The birds were chirping out in some distant tree, but their melody still got to Shira, tingling her memory, reminding her of something, something she ought to know, something she ought not to have forgotten – but she had.

Her memory teased her. Taunting her with what it was she wanted to remember, but just when it was within reach of her consciousness, it slipped again, far into the recesses of her brain.

She could feel the cramps in her joints, and she got up, trying to stretch. It was only then that she noticed she was confined.

Her hands were bound in front of her, but her feet were...