Page 37 of Inferno

“Yeah. I get that a lot.”

The Adult dragon ignored that statement. “Rest assured, I will find my breeders,” he said, sounding confident and assured. “There is no escape, no place on this island that they can hide. Save me some time. Tell me where they are, and I’ll make your death painless.”

I curled my muzzle in a sneer. “Oh, didn’t you know? I stole them away tomymagic island, where I’m the king and they’re all part of my harem. Sorry, but I don’t really feel like giving them back.”

“Very well.” Vance smiled coldly and took a step closer. “Then I suppose I’ll have to pull your limbs off one by one, until you feel more cooperative.”

I took a deep breath. No way in hell I was going to win this fight. That was fine; I just had to keep him here, keep him distracted, until the breeders reached the ship and the evacuation was complete. Maybe I’d even come out of this alive.

And then, a shadow fell over us, a second before Ember swooped down with a flash of metallic red and landed beside me. Stunned, I blinked at her, and she shot me a sideways grin.

“Garret and the others are on their way,” she told me in a near-whisper. “They just have to get through the rest of the guards. We can hold out until then, right?” Turning, she stepped forward, toward the Adult looming above us, and raised her voice. “This guy isn’t that scary.”

Vance snorted in contempt. “Your bloodline will not save you, Ember Hill,” he growled, and stalked forward. I tensed, lowering myself into a crouch, and saw Ember do the same. “You have no idea what you’ve done. Do you think the breeders will be able to survive without Talon? That this so-called ‘freedom’ is worth risking your lives over?” He curled a lip. “They were safe here. If you take them into the world now, they will all die when Talon launches the final stage of their plan. I will not allow that to happen.” His eyes narrowed, zeroing in on Ember. “Even if I must kill the daughter of the Elder Wyrm myself!”

EMBER

He lunged at me, covering the space between us in a leap, jaws gaping to bite me in half. I sprang into the air to avoid it, hearing his jaws snap shut below me, and immediately dove at his back, landing between his wings and sinking my claws into his scales.

He roared and spun on me like a snake, frighteningly quick for his size. I saw his head whip around from the corner of my eye, and I leaped out of the way, barely dodging his fangs a second time. As I flew off his back, I saw Cobalt lunge in and rake his claws down the Adult’s leg and shoulder. There was a faint metallic screech, and Cobalt darted away as Vance lashed out at him. I spun in midair and came back for another attack, but the Adult swung his head around again, bashing me in the side with his horns. I heard something snap as I tumbled from the air and hit the earth, then rolled to a painful stop at the base of a tower.

“Ember!” Cobalt raced toward me, but Vance whirled and lashed out with a talon, swatting him into the fence. The blue dragon went through the barrier and collapsed to the ground, dazed and tangled in wire.

The Adult prowled forward, half-open wings draping me in shadow. “Insects,” he murmured, watching me stagger upright, an amused smile on his face. “Hatchlings. You cannot hurt me. You are a vague annoyance at best.” I lunged at him with a snarl, but a stab of pain went through my ribs, slowing me down, and a clawed forepaw smashed into my shoulder like a sledgehammer, sending me tumbling over the ground. “Where are my breeders?” Vance rumbled, stalking toward me. I staggered upright, but a heavy claw slammed into my back, crushing me to the ground again. I gasped for breath as the world went fuzzy. “Tell me,” the voice overhead growled. “I know they are still on the island. Point me in the direction they went, and I will let you live to face the wrath of the Elder Wyrm.”

“Rnesh karr slithis,”I spat at him, and he chuckled.

“Such language,” he said, and casually bent my wing backward. There was a snap, and I shrieked in agony as the Adult let the broken limb drop. “You try my patience, Ember Hill,” he said as I panted through clenched teeth and tried not to pass out from the pain. “I will ask again. Where are my breeders? I encourage you to make it easy for yourself. I have at least five more limbs I can break before I start peeling off scales.”

Garret, I thought, squeezing my eyes shut.Where are you?

“Still not talking?” The Adult sighed and gripped my other wing. “Then I suppose we’ll have to do this hard way.”

“Director!”

A roar echoed above us. I looked up, just as another Adult with dark red scales slammed into Vance, knocking him off me. The two Adults crashed to the dirt, making the ground tremble like an earthquake. Vance let out a bellow of fury.

“Scarlett! You traitorous bitch! What are you doing?”

The other dragon smiled, golden eyes shining with hate. “Something I’ve wanted to do for years,” she growled, and lunged at the Director. Vance reared up to meet her, and the two behemoths collided with the screech of metallic scales and claws.

I staggered to my feet, still dizzy from the throbbing pain of my broken wing. Gritting my teeth, I stumbled away from the battle, watching as Scarlett lashed out and raked a gaping wound across the larger dragon’s neck. With a furious hiss, the director plowed into her, using his greater bulk to knock her over, trying to pin her down to end the fight. Snarling, Scarlett rolled onto her back and used her hind legs to rip and gouge at the other dragon’s stomach. Blood ran down the scales of both dragons, staining the ground crimson.

“Ember!”

Cobalt appeared beside me, panting, his yellow eyes bright with pain. “Are you all right?” he asked anxiously. His gaze landed on my wing, hanging uselessly at my side, and narrowed furiously. “That son of a bitch! I’ll kill him.”

“We have to help Scarlett.” I looked back at the raging Adults. Scarlett, still under Vance, was putting up a good fight; blood streaked his underside and shoulders from where her talons clawed at him. But Vance was larger; he still had her pinned and appeared to be biding his time.

“Ember, you’re hurt…” Cobalt began, but I’d already started across the yard, ignoring the shrieking pain in my wing. With a growl, he bounded after me.

As I got close, Vance abruptly snaked his head down, dodging a blow from Scarlett’s talons, and clamped his jaws around her neck, right below her chin. My stomach dropped, and Scarlett screamed, slashing and clawing furiously, trying to throw him off. Vance dropped his full weight onto her, crushing her to the earth, and the red dragon’s struggles grew weaker and weaker.

I hit the Adult dragon as hard as I could, sinking my talons into his shoulder, tearing through scales into flesh and muscle. Vance jerked, his huge body shuddering, but he couldn’t turn to deal with the annoying hatchling dragon without letting go of Scarlett. I dodged a swat from his tail and went for him again, leaping to his back to assault the base of his neck, biting and clawing wherever I could reach. I saw Cobalt leap at him, as well, sinking his talons into the dragon’s side and raking several long furrows down his ribs.

With a roar, Vance turned on us, releasing Scarlett to whip his head around. I felt jaws close on my hind leg a second before I was hurled through the air, the ground rushing up at me. I struck the earth and rolled, and everything fractured into blinding shards of agony.

For a few seconds, it was all I could do not to pass out. Through my hazy, darkening vision, I saw Vance swat Cobalt away and turn on me with murder in his eyes. He took a step forward…

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