“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 f
ew 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.”
Chapter Two
“Now what?” Alendra paced the room. Elei watched her, his eyes drawn in spite of himself to her soft curves, the silvery sheen of her hair where it hung loose on her shoulders.
Shit.
Mitt and company had left, promising to talk to more gang leaders and meet again later. The little kids had followed Zoe to the kitchen for breakfast, the din loud even behind the closed door. A wail was followed by a crash.
“Now we wait,” Kalaes said. He stood leaning against a wall, eyes closed, looking worn out.
Worry gripped Elei’s insides. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Sure, fe. Just tired.”
Right. Kalaes had barely made it out alive from the underworld, Rex pushing back palantin in the nick of time. What if palantin had flared again? What if the bonding of Rex and palantin had gone wrong?
Stop worrying. He’s fine. Kalaes was probably stressed out over Dain and his accusations. They’d made Elei curious, in spite of himself. What had Dain been referring to? What had happened years back before Kalaes had dismantled his gang?
‘You don’t know the things I’ve done,’ he’d told Elei once. How bad could it be?
Small windows were set high up in the walls, their panes dusty. Ruddy light filtered through, making him think of blood. An image flashed through his mind — Pelia, lying still and bloody in his arms, Kalaes and Alendra, laid out in a deserted street. A girl kneeling by his side with large, gemstone eyes, a wide grin and black, rotten teeth.
Nightmares. They’d been getting worse since they’d arrived in Artemisia, and the place might have something to do with it. The fact of coming back. Full circle of sorts.
“I don’t trust Dain,” Alendra said, still pacing.
“He swore he won’t betray us,” Kalaes muttered.
“And you believe him?”
Kalaes snorted and opened his eyes. “What choice do I have?” He pushed off the wall. “We’ll need more people. Most of Zoe’s kids are too young for this.”
“Mitt will find us more,” Alendra said.
Elei rubbed his tainted eye; it still pulsed painfully. “I thought more gang leaders were supposed to come.”
“The stick up the regime’s ass has grown bigger,” Zoe said, entering the room. “The damn patrols are working hard, breaking up any gathering, whipping any suspects within an inch of their lives, even the very young. The other gang leaders are... hesitant.”
“But you’re not?” Kalaes asked quietly.
She shrugged. “This isn’t a life worth living. We need peace, and peace comes at a frigging cost. Besides.” She considered Kalaes from under long, dark lashes. “You said you’d do your best to keep everyone safe. I choose to believe you, soomi.”
Kalaes nodded and swallowed.
“Without more people,” Alendra whispered, “Mantis’ plan will fall through.”
“And what exactly is Mantis’ plan?” Zoe twined a thin braid around a finger, a crease between her slender brows.
Kalaes was staring at her and Elei wondered if he was thinking of his own twin braids, the ones he’d grown in memory of his dead; the ones he’d sacrificed in honor of the living, in a pledge to fight this war.
“The idea was to capture a place that’s important for the Gultur,” Kalaes said, glancing sideways at Elei as if not sure how much to say. “I had a few possibilities in mind. There’s a water source near Dakru City, and a couple of factories we could seize.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Zoe huffed. “How long d’you think we’d hold out with the regime breathing down our necks, right outside their capital — even if we managed to seize a factory or water source?”
“It wouldn’t be for long,” Alendra said. “We distract them only for as long as is needed to launch the real attack.”
“The real attack?” Zoe’s gaze moved from Alendra to Elei, questioning.
He shrugged helplessly. “Yeah.”
“Right. So we hold this place, and for how long, then, soomi?” Zoe seemed fond of using words nobody understood, although the lilting, warm tone she used for this one made it sound affectionate.
Unless of course she was being sarcastic. Hells, Elei couldn’t tell.
“A day, perhaps?” Alendra shrugged. “We’ll coordinate efforts with the other groups.”
In theory, it should all go according to plan, smooth and fine. In reality, though, it was never that easy, and every one of them knew it. Besides, they’d already told Zoe too much and it made everyone uneasy. Elei could see it in Kalaes’ narrowed gaze and in Alendra’s tight bow of a mouth.
“That’s the plan,” Kalaes said.
Zoe turned toward Elei, a hand held out, her dark eyes betraying nothing. “And what say you, Elei Rex? Do you find the plan realistic?”
Elei stiffened in surprise. “I find it necessary.”
Silence followed his words.
Then Zoe laughed, a light-hearted sound, and her braids shook. Her hand fell by her side. “Well said.”
“Look, just...” Elei clenched his hands into fists. “Just call me Elei. I’m not...” A king. Or Rex’s. “Not what you seem to think I am.”
Zoe tilted her head to the side, her expression thawing, her inky eyes lighting up. The black tattoos twined around her neck like vines. “So tell me, what do I think you are? Or better still: What are you, really?”
Confused, Elei retreated a step and glanced to Kalaes for aid, but his friend was at the window, staring up at the street through the dirty glass. “I don’t...”
“Maybe you don’t even know what you are,” Zoe muttered. “Even after everything you’ve been through. Maybe you need to find out for yourself.”
And what in the hells was that supposed to mean?
Alendra moved to Elei’s side and took his arm, her golden eyes shining like moons. “We need to be on our way,” she said. “We’ll meet in the evening, as agreed. I hope you can help us.”
“I hope so, too, soomi,” Zoe whispered. “I really do.”
***
What had Zoe meant? Elei pushed his hands into his pockets as they waited at the
door for Kalaes to join them. He was Elei, a mortal, working with the resistance because he’d been thrown into this war and told to fix everything. Infected with Rex, his friends kidnapped and tortured, his safe places taken from him. Forced into battle.
Though you promised the kids of Teos, a traitorous voice whispered in the back of his head. Promised to help them, to change things. Isn’t that why you descended into the underworld to find weapons? Wasn’t that your choice?
Yeah, true. But he’d done his part. Couldn’t do much more.
Kalaes came out, his hood pulled low over his eyes, and they slipped through the streets, hiding in shadows. None of them spoke as they moved through the filthy alleys and back streets. Rats skittered along exposed nepheline pipes, their beady eyes curious. A whistle rang, and Elei hoped they weren’t about to be jumped and robbed. He huddled in his jacket, shoved his hands deeper inside his pockets. Their building was right around the corner. Almost there.
Kalaes lengthened his stride. Soon their building came into view, a gray stack of apartments.
There was a stillness about the place: a sense of wrongness. Nobody was around. Even the beggar who’d set up shop by the broken infopole was gone.
To buy cigarettes, probably. You’re being paranoid.
Yeah, what else was new?
But Rex screeched inside his head as they came to the entrance. Colors leaped from the surroundings, Rex scanning everything in layers, red, yellow, blue, green.
Elei backed away, glanced up at their window, not sure what he expected to see.
“What is it?” Alendra whispered, her face shadowed, her hood drawn low. Her chest pulsed crimson in Elei’s eye.
Kalaes groaned and stumbled. He tugged his jacket open. “Netherhells. I think I’m gonna be sick.”
Shit. If Kalaes’ parasite was reacting as well, chances were something was really wrong. Elei turned his attention back to their window on the fourth floor and red caught his eye.
Five hells. A pulse. Someone was inside.
“Let’s go!” Elei grabbed Kalaes’ arm and Alendra’s hand and hauled them away from the building.
Rex Aftermath (Elei's Chronicles) Page 2