38. Leela #2
Leela grabbed the jawblade and swung just as a skeleton heaved itself onto the deck.
The jawblade was heavier than what she was used to, the hilt made of gold with a curved polished blade.
Grunting, she kicked the rest of the skeleton to the ground.
When she glanced overboard, there were many gripping the sides of the ship, using the dangling ropes to haul themselves up or climbing over the others.
She swept a look at the rest of the crew.
Bones coated the deck. Grunts and groans from the crew created a haunted symphony.
Hot air stifled the crew as they swung weapons or shot the cannons through the white bones covered in red sand.
With each fire, the ship shook, and Leela had to steady her footing to avoid going overboard into the sea of skeletons.
Rajesh took down a horde has they flanked him on the quarterdeck.
He pierced one skeleton through the chest, dragging his sword up until he knocked its skull off.
He gave another a kick in the knee, and the skeleton clattered on the ground as it broke into many pieces.
The last one held a weapon, chkking it against Rajesh’s.
A skeleton jumped before Leela, knocking her back into the present.
She cried out as her muscles arched up to the danger. She imagined she was fighting Hema. Leela remembered how she was taught to step, weaving and moving like a dancer would across the stage. Each footstep was used to overpower her target.
She swiped right, digging into the skeleton’s spine. She yanked back her blade, arching again with more force and cleaving the opponent in half. It cried out, clattering on the ground, and she stomped on its skull, which shattered like glass at her heel.
A part of her felt guilty. Another knew it was either them or her.
Something grabbed her hair, and she cried out. She was flung backward, head hitting the ground and wrist bending.
A skeleton wrapped its fingers around her throat.
Leela kicked and punched. Despite the skeleton being all bone, there was a force with its hands.
White dots started to splatter across her vision as the skeleton pressed down with unimaginable strength.
She tried to punch it in the face, aiming between the eyes where normal people with skin and muscle would have had their noses broken and their brains racked.
Luckily, the skeleton reared back enough for Leela to wriggle free.
Spluttering, Leela inched toward the sword she’d dropped. As soon as she grasped the hilt, she swiped it over the skull’s neck.
Dead.
Again.
Coughing, she grabbed the railing and hauled herself to her feet. Her eyes burned, lungs wheezing as she tried to compose herself in the heat. In her bleary sight, she noted Rajesh battling a horde of skeletons as they continued to climb the rutters.
Animals snapped at bones. Silver blades cut the skies. Cannons continued to blast through the air, striking the oncoming storm of white bones. It was total and utter chaos, and Leela couldn’t feel more alive.
Time to fight more, mortal.
Leela jolted. Shit. Where have you been?
Waiting. Are you ready?
Leela grounded her feet. I am ready.
Rajesh grunted as he cut another skeleton down, foot crashing down into its rib.
Rajesh met Leela’s gaze from the other side of the quarterdeck.
His hair was strewn across his face, beads of sweat dripping down his exposed chest where a deep cut had opened.
He gave her a look that asked if she was okay.
She nodded.
He returned to the fight.
His arms bulged, his shirt split at the center, showing off the muscles she hadn’t noticed when she was with him. A warmth grew in the pit of her stomach, and she shut her eyes. She needed to focus. She couldn’t get distracted by Rajesh and his steaming body.
Damned mortals, am I right?
Shut up.
Her head hit the deck as a skeleton gnashed its teeth at her.
Pain embedded itself in Leela like a dagger, and she screamed.
She shoved the skeleton’s chest with all her might, enough for her to scramble to her feet.
She got up, and the skeleton followed. Leela ran up the stairs to get some height and then jumped down from the quarterdeck with her weapon raised.
In one swing, she swung her jawblade up and back around into the skeleton’s ribs.
The jawblade opened wide, catching the skeleton between its jaws and snapping shut.
Leela gasped, heart pounding.
Keep going, mortal!
She swung around and used her jawblade on another skeleton. She attacked every skeleton she could, discarding bones across the deck in a sea of white.
She took down several more before her body gave in.
She hadn’t eaten or taken care of herself the last few days, so of course her body was going to suffer.
Her legs ached, chest heaving, thighs burning.
Her arms were too weak to properly hold the jawblade and swing it, so now it was like an awkward second limb. But she continued to push through.
On the deck, Hema fought with her Fox. The Fox jumped at a skeleton that approached, pushing it down and biting its neck. A second later, it went limp.
“NAVYA! GET US OUT OF HERE!” Rajesh yelled.
“What do you think I’m trying to do!?” she screamed back from somewhere on the deck.
Leela snapped her head around to Rajesh, still on the quarterdeck. He’d killed another skeleton and was swinging his sword through the neck of another.
Navya sliced the remaining skeleton attacking her and sprang toward the mast. She held her hands up, and her peacock fluffed its feathers by her side.
The ship shifted and surged over the dunes.
Leela focused on her last skeleton as it leered back at her. “Bring it!”
The skeleton lunged, fingers stretched wide. It evaded the first jut of her jawblade and the second, swiping and cutting at Leela. A slice of pain etched on her cheek, and she cried out in pain.
Heat spread up her spine and when she turned around, the Viperess was there, and Leela was shoved back into her mind.
Screaming, the Viperess controlled Leela’s weapon and cut the skeleton down through the middle.
Another one dead.
Leela was jolted forward as if she were slamming into glass as the Viperess gave her control back. “Oh… Thanks.”
Pleasure.
Leela didn’t have time to stop. She ran to the edge and glanced at the rudder. Navya propelled the ship away from the hungry skeletons, which failed to grab at the ship and ascend the deck.
Eventually, the ship outran them, and the crew were left huffing and panting with exhaustion. The desert heat did not help, and Leela sank to her knees like she was a puddle.
It wasn’t until the adrenaline died down that she felt a searing pain across her abdomen. She pressed her hand to her stomach and pulled away.
Blood dripped from her fingers.
Shit.
Shit, indeed, the Viperess said, stretching in the depths of her mind.
“Leela…?”
Leela’s hand shook as she looked at Rajesh. The crew assessed the damage on the ship, quickly attending to the wounded and shoving the bones overboard. But Rajesh only had eyes for her as he descended the quarterdeck.
With a shaky breath, she glanced back at her wound. It wasn’t deep enough to have nicked an organ, but it was deep enough that blood ran down her pants, and all she felt was wetness. It pooled at her feet, drenching them in an odd warmth.
“Rajesh…?” Leela whispered.
White flecks danced over her eyes, and she fell over.
Rajesh lurched forward and caught her just as she was about to hit the deck.
“Captain!”
Leela swore she heard Tanmay as the noise swirled around her. She was drenched in sweat. Her fingers were shaking, and she was sure she was crying as her tears blended with her blood.
“Someone open the door!” Rajesh yelled out.
Leela was thrust into the air and into Rajesh’s arms. Her head wobbled, her body trembling as Rajesh ran over the deck and downstairs. She shivered as the numbness spread through her body. Hema ran ahead, opening the doors and guiding them somewhere.
Leela? Hang in there, mortal!
I… Wh—what’s wrong?
Do not die on me yet. I am not done.
Th-thanks f-for the, the confidence…
Leela’s head lolled back and hit Rajesh’s chest.
He ran into a room, the door banging open.
Leela had no idea what happened next. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. People touched her. Fingers grabbed at her clothes. She had no time to think about being modest.
Am I dying?
No. No, I refuse to let you.
Then save me.