Suma’s POV

We left the Island of Sangu quickly after the battle, and with one less member of our team than when we’d arrived. All of us were hurt, some worse than others. Jake lost his left hand. He has not spoken much since it happened, though when I found him after the battle, it was clear how upset he was. The journey back to base was quiet and long. I thought about Jake’s hand, and wondered if there was anything that could have been done. For hours I pecked at every corner of my mind, until finally I remembered something; though I highly doubted Jake would take kindly to the idea. Instead, I decided to bring it up with him later, in private.

Six hours later, we landed on base. A squadron of Neame met us in the air, and guided us down to verify our identities. Night had already fallen, but the process was swift. It was not long before Captain Gigoales dismissed us and told us to get some rest. We were relieved of duty for the next three days to recover. He and the Lieutenant flew away, they had to report our mission to the Major. Nine stayed with Rou, he felt like leaving her alone right now would hurt her. She and Odens were the closest ones in our squad, to the point where Nine and I suspected they may have been in some sort of relationship. I flew with Jake to his room. Once we were there, I felt it was time to discuss my idea with him.

He sat on his bed, and I perched on the table he used when crafting runes. “Jake, I’m so sorry about your hand.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” He said, holding it up and looking at it once again, just as he had done countless times during our journey home.

“If I had not… you are in the army because of me. I was supposed to take care of you. This happened because I could not protect you. I should have-” I tried to continue, but Jake cut off my sentence.

“Suma, stop… The Queen offered me the deal too, and I turned it down right alongside you. We could have both gotten out, but I was so blinded by rage… this happened because I went off to fight. Because I couldn’t bring myself to just kill Harbinger the moment I saw her. I had the opportunity, but I wanted to…” Jake sighed deeply. “I just didn’t want to kill someone. But at least I survived. Odens wasn’t so lucky.”

“Jake, there may be a way to heal your hand.” I told him.

“But you said-”

“Yes, but I remembered something. Though I doubt you will like it.”

“I would try anything. Just tell me what it is.” He said, leaning forward on this bed. Jake was cradling his injured wrist close to his belly with his other, now only, hand.

“When the dragon took over your body, you were injured.” I said.

“I don’t remember anything that happened personally, but I do remember seeing that in the crystal ball thing.”

“Your body was torn to pieces by the Royal Mages’ spells, but the dragon somehow healed himself in mere moments. He regrew entire parts of your body. If we can discover how he did it…” I let my words hang in the air, and Jake looked down at his wrist again.

“Zachariah put all those memories in my head. One of them has to have an answer.”

“Did you not once tell me that Zachariah told you during that same event that he put memories in your head regarding magic inversion?” I asked.

“Yeah, so?”

“When you give me your mana, my Healing-Magic becomes Death-Magic. If you could learn that inversion, perhaps you could use the same healing spell that the dragon used?” I suggested. This is the part I knew Jake would be hesitant about. He has resisted using Death-Magic ever since-

“Suma… I used Death-Magic to kill Harbinger.” Jake said, and looked away.

“I… I see.”

“We were fighting and I just… She was going to kill me! I had no choice!” Jake said.

“I know you did not. Jake, I’m not blaming you. She was under her master’s control. She killed countless Neame. Killing her was our mission.”

“I know… but it wasn’t just that I killed her. I used Death-Magic. Just like him.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“You are nothing like the Chaos Dragon. He was a monster. He ravaged the land. Killed millions. And he never regretted any of it.”

“She screamed so much… it must have been agony.” Jake said. He began to do something I’d seen him do a few times since we met. Water, or tears, came from his eyes, and the magic that normally surrounds him became more turbulent. Not so much that it was visible, or that it caused any physical phenomenon, but enough that I could sense it becoming active. Jake’s body poured magic constantly, and over the years I have become more able to tell how he was feeling by its ebb and flow. When I first met him, I never even noticed it, but now feeling it was almost second nature to me. However, I did not need to feel his mana to know how upset he was.

“Jake, I am so sorry. Being here burdens you so much. We can still accept the Queen’s offer, if you want. There is nothing preventing us from doing so.” I told him.

“No… no we can’t… If I’m ever going to go back home, to see my mum again, then I still need to get stronger.” He said, wiping his garments on his face. “And to do that, I’m going to need my hand.”

“Okay.” I nodded my head.

“I’ll start searching through the memories, both Zachariah’s and Deyja’s, for anything more regarding magic inversion. I know the basic, but I’m still not great at it. It took Zachariah a while to learn, so there’s probably a ton to look through.”

“You should get some rest. That can wait until tomorrow.” I suggested, but I knew he wouldn’t listen. I left his room, and went back to the squad’s room, where I found Rou had already laid in her roost, and Nine was perched over Odens’ belongings. For the rest of the night, I helped him sort things out, and decide what would be sent back to his family, and what belonged to the camp.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake’s POV

I was sitting on my bed, and Suma was perched on the headboard. Around us, littering the sheets, were simple diagrams of cell structures, as well as handwritten notes I’d made that detailed what I could remember from my high school biology classes. “What is a powerhouse?” Suma asked.

“It is like… where all the cells energy is stored.” I said, drawing a little bolt of lightning on the diagram.

“Is that where magic is stored in humans then?”

“I don’t… maybe? Remember humans in my world… but then again I can do magic over there, but…” I sighed.

“Jake, I believe a break is in order. My beak is beginning to ache.” She shook her head. “Besides, this is all… quite a bit to learn.”

“Right, I’m sorry. It’s just…” I looked down at my stump of a wrist, “if I can’t learn how to use my Inversion-Magic on my own spells, then you will be the only one who can regrow my hand.”

“Yes, I know, but I need a break. Your people’s anatomy is complex, and you know so much about it. To think, all life is made up of smaller life! Why did you not tell me of this the last time you taught me about your world’s healing? This is already more information than what I learned during my entire first month training as a healing mage. This is all too much at once.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, we can pick this up again later.”

Standing up, I said goodbye to Suma and we parted ways. She went to the rest of the squad’s room, and I headed for Captain Gigoales’ office. There was something I wanted to ask him, but hadn’t had the time, or really known how to approach it, until now. His office had no door, but a large array of molded vines that I parted with magic.

“Captain, requesting permission to enter.” I announced, waiting in the doorway. A few weeks ago, I’d barged in on him without doing this, and got chewed out for it, so I haven’t forgotten since.

“Granted, Sentinel; enter.” He said from his perch, turning around to face me as I walked into the room. “This is unexpected. Was there something you need?”

“Sir, I wanted to request some time off, for my injury.”

“Understood. How much time do you need?”

“I don’t know, sir. Maybe a few weeks. Suma and I are trying to find ways to regrow it, and… I just…”

“I understand, soldier. Loosing a limb; it is not something I have ever experienced, though many Neame I have served with have been through similar events. Losing wings, talons, whole legs even. If you feel like you need some time off, then arrangements can be made. Officially, you are only registered as Private Suma’s familiar, so the army cannot mandate that you be present. Though you well know how… important you actually are. I can approve some leave for Private Suma, and thus you in turn.”

“Thank you, Captain.” I said.

“I will make the arrangements, and have Lieutenant Datahu inform you of the details later. But Sentinel, if you need to talk with a specialist in what you are going through, the army has resources for this. Others who have been through it; I believe talking with them may help you.”

“I appreciate that, sir, but I still believe that I can regrow my hand.”

“Is that an ability your people have?”

“No sir, but my people don’t have access to magic.”

“Well, mine do, and I have never heard of someone using it to regrow their limbs. Manage your expectations. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Unless there is anything else, dismissed.” He said.

“I actually had another question, sir. About Odens.”

“Alright then.”

“What happened to his body? We didn’t bring it home with us, and I just… our cultures are very different. I suppose I was just curious about that how the dead are treated. Was he buried?”

“Buried? What? Of course not!” The Captain yelled.

“I’m sorry sir. My people bury our dead, so I just assumed.”

Captain Gigoales sighed, “I see. No, we do not bury our dead, and I did not bury Odens. To do such a thing is taboo for our country; for the county’s religion as a whole.”

“Then what do you do? Suma mentioned a dying tree once.”

“A death tree, yes. I entombed what was left of Odens’ remains in the trunk of one.” He said, and my heart ached hearing him say “what was left”.

I thanked him for answering me, and left; reclosing the vines behind me. Now it was time to do something I had been dreading… writing to my mum.