chapter 10: surprises
Damia crouched on a makeshift raft that might once have been part of the deck of the Karanene. She huddled herself as small as she could, fluttering her wings to keep them dry from the ocean’s sprays. Looking around, Damia assured herself once again that all of her friends were still alright. Once again, her eyes locked on Ria. High Magic, she thought. It’s just a story for children, part of her mind scoffed at her. All of the crossbreeds died in a plague. But what if… what if it were rising anew; not from the old race, but from a new joining of fairy and human? Baffled by the thought, Damia shook her head to clear it and resumed her lookout post.
It had been a few hours since their hasty departure from the ship. Damia was sure all of their minds were reeling as much as hers was from the fast pace of events. Worriedly, she glanced again at Ria, who was tightly clutching Devon’s arms across another piece of the deck. Devon looked pale, and almost blue around the lips. Damia wished she could do something to help, but was sure that the conditions would never allow a healing. No, she thought. We must find land. Oh, by all that is Blessed, let us find land.
Scanning the horizon, Damia’s heart began to race. Was that a blotch of land, there? Could it be? Damia got up from her huddled position too fast, and nearly took a tumble into the ocean before she caught herself with her wings. Foolish, she thought. And what good would you be, if you fell? Rising slowly above the others, Damia peered at the spot almost out of sight. Her heart leapt. It was not an illusion, or a mirage. It really was land!
“Land! I see land!” Damia’s voice filled with elation at her discovery. Ria looked up hopefully.
“Where, Damia? I don’t see...” her voice trailed off as she looked in the direction that Damia’s trembling finger pointed. “It is. Oh, but it’s so far off! How can we possibly make it before the sun goes down?”
The Myr’l growled. “Swim. Faster.” The words were almost bitten off as she glowered at Ria. Damia looked at the soaked cat-like woman and had to turn her head and bite her lip to keep from giggling at how murderous she looked.
“Ria, can Devon…” Damia stopped as she looked at the other human next to Ria. It was quite obvious that Devon could not. Chewing the inside of her cheek, Damia came to a decision. “I think... I think I might be able to… speed things up. Just a little.” Ria looked hopeful. The Myr’l looked skeptical.
“Do it then. You can’t make it any worse than it is.” Tossing her head to clear the hair – Mane, thought Damia – she began swimming her piece of deck towards the spot on the horizon.
Cutting off a sarcastic remark before it could even reach her mouth, Damia settled again on her board to call up her water link. A wave broke nearby, breaking her concentration. Closing her eyes, Damia felt around her for the power. This time, it was Devon who distracted her, moaning slightly as Ria moved their plank after the Myr’l. Frustrated, Damia rose into the air. She knew that the further away from the water she got, the harder it would be to connect to it, but the beating of her wings helped calm her and keep her focused.
Please, she thought desperately. Please help. Please work. Releasing the energy she had been saving up in the passing hours, she softly spoke the words of the spell. The waves below began to pitch slowly in the direction that Damia commanded. Ever so slowly, the spot on the horizon drew nearer as the waves pushed the three pieces of deck gently towards it. Damia smiled her relief, and settled again on her deck board to maintain the spell.
Ria looked over at her friend with a tired, grateful smile in her eyes. She continued to kick her feet weakly as the Myr’l and Doku got further ahead of Devon and herself.
Just as the sun dipped its feet into the ocean, they reached a beach covered in white sand and twisted, salt-whitened logs of driftwood. In the waning light, the shapes of the logs looked ominous, almost like bones. Damia shivered a little, though the evening air was still warm. Just a trick of the light. It’s just shadows, she told herself firmly.
Ria and Devon reached the beach moments after Damia, and Ria put her arm protectively around the other girl as she helped her away from the water. Devon shrugged her off, defensive and proud, but just as she did, exhaustion flooded her limbs and she sagged to the ground. Ria let out an exasperated sigh and put her arms under Devon’s again to help her up the beach. Doku was scanning the surrounding forest with a hunter’s eye, her body tense and her grip on her dagger fierce, but Damia could see her shivering. She assumed it was not fear which shook the limbs of the snake girl, considering the fight they had just been through, but rather the tendency of cold-blooded creatures to react badly to swift drops in temperature. The Myr’l had already begun digging out a fire pit, surrounding it with rocks. She looked calm enough, but determined, as only a wet cat could, to get dry. Seemingly satisfied that the area in which they had landed was safe enough, Doku stooped to pick up a few strewn branches of dry wood at her feet, and began to walk slowly around the beach, picking up dry sticks every now and then.
Ria settled Devon next to the soon-to-be fire, laying Devon’s head in her lap to keep her comfortable. Carefully, she inspected the damage to Devon’s shoulder, using a gentle touch to keep from making the pain any worse. Even with her cautiousness, Devon was unable to keep a gasp from passing her lips as Ria peeled her tunic back from the wound.
Ria couldn’t keep the shock from her eyes. The sword had done more damage than it seemed. One of Devon’s big muscles had been sliced in the attack. Without some kind of miraculous healing, she might never regain all the function of her arm. Damia knelt down in the sand next to the other two girls, lines of worry creasing her delicate brow.
“We need to get her warm... and bandaged. I don’t know what else...” Ria’s voice trailed into a helpless, pleading look over Devon’s pale face.
Devon tried to crane her neck to inspect the damage, willing herself to imagine this wound as on someone else’s body. She swallowed the lump growing in her throat as she scrutinized the deep gouge in her shoulder, forcing herself to keep a healer’s head on her damaged shoulders. She managed to strain out the word “bandages” before the bile rose and her head reeled. Devon dropped her head back into Ria’s lap in a faint.
Damia placed her hand firmly on Devon’s pale forehead and willed her Spirit to connect with the girl lying before her. As she dove deeper into Devon’s mind, she gritted her teeth, beginning to feel the pain that had driven Devon into unconsciousness. She opened her mind to the flows of Spirit and felt the magic travel through her hand into Devon, numbing the pain and easing her into a restful sleep, from which she would wake whenever Damia chose.
Ria stared intently as the pain lines on Devon’s face vanished and her muscles relax. She saw the fairy girl clench her teeth and creases of agony touch the corners of her eyes, Devon’s pain seeming to flow through Damia’s arm. Ria stared at the wound on Devon’s shoulder, and gasped to see white sparks flowing across it, and the deep gash closing slowly. Finally, just when Ria thought she couldn’t bear her helplessness any longer, Damia lifted her hand from Devon’s forehead and smiled in relief, the bright, cheerful smile washing away any hurt left on her face.
Damia smiled wearily at Ria. “We can bandage her up, now. She can’t feel any pain, and will rest to regain her strength.”
Ria stared at the fairy girl. “But...she doesn’t need a bandage now.”
Confused, Damia laughed. “What are you talking about? She’s still bleeding! She still has a huge gash in her shoulder!”
“You mean...you didn’t mean to heal her?”
“I can’t heal, I don’t have the Spirit-blessing upon me.”
Growing impatient, Ria pointed to Devon’s now-healed shoulder. “Then why doesn’t she have that huge gash on her shoulder anymore?”
Following Ria’s gesture, Damia did a double take as she looked at Devon’s shoulder. All that remained of her life-threatening wound was some dried blood crusted where the open wound should have been, and the blood that had soaked through her tunic. Lifting her eyes, she stared at Ria. “Did you do that?”
“What are you talking about? I couldn’t do that. I thought fairies could heal, that’s what you were doing, wasn’t it?” Ria looked lost.
“Most fairies can’t heal. There have been maybe ten fairies in all the history of Faylinn who could actually heal. Our healers simply use their Spirit strength to remove pain so that their patients can rest and recuperate. I never...” Damia had stood up in the middle of her confused rambling, and her voice trailed off as she suddenly slumped back to the sand, every limb shutting down from exhaustion.
Ria cried out as her friend dropped. “Damia! Whatever is the matter?”
Damia laid her head down. “If I healed...that means I used my strength to give to Devon...no wonder I’m tired,” she mumbled. “Just let me sleep...a little.”
The world seemed to blur in front of Damia’s eyes as her lids fluttered over them. She just made out the Myr’l’s gleaming grin as a spark caught, and the campfire began to glow. The flames danced in Damia’s head as sleep overtook her.
--
“Wake up! Damia, wake up!”
Damia felt herself being shaken roughly from her slumber by Ria’s urgent calls and forceful shakes. Lifting herself from her prone position to a seated one, she rubbed her tired eyes and looked around the campsite. Doku had dropped into a fighter’s crouch, eyes searching, and dagger at the ready. The tip of the Myr’l’s tail was twitching, and she too had assumed a fighting pose, her paws clasping her sword. Wondering, Damia looked over at Devon, crouched on the sand with her fists clenched. She looked slightly pale, but otherwise there was no sign of her grave injury. Still more confused, Damia followed their gaze to the forest, and at last she understood their concern.
The brush was moving. Something was creeping towards them, albeit not very stealthily. The sounds of rustling moved closer. Damia could hear Ria’s sharp intake of breath as they reached the edge of the forest and stopped suddenly. A small, furry head popped out of the top of one of the bushes.
“Rrawr!”
The Myr’l, at least, relaxed slightly. The others looked over at her, then back at the small creature that had appeared in the bushes in front of them. It was Devon who voiced what they all were thinking.
“Is that...another Myr’l? Are we...on your island?”
It had been a few hours since their hasty departure from the ship. Damia was sure all of their minds were reeling as much as hers was from the fast pace of events. Worriedly, she glanced again at Ria, who was tightly clutching Devon’s arms across another piece of the deck. Devon looked pale, and almost blue around the lips. Damia wished she could do something to help, but was sure that the conditions would never allow a healing. No, she thought. We must find land. Oh, by all that is Blessed, let us find land.
Scanning the horizon, Damia’s heart began to race. Was that a blotch of land, there? Could it be? Damia got up from her huddled position too fast, and nearly took a tumble into the ocean before she caught herself with her wings. Foolish, she thought. And what good would you be, if you fell? Rising slowly above the others, Damia peered at the spot almost out of sight. Her heart leapt. It was not an illusion, or a mirage. It really was land!
“Land! I see land!” Damia’s voice filled with elation at her discovery. Ria looked up hopefully.
“Where, Damia? I don’t see...” her voice trailed off as she looked in the direction that Damia’s trembling finger pointed. “It is. Oh, but it’s so far off! How can we possibly make it before the sun goes down?”
The Myr’l growled. “Swim. Faster.” The words were almost bitten off as she glowered at Ria. Damia looked at the soaked cat-like woman and had to turn her head and bite her lip to keep from giggling at how murderous she looked.
“Ria, can Devon…” Damia stopped as she looked at the other human next to Ria. It was quite obvious that Devon could not. Chewing the inside of her cheek, Damia came to a decision. “I think... I think I might be able to… speed things up. Just a little.” Ria looked hopeful. The Myr’l looked skeptical.
“Do it then. You can’t make it any worse than it is.” Tossing her head to clear the hair – Mane, thought Damia – she began swimming her piece of deck towards the spot on the horizon.
Cutting off a sarcastic remark before it could even reach her mouth, Damia settled again on her board to call up her water link. A wave broke nearby, breaking her concentration. Closing her eyes, Damia felt around her for the power. This time, it was Devon who distracted her, moaning slightly as Ria moved their plank after the Myr’l. Frustrated, Damia rose into the air. She knew that the further away from the water she got, the harder it would be to connect to it, but the beating of her wings helped calm her and keep her focused.
Please, she thought desperately. Please help. Please work. Releasing the energy she had been saving up in the passing hours, she softly spoke the words of the spell. The waves below began to pitch slowly in the direction that Damia commanded. Ever so slowly, the spot on the horizon drew nearer as the waves pushed the three pieces of deck gently towards it. Damia smiled her relief, and settled again on her deck board to maintain the spell.
Ria looked over at her friend with a tired, grateful smile in her eyes. She continued to kick her feet weakly as the Myr’l and Doku got further ahead of Devon and herself.
Just as the sun dipped its feet into the ocean, they reached a beach covered in white sand and twisted, salt-whitened logs of driftwood. In the waning light, the shapes of the logs looked ominous, almost like bones. Damia shivered a little, though the evening air was still warm. Just a trick of the light. It’s just shadows, she told herself firmly.
Ria and Devon reached the beach moments after Damia, and Ria put her arm protectively around the other girl as she helped her away from the water. Devon shrugged her off, defensive and proud, but just as she did, exhaustion flooded her limbs and she sagged to the ground. Ria let out an exasperated sigh and put her arms under Devon’s again to help her up the beach. Doku was scanning the surrounding forest with a hunter’s eye, her body tense and her grip on her dagger fierce, but Damia could see her shivering. She assumed it was not fear which shook the limbs of the snake girl, considering the fight they had just been through, but rather the tendency of cold-blooded creatures to react badly to swift drops in temperature. The Myr’l had already begun digging out a fire pit, surrounding it with rocks. She looked calm enough, but determined, as only a wet cat could, to get dry. Seemingly satisfied that the area in which they had landed was safe enough, Doku stooped to pick up a few strewn branches of dry wood at her feet, and began to walk slowly around the beach, picking up dry sticks every now and then.
Ria settled Devon next to the soon-to-be fire, laying Devon’s head in her lap to keep her comfortable. Carefully, she inspected the damage to Devon’s shoulder, using a gentle touch to keep from making the pain any worse. Even with her cautiousness, Devon was unable to keep a gasp from passing her lips as Ria peeled her tunic back from the wound.
Ria couldn’t keep the shock from her eyes. The sword had done more damage than it seemed. One of Devon’s big muscles had been sliced in the attack. Without some kind of miraculous healing, she might never regain all the function of her arm. Damia knelt down in the sand next to the other two girls, lines of worry creasing her delicate brow.
“We need to get her warm... and bandaged. I don’t know what else...” Ria’s voice trailed into a helpless, pleading look over Devon’s pale face.
Devon tried to crane her neck to inspect the damage, willing herself to imagine this wound as on someone else’s body. She swallowed the lump growing in her throat as she scrutinized the deep gouge in her shoulder, forcing herself to keep a healer’s head on her damaged shoulders. She managed to strain out the word “bandages” before the bile rose and her head reeled. Devon dropped her head back into Ria’s lap in a faint.
Damia placed her hand firmly on Devon’s pale forehead and willed her Spirit to connect with the girl lying before her. As she dove deeper into Devon’s mind, she gritted her teeth, beginning to feel the pain that had driven Devon into unconsciousness. She opened her mind to the flows of Spirit and felt the magic travel through her hand into Devon, numbing the pain and easing her into a restful sleep, from which she would wake whenever Damia chose.
Ria stared intently as the pain lines on Devon’s face vanished and her muscles relax. She saw the fairy girl clench her teeth and creases of agony touch the corners of her eyes, Devon’s pain seeming to flow through Damia’s arm. Ria stared at the wound on Devon’s shoulder, and gasped to see white sparks flowing across it, and the deep gash closing slowly. Finally, just when Ria thought she couldn’t bear her helplessness any longer, Damia lifted her hand from Devon’s forehead and smiled in relief, the bright, cheerful smile washing away any hurt left on her face.
Damia smiled wearily at Ria. “We can bandage her up, now. She can’t feel any pain, and will rest to regain her strength.”
Ria stared at the fairy girl. “But...she doesn’t need a bandage now.”
Confused, Damia laughed. “What are you talking about? She’s still bleeding! She still has a huge gash in her shoulder!”
“You mean...you didn’t mean to heal her?”
“I can’t heal, I don’t have the Spirit-blessing upon me.”
Growing impatient, Ria pointed to Devon’s now-healed shoulder. “Then why doesn’t she have that huge gash on her shoulder anymore?”
Following Ria’s gesture, Damia did a double take as she looked at Devon’s shoulder. All that remained of her life-threatening wound was some dried blood crusted where the open wound should have been, and the blood that had soaked through her tunic. Lifting her eyes, she stared at Ria. “Did you do that?”
“What are you talking about? I couldn’t do that. I thought fairies could heal, that’s what you were doing, wasn’t it?” Ria looked lost.
“Most fairies can’t heal. There have been maybe ten fairies in all the history of Faylinn who could actually heal. Our healers simply use their Spirit strength to remove pain so that their patients can rest and recuperate. I never...” Damia had stood up in the middle of her confused rambling, and her voice trailed off as she suddenly slumped back to the sand, every limb shutting down from exhaustion.
Ria cried out as her friend dropped. “Damia! Whatever is the matter?”
Damia laid her head down. “If I healed...that means I used my strength to give to Devon...no wonder I’m tired,” she mumbled. “Just let me sleep...a little.”
The world seemed to blur in front of Damia’s eyes as her lids fluttered over them. She just made out the Myr’l’s gleaming grin as a spark caught, and the campfire began to glow. The flames danced in Damia’s head as sleep overtook her.
--
“Wake up! Damia, wake up!”
Damia felt herself being shaken roughly from her slumber by Ria’s urgent calls and forceful shakes. Lifting herself from her prone position to a seated one, she rubbed her tired eyes and looked around the campsite. Doku had dropped into a fighter’s crouch, eyes searching, and dagger at the ready. The tip of the Myr’l’s tail was twitching, and she too had assumed a fighting pose, her paws clasping her sword. Wondering, Damia looked over at Devon, crouched on the sand with her fists clenched. She looked slightly pale, but otherwise there was no sign of her grave injury. Still more confused, Damia followed their gaze to the forest, and at last she understood their concern.
The brush was moving. Something was creeping towards them, albeit not very stealthily. The sounds of rustling moved closer. Damia could hear Ria’s sharp intake of breath as they reached the edge of the forest and stopped suddenly. A small, furry head popped out of the top of one of the bushes.
“Rrawr!”
The Myr’l, at least, relaxed slightly. The others looked over at her, then back at the small creature that had appeared in the bushes in front of them. It was Devon who voiced what they all were thinking.
“Is that...another Myr’l? Are we...on your island?”