“Yes, Director.” The human’s voice trembled, but there was a hint of sullenness there, too. “As you say. I’ll remove Scarlett from the list and prepare her for deportation.” The medical bay door opened with a hiss, and the pair vanished from sight as it closed behind them.
As soon as they were gone, I hurried across the room, careful to locate the three guards and time my approach so that I passed out of sight of each of them. Thankfully, the room was dim, with heavy shadows making stealth a bit easier. As I reached the cell labeled twenty-two, I saw that a single large window had been set into the front of the otherwise solid steel walls. Through the glass, a junglelike habitat greeted me, heavy vegetation and indoor trees growing along the inner wall. Beside the window sat a pair of huge, dragon-size doors that looked thick enough to hold up to a tank, but a normal-size door was also set into the wall to the left of the window. A single lightbulb glowed a warning red beside it, probably to indicate the cell was occupied.
“Wes?” I crouched in the shadows under the walkway, ready to make that final dash. “I’m about to break into cell twenty-two. Where are the cameras?”
“Give me a second” came the terse reply, followed by a moment of silence. “Okay, the one in twenty-two shouldn’t be a problem now. But…” And a slow whistle came through the earpiece. “Bloody hell. I’d be careful if I were you, mate.”
That sounds ominous. A familiar key card slot blinked at me as I eased up to the human-size door, and I grimaced as I pulled out my stolen card. Let’s hope this thing works here, too, I thought, and swiped it through the reader.
The light beeped green, and I slipped into the habitat of a pregnant Adult dragon.
It was even warmer in here, and humid, reminding me again of the jungle where Ouroboros had staked his territory. I felt sweat form on my brow and run down my neck. My boots squelched in soft dirt as I turned carefully, searching the vegetation. Okay, so where is this dragon Wes is so worried about—?
I felt her approach before I saw it; a low growl rippled through the air, and the branches rattled as a twenty-foot crimson dragon stalked out of the shadows and came right at me.
I stood my ground, holding up my hands to indicate I wasn’t a threat, as the Adult female prowled close and stopped, her muzzle just a few feet away. Her teeth were slightly bared, and smoke curled from her nostrils as we stared at each other. Golden eyes narrowed as they met mine, puzzled and suspicious but not entirely hostile. I didn’t move, keeping my hands raised and empty, but careful not to show any fear. I didn’t think she would attack and savage me like a mother bear, but I was a stranger, and I had invaded the territory of a nesting female dragon; her protective instincts would be very high right now. Add imprisonment, restlessness and poor treatment at the hands of her human captors, and that probably wasn’t doing a lot for her disposition.
On second thought, she was showing remarkable restraint not biting me in half like a twig. Maybe I should’ve had a little more foresight before barging in unannounced.
The dragon stared at me, then curled her lip back, just enough to show fangs. “Who are you?” she demanded, though she kept her voice low and quiet. Well, as quiet as a twenty-foot dragon could be. “You don’t work here. I’ve never seen you before.” Her eyes glittered, the tip of her tail swishing an agitated rhythm behind her. “Have you come from Talon? What do you want with me?”
“Scarlett.” I stretched a hand toward her, keeping my movements slow and my tone soothing. “My name is Cobalt. I’m not here to hurt you. I came to get you all out of here. Tonight.”
“Cobalt.” The dragon’s voice was flat. Sitting back, she raised her head with a sniff, then peered down at me with sorrowful eyes. “So, you’re not a myth, after all.”
“No,” I agreed. “I’m not. Sorry it took me so long, but it’s over now. We’re leaving this place, and you’ll never have to see it again.”
The dragon sighed. “Maybe for everyone else,” she said, sounding weary all of a sudden. “But it’s too late for me. There’s no way off the island. I’m too close to nesting, so I can’t fly very far. And I certainly can’t swim to the nearest continent.”
“You won’t have to,” I told her. “I didn’t come alone. There’s a ship waiting about two hundred yards off the western side of the island. You won’t have to swim far.”
“We’ll never make it,” Scarlett insisted. “You’re going to get us all killed before we ever reach the water.”
“Do you not want to get out of here?” I asked, frustrated.
“Of course I do!” Her tail lashed, causing a handful of leaves and twigs to flutter to the ground. “But have you seen what lies between us and the beach?” She shook her horned head, curling her talons in the dirt. “We’d have to go through an army of humans and guns. And Director Vance. He’s not going to let us just walk out.” She shivered, folding her wings tight to her body. “I’ve been here longer than almost everyone now,” she whispered, a haunted look going through her eyes. “I’ve seen what happens to dragons who try to escape. I’ve talked a few of them out of it myself. We won’t get past the fence before we’re gunned down. Talon would rather kill us all than let us go free.”
“Scarlett, listen to me.” I stepped forward and put a hand on one scaly foreleg. She blinked and gazed down with resigned gold eyes. “I know what I’m doing,” I told her softly. “There is a plan in motion as we speak. I have friends, well, not exactly friends, but people, both on the island and outside, who are committed to getting you all out of here.” I didn’t want to go into the details of how we had convinced the Order of St. George to help us, and there was no time to explain even if I did. “We didn’t go into this expecting it to be easy, but we didn’t come unprepared, either. Right now, I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
The dragon sighed out a long, writhing cloud of smoke and bowed her head. For a moment, she stood there, huge body coiled and tense, her talons curled in the dirt. Finally, she relaxed and looked at me, her voice becoming a growl. “If there is really a chance to leave this place,” she rumbled, “I will take it. And maybe I’ll bite some heads off on my way out. What do you need me to do?”
Relief flickered, but I couldn’t be distracted now. “When I give the order,” I said, “things are going to get crazy. I don’t have time to sneak around to every cell and let the others know what’s going on, not without being spotted by the guards. When the shit hits the fan, I need you to rally the other dragons. You’re the biggest and oldest here—they’ll listen to you. Let them know what’s happening, and then be ready to move on my signal. Will you do that?”
Scarlett nodded, but then a soft beep jerked my attention behind me. I spun, just as the door opened and a man walked into the room, the same doctor who had been speaking to Director Vance earlier.
“Scarlett,” the doctor was saying as he came forward. “I’ve just received word from the director. You are to be…”
He stopped, eyes going wide as he saw me, but I was already moving. Lunging, I grabbed the human by the collar and shoved the barrel of my gun in his face, pressing him back to the wall. The human gasped, and his clipboard dropped to the floor.
“Shh, Doctor,” I growled, smiling at him over the fire-arm. “Don’t make any stupid decisions. I’d hate for this to go off at such a short range.”
“Who are you?” The human’s voice trembled; he stared at me, then glanced over my shoulder at Scarlett. A sheen of sweat covered his brow, but that might’ve been from the heat. “How did you get in here? If you’ve hurt any of these creatures—”
“Hurt them?” I bared my teeth in a vicious smile. “Trust me, human. I’m not like you. I’m taking your ‘creatures’ out of here, far away, where you and Talon will never get your filthy hands on them again.”