Sora's Quest by T. L. Shreffler

at the sky just to make certain. No, there were only tiny stars, winking secretively.
    From the expressions on her companions' faces, she felt somehow responsible. But she had done nothing fantastical; there was no secret weapon, there were no tricks up her sleeve. She waited for them to speak, wondering what they might say, if they could tell her what had happened.
    Suddenly she reached up to touch her mother's necklace. It was warm and intact. A sense of relief filled her, and she let out a long, slow sigh. Good, it hadn't fallen off in the fight.
    Then Crash crossed the campsite. His movements were swift and jerky. He reached down and grabbed her, his hand going to her neck with no warning. She abruptly remembered how he had thrown her into the fight, as good as monster chow, as a sacrifice in Dorian's place. That bastard! Was he going to strangle her now?
    She opened her mouth to scream, but he caught the silver chain and pulled the necklace into the open.
    "Then it's true," he murmured, his eyes dark.
    Sora began to tremble, recoiling from his touch. She didn't like his hand on her necklace, although she wasn't sure why. She would have knocked him away if she hadn't been so terrified. The assassin stared at her, his expression unreadable, then turned to Dorian. "She wears a Cat's Eye," he said. "Just as I thought."
    Dorian was still staring at her in shock. "A...a Cat's Eye?" he muttered, incredulous. "A real, authentic Cat's- Eye necklace? So then Volcrian sent that creature...."
    "Yes. He's found our trail."
    The two shared a meaningful look that Sora didn't understand. At that moment, she felt more alone than ever, completely excluded from their conversation. What the hell is going on? There were too many secrets.
    "All right," she began, irritated. She got to her feet, crossing her arms. "I think I deserve an explanation. What are you two talking about? And what is that? " She pointed at the smoldering corpse with disgust.
    "It's a dead animal," Crash said bluntly.
    "I can see that," she snapped.
    Dorian tried another answer. "It was transformed by blood-magic into a monster," he offered. "When you killed it, it reverted to its natural form."
    "Oh," and she raised an eyebrow. That made about as much sense as anything else. "Fair enough," she said sarcastically. "And what about my necklace? What in hell just happened?"
    The two looked at each other again. Neither seemed to want to speak. Finally, Dorian said, "It's a Cat's Eye."
    "A what?"
    He sighed irritably. "Come now, sweetness, did you knock your head? You've read stories about the War of the Races. You've never heard of the Cat's-Eye necklaces?"
    She stared blankly, her ears starting to ring again.
    He sighed. "I guess not. Well, haven't you ever wondered about the War? How the humans killed off the races?"
    In truth, she had not. Sora had enjoyed the stories of Kaelyn the Wanderer, but she had never truly lingered there. They were just stories, after all, not true history. And what did any of that have to do with her mother's necklace? A Cat's Eye? She put one hand on her head to stop the world from spinning. "What are you talking about?" she repeated.
    "The War of the Races," Dorian said, his voice uncharacteristically impatient. He was beginning to sound like Crash. "The beginning of the end. What, do you think the races just dispersed and died off? The humans exterminated them, one by one."
    Sora was more than horrified. She could only believe him, considering he was one of the last of the Wolfies. "B-but how is that possible? Humans don't have magic."
    "Exactly. So your kind used something else. A cheat." Dorian spoke bitterly. He went to reach for her necklace, but she yanked it away, guarding the jewel protectively. She didn't like the look on his face. She was suddenly afraid that they would try to take it away from her—the necklace, her only link to her mother.
    "I still don't get it. What's a Cat's-Eye necklace?" Sora repeated. "And why does it