by K Hanson
Nereyda walked to the low wall and climbed over to the ladder.
“Are you sure you don’t need help climbing down?” asked Jax.
“Should I have help? Probably. But I don’t want it,” she said with stubborn determination. “I’m going to do this myself.”
“Okay. But if you need help, let us know.”
Nereyda’s instinct was to just vault over the side and land on the ground since she knew it wasn’t very far. However, she had to restrain herself due to her current condition. Instead, she sat on the edge of the low wall and rotated, so her legs dangled into the hole. With her only hand on the edge of the wall, she eased herself down until her feet reached the rungs of the ladder. She clung to the top of the ladder as long as she could as she stepped down. When she arrived at the limit of her reach, she rested her left forearm on one of the rungs to support her as she brought her right hand down. Placing weight on her half-healed stump hurt, but she forced herself to bear it for a moment. Slowly, she worked her way to the bottom of the ladder.
She stopped for a minute to take in the large room. The fountain’s basin sat in the middle of the chamber and looked about twenty feet across. Three tiers rose from the center. A bright blue cascade of wispy energy fell down from the top into the basin, where it swirled. The light from the fountain illuminated the entrances to several passages that led in all directions out of the chamber. Nereyda hoped that there wouldn’t be another fire demon lurking in the dark this time. One chase through ancient ruins was enough for a lifetime.
“You ready, Nereyda?” asked Fariha.
“Definitely.”
Her friend offered her an arm for support, but Nereyda strode past her toward the fountain. Her long, quick steps pounded pain into her back as she crossed the stone floor, but she didn’t care anymore. As she reached the edge of the fountain, she started fumbling with her clothes as she tried to undress one-handed. Without a word, Fariha stepped beside her and helped her.
“Thanks,” said Nereyda as her friend took her clothes.
“I’ll keep track of them for you. Enjoy your bath in the weird light.”
“Let’s hope this works.”
Near the perimeter of the fountain, she noticed details she had missed before. Carvings covered the knee-high wall that surrounded the basin. Flames. Waves. The sun. Lightning bolts. Others that were less clear.
Nereyda slid over the wall, setting her feet in the blue wisps of light that pooled at the bottom as they flowed from the central sculpture, a stone flower that blossomed at the top of the tiers. So far, she felt nothing other than the cold stone against her bare feet. She lowered herself in and lay facedown rather than put her weight on her back. The light whirled across her face as she rested her head on the ground.
She breathed in a lungful of the substance, and warmth filled her chest. As she held it in, the heat spread out from her chest to her back and through her limbs. Instead of rushing into her and overwhelming her as it had the first time she interacted with the fountain, the light filled her slowly. The nerves all over her body tingled with a pleasant sensation somewhere between a tickle and a sting. Nereyda took slow, steady breaths as the energy coursed through her. Gentle heat crisscrossed the gashes across her back, and the constant ache subsided. Her fever dissipated, and a renewed vigor filled her spirit.
She also felt something else.
Her left wrist started to itch under the bandages. Quickly, she tore them off with her right hand. She let out a cry as bones, blood vessels, sinew, and skin all extended from her wrist and stitched together. Her mouth hung open as the flesh and bone of her wrist morphed and grew, creating a brand-new hand.
She gasped, breathless with amazement. She’d only wanted to take the edge off of her infection and heal her back. Nereyda stared at the new hand as she flexed and moved her fingers. It was a perfect regeneration. Too perfect, in fact. As she felt the palm of her new hand, it felt smoother than it should, lacking the callouses that came with years of using her hands to work with rope, operate her ship’s helm wheel, and fight with a sword. She relished the chance to toughen it up again and even looked forward to dealing with some blisters as her hand adapted.
The warm tingle that had spread through her body subsided, and she sat up, still fiddling with her new hand.
“Mother of the gods,” shrieked Fariha. “Where did that come from?”
“I don’t know. This healed some scratches last time, but this is a bit beyond that.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you’ll get back to being useful on a ship again, rather than just lazing about,” Fariha said with a smirk.
Nereyda hopped out of the fountain. The cool air of the chamber tickled the skin across her back. She stretched her arms and reveled in being able to move without feeling like her back would rip apart. “Yeah, I’m ready to get back into trouble now that I have two hands again.”
“I recommend not losing this one, though. It’s quite a trip back here.”
“I’ll try to keep track of it. How does my back look?”
“It’s completely healed.” She ran a hand over Nereyda’s bare skin. “The light isn’t very good in here, but I don’t even feel any sign of scarring. It’s perfectly smooth. I’m a bit jealous, actually.”
“Well, take your time and appreciate it if you want.”
Fariha giggled. “While it’s been a lovely view of you, I think you should probably get dressed. Our friends are waiting up top. Besides, aren’t you with Devrim? What would he think?”
Nereyda’s mood fell a bit as she wondered if she’d get to see Devrim ever again. She forced back the wave of sadness and shrugged a shoulder. “No clue, but everyone’s allowed one of each, right? But you’re right. We shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer. Manu is probably jumping out of his own clothes in excitement to check out this fountain,” she said as she took her bundle of clothes and started putting them on.
Fariha pressed her eyes shut and shook her head. “I don’t need that image in my head. You, sure, that was fine.”
“Just fine?” Nereyda raised an eyebrow.
Fariha blushed. “Err.”
“I’m just teasing you, Fari. You make it too easy. But I’ll try not to say anything else to make you imagine an old man naked.”
“You just did.”
“Anyway, I have clothes on again, so let’s get our friends.”
Nereyda yelled up to the opening, “We’re done. You can come down and explore now.”
Manu scurried down the ladder a moment later, his academic curiosity driving him with a speed beyond his years, letting himself drop the last several feet in his excitement. His eyes immediately went to the glowing fountain.
“This is incredible. I’ve read bits and pieces of information about something like this, but to see it for real . . .” He glanced down at Nereyda’s new hand, his eyes widening. “Your hand is back! I never saw anything about that in any of my research.”
“What did I just hear?” asked Jax as he stepped off of the ladder.
“I have a left hand again,” Nereyda said as she waved at him, wiggling her fingers.
“That’s amazing. And your back?”
“That’s all healed, too.”
Manu grabbed her hand and turned it over as he ran his fingers over the skin. “Incredible. Simply incredible. The fountain did all of this?”
“It did. Do you think it could heal anybody who goes into it?”
“It’s hard to say. In some of the tales that I’ve read about these fountains, people can become overwhelmed by the power. I believe that’s what happened to Lochan. I don’t know if it was something about him that caused him to be overcome by fire, or if you have a particular quality that allows you to absorb the power without negative effects. Either way, I would not risk touching it myself, and I would recommend that others stay away as well, at least until we can learn more about the nature of this power. Someday, perhaps, we can arrange safe experiments to study how it works.”
“Do you think it could bring someone back from the dead?”
“You’re thinking of your friend, Elvar.”
“If we had brought him here right away, would he have had a chance?”
Manu shook his head. “Doubtful. Healing your hand was quite a miraculous surprise, but I think I would have seen something in my research if these fountains could resurrect people. That seems like a large omission if such a thing were possible. And there is no telling if Elvar would have come back in the same state of mind as when he died. I would hate to bring back the body just to find that the mind and soul had become corrupted. Besides, it could become a dangerous game to decide who or who not to bring back. While I don’t believe in the gods’ wrath as far as your abilities are concerned, playing god yourself with other people’s lives would invite trouble.”
“You’re probably right. Now that I’m healed, you want to look around for a while?”
“I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Just pick a doorway and see where it goes. When you run out of hallway, come back and pick another one.”
“What are you going to do while I explore? Don’t you want to come with me?”
“Nah, I saw enough of this place the last time I was here. Bad memories, even with the fancy new abilities I picked up. I want to head outside and fight something.”
Manu raised his eyebrows. “Are you suddenly in a bloodthirsty mood? Did the fountain affect you in other ways?”
“No, I don’t want to kill anything. Jax, want to come spar with me down by the pond?”
He shrugged. “Sure. It’ll be good for you to give that new hand a try, and see if it’s as good as the old one.”
“Exactly. My last one did some pretty awesome things, but I hope to top that with this guy. Let’s head out now. Fariha, are you cool with keeping an eye on Manu while he wanders around?”
“I can do that. I’d rather watch you two spar, though.”
“Next time,” said Nereyda. “I don’t think Jax will be too thrilled with an audience while I lay him on his ass.”
“We’ll see,” he said with a smirk.
They climbed out of the chamber and hiked back down toward the pond. As she moved through the forest with an energetic bounce in her step, Nereyda took out her cutlass and waved it around with her left hand, getting a feel for how it moved. It seemed to be the same as her old hand. Swiping at branches and leaves in their path, she struck as accurately as ever. She smiled as she looked forward to winning some more fights. It did feel as if she had lost some strength in her arm over the last two weeks, without using her hand. In fact, her right hand had even atrophied slightly since she hadn’t been doing as much physical work in general.
Not a problem; she’d get herself back into shape in no time with some drills on the ship. She had always practiced fighting with both hands, in case something happened to one or the other. She had forgotten which hand was dominant, as she did some tasks with one and others with the other. Even if she didn’t get disarmed or lose a hand, it was useful to be able to switch up her combat stance in the middle of battle. If her opponent thought she was right-handed, switching to using her left usually threw them off balance, giving her an opening. Plus, since most people were right-handed, nearly everyone had less experience facing someone fighting with the left.
Nereyda and Jax arrived at the pond, and they found an open patch of beach for a sparring match, a spot with plenty of room for footwork and without overhanging branches that could get in the way of their sword swings.
They faced off a couple of arm lengths apart and held out their swords, Nereyda keeping hers in her left hand. “Go ahead and start,” she said.
Jax took a timid swing at her left shoulder, which Nereyda batted away with little effort. “What was that?” she asked. “I wanted a sparring match, not an insect to swipe away. Don’t hold back. You don’t have to be gentle with me.” She winked at him.
“Fine, if you want a fight, then I hope you can keep up.”
This time, a wild look gleamed in his eyes, and he lunged toward Nereyda with a full-strength swing from her right. She blocked it and felt the familiar pang of her muscles straining against the force of the hit.
She laughed as she shoved his blade away and thrust at him with an attack of her own.
Jax gritted his teeth and swatted her cutlass away.
With her right hand, Nereyda shoved his sword arm away, spinning into an elbow to his gut with her left arm.
“Oof, what the hell?” said Jax. “Isn’t this supposed to be a fun match?”
“I’m having fun. I don’t know what you’re talking about. You can’t be afraid to fight dirty. Low blows, blind hits—anything that gives you an edge is fair game. And don’t complain. I barely hit you. In a real fight, I would have laid you out on the sand.”
Jax set his face with determination or frustration—Nereyda couldn’t quite tell which—and came at her with a series of fast strikes, which kissed off of Nereyda’s blade as she whirled around him. As she moved, his foot struck out and caught her in her footwork.
Nereyda tumbled to the ground and lost her grip on her cutlass, sending it falling out of her reach. As Jax pointed his sword down at her and smiled, she instinctively threw her hand in front of her, and a blast of wind flew into him, tossing him through the air and into the pond with a splash.
Even as the move took the wind out of her, a silent laugh came to her lips as she watched Jax splash around in the water, pulling himself to shore. He waded out with a scowl on his face, having managed to keep ahold of his sword.
“That’s definitely not fair. I finally trip you up, then you go and do that. Even if I fight dirty, how am I supposed to outplay that?”
“You’re not supposed to, that’s why I do it. Don’t act so glum. That was a good trip. I didn’t think you’d do it, and you caught me off guard. You read me well. And look on the bright side: there aren’t a lot of other people out there who can do what I can do. None that I know of, at least. And I won’t try to kill you.”
Jax relaxed his shoulders and smiled. “You’re right. Would you mind showing me more of how you fight as we sail?”
“Absolutely we can do that. I need to keep working out both of my arms after taking it easy for too long. I suppose I’ve given my hand enough of a test for now, though. How about we go check on Manu and Fariha and see if they’re ready to head back to the ship?”
“Perfect. I’m ready to head out. We can finally head home and see my people.” Jax’s eyes lit up as he mentioned going home.
“I look forward to meeting them. I hope we can meet some of the children you saved.”
“I’d like that very much, as well.”
After they retrieved the others from the ruins, Manu wouldn’t stop talking about everything he saw there. “I wish I had paper to transcribe all of the inscriptions. Some of them matched what I’ve seen in books, but others were entirely new. And we’ll have to rewrite our model for power absorbance entirely after what happened with the fountain.” He chattered the whole way through the forest and back to the ship. Nereyda thought the fountain was interesting but got lost in some of the details that Manu told her.
Once they emerged onto the beach, Nereyda took a fast stride toward their rowboat, sitting down at one of the oars.
“Giving me a break this time?” asked Fariha.
“I want to keep testing out my back,” said Nereyda.
She set a fast rowing pace for Jax and herself as they pushed out toward their frigate, feeling the muscles in her back work without feeling like they were tearing apart. The familiar ache of muscles working hard returned in a way that made her feel rejuvenated. She perspired with the natural sweat of exertion rather than fever.
When they arrived at the side of the Morgiana, she scrambled up the ladder. As the first one to the top, she turned and offered her new hand to help the others climb aboard. Fariha paused for a moment to marvel once again at the regrow
n hand. As Nereyda pulled each of her friends up, she gave them a clap on the back and thanked them for helping her get herself back together in one piece. She bounced up to the helm and ran her hands over the wheel, welcoming the feeling of the wood.
She looked over the crew. They had been making preparations for their cruise farther north into the Shattered Sea. Pirates and Islanders mixed together as they secured lines, swept the deck, and stowed cargo. They joked and laughed together, their spirits renewed by their time at sea. Each group took turns teaching the other sea shanties. Raunchy pirate songs contrasted with soaring Islander pieces.
Some other shore parties had gone out to collect water and any other resources that they might be able to scrounge, but all of them had returned. She watched as a few crew members hauled the boat they had used up and over onto the deck, securing it in place. Once that was done, she raised her voice over the ship.
“As you all can see, I’m feeling much better now. You’ve all done a great job of keeping things together while I haven’t been well. Now that my back is healed and I even have a shiny new hand, it’s time to get underway to the Shattered Sea and take our Islander friends home.” The crew cheered at her words.
She let the cheers die down before continuing. “We’ll need to be wary, though. We’ve never sailed the Shattered Sea before. Even our Islander members are not familiar with all of it. The air is misty, and the islands are unpredictable and scattered. There are narrow passages where danger could lurk around any corner. Both Stalstan and Imperial ships patrol there, so we need to watch out for possible enemy ships in addition to the treacherous terrain. Still, this is what we were made to do. It’s time to head out and find an adventure.”
She gave the orders to pull away from the island and put her hands on the helm wheel to guide the ship out. Once they were on the open sea, she called “Full sail!” to the crew, and they accelerated north toward the depths of the Shattered Sea. The wheel in her hands filled her with life, even more so than fighting with her cutlass. She remembered many more exhilarating times piloting the Storm Raven, but this came very close: just the simple feeling of holding the wheel with both hands again.
