“Not helpful, Riley!” came Ember’s voice from somewhere below.
“They don’t want to kill us,” St. George replied. “At least, not all of us. They want Ember alive, to take back to Talon. That’s what Dante said.”
“Yeah, well, good luck with that,” Ember said defiantly, her feet thumping on the rungs as she climbed down the shaft. “I can’t believe Dante would set us up like this...again.” She sighed. “Dammit, who am I kidding?” she whispered, her voice nearly inaudible in the darkness. “If Dante knew we were coming here, he’d know I would want to talk to him. He made sure that I would see him, just to lure us in here. So this...this is my fault.”
“Stop it, Firebrand,” I growled down at her. “We all agreed to do this. We all wanted to know what Talon was up to, if they were planning anything shady. I think we sure as hell got our answer.” A shriek rang out somewhere overhead, and I shivered. “So now the question becomes, what can Talon do with an army of soulless clone dragons, and what’s that going to mean for the rest of us?”
“Nothing good,” St. George muttered above me. I couldn’t argue with him there.
We continued down the shaft in silence until we reached the last floor. Swinging myself onto the ledge between the drop-off and elevator doors, my legs nearly buckled and I staggered. Ember quickly grabbed my arm, pulling me back from the edge.
“We need to bandage those,” she whispered, her gaze going to my shirt, where I could feel the bloody fabric sticking to my skin.
“Let’s get out of here first,” I muttered back as St. George joined us on the ledge, also giving me a concerned look. I stepped away from them and wedged my fingers into the crack between the elevator doors. “We’ll call Wes, get back to the safe house and then decide if we need to build a giant underground shelter to wait out the next fifty years while Talon unleashes the dragon apocalypse. St. George, grab the other door, would you?”
He did, and together we pried them open, though I had to bite my lip to stifle a grunt of pain as we slid them back. The soldier leaned out and peered into the darkness beyond. “I don’t see anyone,” he murmured. “Looks clear.”
Silently, we slid out of the elevator and crept down the hall, which opened up into a spacious lobby with high ceilings, a large front desk and a few chairs and sofas placed strategically over the floor. To the right, an escalator led up to a second-floor balcony that overlooked the lobby, and straight ahead, maybe fifty feet away, were the front doors that represented freedom.
“Almost there,” Ember whispered, and bounded forward.
We sprinted for the doors, but before we were halfway across the floor, Dante’s voice cracked like a whip in the silence.
“Ember! Stop!”
I looked back, and my heart sank.
The lobby behind us was full of dragons. Not just a dozen or so; a massive flood of iron-gray clones crept from the shadows along the walls, hissing as they came into the light. They slithered over the tables and sofas, leaped atop the welcome desk on the back wall, crowded forward in a mass of scales, wings and teeth. More identical humans appeared on the balcony overhead, raised their assault rifles and pointed them down at us. Standing between them, glaring down at us in triumph, was Dante.
We hit the front doors, Ember slamming her body into them with a crash, but they held. I reached them and drove my foot into the barrier between us and freedom, but they didn’t even shake. Sealed, I realized, staring at the thick metal barriers in dismay. Nothing short of an explosive or a speeding dump truck was getting through them tonight.
I slumped and slowly turned to face the army at our backs. End of the line, Riley. I was wounded, St. George was out of ammo and we were backed into a corner with a sea of dragons closing in from all sides. Wes, I thought, I’m glad you’re not here. Sorry to bail on you like this, but take care of my underground for me.
I took a deep breath, glanced at St. George and smirked. “You take the hundred on the left, I take the hundred on the right?”
He gave me the grim smile of someone who was prepared to go down fighting. “Meet you on the other side.”
“No!” Ember cried, her voice ringing through the lobby, and lunged forward.
EMBER
I stepped forward, putting myself between the clones, Garret and Riley. Instantly, the dragons tensed, muscles coiling to spring at me. Ignoring them, I raised my head, seeking the lone figure on the balcony.
“Call them off, Dante! Tell them to stand down. I want to talk to you!”
“Hold,” Dante barked, his voice barely audible over the hissing of the clones. They froze immediately, becoming as still and silent as rocks. But they were still just a lunge away from us, a chilling, unmoving wave, blank eyes glittering in the darkness. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, glaring up at my twin. “I have a proposal for you.”
“Ember.” Garret’s voice echoed at my back, soft and wary, making my stomach tighten. He could guess what I was about to do. “Don’t.”
Ignoring him, I closed my eyes, gathering my resolve, then looked up at my brother again. “Let them go,” I said firmly. “You win, Dante, but I’m setting the terms now. No one dies, that’s my proposal. You want me to come back to Talon?” I gestured behind me. “Swear to me that you’ll let them live, and I’ll go with you tonight.”
“Ember!” Riley snarled, and I spun on him, furious.
“Let me do this, Riley,” I snapped, desperate to convince him. “We can’t win this one. Even if we fight, they’re just going to kill you and take me back, anyway. At least this way, I’ll know you’re alive. You and Garret both. Please.” My gaze went to the soldier, standing rigidly beside him. “Don’t fight them,” I whispered, lowering my voice so only Garret and Riley could hear. “Don’t throw your life away. There’s too much at stake now. Look around you.” I made a tiny gesture at the army of dragons at my back. “Someone has to fight this. Someone has to warn the rest of our world what Talon has done. The underground, St. George, everyone will be affected. Who knows how many of these things Talon has?”
Garret came forward. His expression was tormented as he stared at me, but he didn’t argue. He knew, just as I did, that we couldn’t win. “And what about you?”