Page 27 of Legion

Riley gestured at him with his gun. “After you.”

As we stepped through the door together, Dante turned, as if to throw the light switch. Suddenly his arm shot out, something small cupped in his palm, striking Riley in the ribs. There was an electric flash of white, the buzz of static, and Riley snarled, jerking as if he’d been stung.

The lights came on, revealing half a dozen armed, armored humans in the room, pointing their guns right at us.

RILEY

Well, shit.We’d walked nose-first into a trap.

Still reeling from being tased, I didn’t move fast enough, and Dante slipped out of reach. He was smiling as he backed toward the desk and the trio of guards standing there with their guns aimed at my middle. St. George already had his weapon out, pointed back at them, but it was too late.

Dammit! This was bad. I’d known the devious little bastard had been up to something, but it was worse than I’d thought. This was more than bad luck or bad timing, and it wasn’t coincidence that everything—Miranda, the evidence, and Dante—had pointed us here. I knew a setup when I saw one. We’d been played.

“Did you really think we had no idea you were coming?” Dante asked, a pleased smile curling his lips as he confirmed my suspicions. He met my glare and shook his head. “Did you really believe your presence went unnoticed at the crash site? Why do you think Miranda was on television to begin with? Because we knew you would recognize her, and if you did, you would come snooping around. We had her giving ‘press interviews’ on every news station for three days straight, to make sure you saw her.” He circled the desk and stood behind it, two guards flanking him like attack dogs. “The evidence would lead you here, as we knew it would, and everything else just fell into place.” That arrogant smile turned sharp as he gazed at me, eyes glittering with hatred. “I will admit, I’m going to enjoy watching you die, Cobalt. For everything you’ve done, all the grief you’ve caused me, and Talon, I hope it’s painful. A quick death is more than you deserve.”

I smiled coldly back. “You think you can take me down,hatchling? Do your worst.”

“Dante.” Ember stepped forward, prompting half the guards to level their guns at her. The heat inside flared as Cobalt surged up, making my skin feel tight. Ember ignored the guards and their weapons, keeping her gaze on Dante. “Don’t do this,” she pleaded. “Please. You can still walk away. Look at what Talon is doing. They destroyed an entire town, killed every human there. That can’t be what you wanted. My brother was never a killer.”

“You don’t know me anymore, Ember.” Dante’s voice was weary. “You don’t know what I’ve done, what I’m willing to sacrifice, for our race. I know what Talon is planning. It’s far too late for me to go back.” He raised his chin, his voice becoming defiant. “Igave the order to wipe out that town. No witnesses, no survivors. And I would do it again, if that’s what Talon wanted.”

Dammit.I spared a glance at the soldier as they were talking. He was tense, pistol drawn and ready, his body coiled to spring into action. He caught my gaze and gave a tiny nod. I returned my attention to the twins as the air in my lungs started to boil.

“You gave the order,” Ember repeated softly. “But...why? How could you do that?”

“You don’t understand now,” Dante said. “But you will. Once you come back with me, you’ll understand everything, I promise.” His voice softened, turning almost gentle. “We belong with Talon, Ember. It’s our destiny. Once you come back, you’ll see why.” His attention shifted to the guards standing around the room. “Bring me the girl,” he ordered, taking a step back. “Kill the rest.”

I exploded into Cobalt, surging up with a roar as the guards opened fire. Bullets tore past me, a couple sparking off my chest plates and several punching through my wing membranes. I sent a cone of fire at the nearest guard, and he reeled back, blazing like a torch. At the same time, Ember pounced on another, changing into a dragon midlunge, and St. George closed with a third, grabbing his weapon arm and forcing the muzzle away. Two pistol shots rang out, and the guard crumpled to the ground.

Growling, I turned on the last two guards, who had converged behind the desk and were raising their weapons to fire. Dante was nowhere to be seen, but the open door behind them told me where he’d escaped to.

“Dante!”

With a snarl, Ember reared back and sent a fireball at the desk, where it exploded in a burst of light and heat, causing the guards to reel away and crumple to the floor. Without hesitation, she leaped over the desk and bounded through the door after her twin.

“Dammit, Firebrand. Wait!” With a curse, I followed her, St. George right behind me. The door opened into a narrow hallway, and I hurried to keep up with the red dragon, my talons clicking against the tile.

We burst through the final door into a room much different than the one we’d just left. The ceiling was vast and soaring. A mezzanine ran the length of the opposite wall, a veranda stretching corner to corner twenty or so feet overhead. Directly below the railing, an elevator door slid shut, indicating where the little snitch had disappeared to, but getting to him might be challenging.

At least a dozen humans stood in the shadows of the mezzanine, staring at us as we came in. They were armed with pistols, all pointed in our direction, and wore identical gray uniforms, but that wasn’t what made my skin crawl. There was something else, something...wrong about them. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

It hit me, and a jolt of shock zipped up my spine. The bastards weren’t just wearing identical clothing; they lookedexactlythe same. They had the same shaved heads, the same faces and blank, empty eyes. They gazed at us, two dragons and an armed human, with absolutely no emotion. No surprise, fear, wonder or anything.

“What in the world...?” Ember growled, stopping as we faced the line of identical humans. “Whatisthis?”

“Ember!”

Dante appeared on the mezzanine, a pair of creepy twin humans flanking him, and gazed down at us imperiously. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this,” he said as Ember tensed at the sight of him. “I’ve sealed this floor,” he added, makingmetense. “None of you are getting out. Ember, I’ll give you one last chance to surrender without violence. Return to Talon, and I swear you won’t be punished. We can be together again, as it should be. But if you stay with that rogue, I can’t protect you from what’s to come. Please.” He gripped the railing, his gaze only for the red dragon. “Come back to Talon with me,” he said, his voice quietly desperate. “You don’t know what’s coming, and if you’re on the other side when it hits...” He shook his head. “You’ll be swallowed whole with everyone else.”

“What’s coming, Dante?” Ember called as something cold settled in my gut, making me shiver. “What is Talon planning?”

“I can’t tell you that,” was the answer. “Not here. Once you return to the organization, though, you’ll understand everything.”

“And what about Riley and Garret?”

Even from here, I saw the gleam of hatred as the other hatchling looked at me. “Cobalt is the most wanted criminal in the organization,” he said, venom dripping from his words. “And the other is a soldier of St. George. I cannot imagine how you think Talon would spare either of them.

“But,”he added before either Ember or I could speak. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and looked at Ember once more. “If you promise to come back with me tonight,” he said in a grave voice, “they can go. They can walk out of this building at least. I can’t promise anything beyond that.”

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