Inferno

by Julie Kagawa

  I shone my flashlight into the darkness, and my heart sank. About fifty yards ahead, the tunnel had been blocked by a massive pile of rocks and dirt. Judging from the size of some of the boulders and the way everything seemed to have settled, this cave-in must have happened months, if not years, ago.

  “Dammit.” Tristan shook his head, giving the rock pile a look of dismay. “Well, that’s going to screw things up for us. No way we’re getting through that.” He shoved his fingers through his hair and looked at me. “Don’t suppose you know of another way in? Otherwise this mission is screwed.”

  I didn’t, of course, and was racking my brain to come up with an alternate plan when Ember made a thoughtful noise and stepped forward.

  “No,” she murmured, narrowing her eyes at the cave-in. “This isn’t a mistake. This is what Talon wants you to see. There’s no way into the cave, so intruders will turn around and leave.”

  “Exactly,” Mist said, giving Ember an approving nod. “Talon excels in hiding in plain sight. If they had high-tech security guarding this place, anyone would become suspicious. So I did some digging. It took me a while—I had no real clue of what I was looking for, but in the end, I finally found this.”

  Reaching down, she grabbed one of the mine cart rails and pulled. An entire section of track swung up like a trapdoor, revealing a concrete shaft and a metal ladder that went straight down into darkness.

  Peter Matthews gave a soft chuckle. “Sneaky bastards,” he muttered. “I keep forgetting how shifty these things are.” He glanced at me, a wide, somewhat evil grin crossing his face. “Well, Commander? Door’s open. Let’s get in there and slaughter some lizards.”

  I didn’t like the zealous gleam in his eyes, or the bloodlust, but here we were. The door was open and the mission had to go on.

  “Lieutenant,” I said into my mic. “We’ve reached the back entrance.”

  “Copy that, Sebastian,” Ward replied. “We’ll begin the assault.” There was a pause, then he added, “Good luck and Godspeed to you all.”

  His voice cut out, and I switched channels to our support, who was overseeing the operations of both teams. “Wes. You there?”

  “About bloody time.” The hacker sighed. “Yes, I’m here. I take it you’ve found the other way in?”

  “Yes.”

  “Right. I’ll guide you through best I can, but remember, I only have the blueprint. I can’t account for enemy guards or killer dragons ambushing you. You’re on your own then.”

  “Understood. Just get us to that chamber, Wes. We’ll take it from there.”

  A sudden flash came from outside, followed by the muffled but unmistakable sound of an explosion. We all looked toward the tunnel entrance as distant gunfire sounded over the trees.

  “It’s started,” Ember breathed. Her expression was dark but determined, and for a moment, I saw the outline of her real self, a fierce red dragon with eyes glowing green, as she turned to me. “I’m ready,” she said. “Let’s end this.”

  I nodded. “Move out,” I ordered, and we started down the ladder into the depths of a laboratory of monsters, ready to destroy them all and save the world.

  Knowing full well we weren’t coming out again.

  Riley

  Okay, that’s bigger than I thought it would be.

  I crouched in dragon form at the edge of the rise, digging my talons into the edge of the cliff, gazing down the slope at our target. The entrance to the laboratory sat at the bottom of a rocky bowl, surrounded by mountains on all sides. I could see a gaping cavern large enough to drive a truck through cut into the side of a slope—the original entrance to the mine, if I had to guess. The land around it had been cleared and stripped of all vegetation, leaving the area barren and rocky. Several long gray buildings sat in rows off to one side, and a yellow backhoe, bulldozer and other construction equipment sat silent and empty near a gravel pit. A chain-link fence surrounded the entire area, with watchtowers flanking either side of the road that led through the gate and up to the entrance.

  And there were a lot of humans standing guard outside. Humans with combat vests and very large guns, who didn’t look at all like scientists or corporate employees, but trained militia. In fact, this whole operation didn’t look like a mining facility so much as some kind of top-secret government organization.

  “They’re expecting us, all right,” Martin said behind me. I scooted back from the edge and rose, watching as he scanned the area with a grave expression. “No need for that many guards unless you know something is coming.”

  “Guess we shouldn’t disappoint them, huh?”

  He sighed. “Are the communications working?”

  “Yeah.” I wore a headset with an earpiece and mic that had been specially modified for a dragon. The bud had been shoved into my ear canal and was uncomfortable as hell, but it would allow me to keep in contact with both lieutenants. Wes was supporting Sebastian’s team, and was responsible for leading them through the laboratory to the stasis chamber, so his attention would be elsewhere. I would never admit it, but it was strange, having someone else’s voice buzz through the earpiece. It just wasn’t the same without a sarcastic English accent. “I hear you loud and clear, Lieutenant.”

  “Martin.” Ward’s voice crackled in said earpiece, sounding urgent. “Sebastian just reached the back entrance.”

  “All right.” I ignored the painful churning in my stomach. It was time. How many would I lose before this was over? How many would I watch die, to defend a world that didn’t know we existed? “We’re ready.”

  Martin nodded and stepped back. “Good luck then, dragon,” he said in a grave voice. “See you all on the battlefield.”

  I watched him stride away, back to the soldiers of St. George, and glanced at the small army that waited behind me. On the ledge, dozens of glowing, reptilian eyes watched me, wings and tails fluttering anxiously in the predawn stillness.

  I swallowed, knowing I should say something to them, that they were all looking to me for encouragement, on the last day some of us would be alive. Speeches were never my forte, but I stepped forward and took a breath, bringing their attention to me.

  “It’s okay to be scared,” I told the thirty-plus dragons who watched me with solemn eyes. “This is Talon, and we all know what they’re capable of. We’ve all suffered under the organization. We know the cruelty and depravity they’re capable of, even to their own kind. You have every right to be afraid, and for that, I want you to know that I am proud of each and every one of you.” Some of them blinked, raising their heads, as I smiled grimly. “You chose to fight, to be here now. Because you know that without us, Talon will sweep the world and turn it into a living hell for both humans and dragons. Well, that’s not going to happen. Today, we strike back at the organization, and we send a message to the Elder Wyrm that we will never accept her world.” I gestured down the slope, to the massive facility at the bottom, and bared my teeth in a smile. “The Elder Wyrm’s plans are going to go up in flames, but they need us to make it happen. We have to strike so hard and fast, and rain so much fire down on Talon’s heads, they’re going to believe it really is the dragon apocalypse. Think we can do that?”

  At the front, a small black dragon raised her head, yellow eyes flashing in the darkness. “Hell, yeah,” Nettle said, her crown of spines bristling with anticipation. “The bastards won’t know what hit them. I’ll tear them all a new one. For Remy.”

  “For Scarlett,” another growled, one of the dragonells from the island facility.

  “For Isaac,” Kain muttered in the back.

  I closed my eyes. Too many to name, I thought as faces from the past flickered through my head. For everyone I’ve lost, everyone who won’t survive this. And for those who will. I’ll give you a better world, I swear it.

  “Okay.” Opening my eyes, I turned to face the laboratory, resolve settling ove
r me. Even from here, I could easily see the entrance, and the dozens of humans milling about, unaware of an impending attack from the sky. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs, feeling the heat and fire within surge to every part of my body. If these were my final hours, it was fitting that I should spend them as a dragon.

  A flash of red lit up the sky, and the distant roar of an explosion echoed into the silence, as an RPG slammed into one of the watchtowers and blew it sky-high. Almost instantly, a siren blared, spotlights flashing on to sweep the ground, as the guards rushed to engage the soldiers charging in the front gate.

  Here we go.

  Rearing onto my hind legs, I gave a booming, defiant roar, and the dragons behind me took up the battle call, a few dozen Draconic voices rising into the air. Springing from the ledge, I opened my wings and plunged into a steep dive, hearing my army do the same, and we swooped toward what could be our very last battle.

  Ember

  I hit the bottom of the ladder and quickly stepped aside for the others to come down, gazing around warily. We’d landed in what looked to be another mine shaft, with natural stone walls held up by thick wooden timbers, and a track stretching past us into the dark. I shone my flashlight in one direction and saw that it ended in a solid wall of rock and collapsed stone; either from a natural cave-in or one that Talon had orchestrated.

  “Well,” I muttered as Garret landed beside me, “at least that makes one choice easier.”

  We followed the tracks, taking the only direction that we could. They didn’t go far. Maybe a hundred yards from the ladder, they curved around a bend and ended at a door. And not just any door. A large, thick barrier of solid steel, set into a wall of iron. A keypad glowed green at the edge, though the screen was covered in a film of dust, indicating this had not been used in quite some time.

  “Ah,” Mist said, sounding triumphant and awed at the same time. “There’s the high-tech security I was expecting.”

  “Can you get us through?” asked Garret.

  “I should be able to.” Mist stepped forward, frowning as she approached the massive door. “We’ll see if the codes the Archivist gave me will work.”

  “And if they don’t?” Matthews asked.

  “Then there will likely be an alarm, and the mission will be a failure,” the Basilisk stated bluntly, making him scowl. “To prevent that, I will need absolute silence to concentrate. So perhaps you could refrain from making any noise until I am finished.”

  I bit my cheek to stifle a grin at the real meaning behind her words—please shut up and go away—and took a step back with Garret to give her some room.

  “Hope this works,” Tristan muttered, his voice pitched very low. “Otherwise this is going to be a very short mission.”

  “If it doesn’t,” I whispered back, “we’ll just have to find another way in. Or we’ll fight our way through the guards when they come.” It didn’t matter how we did it, but we had to get inside to destroy the vessel army. We couldn’t fail. Riley, Martin, the rogues, everyone—they were all out front, fighting and dying to give us this chance.

  Fortunately, it was only a few seconds before the door gave a soft beep and clicked as it swung back. Relieved, we started forward, but Mist stood in front of the now-open door, a slight frown on her face as we joined her. Another tunnel, this one made of tile and concrete and lit with overhead lights, curved away past the frame. “Something wrong, Mist?”

  Mist shook her head. “I know I got the codes from the Archivist, but...it shouldn’t be this easy,” she murmured. “This is Talon we’re talking about—there’s no such thing as luck.” The Basilisk crossed her arms and glared past the frame. “I don’t like it. It smells like a trap.”

  Garret moved up beside me, also peering through the door. “Luck or not, we have to move on,” he said. “We can’t abandon the mission, even if there is a trap waiting for us inside. There’s no choice but to continue.”

  Warily, we started down the corridor, following the lights and the piping that ran along the wall. I shivered as I trailed Garret, hugging the wall and feeling highly exposed with all the lights and no cover whatsoever. There were no cameras in the hall, no guards or security. When we came to an intersection, Garret paused, speaking quietly to Wes through the com. After a moment, he nodded and jerked his head down the passage to the right, and we continued.

  The hallway ended at another heavy-duty steel door, though this one had a small square window near the top. As we approached, I could see flashing red lights through the glass, and heard the shrill howl of an alarm. Pressing against the frame, Garret and I peeked through the window and saw that the room beyond, though filled with pipes and gauges and strange blocky machines, was empty of people.

  “Looks like the assault outside is doing its job,” Tristan muttered, his face lit by the eerie, flashing red lights. “Let’s hope they keep it up.”

  I glanced at Garret. “The chamber with the vessels isn’t far, right?”

  He shook his head. “According to Wes, it’s directly below this floor. We’ll have to find a way down, either by stairs or elevator.”

  I looked through the glass again. Beyond the window, a man in a white coat rushed past the door, looking panicked or in a hurry. A couple of armed guards followed him as the alarm continued to blare and the lights flickered on and off, adding to the chaos.

  Riley, I thought. I hope you’re okay. Wherever you are, keep it up for just a little while longer.

  “Wes,” Garret said into the com. “Find us a way down. Once we’re through this room, we can’t stop for directions. Just get us there as quickly as you can.” He paused another few heartbeats, then nodded. “Understood. Heading there now.”

  He looked at me, and I took a deep breath. Together, we pulled the door open and slipped into the flashing, blaring chaos of the lab.

  We hurried through the halls of the laboratory as swiftly and quietly as we could, passing rooms of shelves, counters and strange equipment, going deeper into the lab. The lights and alarms continued to sound, and after a few minutes, I started to feel a headache throb behind my eyes. We saw very few people on our way through the corridors, and the ones we did see were either running away or huddled in a room, looking confused and scared. We didn’t slow down. Garret led us through twisting hallways and narrow corridors without hesitation, following instructions from Wes. Once, we turned a corner and ran into a trio of guards, who shouted and raised their weapons, but were swiftly gunned down by the soldiers before they could respond further. Another time, a pair of humans in white coats barged out of a room, nearly running into us, and rushed off down the hall without looking in our direction. Peter Matthews raised his gun to shoot them in the back, but was stopped by Garret’s sharp order to stand down.

  After several tense minutes, we turned another corner and came to the end of the hallway. A pair of elevator doors stood in front of us, open and blinking red inside.

  Mist balked when she saw what lay at the end of the hall. “I really don’t like the idea of using the elevator,” she remarked, gazing at the metal box with suspicion. “It might not even work, now that the alarms have sounded. Can we find a staircase?”

  “Not according to Wes,” Garret told her. “The nearest staircase is on the other side of the laboratory. But this will take us to the lowest floor and will be the closest point to the target room.” Shouts echoed down the hall, making us all jerk up, and Garret’s jaw tightened. “There’s no time for anything else. Let’s move.”

  We crowded into the elevator, and Garret slammed his thumb into the button for the last floor. The doors hissed shut, cutting off the alarms and flashing lights, and the elevator started to descend.

  I forced myself to breathe, tried to calm my pounding heartbeat. Almost there. Almost to our destination, the room that held Talon’s vessel army, hundreds, maybe thousands, of Adult dragon clones. I felt the weight of
my pack on my shoulders, the bag that held a scary amount of explosives, enough to collapse a room by itself. Garret, Tristan, Peter Matthews, they all carried the same in their own packs, but would it be enough? Could we really destroy that massive army, make it so they could never rise to threaten the world? And, if we did, how many more lives would be taken when the lab went down? I thought of the scientists we’d passed on our way here, the humans who would be trapped in this laboratory when everything detonated. They would all be killed, along with any dragon who happened to be here when the explosives went off.

  This is war, Ember. The elevator came to a smooth halt at the bottom of the shaft. If we don’t stop Talon now, the fighting will never be over. You know this has to be done.

  I set my jaw and took a deep breath, gathering my resolve, as the elevator doors hissed and slid back.

  Revealing Dante’s smiling face on the other side. And a dozen armed human vessels behind him, all pointing guns into the elevator.

  Riley

  So far, so good.

  I spun around for another pass at the base, dodging a purple hatchling as she soared by, and angled myself into a dive that would take me close to the ground. The sky was filled with dragons, swooping from above and breathing jets of flame onto enemy guards. The ground in front of the laboratory smoldered, scattered fires burning across the scorched earth, sending columns of smoke billowing into the air. When the soldiers of St. George had first swarmed the yard, the guards had been so focused on the attacking humans they hadn’t seen the small army of dragons descending from the sky until it was too late and flames had exploded around them. Since then, it had been utter chaos, with bullets and dragons flying through the air, screaming humans and the roar of flames and gunfire, all mixing into a hellish cacophony that pounded my eardrums and vibrated through my teeth.

  But it seemed that we were actually winning. I didn’t want to get cocky, but it looked like there were more enemy guards lying on the ground, and hardly any dragons or soldiers of St. George. The remaining guards had taken cover behind whatever obstacles they could find, but we were slowly driving them back toward the lab and the enormous steel doors of the entrance.