Page 64 of Inferno

More shots echoed around us, and Tristan cried out and slumped to one knee. Heart racing, I dropped to his side, and Matthews swore.

“Dammit, get the fuck out of here, Sebastian! I’m tired of seeing your face. Go!”

Slinging Tristan’s arm over my neck, I went, Ember and Mist at our heels, as Peter Matthews’s defiant voice rang out behind us, punctuated by the sound of gunfire.

“Yeah, you like that? Come on then, you ugly bastards! Come get some!”

“There’s the elevator,” said Mist, still as calm and practical as ever. It sat in the corner, a small metal box surrounded by iron lattice, a relic of the coal-mining era. Ancient-looking, except for the modern keypad near the doors. As Ember and Mist Shifted back, taking Tristan’s weight, I stepped forward and shoved the plastic card into the slot. The keypad blinked on, and with a groaning and squeaking of gears, the elevator began to descend. Slowly.

“Garret,” Ember called, and I turned back to face a swarm of dragons closing in from all sides. As the elevator clanked slowly overhead, I stepped forward and raised my gun, firing into the horde, hearing Ember and Mist do the same.

“Let me go,” Tristan ordered, a second before his shots joined ours. Vessels screamed and collapsed, but more crept forward to take their place, blank silver eyes glowing in the shadows. The four of us stood back-to-back, holding our ground, but the swarm of dragons still pressed closer. A shot echoed from the darkness, and something hit me in the thigh, making me stagger.

Behind us, the elevator doors opened with a ding.

“Fall back!” I gasped, and we edged backward, still firing into the horde. I felt another bullet graze my arm, and then we were inside the box. Mist slammed her thumb into the door panel, but just as the doors were sliding shut, a scaly head burst through the opening and latched on to my leg, pulling me off my feet. I was yanked partway through the doors before Ember stuck her arm through the opening and shot the vessel clinging to me point-blank in the head. As it reeled away, several hands grabbed my arms and vest, dragging me back into the elevator. The doors finally closed, shutting out the chaos beyond and plunging the box into darkness.

Panting, I relaxed against the press of bodies that surrounded me, feeling their harsh breathing match my own.

“Everyone okay?” I finally husked out. “Tristan?”

“I’ll live” was the strained reply. “But you’re not looking so hot yourself, Garret. At least I’m not the one bleeding all over the floor.”

“Nothing serious,” I said, though standing up seemed hard right now. Ember’s grip on me tightened, and I put a hand on her arm, squeezing gently to reassure her. The box inched upward, creaking and rattling. “How much time do we have left?” I asked Tristan.

He gave a dark chuckle. “You don’t want to know.”

Not enough, then.I slumped against Ember, feeling a peaceful resignation creep over me. So, this was it. After everything we’d been through, all the narrow scrapes and traps and close calls, our time had finally run out. I would die in an explosion of my own making, along with Talon’s army of vessels that were meant to take over the world.

All in all, not a bad way to go, I mused, feeling the heat from the dragon beside me, the warmth of her against my back. At least my death would mean something. There was a moment of regret, where I wished Ember could have seen the end of this war. But at least, for the dragons and humans that came after us, the world would be a little safer.

“Just out of curiosity,” Ember asked, “what will happen when this place explodes? Will it reach all the way up here?”

In the corner, Mist raised her head. “The explosion itself won’t reach us,” she replied, “but the fires will shoot up the elevator shaft and bring the entire thing down. Not even a dragon could survive that fall. We could fly, but that would mean leaving the humans, and I know you’re not going to do that.”

“You could go, Mist.” Ember gave the other dragon a nod of understanding. “Riley is waiting for you, isn’t he? No need for all of us to die here.”

“No.” Mist shook her head and looked away with a sigh. “I wouldn’t be able to face him if I left you now. It seems his disturbing sense of loyalty has rubbed off on me. So…” A faint smile crossed her face, as if she couldn’t believe herself. “I guess we’re all going down together.”

My earpiece suddenly sputtered, and Wes’s voice crackled in my ear.

“St. George? Are you there? Can you hear me?”

I straightened, causing Ember to draw back slightly, and sat up, putting a hand to my ear. “I’m here, Wes.”

“Bloody hell, where the fuck have you been?” the hacker spat at me. “I’ve been trying to contact you for over thirty minutes. What the hell happened in there?”

“They were waiting for us,” I told him. “They must’ve jammed all communications on the last floor. We just got out a couple minutes ago.”

“Dammit,” Wes muttered. “I knew this was a trap, I just knew it. Damn it all to hell, Riley, why do you never listen to anything I tell you?” He gave a sigh that sounded more weary than angry. “So, the mission was a bloody catastrophe, is what you’re saying. You didn’t get the explosives planted.”

I took a deep breath. “The mission was a success. We found the stasis chamber with the Adult vessels and planted all the explosives, as planned. Give the signal to retreat, Wes. It’s going to blow in…” I glanced at my watch, and closed my eyes. “Fifty-eight seconds.”

“Shit,” Wes breathed. “Right, sending the signal now… Wait, where’s your team, St. George? Are you bloody still in there?”

“We’ll be fine,” I said wearily. “Sebastian out.” And, ignoring his horrified protests, took the mic and earpiece out and let them fall.

For a moment, the four of us sat there in silence, lost in our own thoughts as the final seconds ticked away. At my back, Ember pressed close, slipping her arms around me, and I curled my fingers over hers. Tristan leaned against the wall, his blue eyes dark and far away, and I wondered what was going through his head. As for me, I had no regrets. This was a good death, saving the world. You really couldn’t ask for a better one.

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