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Derain eventually says.
    I huddle into my bedroll and think of Kai as a girl in the hands of the Fire Sisters. What had she been like before they got to her? Was she much like my sweet, happy Kora? Kai hasn’t shown much love for me, but I hurt for the child she once was.
    Although I’m exhausted from the emotional day, it’s hard to fall asleep. My feet throb, and my fingers sting with blisters from the walking stick. My hands used to be tougher, when I worked in the caves; they’ve already grown soft.
    When I do sleep, I dream of a towering wall of fire.
    Kora and the children are on the other side, begging for help, but there’s no way through. It burns hot and bright against my face and hands as I press toward it.  Then, in the way of dreams, Kora’s voice changes, becoming older, bitterer. She sounds like Kai.
    I try and try, but I can’t find my way through the flames. I can’t reach her. She’s lost.
     

Chapter Five
    Derain wakes us well before dawn. I’m stiff and sore from lying on the ground, and the grit of sleeplessness irritates my eyes, but the worst is the cold. As the others begin to stir, I jump up and pace to get the feeling back in my feet.
    Dizziness hits, I stagger… and accidentally stumble into someone still lying on the ground. Kai curses.
    “Watch it, Fennel!” She mutters something about stupidity and clumsiness.
    My cheeks burn. Was I really feeling sorry for her last night?
    Peree puts an arm around me. “You okay?"
    I push down the frustration and shrug.
    He pecks me on the lips. “Have some breakfast.”
    We share bread and a handful of nuts introduced to us by the anuna . Bear got us calling them knuckles because they’re around the same size and almost as hard. They leave an oily feel in my mouth, but they satisfy the stomach. We fill our water sacks again and get going.
    As the group spreads along the trail, I walk in the back, practicing with my stick. Peree stays with me. The sun begins to rise, shooting spears of light through the towering greenheart trees. I wince every time I walk into a shaft. Even though I'm Sightless, it still hurts my eyes. The birds wake, too, although instead of cheerful, their songs sound urgent, like they’re pushing us to hurry.
    We’ve lost a lot of time that we need to make up today. Where are the Fire Sisters and the children? Have they left any way to trace them? How are the women treating the children? Kora and the others must be so frightened. It's painful to think about.
    The hunting trail seems to continue to wind through the woods. The greenheart branches around us scrape against each other, shaking their leaves. The trail rises and falls, but it feels like we’re moving gently downhill. Amarina and Derain keep us at a fast clip, which doesn’t make my life any easier, but I don’t complain. None of us says much at all.
    We stop after a few hours for a meal of salted meat and bread, with a few berries Derain found thrown in for variety, then we’re back on the trail. We don’t pause again until mid-afternoon, when Amarina finally gives us a real rest. There’s been no sign of the Sisters. It seems we’re alone in the woods with the trail, the trees, and the birds.
    I stand on the dusty path, rolling my sore ankles one way, and then another. From the groans of the others, I’m not alone in feeling the effects of hours and hours of walking. My water sack is almost empty again, so I hobble over to the trickling stream to refill it.
    “Quiet!” Bear hisses. I freeze, and the others go silent. “There’s something out there, in the woods… ground fowl!”
    The trail erupts with movement. From the pounding feet, it sounds like half the group leaps over the stream and dashes into the woods. Someone hoots as they go. Ground fowl are plump, juicy, and good eating. We might have a decent dinner tonight if they catch one.
    I finish filling my sack, take a drink, find my stick, and start strolling down the path