Sora's Quest (Cat's Eye #1)

  They drew up alongside the stone memorial and Sora leapt to the ground, tying her horse to the lower branches of a tree. Then she went to stand before the stones and bowed her head, thinking of her fallen friend.

  "Sora?" Burn's voice reached her a few moments later. "Why don't you sit over here next to me."

  She glanced at him. Usually he never spoke during these visits to Dorian's grave. The Wolfy was sitting at the base of the tree they had tied their horses to and was polishing an apple on his shirt. He motioned to her with a hand. "Come on, over here."

  Sora paused for just a moment more, then went over to sit next to him. She didn't say anything and waited for the Wolfy to speak.

  "You know,” he finally said, “Volcrian and I are now the only Wolfies left."

  Sora nodded slowly.

  "Well then... I think you should know that this is the fate expected of all the races." Burn bowed his head, his golden eyes unfocused, his hair dappled with light. "The races are becoming legend for a reason. There are so few left, they will all perish one day."

  Sora frowned, unsure of what to think of the mercenary's words. "I know that... but I mean, how can you be so sure that there are no female Wolfies left? Maybe somewhere far overseas in a different land-?"

  Burn shook his head. "The wind speaks to us, Sora." He gave her a bleak smile. "It tells us many secrets. These ears are for more than just good looks, you know. It is part of our race's heritage, to be able to hear the wind's language. There are no female Wolfies left because the wind carries no knowledge of them."

  "You mean the Wind of the Goddess, don't you?" Sora asked, interested. Burn had never mentioned this before. She didn't know much about Wolfy lore. "The Wind Goddess is what speaks to you?"

  Burn raised his eyebrows in amusement. "There were things that existed before the gods and goddesses, Sora, and the Wind was one of them. It is that Wind that speaks to us, the One who created the gods and the goddesses and all the races we know."

  Now Sora was confused. While growing up she had always been taught that the Goddess of the Wind was the only deity that mattered; even the other gods and goddesses were slowly being forgotten. What did Burn mean — things that existed before?

  "I don't understand," she said.

  "Again, we are entering into a new age. The old world is being forgotten and a new world is forming." Burn smiled sadly. "The Elements came before the gods and goddesses, Sora. They created the world we live in. The races came from five Elements: Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and Light. One day the Wind, which was known for its wisdom, joined with each of the other Elements to create the races, then to create the gods and goddesses to govern over them. Wind and Fire created the Dracians, Wind and Earth created the Catlins, Wind and Light begot the Harpies, and Wind and Water created Humans... but while Wind and Water were joining, some of Water froze and became Ice, which created the Wolfies. Then each Element created a god or goddess to govern over their races."

  "But what happened to the Elements?"

  "They disappeared. Each race's lore says something different... some say that they could no longer exist in this realm because their presence would tear apart our world. Others say that the Elements still exist as a single, unified entity around us that keeps the flowers growing and the stars circling and whatnot. As for myself... well," Burn winked at her. "It could all just be a grand tale."

  Something was nagging at Sora, and she gnawed on her lip. "Wait, I think you forgot something, I remember something like this from a book I read." It had been mentioned in one of the many stories of Kaelyn the Wanderer. "Wasn't Dark also one of them? There has to be Dark Element if there's Light, right? Didn't Wind and Dark create a race also?"

  Burn shook his head. "Dark was an outcast Element and did not join with Wind to create anything."

  Sora was silent for a while, thinking about all of this. She wasn't sure if she truly believed a word of it, even though she had always wondered where the gods and goddesses came from.

  "Do they have names? The gods and goddesses, I mean," she finally asked. "Or the Elements?"

  "They have been forgotten," Burn replied. "Just like everything else, and soon the Wolfies will be forgotten too."

  Sora remembered how they had gotten onto this topic and began to feel slightly sick. So the Wolfy race was truly coming to an end; she couldn't imagine what that must mean to Burn. They sat in silence for a few depressing minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Sora thought of Volcrian, of the vengeful mage. Where was he now? Had he followed them through the swamp — or was he miles away, taking the long road, traversing the mountains to reach them? She knew that the hunt wasn't over yet. He had only killed one member of their party — and besides, wasn't he after Crash? Sora wondered why Dorian and Burn had traveled with the assassin, knowing the danger they were in. Another story yet to be told.

  "There you two are!" a friendly voice said from behind them.

  Sora was startled from her dark reverie. She turned to see her mother striding toward them in soft pants and a white, breezy shirt. Her hair was tied up in a cloth and a smile was wide on her face. "I've been looking for you two. Dinner's on the table! You've been gone for hours!"

  Sora blinked. "Hours?" It was only then she noticed that the afternoon sun turning to deep orange, dipping low in the sky.

  Her mother frowned slightly. "And you're still recovering, too," she murmured, then turned her frown upon the Wolfy. "Burn...."

  He leapt to his feet and swept over to Sora's mother, taking the woman by surprise. "Why, my gorgeous host," he said, blatantly flattering. "I knew that you, with your kind, forgiving heart, wouldn't mind Sora staying out a bit longer than was planned. Especially when there is so much to talk about!"

  Sora's mother snorted. "So you think it's funny to leave me in the house all day with Crash? That man is horribly unsociable, you know."

  This time Sora and Burn both laughed. "Alright, alright. Sorry, and it won't happen again," he said.

  Her mother grinned. "Good. You're forgiven. Now if you don't mind, I'm starving."

  With enthusiastic agreements, Burn and Sora mounted their horses and followed Lorianne back down the trail. All was relaxed and peaceful once more, but she couldn't help but trouble over Burn's story. She looked back at Dorian's grave. Life changed so quickly and everything was so unexpected — how many dreams had been lost with Dorian's death? How many plans? She wondered what Burn's plans were now, if he wanted to move on or if he would just stay here forever.

  I wonder if my friends will ever live the lives they want to live. And what about herself? Would she ever get a chance to pursue her dreams? And what are those? she wondered.

  She could no longer come up with an answer.

  * * * * *

  It was the end of summer when things started to change.

  Crash and Burn grew restless and took to locking themselves in their room, talking softly so Sora couldn't hear what was being said. She paid no attention to it at first; Crash and Burn had always had their little quirks, even when Dorian had been around. But after a while it began to worry her. They were spending time with her too, of course, but she got the feeling that their minds were elsewhere.

  It was the second week of rain when Crash caught her alone. She was looking out the window, bored and wishing she could go outside, even if it was down-pouring. Of course her mother wouldn't mind, not now that her wound had fully healed, but her friends were preoccupied behind locked doors and had refused to take a walk. She didn't want to go out alone.

  Abruptly the assassin was next to her, catching Sora off guard. She squeaked in surprise, then flushed with embarrassment. Crash hasn't caught me off guard since we got here.... Gods, I must be losing my touch. She looked up at him, waiting, wondering how she hadn't heard him enter the room. Then he shifted slightly.

  "Watching something?" he asked.

  Is this Crash attempting small talk? "Eh... no, just the rain," she muttered, unsure of what to think.

>   "That's nice," he said plainly, as if he didn't think it was nice at all. Crash had been acting like this — forcibly sociable — since their moment in Sora's sickbed, so his attitude wasn't anything new. However, she didn't like the silence one bit.

  "You wanted something?" she asked bluntly.

  Crash looked down at her and then quickly averted his eyes back to the window. She could tell he wanted to say something, but got the suspicious feeling that he was reluctant to start. Crash speechless? Not bloody likely. She watched him, and her irritation slowly turned to amusement. After a moment he shifted again. His mouth tightened.

  "We're going to be leaving," he said quietly. His eyes were watching her carefully, and Sora realized he was waiting for a reaction.

  "Well, yeah, I guessed that a while ago," she said with a shrug. It had been her companions' restless manner that had tipped her off. "When? Will it be soon?" Why is he looking at me like that? Was he really so surprised that she had known their plans? It was pretty obvious.

  "I don't think you understand," the assassin said slowly. "We're leaving you here."

  Sora rocked forward. "What?" she exclaimed. This seemed to be the reaction he had been expecting. She scowled at the look on his face. "You're leaving me here? But why? How-?"

  "Listen, Sora," he said, and sat down on the footstool in front of her. Apparently he had been practicing this little speech. "This is for your own good. As long as you're with us, you're in danger." His green eyes were deep and serious. "Volcrian will leave you alone as long as you stay out of the way. I don't think he'll find you here. Burn and I have to keep moving or else he'll catch up with us, and I don't..." Crash swallowed, "I don't want this to happen to you again."

  "What to happen to me again?"

  "This, Sora!" he exclaimed in exasperation. Sora sat back in surprise; she had never seen him show so much emotion. "You almost died! Dorian did die, and I don't want any more innocents killed — not at my expense, not at anyone's expense!"

  Sora looked at him seriously. This from an assassin? "Yeah... but I didn't die. I'm just fine."

  "We thought you did, Sora, we thought...." He swallowed again. "I don't want to have to worry about it from now on. Burn and I both agree. You're better off here."

  Sora's eyes narrowed. I see what they're doing... I'm too much trouble. She wasn't skilled enough, she would just get in the way and endanger everyone again, just as she had endangered Dorian. It was her fault that he was dead, after all. Tears of anger and guilt stung her eyes. She gritted her teeth.

  "I understand," she said quietly, flatly. "You do what you have to do." If they didn't want her, she wasn't going to whine about it. All of this time, he must have seen her as just some annoying child! That hurt far more than she was willing to admit.

  Crash was watching her closely again, as he seemed to watch everything, but at the moment she didn't care. With a grunt she sat back. "When were you planning to tell me this?" she asked harshly.

  The assassin got up and crossed his arms, then started pacing. By now she knew this meant he was irritated.

  "I wasn't," he finally admitted. "But Burn thought you had the right to know. We're leaving tomorrow before the rain gets any worse. That way we can get in a good few months of travel before the snows set in."

  Sora digested this and tried not to show her dismay. She felt shocked. This was the last thing she had expected to hear when he had appeared in the room. But there was one thing she had to ask, one thing she desperately had to know.

  "Will you come back?" she whispered.

  Crash looked at her, staring her in the eyes for a long moment, then said quietly, "No."

  Sora kept her face carefully blank. She looked at him, then away. Although she knew that she would slow them down, something else deep inside of her did not understand — would not understand. Is it something I've done? she thought sadly. Was she really such a nuisance? To think, she had actually believed they were a team. Dorian's death had brought her immeasurably close to these men, and now they were leaving her. I'm such a fool. I should have seen it coming.

  "You'd best get ready to go then," she murmured, and looked once more out the window. This time she didn't see the rain, didn't see the trees outside — instead, she was focusing on something deep within herself. Because of this, she didn't see Crash hesitate.

  Then he was gone.

  It was too soon, too quick, too painful. She couldn't believe that this was finally the end.

  A small part of her mind, the part connected to the Cat's Eye, whispered — it's not.

  * * * * *

  Appropriately, it was still raining the next morning. If it had been bright and sunny, Sora would have felt even worse. She laid in bed for a long time after waking up, staring out the window, watching the rain drip down the glass. Then she turned over and tried to go back to sleep. Maybe if I don't get up, they won't leave.

  Sora didn't want to face the day quite yet — or ever, for that matter — and so she laid there as still as possible and tried not to cry. She felt abandoned, shunned, unwanted — even if it was to keep her safe. Crash and Burn had changed her life forever; how could she ever live normally without them? She didn't want to think of that.

  There was a knock at the door.

  At first she ignored it, but after another series of knocks, she decided she was being childish and rolled out of bed. "Just a moment!" she called. The knocking continued impatiently.

  She stood up and tied a bathrobe around her sleeping shirt, blinking her eyes tiredly, then crossed the room. Her hands had just undone the bolt when the door blew inward, almost smacking her from her feet, and Burn rushed inside. He grabbed her and swept her into the air before she knew what was happening.

  "If you think you can make us wait forever, I'm afraid it's not going to work," he said, walking out into the hall and prancing down the stairs. "Can't refuse to come if I carry you, you see." His eyes met hers, losing a bit of their cheer. "We're almost ready to leave."

  Sora felt her heart sink momentarily. Then the front door was kicked open and Burn strutted outside into the rain. He placed her lightly on the ground. Sora stood in the cold and wrapped her arms around herself, her hair immediately drenched. A shiver ran through her as the gravel bit into the soles of her bare feet. At least the wind wasn't blowing too hard; otherwise the weather would have been completely miserable. Her bathrobe only fell a little below her knees, and it was already getting soaked through. The rain was starting to make her nightclothes cling like second skin.

  A sound came from her right. She turned to see Crash tying something to his horse; he seemed to be having quite a time of it. His tall black boots dug into the gravel as he pulled on a rope that kept slipping out of its knot. His muscles were tense, tight.

  A heavy arm rested on her slim shoulders and Sora looked up at Burn. There was a slight smile on his face as he watched his smaller companion. Leaning over, he whispered, "Seems he hasn't noticed you yet. Why don't you say something?"

  Sora frowned at the odd suggestion, then looked over at the assassin. It can't hurt, she figured, even if the man thought she was an annoying child. So she took a few steps toward him and cleared her throat.

  "Crash?" she said cautiously.

  With a grunt of surprise, Crash jerked backwards, and the rope slipped from his hands. Overbalanced, he took several stumbling steps before starting to fall. Sora let out a strangled cry as he collapsed onto her, crashing back against her, carrying them both to the ground. He was almost twice her weight and landed fully on top of her. They both landed in the mud with a solid splat!

  Sora was stunned, the breath knocked out of her, crushed beneath Crash's weight. She tried to breathe — and couldn't. He was too heavy. Desperately, she tried to push him off.

  Her feeble attempts alerted Crash to her presence. He leapt up immediately, brushing mud from his clothes and glaring over at Burn. The Wolfy in question had keeled over with laughter, his hair clinging to his face from the r
ain. Sora found herself glaring in his direction too, her clothes caked in mud. “Very funny,” she muttered.

  When she looked back to Crash, she found him staring at her, his eyes flickering over her mud splattered clothes. Her bathrobe had come undone and was completely ruined with mud. With a sigh, Sora pulled the garment off and let it fall to the ground. No sense cleaning it now — she'd bother with it later. Now she was only in her sleeping gown, a white wisp of material that barely reached her knees.

  "Will you shut up?" Crash snapped sourly, looking over at the Wolfy. Burn only laughed harder, yipping and howling in a very canine way. The assassin sighed, yet something like amusement seemed to dance in his eyes. He turned back to Sora and stretched out a gloved hand, motioning for her to take it. Freezing cold, Sora grabbed it impatiently. He had her halfway off the ground before his glove slipped and she landed back in the mud with an audible splut.

  Cold and shivering, Sora looked at the empty glove, then back to the assassin, glaring accusingly. Then she blinked in surprise. He had a hint of a smile on his face.

  "This isn't exactly how I envisioned saying goodbye," she said with a sheepish grin. Crash's lips twisted in agreement. Finally he helped her stand up and the two stood side by side, watching Burn howl with laughter across the yard. He was pointing at them both, attempting to speak, but couldn't quite manage it. It wasn't that funny, Sora thought in annoyance.

  "It looks like he might need help...?" she muttered, wondering if the Wolfy would ever stop.

  "Give it a minute, then we'll do something," Crash murmured back. Sora was intrigued — she hadn't expected a response. What did the assassin have in mind?

  It turned out that a minute was more than they needed. A mere second later, Burn stopped laughing and stood up straight. He seemed a bit too innocent for Sora's liking.

  "You two certainly are the cutest," he said with a broad smile. His hands were suspiciously behind his back. Suddenly his smile turned into a devilish grin. "Here, catch!"