Rex Aftermath (Elei's Chronicles) (26 page)

“Yes?” Her heart lurched. She thought she might be sick.

 “They said no report of Kalaes dying has been filed. In fact,
Gwen Kheret
has been looking for him.”

“Who?”

“They said it’s their name for Maera. The ‘Girl Child’. She’s looking for him.”

Hera unfolded, her back creaking, and wiped her hands on her pants. “So he’s alive?”

One corner of Mantis’ mouth lifted in an uncertain smile. “It’s not certain. But he might be.”

“Then we’ll find him. Can you trace where Maera is now?”

He put a hand to his chest, his smile growing wide. “Leave it to me, m’lady. I’ll sniff her out.”

Chapter Twenty

“We must enter Dakru City,” Iset said.

Elei blinked groggily at her over Alendra’s tousled head. “What?”

“Dakru City.” Iset scowled. “It’s our only chance.”

Kalaes stirred where he half-lay, Zoe’s fingers threaded in his dark hair, and frowned. “Come again? What in the hells are you talking about?”

“It’s the only safe place in the area. I’ve been listening to the glitcher. The police forces around the capital are regrouping to try and re-conquer it. We need to move fast.”

Not over, then — the war, the running. Too easy, he supposed.
Dammit.

“If we make it into the city, we should be safe,” Iset said, as if reading his thoughts.

The police forces were regrouping. Blockades. Ambushes. “How?” he ground out.

“I have an idea.”

“Really.” He held her gaze for a moment, before she looked away. “Are you going to try trading me again?”

“No, the idea—”

“Again?” Kalaes sat up, his face white, lines of pain around his mouth. “What do you mean, ‘again’?”

Iset swallowed hard. “Look, I’m sorry about that. I said so already.”

As if that made it all right.

“Damn you, what did you do?” Kalaes growled, struggling to sit up. Zoe held him down. “You traded my brother — for what?”

“To enter Bone Tower,” Iset said calmly. “A mistake.”

“You bet it was.” Kalaes’ lips pulled back in a snarl. “I’ll make you wish you never set eyes on him and...” He grimaced and lay back. “Shit.”

Hells.
“Kal, I’m fine,” Elei said. “In the end it was for the best.” He turned to Iset. “What’s your idea?”

“A message circulated some days ago that
Gwen Kheret
was searching for a boy named Kalaes.”

“Maera,” Elei breathed; vague memories of kicking her and falling out of the Gultur aircar assaulted him.

“Maera?” Kalaes groaned. “How do you know?”

“She apprehended him,” Bestret said. “She caught Elei Rex. Before we arrived.”

“You talked to Maera?” Kalaes blinked. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“She was looking for you,” Elei said. “She thinks...” He eyed Kalaes, wondering if Maera was right. “She thinks you’ll forgive her and start anew.”

“Gods dammit.” Kalaes scrunched his eyes shut.

Elei clenched his jaw. “She’s an initiate, infected with Regina.” He licked his dry lips. “I don’t think she’s entirely sane.”

“Ex girlfriend?” Zoe hazarded, her eyes twinkling.

A lot more complicated than that.

“Very ex,” Kalaes said firmly.

“She has some power in the regime,” Bestret said.

Elei waited.

“We can send out a circular on the glitchers, saying
Gwen Kheret’s
demand will be met.” Before Elei opened his mouth to curse, she went on. “Kalaes can give us a key word or phrase, something to let her know it’s from him.”

“And then?” Elei snapped.

“She has to be near Dakru City where the forces are amassing. Meeting Kalaes is her own private mission. We meet, we capture her and use her vehicle which has all the codes necessary to pass the blockades. We may not be able to get into the city otherwise.”

Sounded easy. Suspiciously so. “What makes you think she won’t show up with three aircars full of police, their guns trained on us?”

Iset shrugged. “It’s a risk.”

“No.” Elei’s heart hammered. “Kalaes can’t see her.” He wasn’t well, and he should relax, not get more stressed, and Maera... “She can’t be trusted.”

“He does not have to meet her.” Iset raised her hands — to appease them or to deflect their angry gazes, Elei wasn’t sure. “We’ll be ready to immobilize her and tie her up, then take over her aircar.”

Still, no.
“There must be another way,” Elei said, desperate to save Kalaes the heartache.

“Tell her...” Kalaes waved a hand, the black spiral tattoo marking his pale skin like a scar. “Tell her ‘wicked scum’. She’ll understand.”

“Kal,” Alendra said, still pressed close to Elei, “you don’t have to.”

“I want to see her,” Kalaes said, closing his eyes again. “I need to say goodbye.”

***

They were racing toward Dakru City, its spires and skyscrapers rising in the distance like a massive wall. A shiver of apprehension went through Elei’s bones. His memories of the capital weren’t any better than those of Bone Tower. Every scrap of recollection was tinged red, covered in a film of blood.

Blood, trickling hot down his arm where it was wrapped around Alendra’s shoulders, blood in the ruins of the temple in Bone Tower, spreading like the tentacles of a nightmare, seeking, searching.

“You stink,” Alendra said, scrunching up her nose, and he snorted, his nasty train of thoughts broken.

But she didn’t pull away like Elei expected. She snuggled closer, looking perfectly at ease in the crook of his arm. Like a big, golden cat.

Not for the first time he wondered where Cat was, if he’d ever see the black furball again, but even that regret couldn’t shake off the contentment he felt.

He dozed on and off, watching the landscape roll by, the blue algae ponds giving way to shrubs and arid stretches, then fungi cultivations, and finally factories. They were entering the outskirts of Dakru City.

Then the glitcher buzzed to life. Iset listened, pale brows knotted, as a woman’s voice confirmed a meeting with Gwen Kheret outside the southern gates of Dakru City, near the cloth factory.

Iset put the glitcher down and turned it off. She looked up at them, her blue eyes serious. “We’re set. It’s not far from here, we should be there within the hour.”

Elei shook his head, still unsure whether this was a good idea or a disaster waiting to happen. With his luck, probably the latter. It wasn’t just himself now. It was Kalaes and Ale and Zoe and the kids. What if it all went wrong?

“Breathe,” Alendra murmured, placing a hand on his chest, over the blood-stained t-shirt. “Oxygen’s good for you.”

He huffed and gazed at her upturned face. Her lips looked softer than sleep. “Breathing is overrated,” he said quietly.

She pulled him down for a kiss — soft and deep, hot and shiny, made of sparks and lightning that sizzled down his body. A gasp escaped him and he cupped the back of her head, pressing their mouths, their bodies together, and it wasn’t enough.

Whistling and clapping registered through the haze and Alendra drew back, breaking the kiss.

Elei blinked, disoriented. He’d forgotten they weren’t alone in the aircar. His cheeks warmed and he ducked his head. Alendra buried her nose in his shoulder and giggled. A quick peek showed him Kalaes grinning, so yeah, the heat rising in his neck was worth it.

And then the aircar slowed and Iset stood, a hand on her longgun. “We’ve arrived.” Her voice was sharp, and everyone fell quiet.

Success or disaster, take your pick. Elei’s expectations were definitely on the low side right now.

He drew his longgun and turned toward the door.

***

Time stuttered to a stop. Maera entered the cabin, her caramel curls and slim shoulders backlit by the dawning sky so she seemed to glow. She held a pistol pointing down, and Elei had no doubt it was cocked and ready to fire.

Hidden behind a seat, he shaded his eyes, Rex humming along his nerves. He kept the longgun aimed at her head. If she tried anything at all...

She paused, squinting at the dim interior. Kalaes stood in the center of the cabin, hands in his pockets, peering at her under lowered lashes.

Elei bit on his lip, clenched his hand around the grip of the gun. Kalaes shouldn’t be up, shouldn’t be going through this messy encounter, not today, not now.

Pissing hells.

“Kal.” Maera glanced at the back of the cabin where some of the kids hid behind the seats. The rest had been packed in the storage cabin in the back.

“Mae.” His voice was rough, with cracks around the edges.

Her mixed scent, moist earth and sugar, burned Elei’s nostrils.

She glanced sideways at Iset who stood by the door. “Thank you for notifying me.”

“
Senet
.” Iset inclined her head. “We endeavored to extract information relevant to our cause from him but he resisted our efforts. I’m sure you will find success where we have failed.”

Maera nodded, her gaze straying back to Kalaes. “How have you been?” she asked.

“I’ve been better.”

What was taking so long? Bestret was supposed to storm the other aircar with the driver’s help while Iset captured Maera. Dain hid outside, acting as a messenger to let them know if things went according to plan — but what was Iset waiting for?

“I’ve missed you,” Maera said, taking a step forward. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Kalaes shook his head. “It’s okay,” he said, his voice strangled.

“Do you forgive me?” She took another step. “Did you miss me?”

Elei’s finger trembled on the trigger. Iset, dammit, get on with it.

“Forgive what?” Kalaes didn’t move, but a corner of his mouth lifted.

“So you do,” Maera purred, smiling. “You won’t regret this.”

Iset whipped out her gun and slunk behind Maera, who froze. Maera’s curls bounced as she raised her gun — but not toward Iset, as Elei expected. She aimed it straight at Kalaes’ head.

Hells.
He’d been afraid this would happen — among other disastrous things. He pushed to his feet, saw Alendra do the same at the periphery of his vision, and had a moment to wonder if he could get a shot in before Maera blew Kalaes’ head off — her love seemed erratic at best—

 Kalaes shifted forward. A gun materialized in his hand as if out of thin air — Maera’s gun, Elei had the time to realize, as Kalaes pressed it to Maera’s forehead.

“I don’t regret it,” Kalaes told Maera. “Any of it. I only regret putting others in danger because of it. I don’t miss you and I don’t forgive you for hurting them.”

A breath shuddered out of Elei’s chest. He stepped around the seat and sat on it, his legs shaking but his aim steady.

“You...” Maera glared at Elei, even with the muzzle of Kalaes’ gun kissing her brow. “You organized all this, didn’t you?”

Elei shook his head, Rex wavering between pulsing colors and solid surfaces, unsure whether to let its guard down or not. “You wanted to talk to him. You talked.”

Her eyes flashed, furious, but Kalaes only pressed the gun harder into her skull. “Don’t move.”

“You won’t hurt me,” Maera whispered. “You wouldn’t.”

“Maybe he would not, but I will,” Iset said, her voice low and deadly. She pressed her gun to the side of Maera’s neck, under the curls.

Elei’s hand began to tremble. He lowered his gun just as Dain appeared at the door, grinning widely.

“We’re ready to roll,” he said, gaze darting between Iset and Kalaes, who both held guns against Maera. “Shall I tie her up?”

Kalaes nodded. “Tie her and gag her. I don’t want to hear another word from her mouth.”

Tremors went through his body, and Elei made as if to stand, alarmed. Too late.

Kalaes’ gun fell from his hand, and he folded quietly to the ground.

***

The drive into Dakru City was a blur. Zoe was pressing on Kalaes’ chest, thirty compressions, then breathing into his mouth, making sure that his chest rose. She kept it up until Iset pushed her aside and took her place.

Elei was vaguely aware they passed checkpoints, their two aircars waved through when the codes given to them by Maera’s driver were entered. He was conscious of Iset checking on them from time to time, and of Alendra kneeling by his side.

He had no idea what to do. He felt frozen. He’d already thanked the gods for saving everyone. Had that angered them? Had his words reminded them he’d abandoned them long ago?