“What’s your game?” I asked. “I know you didn’t give us the wrong drug by accident.” I curled my lip into a smile. “Or was that the plan? You knew Luther would be taking over the interrogation, and you didn’t want him to be the one to make us talk. That honor would be all yours.”
“You do have a very high opinion of yourself, don’t you?” Mist gave me a look that was both subtly amused and disgusted at the same time. “I wasn’t expecting Dante to show up, or for Luther to take over,” she admitted. “As for what I stuck you with, it was estazolam.”
I frowned. “Estazolam? But that’s—”
“A mild sedative. That made you feel slightly drowsy.” Mist made a vague gesture toward my face. “I had to drug you with something to make it seem like a standard interrogation, in case anyone was watching. In fact, I was about to share that bit of information with you in the interrogation room when Dante came in and interrupted us.”
“Why would you do that?” St. George asked, echoing my confusion. He hadn’t moved from where he sat against the wall, and I didn’t blame him. He was, after all, just a human. A tough human, granted, but not quite as resistant to pain and injury as a dragon.
Mist sighed.
“I would think it was obvious,” she said, and before I could reply that no, it really was not, she added, “I’m here to help you escape, of course. But we’ll have to move fast. There’s not a lot of time.”
In the moment of stunned silence that followed, my heart gave a violent leap. Escape. I had nearly given up hope a few minutes ago. I’d known that no one would be coming for us. There was no way out of Talon. I’d expected another interrogation session or two and then, when they’d gotten everything they could from me and the soldier, they would kill us both. That was how Talon worked. Even if they were keeping us alive to ensure Ember’s cooperation, as soon as they got what they wanted, they would get rid of us. We were disposable. Unimportant.
But if Mist was offering to help us escape...
Ruthlessly, I stifled those thoughts, refusing to believe. This was Mist, the Basilisk who, not three months ago, had lured me into trusting her only to betray that trust. She hadn’t given any indication of wanting to go rogue before; in her own words that night: I am what Talon requires. The organization entrusted me with this task, and I will not fail them. She wouldn’t throw everything away to go rogue now.
“Oh, of course, why didn’t I get that?” I said, sneering at the pale-haired girl on the other side of the bars. “Because that makes perfect sense—the loyal Talon employee helping their most infamous criminal escape the organization, betraying everything in the process.” I shook my head. “You, going rogue? Why in the world would you think I’d believe that?”
Mist’s placid expression didn’t change. “You did.”
“I had my reasons.”
“And I have mine.” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you think you’re the only one with secrets, Cobalt? Do you think you’re the only dragon who feels trapped by the organization? Who has his own agendas, not just Talon’s?”
This was a completely different attitude than the one I had encountered before. And I trusted this change of heart as much as I trusted a live viper. “Why would you help us?” I demanded. “A couple months ago, you were trying your damnedest to expose my network, and kill me in the process. What changed?”
“I had a job to do then,” Mist answered, unrepentant. “Just like I have a job to do now.” Her eyes flicked back to me and narrowed. “Make no mistake, Cobalt, it wasn’t my call to help you tonight. I’m just following orders.”
“Whose?” I asked, incredulous.
The hint of a smile crossed the girl’s face. “My employer would rather remain anonymous,” she said. “For safety. I’m sure you understand.” She glanced back at me, the amusement fading as a shadow of impatience crossed her face. “We don’t have much time,” she said in a low voice. “I can get you out of here, on one condition.”
Aha, there it was. I knew she wouldn’t do this out of the goodness of her heart. “Let me guess,” I said. “You need our help.”
“I don’t need you,” Mist answered. “I need that hacker friend of yours.”
“What do you want with Wes?” I growled.
Mist sighed. “There’s a sensitive file my employer wants me to steal,” she explained. “But it’s too heavily encrypted for me to find by myself. And as I assume your human hacker friend wouldn’t trust a word I say, I figure he needs to hear it from you.” She glanced at the door, as if making sure no one was coming in, before continuing in a lower voice. “This is the deal, Cobalt—I get you to that computer, you contact your computer genius and help me steal the information I need. Tonight. Then we leave the premises before Talon realizes what’s happened.”
“Just me? What about St. George?”
She gave the human a dubious look. “I doubt he can even stand, much less walk. Luther’s ‘techniques’ are intended for dragons, after all.” The girl shook her head, frowning. “There’s no time to wait for him to heal. We have to...”
She trailed off, a look of mild shock crossing her face. I glanced over my shoulder, just as St. George rose and walked calmly to the front of the cell. His jaw was set, tight with suppressed pain, but there were no obvious signs of injury, not even a limp, as he drew close to the bars.
“Don’t worry about me,” he told the Basilisk in an even voice. “I’m fine. I’ll keep up.”
Mist appraised him. It was clear she was surprised to see him on his feet and was observing him carefully to see if he was as hale and healthy as he claimed. To be honest, I was a little surprised, too. The human was tough, but not dragon tough. Unless there was something I was missing. Something...
Oh, crap. Dazed, I stared at the soldier as my brain finally put the pieces together. This wasn’t the first time the human had healed abnormally fast, not the first time he could stand when it should’ve been impossible. Is that the reason he isn’t dead now? What kind of freak did I create?
I kept these thoughts to myself. Now was not the time to dwell on anything but escaping this god-awful hellhole. Mist continued to appraise the soldier, unaware of my sudden realization. St. George gazed back calmly, and she shrugged.
“If you can keep up, human, I’m not going to stop you.” Her gaze narrowed. “But if you fall behind, don’t expect me to stop. My mission is to retrieve that file—nothing else matters.”
“And you would trust us to help you?” I asked. “Just like that?”
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like you can report me to Talon, not unless you wish to be caught again. Of course, you can try to overpower me and escape by yourselves...” Her lip curled, as if she found that thought amusing. “But since I am aware that your last dose of Dractylpromazine wasn’t even an hour ago, and I can still Shift without fail, that seems imprudent. The far wiser course would be to do what I ask. So...” She stared me down. “Do we have a deal?”