meowed, rising to his paws as the three cats picked their way among the dripping brambles to reach the nest. “I thought you would come today.”
“Let’s get this straight.” Hollyleaf drew ahead of the others. “We don’t want any more arguments. We’ll let you help us fulfill5 the prophecy, as long as you tell us the name of our father.”
Sol’s eyes glowed as he gazed at her, and Hollyleaf shivered. Once she had felt as if she could spend her whole life looking into this cat’s eyes and hearing his voice. Even though she knew how dangerous he was, she still wasn’t quite free from the snare6 of his charm.
“Shall we go inside?” Sol offered, as if this was nothing more than a friendly visit.
Hollyleaf and the others followed him into the damp interior and shook the raindrops from their pelts8 before finding a place to crouch9 on the cracked stones.
“You might need to find a new place to stay,” Hollyleaf warned the loner. “ShadowClan sent a patrol to report us to Firestar for being outside our territory.”
“What?” Sol’s fur began to bristle10. “Blackstar dared to do that? Is he allowed to dictate11 where cats go outside his own borders?”
“Well, he thinks he is,” Jayfeather muttered.
“You were doing nothing wrong!” Sol declared, his fur fluffing up even more and his amber12 eyes burning. “Blackstar is using this as a way to humiliate13 ThunderClan.”
“I’m not sure.” Lionblaze was looking uneasy. “I think Blackstar is just being a bit overly keen to prove that he’s keeping the warrior14 code again.”
Sol gave a snort of contempt. “The warrior code! Belief in StarClan! I can’t understand why you cats think all that is so important.”
Hollyleaf’s belly15 lurched. No! The warrior code matters more than anything!But she knew that she had to stay calm. If they quarreled with Sol, they would lose the chance of discovering who their father was.
“I know so much more than StarClan does,” Sol continued. “Did they tell you that the sun would vanish? You know very well they didn’t. Doesn’t that make me more powerful than your warrior ancestors? And if I’m so powerful withouta prophecy, then the powers you three share must be magnificent!”
Lionblaze’s eyes glowed, and Jayfeather was unconsciously flexing16 his claws in and out. Hollyleaf had to make a huge effort not to be enthralled17 by Sol’s voice. So far he’s given us nothing,she reminded herself. His words are nothing but mist and sunshine, impossible to hold down.
“That’s all very well,” she snapped, “but what do we have to do?”
“ShadowClan cats are worthless!” Sol went on. “They have no right to their territory—and if they are left alone, they’ll soon be invading yours. You need to fake evidence that ShadowClan is stealing ThunderClan prey19, so that your Clan4 leader can launch an attack on them. Once you have ShadowClan’s territory, you can invade RiverClan and WindClan.” He glanced around, lowering his voice to a deep, vibrating purr as he continued, “That’s what absolute power is. Controlling every cat in the territories by the lake!”
Hollyleaf stared at Sol, feeling her paws tingle20. Was this really what they had to do to gain power—fight against every cat in the rival Clans21? She tried to imagine Firestar allowing that to happen, and couldn’t.
“I don’t think—” she began uncertainly.
But Sol wasn’t listening to her. He padded off into a far corner of the den18 and hauled a rabbit out of the shadows. As he dropped it in front of her, Hollyleaf picked up the scent22 of ShadowClan mingled23 with the smell of fresh-kill.
“I caught this in ShadowClan territory, and rubbed it on their scent markers,” Sol explained. “You can take it back to the camp with you, and tell your Clan that you chased off a ShadowClan patrol.” His eyes glinted with cold amusement. “What can ShadowClan do to deny it? Those stupid cats, they’d rather believe in nursery tales about dead ancestors than try figuring things out for themselves. All that nonsense about signs from StarClan!”
Hollyleaf glanced at Lionblaze; he was staring at Sol with narrowed eyes, and his neck fur was slowly rising.
“You’re no different from Tigerstar,” Lionblaze growled24. “You don’t want this for our sake. This is yourambition.”
Bunching his muscles, he launched himself upward, his claws extended toward Sol. Hollyleaf flung herself at him, just managing to knock him away before he slashed25 into Sol’s pelt7.
“What are you doing?” she gasped26, pinning her brother to the floor.
“This isn’t part of the prophecy.” Lionblaze shook Hollyleaf off and sat up, glaring at Sol. “He just wants to use us. The power is ours, not his!”
“You’re right.” Jayfeather rose to his paws and flicked27 his tail toward Sol, who had not flinched28 at Lionblaze’s attack or tried to respond to his accusation29. “Sol doesn’t care about us. He’s still fighting his private battle with ShadowClan because Blackstar made him leave their territory. That battle has nothing to do with us. The truth about our father exists somewhere, but this is not the way to find it.”
Lionblaze rose to his paws. “We’re leaving,” he announced. “And we’re not coming back.”
Hollyleaf stared at him in disbelief. “We can’t!” she protested. “We need to know—”
“We don’t need anything that Sol can tell us,” Lionblaze insisted. “We’ve been fools to trust him, when we knowwhat he’s done to other cats. Can’t you see that he just wants war between all the Clans? The prophecy says nothing about that. It says we were bornwith power—we shouldn’t have to fight for it! Come on.”
He strode out of the den with Jayfeather hard on his paws. Hollyleaf took a pace after him, then glanced over her shoulder at Sol, but the loner simply stared back at her, giving her no help.
With a hiss1 of mingled fury and desperation, Hollyleaf sprang after her littermates. We’re the Three! I can’t do this on my own!
Lionblaze and Jayfeather stood a few fox-lengths away from the den, waiting for her in the pouring rain. As she joined them, Sol appeared in the entrance.
“Wait!” he called. “Don’t you want to know who your father is?”
Lionblaze ignored him. “Come on,” he meowed to Hollyleaf. “This isn’t the only way to find the truth. We have to do this for ourselves, not for any other cat.”
Hollyleaf bowed her head, giving in, but as she picked her way through the soaking grass beside Lionblaze she could still feel Sol’s amber gaze burning into her pelt.
收听单词发音 |
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hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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fulfill
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| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
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snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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pelts
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| n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走 | |
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crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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humiliate
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| v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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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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flexing
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| n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌 | |
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enthralled
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| 迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快 | |
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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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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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tingle
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| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
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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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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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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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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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25
slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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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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flinched
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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