35. Leela
LEELA
The moment the Viperess sought to enter the mountains, Leela knew there was danger lurking in every corner. Fog continued to roll, now hovering slightly above their heads. Everyone moved with a quiet alertness, hands steady on their weapons, eyes glancing in every direction.
Leela oddly felt safe in her mind. It would be the only time she ever would.
But she knew she wouldn’t be here for long. She was going to get her body back. She was going to find a weakness, overpower the Viperess, and make her pay.
You may try, mortal.
Try. HAH. You still underestimate me.
No. I know everything about you.
Yet, you don’t know the first thing about me.
You sure about that?
Yes. Count on it.
Something loud skittered down the tunnel.
“What was that?” someone yelped.
The Viperess stood firm, eyes steady on the fog and the sand that spread as far as she could see. A chill nestled over Leela, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the mountains or the noise.
“There are monsters in here,” someone else said. “This is where the monsters come to be safe! And we’re walking right into their home.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Ishaan snapped. “We are here to plant the seed. Why do you think this is the best place to go?”
Leela frowned. Now that she thought about it, why had Rajesh thought the mountain pass would be the best place to go? Where did he hear the information that led him thousands of miles from home?
Rajesh was not the only one who wanted the curse gone, mortal.
Shut up. I wasn’t speaking to you, snake.
The Viperess hissed. Iravan also wanted the curse gone. Why and how do you think I knew where to find the Scorpion? Where to find Rajesh and you? He was the seed I sowed to set my plan in motion.
Leela couldn’t believe it. Although, granted all the Viperess’s other lies, it didn’t surprise Leela too much.
You bitch.
I did not need to do too much convincing, mortal. Iravan was quite happy to risk his father’s life. To also sacrifice Rajesh, to stop the curse from lingering. He made the ultimate sacrifice for the future generations.
No. You toyed with him!
I did not. He wanted it all. I merely helped. It was a win-win situation.
Leela screamed again, her voice echoing off the glass. She was sick of the Flame’s smugness. The way the Viperess spoke. As if she had been waiting to tell Leela all of it from the very beginning.
What else? Leela said through gritted teeth. What else aren’t you telling me?
I—
The Viperess stopped, feet locking in place. Sand blew around her as Ishaan almost knocked into her.
“What, my queen?” Ishaan asked.
A slow and distant chittering echoed around them. It curled each of Leela’s toes and felt like fingers sliding up her spine. She had never heard that sound before.
Leela opened her mouth to ask what it was but wound up shrieking instead.
A white spindly creature landed before the Viperess, with giant pinchers at its mouth and claws for hands.
It slashed at the Viperess, but she sidestepped, and Ishaan sliced its tiny, oval head off with his jawblade.
Leela gawked at the monster, who laid with two giant black eyes peering up at her.
“Furybeasts!” Ishaan yelled.
Sure enough, more furybeasts fell from the mountains. Each one as tall as the last.
Rebels jumped. Gilded Thorns hacked the monsters with their weapons. Flames flew into the fray.
The Viperess ran toward the end of the tunnel between the two mountains, feeling her heart in her throat. But the skittering grew louder and louder until it was like a howling storm.
There are more.
Gulping, the Viperess glanced at the sides of the mountains where hundreds of white flecks moved with a swiftness she’d never seen before.
Leela couldn’t tell any of them apart. At least the drakion were stealthy and thick, like hound dogs, and the lustisha was too gigantic to miss.
But these? The furybeasts came in an assortment of sizes, some were either small enough to come up to Leela’s knees or were as tall as her.
Each one was quick, their six legs carrying them toward the group.
The Viperess whirled around as a furybeast pounced on her. She unhitched her godsblade from her waist and sliced the skinny beast in one effortless swoop of crimson blood. Rebels and Gilded Thorns ran by, slicing the air and attacking the furybeasts as they began to overpower them.
Flashes of silver against white merged with red and yellow.
Screams echoed, and the schinnng of blades sang a haunted melody.
Leela watched on in terror as the furybeasts took the rebels down.
One. Two. Jumping on their backs and ripping them apart.
Cutting off limbs. The smaller ones dug their claws into flesh as if it were sand and dug in some more until they were inside the bodies.
They pulsed under the skin and burst free with a scream.
Gilded Thorns fell, eyes turned to the skies.
Blood stung Leela’s nostrils. Do something!
What do you think I am doing?
Hiding.
The Viperess hissed. She turned and ran with the seed clenched to her chest. She kept her eyes steady on the clearing as the fog lifted.
Pincers clipped the air in a fearsome symphony, propelling the Viperess forward with everything she had.
Leela’s heart thundered, although she wasn’t sure if it was hers or the Viperess’s.
Leela begged the Viperess to turn so she could make sure the Gilded Thorns survived. But the Viperess ran like her life depended on it. Leela supposed even Flames were scared.
You have no idea, mortal. Furybeasts are born of fury. Why do you think they wedge themselves into flesh?
Leela refused to answer. She just wanted to get the fuck out of the mountains and survive so she could kill the Viperess herself.
A sad thought passed. How many of these beasts did Rajesh conjure? Which ones were made from his fury toward her? Toward his life? His curse?
The Viperess tripped and crashed into the ground. The seed cracked her ribcage and she screamed. Leela felt the pain explode everywhere.
The Viperess flipped onto her back as a furybeast stood over her, pincers clicking and snapping toward her face. Fear choked her, paralyzing her into submission.
MOVE!
I… I…
The furybeast shrieked, arching its giant front pincers back. The Viperess raised her arms to deflect the furybeast, but it was cut in half and disappeared into thin air.
Leela watched with bated breath as the Viperess opened her eyes.
“That was for Leela, not you!” Hema snapped. Blood was smeared across her right cheek and a long cut trailed down her side.
The Viperess nodded, muscles stiff.
Leela wanted to yell at Hema and thank her.
Hema extended her hand. “Funny, for a Flame, you’re scared of a few monsters?”
The Viperess accepted her help and got back on her shaky feet. “You don’t know the torture they put me through. The feeling of them under your skin. How thousands of them can dive into you, day in, day out,” the Viperess said, staring at the massacre. Her rebels were falling.
The Gilded Thorns summoned their Flames. Foxes took to the beasts, cutting them down. Tigers snapped their jaws. Bulls trampled them.
Hema returned to the fray, slicing the beasts open with each swing of her blade. Her Silver Fox jumped at her side, growling and snapping its teeth at anyone who came near.
Leela was thankful for Hema surviving and hoped she would make it out alive.
The Viperess eventually clenched her hands and stared at the beasts. She focused on something Leela didn’t understand. But whatever it was, she soaked in the entire chaos, trying to push out something from within.
What are you doing…?
Watch.
A blazing heat ran down Leela’s spine, and she felt it—no, the Viperess. The Flame rose and rose until she was standing beside Leela’s mortal form as a giant glistening golden snake. Her tongue flickered, eyes assessing the damage.
Leela gawked.
The Viperess shot forward, slithering through the fog. Leela could barely think as furybeasts fell at the mercy of the Viperess, who moved quicker than lightning.
Leela pressed against the glass. Maybe this was her chance. Maybe she could get back into her body, grab the seed, and run or destroy it. She still had no idea what the Viperess wanted with it, and that scared her more.
Except, when a ship flew in from the north and landed, she faltered.
Who else knew about this operation…?
Before Leela had a chance to deliberate, a scream ripped her away. The fight dissolved, and the furybeasts ran off up the sides of the mountains and into the tiny crevices. As quickly as they came, they were gone.
The Viperess returned to Leela’s body and slunk back into her shadow, resting against her spine.
Miss me?
Not likely.
The Viperess steadied her gaze over the wounded and dead. Those who survived prayed the mortal’s souls into the Awakening. Others picked up weapons, wiping them off with grains of sand.
Leela bowed her head, wishing those who were severely injured a swift end.
“My queen, are you okay?” Ishaan asked, limping over.
Unfortunately, to Leela’s disgust, he was still alive.
“Perfectly fine,” the Viperess said, eyes narrowing at the crowd. Their numbers had dwindled, and Leela felt her disappointment shimmer like hot coils. “We keep moving. There could very well be more monsters. We need to keep our strength.”
Ishaan nodded. He motioned to the group to keep moving. Some stayed back to help the wounded, but the rebels all moved on.
We need to stop. We need to help them.
There is no time.
No time to mourn the dead? Leela scoffed. Cruel, yes. Vengeful, yes. Even spiteful. But heartless? I guess I can add that to the list.
You keep trying to wound me with words, mortal. Have you not realized yet, I cannot be hurt? Words are nothing but tiny lashes against my skin. I have felt endless pain. I know pain. Your words are not painful. More of a nuisance.
Leela clenched her hands, wishing she could show the Viperess what pain really was.
Instead, the group collected itself and moved toward the exit.