Talon
Page 66
I narrowed my eyes. That house had been located halfway up a mountain peak, isolated and virtually unknown. No one was aware of it except me, Wes, and a couple other former Talon servants. in fact, all of my safe houses had been, well, safe. I’d had no issues with keeping them hidden before. Why were all my safe houses being exposed now?
The answer was sobering. I might have a mole in my ranks. with the exception of Wes, who hated Talon almost as much as I did, I really didn’t trust humans all that much. They were too gullible, too easy to sway with promises of wealth, power, status, or whatever they coveted. I worked with them out of necessity; our numbers were small and I couldn’t do everything myself, but if Talon offered them something better, I wouldn’t put it past them to betray us.
Which meant we could be in trouble here.
“Riley.” Wes appeared at the edge of the hall, his face and eyes shadowed. I rose and followed him into the spare bedroom he used as his office.
“It’s gone, mate,” he whispered as I crossed the threshold. His laptop sat open and blinking on the desk, and he looked at it as if hoping it would tell him something else. “The Boulder nest has gone dark, and Chris isn’t answering the emergency number.”
I swore. “We had cameras and communications set up so that even if Talon found the nest, we could still contact them, unless the house was completely burned down.” I stared at Wes, hard, and he looked away. “Tell me that’s not the case.”
He rubbed his arm, his voice going soft. “I don’t think this is Talon, Riley.”
The cold spread to all parts of my body, and I shivered in rage and growing horror. “No,” I muttered, staring at the flickering laptop screen. “It’s St. George.”
Wes nodded. “Which means they’re probably tracking those two right now,” he said, sounding grim. “Persistent bastards won’t stop if they know a pair of dragons got away from them. So that leaves us with just one option.” He walked to his laptop, closing it with a snap. “We have to get out of town, tonight if possible. We’re way too exposed here.”
Dammit. I growled, clenching my fists. “No. Not yet. We can’t leave yet.”
Wes spun back, eyes widening. “Riley, did you hear what I just said?
Bloody St. George is on the way. If they find us here, they’ll kill us all.”
“I know.”
“If we stay here, we’re putting those kids in danger, too. We have a responsibility to keep them safe. That’s what we promised.”
“I know!” I snapped, and raked a hand through my hair. “I just…I’m close, Wes. She’s almost ready to leave. I just need a little more time.”
“You want to stay because of her?” Wes looked at me like I had six heads. “Are you bloody insane? She’s just another hatchling, mate.
We can’t save them all.”
Just another hatchling? My eyes narrowed. “Ember will come. She’s one of us, she just doesn’t know it yet.” He started to protest again, and I overrode him. “I’m not leaving without her. So either stay and help, or shut up and leave.”
“Fine.” He made a frustrated, hopeless gesture. “You want to stay and get us all killed? Great. I bloody hope she’s worth it.”
I ignored the jab. “We need to secure the house,” I said, slipping into safeguard mode now that we weren’t leaving yet. “Alarms, cameras, motion detectors, everything. If St. George comes within a hundred feet of the gate, I want to know. How soon can you set that up?”
Wes scrubbed a hand over his face. “Get me the equipment, and I’ll have it up and running by tomorrow.”
“Good. Start working on that now. I’ll get you what you need later tonight.” I headed out of the room, but stopped when I saw the hatchlings, still huddled on the couch. Nettle had slumped against an armrest and was about ready to fall asleep, and Remy didn’t look much better.
“Don’t tell them about St. George,” I muttered without looking back. “I’ll explain what’s going on later, but I don’t want them panicking without reason. They’re scared enough as it is.”
“Oh, sure,” I heard Wes mumble as I left the room. “Don’t want to worry the bloody hatchlings, but the human’s heart exploding from stress, that’s perfectly okay.”
I knew Wes was right. Staying here when St. George was tracking them was stupid and risky, especially if I had a mole. I was endangering the hatchlings, and I was endangering everything I’d worked so hard to build.
But the thought of leaving Ember behind, when I was just starting to sway her to my side…I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t lose her to Talon now. Wes would have to suck it up and get used to the idea.
Because until I convinced Ember to break from Talon and join the rogues, none of us were going anywhere.
Ember
I was soaring the wind currents, the sun warm on my back, the breeze cool in my face. Below me, the white sea of clouds roiled and crashed against each other, smelling of salt and surf and the ocean, and I dipped lower to skim the waves.
Someone dropped beside me, another dragon, grinning a challenge as he swooped ahead. With a strong flap of my wings, I soared after him, following the streaming tail as he rolled and dived through the cloud-waves. I didn’t recognize him, though I knew I’d seen him before. Was it Cobalt? Or Garret…?
The alarm clock shrilled in my ear, piercing the fantasy, and I slapped it silent.
Five a.m. already. Damn. And the dream was already fading, vanishing into the ether as reality returned me to my bed. Had I been flying? And who was that other dragon I was chasing? I tried to hold on to the memory, but it slipped away into the darkness and was lost.
Rolling to my back, I stared at the ceiling, already dreading the day. Wonder what fun thing Scary Talon Lady has planned for me this time. Probably another dozen or so rounds of “hunt the dragon,” which was still far too realistic for me to enjoy, even in my real form.
I sat up, throwing off the covers, and my bear tumbled from the mattress to the floor. Smiling, I picked it up, inhaling the faint scent of cotton candy that still clung to the fur, and gave it a squeeze.
Garret won this for me. Just the thought of that, of him, made me smile. That day at the carnival had been amazing, especially the part on the Ferris wheel. The way he looked at me, right before I kissed him, made my breath catch. It was like he was seeing me—seeing me for what I really was—and he didn’t care.
The answer was sobering. I might have a mole in my ranks. with the exception of Wes, who hated Talon almost as much as I did, I really didn’t trust humans all that much. They were too gullible, too easy to sway with promises of wealth, power, status, or whatever they coveted. I worked with them out of necessity; our numbers were small and I couldn’t do everything myself, but if Talon offered them something better, I wouldn’t put it past them to betray us.
Which meant we could be in trouble here.
“Riley.” Wes appeared at the edge of the hall, his face and eyes shadowed. I rose and followed him into the spare bedroom he used as his office.
“It’s gone, mate,” he whispered as I crossed the threshold. His laptop sat open and blinking on the desk, and he looked at it as if hoping it would tell him something else. “The Boulder nest has gone dark, and Chris isn’t answering the emergency number.”
I swore. “We had cameras and communications set up so that even if Talon found the nest, we could still contact them, unless the house was completely burned down.” I stared at Wes, hard, and he looked away. “Tell me that’s not the case.”
He rubbed his arm, his voice going soft. “I don’t think this is Talon, Riley.”
The cold spread to all parts of my body, and I shivered in rage and growing horror. “No,” I muttered, staring at the flickering laptop screen. “It’s St. George.”
Wes nodded. “Which means they’re probably tracking those two right now,” he said, sounding grim. “Persistent bastards won’t stop if they know a pair of dragons got away from them. So that leaves us with just one option.” He walked to his laptop, closing it with a snap. “We have to get out of town, tonight if possible. We’re way too exposed here.”
Dammit. I growled, clenching my fists. “No. Not yet. We can’t leave yet.”
Wes spun back, eyes widening. “Riley, did you hear what I just said?
Bloody St. George is on the way. If they find us here, they’ll kill us all.”
“I know.”
“If we stay here, we’re putting those kids in danger, too. We have a responsibility to keep them safe. That’s what we promised.”
“I know!” I snapped, and raked a hand through my hair. “I just…I’m close, Wes. She’s almost ready to leave. I just need a little more time.”
“You want to stay because of her?” Wes looked at me like I had six heads. “Are you bloody insane? She’s just another hatchling, mate.
We can’t save them all.”
Just another hatchling? My eyes narrowed. “Ember will come. She’s one of us, she just doesn’t know it yet.” He started to protest again, and I overrode him. “I’m not leaving without her. So either stay and help, or shut up and leave.”
“Fine.” He made a frustrated, hopeless gesture. “You want to stay and get us all killed? Great. I bloody hope she’s worth it.”
I ignored the jab. “We need to secure the house,” I said, slipping into safeguard mode now that we weren’t leaving yet. “Alarms, cameras, motion detectors, everything. If St. George comes within a hundred feet of the gate, I want to know. How soon can you set that up?”
Wes scrubbed a hand over his face. “Get me the equipment, and I’ll have it up and running by tomorrow.”
“Good. Start working on that now. I’ll get you what you need later tonight.” I headed out of the room, but stopped when I saw the hatchlings, still huddled on the couch. Nettle had slumped against an armrest and was about ready to fall asleep, and Remy didn’t look much better.
“Don’t tell them about St. George,” I muttered without looking back. “I’ll explain what’s going on later, but I don’t want them panicking without reason. They’re scared enough as it is.”
“Oh, sure,” I heard Wes mumble as I left the room. “Don’t want to worry the bloody hatchlings, but the human’s heart exploding from stress, that’s perfectly okay.”
I knew Wes was right. Staying here when St. George was tracking them was stupid and risky, especially if I had a mole. I was endangering the hatchlings, and I was endangering everything I’d worked so hard to build.
But the thought of leaving Ember behind, when I was just starting to sway her to my side…I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t lose her to Talon now. Wes would have to suck it up and get used to the idea.
Because until I convinced Ember to break from Talon and join the rogues, none of us were going anywhere.
Ember
I was soaring the wind currents, the sun warm on my back, the breeze cool in my face. Below me, the white sea of clouds roiled and crashed against each other, smelling of salt and surf and the ocean, and I dipped lower to skim the waves.
Someone dropped beside me, another dragon, grinning a challenge as he swooped ahead. With a strong flap of my wings, I soared after him, following the streaming tail as he rolled and dived through the cloud-waves. I didn’t recognize him, though I knew I’d seen him before. Was it Cobalt? Or Garret…?
The alarm clock shrilled in my ear, piercing the fantasy, and I slapped it silent.
Five a.m. already. Damn. And the dream was already fading, vanishing into the ether as reality returned me to my bed. Had I been flying? And who was that other dragon I was chasing? I tried to hold on to the memory, but it slipped away into the darkness and was lost.
Rolling to my back, I stared at the ceiling, already dreading the day. Wonder what fun thing Scary Talon Lady has planned for me this time. Probably another dozen or so rounds of “hunt the dragon,” which was still far too realistic for me to enjoy, even in my real form.
I sat up, throwing off the covers, and my bear tumbled from the mattress to the floor. Smiling, I picked it up, inhaling the faint scent of cotton candy that still clung to the fur, and gave it a squeeze.
Garret won this for me. Just the thought of that, of him, made me smile. That day at the carnival had been amazing, especially the part on the Ferris wheel. The way he looked at me, right before I kissed him, made my breath catch. It was like he was seeing me—seeing me for what I really was—and he didn’t care.
