Page 63 of Inferno

“Damn.” He sighed, shaking his head. “They told me you were dead. That you and Sarah had died in the raid. If I had known…” He trailed off.

“What?” I challenged. “Would you have done anything? Would you have searched for me? Tried to get me back?” I nodded to the huge tanks surrounding us, the Adult clones that hovered beyond the glass. “Or would you have kept working for them? Knowing that you were helping the Elder Wyrm take over the world? You must’ve known what she was doing. You can’t claim ignorance when you helped create this.”

“Helpedcreate?” Dr. Olsen gazed up at the vessels, smiling. “You don’t understand,” he murmured. “These are my greatest achievements. The cumulation of my life’s work. Science and magic, blended together to create something entirely new. I would sell my soul, again, for the opportunities Talon afforded me.” His gaze swept to me again, hardening. “I will not see them destroyed by the boy I’d given up for dead!”

“Garret!” Ember rushed up, followed by the other three. “The vessels have blocked that side of the chamber and are heading in this direction.” She panted. “We can’t go back the way we came.”

I turned to the scientist. “Dr. Olsen,” I began, unable to call him…that other word. “You need to come with us. This place is going to blow in a few minutes. There’s no time—”

“No.” He shook his head, and his eyes were a little glassy now. “You don’t understand,” he went on, turning back to the panel. “This is my life’s work. I can’t leave them. I might be able to save a few.”

“You can’t save them,” I argued, suddenly furious. “If you stay here, you’re going to die, along with everything else in this room.”

“Garret,” Tristan said in warning, just as a shot rang out. Lightning fast, Mist turned and fired her pistol at the vessel who appeared between the vats, and it collapsed to the cement. But more were coming; I could see their shadows moving across the floor, blurry shapes of both human and dragon sliding behind the vats.

Torn, I gave the scientist one last, desperate look. He ignored us all, fiddling with the panel, muttering to himself. A light at the top suddenly flashed on, blinking red in warning, and an automated voice announced:“Warning, system override in process. Awakening procedure starting in five…four…three…”

“Dammit, we gotta move, Sebastian,” Matthews snarled at me. “Now!”

With an inner curse, I turned and fled with the others, pushing farther toward the back of the chamber. I didn’t know where we were going exactly, or how we would escape.

“Garret!”

I turned back to see Dr. Olsen watching me, illuminated red in the flashing light of the tank.

“Take the emergency elevator in the back left corner,” he called, his voice barely audible over the warning buzz coming from the vat. “It will take you up to the first floor, provided you have a key card to operate it.” He gave a half smile and mouthed something that I couldn’t hear, but in the dim light of the chamber, I could almost imagine it was,Good luck, son.

I spun and ran for the corner as shots followed me into the dark.

“Dammit,” Tristan muttered as I caught up to the group, taking cover behind a pair of large columns. “They keep pushing us back. I don’t see any way to go around them.” He glanced at the pillar, where one of the explosives stared back, blinking ominously. “Less than eight minutes to go.” He sighed. “At least it’ll be quick.”

“Fuck that,” Peter Matthews sneered, and raised his weapon. “I’m not going to sit on my ass and wait for it to explode. If I’m dying here, I’m sure as hell taking as many lizards with me as I can.”

“No one is dying,” I said firmly, meeting Ember’s gaze from where she huddled behind the second pillar. “There’s an emergency elevator that will take us to the surface if we can reach it. Ember, do you still have the key Dante gave you?”

She nodded, took the card from the cord around her neck and tossed it to me. “In case I have to Shift again,” she said, her voice strangely calm.

“Here they come!” Mist snapped as a half dozen gray dragons bounded toward us through the aisles. Gunfire followed them, sparking off pillars and ringing through the air. The tank above us cracked, leaking greenish fluid that steamed as it trickled down the glass.

“This way!” I called, and we ran for the back of the room, keeping our heads down, hearing the shrieks of the vessels as they gave chase. Ember and Mist Shifted while running, giving them greater speed and a little protection from flying bullets, while the rest of us wove around columns and tanks, trying to keep obstacles between us and the advancing guards.

There was a sound above me, the faint flap of wings overhead, making my blood chill. I glanced back to see a pair of vessels swooping toward us through the aisle, weaving around vats.

“Incoming!” I called, and spun around to fire at one vessel lunging in from the air. It shrieked as it flew into a hail of bullets, and I ducked out of the way as it crashed, fracturing one of the tanks as it did. Greenish fluid hissed to the floor and over the body of the vessel, filling the air with steam and a foul, almost fishy smell.

A yell rang out through the aisle, jerking my attention around. Peter Matthews lay on his back with a dragon atop him, biting and clawing. As I started toward them, the vessel’s head snaked toward Matthews’s face, and the soldier gave a ragged scream as narrow jaws closed around his neck.

With a flash of scales, both Ember and Mist slammed into the clone, knocking it away. It tumbled to the floor, bounced upright with a snarl and then jerked wildly as Tristan and I put several rounds into its body.

“Matthews,” I called as the vessel slumped lifelessly to the ground. “You all right?”

A raspy gurgle was my response, making my blood run cold. The soldier tried to sit up but slumped back as we hurried over. One look at his face told me everything. Blood soaked his collar and streamed from the side of his neck where the vessel had savaged his throat. With the amount of blood he was losing, he had a few minutes at most.

“Stupid,” he rasped, glaring at me as we eased him into a sitting position against a vat. “Why’re you still here, Sebastian? Get going, the elevator is just ahead.”

“Dammit.” I rose, hating myself. I’d never liked Matthews, but he was still part of my team; I was responsible for all the lives under my command. “I’m sorry,” I told him, backing away. He sneered.

“Don’t be. I get to see the end.” He raised his weapon, bloody lips curling in a smirk. “I get to say I saved your sorry ass from the lizards, one more time.” His gaze flickered to Ember, standing at my shoulder, and he gave a tiny nod. “Try not to eat too much of his soul,” he told her. “You’d probably choke on it.”

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