'I am Melcorka of Alba!' Melcorka announced her presence. 'Fight me, rakshasa.' Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kulothunga run to challenge the second rakshasa and then she was too busy to notice anything.
The rakshasa reared up on three of its tentacles until it was three times as tall as Melcorka, and then swept the remaining five arms toward her. Bracing herself, Melcorka sliced the ends of two of the tentacles. 'You can be killed!' She thrust for the great glaring eyes. 'Die, you thing!'
Once again, Defender bounced off the eyeball. The shock jarred Melcorka's arms, forcing her to step back. She tried again, putting all her weight behind the thrust, only for Defender to jar against the eye. The rakshasa lunged at her, ripping its beak down the length of Melcorka's left arm.
Melcorka gasped with the pain. 'Oh, Mother, where are you when I need you most?' She slashed at a tentacle that tried to curl around her ankles, skiffing the wriggling end-piece off the deck.
The rakshasa snapped at her again and lashed out with three tentacles at once as it slithered along the deck, its eyes wide, glaring and undamaged.
'What kind of demon are you?' Melcorka backed away, cutting another tentacle in two, holding Defender in front of her, thinking of a new method of offence. 'I can cut your arms but not damage anything vital.'
'I am the kind of demon that you cannot kill.' The words formed inside Melcorka's brain. 'I am your nemesis, Melcorka of Alba. I am the death you have been seeking.'
'I do not seek death,' Melcorka said. 'I am Melcorka the Swordswoman.'
'All warriors seek death.' The words crept around her head. 'It is the ultimate end for the way of the sword. Either glorious death in climatic battle witnessed by thousands, or a sordid end, dying by inches in a ditch, unknown and uncared for.'
Melcorka had said nearly the same words herself. Trying to shake away the voice, she advanced again, thrusting Defender into the great mass that surrounded the two eyes. The blade sunk deep and stuck there, sucked in by the rakshasa's rubbery body. The rakshasa pulled away, nearly tearing Defender from Melcorka's grip. Melcorka held on, gasping, wrestled the sword free and only just managed to parry a swipe from a tentacle.
'You cannot defeat me, Melcorka. No mortal weapon can kill me. Accept that you will die now.'
'I am not here to die!' Melcorka attacked again, slicing sideways. Defender dislodged a chunk of the rubbery mass. It lay quivering on the deck, obscene, ugly and useless. A squad of marines ran to help, yelling their battle-cry as they thrust long spears into the creature. It retaliated with a swing of a tentacle that swept three men overboard and shattered the legs of a fourth. He lay on deck, refusing to scream.
Panting, Melcorka tried again, slicing another piece from the creature. 'I'll kill you bit by bit,' she said, as the rakshasa slithered toward her with a marine's blood dripping from its beak.
At that point, Melcorka heard Kulothunga roar. He was standing on the head of the other rakshasa, digging into the mass with his sword. The thing coiled its tentacles around him and slid into the sea, to disappear beneath the surface with Kulothunga on top, still thrusting with his sword.
'So dies Kulothunga,' the voice said in Melcorka's head. 'The best warrior that the world has ever seen.'
'You foul vermin.' Melcorka felt her anger rise. 'I don't know what you are or from what filthy place you come, but I will send you back in little pieces.'
Rather than a headlong attack, Melcorka slipped sideways, hacking at one of the remaining tentacles. 'You cannot move without your legs,' she said, 'so I will cut them off one by one and push you overboard for the sharks.'
The thirisdai lurched to the side as water poured in from the massive damage the rakshasa had caused.
'Abandon ship!' the shipmaster shouted. 'May Shiva protect you all!'
Barely glancing at the rakshasa, the crew reacted at once, slipping or jumping into the sea from the rapidly tilting ship.
'It seems that we will both die here,' Melcorka said. 'Come, creature.' Slicing off another of the tentacles, Melcorka again thrust at the rakshasa's eye. Once again, Defender bounced off. The rakshasa lunged with its beak. 'My arms will grow back, Melcorka.'
'Not yet, they won't!' Melcorka said, just as the ship gave a final lurch, tilted heavily forward and sank. Melcorka fell backwards into the water, narrowly avoiding the rakshasa's final swing with its remaining tentacles. When a current dragged them apart, Melcorka found herself swimming in tepid water among the wreckage of battle and the circling fins of sharks.
Failed again! That's twice I've fought that thing, and twice I've failed to kill it.
Treading water, Melcorka searched for the rakshasa. She only slid Defender into her scabbard when she thought it safe. The battle continued to rage all around as Chola and Thiruzha ships clashed, recoiled and manoeuvred across the sea.
'Mel!'
Bradan leaned over the side of a small boat. 'Out you come! I tried to come to help you.' He hauled her into the boat. 'You were too fast.'
'I was fighting that rakshasa for hours,' Melcorka pointed out.
Bradan shook his head. 'No you weren't, Mel. It was barely two minutes.'
'Two minutes? It seemed like ages!' Melcorka dried Defender on Bradan's jacket. 'I couldn't kill it, Bradan. Not even Defender could kill it.'
'You chopped off its legs, though.' Bradan pointed to the tentacles that still writhed on the surface of the water.
'It will grow new ones. I could not kill it.'
'You'll find a way,' Bradan said. 'We'll find a way.'
'Did you see Kulothunga? Did you
