Talon
Page 74
“Ember, your trainer,” I rasped, leaning forward, as she gave me a half-wary, half-bewildered look but held her ground. “What’s her name? What does she look like?”
“I don’t know her name,” Ember said, still frowning. “She never told me. But, she’s tall. She has long blond hair, and green eyes—”
“Attractive?”
“Yes.”
“Sadistic as hell?”
“Oh yeah.” Ember’s eyes widened. “Do you know her?”
I raked a hand through my hair, a lump of ice settling in my stomach. “Lilith,” I growled, forcing myself to stay calm, to not look over my shoulder in case she was watching us right now. “Lilith has been your trainer this whole time?”
“Who’s Lilith?”
I ignored that question. “Were you followed?” I demanded, and when she frowned, I grabbed her wrist, making her jump. “Ember, did you tell anyone where you were going? Does anyone know where you are?”
“No!” Ember twisted her arm a certain way and yanked out of my grasp, surprising me, but only for a moment. Of course, she had Lilith for a trainer. What did I expect? “Riley, what’s going on? Who is Lilith?”
I took another furtive breath, leaning back against the railing in a show of nonchalance, like nothing was wrong. Casually, I scanned the pier again, searching for the other dragon, though I knew it was useless. If Lilith didn’t want to be seen, I’d never catch a glimpse of her. “We can’t talk here,” I said quietly, hoping Ember would follow my lead and not let on that I knew. “If you want to know who Lilith is, what she really does for Talon, come with me right now. I’ll take you somewhere safe. But I need your word that you won’t tell anyone what you’ve seen or heard. Do you understand?” I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, my voice turning steely. “Lives depend on it, Ember. This isn’t a game anymore. Promise me you won’t tell anyone—not your brother, not your guardians, and especially not your trainer.” Briefly, I closed my eyes, hoping it wasn’t too late. “If she doesn’t already know I’m here.”
Ember’s face was pale, but she nodded. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
I gave a brisk nod. “All right. Follow me, and try to act normal.”
She sniffed. “You’re the one acting like a weirdo.”
Without answering, I strode back down the pier, pretending to be casual while on high alert. If Lilith was here, we had to get out of town, fast. Hanging around when St. George could be on the way was risky enough, but staying when there was a known Viper in the area was suicidal. Especially if that Viper was Lilith.
My only hope was that Lilith didn’t know about us, yet. That she was in Crescent Beach just to train Ember, and hadn’t come specifically for me. If that was the case, then we had a chance. There was still time. I could still get everyone out safely.
And hopefully, when we did leave town, my naive little Firebrand—Lilith’s protégé, of all things—would be coming with us.
Ember
Mental note: Add riding a motorcycle to the Almost-as-Good-as-Flying list.
Riley’s bike tore up the streets, weaving in and around traffic, blasting through stale yellow lights, whipping around corners at top speed. Wind tore at my hair and clothes, stinging the corners of my eyes, the roar of the engine and the occasional honk from an irate motorist echoing in my ears. Riley never slowed down. I clung tightly to his waist, my cheek pressed to his leather jacket, and watched the world flash by in a blur.
Finally, we cruised up a fairly steep road cut into the side of a cliff, where you could see the ocean and nearly all of Crescent beach spread out below you. As I raised my head from Riley’s back, wondering where we were going, he suddenly turned down a long, gated driveway and pulled to a stop in front of a house.
My mouth fell open. House? More like a mansion. The place was huge, sprawling, much bigger than Uncle Liam’s villa or even Kristin’s beach house. I gaped at it, then Riley, who smirked back at me, as if expecting my reaction.
“Welcome to my humble abode.”
“You live here?” I gasped, and he chuckled, swinging off the bike.
“Okay, my entire perspective of you just got flipped on its head. I guess rogue dragon-ing pays better than I thought.”
He raked his dark hair back and grinned. “Don’t be too impressed, Firebrand. It’s not mine. We’re just…borrowing it, while we’re in town.”
“We?”
“Yeah, ‘we.’ Come on.” Jerking a thumb toward the massive front doors, he started up the walk. “I have some people I want you to meet.”
The inside was just as massive and sprawling as the outside, and definitely inhabited, judging by the amount of Red Bull and Mountain Dew cans scattered everywhere, the piles of dirty dishes in the sink, and the empty pizza boxes on the counter.
A gangly human emerged from a back room, shirt rumpled, brown hair hanging in his eyes. He noticed me standing in the foyer but didn’t seem surprised, giving Riley a weary look when he came in.
“This her, then?” he asked with an English accent. “The girl we’re all risking our lives for? Oh, sorry, the girl you’re risking our lives for?”
He eyed me from beneath shaggy bangs, arching a brow. “Have to say, I’m not that impressed, mate.”
I scowled. “If you’ve got something to say to me, I’m standing right here.”
“You’ll have to excuse Wes,” Riley said. “He has the bad habit of being a jackass.” The human didn’t even blink, and Riley’s voice turned solemn. “Where are the other two?”
“Still downstairs. Where they’ve been all morning, probably sulking because I chased them out of the swimming pool. Why?” His eyes narrowed, maybe sensing the nervous tension in Riley’s demeanor.
“What’s going on?”
Riley shot me a glance. I saw him hesitate, wondering how much he should reveal, if he should trust me. I met his gaze head on.
“You promised me answers,” I reminded him. “You said you’d tell me everything about Talon and the Vipers and what they do. I’m not leaving until I know.”
“Vipers?” Wes’ voice, no longer bored or smug, climbed several octaves. He stared at me with wide eyes, then looked at Riley, dropping his voice to a hiss. “Did she just say bloody Vipers?” Riley sighed.
“I don’t know her name,” Ember said, still frowning. “She never told me. But, she’s tall. She has long blond hair, and green eyes—”
“Attractive?”
“Yes.”
“Sadistic as hell?”
“Oh yeah.” Ember’s eyes widened. “Do you know her?”
I raked a hand through my hair, a lump of ice settling in my stomach. “Lilith,” I growled, forcing myself to stay calm, to not look over my shoulder in case she was watching us right now. “Lilith has been your trainer this whole time?”
“Who’s Lilith?”
I ignored that question. “Were you followed?” I demanded, and when she frowned, I grabbed her wrist, making her jump. “Ember, did you tell anyone where you were going? Does anyone know where you are?”
“No!” Ember twisted her arm a certain way and yanked out of my grasp, surprising me, but only for a moment. Of course, she had Lilith for a trainer. What did I expect? “Riley, what’s going on? Who is Lilith?”
I took another furtive breath, leaning back against the railing in a show of nonchalance, like nothing was wrong. Casually, I scanned the pier again, searching for the other dragon, though I knew it was useless. If Lilith didn’t want to be seen, I’d never catch a glimpse of her. “We can’t talk here,” I said quietly, hoping Ember would follow my lead and not let on that I knew. “If you want to know who Lilith is, what she really does for Talon, come with me right now. I’ll take you somewhere safe. But I need your word that you won’t tell anyone what you’ve seen or heard. Do you understand?” I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, my voice turning steely. “Lives depend on it, Ember. This isn’t a game anymore. Promise me you won’t tell anyone—not your brother, not your guardians, and especially not your trainer.” Briefly, I closed my eyes, hoping it wasn’t too late. “If she doesn’t already know I’m here.”
Ember’s face was pale, but she nodded. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
I gave a brisk nod. “All right. Follow me, and try to act normal.”
She sniffed. “You’re the one acting like a weirdo.”
Without answering, I strode back down the pier, pretending to be casual while on high alert. If Lilith was here, we had to get out of town, fast. Hanging around when St. George could be on the way was risky enough, but staying when there was a known Viper in the area was suicidal. Especially if that Viper was Lilith.
My only hope was that Lilith didn’t know about us, yet. That she was in Crescent Beach just to train Ember, and hadn’t come specifically for me. If that was the case, then we had a chance. There was still time. I could still get everyone out safely.
And hopefully, when we did leave town, my naive little Firebrand—Lilith’s protégé, of all things—would be coming with us.
Ember
Mental note: Add riding a motorcycle to the Almost-as-Good-as-Flying list.
Riley’s bike tore up the streets, weaving in and around traffic, blasting through stale yellow lights, whipping around corners at top speed. Wind tore at my hair and clothes, stinging the corners of my eyes, the roar of the engine and the occasional honk from an irate motorist echoing in my ears. Riley never slowed down. I clung tightly to his waist, my cheek pressed to his leather jacket, and watched the world flash by in a blur.
Finally, we cruised up a fairly steep road cut into the side of a cliff, where you could see the ocean and nearly all of Crescent beach spread out below you. As I raised my head from Riley’s back, wondering where we were going, he suddenly turned down a long, gated driveway and pulled to a stop in front of a house.
My mouth fell open. House? More like a mansion. The place was huge, sprawling, much bigger than Uncle Liam’s villa or even Kristin’s beach house. I gaped at it, then Riley, who smirked back at me, as if expecting my reaction.
“Welcome to my humble abode.”
“You live here?” I gasped, and he chuckled, swinging off the bike.
“Okay, my entire perspective of you just got flipped on its head. I guess rogue dragon-ing pays better than I thought.”
He raked his dark hair back and grinned. “Don’t be too impressed, Firebrand. It’s not mine. We’re just…borrowing it, while we’re in town.”
“We?”
“Yeah, ‘we.’ Come on.” Jerking a thumb toward the massive front doors, he started up the walk. “I have some people I want you to meet.”
The inside was just as massive and sprawling as the outside, and definitely inhabited, judging by the amount of Red Bull and Mountain Dew cans scattered everywhere, the piles of dirty dishes in the sink, and the empty pizza boxes on the counter.
A gangly human emerged from a back room, shirt rumpled, brown hair hanging in his eyes. He noticed me standing in the foyer but didn’t seem surprised, giving Riley a weary look when he came in.
“This her, then?” he asked with an English accent. “The girl we’re all risking our lives for? Oh, sorry, the girl you’re risking our lives for?”
He eyed me from beneath shaggy bangs, arching a brow. “Have to say, I’m not that impressed, mate.”
I scowled. “If you’ve got something to say to me, I’m standing right here.”
“You’ll have to excuse Wes,” Riley said. “He has the bad habit of being a jackass.” The human didn’t even blink, and Riley’s voice turned solemn. “Where are the other two?”
“Still downstairs. Where they’ve been all morning, probably sulking because I chased them out of the swimming pool. Why?” His eyes narrowed, maybe sensing the nervous tension in Riley’s demeanor.
“What’s going on?”
Riley shot me a glance. I saw him hesitate, wondering how much he should reveal, if he should trust me. I met his gaze head on.
“You promised me answers,” I reminded him. “You said you’d tell me everything about Talon and the Vipers and what they do. I’m not leaving until I know.”
“Vipers?” Wes’ voice, no longer bored or smug, climbed several octaves. He stared at me with wide eyes, then looked at Riley, dropping his voice to a hiss. “Did she just say bloody Vipers?” Riley sighed.
