Rex Aftermath (Elei's Chronicles) (34 page)
Read Rex Aftermath (Elei's Chronicles) Online
Authors: Chrystalla Thoma
“Look”, she whispered and gestured at the sea.
A mass of misty lights rose from the darkness, far away and flickering. Too big to be a ship. It was...
“Ost,” he whispered. The island he’d come from. Where Albi had lived and Pelia had died. Where he’d been infected with Rex and made into who he was.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked.
He nodded, not knowing what to say.
Yeah, it was beautiful, seen like this, like a haunted ship rising from the depths of the ocean. Bright and clean. Otherworldly. Who would have imagined the vast trashlands where he’d grown up, the rabid dogs, the endless slums with their reek of hunger, death and desperation. The distance erased the ugliness and left only the light.
He turned away, his heart squeezing in his chest. “I’d rather look at you,” he said, his voice coming out hoarse.
Her eyes flicked from the lights to his face. Then she nodded, as if she understood, and wrapped her arms around his neck. And kissed him, setting his blood on fire, and he could have laughed at how easy it was to get used to pleasure when it had taken him all his life to accept pain.
And it scared him how much he wanted the pleasure, the happiness, how addictive it was. He wanted Alendra’s arms around his neck, the warmth in her eyes when she looked at him. He wanted this to last, and having tasted it, he didn’t know if he could ever give it up again.
“What dark thoughts are you thinking again?” she murmured, kneading the back of his neck and he swallowed a moan. “What will it take to distract you?”
“I can think of a thing or two.”
She laughed, her cheeks flushing. “I bet you can.” She drew back. “We should head home.”
He had no objection, home being where he could kiss her with no-one watching, where he could touch her and feel her bare skin again.
The streets they passed through were a blur, the only real thing in the world her hand clamped around his, the strength of her hold. He climbed the steps to the fourth floor in a daze, stood back as she fumbled with her keys and opened the door.
She turned and grabbed both his hands, winked and pulled him inside.
Into the dark.
Elei froze. Rex woke, hammering in the back of his eye, screaming inside his head. “Ale,” he gasped, wrenching his hands free, going for his gun. “Get down.”
“Relax, fe,” Kalaes’ voice came from the hall and a flame flickered, lighting up his wide grin. “Everything’s okay.”
“Kal,” a woman’s voice said.
Hera?
“It was supposed to be a surprise.”
“He was about to shoot us,” Kalaes drawled. “That would have been a messy party, girl. Besides, I haven’t given it all away.”
Party?
Elei blinked, his fingers clenching on the grip of his Rasmus.
The hells?
“Come in,” Alendra said, slipping an arm around his hips, urging him forward. “Everyone’s here.”
“Everyone?” Elei’s possessed eye ached dully, and outlines flickered silver. Sacmis was there, sitting on the sofa next to Hera, and next to Kalaes stood a girl with long hair.
Zoe?
But that wasn’t all. Seated on the floor, cross-legged, were smaller forms. His heart began to pound. “Who?”
“Oh
crikey
, turn on the lights,” Zoe said, laughter in her voice. “We want him to have fun, not a heart attack.”
“That’s not funny, fe,” Kalaes muttered. “Screw surprises.”
“Kal,” Elei snapped. “What’s going on?”
A giggle came from the forms seated on the floor, and small flames jumped from the table. Candles. A dark-haired little girl stood and turned toward him.
His heart lurched.
Oh gods, Afia.
Elei disentangled himself from Alendra and opened his arms, a whimper locked in his throat. Afia launched herself at him and he lifted her in the air, making her squeal.
“You’re okay?” he whispered. “Where’s Jek?”
The blond boy approached, hands in his pockets, a small smile on his lips. Elei put Afia down, knelt and slung an arm over both kids’ bony shoulders, not trusting his voice. He held them close, seeing in the trembling candlelight just how many children were there.
The hall was full. Some sat on the chairs, some had crawled under the table. Some rolled on the floor while others poked their heads through the doors to the bedrooms. Elei thought he recognized some of them.
Jek’s gang. Zoe’s gang.
Dain stood behind the sofa, his blue eyes apprehensive, but when Elei nodded at him he nodded back. Ifran, Zoe’s shy companion, was directing a group of small children toward the center of the room. They were carrying a box.
An indignant meow emanated from it.
“Cat?” Elei breathed, his eyes stinging, his hold tightening around the two kids. “Did you find him?”
The box was opened with great ceremony, and was brought to Elei.
A fuzzy black kitten sat inside, its eyes golden like Alendra’s.
He gulped down the crushing disappointment.
Not Cat.
He stood unsteadily and Hera was by his side, lending him a hand. “We could not find him,” she said gently. “He may come back some day.”
Elei nodded, shook his head. “What is this all about?” He gestured at the candlelit table that was laden with food. Alendra was stacking bottles of liquor, a concentrated look on her small face, the small children tugging at her pants.
“This, my man,” Kalaes said, throwing an arm around Elei’s shoulders, “is your birthday party.”
“I don’t have a birthday,” Elei said faintly.
“Well, mark the day because you do now.” Kalaes winked and waved at someone behind them.
“What are you doing?” Elei’s lips twitched, while his legs shook.
The children squealed and ran in circles around the table as Zoe brought a round pie decorated with red bush fruit and brown sugar. The smell made Elei’s mouth water.
“But I don’t...” He stared, dumbfounded, at the table, the kids, the decorations hanging from the walls. Were those paper fans? The monks at the monastery he’d gone to after Albi died used to hang them on holy days.
“You have a family,” Kalaes said, pushing him into a chair in front of the table. “And with families you get birthday parties, and victory parties, and hells-I’m-happy-today parties, get it? No reason parties.”
“Unreasonable parties,” Hera said.
“Parties are always reasonable,” Kalaes said, arranging the candles around the pie. “So go on.”
Everyone had gathered, the small ones at the front, their eyes round, reflecting the flames, the older ones behind — and everyone he wanted to see, everyone still among the living, was there, smiling.
“What should I do?” he whispered.
“Make a wish,” Alendra said, putting a hand on his back.
“I think,” he said and swallowed hard, “I don’t have any more left.”
Alendra giggled, covering her mouth, and it made him smile again.
“Well then,” Kalaes said brightly, his voice inexplicably thick, “excellent. That means we can open the presents, stuff the kids’ mouths with food to have some quiet, and make a toast.”
Presents?
Elei’s head spun. “A toast,” he said weakly.
“To peace,” Kalaes said, lining up glasses on the table and pouring amber liquid. “To those who have gone, and...” He passed on the glasses and raised his own, his dark eyes moving over them all, stopping on Elei. He dipped his head. “And to the living.”
“To the living,” Elei repeated, taking a sip from his glass. “To all of you.”
“And to my little brother,” Kalaes said, his face serious. “To Elei. Many happy returns.”
Elei drank to that, because for the first time since he could remember, he thought he might believe it.
THE END
I hope you have enjoyed REX AFTERMATH. Sign up for the newsletter to be informed about new releases and promotions!
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If you want to know how Hera met Mantis and entered the Resistance:
A novelette set in the world of Rex Rising (free)
HERA
Hera, member of the Gultur race governing the Seven Islands, thought she knew right from wrong and what her future held in store. A chance meeting with a lesser mortal, though, will turn her world upside down and force her to see her race and the laws with different eyes. For Hera, knowledge means action, so she sets out to put things right and change her world.
Taking place in the World of the Seven Islands almost three years before the events in Rex Rising, this is the story of Hera’s first confrontation with the truth.
http://www.amazon.com/Hera-Eleis-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B005UY43EA
If you want to know how Mantis met Kalaes and Pelia:
A short story set in the world of Rex Rising (free)
Mantis
Thrown into the sea, his memory of the last few hours hazy but slowly returning, young Mantis decides he can’t die just yet — not before he has put up a fight and made the regime pay for killing the people he loved.
This is the story of how Mantis met Kalaes and how Mantis started his journey with the resistance, a moment which leads to certain events in Rex Equilibrium (Book Three of Elei’s Chronicles).
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009QIC3IY
Author note
I hope you have enjoyed Elei’s Chronicles as much as I have enjoyed writing them. I love my heroes and heroines and I hope they will stay with you as you go about your everyday life. If they made you think, realize or learn something new, if they helped you see your world through different eyes — or even if they just gave you a few enjoyable evenings, then I’m glad.
The problem with series is that authors may get too attached to the characters. I feel Elei, Kalaes, Alendra, Hera, Sacmis and Mantis are part of my family, and find myself reluctant to part with them.
Therefore I am planning two different arcs: Kalaes’ arc, which takes place years before he met Elei (documenting his life after his father’s and brother’s death and his time with Pelia) and Jek’s arc, taking place some time after the events in Elei’s story (documenting Jek’s adventures exploring the Seven Islands and beyond). I also would like to write a brief companion telling you how this story began in my head and about its first forms and transformations.
These are plans, of course, I haven’t written those books yet. But it is very probable I will and I hope you’re looking forward to them as much as I am.
A few quasi-scientific notes
If you have read books 1-3 of Elei’s Chronicles (and I assume you have if you are reading this), then you know where my inspiration about parasites comes from. Here is a quick recap:
Although they may sound like pure fantasy, the parasites described in this novel are based in part on real-life parasites. Mostly these cause illness and death, but some are useful and we humans have coexisted with them from the beginning of our existence. If you’re interested in reading about parasites but don’t want a technical book, I highly recommend the following:
Parasite Rex
, by Carl Zimmer (http://carlzimmer.com/books/parasiterex/index.html)
In case you’re wondering whether a parasite can really create a race of women who reproduce by parthenogenesis, i.e. cloning themselves, read about Wollbachia (http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/wolbachia/index.html). If you type the name in Google, you’ll get plenty of sites.
Read Parasite Rex mentioned above for many examples of behavior-modifying parasites.
Parasites in Elei’s Chronicles
Protozoan parasites (cronion, Rex)
Like Toxoplasma gondii, Rex is a protozoan parasite. In between stages of growth and transformation, it exists inside tiny protective cysts, which is why the only way to get it is by ingesting it (the acids of the stomach break down the cyst, freeing the microscopic parasite).
Pathogenic fungal infections (telmion, Regina, palantin)
Pathogenic fungi (yeasts and molds and mushrooms) cause disease. A famous one is Candida (just Google it for more information). Acidity in the stomach and intestines is the perfect environment for such parasites.
Note that bacteria (which are also parasitic) are used to control such diseases (for example, the bacteria found in yogurt). Diet is the best bet for keeping healthy — in particular, in cases of candida, it is recommended to avoid sugars because they strengthen the parasite (as is the case with Rex. I “borrowed” this feature from Candida).
Seeing flashes –Rex-palantin bonding
When Elei infects Kalaes with Rex to save his life from palantin when they are underground in book 3, he doesn’t have the luxury to sit and consider how different Rex will become once it bonds with Kalaes’ palantin parasite and matures. Hera voices some objections and doubts as to whether it’s a good idea, but Elei has no option but to pass Rex to Kalaes to save his life.
In any case, Elei’s telmion and Kalaes’ palantin — like Regina — are pathogenic fungi, which gives him hope that it will work out okay.
And it does, obviously. Kalaes survives and gains some of the advantages and disadvantages of Rex which we already know from Elei’s journey.
But Kalaes can do something Elei can’t: he can see the electrical charge left by Gultur fingertips on anything they touch.
I swear this isn’t an ability I made up; I borrowed it from bees. Bees have many amazing abilities — like seeing ultraviolet and sensing the earth’s magnetic field.
What they also do is they collect a positive static charge while flying through the air which they then deposit when they perch on a flower. This electric signature lingers and the next bee to visit the flower can see it, and it knows that the flower has been recently visited by another bee.
Regina, the Gultur parasite, modified its hosts to leave such signatures when it was in a more primitive stage — probably when its hosts were animals or insects able to sense such charges, an ability the Gultur don’t share. It’s a relic ability, one the Gultur are not aware of — like human women’s ability to smell pheromones in men’s sweat, resulting in physical attraction or men’s ability to smell pheromones in other men’s sweat resulting in aggression or cooperation.
Rex is an ancient parasite, relatively primitive. It was kept under lock and key for many centuries, in a dormant state. Unlike Regina, its old enemy, it hasn’t had the chance to evolve much — although by bonding with different parasites it’s surely making up for lost time. Parasites in competition, like Rex and Regina, adapt to counter each other’s powers, therefore somewhere in its cells, Rex has kept the ability to “sniff out” Regina’s presence in order to protect its hosts from it. A random bonding with Kalaes’ palantin results in a new form of Rex where this relic power resurfaces.