“You’re wrong,” Mist answered, and a steely note had entered her voice. Straightening, she narrowed her eyes to icy blue slits and pushed the cart back. “I am what Talon requires,” she said, all hesitation gone. “The organization entrusted me with this task, and I will not fail them. I need that information, but if you refuse to cooperate, then you leave me no choice.”
She grabbed the second needle from where it lay on the table, turned and plunged it into my neck. I jerked, clenching my jaw as my fingers fumbled further with the cuff of my sleeve and the thing I was trying to get at slid away. Mist injected the syringe’s contents into my veins and stepped back, replacing the needle on the table.
“What was that?” I growled.
“Sodium thiopental,” Mist said, wiping her hands on the towel. “Only, this is a special version, produced in Talon labs, specifically for our kind. Our scientists have been mixing science and magic to great effect lately. It’s still in its experimentation phase, but the results have been very encouraging.”
Sodium thiopental. Truth serum. Dammit. As a rule, dragons were fairly resistant to modern drugs and their effects. Much like alcohol, the amount required to get any kind of reaction from a dragon would kill a normal man. But we weren’t immune. Pump us full of enough shit, and we’d feel the effects, same as a human. “You’re very forthcoming suddenly,” I said, renewing my efforts with my sleeve cuff. Where was that stupid slit? I had to find it again before I got too loopy to do anything. “Sure you’re not the one who got stuck with the needle?”
Mist regarded me with a practiced blank expression. “I’m telling you this because I want you to know that fighting is useless,” she said, “and it would be better in the long run to give me the answers quickly. Holding out is only going to make it worse. I was going to interrogate you the old-fashioned way, but I suspect you have a fairly high pain threshold, and Talon wants the information as soon as possible. We’ll give that a few minutes to work, and then we’ll see how you feel about cooperating.”
“I didn’t think Vipers did this sort of thing,” I said, buying time as Mist leaned back, regarding me blankly. “Isn’t your shtick more murder and assassination? Is Lilith finally deciding to branch out?”
Mist paused, the hint of a smile tugging at her lips, turning my insides cold. “What makes you think I’m a Viper?” she asked. “I was trained to be a Basilisk, just like you. Don’t worry, though,” she went on, and settled back against the table, crossing her arms. “I’m not the only agent Talon sent. The Viper should be finishing up shortly.”
Ember
“Drop your weapons.”
The human’s voice echoed in the empty space, low and commanding. I tensed, eyeing the men surrounding us. Not soldiers of St. George; they wore black business suits and no armor, looking more like bodyguards or FBI agents than military people. Their guns, however, were all too real, pointed unerringly at me and Garret. My heart seized with the realization.
Not St. George. Talon.
The man holding Faith cocked the hammer of his weapon and shoved it harder against her temple, making her gasp. “I won’t ask again,” he warned. “Put your weapons on the ground and your hands on your head. Now.”
“Dammit.” I glanced at Garret, who lowered his gun, looking resigned. Bending down, he set the pistol on the cement and rose, clasping his hands behind his skull. With a growl, I did the same, tossing the weapon to the floor and lacing my fingers behind my head. The half circle of men closed in, motioning us forward, keeping their guns trained on us. They also kept a safe distance away, I saw as we were herded toward the front. Wary and alert, offering no opportunity to be pounced on by a dragon. They knew what they were dealing with.
The man in the suit didn’t smile as we were brought before him, didn’t move a muscle. His grip on Faith didn’t lessen, though he kept his gaze trained on us. My mind raced. Talon was here for me. Not Faith or Garret. Just me. I didn’t know how I knew this, but I did.
Faith met my gaze, pale and terrified, her eyes pleading for me to do something. Setting my jaw, I took a step forward.
“Let her go,” I said, as all the guns came up, pointed at me. I stopped, keeping my hands raised, meeting the impassive stare of the human in front of us. “Leave both of them out of this,” I insisted. “They’re not important. Just a runaway and a human nobody. You’re here for me, right? I’m the one you want.”
The agent didn’t reply. He continued to stare at me, expressionless, and my desperation grew. “Please,” I continued, taking one more step toward him. “You don’t need them. Let them walk out, and I…I’ll come quietly. I’ll go back with you to Talon. Just let them go.”
And Faith started to laugh.
“Oh, Ember.” She chuckled and slid easily from the human’s grip, smiling at me. “You are naive, aren’t you?”
Riley
I slumped forward, feeling sweat run down my face into my eyes, my jaws aching from clenching them so hard. I knew if I relaxed an inch, I would start babbling like an idiot, but at the same time, my inclination to care was getting smaller and smaller. I knew the drug was working its way through my brain, suppressing inhibition and my ability to think straight. I had been completely, utterly trashed exactly once in my lifetime, having consumed enough alcohol to drown a football team. This felt very much the same.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Mist said in a gentle voice. “Tell us what we want, and this can be over. You know you’re going to break sooner or later.”
“Probably.” The word slipped out before I could stop it. Damn. Stop talking, Riley. “Though I don’t see why I shouldn’t drag this out as long as I can,” I went on, as my mouth refused to cooperate. “You’re going to kill me as soon as this is over.”
Mist didn’t answer, which told me everything I needed on that front. Deliberately, I jabbed myself with the item between my fingers, and the instant flare of pain cleared my head for a moment. “Just tell me one thing,” I gritted out, meeting the other dragon’s cool gaze. Hoping she wouldn’t notice the blood dripping from my hand to the floor. “Since I’m going to be spilling my guts here shortly, I think I deserve at least one straight answer. How much was Griffin paid to sell us out?”
Mist’s slender eyebrows rose. “Enough,” she replied, her gaze almost impressed. “Mr. Walker’s deal with the respective parties is not important right now, but I am surprised you know about him.”
“I didn’t,” I said, making her blink. “I was guessing a second ago. You just confirmed it.”
Mist’s gaze hardened. Crossing her arms, she leaned back and watched me, saying nothing more. My vision grew blurry, and everything became dreamlike and surreal. I felt like I was floating, and strange images filled my head, hazy and fragmented. Where was I? How did I even get here?
“Are we ready?” A clear, quiet voice cut through the drunken fog. I didn’t know what it meant by that, but another question followed before I could wonder about it. “What is your full name?”
“Depends on who you ask,” I heard myself saying, though my voice sounded slurred and detached, like it belonged to someone else. “I’ve had a lot of names.”
“Your real name, then. The one given to you when you were hatched.”
“Cobalt,” I replied. That was an easy answer; no use in trying to hide it.
“And how many humans do you have in your network right now, Cobalt?”
“I don’t know, exactly.” I shrugged. “I’ve lost count. Maybe a few dozen?”
“All from Talon?”
“Yeah.”
“Excellent.” The girl looked pleased. She placed a chair in front of me and sat down, then leaned forward to peer into my face. I stared blankly at the floor between us and felt cool fingers against my sweaty cheek.
“Cobalt, listen to me,” the voice cajoled, and I ra
ised my head to meet those intense blue eyes. The rest of her face blurred in and out, and I blinked hard to clear my vision. “Where are your safe houses located?” she asked in a firm, direct voice. “Your resistance has been admirable, but you will answer me, now. Where are Talon’s hatchlings? Tell me where you hide your rogues.”
Ember
“Faith?”
I stared in disbelief as the other girl smiled and stepped away from the man in the suit, brushing at her sleeves like she was trying to wipe away filth. The human didn’t even glance at her, keeping his gun pointed directly at me. The six men behind us didn’t move, either.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice sounding small and weak in the vast chamber. Faith dusted off her hands, tossed back her curls and shot me a look of supreme disdain.
“Oh, I think you know the answer to that,” she replied, with a smile that was completely different from the shy, terrified girl of a moment ago. “You’re smart enough to figure it out. You wouldn’t be one of her students if you weren’t. By the way, do you like where I staged this little encounter?” She raised her arms, as if showing off the room around us. “I thought it would bring back memories.”
And everything hit me with a jolt. The warehouse. The maze of crates and shipping containers. The armed men surrounding us. I stared at Faith, horror and rage creeping over me. “Lilith,” I growled, making her smile widen. “You’re one of her students, aren’t you? You’re a Viper.”
Faith chuckled. “Her only other student. Before you came along, anyway.” For a second, her eyes glittered, a flash of hatred crossing her expression, before she shook it off and smiled again. “She told me to tell you hello, and that she fully expected you and Cobalt to fall for such an obvious trap. A beginner’s mistake, if you ask me. If you had only completed your training, this never would have happened.”
“Where’s Riley?” I snarled, making the men surrounding us raise their weapons higher. “You know where he is, don’t you? Tell me!”
“He’s dead,” Faith replied offhandedly. “Or he will be soon. Mist should be nearly done.”
“Mist?”
“Oh, sorry. That’s Ava to you.”
The floor dropped out from under me, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Not only was Faith a Talon operative, Ava was one, too. This whole thing was an elaborate plot by the organization. If they had sent a Viper, Lilith’s other student, of all people, I must have really pissed them off. And Riley…might already be gone.
I clenched my fists as my dragon snarled in defiance. “No,” I said, as Faith’s eyebrows rose. “You’re wrong. You don’t know Riley. He’s more than a match for any Talon agent.” He had to be; I refused to believe anything else. If he was dead…I would know. My dragon would know. “It’s Mist you should be worried about,” I told Faith.
Faith shrugged. “Regardless,” she said, seemingly unconcerned about her partner, “he’s not here. And he isn’t the one you should be worried about right now.”
Her gaze shifted away from me, turning calculating and cruel as it fixed on Garret. “A soldier of St. George,” she mused, and my blood chilled. “How very…interesting. You have fallen quite far, haven’t you?” She shook her head and glanced at me with obvious contempt. “Consorting with the enemy? Allying yourself with a soldier of St. George?” She tsked, a mock-sorrowful look crossing her face. “For shame, really. What would Lilith say? What would Talon say?”
My throat felt tight with panic. I didn’t know what was happening with Riley, what Mist was doing to him, but I did know what would happen to Garret. Talon would kill him, right now, for no other reason than he had been part of St. George. It didn’t matter that he was on our side now. It didn’t matter that the Order itself was hunting him. They would show a soldier of St. George no mercy, unless I could somehow change their mind. Fighting right now would be suicide. With half a dozen guns trained on us, even if I survived, that first volley would kill the soldier.
We were trapped. Riley was gone, we were outnumbered and outgunned, and the Viper had us right where she wanted. This was checkmate for us, but I had to save Garret, at least. I could endure going back if I knew the soldier was still alive out there. And then, when I had returned to Talon and discovered who was responsible for this, I would take my revenge. For Riley, Dante, Garret and all the rogues Talon had crushed. If I couldn’t be free, I would make them suffer for it.
But keeping Faith from putting a bullet through Garret’s skull was the important thing right now.
“Let him go,” I told Faith, who raised her eyebrows. “He’s not part of the Order anymore. You’ve been around us. You know he’s not one of them.” Her lip twisted nastily, and my voice hardened. “He saved your life from St. George, remember that? They would’ve killed us all if he hadn’t been there.”
“Ember,” Garret said quietly, a motionless presence at my back. “You don’t have to do this.”
I ignored that, continuing to stare at Faith. “Let him go,” I said once more. “I’m the one you want, right? Trust me, you don’t want to kill him.”
“And why is that, exactly?” Faith smiled, eyes gleaming. I wondered how I’d ever thought of her as some innocent kid. “I’ve seen the war,” she continued. “I know what St. George does to our kind. Who cares if the human doesn’t hunt dragons now? He was still part of the Order, which means he’s killed before. As a loyal member of Talon, I’m not only expected but required to take out their enemies whenever I get the opportunity. Why should I let him go?”
I swallowed hard. “Because,” I whispered. “If you let him go, I’ll come back to Talon willingly. I’ll become a Viper, or whatever they want from me. Let him live and I…I won’t try to leave again, I swear.”
“No,” Garret said, stepping forward. “Ember, don’t—”
Two men closed on him, weapons raised. Garret stopped, lifting his arms again, but his gaze sought mine. “Don’t bargain for me,” he said in a low voice. “Not with Talon. They don’t accept compromise. It’s either all or nothing…and my life isn’t worth your freedom.”
I met his gaze. “Yes, it is.”
“Ember—”
“Don’t argue with me, Garret,” I almost hissed, feeling my throat tighten. “There is no way I’m going to stand here and watch them shoot you. Just shut up and let me do this, okay?” My voice was starting to tremble; I swallowed hard and took a quick breath to steady it. “I already lost Riley,” I whispered. “If I have to go back, at least I’ll know you’re still alive.”
“Well, this is all very interesting.” Faith’s cool, amused voice made me bristle. I turned back to find her watching me, that chilling smile on her face. “You are correct,” she told me. “We do want you to return to Talon, that’s why they sent me, of course. But there is a small problem with your proposal. You see, you’ve already confirmed your disloyalty to the organization, and they are somewhat reluctant to take you at your word. If you want to come back, you’re going to have to prove that we can trust you again.”
I clenched my jaw. The thought of having to prove anything to Talon rankled. But if it would save Garret’s life… “How?” I asked through gritted teeth.
Faith nodded to the men behind me. As I spun, two agents stepped forward, one on either side of Garret, and forced him to his knees. The others formed a line behind the soldier, keeping their guns trained on the back of his head. I started toward them, but Faith grabbed my arm in a grip of steel.
“You want to prove your loyalty to Talon?” she asked, and pressed a cold black pistol into my hands, making me freeze in horror. Faith didn’t smile as she let me go, nodding toward the kneeling soldier.
“Kill him.”
My heart stood still. I stared at the weapon in my hands, torn between hurling it away and shoving the muzzle in the Viper’s face. Not that it would do any good; Faith could pro
bably disarm a person fairly quickly, and neither choice would help Garret, kneeling in front of what I knew was an execution line. Any aggressive move on my part might trigger them to blow his head off. Gripping the handle of the gun, I looked up at Faith, shaking my head in disbelief.
“You’re crazy,” I told her. “Did you not hear me at all? I said I’d come back to Talon if you let him go, not murder him in cold blood. You can’t possibly expect me to do this.”
“I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in,” Faith replied, and made a vague gesture at Garret. “The soldier is dead,” she said flatly, making my heart drop. “Either way, no matter what you decide, we’re going to kill him. There is no argument that will convince me to spare an agent of St. George. I am not here to make bargains. I’m here to bring you back to Talon, and this is the final test to see if you can be trusted. If you refuse, then you will share the soldier’s fate.”
“Then you’ll have to kill us both,” I said, feeling my lungs heat, the dragon rising up for a final, desperate battle. I’m sorry, Garret. I wanted us to be free of Talon. But if they won’t let us go, I’ll fight as hard as I can.
“Really?” Faith gave me an evil, knowing smile. “So, you would sacrifice not only the human, but Dante, as well?”
Riley
“Phoenix.”
Mist cocked her head, regarding me intently, as if trying to determine whether or not I was lying. I growled a curse and hunched forward, panting, feeling the other dragon’s gaze on the top of my skull.
“Phoenix,” she repeated in a slow, clear voice. “That’s where your safe houses are located?”
“One of the locations,” I replied.
“There are others? Where?”
“All over the place. Austin, Phoenix, San Francisco. There was even one in Mexico for a little while.” I listened to myself ramble on, unable to stop. “I thought about moving some of them overseas, but that would require me to travel more. I can’t be on two continents at once.”