Playing Koi (14) (Patreon)

Jemma swam off from the workshop door, swirling rapidly through Algaegard. Panic clogged the water over the tanks, a mass of bodies all flowing the same way. Normally she could swim over—but now the whole tank was overflowing.

They'll be fine. I can fix this, she thought, pushing past a merchant gathering their cart.

Jemma weaved between the bodies, her movements fluid and precise. Years ago, when she first met Kisten in Thetria, she'd been struck by the goldfish's effortless grace. Now, she moved with that same skill, her human life a distant memory. The shrinking Thetria gave her made her small enough to fit between the much larger creatures, dodging and weaving like a motorcycle through traffic. Except this was traffic in three dimensions, not two.

She burst from the tunnel and into the plaza, swimming rapidly towards the hospital entrance. The hospital was a huge, flat tank located on the food court ceiling, connected by artful acrylic tubes down to the aquarium's many smaller sections. Jemma joined the throngs of fish pushing their way into the narrow tube, ignoring swearing and shouts of protest as she cut the line.

Once inside, the hospital was overflowing. Jemma recognized several soldiers from the expedition, their scales scraped and fins torn but otherwise unharmed. Medics darted between them, caring for their mild injuries without even admitting them to the hospital beyond.

"Ryan! Sean!" Jemma called, her voice shrill and shaking. She scanned the faces, knowing at a glance they weren't here. Her sons were smaller than most soldiers. Just like the goldfish curse, her offspring inherited her smallness.

Her sons were nowhere to be seen.

A hand landed heavily on her shoulder. Jemma whirled around to find Pike, the submarine's grizzled captain, his face etched with grief. "Jemma. I'm so sorry. Liam—he was trying to protect them."

Jemma's blood ran cold. "Protect them from what?"

Pike just shook his head, his gaze drifting towards the hospital doors. "You should go to him. I don't know how long he'll last."

"Long enough," Jemma said, hands clenching into fists. She shot forward through the crowd, trying to ignore their whispers.

"Goro—"

"Never seen a fish that big."

"How many fish have joined him?"

The answers didn't matter now. Jemma swam through the doors, then rushed through the hospital.

That name was generous—this facility was a pale imitation of what humans could build in the world outside. The fish of Algaegard knew the principles of germ theory, and they had enough knowledge of anatomy to perform basic procedures. They could grow herbs and painkillers and a few rudimentary antibiotics.

But that was all. Some abilities—like giving blood to the seriously wounded—were simply too complex for a society living underwater with only the most basic forms of metallurgy.

She reached the shut doors moments later, just as a doctor swam her way out. Thanks to human cultural influence over Algaegard, the young doctor even wore a white coat. It contrasted sharply with the stark black scales underneath. Her hair was brilliant white, even paler than Jemma's own.

"Doctor!" She squinted at the nametag, catching her arm. "Nerissa? My mate is inside. And my sons... are they here too?"

"The younger one is stable," Nerissa said gently, but Jemma barely heard her. "Just in shock. He'll be alright."

"Younger one," Jemma repeated. "The child. There should be two. Ryan and Sean. Twins—Ryan's got dark scales on his left, Sean on his right. They were working engineering with their father."

The doctor shook her head once. "Only two patients. Sean—was muttering something about his brother. But his brother isn't here. He swims beyond this little ocean now, I'm afraid. In a kinder ocean."

Jemma blinked, then focused on the fish in front of her. The doctor was a blur, her mind unable to focus on the details of her face for long. Pale skin, paler hair. "I... what about Liam? My mate?"

"He's in a lot of pain," Nerissa said, swimming closer. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. "Surgeonfish stopped the bleeding, stitched him closed. But..."

"But what?" Jemma tugged away, one hand on the door. "Liam's stronger than coral. He won't leave me."

Liam was practically invincible. He'd faced down sharks and eels and won. He'd fought his way through miles of tunnels to bring her to Algaegard.

"I'm sorry," Nerissa said, her voice barely audible over the rushing of the water filtration system. "Even beautiful things wilt with time, Jemma. The dark water calls him too. You should say your goodbyes. I can call for your family, if you want."

Jemma stared back, her mouth opening and closing as limply as a real fish in a real aquarium. Not now. Not after everything we've done.

"I'm not saying goodbye," Jemma said. She pushed past Nerissa, her fins brushing against the doctor's white coat. "Don't call them. I need space to work."

The door swung open, revealing a small, sterile room with two beds. Jemma swam inside, her gaze drawn to the still form on the nearer bed. Sean.

He was so small, dwarfed by the bandages wrapped around his torso and tail. He looked so pale, almost translucent, but he was breathing.

Jemma swam to his side, reaching out to touch his face. Sean mumbled something in his sleep, his brow furrowed in pain. "Ryan... other way. He's coming..."

"It's okay," Jemma whispered, her voice shaking. "You're safe."

The fish barely reacted, his fins twitching faintly in the hospital bed. He would live—the same might not be true of the fish in the bed beside his.

Liam was in bad shape. His scales were missing in places, stitched together with dark lines on his sides. One fin was ripped away entirely, along with the arm on that side of his body.

Jemma shuddered as she swam past him, eyeing the grisly wound. She muttered something, not quite any specific word. How could any fish be strong enough to face this?

Liam opened one eye. He stared up at nothing, before settling on her with some difficulty. "Jemma. Y-you're..."

She rested one hand on his chest. "You're too weak," she whispered. "Save your strength. You'll need it."

Liam ignored her. "Ryan. He was... down in the engines... he—"

Jemma pulled back her hand, wrapping both around herself. She'd guessed this by now, of course. But if she tried to think about it, the weight of pain would turn her catatonic. Another child—another life, extinguished.

I'll lose Liam too if I don't do something. Jemma forced herself to nod. "I know you did everything you could. Looks like... did Goro do this?"

He nodded. "Old bastard still... remembered me." He moaned, glancing over to the side, where Sean still lay. "I'm sorry, Jemma. We always... knew you would outlast me. But..."

"Don't talk like that." She dropped down to his eye level, resting one hand on his neck. At least there was no horrifying injury for her to make even worse. "You're going home with me."

"Not... for a long time," he whispered. "Death swims beside me, Jemma. I feel her cold fins on mine." He shuddered, words trailing away. His tail twitched weakly to either side, then fell still again.

Arlo won't get here in time. Jemma's eyes darted around the room, searching for anything she could use. She swam to the cabinet of basic supplies and threw it open, scattering needles and bandages into the water. Finally she found what she was looking for—a lump of thick black grease, used to stop a fish from bleeding.

The door opened, and Dr. Nerissa appeared there. She glanced at the cloud of scattered supplies. "Miss Jemma. I know you're disturbed, but please. You know better than most fish how hard these materials are to prepare." She shut the door behind her, arms folded. "Don't make me get someone."

Jemma held the lump firmly against her chest. "I'm sorry, doctor. This is... I just need... a few minutes."

The doctor sighed, settling into a seat by the door.

Jemma pretended not to notice. Liam was right—his skin was so pale, his lips purple and eyes lethargic. Death was already here, waiting to take him to the “dark water.”

Jemma pushed back the blankets, exposing his chest covered with stitches and marks. A little blood seeped out from within.

"What are you... doing?" Liam croaked. "Swim... little closer. Want to see you."

"You will see me," Jemma said firmly, squeezing the grease between her fingers until it made a thin blob she could write with. She drew quickly, tracing out a circle on Liam's chest. "You'll see me at home, every day."

He winced. "If I could... but I had to... stop... it was me or Sean. Had to help..."

Jemma finished the circle—that part was easy.

She was somewhere else—the attic of her narrow old house, in Kisten's library. Her girlfriend sat surrounded by old books, so thick with dust they smeared onto her bare skin.

"You're gonna wish you read these," she said, without making a sound. "One day. You can actually do 'em." She flicked one open, spreading it wide in both hands. "Look at this. Important, yeah?"

Jemma tried to push the book closed, but her girlfriend was particularly insistent. She retreated a step, holding it wider. "Important for what?"

"Dunno. Case we get in a car accident, and I get stabbed with a stop sign. Or maybe I trip and fall down the stairs. Or my computer blows up because I make it do the stupidest things and it just doesn't wanna be alive anymore."

Jemma giggled. Kisten did too, but of course her girlfriend made no sound. "Can't help but notice your examples are all you. What if I get hurt?"

She shifted uneasily on bare feet, then shoved the book into Jemma's arms. She picked up another one, nearly tripping over the stack as she did. "I'm working on it. You've got magic. I just gotta... get a spark of my own, somewhere!"

Jemma looked down at the diagram, squinting at the complex loops and spirals surrounded by marks she could not read. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Cast it, obviously," Kisten answered, pushing the book away from her face. "There's another one here that talks about how. We could go over the basics again."

Jemma tossed the book aside, then took Kisten's wrist. "Another time. Someone needs to get back to work. You've got a prerelease deadline next week, don't forget. Can't exactly tell your fans you were too busy learning magic."

She stuck out her tongue. "How about I go work, and you study up here?"

Jemma giggled louder. "Nice try, red."

Jemma couldn't study anymore. But she had to try anyway. She drew, clutching desperately at the memory like a photograph. The slightest mistake would kill Liam—maybe even worse. But if she didn't try something, he was dead for certain.

"I feel it," Liam whispered. "I think... she's here."

Someone nudged Jemma's shoulder—the doctor. "Miss Jemma, please."

She shook her head once, tugging away. "I'm almost finished. Just have to... get this last part right."

The doctor circled around to her other side, swimming just beside Liam.

"Please..." Liam croaked. "She means no... she doesn't..."

Nerissa folded her arms, staring at the marks. "That's elementary work. The gods of sea and magic aren't so generous as to forgive mistakes."

Jemma blinked, looking up from her work. She stumbled over an explanation of magic, one that had been stuck in the back of her throat since the beginning. She trailed off instead, her words a confused mess. "What?"

"If you cast this, it will kill him, and probably you and your son as well," Nerissa continued. She folded her arms, turning sideways to squint at the diagram. "I thought the goldfish was your familiar. This is... woeful."

The goldfish. Almost everything the doctor said only demanded more questions. But none of those questions mattered, not with Liam dying right in front of her. "Please." Jemma held out the grease, her hands shaking violently. "Help me. I can't... I've already lost one today. Don't make me say goodbye to another one."

"He will still die," the doctor whispered. She took Jemma's hands in hers, holding her over Liam's body. "If not today, eventually. All things wither in their time."

"It doesn't have to be now!" Jemma kept her voice below a shout, barely. She met the doctor's pale eyes, so much paler than she first realized. No pupils, no iris, just white. "It could be at home, fifty years from now! Surrounded by his grandkids! Not... bleeding in some cold hospital."

The doctor took Jemma's makeshift spellcasting equipment. She turned it between her hands, then tossed it aside. "Once," she said. "Because you stayed, and you loved them. My payment for your service."

The overhead lights flickered, plunging the hospital room briefly into darkness. When they came back on—the doctor was gone. Jemma's crude attempt at a spell diagram was gone too.

The fish coughed, then opened one eye. His good fin twitched, lifting him into a sitting position against the bed. Color flooded into his skin, and both eyes settled on Jemma. He reached across the bed for her, squeezing her arm with his. "You bargained with her. Of all the strange powers of the high and dry—where did you learn to steal the power of the gods?"

"Just now." Jemma flung her arms around him, and held on until Melody and Arlo arrived.