Rex Aftermath (Elei's Chronicles) (2 page)

“This is my brother,” Kalaes announced, “Elei Ster. And that’s Alendra Mur, our friend.”

Alendra Mur, Elei thought. He hadn’t even known her last name.

In the spreading silence, everyone stared at him and Alendra, then at Kalaes.

“Oh,
boomers
,” Zoe exclaimed, red splotching her cheeks. “You’re
that
Kalaes? And
that
Elei? And Ale — I think I’ve heard of her, too. Your faces are posted all over Artemisia. Well, not Ale’s, but... What about Hera, and that other girl, Sami or something?”

Cold sweat trickled down Elei’s back. He knew they were wanted, but hearing about the posters made it all the more real.

“Hera and Sacmis stayed behind,” Kalaes said. “There’s a plan put forward by the leader of the resistance. I’ll tell you about it if you swear to secrecy and if you’re willing to help.”

Silence fell, heavy and stifling, the only sound a child’s wail from another room.

“Holy shit,” one of Mitt’s girls said. “You’re really them? You’ve been on every pamphlet, resistance or regime alike. You brought the regime to its knees.”

“Wishful thinking,” Dain said, his narrow gaze fixed on Kalaes. “The regime’s alive and kicking.”

“But nothing like before,” Mitt interjected, running a hand through his shaggy hair, a nervous gesture. “And there are rumors of war.”

“Not just rumors,” Alendra said but stopped and bit her lip. She glanced at Kalaes, her thin hands curling in her lap. “Tell them, Kal.”

Everyone tensed. Mitt and his girls exchanged uneasy looks. The kids behind them chattered like birds on a wire.

Kalaes lifted his chin and waited while Zoe shushed the kids. “Tefnut says we’re all human,” he said, the words ringing low and heavy. 

The code Mantis had been using to rally the street kids to his cause.

“We’re listening,” Zoe whispered.

“I need you to swear an oath first,” Kalaes said, “that you won’t betray us, won’t tell anyone else what I’m about to tell you. I called you here because Mantis said you gang leaders of Artemisia believe in his cause. But I wanna hear it for myself.” His gaze drifted to Dain who glared back. “Are you committed, fe? Will you swear you won’t break faith?”

Elei shifted uncomfortably. It was a damn huge risk. A tiny nudge, a word of this whispered in the Regime’s ears, and the whole plan, mad or not, could fall apart and get them all killed.

“I swear,” Mitt said, and the two girls nodded solemnly. “I’ll listen and won’t speak of it to anyone else.”

“Count me in.” Zoe lifted a hand, her pinkie curled. “I swear.”

They all turned to Dain who shoved his long blond hair off his face, his blue eyes dark.

“I’ll listen,” he said.

“But do you swear to secrecy?” Kalaes demanded, color rising to his cheekbones.

Dain hesitated, glanced around, and for a moment Elei hoped he’d refuse and be sent on his way. “I do.”

Tension released around the room. Shoulders slumped and heads nodded.

“We’re going to bring the regime down,” Kalaes said, his voice low and measured. He leaned forward. “There will be attacks on many fronts. We take Dakru City.”

Tension returned. Hissing whispers spiraled, dipping and rising like moths.

But Elei was relieved. Kalaes wasn’t telling them everything. A knot of fear in his gut came undone and he realized he’d been clutching the hem of his jacket. He released it and let out a long breath.

“You want us to attack Dakru City?” Zoe arched a fine, dark brow. “Are you mad?”

“Suicide mission, is it?” Dain drawled. “Or rather, murder, sending innocent children to their deaths. Are we of so little worth to you?”

Elei’s headache returned, together with his own uncertainty and sickening guilt. He saw Kalaes blanch.

“We all put ourselves on the line,” Kalaes said. “Young and old.” As if he were that old himself.

“Ask the adults to fight,” Dain said through clenched teeth. “Why ask us?”

Alendra harrumphed. “Because we want to avoid outright battle. We’re at a disadvantage. We don’t have weapons, don’t have a trained army. We need to act in secret. Nobody tracks the movements of street kids.”

“That’s right, because nobody cares for street rats,” Dain spat.

“I care,” Kalaes said. “Of all people, you should know. I looked after you, my whole gang, even kids from other bands.”

“Whatever. You brush it all off easily, don’t you, but now it’s my gang and I’m not sending them to their death, do you hear me?”

“Whoa.” Zoe waved a hand. “Cool down. Kalaes and his people have a point. Grown-ups are watched and not organized like we are.”

“What about adult gangs?” Mitt said. “They’re organized.”

“We can’t trust them,” Kalaes said. He glanced around. “Is this some sort of test? Don’t ya all know that the Undercurrent Council is corrupt? Besides, the adult gangs are caught up in black market crime and aren’t interested in throwing off the regime. They’re dangerous people without scruples.”

“And you think you’re any different?” Dain muttered. “Don’t tell me you can’t remember what you did when Fran got sick back when—”

“Oh shut up,” Alendra snapped, shoving Dain back. Elei shifted so he could stop Dain if he turned violent, but the boy didn’t move, his gaze fixed on Kalaes.

Who had paled even more, the black lines of his tattoo stark on his cheek. “That’s not...” He rubbed his temples. “Listen, all of you. I’m not happy with putting kids at risk. We’ll do our damnedest to keep them safe. We’re not gonna storm the Gultur palace or anything like that. We’ll be a distraction so others can deliver the decisive blow. What do you say?”

“We’re game,” Mitt said, his companions nodding. “We already told Mantis. The Hawks will join.”

“
Crimey
.” Zoe sighed. “Yeah, we’re interested, but I want to hear the whole plan before I say the final yes. If Mantis leads, we follow.” Her dark gaze flicked to Elei, sizing him up. “Mantis and Elei Rex.”

Elei opened his mouth and closed it. “Ster,” he corrected faintly. “Elei Ster.”

Zoe grinned and winked. “Sure. And what about you,
crom
?” She nodded at Dain. “Will you join the party?”

“You all think this is fun, do you?” Dain let out a long breath and climbed to his feet. He brushed his hands over his dirty blue pants. “No, I don’t think I’ll be joining the ‘party’. I’m not throwing my gang to the dogs for Mantis and his stupid plans.”

Turning, he headed out. A door slammed inside the building.

“Oh
dawdle
damn,” Zoe muttered and Elei couldn’t agree more.

***

Down in the basement of the field hospital of Istros, a map of Dakru was spread on the long table, a lamp swaying overhead, making the shadows dance.

Giving Hera a headache. She itched to smash the bulb, throw the lamp to the wall, release some frustration.

 Instead she made herself take a deep breath and release it.

“Where did you say it was?” Mantis asked.

“Here.” Hera tapped a finger on the area south of Abydos. “I think the entrance to the cache is about here.”

“You think.” Mantis sighed and ran his hand through his shoulder-length, blond hair. “M’lady, I need you to be more specific. We’re about to move out into the open to locate the entrance, cross enemy territory and remove a war machine from the ground. If we start blundering around...”

“You think I do not know all this?” Hera looked down, glared at the map. “I did not have any damn way to take the coordinates as we made our escape. All of us were exhausted, some ill and in need of medical attention.”

And some had been out of control.
She
’d been out of control, had almost killed her friends. It was one of the reasons she’d insisted on staying here and not following them to Artemisia, although she worried how they’d fare without her. Her friends. Her family.

A family she’d been about to murder, crazed by Regina’s cocktail of hormones and the gods knew what else.

Yes, better stay away from them.

Mantis nodded, chewing on his lower lip. “Yeah, when I first saw you, after your trip to the underworld, I thought I was in the company of ghosts.” His dark eyes were earnest. “If we win this war, it will be because of you and the weapons you found.” He frowned. “We need to locate this war machine.”

Easier said than done. Hera rubbed her brow, her pulse thumping behind her eyes. It had been a hamlet south of Abydos, the great city port of the north of Dakru. A small house, two women and a child, and fields of K-blooms. “I think I can retrace our route,” she said, leaning against the table.

The scents around her faded for a moment, replaced by those in her memory — the stench of the underground tunnels; mold, cold humidity, rusted metal, the urine of rats, and the peppery scent of Rex emanating from Elei and Kalaes, mingling with the sourness of old sweat.

A hand fell on her shoulder, startling a gasp from her throat. “I’ll help,” Sacmis said, her presence exuding a sense of calm and purpose. “You asked me to take note of our location. And I did.” She leaned close and whispered in Hera’s ear, “You’re not alone in this.”

You do not have to take everything on your shoulders. You’re not responsible for everything.

Sacmis had spoken those words over and over during the past two nights as they’d lain in bed talking about the future. Reassuring words, yet Hera knew better. She had always been the one in charge, the one with the responsibility. Leading the missions, taking the decisions.

Most of them. Lately, Elei had stepped in and taken on some major decisions himself.

Like infecting Kalaes with Rex to save his life.

She would not have done it, and therefore would not have saved Kalaes. The knowledge only served to tie the knot of fear in her stomach tighter. She’d failed Kalaes, might yet fail them all. Because she was not infallible, although everyone seemed to think she was. She was an Echo princess. Gultur were supposed to be infallible, but Echoes... Echoes were the hand of the divinity.

Hera clenched and unclenched her hands. Lately she felt all too human. The stress of leadership messed with her head and turned her stomach.

“Did you happen to write down the coordinates, then?” Mantis lifted a pale brow at Sacmis and waved away someone who’d entered their temporary HQ. It was a little girl, Hera saw, carrying a duffel bag. “Leave it there, Mercia,” he said, pointing at a corner. “Go get some food from the kitchens. Shoo.”

“I do not have the coordinates,” Sacmis said, leaning a slender hip into the table, her blond ponytail swinging. “But I saw a sign with distances to other towns and cities. Surely we can triangulate the position?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Mantis smirked and grabbed a pen and paper. “Spill.”

Hera bent closer as Sacmis recited the town names and distance in miles, impressed in spite of herself. She knew Sacmis’ memory was sharp, but memorizing that info on the run, after emerging from days lost underground and then underwater, exhausted and stressed beyond belief, well that... That was amazing.

And the fact Sacmis had done so because Hera had asked her to was... sweet. So sweet, it made Hera’s chest ache.

Focus,
hatha
.
Why could she not remember anything useful from that night?

“All right,” Mantis said, his brow furrowed in concentration. He drew a few lines on the map, then tapped the pen where they intersected. “If your memory serves you right, then here’s the area we’ve been looking for.”

The three of them bent over the map.

“Yes, this could be it,” Hera muttered, tracing the road south of Abydos. “We were not far from the city.” She would not admit it but that was all she remembered from their way to Abydos. Driving the decrepit aircar they’d practically taken by force from the small family they’d met when they’d emerged from the ground. She’d promised them money, she thought. Or Elei had. Made no difference. She remembered approaching the city, checking for check-points and patrols.

Then she remembered white-hot fury and the desperate need to eliminate the threat. To erase Rex and its carriers.

Gods.
Maybe that was why she could not recall anything else.

“This isn’t good.” Mantis dropped the pen on the table and folded his arms across his chest, pale brows drawing together. “Not good at all.”

“Why?” Hera squinted at the map’s markings. “It is not too far. We can take the same route back.”

“No, in fact, you can’t.” Mantis scowled, his young face scrunching up. Turning, he pushed his fingers into his hair. “That road’s closed. In fact all southern suburbs of Abydos have been roadblocked, because that’s where you were spotted when you arrived. You, Sacmis, Elei, Kalaes and Ale. The patrols are sweeping the city. At least here we’re safe for now, but soon we’ll need to move—”

“Mantis!” A little boy raced into the room, chubby cheeks flushed. “Message from Leny of the Blackhound gang.”

“And what does it say?” Mantis half-turned toward the door, his gaze distant. “Quickly.”

“Okay.” The boy caught his breath and closed his eyes, as if pulling up the message from his memory. “Your position is compromised. Get out. And don’t go south.”