Once again a queen, Winter has a budding army and plenty to offer them to keep them loyal. Besides expanding her territory, she is using her forces to chase specific creatures for reasons nobody knows. None of them seem to be connected.
The changes...
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The moment the mountain pass came into sight, Ryatzi—awake now—leaped off Jay's back and took off through the trees.
"Stay low," said Sethral. The Saberel had crouched when he had hit the ground, and made for the deepest tree cover.
"I can't hold on," said the Fisher as Jay dropped to a slink. Sethral felt Whipper hop off her back. A moment later he had dropped down onto Wing. He started cutting the Fisher's bonds.
"Whipper!" squeaked Silversand. "If you free him—"
They were at the base of the pass. Silversand squeaked again as Ryatzi skidded to a halt in front of them.
"Tornado, your herd's coming up the other side," he said. "I told them to stay under cover and they are, so they should be fine. They'll be here in a bit."
"Ratty, where are Taz and Fletch?" asked Sethral. She floored Ryatzi as he started to run. "I saw that look!" she shouted. "Where are they?"
"Let mego!" He twisted and bucked her off, then backed away.
Sethral went after him.
"Don't follow me!" screamed the Saberel. He turned and bolted up the pass. Wing dropped the Fisher and leaped at Sethral as she crouched to take off. She kicked him off and streaked up through the canopy. Whipper was knocked off his feet in the gale.
There was another scream; a small one. "The Fisher!" cried Whipper.
The Fisher had disappeared. Before Wing could drop his muzzle, Whipper had located his counterpart's trail and followed it straight up the pass.
"That Fisher's suicidal," growled Wing. "Silver, go catch Whipper before he kills himself too!"
Jay snatched the mutt and dragged him under cover. A distant roar was mounting over the wind. Everyone looked up to see a high-flying Drakon fold its wings and start to dive. It was moving much too slowly to be plummeting from the sky.
No... it was twice as high as they had thought it was.
That wasn't a Drakon.
A copper streak bowled Sethral flat as something blacked out the sun. Wings roared. A Drakon-like creature pulled out of its dive and shot down the slope. The Fisher vanished in a black flash. A wind bomb obscured the pass in dust as a second creature halted its dive two tail-lengths off the ground.
