Eaglebreaker

When a deadly woman from a clan that tortures eagles into submission captures Morlen's dear companion, Roftome, he embarks on a quest more terrifying than any he has yet undertaken.

Going alone into the Mountains of the Lost, Morlen treks an uncertain path through hostile forces that embody the grimmest legends. Worst of all are the Pyrnaq—wretched, twisted corruptions of the free eagles they once were—and their overwhelming presence is a constant reminder of the terrible fate that he must spare Roftome at all costs.

Held as a prized acquisition within the clandestine force that eagle-kind has dreaded for centuries, Roftome finds himself uniquely positioned to influence his abused brothers and sisters whose minds may still be salvageable. The cost of this rare opportunity, though, quickly proves more severe than he'd anticipated.

Despite the absence of their two strongest allies, King Verald and Lady Valeine lead the Eaglemasters on a massive campaign to wipe the Ferotaur Wildlands clean of their ancient enemies. But as they delve deeper into the overrun wasteland, they hear whispers of a watchful evil that their intrusion might soon unleash.

On a desolate corner of the world and threatened on every side, Morlen realizes that his only hope is to unite with one of the fierce ghouls he fought in his first adventure. And as the days pass into weeks, and months, he grows more afraid whether the end of his long journey will bring him face to face with the friend he lost, or... with something else.

Chapters 1 & 2: authorclmurray.com/book2