“Deadly Lunge!”

Paisley whipped out a card, holding it aloft and charging it with magic. The power curled around her wolfion, sinking into its legs, and the creature rushed forward, moving at terrific speed. I slipped out my first rune and activated it silently while sending a command to my bonesnapper. The little lizard opened its mouth wide, and a jet of slimy water shot out, aimed not at the wolfion but at the street before it.

The charging monster stumbled and slid as its feet hit the sudden patch of thick, slimy mud. It didn’t fall, managing to hold its balance, but it scrambled to keep purchase in the slippery muck, spoiling its initial charge – and wasting Paisley’s first rune.

The bonesnapper slid forward as my spell wrapped around it, moving almost sinuously under the effects of Snakespine. It darted around the edge of the mud pit, snapping at the larger wolfion’s legs. The wolfion snatched its legs back, which sent it even more off balance. It growled and gnashed its jaws at the little lizard, following it up with a flashing tail strike, but the bonesnapper twisted to the side, letting the tail flash harmlessly past.

“Sharpclaw!” Paisley shouted as she lifted a second card overhead. The wolfion’s teeth and tail suddenly glowed as the rune took effect, boosting the pet’s attack, and my bonesnapper stumbled as the wolfion’s jaws scraped against its shoulder, knocking it sideways. I took out my second card and triggered Regenerate, restoring a bit of the bond the wolfion had just damaged.

The wolfion’s feet finally found purchase, and it charged my pet, but I sent it skittering off to the side. The wolfion was big and powerful, but that meant that it had a lot of momentum, and it couldn’t change course quickly on the dusty street. The smaller, nimbler bonesnapper hung on its flanks, snapping and biting, not doing any damage but forcing it to scramble around to try and face the lizard.

“Bastard!” Paisley grated, pulling out another card. “Try this on for size! Call Lightning!” The card flared, and an arc of electricity shot from it and slammed into my bonesnapper, knocking it sprawling. The creature twitched and trembled as the lightning coursed through its muscles, and the wolfion scrambled after it, its jaws gaping at its nearly helpless prey.

A scream cut the air as the bloodbeak swooped down, diving toward the wolfion. A blade of air shot from its wings and crashed into the wolfion’s legs, tripping the beast and causing it to stumble. The wolf rolled in the dust and scrambled to its feet a moment later, but by that time, the bonesnapper was back up and recovered. Regeneration continued to pour energy into it, slowly repairing the damage the strike had done.

Paisley stared at the bird in shock, then looked at me, her face slowly reddening. “You son of a bitch!” she swore. “Two pets? How the hell?”

I ignored her and focused on the battle. The wolfion was still charging at my bonesnapper, and I had to watch closely to keep the smaller lizard ahead of the big predator’s strikes. When it got too near, I sent the bloodbeak down to peck and claw at its face; that didn’t do much damage, I knew, but it kept the creature off balance and gave the bonesnapper time to scramble away. Slowly but surely, my pets wore the wolfion down, never inflicting real injuries but constantly chipping away at its bond.

“To hell with you!” Paisley shouted, pulling out her final card. Flame-red energy began to crackle around it, far more energy than she’d used before, enough that I was sure it was a Greater rune. The power continued to rise, and her eyes fastened on my bonesnapper, burning with eagerness. “You can burn with your pet, bastard! Firebl…!”

She cut off as my bloodbeak dove with a piercing scream, heading directly at her face. Its beak gaped, and its claws stretched toward the woman menacingly. Panic filled her eyes, and she flinched away, dropping the card from her fingers as she ducked beneath the raptor’s flight. The bloodbeak soared harmlessly overhead, flapping madly as it clawed its way back into the sky – directly attacking another handler in a duel was against the rules, after all, but flying near one wasn’t – but the damage was done. She’d lost focus on her rune, and the magic backlashed against her. The dropped card hit the ground and flared brilliant red as the power in it swelled and surged.

Flame exploded around Paisley in a ten-foot-wide blast of pure flames. When I used my Flame Charm, the flames created lasted for less than a second, just enough to ignite something highly flammable like tinder or paper. Paisley’s Greater flame roared and surged around her for several seconds, and she screamed as the flames roasted her skin and crisped her hair. She stumbled blindly, and the flames followed her, licking at the nearest bystanders – and the wooden railing against which they leaned.

“Aw, shit,” the sheriff swore as the railing erupted in flames that quickly spread to the sidewalk. People screamed and cursed as the fire spread far too quickly, racing along the railings and rolling toward the nearby buildings. The flames looked almost alive, greedily devouring everything they could find, hungry with purpose.

“Everyone, get inside!” the old man shouted as he yanked a card from his pocket. He looked up at the scudding clouds overhead and took a deep breath. “This is gonna hurt.”

He held the card up, and power flowed around him, seeming to be sucked into the glowing, pulsing rune. The card drew power in as fast as the old man fed it, glowing brighter and brighter to my magical senses until it blazed like a glowing, silvery sun. The card shattered as the power erupted from it, streaking into the sky and slamming into the distant clouds. The dark storm shuddered and seemed to gather itself, then suddenly rushed toward the town, streaking so swiftly it looked like a gale blew it along.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and lightning flashed, lighting the clouds from within. The townspeople screamed and fled as the storm blacked out the sun, bathing the street in shadow. I felt the terror in my pets as the thunder crashed and the wind picked up, swiftly rising until it blew the dust and gravel against my skin with stinging force.

A howl tore my attention from the demonic sky, and I looked down to see the wolfion backing away from my bonesnapper, shaking its head furiously. The creature shuddered and shook, then froze. It spun to face Paisley, who lay facedown in the street, whimpering and sobbing. Her clothes were gone, burned away, and no hair remained on her head. Her reddened, blistered skin practically glowed in the dim light filtering through the storm, and although her chest heaved up and down, she was either unconscious or barely aware.

“K-kill it,” the sheriff gasped, dropping to one knee and clutching his temples. “It’s free…”

The wolfion bounded forward with a vicious snarl, headed directly for Paisley’s prone form, and I admit that if it hadn’t been for the sheriff, I’d have let it. My gut told me that she’d still insist I cheated, and she’d try to attack me again if she got the chance. The old man’s instructions, though, prevented me from just letting it have her. If I did, I’d be risking losing him as a trainer, and I wasn’t willing to do that.

The wolfion stumbled and fell as a blast of water from my bonesnapper slammed into its side. It scrambled back to its feet and howled again, this time in pain as the bloodbeak’s Cutting Breeze slashed across its face, leaving a deep, red line of blood. It ignored the attacks, though, and rushed toward Paisley, growling murderously. I whipped out a card and channeled energy into it, and a web of air streaked out to wrap around the monster, holding it in place. The creature quickly ripped through the thin strands binding it, but it yelped in pain as the bonesnapper struck, its teeth fastening on the monster’s rear leg. The leg crumpled with muted crack of bone breaking, and the creature staggered as it lurched forward, dragging the bonesnapper with it.

My bloodbeak streaked down and landed on the wolfion’s head, its beak ripping and tearing at the monster’s muzzle. The bird leapt clear as the wolf’s tail darted down, dripping venom, but it had done its work, and one of the creature’s eyes dangled from its socket, hanging by a thread of muscle and nerve. I pulled out my revolver and ran toward the creature, leaning against the growing wind as I did; I couldn’t shoot it from so far away, not with an inaccurate pistol in that sort of wind. I needed to get closer, but the storm had other plans.

As the first drops of rain began to fall, I ordered the raptor to fly clear of the storm; it wouldn’t be able to stay aloft with wet wings, and grounded, it couldn’t help. The rain fell more heavily, fat drops driven practically sideways by the wind splatting against the buildings or hitting the fire with a tiny hiss. A roar rippled through the air, and as if a curtain had been drawn, a wall of water slammed into the town, hissing with fury as it battered against windows and crashed into doors. I was instantly soaked to the bone, my hair plastered against my skull. The fire died with a hiss and a whistle of steam, extinguished instantly by the mass of water.

The driving rain knocked my bonesnapper off its feet, forcing it to release its hold on the wolfion. Freed, the wolfion staggered toward the hopefully unconscious woman, dragging its back leg, half-blinded and stumbling in the deluge bathing its flank. I slipped and slid toward it, wincing as hailstones struck my face and arms. The mud hampered the monster just as well, and I ordered my bonesnapper to hit it with one last water jet. The slimy spray knocked the monster sideways, but it held its feet and finally reached the unmoving woman. Its tail arced upward, ready to lance down and finish the woman off. Swearing beneath my breath, I reached for my belt, intending to pull my hatchet free and throw it.

Instead, my fingers found the whip at my side. I tore it free and uncoiled it. I had no real idea how to use a whip – I’d never had any reason to learn, after all – but I held it out to my side and swept it toward the creature, aiming for its tail. The long, corded leather lashed out and struck the tail high, the thin lash of it wrapping around the stinger. I felt a surge of exultation as I yanked on the whip, trying to pull the creature backward – followed by bitter disappointment as the leather unwound instantly and slid free of the tail. I charged forward, slipping in the mud, and threw myself at the monster, trying to knock it sideways as its tail flashed forward.

Pain flared in my shoulder, followed by a burning sensation that flowed down my shoulder and into my arm. I screamed as the stinger buried itself in my flesh, but my rush knocked the monster sideways and slammed me into it. It whipped about instantly, its fangs tearing at my face, but I lifted my revolver and jammed the barrel into its empty eye socket, pulling the trigger. The gun boomed as loud as the thunder overhead, and the wolfion twitched and stumbled as the bullet ripped through its skull and pulverized its brain. It collapsed beneath me, its stinger sliding from my body, and I pushed myself away from it, falling on my ass in the mud.

I gasped for breath as the storm unleashed its fury on me. My shoulder throbbed and burned, although that sensation started to ease the moment the stinger fell free, and my skin stung from the hailstones slamming into me. I pushed myself to my feet, holstering my pistol and letting the whip drop into the mud. I wasn’t worried about it; it would find its way back to me. I made a mental note to figure out how to use the damn thing before playing Indiana Jones again, then staggered over to Paisley’s fallen form.

The woman lay unmoving and unconscious, which I guessed was probably a blessing. Even in her sleep, she moaned as the stinging hail struck her burned and blistered skin. I walked unsteadily to her and considered hauling her up in a princess carry; at least, I did before looking back and seeing the sheriff still on his knees, seemingly unable to stand. Swearing again, I hauled her onto my unwounded shoulder, doing my best to avoid grabbing her naked bits, then staggered over to the apparently exhausted or hurt sheriff.

“D-don’t worry about me, boy,” the old man gasped, his voice barely audible above the fury of the storm. “Just – just need to rest.”

“Unless you’re planning to sleep in the mud, Sheriff,” I shouted back, “you need to get your ass up and inside!” I grabbed his arm and hauled him upward. “Come on, give me some help, here. I’m already carrying Paisley; I can’t carry you, too!”

The sheriff slung an arm over my shoulder – I didn’t want to think where on Paisley it was resting – and leaned on me as I half-dragged, half-carried him up the stairs out of the muddy streets. The rain slackened as the building gave us some shelter from the screaming wind, making it easier to help him along with my extra burden.

“M-my office,” he muttered, but I shook my head.

“Screw that. Shina’s is closer, and this storm’s a bitch.” I guided him toward the saloon and practically threw him through the door. The place was crowded with people who’d sought shelter form the storm and fire, blocking me from going further.

“Clear a path!” I shouted, kicking at the closest person. “I’ve got the sheriff and Paisley! Open a hole!” Slowly, the people drew back, allowing me to get into the saloon’s main room. Shinia rushed forward, her face concerned as she looked at the three of us.

“Sheriff?” she asked worriedly. “You okay?”

“Just a little tired,” he said heavily. “Nothing a nap won’t cure – or maybe just sitting for a spell.”

I looked at the nearest seated person and gave them my best glare. “I think the sheriff needs that chair more than you. Don’t you?” The man quickly nodded and scrambled from the seat, helping me get the old man into a seat. I looked at Shina. “Paisley?”

“Is she alive?” the woman asked.

“Yeah, but she’s pretty hurt. She burned herself with that fire rune, and once her bond broke, she couldn’t heal it.”

“Bring her upstairs,” the woman said decisively. “She can sleep in Rose’s room; she’s off this week. If she makes it through the night, I’ll send for a doctor from Vadoo tomorrow.”

I carried Paisley upstairs and got my first glimpse of the inside of the girls’ rooms. Rose’s room was fairly elegant, the walls papered with a rose pattern and a small chandelier glowing overhead. The floor was covered with thick, red carpet, and gauzy drapes shielded the window. A double bed dominated the room, high and soft with surprisingly white, spotless linens and pillows. I laid Paisley on the bed, then stepped back outside and walked down to check on the sheriff.

The old man sat in the chair, his shoulders drooped in weariness but his eyes alert. “Paisley?” he asked as I squatted beside him.

“She’s burned over most of her body, but the burns look mostly superficial,” I shrugged. “Almost like she got a really bad sunburn. She should be okay – but she won’t be happy once she wakes up.”

“No, she won’t,” he snorted. “Not with her wolfion dead, at least.” He sighed. “Maybe I can convince her to bond with something more suitable this time – or maybe she’ll stay a stubborn brat who won’t listen to nobody. Hard to say, really.”

“What happened to you?” I asked quietly.

“Same thing that would have happened to Paisley if she’d managed to get that rune off,” he chuckled. “Storm of Fury’s a Paragon rune, and High runes are the best I can usually manage. It took everything from me, drained a fair bit of bond energy, and knocked me on my ass.” A crack of thunder shook the building, and he shrugged.

“Had to be done, though. Paisley’s Fireblast was out of control, trying to take the whole town with it. By the time we got a bucket brigade set up, we’d have lost half the town. The storm won’t be good for the fields and animals, but that’s better than having to rebuild everything.” He sighed. “I could use a drink. You?”

I nodded, and he grabbed someone nearby, instructing them to get two drinks from Rajdra. I tuned him out and focused on the notification flashing in the edge of my vision.

You have 9,809 unassigned XP.

These XP may be assigned to the following Professions:

Hunter, Shaper, Tamer

“Holy shit,” I breathed silently. “Sara, why so much XP?”

“Because Paisley’s bond broke,” she replied quietly. “Normally, you get a small portion of the bond’s energy as XP – something like 10%. When it broke, though, I was able to collect practically all of it. I think I’ll be able to do that any time you fully break a bond like this, just FYI.”

“That’ll be useful. So, what will this do if I spread it out among all three professions?”

“It should be enough to rank them up, and then some” she said, then hesitated. “There’s another option, too, though. I think I can channel some of this XP down your bonds and rank up at least one of your pets, as well.”

“What? How?”

“Well, that bond gives me limited access to them, enough that I can channel XP their way. I think you’ve got enough XP there to rank up all three professions and one of your creatures, rank up both creatures and bring your professions to level five, or rank up your professions and add a level to them. It’s your choice.”

I stopped and considered my options. Obviously, giving myself all that XP would be nice – it would boost my stats, give me more skill points, and basically make me stronger. In the long run, that was the better strategy. Eventually, I’d leave Puraschim, and when I did, any XP I put into pets would be lost.

At the same time, to get to the long run, I had to survive the short run, and that wasn’t guaranteed. I still had no clue what I was doing here, but I was pretty sure that mastering more powerful pets – and better runes – was going to be key to living through whatever it was. I barely managed to beat Paisley, and that was mostly because she was easily startled and had trouble staying focused. She wasn’t going to be close to the biggest threat I faced, I was sure. Being personally stronger would only take me so far in this world.

“Okay, let’s rank up the professions and put the rest into the bonesnapper,” I finally decided. Part of me wanted to boost the bloodbeak since it was my main damage dealer, but for my current strategy to work, I needed the bonesnapper to be as durable as possible.

“Done,” she replied. A new notification popped up in my vision, and I quickly pulled it up.

Profession: Pet Hunter has gained a level!

New Level: 5

For every level of Pet Hunter, you gain:

Dominia and Vigor +1

1 Skill Point per 2 levels

Profession: Shaper has gained a level!

New Level: 5

For every level of Shaper, you gain:

Arcania and Skill +1

1 Skill Point per 2 levels

Profession: Tamer has gained a level!

New Level: 5

For every level of Tamer, you gain:

Personia and Prowess +1

1 Skill Point per 2 levels

Profession: Pet Hunter is ready to rank up!

Ranking up will create the profession:

Herder (Unusual)

Strong Stats: Dominia, Vigor, Intuition

Rank up?

Profession: Shaper is ready to rank up!

Ranking up will create the profession:

Bender (Unusual)

Strong Stats: Arcania, Skill, Reason

Rank up?

Profession: Tamer is ready to rank up!

Ranking up will create the profession:

Trainer (Unusual)

Strong Stats: Personia, Prowess, Charm

Rank Up?

Your pet: Bonesnapper (Lesser) is ready to rank up!

Ranking up will turn Bonesnapper into:

Bonecrusher (Greater)

Rank up?

I mentally chose to rank everything up, bracing myself as I did. I assumed ranking up would cause a sudden surge of energy or give me a rush of power. To my surprise, neither happened. Instead, a new series of notifications popped up.

New Profession: Herder (Unusual) has gained a level!

New Level: 1

For each level of Herder, you gain:

Dominia, Intuition, Vigor +1

New Profession: Bender (Unusual) has gained a level!

New Level: 1

For each level of Bender, you gain:

Arcania, Reason, Skill +1

New Profession: Trainer (Unusual) has gained a level!

New Level: 1

For each level of Trainer, you gain:

Personia, Charm, Prowess +1

Your Abilities have upgraded!

Simple Beast Domination has become Lesser Beast Domination

Passive Pet Ability

You can tame a pet up to Greater Rank. You can tame pets up to 150% of your level. You can tame one fewer pet than normal, minus one per ten levels of Trainer.

Simple Bestial Resistance has become Lesser Bestial Resistance

Passive Pet Ability

You can tame one more pet than normal, plus one pet per 5 levels of Herder. You can tame Pets up to 50% of your level. You can tame pets of Lesser rank only.

Simple Rune Casting has become Lesser Rune Casting

Passive Pet Ability

You can craft and use Lesser runes. You can have up to 3 runes active at once, plus one rune per 5 levels of Bender. You suffer a -1.5 penalty to your check to tame a new pet.

Your Pet Bonds have upgraded from Simple to Lesser!

New Bond Strength: 148

“Wait, Sara, did my professions all just reset to level 1?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes, but it’s not as bad as you think,” she assured me. “You still get the benefits of your earlier levels in those professions; these new professions add to those benefits. Here, take a look at your status and see.”

My status popped up, and I read it carefully.

John Gilliam, Guardian of the Sun

Mental Stats

Reason: 25 Intuition: 20 Perception: 25 Charm: 9

Physical Stats

Prowess: 21 Vigor: 18 Celerity: 13 Skill: 23

Professions

Inquisitor (Hidden, Divine): Level 4, XP: 17,667/58,800

Herder (Unusual): Level 1, XP: 4,493/6,200

Trainer (Unusual): Level 1, XP: 4,493/6,200

Bender (Unusual): Level 1, XP: 4,494/6,200

Dominia: 11.7 Personia: 11.9 Arcania: 12.5

Max # of Pets: 4 Max Pet Level: 12 Max Active Runes: 4 Max Runes Per Day: 6

“See? Lesser professions are much better than Simple ones,” Sara said. “About twice as powerful, fact. And the only reason that you didn’t feel anything ranking up is because those Simple professions are so low-powered. You’ll feel it when you rank these up, trust me.”

She hesitated. “Which brings us to the bad news, I’m afraid. Ranking up the bonesnapper – isn’t quite as simple as I’d hoped. You might want to take a look outside.”

I slowly rose to my feet and walked to the doors. I pushed them open and stepped back out into the rain. The wind still blew, but it felt like it was gradually slackening. Rain fell in sheets, turning the streets into a thick lake of mud, but through the downpour, an anomaly caught my eye. Beneath the sidewalk across the street where I’d sent the bonesnapper to weather the storm, a large, oblong shape, pink and glistening in the rain, pulsed and shifted, attached to the sidewalk and floating above the mud. As I stared at it, a new screen popped up.

Your pet: Bonesnapper has begun ranking up!

Estimated time to completion:

4:23:51

“Sara, please tell me that’s four hours,” I said resignedly.

“Days, John. The bonesnapper’s undergoing a massive evolution. Every cell in its body is changing. I’m estimating it’ll take around five days for it to be completed.”

As I stared, a heavy hand fell on my shoulder. I looked back and saw the sheriff standing behind me, leaning against the wall, his face tired but his eyes twinkling.

“That a chrysalis, boy?” he asked.

“A chrysalis?”

“Your ‘snapper. The fight ranked it up?” I nodded, and he chuckled. “Well, might as well get comfy. You’re gonna be waiting for it for a while. In the meantime, come grab your drink, then you can help me back to the office. I could use a rest, and I want to be at my best when Paisley comes around.”

“Why?” I asked cautiously. I hadn’t saved her just so she could be Parri’s next meal, after all.

“Because that girl set fire to my town,” he said grimly. “There’s gonna be hell to pay for that, believe you me.”