“Dante...” Ember’s voice was a horrified whisper, as well, as she cringed back from the row of blank-eyed dragons. “What is this? What have you done?”
“This is the future,” Dante said, raising both arms as if to embrace them. “This is what’s going to save us from extinction. Don’t you see what they represent, Ember? This is our hope. We can finally turn the tide against the Order.”
“You’ve created soldiers.” This was from St. George, the first thing he’d said in a while, and he sounded just as quietly horrified as the rest of us. “These have been bred for war and nothing else.” He narrowed his eyes at Dante. “How many has Talon created?”
“More than enough,” Dante said. He smiled coldly as the clones continued to watch us with empty pale eyes. “Enough for our race to crush our enemies. Enough for dragons to return from the brink of extinction and never to be forced back. Not by St. George. Not by anyone.”
“This is wrong, Dante,” Ember said, gazing up at him. “Can’t you see what Talon is doing? Don’t you know what this means?”
“Yes,” Dante replied. “It means Talon will save our race, that St. George will fall, and you will return to the organization with me tonight. Whether you want to or not. Vessels!” he called, and the dragons straightened to attention. “Attack! Kill the male dragon and the human, but leave the female alive. Restrain her if you have to, but bring her to me!”
As one, the line of dragons surged forward. There were no snarls, no roars or bellows or shrieking battle cries. They were as silent as death as they came at us, a terrifying gray tide.
I snarled my own battle cry, but before I could move, St. George stepped forward with a sharp, “Look away!” and hurled something into the room. A small, round object sailed through the air and landed in front of the approaching clones. They slowed, blinking at the object, just as I realized what it was and quickly turned my head.
The flashbang exploded in a brilliant burst of light, flaring white through my closed lids, and the shock wave knocked me back a step. Now the clones screamed, hissing with alarm and fury, making my blood chill, but for a split second, they were frozen in shock.
“Run!” I snarled to the others, and we fled, bounding back into the corridor. Gunshots echoed behind us as St. George fired shots into the stunned clones before he slammed the door and hurried after us.
“Where are we going?” Ember called as we entered the room where Dante had sprung his first trap. The humans were still sprawled motionless on the floor, but the room had changed. Steel walls covered the windows to the outside, blocking any escape by flying through the glass. I snarled a curse and looked around for another way out, but there were only the two doors into the room, the one we first came in with Dante, and the one that led back toward the army of clones.
St. George slammed the door to the hall and turned to Ember, beckoning her to the still-smoldering desk in the corner. “Ember, can you shove that against the door?”
The red dragon nodded, bounded to the desk and slammed her horns against the side. I hurried to join her, and the heavy piece of furniture groaned as we pushed it across the floor and shoved it in front of the door. Not that it would do much good against a fire-breathing dragon, even a small one, but it might slow them down a few seconds.
“What now?” Ember panted as we backed off, just as a heavy thud echoed from the hall beyond, and the door rattled on its hinges. I winced.
“We have to find a way off this floor,” I growled, glancing at the barricaded windows. Dammit, the slimy little bastard sure had screwed us over royally. If I knew Talon at all, every window and exit to the outside would be similarly blocked, but we had to try. “All the exits will be sealed off,” I said. “But if we can get to another floor, we might have a chance. They can’t have sealed the whole building.” I hope.
The door rattled again, and a trio of claws curled around the edge, raking gouges across the wood. A pale, slitted eye glared at me through the crack, making my blood run cold.
“Come on,” St. George said, and we fled the room, heading back the way we came in. We passed more rooms in the same state; steel curtains covered the windows, preventing not only an easy way out but blocking all views from the outside, as well. Bursting into another room, I muttered a curse, gazing around frantically. This one was a “cubicle hell” open floor, with desks and computers sectioned off into identical workstations that covered the room like a maze. On the opposite wall, a glowing exit sign beckoned enticingly, and I bounded in that direction.
We came to the fire escape at the end of the hall, but of course the metal door was firmly locked. St. George slammed his shoulder into it a couple times, to no avail.
“Stand back, St. George,” I growled after a few moments of watching the human slam into the barrier. “Let’s see how well it holds up to dragon claws.”
“Riley!” Ember gasped. I turned to see a dozen pale, shining eyes floating in the dark, moving toward us through the cubicle maze. St. George fired off several rounds, and though I heard bullets striking scales and horns alike, none of the clones made a sound as they advanced. If they could feel pain, they didn’t show it.
“The elevator shafts!” Ember hissed as we scrambled away from the exit, trying to lose the clones in the labyrinth. “Even if Dante cut the power, we can climb down the cables.”
“Good thinking, Firebrand,” I whispered, ducking around cubicles. “Let’s hope your brother hadn’t thought the same.” All around us, I heard the click of talons over tile, the flutter of wings and the hiss of tails as they brushed against walls and corners. The clone things had spread out and were combing the floor for us. And though I’d done this thing before with both Talon and the Order, it was a surreal feeling, being hunted by your own kind. I wondered how nasty these things were in a fight, because I had the sinking suspicion that we were going to find out sooner or later.
“Elevators!” Ember whispered, coming to a stop at the edge of the cubicle.
They sat against the far wall, out in the open, of course. I stifled a groan and peeked out of cover, seeing a long gray tail slink around a cubicle, disturbingly close.
“We’ll have to make a run for it,” I whispered, pulling back. “St. George, once we reach the elevators, I’ll have to Shift back, so I’ll need that change of clothes quick. I won’t be able to climb elevator shafts in dragon form, and I’d rather not do it naked.”
The soldier nodded and unshouldered the backpack. “I’d rather you not do it naked, either,” he muttered.