Lyra woke with a start to her blaring alarm clock and frantically silenced it. She held statue still for a moment, straining to hear even the faintest of noises from her little brother&rsquo;s room or that of her parents. The alarm clock silently ticked another minute by, the glowing numbers reading 4:01, and Lyra let out a soft sigh of relief. <br />
Excitement bubbled in the eight-year-old girl as she carefully slid out of bed and tiptoed across her room. Carefully, quietly, Lyra opened the door and