Chapter 12
Our sprint seemed to take even the Porcugi by surprise. It balked as we screamed and ran toward it, momentarily stunned that we were unintimidated despite its size. The taut muscles of the Porcugi’s torso tensed as it drew itself upright, and its blue scales rippled in the colors of the sea as they reflected the sky. The metallic scales extended up its body but seemed to become smaller and more silver away from the tail, making its face and bald, hooded head appear lighter than the rest of its body.
The Porcugi screamed and thumped its chest with a closed fist as it leaned forward and darted toward Parushi, whose pace far outstripped mine.
The Porcugi’s scream sounded too similar to ours for comfort. It was somewhat more nasal and ended in something resembling a hiss, but now I understood why I couldn’t distinguish whose screams were whose in the battle.
I fought to catch up to Parushi, but I couldn’t match her sprint. She ignored the neatly trimmed paths that crisscrossed between the statues that dotted the flattened lawn and went straight toward the attacking demon. She paused near a statue of my great-grandmother and loosed an arrow, but the Porcugi dodged it without slowing.
Parushi took another shot and hit the monster squarely in the torso. But as she let out a whoop of victory, the arrow deflected and clattered to the grass below. A drop of crimson blood raced down the Porcugi’s chest, and another followed, but the creature didn’t slow.
The Porcugi continued to carve the ground with its powerful tail as it pushed forward and unhinged its jaw, opening its mouth wide and making its face less and less human with each passing moment.
My thoughts raced faster than my feet as I desperately tried to reach Parushi’s side. The Porcugi was getting closer to Parushi; there was no way I’d reach her before she’d be within reach of its blades.
The arrows on my back rattled in their quiver. Where to aim, though? Not the torso?—the scales were too tough, and Uncle Trimulya had said they’d needed to be at close range for arrows to be effective. Probably not the lower body either, since it had the same type of scales.
With a guttural scream, Parushi unsheathed her long blade with her right hand and her dagger with her left, challenging the Porcugi to do its worst as she settled into her fighting stance.
I needed to take a shot. Now. Perhaps the scales closer to its head wouldn’t be so impenetrable. It was the trickier shot, but it was the best option I had. I drew the bow, aimed for the shoulder, and released.
The arrow whistled past my cheek and through the air. Before it even hit, I’d thrown the bow on my back and started to run again. I unsheathed my blade as my arrow found its mark, burying itself deep in the Porcugi’s right shoulder.
The monster screamed, making my hair stand on end. Parushi seized upon the moment of distraction and ducked behind a statue. I followed.
With a start, I realized that this was the statue of my mother. As a child, I would come here to talk to her whenever I had a problem, pretending the cold stone could love and protect me as she once had. But now she really was keeping me safe as we ducked behind the pleats of her stone sari.
“Upper body,” I said between panting breaths. “Smaller scales. Arrows work.”
Parushi nodded. “I’ll keep it busy, Rajkumari. You come at it from the back.”
She was taking the riskier position, but that’s how she wanted it. It was why she’d bothered to address me as “Rajkumari”?—to remind me of my obligations.
I peeked around the corner of the base. The monster had pulled the arrow out of its shoulder and was snaking toward us. Before I could say anything, Parushi jumped out from behind the statue and sprinted in a wide arc around the Porcugi, letting arrows fly as she ran.
Her aim was remarkable. Most people could only dream of hitting the Porcugi while standing still, but she managed to land some shots even while running. The Porcugi swerved and dodged, avoiding arrows at a speed that was terrifying to see. Still, a few found their marks. It snarled as an arrow embedded itself in its other shoulder.
As the monster chased Parushi, I found myself facing its back. This was my chance. Time slowed between my heartbeats. I touched my mother’s stone feet, clenched my teeth, and ran toward the Porcugi’s deep blue tail. The sinuous monster followed Parushi’s arc, and I ran straight to cut off its path.
The Porcugi screamed as one of Parushi’s arrows sliced its neck, creating a crimson path to the ground. Parushi’s rather maniacal laugh was cut short as she reached into her quiver and realized she had no arrows left. Undeterred, she unsheathed her blades again and planted her feet into the ground.
“Finish this!” she screamed.
The monster’s mouth curled into an unsettling grin?—its lips were stretched thin by its gaping jaws, revealing a jagged set of teeth. It made a guttural sound as it raised its blades.
I was now within striking distance, but the oceanic scales of its lower body shone at me defiantly. A strike there would surely deflect; I needed a point of weakness. My eyes could hardly follow its twisting tail, but the part of its body that supported its head was still. A light blue line, about one finger’s width, extended down its back. A scar? It had to be a scar if I wanted this to work.
I leaped toward the Porcugi and stabbed my sword into the light blue line with all my strength. The blade scraped past the metallic scales on either side and buried itself deep into the monster’s back. It screamed and thrashed, dropping its swords, as blood?—it looked so much like ours?—began to ooze. I pulled my sword out, leaving behind a gaping wound, and the deep red ooze turned into a stream.
A flick of the Porcugi’s tail swept my feet from under me, and I landed on my back with a thud. I found myself staring at the blue sky with my weapon lying an arm’s length away. The fall knocked out all my breath, and I struggled to inhale and sit up at the same time. The Porcugi coiled and uncoiled its body so hard that it sprang into the air. When it landed, it faced me. And I was still on the ground without a weapon in hand.
It leaned forward and struck headfirst, like a cobra. I rolled to the side just in time. The rush of air passed by my cheeks, and then it looped to attack again.
I scrambled to my feet and grabbed my bow. There was no way I’d be able to take aim and shoot a worthy shot in time, so I crouched and held the bow like a club as the Porcugi turned to face me again.
Its slitted nostrils flared as it reared back and prepared to strike, but just as it leaned forward, Parushi jumped on its tail and sprinted up its back, sword in hand. I dived to the side as she ran up its body and pushed it into the ground with her unexpected steps. She jumped off its shoulders just as it began to reel back up, and she swung her sword as she came down.
The blade buried itself deep into the back of the monster’s neck, and Parushi released the hilt and sprinted away. The Porcugi thudded to the ground, screaming so loudly that all the birds hiding in the nearby trees and underbrush launched themselves into the skies.
