Page 28 of Legion

“Don’t strain yourself, Chameleon,” I sneered, unable to simply stand there and take his insults. “What would Talon say, if they discovered you let the infamous Cobalt slip right through your slimy fingers?”

“They wouldn’t be happy,” Dante replied, not to me but to Ember. “But bringing you home is more important. Nothing matters more than that.” A pause, and then he added, in an even softer voice, “I miss you, sis. I want things to be like they were before. You don’t know...you have no idea how important you are. Not just to me, but to all of Talon. It’s not my place to explain it, but you and I are special, and not just because we’re siblings. Come back with me, and you can see for yourself.”

“Dante,” Ember said in a strangled voice. She had crouched down, tail and wings pressed tight to her body, and was trembling. “I don’t—”

“You don’t belong with them,” Dante insisted. “You belong with Talon. It can be how it was before. We can be a family again.”

“I...” Ember hesitated a heartbeat more, then raised her head, glaring at her brother. “No,” she said in a firm, clear voice. “I have a family. Right here. You and I are siblings, but the brother I knew wouldn’t slaughter a whole town of humans just for the good of our race. You’ve changed, Dante. You’re not my brother anymore. And if you want to kill Riley, or Garret, or anyone I care about, you’ll have to fight me, too.”

For a moment, the Chameleon stared at her, disbelieving. Then his eyes glowed with anger, and he took a step back.

“If that’s your decision.” His voice had gone cold and slimy again, and he raised a hand, sweeping it over the humans below. “Then you leave me no choice. You will see the power of Talon, and why our enemies stand no chance against us. Vessels!” he called, and the row of identical humans raised their heads. “Initiate!”

The humans started to change. ToShift. Almost as one, they swelled, stretching and growing as wings tore through their backs and scales covered their bodies. In the space of a heartbeat, over a dozen identical, metallic-gray dragons stood where a human mob had been moments before.

My spines bristled as I stumbled back a step.What the hell?This was even worse than the humans. They were all dragons—hatchlings, judging by their relatively small size—but they stared at us with that same blank, emotionless gaze that made my insides recoil.

Soulless.The word popped into my head, and I shivered.They look soulless, completely empty. There’s nothing behind their gazes, nothing at all. They look like machines. Like fucking robots.

“Dante...” Ember’s voice was a horrified whisper, as well, as she cringed back from the row of blank-eyed dragons. “What is this? What have you done?”

“This is the future,” Dante said, raising both arms as if to embrace them. “This is what’s going to save us from extinction. Don’t you see what they represent, Ember? This is our hope. We can finally turn the tide against the Order.”

“You’ve created soldiers.” This was from St. George, the first thing he’d said in a while, and he sounded just as quietly horrified as the rest of us. “These have been bred for war and nothing else.” He narrowed his eyes at Dante. “How many has Talon created?”

“More than enough,” Dante said. He smiled coldly as the clones continued to watch us with empty pale eyes. “Enough for our race to crush our enemies. Enough for dragons to return from the brink of extinction and never to be forced back. Not by St. George. Not by anyone.”

“This is wrong, Dante,” Ember said, gazing up at him. “Can’t you see what Talon is doing? Don’t you know what this means?”

“Yes,” Dante replied. “It means Talon will save our race, that St. George will fall, andyouwill return to the organization with me tonight. Whether you want to or not. Vessels!” he called, and the dragons straightened to attention. “Attack! Kill the male dragon and the human, but leave the female alive. Restrain her if you have to, but bring her to me!”

As one, the line of dragons surged forward. There were no snarls, no roars or bellows or shrieking battle cries. They were as silent as death as they came at us, a terrifying gray tide.

I snarled my own battle cry, but before I could move, St. George stepped forward with a sharp, “Look away!” and hurled something into the room. A small, round object sailed through the air and landed in front of the approaching clones. They slowed, blinking at the object, just as I realized what it was and quickly turned my head.

The flashbang exploded in a brilliant burst of light, flaring white through my closed lids, and the shock wave knocked me back a step. Now the clones screamed, hissing with alarm and fury, making my blood chill, but for a split second, they were frozen in shock.

“Run!” I snarled to the others, and we fled, bounding back into the corridor. Gunshots echoed behind us as St. George fired shots into the stunned clones before he slammed the door and hurried after us.

“Where are we going?” Ember called as we entered the room where Dante had sprung his first trap. The humans were still sprawled motionless on the floor, but the room had changed. Steel walls covered the windows to the outside, blocking any escape by flying through the glass. I snarled a curse and looked around for another way out, but there were only the two doors into the room, the one we first came in with Dante, and the one that led back toward the army of clones.

St. George slammed the door to the hall and turned to Ember, beckoning her to the still-smoldering desk in the corner. “Ember, can you shove that against the door?”

The red dragon nodded, bounded to the desk and slammed her horns against the side. I hurried to join her, and the heavy piece of furniture groaned as we pushed it across the floor and shoved it in front of the door. Not that it would do much good against a fire-breathing dragon, even a small one, but it might slow them down a few seconds.

“What now?” Ember panted as we backed off, just as a heavy thud echoed from the hall beyond, and the door rattled on its hinges. I winced.

“We have to find a way off this floor,” I growled, glancing at the barricaded windows. Dammit, the slimy little bastard sure had screwed us over royally. If I knew Talon at all, every window and exit to the outside would be similarly blocked, but we had to try. “All the exits will be sealed off,” I said. “But if we can get to another floor, we might have a chance. They can’t have sealed the whole building.”I hope.

The door rattled again, and a trio of claws curled around the edge, raking gouges across the wood. A pale, slitted eye glared at me through the crack, making my blood run cold.

“Come on,” St. George said, and we fled the room, heading back the way we came in. We passed more rooms in the same state; steel curtains covered the windows, preventing not only an easy way out but blocking all views from the outside, as well. Bursting into another room, I muttered a curse, gazing around frantically. This one was a “cubicle hell” open floor, with desks and computers sectioned off into identical workstations that covered the room like a maze. On the opposite wall, a glowing exit sign beckoned enticingly, and I bounded in that direction.

We came to the fire escape at the end of the hall, but of course the metal door was firmly locked. St. George slammed his shoulder into it a couple times, to no avail.

“Stand back, St. George,” I growled after a few moments of watching the human slam into the barrier. “Let’s see how well it holds up to dragon claws.”

“Riley!” Ember gasped. I turned to see a dozen pale, shining eyes floating in the dark, moving toward us through the cubicle maze. St. George fired off several rounds, and though I heard bullets striking scales and horns alike, none of the clones made a sound as they advanced. If they could feel pain, they didn’t show it.

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