The Eye

Aurora did not have long to explain the situation to the others before the leopards began to urge them forward.

Riding beside the Empress, Brinn wore a somber expression. "I don't like this," she said in human-speak. "I feel like the cats are stalking us. They appear and disappear at will just because they are so white. It makes me uneasy."

Aurora nodded slowly. "Ah yes. I suppose that makes sense."

"What?" Brinn looked at the Empress with one eyebrow raised.

Aurora shrugged. "It's just... They snuck up on us without being seen. They are able to follow and guide us almost invisibly and can track through the wilderness as easily as breathing. And did you see that jump? Imagine how they would be able to fly through trees with that sort of agility! They are unlike anything we have ever seen!"

Brinn rolled her eyes upward. "Very funny. You think those critters are the cat version of me?"

"Those are your words, not mine," the Empress hid her grin. "But now that you mention it…"

"Point taken…" the elf relaxed a little. "At least we aren't completely defenseless anymore. My magic is not nearly as strong down here, but I tried a few things and they work on a small scale."

"We weren't defenseless before. We have all these soldiers!" Aurora sat up straight.

"You are an excellent archer. But you are not at full strength to do that just now. The rest of the soldiers are not trained to battle in this cold…" Brinn left out the part about how the animals around them were considerably more powerful.

"It is a little warmer right now," the Empress noted as an aside. "I think the cats must have some protection against the weather. Being surrounded by them has made it almost tolerable."

"That doesn't change the fact that your men are not prepared to fight in this terrain or against this kind of danger if it happens…" Brinn finished her thought.

"I am glad your magic is back, Brinn. I hope we can make it permanent." Aurora turned her attention to the horizon.

Something peeked over the solid white landscape in the middle of the storm. The flat nature of the tundra made the thin tower stick up like a sewing needle from a mended shirt. It was small and still a very long way off.

"Do you think that is where we are heading?" Aurora asked idly.

"Of course it is where we are heading. Where else in this cursed place would we go?" Reyan flew up beside them. He must have found it warm enough to use his wings again. Or he was just too stubborn to stay on a bear's back when the leopards were around.

Aurora ignored his little tantrum. "I assume that is where the Seed is, then?"

"Either there or nearby. Fairies come out the top of that thing and get chased off. I have never gotten to look at it from the ground." Reyan fluttered beside the two ladies as he squinted at the thin structure ahead of them. "Feels very strange to be heading toward it instead of fleeing from it. Like I'm breaking an unwritten rule." 

"I think we have broken most of the unwritten rules of this world lately," Brinn shrugged. "What's another added to the list?" 

"I am glad you are here," the Empress smiled at the fairy. "I was wondering what you could tell me about the Master of the Forbidden Lands." 

"Who?" Reyan looked at the woman like she had grown another head. 

"That was who Osis said he served. Were you even listening when I spoke earlier?" Aurora crossed her arms. 

"A little," the fairy looked out at the cats. "Mostly I was just trying not to be seen by those creatures until I was sure they wouldn't try and eat me." 

"They still might," Brinn offered. 

"That's not helpful," Aurora looked sternly at her friend before continuing. "You really know nothing about the one who rules over the Forbidden Lands?" 

"I have never heard it called that. But we don't stick around to talk to the inhabitants here either." Reyan blew out his cheeks. 

"What about you, Isbora?" The Empress switched into the Ancient Tongue. "Do you know anything about the one who lives in that tower over there? Osis called him the Master of the Forbidden Lands." 

"We have had no contact with these leopards nor their Master. Since I usually stay close to the coast, I did not know either existed until today." Isbora snorted. Aurora wondered if she was indignant about the question or her own lack of knowledge. 

The Empress was not completely surprised. She had gathered from her conversations with Isbora that the snowbears lived shorter lifespans than humans. If the storm had been raging for hundreds or thousands of years, there was no way for the bears to meet the snowy cats. The barrier functioned like the ice barrier in the North--keeping creatures both out and in. 

"I guess we will have to just wait and see." Brinn sighed, her curiosity raging. 

"We could ask the leopards." Aurora's statement was more of a question. She didn't know how talkative the cats would be about the one they served. 

"You can try. They don't even seem willing to talk to one another." Brinn looked at their silent hosts.

"Oh, they are communicating," Isbora told them. "Just not with words."

Aurora studied them for a moment and then remembered the centaurs. The horse people did not use facial expressions. They showed their mood through... "Their tails!" 

The cats' muscles all moved efficiently except for the random flicks of their long tails. But what if the movements weren't random? That would explain the cohesive movement of the leopards around the bears. They were constantly talking to each other.

'Fascinating.' 

The Empress decided to study the cats for a time. She only had a clear view of the leopards in front of her, so she looked a them. 'Hmmm.' 

But it turned out to be far too complicated for her brain to comprehend in a short time. If they were talking that way, which she was sure they were, then it was a language all its own without the same rules as human speak or the Ancient Tongue. 

It was interesting but her time was better spent elsewhere.

"Zan!" Aurora waved to the Guardian. 

It took a moment for him to adjust, but soon, he and his bear found Isbora's side. In the process, Nurlan also came up behind him. That did make things easier. 

"Is your cloak working properly?" The Empress could no longer see the Guardian's face clearly. 

"Sort of, Your Majesty. I can reach into it again, but I haven't tried to store anything." Zan answered. 

"If you can, take my dagger, your sword, and an extra blade and put it inside. If they take our weapons, I do not want to be without any defense." Aurora chewed her lip. 

Zan nodded and unbuckled his blade. It slipped inside the tenebrous cloth with some effort. 

"General Nurlan, I need a message to go out to the men. If there is a sudden change in the movement of the leopards' tails, I want to know about it. They seem to be communicating using that method." The Empress reasoned that big news would warrant a big swish of the tail. It was a tenuous guess, but better to give the men something to watch for. 

The group made the few preparations they could as the tower loomed ever closer. 

Then, with a deep breath, Aurora asked Isbora to approach the leopards. The bear grunted incredulously. She didn't seem frightened by the cats, but she also didn't seem fond of them. 

The Empress had barely made it out of the pack of bears when all the leopard tails went swishing as one. From the front of the pack, a leopard with a ring around one eye jumped over all of his kin and landed deftly next to Isbora. 

"May I help you?" the white feline hissed lightly.

"Osis," Aurora smiled at the cat. "I just had a few questions before we arrived."

"Then ask, but stay within the circle. The closer we get to the tower, the more important it is that you stay with us." Osis ran his tongue along his neck and pulled a small chain into his teeth. It was as white as his fur with metal braiding so thin that it looked like single strands of hair. He dropped the necklace. "These protect us inside the eye. Right now, our ring of chains is protecting you." 

"Protecting us? From what?" Aurora looked around for a hidden danger.

"What else? The hurricane."