Breath of Life

The only thing keeping the ship from becoming a coffin for her twenty-five passengers was the girl tied to the bow. The job had been done hastily, the knots creaking dangerously with each wave they crested, and the ropes had rubbed the skin from the girl’s chest and thighs. Her gown had been soaked through her powers only strong enough to keep the ship from capsizing.

The captain, standing at the helm knuckles white on the wood, watched the girl with a ferocity that scared even the devil away from the deck of the ship. His eyes, sharper than a hawk’s and the same fawn color, noticed the girl’s trembling muscles. Noticed how her arms trembled, held above her head like Atlas holding up the sky. His concern grew as the storm seemed to return with a vengeance. The rain stinging his skin and flattening his hair against his head.

“Thalo!” The shout came from the crows nest. Thalo’s eyes shot upward and spotted the man tucked against the mast and the nest.

“What, Cyrol?” He hollered to be heard over the wind.

“Point us south! There’s a break in the storm!” Cyrol responded, his hand whipping out to point towards the break in the cloud only he could see. Nonetheless Thalo turned the wheel, the bow swinging wildly, and the girl strapped to it yelping in panic. One of her arms dropped for a split second before she was able to push it back up.

“Easy, Kiya!” Thalo shouted as a wave sloshed over the side and flooded his boots. The salt stinging his tongue as he tried to spit out any water that had found its way past his lips. The wind snapped at his heels as the boat sped forward, pushed by Kiya’s failing magic.

“Just a bit further, Kiya!” Cyrol yelled down from his position and Thalo hoped he was right. Kiya was powerful, but even her magic had limits and Thalo was pretty sure twelve hours was pushing it.

“Jysea, what is it?” Thalo cried out as boots thudded below him, a fourth member of their crew appearing.

“Captain, our passengers are wondering if they should prepare for the worst?” Jysea yelled back, her voice shrill over roar of the ocean.

“They can do as they wish!” Thalo’s eyes returned to Kiya’s back, her shoulders were shaking so hard he thought they might snap at any moment. “Cyrol’s spotted a break, we’ll be out of this before they can even start praying!”

Jysea disappeared back below deck, her boots sure despite the rocking of the ship. Cyrol whistled, the sound piercing and Thalo tilted his chin up, enough for the rain to splash against his cheeks and for the sliver of sun that had pierced the clouds to flood his eyes. There was a final push, the ship lurching down a final swell before coming to rest on calmer waters. Thalo returned Cyrol’s whistle and added a fifth note to the tune.

In seconds, the deck was crawling with more crew mates and a few passengers who wished to see the sun for themselves. Thalo passed the wheel into the calloused hands of Liu, his trusted first mate. Then he was running, leaping down to the main deck and racing over the slick wood to where Kiya was slumped against the bow, the ropes holding her up and blood coating her dress and legs.

“Kiya?” His voice hoarse, the yelling and salt having rubbed his vocal cords nearly raw. She twitched as he cut the ropes from her and caught her before she could hit the deck.

“Is she alright?” Thalo turned, Kiya cradled in his arms like a child, her breath so faint he wasn’t sure how to answer the man who had asked.

“She will be,” Thalo muttered, pushing past the passenger with a rough bump of shoulders, “She just needs to sleep.”

The man jerked backwards, but followed after Thalo, who took more care in crossing the deck this time.

“If you need a bed there’s an extra in my cabin,” he said and Thalo’s murderous glare silenced him.

“She sleeps in the captain’s cabin,” Jysea told the man as Thalo carried Kiya towards the door beneath the stairs up to the helm.

Thalo shut out the man’s response and shoved his way through the heavy wooden door, the small gold knob the only indicator that it was to his cabin. Kiya muttered something in her sleep, too soft for him to hear. He smiled to himself and kicked the door shut behind him.

“Kiya?” He whispered and she squirmed against his chest, her blood staining his coat. He set her gently on the bed, making sure she was propped up by the wall of the cabin as he turned to get the medic kit from the windowsill. The sun shining through was almost too bright, so he dragged the thin cloth across the window. The cabin darkened.

“I’m cold.” Kiya’s eyes were open when Thalo turned back around, the grey in them matching the storm they had just left.

“You’re soaked, bleeding, and I’m pretty sure you used every last ounce of magic,” Thalo reminded her as he brought the kit over to the bed, “I’d be surprised if you were anything but cold.”

Kiya watched him pull out the roll of gauze. “I still have some magic left.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded and tipped dangerously forward, Thalo caught her by the shoulders and pushed her upright. With gentle hands he peeled her dress away from her skin and then cut it the rest of the way free. His eyes searched her for any life threatening wounds but found none. The ropes had rubbed the skin around her chest and thighs raw, but other than a few lines of blood everything looked like it would heal without treatment.

“Thalo, I’m freezing, if you could get to wrapping my wounds and finding me another gown so that I can hide beneath the blankets until I thaw, I would be so grateful.” Kiya met his eyes as he looked up. She fought the urge to run her hand through his hair, the damp turning it nearly as black as the night. They had agreed, three trips back, they could be close, but not as close as either of them wanted.

Thalo’s expert fingers tied the bandages around her chest and her thighs with such quickness both had time to hold their breath. He stood, carried the medic kit back to its place on the windowsill, and grabbed another brown gown from the wardrobe behind his desk near the window. Kiya pulled herself to her feet and Thalo helped her slide her arms into the sleeves before guiding her back into the bed. He tucked her under the blankets and made sure she was soundly asleep before pressing a soft kiss to her shadowy curls. The wet tangles tickling his nose.

“You do too much for me and my ship, Kiya.” He whispered as he left the cabin, making sure to lock the door behind him. The sun was blinding, and he hissed as the crying of sea gulls pierced his skull.

“Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep?” Liu asked him as he climbed the steps to the helm.

“We’ll be reaching port shortly, Kiya pushed us nearly half-way there, and you're going to need me to talk to the Dockman.” Thalo responded, leaning against the railing, and peering into the distance. Even his eyes, mortal as they were, could make out the strip of land on the horizon.

“How is she?”

“Sleeping.” Thalo shook his head and pushed off the railing. “I’m pretty sure she almost killed herself saving us that time.”

Liu shrugged, his massive shoulders moving with so much grace it was easy to imagine him as the baker he used to be. “She’s gotten us out of some pretty tricky stuff before.”

Thalo tapped his fingers against his thigh, a pattern he’d learned as a child. One-two-threefourfive. One-two-threefourfive. “And every time I worry about what would happen if she wasn’t here and we ran into another her sized problem.”

Liu laughed. “A problem the size of Kiya? I hope you mean magic wise because that girl is small.”

“I bet he means attitude sized,” Cyrol called down from his perch, “I’m convinced that girl has more attitude than magic!”

“Either way,” Thalo said, his shoulders hunching and the black coat dripping onto the deck, “I worry.”

“I thought you didn't form attachments to crew members,” Jysea said, appearing from the other set of stairs, “Why would you worry?”

Liu’s eyebrows dragged themselves lower over his eye as he bit out a response. “She’s a part of this crew Jysea. We all worry about her when she does this.”

“Does what? Pushes herself to exhaustion and then disappears for a few days?”

“She’s resting,” Thalo growled, “Jysea, she’s not like us and she’s a different breed of Magi than Cyrol.”

“Also, she’s saved our butts countless times,” Liu added, his own voice gruff.

“Do you want to know why she’s saved you so many times?” Jysea said, striding down the steps towards the middle of the deck. Her arms spread wide and gesturing to everyone in the vicinity. “She wants to show off. I mean, where did that storm even come from? And she’s the only one powerful enough to hold it off? Seems a bit strange, doesn’t it?”

“It seems like you’ve been into the wine again, Jysea,” Cyrol yelled down and the crew and passengers alike gave a round of laughter.

“I’m being serious!” Jysea said over the laughter and she pointed behind them, where the grey clouds of the storm hung with menacing intentions. “We sailed early, so as to avoid that, and yet it hit us mid-way through the journey?”

“Nature does what it likes,” another crew member, Dobir, called out, his focus remaining on the ropes he was trying to loosen, “You learn that as a sailor.”

“You also learn when a storm isn’t a part of nature,” Jysea replied, her tone sharp and cold. Thalo looked to Liu as she called out, “That wasn’t natural! That was her.”

A soft cough from beneath his feet caught Thalo’s attention, a feeling of dread raced through his body, freezing his blood. Liu glanced over at him, at his sudden stillness and the rigidity of the taps against his thigh.

“What is it?” He kept his voice low, Jysea ranting to anyone who would give her an ear. Which, at the moment, was the man who had offered Kiya a bed in his cabin earlier.

“Kiya,” Thalo walked closer to the steps, “Something’s wrong with Kiya.”

He didn’t wait to hear what Liu would say. He simply strolled down the stairs, an air of calm surrounding him while his heart pounded in his chest. The key to the door shook in his fingers as he unlocked the door and pushed it open to find Kiya leaning against the wall, blanket around her shoulders, and panic in her eyes.

“Wha…”

She held up a hand to stop him, her voice shaking, “I…My chest…Something’s wrong, Thalo I can’t breathe.”

Thalo was next to her in an instant. He supported her as she limped back towards the bed and he heard it, the rattle in her lungs as she tried to catch her breath.

“We can see the port, Kiya,” he whispered pushing her hair from her face, “I’ll take you to a doctor as soon as we land. Where does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt,” she said, shaking her head and gasping for breath. “I just can’t breathe.”

“I…” Thalo paused for a minute to think. “I can ask the passengers if any are doctors.”

“We’d need a Magi Healer,” Kiya pressed a hand to his arm, her eyes softening, “We won’t have time. Thalo, I need you to throw me into the ocean.”

Thalo shook his head, ready to argue, but she gripped his arm in a steel vice. “Thalo, you need to put me back in the ocean, it’s the only way for this pain to end. It’ll restore my magic and I’ll be back before you even miss me.”

“You almost didn’t come back last time,” He hissed to his boots, “You almost killed me last time.”

Kiya flinched, but stood nonetheless, “I promise this time will be different. Please. I need the water to heal me. I’m afraid my magic won’t come back if I don’t.”

Thalo nodded, every instinct screaming against this plan. This foolish plan that would separate yet another part of Kiya’s humanity from her. Her true nature returning to taint her thoughts against him. He guided her to the window and helped her open the glass pane. She breathed in the salt air, a wicked and entirely beastly smile stretching across her teeth.

She turned to him, “I promise, Thalo, I’ll come back better this time.”

Thalo nodded and hissed, “I just want you to come back.” Then, he gripped her around the waist, pressed a kiss to her lips, long enough to leave a memory of their warmth, and then shoved her out the window into the waves waiting below.