Our skin touched, and we became the wind.

  I enacted the skill from my Cloak of the Four Winds, Breezestride, transforming both Katarina and myself into ethereal gusts of wind. Our essences mingled, melded, became one, as Quanhei smashed into the rocks amidst a deluge of wood, metal, glass, and earthen debris. A large object, dislodged from the falling structure and subsequent landslide, crashed into the pile of rubble.

  We lifted into the air as one, rose beneath Encore’s outstretched wings and carried him up and over the cliff.

  The form lasted seconds, but those seconds spent melded with Katarina felt like a fraction of eternity. I sensed her fierce determination, her vibrant, destructive energy – like a star perpetually locked in supernova.

  I experienced flashes of her life. Potent memories, the foundation of who she was. Countless hours spent training, traveling, winning one martial arts competition after another. The accident. Loss of all motor functions, bound to a machine that pumped air so that she could live. Denial. The pain, sense of betrayal, and – most profoundly – shame.

  Shame suffocating the supernova, depriving it of oxygen until it was nothing but a cold, dead husk. A strong smile in public, propped up by pride. Tears and wails in private, countless hours of frustrating helplessness stacking up like stones on a sheet pulled taut, on the cusp of tearing to shreds.

  A rekindling of the flame, like a phoenix from the ashes of despair. Acceptance into Veil, another chance to run. To jump. To live.

  We returned to our corporeal forms back on the top of the cliff, just beyond the rockslide that had ensued after the tearoom fell. Henrietta was gone. The scorched bodies were gone. Her magical shed, larger on the inside and worth her life to protect, was gone. All rubble, soon to be washed away by the rising tide.

  But I didn’t look around. I didn’t see any of it, I only saw Katarina, leaning against me. I felt a connection, unlike any I had ever felt.

  “You’re a phoenix,” I whispered. We both breathed heavily, taking in deep gulps of the substance we had been just moments ago.

  “That… was the best five seconds of my life.” Katarina breathed.

  I smirked. “I get that a lot.”

  A notification appeared and did not minimize, slicing through the moment with emboldened text.

  Windmeld - Passive Bond

  Marked by a fleeting union. This bond remains until broken by another. Provides Voice on the Wind skill, Gustwalker passive skill, and a 25% bonus to Dexterity.

  Voice on the Wind: Allows windmelded individuals telepathic communication that can only be blocked by direct telepathic interference.

  Gustwalker: The wind remembers your time together, assisting your travels. Increases movement speed slightly when moving toward other bonded individual.

  “Twenty-five percent?!” Katarina cried out. “Holy shit! That jumped up my dexterity to forty-s – uh Chanter, your eye is bleeding.”

  I recognized the dull throbbing as soon as she pointed out the shard of wood wedged in my eye. It wasn’t directly in my eye, but in my eyelid. Only an inch from blinding me, maybe less. I pulled it loose and downed a healing potion as Katarina did the same, the numerous scratches and bruises across her body fading away.

  “We should go,” I double checked that the orb was still in my inventory. “We need to get to the Guild.”

  We ran. Katarina chanted, increasing our movement speed for a time. We leapt over roots and wove around trees, the cliffside illuminated by the large moon. I was able to keep up much better thanks to the new passive we shared. A gentle breeze helped push me along as I struggled to keep up with Katarina, who was obviously slowing down for my benefit. We were about halfway through the forest when another message from Abernathy appeared.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Abernathy: Are you two okay?

  Chanter: Yes, sorry, so much is going on. We are outside of the city, maybe fifteen minutes away.

  Abernathy: Outside?! I thought you went into the catacombs?

  Katarina: Yeah, long story…

  We proceeded to explain what had happened through a series of messages over the next ten minutes as we ran back to the city. Abernathy also caught us up on what he had been going through since leaving the Night’s End.

  He had decided to go to the Adventurer’s Guild and work through the guilt he felt at not joining us. The Guild had been in shambles. Doors broken from hinges, corpses and injured adventurers strewn about. Fortunately, it had been night and the Guild had been mostly empty.

  Runners were dispatched to summon the Guildmaster. She arrived and began conducting a clean-up and investigation, trying to discern who had attacked and for what reason. The attack had been done with such speed and silence that no alarms were raised. Several of her own alarms, known only by a select few, had been deactivated.

  Abernathy had been helping move the injured into the tavern portion of the guildhall for treatment when it came. A red mist had seeped out of the ground, tendrils leaking from under doors and through window cracks. Within seconds, a foot of the mist rested above the ground.

  People had lost their minds, going into a murderous rage. The injured that he had been helping, some too hurt to move on their own, had erupted in a frenzy of violence.

  Abernathy had barricaded himself within a small room adjacent to the crafting area in the Guildhall. A health potion had restored his broken arm.

  I saw a red glow before the city came into view. It was burning. The city was cast in flickering red lights from the flames. Thousands of screams echoed into the night.

  The northern gate was open. A layer of red fog coated the ground. Figures moved about in the haze.

  “Get close,” I began performing the Tatsu as we approached the gate. I was able to play the song at a slow walk and still look around, though the sights I began seeing made me wish I couldn’t.

  We passed through the gate, into the mist. A system message appeared.

  Chaotic Catalyst effects nullified; players are resistant! WARNING: Resistance to the effects are not permanent. Continued exposure to the mist will erode protections. Current time remaining: 30:00.

  I watched as the timer began. Thirty minutes. I cursed.

  Katarina: Abe why didn’t you mention the timer?!

  Abernathy: Oh, you guys made it to the city? Be careful, please. I didn’t want you to worry about me.

  The streets of Verdantbrook ran red with blood. Corpses lay at odd angles, brutally massacred. I glanced around and saw a few horrible remnants of violence before averting my gaze and putting all of my focus on the song’s performance and the conversation Abernathy and Katarina were having in chat.

  Katarina: How long do you have, Abe?? We are making our way through the city now.

  Abernathy: Five minutes.

  I glanced at the clock, which read: 02:45 AM

  “Fuck,” Katarina whispered, “this isn’t going to work. We move too slow with your song. We need to move fast. It's nothing but dead bodies anyways.”

  “Yeah, we won’t make it to the Guildhall in time if we don’t run. Can you buff us again?”

  “I’m out of ki, it’s been a long day.”

  “Okay then. We run, and hope we don’t see what was able to survive this… hell.” I broke out into a run.

  Katarina easily outpaced me.

  “The mist doesn’t seem to affect my kind,” Encore said, taking flight and soaring into the night sky. “I will scout ahead.”

  I followed Katarina through the corpse-strewn streets of the city. She slowed occasionally, looking back and waiting for me to catch up. I pulled the orb from my inventory and offered it to her.

  “Here, take it. You can get there faster than me.” I said.

  “Sure, but I don’t know how to get to the exam room. I never went.”

  “Its easy, you—” I started to say, before she cut me off.

  “Don’t even try giving me directions. I’ll forget them. Can’t you… I don’t know, change forms into something faster? Or smaller, and I’ll just carry you?”

  I looked through my available race list for transforming.

  “I don’t think it will matter,” I said as I looked over the list. “My shape might change, but my weight is going to be the same. I don't get heavier or lighter unless I use mana, which would just make me heavier.”

  “Whatever, that's fine. Jump on my back. I can still get us there faster.”

  “Can your leg hold us both?” I asked.

  “Only one way to find out,” she said, slowing and swinging her back towards me. “Hurry up, hop on!”

  “But if your leg breaks, we’ll be screwed!”

  “Just do it!”

  I complied, jumping on her back and wrapping my arms around her neck, locking my arms together across her collarbone and my legs over her waist.

  And thus I was piggybacked through an apocalyptic hellscape. She moved fast. Probably twice as fast as I would have been able to manage on my own. Her leg squeaked in protest with each pumping stride, but it held together.

  windmelding. I think it opens up Katarina's character a bit and lays a foundation for their strengthening relationship into Book 2. Don't want to wait? Check out my !