Elei's Chronicles (Books 1-3) (77 page)

“Go, damn you,” Sacmis cried, muscles straining in her arms. Her chest was a pulsing, scarlet beacon. “We cannot go on together. You’ll kill each other.” Her face was distorting now too, like one of those rabid dogs that killed Albi.

The image of Albi’s old face stretched across his vision, blotting Hera out, and he remembered her kindness, her gnarled hands on his face.

What was he...? Why was he gripping his knife? He blinked, and the image of Albi was gone, replaced once more by the dirty alley and Hera snarling at him, tethered by Sacmis’ arms.

Kalaes had drawn his gun, had it aimed at Hera.

“Kal.” He stepped in front of him. “Stop.”

“Let me go, Sacmis.” Hera’s lips peeled back in a snarl, and she knocked an elbow into Sacmis’ middle. “I’ll put them out of their misery.”

Alendra snagged Kalaes by his hoodie. He dug his heels in the dirt, but Elei grabbed hold too and pulled.

“Kal, it’s Rex, it isn’t real.” Kalaes strained toward Hera, and Elei jerked him back again. “Come on, man, let’s go.”

Sacmis hauled Hera away while Alendra and Elei dragged Kalaes into another street, past dingy shop fronts and growling dogs. Cat hissed on Elei’s shoulder, then jumped off and shot off into an alley.

Elei made an ineffective grab for Cat, but a sound from behind jerked him to a halt.

Shouts. female voices. Gultur.

Damn
.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“O
kay, what
in the pissing hells was that?” Kalaes wheezed, wedged between Elei and a moldy wall in the dark, narrow alley. “Did Hera really turn into an underworld demon and try to eat me?”

“That was Rex reacting to Regina’s smell.” Elei kept watch for the patrol. He could hear them whisper, could hear their steps crunch on glass shards and trash in the street beyond the alley. “What does an underworld demon look like?”

“Well, you know.” Kalaes swallowed hard. “Snakes for hair, writhing and hissing, and a mouth full of pointy teeth.”

Kalaes hadn’t seen Hera turn into an animal, like Elei.
Into a dog
. Was it because he hated those dogs for killing Albi? They haunted his nightmares. “Do you dream about demons?”

“Sometimes.” Kalaes licked his cracked lips. “When I’m sick.”

“Did you want to drink Hera’s blood?”

“What? No.” Kalaes grimaced. “She was going to kill me. I had to fight back.” He puffed out a breath. “Am I going mad?”

“Guys, be quiet,” Alendra whispered. They fell silent, waiting, until the steps of the Gultur patrol moved away.

“I told you, that was Rex, Kal,” Elei said under his breath. “Rex wants Regina.”

“What it wants is to kill Hera, fe.” Kalaes swallowed. “Why just Hera? Why not Sacmis?”

“Hera’s an Echo. Pure strain Gultur. And Rex wants her blood.” Elei’s shoulders sagged. Maturation could drive Echoes mad. Would Hera be okay?

“Son of a bitch,” Kalaes murmured. He rubbed his temples. “My head’s killing me.”

“Are you seeing colors?”

“Everywhere.” Kalaes blinked furiously.

“Don’t rub your eye,” Elei said. “Take deep breaths, tell yourself you’re safe.”

“Are you kidding me?” Kalaes covered his infected eye with his hand. “I can’t lie to myself, can I? Safe, he says...”

Distant shouts. Wisps of sweet scent on the air. The patrol was returning. Elei shifted closer to the wall and peered around the corner into the alley. Nothing.

Then steps sounded, coming their way, and the colors flared around Elei. He twitched. “We have to move.”

He took Alendra’s hand, grabbed Kalaes’ arm, and hauled them farther back into the alley. There was an upended dumpster, garbage spilling on the street. The sour stench would mask their smell. Alendra made a sound of protest when he shoved her behind the bulk of the container. Kalaes stumbled after her, and Elei sank down beside them, panting. They waited in silence.

Somewhere in the city, a shot rang. Kalaes clasped the pendant at his neck, whispering. Alendra’s eyes were huge, her lips white. The shouts came nearer.

Elei forced himself to bend forward and look around the cover of the dumpster.

A Gultur stood at the mouth of the alley, longgun drawn, scanning the place. Her visor gleamed in the morning light, flat and gray.

Elei fell back, his heart thumping. “Don’t move,” he mouthed.

The Gultur’s boots crunched on broken glass. A beep sounded. Her steps retreated. “All clear,” she said. Another beep came. “On my way.”

In the street outside, the Gultur patrol marched past, their boots hitting the asphalt rhythmically.

Elei slumped in relief.

“Are they gone?” Alendra laid a hand on his and he stared at her soft lips. Her smile was sweet. He leaned toward her, lifted his hand to her face.

At the periphery of his vision, he saw movement and froze.

“What is it?” she whispered. “Who’s there?”

“Two children,” Elei breathed. “Street children. Hold on.” He rose to his knees, raised his hand in greeting. “Wait!”

The children bolted, running toward the main street.

Crap
. He grabbed the dumpster for support and got to his feet. He broke into a jog and went after them, stumbling into an avenue. Despite Rex’s return, his leg felt stiff and weak.

“Elei, stop!” The others were following him. But he couldn’t wait. He knew now what he had to do, and he ran after the two small forms. This was the end of the sprint, of the mission, of the wandering. This was where he’d do what he must do to start living again. Find what was worth living for.

“Wait!” He pulled down his neckline to display Rex’s marks and the snakeskin of
telmion
. “I’m one of you. We’re all human!”

Passersby stopped, and several heads turned. Time stuttered. The kids vanished inside a building and he halted, winded, bracing his hands on his knees.

Kalaes was shouting something from behind, and he sounded scared. Elei spun around, drawing his Rasmus, and the world exploded in flashing colors and noise.

Bullets. Zipping by, one of them nicking his arm. Gultur, a line of them, firing, red and yellow silhouettes.

He backed away, cocking his gun, prepared to take at least one down with him. He puffed out a breath. Man, what a way to go, after everything.

Another bullet hit the gun out of his hand, leaving a sting of fire in his fingers. He bent, picked it up, and was bowled over by a mob — a very short mob, who dragged him backward, behind a crumbling wall and down a dark passage.
Children
, he realized as he struggled against their hold.

He stopped fighting, let their small, strong hands pull him along. “I need to talk with you.” He was dragged over a doorstep and managed to find his feet just as they reached the dark opening in the floor. Steps gleamed, going down.

He stopped. “Ale? Kal?” he called.

“Climb down.” A prod in his back. “Now.”

Grinding his teeth, he obeyed. He descended into a gloomy basement, lit by a swaying light bulb.

“Elei.” Alendra’s voice made him look up. She came down the steps, followed by Kalaes, and, miracle of miracles, Cat.

“Oh, thank the gods, there you are.” Alendra rushed to take his hand. “You’re bleeding. We need to wrap up your arm.”

Elei squeezed her fingers. “I’m fine.”

Kalaes came to stand beside her, glaring at the children who stood on the steps, tightly grouped, like one creature.

A girl stepped down, taller than the rest, her hair red like flames. “What did you say out there?” she demanded, her voice raspy and low.

“Tefnut says we’re all human.” Elei held her gaze. “Afia and Jek of Teos told me to say this if I needed your help.”

Murmurs rose from the children, and the tall girl raised a hand to silence them. “And who are you?”

“I’m Elei.”

She gave him a thoughtful look.
“Rex?”

Elei shrugged.
Elei Rex
.
It had a ring to it, and it wasn’t like he had another family name. “Yeah. And who are you?”

“Do you know war is coming? That you shouldn’t be here?”

“You shouldn’t, either.” Elei gave her an even look. “You should’ve left town.”

“We can’t, fe.” The girl shook her head, red ringlets jangling around her face. “We’re waiting for someone.”

“For Mantis,” Alendra said.

The children buzzed, a beehive. The girl turned and scowled at them until they shut up. She shifted her weight on one leg and folded her arms across her narrow chest.

“I’m Leny, and this is the Blackhound gang.” She lifted her chin. “You wanted to talk to us. So talk.”

Elei nodded. “We need to contact Mantis. It’s a matter of life and death for all of us. We have news that could turn the odds in our favor.”

Leny paled, the freckles peppering her nose and cheeks standing out. “Important news?”

“We need to speak to him. Now.”

She hesitated, glanced at the diminutive mob and then back at Elei, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. “You swear it’s so important? That it could save them?”

“It could save them.” Elei rubbed his eyes. “It should, although I can’t promise it.”

“Does Mantis know who you are?”

“We’ve met.”

She snapped her fingers and two little boys came forward. “Then we’ll send Mantis a message, tell him that Elei’s here and waiting for him.”

***

Hours passed before Leny walked back in, two familiar figures following her down the steps. Hera and Sacmis. 

Elei got up from his spot by the wall. He’d asked Leny to find them, but seeing Hera he paused. It wasn’t only the fact they’d tried to kill each other, but also how small and exhausted she looked. Dirty and scratched, her hands bloodied, her face all bony angles. When had she gotten so thin?

Then again, they probably all looked like her, starved and grimy.

Hera was struggling to shake Sacmis off, but tears were sliding down her cheeks, cutting white trails in the grime. Sacmis only hugged her more fiercely.

“It’s Regina,” Sacmis whispered, her harsh expression daring anyone to comment. “Maturing can be difficult for the elite, more than for the rest of us. Hormonal changes on the large scale.” Her mouth dipped in an unhappy line.  “It’ll pass. Everything must look very dark to her right now.”

“I understand,” Elei said. “I know how it feels.”

“The hells you do,” Hera said, raspy and shaky, her dark eyes glinting with shards of yellow-green. “Nobody does.”

“But I...” He paused, not sure what to say.
She’s your friend. Make her see you understand. You owe her that
. “Listen. Rex is so much stronger than
cronion
ever was. The adrenaline spikes are...” He inhaled. “Huge. They make me feel I can walk through walls. But afterward, when I come down, everything seems black. Nothing has meaning. Living is pointless. It’s dark for a while, pitch-black. But it gets better.” At least she was looking at him, paying attention. “Give it time. The world will brighten. And...” Maybe he was mad, but at least in this he was sure. He opened his arms. “Come here.” 

Hera stared at him like he’d sprouted flowers, but didn’t resist when he tugged her from Sacmis’ hold and pulled her close, nor when Kalaes and Alendra joined them, their arms going around her.

Sacmis blinked, her eyes glittering wet, and smiled.

***

The five of them ate stale blue bread and drank water provided by the kids, and dozed in different positions around the basement. Hera was curled against Sacmis, Kalaes on his back by the wall, Alendra in a small heap between him and Sacmis. Cat blinked sleepily, curled against Elei’s thigh.

There was a faint hubbub of children voices upstairs. The basement door creaked open.

Elei raised his head from where it rested against his drawn-in knees and squinted against the spilling light. He threw up a hand to shade his eyes as someone entered, face dark against a blazing halo.

“I see you all made it back,” said a boyish voice. The figure moved, the halo dissolving into blond hair, the dark face into serious lines. “You asked to see me, so I’m guessing you found something down below.”

“Mantis,” Hera rasped, sitting up, her dark hair tangled around her face.

“Hi there, m’lady.” His voice and face softened as he crouched in front of her, reached out to stroke a strand of hair off her brow. “I was afraid for your life.”

Hera made a soft sound and caught his hand. “We have information. We have a cache.”

Hope flared in Mantis’ eyes. “Weapons?”

“War machines.” Hera bit her lip as if to stop herself from laughing or crying. “Not far from here. We can stop this war.”

Mantis pulled back, withdrew his hand. “They still have the sea, Hera. Even if we control the seleukids and their drones with war machines, even if we have vehicles on land, they have the boats; they can bring reinforcements from the other islands.”

“They cannot.” Hera pushed Sacmis off. “We’ll set the pillars against them.”

Pillars
. Elei rubbed a hand over his face. That sort of rang a bell, but what...

Mantis flicked a bewildered glance at Elei before turning back to Hera. “Hera, I don’t know what in the hells you’re talking—”