Elei's Chronicles (Books 1-3) (26 page)

A hand dragged him back up. “Elei, dammit to the five hells, come on!” Kalaes held Elei’s head above the churning water where he gasped and coughed. “We have to go, they’re coming!”

He coughed and coughed, water coming out of his mouth and nose, stinging.
Go where?
“Let them.”
More bullets, more blood into the water.

“No! Come on! You’ve done enough.”

Had he?

The sound of an aircar engine split the air.
They’re here
.

Kalaes pushed him up onto the broad marble rim, underneath the stinging fall of water. Elei’s numb fingers dragged on the rough surface, leaving red trails. Something lifted his foot — Kalaes was giving him a leg up. He flopped on the rim, panting.

With a grunt, Kalaes heaved himself up and scooted next to Elei. “It’s Hera. She got the aircar running again. Come.”

Hera?

The aircar hovered before the fountain and Kalaes pulled him to his feet. Behind the vehicle three more hovered, humming. Gunshots ripped through the air. A bullet caught Elei in the side, another in the chest. The impacts rattled his bones and teeth. Pressing his hand against the new wound in his side, he felt the hot blood pumping out, washing into the fountain with the spray of water.

Done
. Relief filled him.
Completion. Absolution
.

Kalaes’ hold on him tightened. “Stay with me, fe. We’ll make it out of here. You hear me?”

A chuckle rose in Elei’s throat like a sob. “Yeah sure.”

“Come on.” Kalaes grabbed him around the waist and dragged him onto the deck of the aircar. “Climb in.”

The aircar provided some cover from the bullets. Hera leaned out, grabbed Elei’s arm and pulled him inside. He sprawled on the seat and the world exploded into white light and noise when the
nepheline
pressed on the fire of his wounds.

“Good to see you, Hera!” Kalaes shouted, scrambling inside, next to Elei.

She flipped the power switch. “Good to see you both.” The engines roared as they took off high and swerved behind the temple to avoid the gunfire. She shouted over the noise, “When you jumped out after him, I was not sure I would see either of you again.”

The aircar shook with small impacts.

“You were right. They didn’t expect anyone to crash into their citadel.” Kalaes closed and barred the door. He turned around. “Who are the other three aircars?”

“Undercurrent. They got my message.”

Kalaes’ voice softened. “How did you make it out? I left you pinned between the seat and the control panel.”

“I managed to wiggle out. I’m quite flexible.” Hera snorted. “The dogs were barking at the door, but they could smell I was Gultur. The others stopped shooting, came to investigate. It bought me the time to get the take off sequence running…”

Her words faded. Someone shook Elei’s shoulder and the sound rushed back in. He heard his name and he blinked, trying to clear his eyes. Red filled his vision. A metallic tang filled his mouth. He licked his lips.
Blood. So thirsty. Blood everywhere
.

Kalaes leaned over him, brows drawn together. He unglued Elei’s jacket, opened it and hissed. “Dammit, fe, you’re riddled with bullet holes!” Cursing, he pulled up Elei’s t-shirt and prodded areas of varying degrees of pain. “Pissing frigid hells.”

Elei whimpered. He was wrapped in a dull, distant, all-encompassing pain — but whenever Kalaes touched his skin, the pain sharpened like a blade cutting through him. Darkness framed everything, waiting to swallow the world.

“Elei. Can you hear me?” Kalaes pulled off his own t-shirt, tore it into strips and began bandaging Elei’s thigh. “Nothing looks broken, but, hells, you’re too keen on killing yourself.”

“I told you, it was Rex doing that, not him.” Hera sounded angry. “Rex was trying to spread.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The pain was fading, and so was the world. “Blood in the water,” Elei muttered, his body light, made of air, floating.

“You spilled a great deal of it into the fountain, fe. So if that’s what Rex wanted, you can relax now.”

Relax
. Elei’s vision blurred. He couldn’t feel his body anymore. Talking was becoming hard. “I’m cold.”

“Son of a bitch.” Kalaes grabbed Elei’s chin, forced it up. “We’re going into hiding. We’ll make it. Stay with me, fe. Stay with me!” His dark eyes swam in Elei’s vision.

“I can’t,” Elei tried to say, but wasn’t sure he made it.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

D
espite
her intense focus on avoiding missiles from the now activated watchtower as they flew out of the citadel, Hera felt the waves of tension radiating off Kalaes who sat in the back seat with Elei. Worse still, she knew why.

“How bad is it?”

Kalaes said nothing. His silence presaged nothing good. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she saw his dark head, bent over Elei. He kept pressure on Elei’s chest and side and avoided her gaze. The younger boy’s face was ashen and blood had dried in a black crust on his lips and cheek. Dammit, he could easily pass for dead.

That was not acceptable. Hera hated the way her chest constricted at the thought of Elei dying. She considered her options. She’d visited Bone Tower before and knew the routes in the mountains. Behind them, a pursuit squadron of
seleukids
was assembling. The distraction offered by the other Undercurrent aircars could only do so much.

 Time to say goodbye, sisters.

Accelerating, she set the course north and sent the small aircar down slippery dirt roads between hamlets and abandoned mines.

“We have to find a hospital,” she said. “He’ll need blood transfusion, at the very least. I know a place in Teos, at the northern coast.”

“Fine,” Kalaes said, his voice hoarse. Hera wanted to comfort him but was not sure how.

Nunet’s snakes.

“Keep him warm.” When he said nothing, she felt a strange urge to fill the silence. “Put pressure on the wounds, make sure he does not bleed out.” She winced at her sharp tone. Maybe silence was not such a bad idea after all. “Hold on,” she muttered. “I’ll lose our tails.”

Snapping her mouth shut, she swerved into a narrow pass between shiny peaks and took a path just wide enough for the aircar to bear down toward the northern plain.

The Fleet was after them, and Rex was already in the water. Whether that would change anything or everything, she had no idea. Survival was now in her hands once more, and she had to save Kalaes and Elei, take them out of danger’s path.

For the first time, she did not care about bringing down the Gultur, destroying them, or knowing how the world came into existence.

Not while her people were in danger.

***

A small hand fit into his and tugged. “Look at me.”

Gray eyes. A pouting mouth. “Poena.” Water rippled. A bird whistled. “Am I asleep, then?”

“In a way.” She cocked her head to the side.

He gave this some thought. No reason to beat about the bush. “Am I dead?”

She shook her head, ringlets of golden hair flying. “You are close.”

Close
. “I remember you.” Suddenly the memory was there. “On Ost. Albi took care of you, but you…”
You died
.
Too sick. Too fragile. Telmion took you away.

She leaned over him, her lips touched his cheek, soft like flower petals. “I remember you, too.”

“But if you’re dead, then maybe so am I.”

Poena smiled. “Not this time. Wake up. She’s here.”

“Who?” he reached after her, but Poena was gone, a puff of smoke. He gasped and drew back.

Wake up.

Opening his eyes was like pushing at a wall. His lids felt glued down. He peeled them open, ever so slowly, and slitted his eyes against the too-bright light.

A shadow leaned over him, black against a backwash of blinding radiance. His eyes stung and watered. He waited for his sight to clear.

A woman’s face. Her flowing black hair framed her face like a fine mist.

“Elei.”

Moving like a big cat, graceful and dangerous, she sat down on the bed, jolting him a little. She raised a hand to his cheek. A name came to his lips and he knew it to be hers.

“Hera…”

Her smile hung like a star in the dark. “
Sen
. How are you feeling?”

His body was strangely numb; no pain, no feeling, though his chest felt heavy. Her concern filled him with warmth. “Fine.”

“You’re pumped full with painkillers.” Her eyes glittered. “You can do this, Elei.”

He frowned, wondered what she was talking about. “Okay.”

“You have two broken ribs, but the bullets hit nothing vital, though you lost a lot of blood. You’re a lucky man.”

In the golden haze that filled his mind, he knew she was right. “Yes.”

“Elei.” Her scent of sweet fruit made his mouth water. “Did the parasite, did Rex tell you to find the fountain?”

“Poena.” He licked his dry lips. “Said I should. And I agreed.”

“You agreed?” She leaned closer, her dark eyes intent. “You knew what would happen at the fountain?”

He nodded. “It scared me.” He tried to smile, to lighten the mood. He didn’t like the sheen of sadness in her eyes.

She leaned back. “Do you want to know what happened after you spilled your blood into the water?”

He watched a light entering her gaze and her lips tilt again, and he nodded. “Yes.”

“At first nothing. Kalaes and I thought… We thought we’d been wrong. We thought we’d lost you, and in vain.” A tear rolled down her cheek, so bright. “Then the system broke down in certain towns. An epidemic was reported among the Gultur, filling their hospitals.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Most Gultur fell sick, although some worse than others. Some were affected worse or simply faster. A message was issued from Dakru City, reporting that the Council decided to enter official discussions with the population, in an attempt to improve living conditions. You…” She covered her mouth with her hand, muffling her words. “You did it, Elei. You’re changing our world. You did it, with your blood in the water.”

He shook his head, slowly, unable to grasp what she was saying. These convoluted words sounded a lot like something Poena would say. He heard a giggle, and saw the girl peek at him from the side of the bed. He reached for her, and she stuck out her tongue to him. “Poena…”

Water closed over his head and rocks pressed his legs. Panic made him struggle, but he was trapped deep down. He was unable to surface.

A woman sat across from him, crimson blooming on her pale blouse, and he held the gun still pointed at her. Her head was turned away, her hair was a burnished red. “You killed me. You’re tearing down my world.”

He shook his head, his chest tight. “I had to.”

She turned around and she had Pelia’s face. “Elei, I just wanted to say…”

He screamed but no sound came. He lowered his gun. Hot tears coursed down his cheeks. He’d shot her. He’d killed her. “No. Don’t leave.”

Pelia smiled. “Just wanted to say good luck. The Gultur will come after you for this, hunt you down. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, son.”

The light was sucked out of the room, sucked into her eyes. She regarded him, somber and beautiful, until she faded.

His eyes fluttered open. The pale light of morning fell through the window like a rain of knives. He winced; a headache he didn’t know he had asserted itself, stabbing the back of his eyes.

Pain erupted in his middle and he curled on his side. Gods, that hurt. The pain radiated down his sides and legs, up his spine to his shoulders, wrapped around his chest and stomach. Was he dying? Dying from the onslaught of Rex, that was strong enough to control Regina, the goddess of parasites.

He groaned, his breath coming in short gasps. Cold and heat flashed through his body, and shivers racked his frame.
Diediediedie
.

“Elei.” Hands turned him on his back and pulled blankets up to his chin, tucking him in. Kalaes sat next to him. “You can fight this. You must. Don’t let it kill you, do you hear?”

Elei breathed out in relief. He wouldn’t die alone. “Too strong.”
The parasite
. Played him like a puppet.

“Telmion’s fighting back. So are a couple other parasites you’re carrying around. Here, drink this.”

He gulped down an acid liquid that brought tears to his eyes. “What’s this for?” His teeth chattered.

“Makes telmion stronger so it can fight Rex.”

Pissing great
. Elei wanted to laugh till he rolled on the floor. The one parasite that had almost killed him as a child was now his only chance to live.

“Hera? Where is she?”

“Went to rest. She’s been checking on you, you know.” Kalaes winked.

What in all the hells?
“Why?”

“I think she kinda likes you, fe.”

“Hera?” Elei shook his head at Kalaes’ idiotic suggestion, then stopped when his stomach roiled. He remembered a dream with her. She was worried and sad, and was telling him the Gultur were falling sick. Dreams were weird things. “Hera doesn’t care about me, just… Shut up.”

Kalaes snorted. “Whatever you say.”

The doubt made him want to ask again — maybe the dream hadn’t been just a dream, but he was scared to know what else was true. “And Maera?”

Kalaes’ mouth thinned. “Gultur hospital.”

Elei nodded. So she was alive. The pain intensified, needles of fire jabbing inside his spine, every muscle and organ cramping, and he clutched the bedsheets in his fists, groaning.

“Hey, look what you’ve done,” Kalaes grumbled. “No wonder you’re in pain, fe. Wait.”

A sting in his hand. “What’s that?”

“Fluids and some pretty strong painkillers. You knocked the needle out, and the bullet wounds are just starting to heal.”

Kalaes taped the needle back in place and leaned back.

The pain receded. Drowsy, Elei blinked at the older boy. Kalaes’ dark eyes looked huge in his gaunt face and the lines of his tattoo were like scars etched in his cheek. He reeked of
ama
cigarette smoke. “You should get some sleep, Kal. You look like shit.”

“Yeah.” He sounded even worse than he looked. His voice creaked like a rusty pipe. “Not as bad as you, though.” He rubbed his eyes and pushed his two braids behind his ear irritably. Then his lips quirked and he winked. “But Hera doesn’t seem to mind how banged up you look. She resisted your charming personality for as long as she could, fe, but in the end she had to give in.”

Hilarious
. “Does she really visit me?”

“Yeah, all the time. She sometimes stays the night, too. You have nightmares, you know.” 

Elei rolled his head to the side. He felt as if made of glass, about to break. Nightmares. Dreams. “I dreamed I shot myself and fell into a fountain. That I carried a parasite that would control Regina.”

“You did. You do.”

“I shot…” He swallowed hard.
A woman, crimson blooming on her pale blouse and the gun in his hand, his ears still ringing
. “I shot a Gultur.”

“Nekut, head of the Gultur police. In the police station.”

Elei’s pulse leaped in his throat and stomach like a trapped animal. “Did I kill her?”

“Hells if I know.” Kalaes shook his head. “They haven’t breathed a word to the press about it.”

“Kalaes?” Elei’s fingers curled in the cool sheets. “What happened? After I fell in the water, after you and Hera got me out of Bone Tower. What did Rex do?”

“About time you knew, too. It was your blood in the water, after all, wasn’t it? All that blood…” Kalaes shivered and shook his head. “Well, for several days we didn’t know. Your life was hanging on a thread, fe. I didn’t care about the Gultur, whether they lived or died or even started a new race. Then…” His eyes narrowed. “Then people started talking, saying the Gultur had fallen sick. Helicopters swarmed the sky, transporting them to their hospitals. Control slackened in the cities, workers went on strike at the factories. Representatives of Gultur came out to talk to the people. They said something had changed about them, something in their eyes, in the way they spoke. The Gultur wanted to talk to our leaders, to meet with the Undercurrent.”

“Shit. And you believed them?” Elei thought his heart might find a way up his throat.