“Ember,” Dante said in a reasonable tone, “listen to yourself. I don’t know where you got your information, but you’ve obviously jumped to the wrong conclusion. You’re accusing Talon of murdering an entire town, dozens of people, when for centuries, everything we have done has been to remain hidden and avoid detection. Why would we risk that kind of discovery?” He laced his fingers together on his knee, giving me a slight frown. “I assume you witnessed Miranda on the news. She was only there to make certain the humans would not discover our existence. It’s a standard precaution.”
“But why would she need to be there at all?” I demanded. “Why would Talon need to cover something up, if they weren’t involved?”
“There was a Talon agent on the plane that crashed,” Dante explained calmly. “The plane was one of ours, and it was carrying jet fuel to one of Talon’s bases on the eastern coast. Sadly, the agent on board was killed in the explosion with the rest of the community, but we still needed to send Miranda to investigate and remove any evidence that could point back to us. Again, standard precaution. Talon is protecting its interests and covering the truth of our existence, as they have always done.”
I hesitated. His explanation sounded perfectly reasonable, though I knew I shouldn’t believe him.
Dante’s serene expression didn’t change. “Think about it, Ember,” he continued. “Our agents are stretched thin as it is. We don’t have the numbers for the type of operation you’re talking about, even if we wanted to expose ourselves like that. What you saw was Talon trying to cover its tracks, and the evidence was sent here, to me, before it goes on to the Vault.”
“Well,” Riley broke in. “Wouldn’t I feel silly...if that wasn’t the biggest line of bullshit I’ve ever heard.” He leveled the pistol at Dante’s face. “Did you forget who you were talking to, hatchling? I was a Basilisk, remember? I know what’s left behind after a large explosion.” He narrowed his eyes, staring Dante down. “We went to that site. There was no plane. No debris. No crash. Nothing exploded in that town, but things did mysteriously catch fire. And, funniest thing, there were these odd gouges in the floors that looked exactly like dragon claws. So cut the crap. I’ve heard your shit before, and you’re not fooling anyone.”
Dante regarded the rogue with a patient, almost amused look that suggested Riley was being unreasonable, but didn’t dispute his claims. He was lying, I realized. He had just lied right to my face, and I’d considered believing him. Angry now, I clenched a fist on my leg. Dante was a Chameleon, I reminded myself. I couldn’t trust anything he said.
“Stop lying to us,” I growled. “What really happened there, Dante? We know Talon is planning something, and you’re a part of it. What’s going on?”
“Even if I did know,” Dante answered coolly, “what makes you think I would tell you anything?”
“Because if you don’t,” Riley said in a tone of dark warning, “we’re going for a little ride. We’re going to spend some quality time together, the four of us, and you’re not going back to Talon until you tell us what we want to know. How long it takes doesn’t matter. I can be very patient.” Riley smiled, raising the gun very slightly off the chair back. “So decide, Chameleon. You can tell us now, or later. Your choice.”
Dante paled. Just a little; he hid it well, but his skin turned ashen all the same. “Look, I don’t know what happened at the crash site,” he insisted. “The evidence and the reports came in late this afternoon, but I haven’t had the chance to look at them yet.”
“And where are these reports?” Riley asked.
“Back in my office.” Dante crossed his arms. “But you’ll never get there, not without tripping the alarms or running into security. If you try to force your way in, you’ll have the police swarming this place in a matter of minutes.”
Riley was silent for a long moment. I could see him thinking, see the indecision in his eyes as he struggled with what to do next. Finally, he opened his door, slammed it behind him and stalked around to our side. Wrenching open the passenger side, he pointed his weapon at Dante. “Get out.”
Stone faced, Dante complied. Quickly, I opened my own door and scrambled out, while Garret watched the proceedings warily, a hand on his own weapon. “What are we doing, Riley?” I asked, coming around to their side. Dante stared at me, his gaze shadowed and dark, making my insides twist.
“We’re going inside,” Riley said. “And Dante here is going to escort us.”
My stomach dropped. “Inside? But this is a Talon office. Guards, security, alarms, traps—isn’t that what you told me? Why are we going to risk going in?”
“What else are we going to do, Firebrand?” Riley gave me a weary look. “We’ve come all this way. Everything we’ve done until now will be for nothing if we don’t figure this out. Yeah, I know, it’s Talon. It’ll be a risk either way, but at least if we have the boss with us, no one will try anything. Isn’t that right, Mr. Hill?”
Riley turned, giving Dante a dangerous grin. “I’m sure you know your way around the office and past the security,” he said as Dante stiffened. “So this is how it’s going to work. You’re going to get us through the doors, past the cameras and all the alarms. If we run into anyone, you’re going to convince them that absolutely nothing is wrong, or you’ll be down one less employee.” His eyes narrowed, his voice turning cold and hard. “If the police or anyone from Talon shows up, I have no problem using you as a hostage. Or a meat shield. You get me, Chameleon?”
Dante glared at him, then gave a tight nod.
“Good.” Riley gestured him forward with his gun. “After you, then.”
We started across the parking garage, Dante leading, Riley close at his back. Garret and I trailed close behind. I saw a pair of legs behind a pillar—Dante’s guards, I guessed—but beyond them and us, the garage was empty. The office building, too, seemed unnaturally dark and still. Dante let us in through the garage door, using a key card to get in, and said nothing as he led us to an elevator at the end of the hall. A uniformed guard sitting behind a desk straightened quickly as we approached. I saw Riley tense, his hand straying toward the gun hidden beneath his shirt, but Dante strode up without hesitation.
“Good evening, sir.” The guard gave Dante a pleasant smile, then eyed the rest of us over his shoulder. “Everything all right?”
Dante nodded. “Just giving some friends a tour of the building,” he said, sounding perfectly at ease. I held my breath, knowing how we must look: a trio of vagrant-looking young people trailing another teen in a very expensive suit. But the man behind the desk immediately nodded.
“Of course, sir. I’ll let security know.”
He waved us through. We passed the desk and entered the elevator at the end of the hall.
When the elevator doors closed, Riley suddenly pushed Dante into the wall, the gun beneath his chin. “That,” he growled as I flinched at his brutality, “was entirely too easy. No one in Talon lets three strangers waltz in off the street. What are you playing at, Chameleon?”