Once-and-Again

Chapture 10: At the Bottom of the Deep Clear Sea "Hasmodai…Hasmodai…Hasmodai…" When he opened his eyes, it took him several minutes of blinking before the blurriness cleared, and even after, he barely recognized Soreto.  Her face was streaked with blood, her eyes and nose puffy and swollen. "Soreto?" She looked relieved.  "How many fingers am I holding up?" "Some of them," he answered. He was sitting in a chair.  He leaned forward to stand, but a wave of pain and dizziness seized him, and he closed his eyes again.  His head felt…he put up a hand to feel the back of his head, bu