5. Leela
LEELA
It had been less than a day, and the desert was relentless.
Leela ripped off the bottom of her shirt to use as a scarf, wrapping it around the slight slant of her nose and bow of her mouth to stop the sand from burying her alive.
She raised her hand to keep the grains from her eyes, but there wasn’t much to see beyond ocher sand.
Sand. And more fucking sand with a few scattered scrubs and trees layered between.
Leela wiped her forehead. Sweat covered every inch of her body and welled in places she really wished it didn’t.
Blisters bubbled along her feet, and boils grew between her toes.
She bit her lip, refusing to whimper with each agonizing step.
She wished she’d found her shoes and cloak before running away.
Despite her circumstances, she held onto the belief she couldn’t be far from another city or village.
She struggled to remember the maps her father used to trace, of the three reigning desert kingdoms and their scattered cities.
Nihikia had the most cities of the desert kingdoms, and she was bound to find a lone caravan or someone out here, as long as she didn’t come across any monsters.
If anyone recognized she was a Vessel, Leela was sure they would use her as some form of bargaining chip and drag her ass back to the palace—or worse, to the neighboring Kithium Kingdom’s enforcers. There, warlords ran rampant, and people were willing to do anything to survive.
Even if she did manage to find a nearby city, Leela had no idea with whom she would plead to help her. Who would help a Vessel harnessing the Golden Viperess? The very Flame said to have started this entire chaos to begin with?
Shit. Leela stopped and stared across the dunes, realizing she not only had nowhere to go, but a fate drowned in sorrow.
Unless she found a way to get the Golden Viperess out of her head first.
You act as if I have wounded you, mortal. What petty price must I pay for you to stop grumbling?
“What price must I pay to get you out of my fucking head?” Leela snapped back.
Hunger ate at her stomach, and her throat was more parched than the desert rocks. She had the right to snap at a living Flame inside her head.
Fuck.
It still didn’t feel real. She had a Flame inside her.
When the Flames lost the war in the Awakening, they descended to earth to help mortals, some of whom gave up their bodies and minds, thereby becoming Vessels, so they themselves could harness a greater divine power and help in the war.
Mortals took on the Flames’ animal counterparts, spurring from their Vessel’s shadows to unleash their power for a limited amount of time and combining twice the strength.
But the Flames soon realized harnessing mortals came with repercussions: if the mortal died, they had to find another suitable Vessel—fast, or they, too, would die.
Leela knew most of the tales. Her village elders told them over pots of stew, and the children would sit around the fire and eat it underneath the stars.
Leela would recall them to her teaching group as she became the proper age to do so.
She couldn’t recall any of the Viperess, however, only the overarching history of how she split the realms apart.
No one wanted to hear about the one who betrayed them all, after all.
So instead, Leela would tell the children of the village about the stories where the sly Silver Fox fought with the Red Bull, or how the Purple Hawk and Black Raven flew through the skies.
Or how the Flames from the Awakening fought the Flames from the Netherworld and defeated them.
Am I not worthy of a good tale told over stew?
“Do you really want to hear my answer?” Leela whispered through chapped lips.
Best get used to our little situation, mortal. Because you and I are about to become even more acquainted.
“Again, what do I have to do to get you out of my head?” Leela mumbled. She feared the answer and stopped to stare across the dunes. Wind whipped at her, pelting grains of sand that felt like a thousand knives cut her skin. “Why me? Why help me find the relic?”
You will see. Soon enough. We have forever together, after all. At least, until you die or I complete my quest.
Leela grimaced. “Forever is a very long time.”
Indeed.
Great. Just fucking great.
The Viperess stayed silent.
Leela glanced at the skies, hoping lightning wouldn’t strike her for her remark.
Then again, she could let the desert take her.
Then she wouldn’t die at the hands of thieves, monsters, or stubborn Flames.
But Leela needed to survive. She wanted to survive.
Her revenge was unfulfilled. So, survive she would.
She’d figure out how to get the Viperess out later.
Night came harsh. Nihikia was known for its long, chilly nights and blistering days.
Leela’s throat was burning by the time darkness took her into its embrace.
She would cut off her left arm if that’s what it took for just for a sip of water.
At this point however, she might as well just sell her soul to the Elephant and obtain memories of the future—at least she’d know when she’d be rid of this misery.
Leela shook her head. A chill nestled deep into her bones as she huddled beside a sand bank. “We… We may… as well… die out here.”
You lose faith too easily, mortal.
Leela shuddered, too tired to argue. At this point, Leela’s hope of ever finding peace slipped away like sand between her toes.
She dreamed of fresh wine that night. It spilled down her throat and washed away her problems. What she wouldn’t give to be sipping on fresh mountain rock wine while enjoying her family’s company. To see the smiling faces of her sisters, Anika and baby Diya who cradled her mother’s breast.
Their laughter, ever fruitful, pulled her into deeper sleep. But the sweet dream swiftly turned into a nightmare, sucking her into its harrowing depths as her family’s death replayed in her mind.
Over.
And over.
The lustisha bashed down the sandstone walls and countless drakion poured in, a scream as loud as thunder ripping the skies. Leela sprung off the bed she was in with Rajesh and watched on in horror while the lustisha’s two, beady heads surveyed the village as if it were looking for someone.
Leela woke, gasping for air.
A split of blue rose on the horizon, and Leela groaned. Another day. Another long trek with wavering hope.
Leela dragged her feet through the dunes all day. Despite all her aches and pains, she got up and kept walking. Surely, there had to be something out here other than the dunes.
Tears stung her eyes as she trudged through the desert.
The blue skies turned a rusty orange, leaving a bright red strip across the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, at least something to accompany her toward her end. How long could a body last without water? Food…?
By the time night descended upon her like a scorned lover, her stomach was growling louder than the howling desert wind. She sat atop a hill, overlooking more endless dunes. Her feet were blistered and bruised, her thighs screaming at her to stop. Her stomach… Flames, her stomach…
Anger fueled her forward, one agonizing step at a time. She was mad. Mad at the Viperess. Mad at the circumstances. Mad she was stuck in a situation with no way out. What was the point in having a Flame in her head if said Flame wouldn’t help her?
Who says I am not helping, mortal?
Me. Because what are you doing other than idly sitting by?
Would you rather I take over your mind and control you?
Leela ground her fists. No.
I will only help when you are in dire circumstances. I’m still learning how this Vessel works. Keep walking. There is a way.
Leela cursed under her breath.
Her lips were stinging by the time she tumbled down the thousandth dune, rolling in the sand and landing at the base.
She was too tired to move. Too tired to even blink.
She lay there, staring up through watery eyes at the thousands of stars twinkling across the inky indigo skies.
Her mother used to tell her stories of the stars, drawing on the constellations to spark stories of the Flames they feared.
There was the Tiger and how harshly she twisted sandstorms or blistering winds when enraged.
Her mother used to say that those who didn’t ring the Tiger’s bell would be afflicted with disease or breathe toxic air.
She let out a panicked breath and curled into a ball.
“Take me…” she whispered. “Take me….”
This wasn’t the way she had pictured herself dying. She’d pictured it with children by her side and a loving husband. My, how she would’ve wanted to be loved by someone for all eternity. But here she was, trapped in the desert she’d watched from her bedroom window.
Eventually, her body gave in to the welcoming darkness, and she sank into the sand.
“I just wish… I wish I had a way to get my revenge.”
A tear slid down her cheek.
“I’m sorry, Anika, you deserved better,” she whispered.
A heaviness settled, a dark fog calling her name like the gentle lull of ocean waves. Not that she’d ever heard waves before.
A golden hand reached through the darkness.
It could only be death.
Leela floated through space and time. Somehow, she was moving. She had no idea how.
No. Someone was moving her.
Leela glimpsed golden hair and a poised face. Arms were steadily wrapped around her. Whoever carried her stood tall. Proud.
I have you, mortal