Free Viper's Creed (The Cat's Eye Chronicles) by T. L. Shreffler

her, silently asking for a direction. Sora touched the necklace under her shirt. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted. Crash and Burn. She had to remember that she was on a mission.
    It took a long moment for the Cat's Eye to stir, then tendrils of consciousness looped through her, expanding slowly from the base of her skull, like smoke. She felt a twitch in her hand, a silent compulsion. With a slight nod, she turned her horse.
    They continued southwest, toward a wide river and lonely stretch of trees.
     
    * * *
     
    Days passed. The grasslands were beginning to change. There were patches of trees now and a few ranches spread out. Every now and then, they saw campfires at night, or heard the distant sound of horses; Sora always had the sense that they were being tracked.
    It was evening when they saw the riders. They were unmistakable against the sunset. In a place as barren as the fields, Sora didn't need to look twice. These weren't just innocent farmhands coming home, tired from a long day's work. The horses traveled on a strict course—directly toward them.
    She turned to Laina. The girl had already seen the silhouettes on the horizon and was staring with wide eyes.
    “They've seen us,” Sora said.
    Laina nodded. “It's them,” she replied. “I know it is, look how fast they're riding. We need to get out of here!” The panic was obvious in her voice.
    Sora nodded in silent agreement. The riders were close enough to have hailed them if they were friendly. She didn't like their silent approach, the way they shot forward, as though bent on running them down.
    “Follow me!” Sora said, though she had no idea where she was going. There were at least four riders on their trail, probably more, too many for her to handle on her own. She turned her steed toward the west, where they had been following the border of a forest. It was a tall, open wilderness, mostly pine and oak trees, but they still had a chance of finding cover. They could evade their hunters, especially with night so close at hand.
    She kicked her horse; the brown steed leapt beneath her, sensing her urgency. It took off through the grass, easily jumping over rocks and stones. Laina's horse wasn't quite so agile, and Laina herself not such a skilled rider. The gangly gray steed had longer legs, but still managed to slow them down, stumbling over hidden rocks and holes. Sora looked over at her smaller companion several times, expecting the girl to fall from the saddle. Laina bounced and jiggled on top of the giant horse like a doll strapped to a buggy.
    They reached the trees after only a few minutes, but a deep ditch separated the fields from the woodland. Sora navigated her steed down carefully, pushing her way through spindly bushes and clumps of vines. Laina pulled up short. Her horse pawed the earth, snorting, reluctant to proceed.
    Sora reached the bottom of the ditch and clomped through a thin stream of water, then started up the other side. “Come on!” she yelled, turning to look over her shoulder. “Just push your way through!”
    “I'll fall off!” Laina exclaimed.
    “Then fall!” Sora yelled back.
    She paused, watching as Laina danced nervously at the top of the slope, then finally her horse started forward. Sora's eyes scanned the top of the ditch. The riders had been no more than a mile or two behind them; she expected them to reappear at any second. Their time was limited. Why couldn't the girl hurry up?
    Finally, Laina made it to the bottom of the ditch, her clothes covered in leaves and thistles. Impatient, Sora reached over and grabbed her horse by the reins, then dragged it forward, pushing them both up the opposite hill. She directed her own horse with her legs and used her upper body to steer Laina's. It seemed to take an eternity before they entered the fringe of trees.
    When she looked back, the horizon was a deep red. The sunset cast brilliant flames across the sky, and the riders were practically on their heels, close