Chapter 76: The Ship

                                    

                                          
I spun toward Isalio. "Is that the Duchess?"
"I don't know, is it?"
"You know her better."
"But I can't fucking see!"
I blew out a breath. "Ok, right. There's a small scaly beast leading the way, and whoever is steering the ship has silver hair and...wait, what is she doing?" As the ship sailed closer, I could clearly recognize the Duchess, which would have been a relief except that I could also see what she was doing. "Oh fuck, what is that thing they are pointing at us?"
"...I still can't see."
"It's a metal rod covered with light."
"Oh. An electric blaster."
"A what?"
He shoved me sideways.
The shove threw me off-balance, both physically and mentally, but I recovered quickly. My mind whirred, calculating the best next action. I could try to wave off the attack, but she probably still couldn't see us well enough. And if Isalio was shoving me out of the way, he knew the blaster had a narrow focus.
I tackled Isalio forward.
Zap.
The surge of electricity rattled my eardrums and flung sand into the air from behind me, a spray of tiny pebbles that burned my skin. Struggling to focus through the tinny ringing in my ears, I wheeled toward Isalio, who was unharmed and staring back at me. Behind us, the spray of sand had hollowed out a person-sized crater, and electricity still sizzled across the ground.
Isalio's lips moved. My eardrums were still vibrating from the explosion, but based on his clenched jaw and furrowed brow, he was angry at me. I was twice as angry at him—he had known what was coming, and he'd pushed me aside instead of trying to save both of us?
However, we didn't have time to discuss what had just happened, so I whipped back toward the flying ship.
The beast in front nosedived, and the ship behind it followed suit. My heartrate spiked—then settled, upon noticing one other important detail. The blaster had been tugged back to an upright position.
The Duchess now leaned over the front of the ship, peering down at us. I hoped that meant she now realized who we were. As the ship drew nearer, I registered more details: the tattered garb of the Demons onboard, the dents in the metal, the water-damaged ripple of the wood, the holes in the sails.
"It's an old ship, and badly damaged," I told Isalio. "It was probably already decommissioned."
But he just stared at the figure at the helm, and his eyes burned bright. "It's the Duchess." He sounded cautiously delighted—and painfully hopeful. "She came for me. Don't you think? Or am I just being too..." He blew out an uneven laugh.
My heart clenched. I prayed, not for the first time, that someone other than me would support this man who so badly needed allies. Forgetting my earlier anger, I took a step toward him and laced my fingers with his.
"I think you're right," I said.
Still, I couldn't help wondering why the Duchess had fired at us even though she was the one who sent us here. So I thought but didn't say: But if you're wrong, I'll still be here. And if they want to hurt you, they'll have to get past me.
However, the first attack came faster than either of us expected.
Something crashed into Isalio, bowling him over and ripping his hand out of mine. I seized my mace and spun toward the attacker—only to let the mace fall back to my side.