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painfully aware that she might not come back from this journey alive. The possibility crawled around in the back of her mind, poking her like a big, black beetle.
    But she couldn't think of failure, not now. Who was to say that anything bad would happen? She tried to be positive. With any luck, she would find Crash and Burn safe and well, living somewhere far from Volcrian's reach. Knowing those two, though, I doubt it.
    Sora continued packing her bags as her mother cooked. Lorianne had a way of humming to herself, no matter what she was doing. The sound pervaded the room, tickling at Sora's ears, drawing a small smile to her face. I'm going to miss this. Sometimes, she imagined that her mother's voice made the food taste better.
    She lingered in the doorway of the kitchen, watching her mother, awkwardly running her fingers over the door frame. She wanted to speak... to offer some sort of comfort... but Lorianne seemed somehow unreachable at that moment. More like a distant friend than the woman who had birthed her.
    Thunk. An onion appeared on the sideboard, near Sora's hands. Lorianne put a knife next to it. “Want to help?” she said. She caught her daughter's eye and smiled.
    Sora smiled in return. Then she cut the onion, without crying.
    They ate breakfast together—eggs, onions and toast—and wrapped some leftovers for Sora to take on the road. They walked outside together. Cameron was already waiting there with her horse. It was a dappled mare with short, stout legs and a fluid trot. She had ridden the steed several times before; it was one of her favorites.
    Cameron tinkered with the saddlebags, securing ropes, adjusting the stirrups and saddle blanket. He was short and stooped, with a bald, blunt head and big ears.
    “Well... I suppose you're going to be gone for a while,” Lorianne said from her position in the doorway. “Write to me in a few months, will you? Let me know you're safe.”
    Sora nodded. They both stood awkwardly for a moment, looking at each other helplessly. Finally, Sora put her arms around her mother. “I love you,” she whispered. She had never said those words before—she never thought it would be so hard....
    Lorianne looked as if she would cry again. “I’ll be waiting for your return.”
    The two held onto each other, then broke apart. Her mother seemed to be drinking in every part of Sora, her eyes roving over her face, jumping from feature to feature.
    Finally Sora nodded, turned, and walked briskly to the horse.
    The beast stamped his foot impatiently as she checked the stirrups and mounted. Cameron stood to one side, giving them plenty of room. She waved to him and, with one final look at her mother, turned her horse toward the dirt road.
     
    * * *
     
    The path was long and winding, wide enough for a wagon to fit on, the sides crowded with bushes and ferns. Tall fir trees lined the road, their branches heavy with needles and pine cones, the air rich with their scent. Sora's eyes traveled to the end of the distant road and she imagined what lay beyond the dense woods. Through the trees, past the nearby town, and then... nothing but horizon. Miles and miles of open plains. The sun was just peeking over the hills, a new day. It seemed full of promise.
    She nudged the mare forward and they started off down the trail. Excitement filled her, growing with each clip-clop of the horse's hooves. Her heart sang with the knowledge that she could go wherever she chose, wherever the Cat's Eye led her. Her adventure was beginning again—this time she wouldn't stop until it was truly over.
    Soon Sora was out of view of her mother's house. The sun warmed her face, and she was accompanied by the sonorous calls of birds.

     
     
    Chapter 3
     
     
    During the late summer, the sun would suck the moisture from the grass, burning it to a flimsy yellow. Her mother told Sora that brushfires were common in these parts. Even a simple magnifying glass could light the plains on fire.
    For now, though,