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.But no body.One set of tracks continued beyond.Two other pathways led off to either side, but there were no tracks.The snow was pure and untouched.Kadrigul heard a skittering overhead and looked up.He saw a dark shape against the sky, a quick glimpse of two glowing eyes, and then they shot out of sight.He leaped over the blood—no sense in picking up its scent-- and took the left path, his feet trudging through the unbroken snow.He took the first path to the left he found, then two more to the right, hoping to throw off pursuit but still moving away from where the first Creel had been taken.Kadrigul sheathed his sword and went to the shard leaning at the greatest angle.He went to the back of it and tried to climb.No luck.It was dry as bone, but slick.He could make it no more than a few feet off the ground before sliding back down.A tiger roared.Kadrigul froze.It was some distance away, but still loud enough that he could feel the shard vibratingunder his hands.It was the deep, bone-rattling roar that tigers used to stun their enemies.It roared again, but this time the roar ended in a fierce growl.The tiger had caught whatever it was after.Time to move.Kadrigul forsook the path and began to weave through the shards themselves, but he soon regretted his decision.In places, the bases of the shards ran together at odd angles, making it hard to find proper footing.In open ground between them, the snow was often knee deep.Either way, he'd be at a disadvantage if it came to a fight.As soon as he found a path again, he took it.He heard the tiger again.Not roaring or growling this time.It was a great scream of anguish, high-pitched and almost pitiful.But it was still behind him.He moved on.Kadrigul soon came to a wide part in the path, where the great shards all leaned away, forming a fence in the shape of a long V.The moon had not yet risen over the mountains, but the stars shone down, their light reflecting off the snow and shards so brightly that Kadrigul cast a long blue shadow at his feet.Ahead, the path took a sharp turn to the right.He was halfway there when a small figure stepped out from between the shards, blocking his path.One of the little hunters.The creature's eyes glowed with a frosty light.Kadrigul stopped a half-dozen paces from the creature.Even in the starlight, he could see its skin had a bluish tint, and the ears protruding from the rim of the cap were far too sharp.The creature spread both hands outward, almost as if proffering himself, and Kadrigul saw that something was wrapped around him, from his fingertips all the way to his shoulders.The creature smiled, showing sharp teeth, and flicked both wrists.A length of vine fell and coiled in the snow at his feet, and as it hit the ground, soft tendrils along its length stiffened into sharp thorns.The same whiplike weapon that had taken the first Creel.Kadrigul turned.Another of the creatures was blocking the path behind him—this one holding a spear that was twice his own height.He heard rustling above and looked.More of the creatures were perched on the shards above, like birds on a ship's rigging, looking down on him with their glowing eyes.He counted four on one side and three on the other.Nine in all."So be it," Kadrigul said, and drew his sword.The creature who had first blocked his path began swinging the thorn-covered vines, one in each hand, twirling them in intricate patterns to each side and over his head, cutting the air and sending up clouds of snow as they hissed over the ground.Kadrigul had no shield, so he held his empty scabbard in his offhand, ready to block the vines.The creature advanced, twirling the vines faster and faster, still smiling his feral grin.So far, the others seemed content to watch.The creature leaped forward and one vine shot out in a vertical swipe.Kadrigul danced to the side, the vine missing him by a foot or more, but the other was already coming across at his midsection.He hit it with his scabbard, and the vine whipped around it, cutting through Kadrigul's coat, shredding it but missing the skin beneath.With the vine tangled around his scabbard, Kadrigul struck the length of it with his sword, hoping to sever it.His blade, which he sharpened to a razor's edge every night, nicked a long strip of bark off the vine, then bounced away.The creature yanked on the vine, trying to pull the scabbard from Kadrigul's hand, but he used the added force to his own advantage, stepping in to the pull, within striking range, and bringing his sword around in a long swipe aimed for the creature's throat.The creature dropped so quickly that the tassel of his cap flew up and Kadrigul's sword sliced it off.The creature snarledand backed away out of reach of the blade.His vine was still tangled around Kadrigul's scabbard, but he let out enough slack to pull away.Kadrigul twirled the scabbard in an attempt to dislodge the vine, but the thorns held their grip.The onlookers hissed, whether in delight or consternation Kadrigul could not tell.They slapped the great shards with bare feet and hands, all in unison, and began a whispering chant.The wind picked up, howling through the structure and setting a mournful tune to counter the creatures' song.Kadrigul's opponent brought his arm back in a swift yank, hoping to dislodge the scabbard from Kadrigul's grip.Kadrigul let him take it, but he directed the pull, throwing the scabbard at the creature's head, using his own momentum against him.It struck the creature full in the face, causing him to stumble back.Kadrigul was on him, forsaking good form for brute strength, aiming the point of his sword for the creature's midsection.But the creature twisted away from the blade, the edge of Kadrigul's sword scraping his side, and brought the other vine around in a diagonal strike.Kadrigul had to fall into a crouch and roll to keep from being caught, but the thorns still raked along the back of one shoulder, tearing through clothes and skin as they passed.He came back to his feet, bloodied
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