Page 64 of Legion

“Did you know about the clones?”

“I didn’t,” Mist said. “But I suspect he did. After I...failed the mission in Vegas, I expected to be punished, or at least reassigned somewhere horrible. But he pulled some strings and was able to reassign me to the lab, where you ended up.” Her expression shifted to a faint look of awe as she shook her head. “I think he knew, somehow, that our paths would cross. That he could use you to get the information he wanted.”

“Why help us escape, though?” I asked. “You could have easily left us there, after you got what you needed. The easier plan would have been to abandon us or turn us in, instead of having Luther see you with us and blow your cover.”

“Yes, it would,” Mist agreed. “But that’s not what my employer desired. He wanted me to help you escape, so I did. Don’t ask me why—I’m not in the habit of questioning his orders. And lately...” She paused again, a brief frown crossing her face as if she were annoyed that she was revealing something else. “He’s been at odds with the Elder Wyrm for a long time. Perhaps he realized that you would be more useful alive and free. That you and your little resistance will be instrumental in stopping the Elder Wyrm’s plan to destroy the Order.” She shrugged. “Or maybe he just wanted another way to twist the knife. You’ve certainly been a thorn in Talon’s side. Maybe that’s why he chose to help you.

“In any case,” she continued, giving me a defiant look. “That’s all I’m willing to reveal right now. Have I sufficiently answered your questions, Cobalt? Are you satisfied that I am not going to run off and betray you to Talon at the first opportunity?”

I crossed my arms. “For now.”

“Well.” Mist gave me that faint smile. “Do let me know if anything changes.”

Downstairs, the front door opened and closed softly.

We both froze. To my knowledge, all the hatchlings were asleep and accounted for. Ember and the soldier had left a few hours ago, but I’d received a text from Ember earlier tonight, letting me know she was fine, that she was on her way back and that there was something we had to discuss. That was ominous, but it wasn’t like her to quietly sneak into a room, and I’d heard only one pair of footsteps come in instead of two. I wouldn’t put it past a couple of my hatchlings to sneak out of the house and wander off alone, and a Viper certainly wouldn’t use the front door, but right now, I wasn’t taking any chances.

I drew my gun and, immediately, Mist did the same, pulling a pistol from the small of her back and slipping around behind me. She made no sound as she did, moving like the trained operative she was. I jerked my head toward the staircase, and together we crept down the hall, guns held before us, careful not to make a sound.

At the top of the stairs, I gazed down into the living room. Everything was dark and shadowy, only a faint bit of moonlight coming in through the curtained windows. Carefully, I eased down the steps, keeping my pistol trained on the room, ready to shoot anything that popped out of the darkness and lunged at me. I could feel Mist behind me, doing the same, and weirdly enough, I was glad she was there to back me up.

At the back of the couch, a ripple of movement caught my attention, a shadow moving across the room. Quickly, I pointed the muzzle of my gun at it, feeling Mist do the same. “Hold it right there,” I growled, and the shadow instantly stopped moving. Its features were blurred by shadow, but I was positive this wasn’t a hatchling, trying to sneak back to their room. And it wasn’t Ember or the soldier, so... “You have exactly three seconds to tell me who you are,” I warned in a steely voice. “So if you don’t want a bunch of lead between the eyes, I would start talking now.”

“Barbaric and paranoid as usual, I see,” said a soft, instantly familiar voice, and a lamp clicked on, illuminating the room. I relaxed, exhaling in both surprise and relief as a slender Asian woman met my gaze across the floor. “I am relieved that some things never change.”

“Dammit, Jade.” I sighed, lowering the gun. The Eastern dragon regarded me calmly. “What the hell are you doing here? How did you even find us?”

She blinked. “I received a message earlier from the soldier,” was the cool reply. “He told me where you were and implied that you might need my help very soon. As I had already returned to the States, I came here as quickly as I could.”

I holstered the pistol, never so happy to see another dragon, even this dragon. Prejudice toward our Eastern cousins aside, Jade was a powerful Adult dragon who could more than take out her share of enemies if pressed. The trick was getting her to agree to fight; she would still rather meditate on a problem than blast it to cinders with flame.

“Did St. George tell you what happened?” I asked, and Jade nodded.

“He explained the...oh, what is the word? The gist of it. That you had been captured by Talon but managed to escape. That the organization has created an army of mindless clone dragons. That they are getting ready to...sic?...them on the rest of the world.” Jade’s voice grew even more grave. “It seemed a good idea to return and offer assistance before Talon wipes us all off the map.”

“What about your council? That seemed important, enough for you to drop everything and go back to China. What happened?”

Her smile became tight. “That is a story for another time, I’m afraid.” At my annoyed look, she raised a hand. “I will explain everything soon. Itisa tale that needs telling. But now is not the time. There are other issues to discuss.”

“I take it you two know each other,” Mist said, and I couldn’t be certain, but there might’ve been the faintest thread of awe in her voice as she stared at the Eastern dragon.

“Yeah,” I answered, stepping aside a little. “Mist, this is Jade. She’s a friend of the soldier.”

Mist offered the Eastern dragon a respectful bow, shocking me, and Jade inclined her head in return. “Speaking of which, where is the soldier?” she asked, sweeping her gaze up the stairs behind me, as if hoping to find him on the steps. “Last I heard from him, he was impatient that we speak again.”

“He’s gone,” I said, and she looked back sharply, eyes narrowing. “But he should be back anytime now. He and Ember left this afternoon to attend a meeting with the Order.”

Jade blinked. “I’m sorry, what?” she said serenely. “Did you just say he and the girl left to attend a meeting withSt. George?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Why?”

“Because the Order needs our help,” Ember said. We all jerked around to find her standing in the doorway, her eyes shining with a subtle green light as she gazed at us. “Because the Night of Fang and Fire is going to hit any night now, and I promised Garret I would return to St. George and help him fight Talon. With or without you.”

GARRET

I’m home.

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