by K Hanson
“No, when learning, you always start with the basics. Begin with what you can do consistently, then we’ll build out from there. Also, go take your boots off. It will help you get better in touch with the elements. And one more thing, roll your eyes at me again and you’ll be on your own,” he said in a stern voice.
Nereyda pivoted and scowled to herself as she marched out of the water. At the edge of the grass that lined the beach, she sat and tugged her boots off. As she hiked back down, the dry sand scratched and tickled her feet. She waded into the cool water and the muddy sand squished between her toes.
She paused and took in the aura around her. With her eyes closed, she focused on the warm sun on her neck, the refreshing breeze across her face, and the scent of salt in the air, with a hint of rain. As she continued, she sensed energy in the air, but thought it was subsiding.
“Did it storm yesterday?” she asked as she opened her eyes.
“It did. It was quite a strong one in fact.” He slowly reeled his line in. “That’s why it should be a good day to catch some fish. Do you feel it?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. Let’s see what you can do.”
Nereyda held her hand out and focused on the power within and the atmosphere without. She thought of the sea wrapping around her and passing through her. An arm of water stretched out and caressed her hand.
“There, I did it.”
“Very good. Now see if you can do more with it.” He finished reeling in his line and recast it.
Nereyda reached out with her other hand and, while she kept the first column of water, she summoned a second. Her face scrunched as the simultaneous concentrations stretched her mind.
Manu glanced over at her and smirked at her expression.
“Not so easy anymore, is it? Have you ever used your hands to do two different tasks at the same time? How did you learn to fight with two swords? Imagine you’re doing that. At least, that’s what I’ve gathered from the hints in my reading.”
She listened to him and moved her hands as if she were tying a knot, with each hand guiding one end of a rope. The tendrils of water followed her gestures. Nereyda swirled her hands around each other and the two ropes of water twisted together. A grin escaped her lips at such a simple yet beautiful display.
“Ooh, looks like we caught one,” said Manu as he tugged on the line.
Nereyda broke her concentration and retrieved the bucket. Once Manu reeled in the fish, he dumped it into the empty half of the bucket.
“What was it like studying these kinds of powers?” Nereyda asked, shaking out her arms as she took a break.
“Rigorous and intense,” Manu answered as he cast the line out again. “It often took months of searching to find new material for our research. Then, it took months of comparing it to our other materials to see if it supported or disproved current theories. Still, despite the arduous process, it was rewarding. It felt like we were peeking through a tiny hole and seeing a small image of what the real history of our world is.”
“And what is that real history?”
“Someday, when you have hours or days to spare, we can start that conversation. Now, however, you should continue.”
“Okay, but I’m going to try something else.”
“Very well. I suggest trying lightning, since that’s what you used at the harbor. But please, stand out of the water,” he said with a wry smile.
Back up on the dry sand, which had warmed under the late-morning sun, Nereyda held her hand out and focused on the storm inside. After a couple of seconds, she found it and tried to latch on to the electricity there, but it retreated further within her.
She closed her eyes and tried again. Once more, the storm pulled back from her, but this time she pursued it. Deeper and deeper she went, always a fingertip away from touching it. Soon, the nerves in her arms started to sting. She ignored it and pressed on.
As the pain grew, memories flooded her mind. The battle in the harbor. A ship ramming them. A cannon barrage. Elvar, dead in her arms.
She shoved the images aside, but they always returned. Elvar’s still, dead face haunted her as she chased her storm. With her arms on fire and Elvar seared into her mind, Nereyda opened her eyes and dropped her hand.
The pain in her arms dissipated and sweat dripped down her forehead as she panted.
Manu set his rod down and rushed across the sand to her. “Are you all right?”
Nereyda wrapped her arms around herself. “I kept seeing my friend Elvar. I tried to ignore it, but it just got worse. And my arms were burning up.”
“What’s special about Elvar?”
“He was killed in Antalia.” Her voice caught for a moment. “He died in my arms, then I let out that blast of lightning.”
“You don’t have to keep trying, if you don’t want to.”
Nereyda shook her head. “I need to do this.”
“Very well. I caught a second fish while you were trying that. Let’s take a break while I cook them. You can use the time to talk through what you experienced.” He retrieved his bucket with the fish, butter, and flour, then led her up a short path through the grass and away from the beach to a firepit. “Please sit.” Manu pointed to a long log that lay near the pit.
“What should I talk about?” asked Nereyda as she perched on the log. “I don’t see how that will help me.”
“Trust me. What are you feeling at the moment? What is going through your head? Don’t hold back. I’m not someone you need to impress, so you don’t need a mask with me.” He shuffled through the grass beneath the nearby trees and grabbed various bits of wood.
“I guess I’m feeling a bit lost at the moment,” said Nereyda with a distant look. “Elvar taught me a lot of what I know and I could always turn to him for advice. My friend is dead, and I want to move on so that I can give his death meaning.” She rubbed her hands up and down her upper arms as she hugged herself. “But I still have nightmares about how he died. When I wake up, his face lingers in my vision as my arms sting. It goes away after a few seconds, but I can’t escape it. And what’s the point of being able to control lightning if I can’t save my friends?”
Manu piled the wood he had collected in the firepit and flicked a flint and steel from his satchel. “When I was at the academy, I too suffered a loss that took me a long time to get over.”
“Your friends who went to the island?”
“No. Their disappearance saddened me, but they had embarked on a dangerous journey to the other side of the world. I knew they might not come back.” A spark caught and fire grew among the wood. As it burned, Manu filleted the fish. “The loss I speak of happened much earlier, just after my own graduation. I had a longtime advisor, Karthik. He guided me through many difficult times in my life. My studies, of course, but also the deaths of my parents. He was as much a friend as a mentor.”
Once the fire had grown, Manu extracted a small pan and a spatula from his satchel. He cut off a chunk of butter and dropped it into the pan, then heated it over the fire. “Karthik set out on a journey to another city across the continent to retrieve a newly discovered text. I stayed behind to help around the academy. Once he returned, we planned on studying what he found. But he never came back.”
Once the butter had melted, he coated the fish with it, then dredged the fish with flour before he cooked it over the fire. “Karthik fell ill with a plague while on his journey, and died quickly. For weeks after learning the news, I could not motivate myself to work. I refused to travel at all out of fear of the same plague. Then, another messenger brought the text he had set out to retrieve. As I gazed upon that tome, I realized that I needed to work on it. I needed to do it for Karthik.”
Nereyda digested the story that Manu had told her as the scent of frying fish wafted through the air. “So what you’re saying is that perhaps I need to embrace and accept the loss of Elvar instead of running from it.”
“Yes. And I think that will help with controlling your abilitie
s, as well. You can’t be ashamed of who you are or what has happened, otherwise you’ll always hold yourself back. In extreme cases, such shame has even made people tear themselves apart with their pent-up power. Too much inner conflict can stir the elements inside of you in dangerous ways. Why don’t you give it a try before the meal is ready?”
Nereyda stood up and found space a bit away from the fire. She closed her eyes and searched for the storm inside. At the same time, she pictured Elvar’s smile in her head. She remembered the pride he displayed after she had rallied the people of Antalia. Rather than pain, a warm tingle spread upward and through her arm. She opened her eyes just as sparks shot out and danced between her fingers and the sand.
She practiced the same thing a few times until she summoned lightning at will without closing her eyes. Manu and Nereyda shared a grin. “I knew you’d get it,” he said.
“Thank you for listening, Manu. And for all of your help.”
He shrugged. “I only helped point the way. You did all of the real work. Join me for fish?”
Nereyda sat next to him on the log and enjoyed the freshly cooked fish.
“What’s next for you? Once this rebellion business is done, I mean,” said Manu.
Nereyda chewed on her lip. “I’m not sure right now. I want to get a ship and return to the sea, but aside from that, I don’t know. Especially with my new talents. I feel like they mean something, but what that is remains a mystery.”
“I know that you’ll figure it out when the time comes. And if you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me. Care to spend the night? I can make space.”
“Sounds good. Then, in the morning, I’ll head back to the war.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The night after Nereyda returned to Antalia, she looked up from her mug of ale and spotted Limbani on the other side of the Bawdy Bard. The general leaned against the wall near the doorway, apart from everyone else, with her arms crossed tight across her chest. She was the only person still in full uniform. Excusing herself from her crew, Nereyda took one last swig to polish off her drink, then sauntered up to the general.
“You still on duty, Limbani?”
“No, not right now. Why?”
“Why don’t you come sit down and have a drink?”
Limbani shook her head. “I’m not really comfortable drinking with my men around.”
“That’s never stopped me. If it bugs you though, come with me, and we’ll grab one of the booths in the back. I see one that’s open. I’ll even buy the drinks, and we can chat, captain to captain. Or general to general now, I suppose.”
Limbani thought for a second. “I suppose one drink would be fine.”
“That’s the idea. Come on.” Nereyda led her back to the booth that sat in a shady corner of the tavern and waved to get Fariha’s attention, holding up two fingers.
The two women sat on either side of the table.
“Isn’t it against regulations to drink in full uniform?”
Limbani arched an eyebrow. “Since when does a pirate care about regulations?”
“I don’t, but I think you do.”
“So now you’re trying to talk me out of drinking with you?”
“No, I’m just teasing you. But you can take your jacket off if it makes you feel better.”
Limbani took off her green jacket, folding it and setting it on the inside of the booth’s bench, leaving her with a white undershirt that contrasted with her dark skin.
Fariha brought two ales to their table and set them down.
“Thanks, Fari,” said Nereyda.
“Of course.”
Nereyda took a sip of her drink, keeping her gaze on Limbani. After she had swallowed, she asked, “So, what’s your story?”
Limbani kept her posture straight as she lifted her mug and set it back down in measured movements. “I have a few stories. Which one do you want to hear?”
“How about how a Takondwan woman ended up a guard captain for the Empire. It’s not exactly common.”
“I’m good at my job, and I follow orders. Devrim saw that, and it’s worked out,” Limbani said efficiently.
“There has to be more to it than that, though. How did you become a guard in the first place?”
Limbani took a big swig of her drink, gazing off into a corner of the tavern, then looked back. “Fine, I suppose it won’t hurt to talk about it.” Her perfect posture relaxed a bit. “I was very young when we moved to the Cambisian Empire, so I don’t remember the reason. When I was a girl, my family worked in the textile factory that Lord Devrim ran in Manisa. During a break, I was playing with a broom like it was a sword. After I had been playing for ten minutes or so, I saw Lord Devrim watching me. He said he was impressed with me and asked me if I’d like to be trained as a guard. I said yes, of course, and he arranged everything else. He paid for all of my training and equipment. When I asked him how I could repay him, he simply asked me to swear loyalty to him. That’s all there is to tell, really.”
“I’m glad I never came up against you in a fight.”
“Why’s that?”
“You seem tougher than any other soldier I’ve faced. And I know the determination that it can take to succeed when you’re different than your peers.”
“I could say the same about you.” Limbani leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table as she pointed at Nereyda. “You’ve obviously done well for yourself. It’s strange what turns life can take. It makes you wonder how much you really choose and how much just happens and you have to deal -with.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Did you ever consider not being a pirate?”
“No, not really. I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember.”
“Exactly. You didn’t choose it.”
“But you chose to be a guard.”
Limbani shrugged and leaned back in her seat. “It wasn’t much of a choice. Slave away in a factory, even one run by someone like Lord Devrim, or have some amount of freedom as a guard?”
“I suppose that part of what happens in life is determined by where in the ocean you’re born and what direction the wind is blowing, but it’s still up to you to chart a course to get you where you want to go. I chose to work hard and become a captain. I chose to work to get my crew back after they were captured. And now I have to make new choices about how I use these crazy new abilities I’ve discovered. You’re much the same. You chose to take the opportunity to get out of the factory. And it seems that you’ve chosen to work hard enough to prove yourself worthy of being a captain, and now a general. From what I hear about how you fought in the battle, you’re more than worthy. You might think you’re lucky that Devrim discovered you, but I think he’s the lucky one. He needs you. Needs both of us, really.”
“Someone has to do all of the fighting. Might as well be us.”
Nereyda exchanged a smile with Limbani. “At least we get to have all of the fun. By the way, where is Devrim tonight?”
“Still in his office. I tried telling him to take it easy, but he doesn’t listen.”
“I might go and see if I can change his mind. Let’s grab a drink again sometime.”
Limbani cracked her own sliver of a smile. “Anytime.”
Nereyda finished her ale and headed out into the street.
The hall leading to the administrator’s office glowed with a mix of the golden flames of the wall torches and the silver moonlight that shone down through the skylights in the roof. “I’m here to see Devrim,” Nereyda said to the guards standing on either side of the door.
They just nodded at her.
This time, neither guard moved to stop her as she reached for the door and let herself into Devrim’s office. The room was dark except for the light that came in through the windows. To her left, the red glow of a fireplace in a small, attached room caught her attention. Devrim rose from a high-backed chair near the flame with a warm, welcoming smile. The top two buttons of his white shirt were undo
ne and his sleeves were rolled up.
“I’m glad you decided to join me,” he said. “I was hoping you might stop by tonight. Please, come sit.” He pointed to an identical chair that sat empty next to his. A small table between the two chairs had two glasses and a bottle of wine.
“Seems like you’ve trained the guards since I last came,” Nereyda said as she joined him in the sitting room.
Devrim let out a short laugh. “They know that you’re a part of my high command now. They also know that you won’t let them stop you even if they try, so they don’t.”
They sat in their chairs and Nereyda welcomed the comfortable warmth emanating from the fire.
“Want a drink?” Devrim offered, holding the bottle.
“In the future, assume the answer will always be yes. So what did you want to talk about? Got some grand plan for where we should go next?” she asked as he poured two glasses of wine.
“No, not right now, at least. I don’t want to talk to a general or a pirate captain. Tonight, I want to talk to Nereyda.” He held a glass out to her.
She arched an eyebrow at him as she took the glass. “Me? Why? There’s plenty of entertainment around here if you’re bored.”
He shook his head and gave her an amused look. “I’m not interested in entertainment. I want to get to know you.”
Nereyda took a drink and smiled. “Okay, then, what do you want to know?”
“How does someone like you become a pirate?”
“Someone like me?”
“I mean, you’re not exactly what I would imagine when thinking of a pirate.”
“What do you imagine? Someone with a hook for a hand, part of a tree for a leg, and a parrot on their shoulder?” She smirked at him.
Devrim laughed. “No, not that. You’re just younger and different than most captains I know.”
“You mean because I have breasts and don’t have an extra appendage between my legs?”
“I wouldn’t be so crass about it, but yes. I don’t have a lot of experience with women of authority, aside from Limbani.”
“That’s too bad. We’re pretty good at it.”
