Elei's Chronicles (Books 1-3)

by Chrystalla Thoma

  “Think we can find a room?” Kalaes asked, fingers white around the steering lever. “I wouldn’t say no to a bed.”

  “Stop moaning like an old man,” Hera snapped. “There are bigger issues here. We need to find a boat and leave without being seen.”

  “Pardon my weakness, your Highness,” Kalaes muttered, brows drawing together. “Can’t blame a guy for asking. So, any ideas about where to get a boat?”

  “Sacmis said she has a contact here.”

  As they approached the first buildings, Kalaes’ shoulders tensed, and Hera sat straighter. Black smoke spiraled above the roofs.

  “What in the hells is going on?” Elei asked. “Hera?”

  “Maybe the Undercurrent is fighting the Gultur.” Kalaes’ eyes were very dark. “Though I’m not sure anymore. Maybe they’re only having a reunion party.”

  “It’s probably Gultur factions fighting each other,” Hera said.

  Elei realized his hands had curled into tight fists. “Are you sure Sacmis didn’t say anything else?”

  “No, but we’ll discuss this,” Hera said, not looking at Kalaes. “As soon as we’re somewhere safe.”

  “You sound sure we’ll make it out of here alive,” Kalaes remarked, his voice careful.

  “I’m sure that — damn.” Hera rose from her seat, hair rippling like liquid metal. “Roadblock.”

  Elei eyed the long line of aircars ahead, everyone waiting to be checked by armed Gultur guards. Their longguns glinted as if on fire.

  “They were expecting us,” Kalaes spat the words. “That’s why they didn’t bother following. They’re everywhere.”

  Elei hung back, his heart banging against his ribs, ringing in every hollow of his body. All the medicine in the world couldn’t stop Rex from taking control when in danger. “Do we need to pass through here?”

  “It’s the least used entrance into the city.” Hera sat back down. “Most traffic comes from the north, the big cities there, like Abydos.”

  “If we turn around and find a smaller town?” Kalaes asked.

  “We need a boat, and farther south there are only the Olbia marshes and sea cliffs, and no town or village that I know of,” Hera said.

  The line of vehicles advanced and took them another thirty feet closer to the roadblock. Elei cursed under his breath. He had to do something and quickly. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  “Where are you going?” Kalaes half-rose from his seat, his face paling to a startling white. Damn him, he looked sick.

  “Elei, wait.” Hera gave him a searching look. “What’s your plan?”

  Why did everyone think he made plans before heading off on some suicidal errand? “I need to create a distraction.” He didn’t wait to see if they’d agree or not. Turning on his heel, he opened the cabin door and strode through, his hand going to his gun at his belt. Alendra looked up from where she sat, golden eyes widening when he grabbed the handle of the deck door and pulled it open.

  “Where’s he going?” Sacmis asked, and Alendra said something he didn’t catch as the cold air hit him. He walked onto the narrow deck and pulled the hood over his head. He examined the scene, the twin rows of aircars going through control, and the emergency lane, free but cordoned off with barb wire and rusty barrels. Come on, think. There had to be a way through — a quiet way to avoid control and pursuit.

  A long red vehicle drew his gaze — an ambulance? Maybe if they hid inside... Yeah, right. Something else, then.

  Forcing his hand away from his gun, he set his shoulders against the icy wind and climbed down. He walked between the rows of aircars. He needed to create chaos, to get all those people to jump out of their vehicles and run. His gaze slid over the lid of a reactor engine and he paused, then resumed walking. An idea formed in his mind. It could work, but not here. Closer to the checkpoint.

  The spot between his shoulder blades itched. His nostrils flared. He heard steps behind him and cursed inwardly when colors lit up all around.

  A scent like a fresh sea breeze reached him, and he slowed, surprised. He looked over his shoulder and saw Alendra, her hood drawn up, hiding her fair hair. She had her hands shoved in her pockets, a bulge at her side giving away her gun’s position. What in all the hells was she doing following him?

  He waited for her to catch up. Her cat-like eyes flicked sideways at him and her lips tilted in a faint smile.

  “Hey,” she said softly, warmly, as if they weren’t walking toward a blockade, in a trajectory that might get them all killed. “Smells like frost.”

  But he was feeling warmer already.

  He resumed walking, trying to focus on the problem at hand. Her slight form, her scent, her nearness were distracting. “Did Hera send you?”

  “No, she didn’t.”

  In spite of himself, he turned to her, wanting to see her expression. It was teasing. You don’t have to help me, he wanted to say, but that would be stupid. Now he had an idea of what to do, he could really use her help.

  “Hera mentioned you had a plan,” Alendra said, gaze darting left and right at the idling vehicles. A little boy inside a small aircar pressed his face against the glass, making faces.

  Elei forced his attention back to the blockade. Gultur guards were checking the vehicles, bright orange targets to his Rex-infected eye. His pulse beat too fast but Alendra’s presence calmed him; through the fog of the last few days, he remembered the trip from Gortyn with Alendra sitting beside him as he lay on the aircar floor, his chest crushed with pain. Because he trusted her; because Rex would release him sooner if he felt safe.

  And it had. His lips pulled up in a reluctant smile at the thought of her bright presence by his side.

  Focus on the present. “I need a way to create a spark,” he said. “Set some aircars on fire.”

  The glint of her smile drew his gaze back to her. “Sounds like fun,” she muttered and he missed a step.

  “Well, then,” he said, trying for nonchalant, “can you help? With the spark?”

  She tapped her hidden gun. “Unwrap the isolating layer of surin and make sure you get the bullets out. Keep the gun lid open and move it close to the reactor engine. Fire it and the spark should catch.”

  He gaped. “You sound like you’ve done this before.”

  “No.” The afternoon light danced in her eyes. “But once upon a time it was on my list of to-do pranks.”

  Before the Asine disaster happened, Elei thought, and you exchanged childish pranks for the real war.

  He nodded. “I’ll take the left side, you take the right. Three cars each.”

  “It won’t blow the cars up, right?” Her worried expression made him want to reach out and stroke the line between her brows.

  “Not if they put the fire out quickly.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

  She grinned at him, her gaze shimmering, and took off at a light jog. He had to shake himself out of his daze before he followed her toward the roadblock. They split before they came too close, each turning to the task at hand. He caught a glimpse of her bent head as she crouched next to a small aircar, fiddling with the lid of the engine reactor, and then he focused on his own line.

  He chose at random a long, old aircar whose driver smoked an ama cigarette while waiting for the line to move. Elei lifted the lid and unlocked the panel. Then he pulled out his Rasmus and removed the bullets, letting them fall into his pocket, one by one, cold and heavy. He extracted the dakron cube from the gun’s grip, unwrapped it from the surin film and placed it back inside.

  If only he believed in the gods enough to pray.

  Releasing a breath, he moved the open handle of his gun close to the engine and grimaced as he pressed the trigger. The crack of the blank startled him even though he’d expected it, and the spark that jumped from his gun scorched his fingers. He cursed and barely avoided dropping the Rasmus.

  The reactor flashed with flames and he jumped back as the driver of the aircar came down the ladder to check what was
going on. Someone was shouting, and with a last quick look to make sure the fire had caught, Elei ran.

  He weaved between aircars, scanning for Alendra. He crouched behind a rusty city model to catch his breath. Peering around it, he thought he saw Sacmis in the shadow of a tall aircar, talking on a mobile phone.

  The sound of people running forced him to move, and he circled the aircar until he was at the front. The steps receded, a voice shouted something about checking the line of aircars, and Elei slumped in relief against the heavy registration plates.

  The engine reactor lid was right there, a perfect opportunity to light one more fire. He made sure nobody was watching, and wrenched it open. This time he was ready for the noise and flames, and didn’t even flinch when they burned his fingers. He held still for one more moment, making sure the fire caught, then turned and ran back the way he’d come. Hastily he wrapped the dakron cube back in its isolating surin film and forced his steps to slow, trying for nonchalant as he slid the bullets back into their chambers. He looked around, searching for their aircar.

  More people were moving among the vehicles, some holding guns, so Elei felt justified in not hiding his. He slowed, hoping the hood would hide his features.

  “What’s the matter?” asked a burly man with a handgun.

  Elei pointed vaguely over his shoulder. “I think there’s a fire.”

  “Is it an attack?”

  Elei shrugged. “Hard to know these days.”

  The man left to investigate, followed by others. A Gultur marched toward them and Elei sidestepped into the shadow of a hulking passenger aircar.

  “All done?” murmured a woman behind him and he whipped around, raising his gun, red flashing on the target’s center. The body was slim, the stance relaxed. His hand shook.

  Dammit. It was Alendra. She grinned at him, her small face streaked with burnt dakron. He lowered his gun and they skulked around the aircar to check if the other side was free.

  “How many did you set on fire?” she asked.

  “Two. And you?”

  “Three.”

  He wanted to laugh at her self-satisfied tone, but she was already stepping out into the open, and he followed, gun at the ready. She pulled her hood over her face as she walked past the idling aircars, a slender shadow in the brightening light of day. Although the colors of dawn had long faded, the sea reflected the silver sky and the towering buildings seemed to burn.

  He jogged to keep pace, and she gripped his hand in her smaller one.

  “Come on.” She tugged. “They’re moving.”

  Before he had a chance to ask who was moving, he saw that the two neat lines of aircars were breaking up and people were shouting and running. A gust of wind sent thick, curling smoke over them and they started coughing.

  “This way.” He pulled her toward their aircar. The door was ajar and someone stood, waiting — Hera. They threw themselves up the ladder and Hera hauled them inside as the aircar lurched sideways, bumping into the next aircar. Another lurch, and the other aircar slid forward, gliding on its cushion of air.

  “Hold on!” Kalaes called from the cockpit and threw the aircar into the gap that opened, heading to the emergency lane.

  The aircar crashed into something, knocking them to the floor, and Kalaes cursed.

  “Where’s Sacmis?” Alendra asked.

  “She said she would find a way to get us help from the resistance,” Hera said.

  “I thought they were corrupt.” Elei hung onto a wall handle as the aircar backed a few feet, then moved forward again, scraping against another aircar. Shouts rang and smoke swirled outside the windows.

  “I thought so too,” Hera muttered as they passed a throng of panicking people and reached the emergency lane. Shots rang out but nothing hit them as Kalaes sped up.

  “Sobek’s tail, Kal, slow down!” Hera staggered to the cockpit door. “Sacmis is still out there.”

  “Then get her back in,” Kalaes snapped and the aircar slowed.

  Through the window Elei saw her sprinting toward them, her sandy ponytail swinging. “She’s coming.”

  Hera opened the deck door and crouched as Sacmis covered the last ten feet and launched herself at the ladder. Hera grabbed her hand and heaved her up.

  “What kept you?” Hera muttered, and Sacmis just grinned.

  “Hera!” Alendra leaned outside. “What are you waiting for?”

  Hera dragged Sacmis by the hand into the aircar. “All clear,” she called out, and Kalaes pressed down on the accelerator.

  They barely had time to brace themselves as they raced into the city of Calydon.

  Chapter Seven

  The streets were broad. Shiny buildings streaked by the aircar, all glass and steel, as if recently built or heavily renovated.

  “Everything’s so new.” Alendra breathed.

  “Calydon is the biggest port after Artemisia,” Hera said, “and the port closest to Torq, our mother island.”

  The feeling that they’d been herded there for a reason was like an icy kiss on the back of Elei’s neck. “Where are we going?”

  Alendra pointed behind him. Sacmis stood at the cockpit door, talking to Kalaes who was driving.

  “I saw her calling someone,” Elei muttered, using one of the seats to get to his feet. “On a cell phone.”

  “I stole it,” Hera said matter-of-factly, her gaze challenging. Then she grinned. “From a Gultur patrol aircar. The driver went out for a smoke. She really should be more careful with her things.”

  His lips twitched. “Who did Sacmis call?”

  “She said she could find us a safe place and maybe a boat.” Hera shrugged. “I think—”

  A familiar hum came from above, setting his teeth on edge. “Seleukids,” he whispered. He lurched to his feet and shoved past Sacmis into the cockpit. “Kal, we’ve got pursuit from the air. Where are we heading?”

  Kalaes looked up from the driving panel, his eyes bloodshot and overly bright. “What?” He seemed to have trouble concentrating and Elei’s stomach clenched harder with a different kind of fear. What was wrong with him?

  First survive this mad flight. Then Kalaes. Priorities. “Move over.” When Kalaes didn’t move, Elei grabbed his arm none too gently and dragged him aside. He took the pilot’s seat. “Sacmis, where are we going?”

  She leaned closer, her sweet Gultur smell sending Rex into a frenzy. He blinked at the flashing colors around him. Damn parasite, now was not the time for this. The rush of adrenaline helped when he was running, but sitting at the aircar controls, he feared he’d break something; his hand gripped the steering lever so tight it creaked.

  “We need to go toward the port,” Sacmis said. “Continue down this avenue, then turn left at the first opportunity.”

  “The first opportunity has to be now, or we’re all dead.” Feeling the hum of the seleukids in his bones, he jerked the lever to the left and sent the aircar hurtling into the next street. The rat-tat-tat of artillery tore through the air and bullets smashed another of their windows.

  Sacmis stumbled forward. Elei gripped the lever in both hands, navigating around parked aircars and fire escapes. Bullets zipped by, hitting walls and breaking windows. They were a glaring target, even in the shadow of the buildings.

  “Kal, check the map, see if there’s any place to hide.” He got no reply and turned to see Kalaes lying limp on top of the console. “Kal?” Oh shit, oh shit, his mind chanted, and he just couldn’t breathe from fear. “Kalaes!”

  Sacmis moved forward, pulled Kalaes back. Blood dripped from a cut on his cheek. “He’s breathing. Keep driving.”

  Elei’s heart hammered. He’d thought Kalaes was tired, had some headaches, hells, he’d caught a bug, but to pass out? Priorities, dammit. “Sacmis, check the map.”

  She leaned over Kalaes and spread it on the control panel. “There’s a covered fish market not far. Continue to the end of the street, then go right and then left.”

  Elei nodded, swallowing hard,
trying not to stare at Kalaes’ bloodied face or the way he slumped bonelessly, his head lolling on the backrest. He accelerated, barely missing a group of rusty dumpsters. Two cats shot out between the buildings. He swerved right, bumped into another aircar and sent it crashing into a shop window.

  Pulse jumping in his throat, he spotted the turn and swerved left when the seleukids sent another volley, striking the right side of the vehicle. The aircar lurched and hit the wall. The engine sputtered and smoke billowed.

  “Goddammit. The reactor.” A sort of divine justice, perhaps, for what he’d done to those aircars in the blockade line.

  “There must be something we can do,” Sacmis hissed. “Elei.”

  He scowled at the swirling wisps of smoke. “I’ll cut off the main engine, use the side thrusters,” he said, “and hope they don’t blow or we’re dead.” He was already shutting off the main reactor, switching to secondary.

  “We’ll be dead in any case,” Sacmis grumbled.

  The aircar sputtered and swayed as if drunk, and only Sacmis’ quick reflex saved Kalaes from banging his head on the panel again.

  A missile struck the wall ahead, and Elei swore as he switched all systems to emergency, the lights dimming to a bare luminescence. The hum of the enemy planes vibrated through the hull of the aircar. If he didn’t move, they’d go up in a ball of flame.

  He hit the accelerator and held his breath.

  The aircar moved, thank all the gods. He brought it into the side street a moment before the explosion shook the avenue. Pieces of concrete crashed into the asphalt, raising clouds of white dust, and a pillar of flame rose above the buildings.

  “The entrance with the blue sign on top,” Sacmis said. “Hurry.”

  The suspension protested as he spun the aircar in a tight turn and drove into the market. People dived out of the way as he hit a stall and sent it flying. He slowed in the narrow passages meant for pedestrians. “Now what?” he snapped.

  “Stop and wait.”