Page 25 of Legion

Dante slowly turned back to me as Garret and Riley dragged the bodies into the darkness. His eyes glinted angrily as he faced me down over the gun barrel. “Ember,” he said, his voice calm. “How did you get in here?”

“Wasn’t hard.” I was relieved when my voice came out mostly steady. “We saw you arrive this morning and made note of the car’s license plate. When the car came back a few minutes ago, I knew you were coming down. This place only has one security guard.” I jerked my head toward the garage entrance, though I kept the gun trained on Dante. “Once we got past him, the rest was easy.”

“I see.” His voice was hostile. It made a knot form in my stomach, and at the same time, anger flooded my veins. He had no right to be angry, not with the crap he’d put us through. “So, what are you going to do with me, Ember?” he went on. “Kill me? Are you going to shoot your own brother, right here?”

“Maybe I will,” I shot back, and raised the pistol, making him tense. “You certainly had no qualms about giving the order to takemeout.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on.” I sneered, angry that he would lie, that he would try to play it off. “Mist and Faith? The whole debacle in Vegas? That setup was all you, Dante—you told me that yourself. You admitted that you were the one to send them after me.”

“Yes, I did.” Dante’s eyes narrowed. “To bring you back to Talon. They never had orders to take you out. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

He’s lying.Faith told you she had orders to kill, and those orders came from Dante.But my resolve wavered. I didn’t want to believe my brother would actually try to kill me.

“Ember.” Abruptly, Dante closed his eyes, shaking his head. “This isn’t...how I wanted our reunion to go,” he almost-whispered. “I don’t want to fight you, sis. I never did.” Opening his eyes, he gave me a sad, almost pleading look. “I just want you to come home.”

“Talon isn’t my home,” I said softly. “Not anymore.”

The locks released, and the front passenger door clicked as someone opened it from the outside and slid into the seat. “The famous Dante Hill,” Riley stated, giving him a slightly dangerous smile as the door closed behind him. A pistol appeared in his other hand, casually resting against the seats as he draped an elbow over the chair backs. “You’ve caused me quite a bit of trouble these past few weeks.”

Dante stared at him, and for a moment, his eyes glittered with pure, unbridled loathing. A chill went through me, but then Dante smiled, and all emotions vanished behind a civil mask as he nodded at the other dragon.

“Not quite as famous as you, Mr. Cobalt,” Dante replied in a voice of chilly politeness. And suddenly, he wasn’t Dante anymore but a Chameleon, the kind Riley had warned me about. The sick feeling in my gut spread to my whole body as I realized I didn’t recognize him now. That brief glimpse of my brother, the twin who’d looked out for me my whole life, had vanished, leaving only the Chameleon behind. The thing Talon had turned him into. Settling comfortably against the cushions, as if this was a perfectly normal meeting, he crossed his legs and smiled. “Where are my guards and my driver, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Taking a nap.”

“And will they wake up again?”

“I don’t think they’re the ones you need to worry about right now,” Riley said as a shadow emerged from beside the car. Garret leaned against the front door and crossed his arms, doing the whole on-watch thing. “But if you’re asking if I killed them...no, I didn’t. I’m not quite the monster Talon would have you believe.” His smirk widened. “Actually, I find that kind of ironic, considering the circumstances.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m sure you don’t.”

Dante shook his head. “Well, this is getting us nowhere.” He turned away from Riley, as if dismissing him, and looked at me. “You obviously went through a lot to get to me, so I assume you want something. What can I do for you?”

I swallowed. “The town in Arkansas,” I began. “We know Talon was involved, and we know that story about the plane crash is a cover-up. We also know that the evidence collected at the site was sent here, to you.” No change in Dante’s expression; he regarded me with a practiced blank, pleasant expression that gave no hint to his thoughts or feelings. “Why did Talon attack that community?” I asked in a harder voice. “Why did they kill all those people? What are they planning now?”

“Ember,” Dante said in a reasonable tone, “listen to yourself. I don’t know where you got your information, but you’ve obviously jumped to the wrong conclusion. You’re accusing Talon of murdering an entire town, dozens of people, when for centuries, everything we have done has been to remain hidden and avoid detection. Why would we risk that kind of discovery?” He laced his fingers together on his knee, giving me a slight frown. “I assume you witnessed Miranda on the news. She was only there to make certain the humans would not discover our existence. It’s a standard precaution.”

“But why would she need to be there at all?” I demanded. “Why would Talon need to cover something up, if they weren’t involved?”

“There was a Talon agent on the plane that crashed,” Dante explained calmly. “The plane was one of ours, and it was carrying jet fuel to one of Talon’s bases on the eastern coast. Sadly, the agent on board was killed in the explosion with the rest of the community, but we still needed to send Miranda to investigate and remove any evidence that could point back to us. Again, standard precaution. Talon is protecting its interests and covering the truth of our existence, as they have always done.”

I hesitated. His explanation sounded perfectly reasonable, though I knew I shouldn’t believe him.

Dante’s serene expression didn’t change. “Think about it, Ember,” he continued. “Our agents are stretched thin as it is. We don’t have the numbers for the type of operation you’re talking about, even if we wanted to expose ourselves like that. What you saw was Talon trying to cover its tracks, and the evidence was sent here, to me, before it goes on to the Vault.”

“Well,” Riley broke in. “Wouldn’t I feel silly...if that wasn’t the biggest line of bullshit I’ve ever heard.” He leveled the pistol at Dante’s face. “Did you forget who you were talking to,hatchling? I was a Basilisk, remember? I know what’s left behind after a large explosion.” He narrowed his eyes, staring Dante down. “We went to that site. There was no plane. No debris. No crash. Nothing exploded in that town, but things did mysteriously catch fire. And, funniest thing, there were these odd gouges in the floors that looked exactly like dragon claws. So cut the crap. I’ve heard your shit before, and you’re not fooling anyone.”

Dante regarded the rogue with a patient, almost amused look that suggested Riley was being unreasonable, but didn’t dispute his claims. Hewaslying, I realized. He had just lied right to my face, and I’d considered believing him. Angry now, I clenched a fist on my leg. Dante was a Chameleon, I reminded myself. I couldn’t trust anything he said.

“Stop lying to us,” I growled. “What really happened there, Dante? We know Talon is planning something, and you’re a part of it. What’s going on?”

“Even if I did know,” Dante answered coolly, “what makes you think I would tell you anything?”

“Because if you don’t,” Riley said in a tone of dark warning, “we’re going for a little ride. We’re going to spend some quality time together, the four of us, and you’re not going back to Talon until you tell us what we want to know. How long it takes doesn’t matter. I can be very patient.” Riley smiled, raising the gun very slightly off the chair back. “So decide, Chameleon. You can tell us now, or later. Your choice.”

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