Salt & Spice

Chapter 10

They took three times as long swimming home as they had to reach the ship. By the time they entered the shoal's territory Honor's muscles burned, and they had to stop and rest every few feet. When Coral's cave came into view Honor drooped with relief.

Night had darkened the ocean to a deep, dark blue. Honor laid Bravery on the soft sand. He curled in on himself, his gills fluttering far too quickly. His pain was palpable.

Honor never figured out how she did it, but it was impossible to approach Coral's cave without her notice. Coral materialized outside as Honor checked his breathing. Within a second, Coral assessed the situation and assumed the teacher mantle. Does he have any other injuries?

Honor waved her hand. He looked better earlier. I think the swim back was hard on him. The swelling had almost doubled in size and turned a dark, purplish red. She had never worked on an injury lurking beneath the skin she couldn't see. It made her afraid to touch it.

What should you do? Coral continued to drill. Vaguely, Honor knew they needed to push the bone back into place in order for it to heal properly. Honor saw herself pushing the bone so far it broke the skin and shuddered at the thought.

He needs medicine for the pain. Should we give him something for the swelling, too?

That's a good start. What do you recommend? Coral hovered over him.

Grace's star will help with both pain and swelling, Honor answered, naming the weed they most often used as an analgesic.

Add some nightsprout as well to make him relax. Go.

Under normal circumstances, Honor would have been thrilled at permission to enter Coral's cave unsupervised. Instead, she swam over Coral's dark garden without stopping to contemplate it. The greenish glow cast fuzzy shadows and masked everything in a forbidding light. The painkillers were in the front so they were easily accessible. She spotted a tendril of purple waving gently in the current. Honor pulled it closer to her face to be sure that the distinctive star shape she wanted. Honor pulled at the leaves she needed as she tried to stay calm and not hurt the larger plant with her tugs. Coral had picked and prepared the nightsprout earlier, so it was waiting for Honor to take a pinch. Many people in the shoal had needed help sleeping since the raid. She shot out of the cave to find Coral still examining Bravery.

Chew on these, Coral signed as Honor jammed the leaves in Bravery's mouth without waiting for him to respond. He glared at them, but started chewing.

Shouldn't we fix the broken bone? Honor watched as Bravery slid his head back onto the sand.

There might not be a break. That's unusual in the tail. He may just be badly bruised. We'll wait for the swelling to go down so I can examine him more thoroughly. Coral ran her hands over the swelling and pressed her fingers into it. Bravery flinched.

So why don't you use magic? If you can make him human, you should be able to heal a bruised muscle or broken bone with no problem. Coral stopped her ministrations, but kept her hands resting on Bravery for a long moment.

It's not that easy, she signed.

So explain it to me. It doesn't make sense. Honor crossed her arms and waited. Coral glanced down at Bravery. He still lay curled in the sand, but his breathing had slowed and his gills were rippling regularly, so it was likely the herbs had begun taking effect. Coral motioned Honor to follow her.

My mother was different from most healers. She was kind, but she had little patience for nursing. Her passion was in discovery and experimentation. Magic, especially blood magic, has often been used for nefarious purposes, but my mother didn't believe it had to be that way. If you can manipulate someone's life force, it stands to reason that both healing and harm are possible, does it not? They floated past the cave to the rocky emptiness beyond.