the bag. When it waned, another wind whipped around my body from behind and began filling the bag as well. Soon, winds from every direction were pummeling me. I felt buffeted from every direction and could barely contain the bagful of powerful winds.
Finally, the gusts died so that I could feel not even a wisp of a breeze, but the bag bucked violently. Kishan was surrounded by ten birds, barely holding them at bay with the chakram.
“Kishan! Get behind me!”
He drew back his arm and, with a powerful thrust, let loose the chakram. As it spun through the air, he ran to me, grabbed the bag on the other side, and caught the hurtling chakram just before it took off my head.
I raised an eyebrow while he grinned.
I yelled, “Okay, ready? One, two, three!” We opened the bag and let loose all the winds of Shangri-la in the bird’s direction. Three of the birds were slammed against the mountain while the others spun off toward the world tree, trying desperately to escape the tumult.
When the winds died down, the empty bag hung limp between us. Kishan stared at me incredulously.
“Kelsey. How did you—” he trailed off.
“Scarf, please.”
The bag shifted and twisted, turned a soft blue and gold color, and then shrunk into a Scarf again. I wrapped it around my neck and tossed the end over my shoulder.
“The answer is, I don’t know. When Hugin and Munin cleared our minds, I remembered stories and myths I had learned before. I recalled things the Divine Weaver told us and also things that Mr. Kadam had speculated about. He’d told me a story of a Japanese god called who controlled the winds and had a bag to carry them in. I also knew that this material was special, like the Golden Fruit.
“Maybe everything was in my mind all along or maybe Hugin whispered it in my thoughts. I’m not sure. I do know that the Scarf can do something else, something that will help us save Ren, but we should get out of here before the birds come back. I’ll show you then.”
“Alright, but first, there’s something I need to do.”
“What’s that?”
“This.”
He yanked me up against his body and kissed me. Thoroughly. His mouth moved against mine passionately. The kiss was fast, turbulent, and wild. He held me tightly, one hand cradling my head while the other held me firmly at my waist. He kissed me fiercely, with an utter abandon that I could no more put a halt to than I could stop an avalanche.
When you’re caught in an avalanche you have two choices: stand there and try to block it, or you can give in, roll with it, and hope you come out alive at the base. So, I rolled with Kishan’s kiss. Finally, he lifted his head, spun me around, and let out a jubilant whoop of victory that echoed in the surrounding hills.
When he finally set me down, I had to catch my breath. I panted and said, “What was that for?”
“I’m just happy to be alive!”
“Okay, fine. But keep your lips to yourself next time.”
He sighed. “Don’t be upset, Kells.”
“I’m not upset. I’m . . . I’m not sure what I think about it. It all happened too fast for me to even react.”
A scoundrel’s smile lit his face. “I promise to slow it down next time.”
“What next time?”
He frowned slightly. “You don’t need to make a big deal out of it. It’s just a natural reaction to narrowly escaping death. It’s like when soldiers come back from war and grab a girl to kiss right after they get off the boat.”
I retorted wryly, “Yeah, maybe so, but the difference is, this girl was on the boat with you. Feel free to grab any girl you like when we get back to the mainland, sailor, but this girl is hands off.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Really? It felt more like your hands were on if you ask me.”
I sputtered in outrage, “If my hands were on you at all, they were there to push you away!”
“Whatever you have to tell yourself to have a clear conscience at the end of the day. You just won’t admit that you liked it.”
“Hmm, let me see. You’re right, Casanova. I did like it. After it was over!”
He shook his head. “You are stubborn. No wonder Ren had so many problems.”
“How dare you even mention your brother!”
“When are you going to face facts, Kells? You like me.”