Legion

  The blood drained from the human’s face in relief. “Of course, sir,” he almost-whispered. “Right away. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call.”

  “I won’t. Thank you.”

  I stepped back, and the doors slid shut, taking the human from my sight. I turned and made my way down the nearly empty halls, passing a few humans in business attire, until I found conference room C.

  “Wait here,” I told my guards at the door. “I don’t want to be disturbed.” They nodded mutely before placing themselves on either side of the frame, hands clasped in front of them, and proceeded to look stern and intimidating. Opening the door, I stepped inside and closed it behind me.

  Silence descended. The room was dim and cool, with stark white walls and no windows to the outside world. A long table surrounded by black leather chairs sat in the center of the carpet, and a single rectangular box had been placed atop it.

  For a moment, I didn’t move, staring at the box sitting inconspicuously on the tabletop. It was unmarked and unremarkable. The first of several boxes that would stop here before continuing their journey to the Vault. I knew it had been packaged with utmost care, so that no sloppy mistake would reveal their contents. No one from the human world could guess what lay inside.

  My stomach churned, and I shook myself angrily. Stop it, Dante, I told myself. You’re being ridiculous. There is nothing to fear.

  Setting my jaw, I walked across the room to the table. A box cutter lay on one of the packages; I snatched it up and, without hesitation, slashed the blade down the center of the cardboard. Within the box was another, even smaller box, and I cut that one open, too.

  As I pulled back the flaps, the smell of smoke and charred things wafted up, making my stomach turn again. The container was filled with clothes, sealed in plastic and neatly labeled, but the stench of smoke still clung to everything. The fabric was burned, singed and in tatters, but I knew that wasn’t enough reason for it to have been taken from the scene. Setting the bags on the table, I examined them carefully and finally saw why these pieces of clothing had been removed.

  Not only were they singed, but several of them had been ripped apart. A few had puncture holes left from pointed fangs and talons, the fabric around the holes stained dark with blood. Evidence that not only had these clothes, and whoever had been wearing them, been burned, they had been savaged, as well.

  Torn apart by dragons. My dragons. The vessels I sent to destroy the town.

  I stared at the ravaged piles of fabric, forcing myself to acknowledge what had happened. Massive death and destruction, blood and pain and fear, by my hand. I hadn’t set the fires or torn into those humans myself, but I had given the order. The vessels were my tools, as surely as a gun or a blade, and I had used them for slaughter.

  Sacrifice is necessary.

  I knew that was true. I knew everything we did was for the good of our race. And the vessels were our most powerful force to date in the war with St. George. With them, we could finally start to turn the tide, strike a real blow against our ancient enemies. Numbers had always been our weakness, not enough bodies to fight back against the Order, and every loss we took was devastating to our entire race. The vessels would change that. Without them, we would still be heavily outnumbered and outgunned. Without them, St. George would still be pushing us toward extinction.

  But there was a difference between sending the vessels into war with genocidal, highly trained soldiers who hated our kind and normal, everyday humans who didn’t even know about dragons. And there was a large distinction between attacking heavily armed and armored humans and those sleeping peacefully in their beds. That community hadn’t stood a chance. They hadn’t even known what hit them before they were dead.

  What will Ember think of this? What will she think of you?

  I smiled grimly. I knew what Ember would think. She would be horrified, appalled. She would call me all kinds of terrible names. And she would be right. I had chosen this course, for the good of our race and our people. She would never believe it, but I was still doing this for her. For all of us.

  And though I would never admit it out loud, I was doing it for myself. I was almost there. I was closer to my goal than ever before, but I wasn’t there yet. Just one more step, I told myself. One more step to the top, and the thing I desired most.

  Freedom.

  Silently, I made note of everything in the box, recording it all carefully onto my tablet. More would be arriving soon—more containers full of burned clothes, blood, ashes and death. I would inspect them, as well, before they made their final journey to the Vault, but I had seen all I needed. Now I had to wait and trust the Elder Wyrm, as I always had. We would make our race powerful again. Together, we would not only bring our species back from the edge of extinction, we would make certain neither St. George nor any other humans ever threatened our survival again.

  By any means necessary.

  * * *

  The rest of the day passed in a blur of cataloging, meetings, phone calls and more meetings. I deliberately kept busy, using work as a shield against my own thoughts. The only annoying thing was the aura of fear and tension that continued to linger throughout the day, putting everyone around me on edge. Still, I remained past business hours, staying at my desk when most other employees had gone home. By the time I made the final call to Talon HQ and hung up the phone, the sun had set and the offices were empty.

  With a sigh, I leaned back in my chair and looked at the clock on the wall, both relieved and dreading that the day was almost done. My two bodyguards hovered close, silent and protective, even though there was no one else around. I spared them a glance and frowned slightly, realizing I didn’t even know their names.

  “Time to go, sir?” one of them asked.

  I let out a long breath and stood, rubbing tired eyes. “Yes,” I answered simply. “Call for the car. Tell it to wait for us in the parking garage.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  We walked back through the empty building, down silent, deserted hallways, and took the elevator. The doors opened into the underground garage, mostly empty but for a few cars still parked in their reserved spaces. I spotted our vehicle and began a brisk walk toward it. Shadows closed around us, and my shoes knocked quietly against the concrete, echoing the sudden thud of my heart.

  I held my breath, but we reached the car without incident, making me slump with relief. One bodyguard opened the passenger side door, and I slid into the backseat as the door closed behind me.

  “Hello, Dante.”

  My heart stood still. Ember sat across from me, her eyes glowing a hard green in the shadows of the car. As I stiffened, the locks slammed into place with a loud click, and my sibling raised a black handgun and pointed it at my face.

  PART II

  The Wyrm Turns

  DANTE

  Last summer

  “Ember, when did your parents die, and what was the cause of death?”

  I could feel Ember’s impatience from the other side of the seat, in the way she reluctantly tore herself from the window, in the annoyed look she shot our escort, Mr. Ramsey. Even with my headphones on, I knew what she was thinking. She was dying to get out, practically bursting at the seams with eagerness.

  “Ember, did you hear me? Answer the question, please.”

  Ember sighed. “Joseph and Kate Hill were killed in a car accident when we were seven years old,” she said, sounding like she was reciting a line from a play. I suppressed a wince at how stiff and flat her voice was, but Mr. Ramsey didn’t seem to notice.

  “Go on.”

  “They were going to see a Broadway musical, West Side Story, and were struck by a drunk driver on the way home,” Ember continued in that same bored monotone. “My brother and I went to live with our grandparents, until Grandpa Bill developed lung cancer an
d could no longer take care of us.” She kept talking, but her gaze strayed out the window again, at the ocean just beyond the glass. I knew it was killing her, being this close, yet not able to touch it.

  Hang in there, sis. We’re almost there.

  “Dante.” Mr. Ramsey’s attention shifted to me, as I’d known it would. “What is your real objective while in Crescent Beach?”

  I pulled the buds out of my ear and hit Pause on my iPhone to give the human my full attention. Ember might be so distracted that she could barely think, but I hadn’t forgotten the real reason we were here. “Observe and blend in,” I answered calmly. “Learn how to engage with humans, how to be human. Assimilate into their social structure and make them believe we are one of them.”

  Ember rolled her eyes, mocking my perfect dedication as she usually did. I gave a small shrug. I didn’t mind; one of us had to keep us grounded.

  The rest of the ride passed in silence, and we were soon pulling into a small subdivision of neat white villas and tidy yards. I watched the houses roll by, seeing the many humans walking, jogging or riding their bikes down the sidewalk. They looked so...carefree, I thought. Carefree and ignorant. Completely unaware that two dragons were watching them from the backseat of a car.

  Ember was going to love it here.

  We pulled into the driveway of one of the many villas along the road, and after a brief introduction to our guardians, Mr. Ramsey left, and our appointed “aunt” showed us to our rooms.

  After closing the door, I set my suitcase on the bed and gazed around, taking everything in. This was it. Assimilation had officially begun. From here on out, everything I’d learned, all my training, would come into play. When Talon called for me at the end of the summer, I would be ready for whatever they required of me.

  If I could keep my reckless, impulsive twin from doing anything crazy.

  Easier said than done, Dante.

  Quickly, I changed, then headed toward Ember’s room, knowing she would be leaving the house as soon as she could. I hadn’t even knocked on her door when it swung open and my twin slammed into me from the other side.

  “Oof.” I staggered back, wincing. “Ow. Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to go check out the beach—” ...together. Where I can keep an eye on you, make sure you don’t Shift and fly off into the sunset, or lose your temper around a human and char them to ash... “—but it looks like you beat me to it.”

  Ember grinned, that same wicked, defiant grin she’d challenged me with when we’d still competed with each other in everything. Not realizing she was always the favored one, and that I competed because winning was the only way I could make them see me. “Race you to the water,” she challenged.

  “Come on, sis. We’re not in training any—” But she was already past me, flying down the stairs, and I scrambled to catch up.

  Later, after dunking each other in the ocean and getting it out of our systems, Ember and I wandered down the beach, checking out our new home. Ember seemed especially fascinated by the surfers farther out in deep water, gliding down the waves on their colorful boards, and that was mildly concerning, knowing she would want to try it sometime. Swimming was one lesson we hadn’t gotten a lot of in the Mohave Desert. As we continued down the strip, Ember’s eyes were huge, looking at everything, but I was searching for something specific.

  I found it a couple minutes later—a group of human teens, playing volleyball in the sand. I observed them carefully as we approached; most of them were attractive—for humans—athletic, obviously well-off.

  Perfect.

  I nudged Ember’s shoulder. “Come on,” I said, and began walking toward the group. She followed hesitantly, frowning.

  “Um. What are we doing?”

  I gave her a wink. “Fitting in.”

  “What, right now?” She eyed the humans. “I mean, you’re just going to walk up to a bunch of mortals and talk to them? What are you going to say?”

  I grinned at her and ambled toward the net. My sister, who had never backed down a day in her life, was shy. “I figured I’d start with ‘hi.’”

  Warily, she followed. As if on cue, one of the human’s dove wildly for the ball and sent it bouncing right for me. Instinctively, I caught it, and five pairs of eyes turned in my direction.

  “Hey.” I looked at one of the girls and offered my most charming smile, the one that could make my teachers believe whatever I wanted. “Need a couple extra players?”

  The girl nearly fell over from staring at me, but one of the guys gave me a shrug. “Sure, dude.” He was, I noticed, looking at Ember even as he spoke to me. “The more, the merrier. Come on in and pick a side.”

  I smiled and joined them, even as I bit down a snort. Too easy.

  * * *

  Lexi and Calvin were pretty cool for humans, despite Calvin’s promise that he would teach Ember to surf when she asked about it. And Lexi talked...a lot. Even more than Ember, which was saying something.

  And then, I saw him.

  We were hanging out at the Smoothie Hut, a place that sold what our teachers referred to as “junk food,” when a weird shiver went up my spine. I turned from Calvin and gazed at the parking lot, just as a guy pulled up on a motorcycle and stared at us for a few seconds. He wore a leather jacket, and his black hair was messy and windblown. He met my stare, and one corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk, even as his eyes glinted yellow. Definitely not human.

  Another dragon.

  A rogue.

  I didn’t know how I knew he was a rogue. Maybe because no dragon from Talon would randomly show up in a place where there were already two hatchlings. Maybe it was his eyes, gleaming and dangerous, or that defiant smirk that said he knew exactly what we were...and pitied us for it.

  “Gorgeous Biker Boy.” Lexi sighed in response to something Ember said.

  I felt a kick to my shins from below and jumped. Ember was giving me a worried look, and I realized that I’d been staring back at the rogue, the echo of a growl rumbling in my chest.

  What are you doing, Dante? Get ahold of yourself.

  Quickly, I excused the both of us, saying that our guardians wanted us home early tonight. I expected Ember to protest, but she only nodded and followed me back down the beach. When we were out of sight of the two humans, however, she jogged up and lightly smacked my arm.

  “Hey,” she demanded. “What’s with you? You nearly went psychopathic lizard on me, right in front of two very normal humans. What’s the deal?”

  “I know,” I rasped. “I’m sorry. It’s just...” I raked a hand through my hair, still keyed up. “Do you know what that was, in the parking lot just now?”

  “You mean the other dragon? Yeah, I kinda noticed.”

  “Ember.” I gave her a solemn look, willing her to understand. “That wasn’t anyone from Talon. That was a rogue. I’d bet my life on it.”

  She blinked at me. I saw nervousness and alarm cross her face at the realization, but also something that raised the hairs on my neck. Curiosity. And...anticipation. The rogue intrigued her. And that, more than anything, made me realize I had to act. Before my twin did something unforgivable, something Talon could not overlook, and ruined the future for us both.

  * * *

  Back in my room, I turned on my computer and went into my email account. The cursor blinked in the address bar, waiting, as I sat there, trying to decide what to do. Finally, I put my fingers on the keys and typed in the one address I was supposed to use only in an emergency. The one my teachers had given me, and only me, because they knew I would inform Talon if anything was amiss in the area. Because they knew I would take my mission seriously.

  Even if it meant we might be pulled out.

  I hesitated a moment more, typed Rogue in Crescent Beach into the subject line, then began composing a brief, to-the-poi
nt message. I didn’t know what this meant for us once Talon received the information. I knew what would happen to the rogue, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in town when the Vipers came for him. I did know this was my duty, not only to Talon but to my sister. I would protect her, and our future with the organization, from any and all threats.

  Even if the greatest threat was from Ember herself.

  EMBER

  Dante froze, his eyes going wide as he stared at me. As soon as the door closed and the locks engaged, a shout came through the tinted windows as something slammed into his bodyguard outside. Dante jumped, his attention going to the window, where Garret had just hit the guard from behind. There were brief scuffles on both sides of the car as Riley emerged from the darkness and tackled the second guard, making the vehicle rock as the dragon slammed into it. It didn’t last long; we had the element of surprise on our side, and the guards had been caught with their figurative pants down. After a few more grunts, shouts and bodies being slammed into metal and glass, the fight was over, and silence descended once more.

  Dante slowly turned back to me as Garret and Riley dragged the bodies into the darkness. His eyes glinted angrily as he faced me down over the gun barrel. “Ember,” he said, his voice calm. “How did you get in here?”

  “Wasn’t hard.” I was relieved when my voice came out mostly steady. “We saw you arrive this morning and made note of the car’s license plate. When the car came back a few minutes ago, I knew you were coming down. This place only has one security guard.” I jerked my head toward the garage entrance, though I kept the gun trained on Dante. “Once we got past him, the rest was easy.”

  “I see.” His voice was hostile. It made a knot form in my stomach, and at the same time, anger flooded my veins. He had no right to be angry, not with the crap he’d put us through. “So, what are you going to do with me, Ember?” he went on. “Kill me? Are you going to shoot your own brother, right here?”