Read Rex Aftermath (Elei's Chronicles) for Free Online Page B

gun.
    Another pulse, another heartbeat: Iliathan, who got up, his eyes round.
    “What’s up, guys? What are you doing?” He scratched an armpit, then caught sight of the gun in Elei’s hand and froze. “The hells?”
    “Dammit,” Kalaes breathed, but instead of drawing his gun, he clapped a hand over his possessed eye. He jabbed a finger at Iliathan, then took a staggering step back. “You’re flashing these weird fingerprints. Why are you flashing?”
    Elei waited for Rex to sweep the room, but the buzzing outside was growing fainter. “I think it’s time to move.” Because if those had been helicopters, they might simply be setting down nearby.
    “We can trust you, right?” Alendra stared at Iliathan who was running a shaky hand through his shaggy hair.
    “Yeah, girl, you can trust me. I’ve been with the Undercurrent from the start. Didn’t Hera tell you?”
    Kalaes shook his head and staggered. Alendra gave a curt nod, and Elei supposed that would have to do. With Rex still humming along his nerves, it was hard to trust in anything.
    “Just tell me when you’re planning to attack,” Iliathan said, turning from one to the other. “And I’ll have everything ready.”
    “Tomorrow night,” Elei said and the three of them trooped to the door. “But we’ll let you know if there’s a change in the plan.”
    “Be careful,” Iliathan said.
    Kalaes dragged Elei to the door, and they slipped out into the shifting shadows of the evening. Alendra’s hair shimmered like silvery spiderwebs as she stepped into the street. She pulled her hood up, hiding it.
    No helicopters. No danger. Safe. The street was quiet, a beggar at the corner dozing among piles of trash.
    “This way.” Kalaes uncovered his eye but squinted and grimaced as if the faint light of a distant lamp post hurt him. “Put away that gun, fe.”
    Elei slid the Rasmus back into its holster and told himself to take deep breaths. It was difficult with Rex still pounding inside his skull.
    Get it together .  
    “Let’s go,” Alendra said.
    Elei drew his hood over his face and followed their dark forms as they hurried through the dark streets, heading vaguely south. He limped only slightly, the adrenaline taking the edge off the pain in his deeply scarred thigh. 
    Cold wind whistled. Aircars rumbled by, their engines hissing and spitting. A cat strolled lazily along the shuttered store fronts, reminding him of Cat, twisting his stomach into a knot of worry.
    No pursuit. No patrols .
    Was that why Rex wasn’t letting up — worry? Rubbing his throbbing eye, he forced himself to slow, not to run. Everything’s fine, Rex, damn you. Just...stop.
    They entered a street where a few aircars were stationed. Another cat was approaching, tail held high like a flagpole. Elei twisted to look at it, thinking he saw blue slitted eyes.
    Yeah, they were blue.
    Elei hissed and drew his Rasmus. Danger. Cats were amassing, purring and vibrating like generators. The cold breeze blew his hair out of his face, bringing with it a sweet smell.
    Gultur .
    “Run!” he shouted, sprinting toward the others, colors jumping from every surface, the buildings, the aircars, the asphalt. “They found us.”
    “This way,” Kalaes yelled, jerking Alendra along toward a side street, his own gun already out. The humming was back and he saw the source of the sound.
    Dammit, not helicopters; military aircars, a sleek and glittering model he’d never seen before.
    “Down!” Kalaes shouted and Elei dived to the ground before the echo of the word had faded, trusting Kalaes and Alendra to do the same.
    Bullets zipped overhead before the rat-a-tat-tat of machine guns burst through the quiet, pressing into Elei’s eardrums like a drill.
    The bullets had barely stopped flying when he was back on his feet and running. Who had betrayed them? Iliathan? Or Dain? He bent, grabbed Alendra’s arm, glanced at Kalaes who was scrambling up, and took off again.
    “What...?” Alendra