Inferno

by Julie Kagawa

  “They’re on the retreat!” Lieutenant Ward’s voice crackled through the bud that had been jammed into my ear canal. “All squads, press forward. One last push should finish them—”

  With an earsplitting groan, the enormous steel doors of the laboratory creaked open. I paused in midair, beating my wings to keep aloft, as the huge barriers swung slowly back.

  Uh-oh. That’s a bad sign...

  With a sound like the buzzing of a million locust wings, a swarm of metallic gray dragons flew out of the opening and took to the air. Hissing and snarling, they coiled upward in a glittering cloud, before turning and descending on us like a storm.

  “Shit!” I surged into motion again, flapping my wings hard, as the army of clones set upon hatchlings and the soldiers of St. George alike. Now our soldiers were forced back, diving behind cover to avoid gouts of flame, as vessels swooped overhead. They swarmed into the air, slamming into hatchlings and dragonells, and several bodies plummeted to the ground.

  Roaring, I dove into the fray, ripping a vessel away from a hatchling and sending it careening into one of its fellows. The vessels tumbled from the air, but another slammed into me from the side and sank its talons into my back. We dropped from the sky in a tangle of wings and tails, snarling and raking at each other. At the last second, I managed to bring my back feet up and kick the thing in the stomach, shoving it off me. Quickly, I opened my wings, enough to turn my freefall into a dive and skim the dusty ground as I regained my aerial balance. The vessel couldn’t react fast enough, however, and crashed full force into the rocks with a thud and a sickening crack of bones.

  Climbing into the air, I gazed around in dismay. There seemed to be a lot more metallic gray bodies than my own dragons, and the mood of the battle had become even more frantic. Vessels chased their bright counterparts with predatory skill and latched on to them to bring them to the ground, seeming not to care about their own safety. Lieutenant Ward’s voice barked in my ear, shouting commands to the men on the ground. The soldiers of St. George had regrouped and were doing what they did best, which was kill dragons, but they had their hands full with the sheer amount of vessels swooping out of nowhere.

  A booming retort, more like cannon fire than a gunshot, rang out from somewhere far behind me, and one of the vessels simply exploded in midair. One second there was a dragon swooping toward me, the next it had vanished into a cloud of blood, bone and scales.

  “Nice shot, Nicholas!” came Martin’s voice through the earpiece, and I realized they had finally brought out the prototype we’d stolen from the train. The Dragonkiller, as it was aptly dubbed. “Keep it up,” Martin encouraged as the echo of the retort finally died away, “but don’t fire willy-nilly! We don’t have a lot of ammo for that thing.”

  Also, please don’t hit any of us, I thought, wondering, for a split second, what this would mean for the future of the Order. A gun like that would certainly change things, for both St. George and Talon, provided any of us survived this. It was certainly powerful, but there were swarms of small, fast-moving vessels that were difficult to hit with any single firearm, and a lot more clones than there were bullets. We couldn’t count on the Dragonkiller to turn the battle. It was up to us grunts, on the ground and in the air.

  A dragonell shrieked as she plummeted past me, two vessels clinging doggedly to her back. With a snarl, I dove after them. Sinking my claws into one clone, I wrenched him off the other dragon as the dragonell twisted and managed to shove the other away. But the vessels recovered, beating their wings to stop their downward plunge, and came back for us. We flew higher with the clones in hot pursuit, and I whirled to face them, roaring a challenge as the two abominations came at me with teeth bared.

  Ember, St. George, I hope you’re almost done in there. Because I don’t know how much longer we can keep going.

  Ember

  “Hello, Ember.”

  Dante’s voice was emotionless, his smile chilling, as he gazed at me over the threshold. I felt my companions stiffen in place as a couple dozen gun barrels were aimed right at us. The shock lasted half a second and was immediately followed by anger and bitter resignation. There was nowhere to go, no place to hide or take cover. We were caught, and the mission was over.

  “Dante,” I whispered as my twin stared at me with hard green eyes. “You were waiting for us.”

  His smile widened. “Who do you think sent that video?” he said in a low voice, making Garret and the others straighten. “Of course we were waiting for you. Of course we knew about the other tunnel into the lab. All of this, every part of your plan, was not only expected, but partially orchestrated by myself and the organization. You’ve made it this far because I allowed it.”

  “And who the fuck are you?” Peter Matthews demanded.

  My brother gave him a look of disdain. “You wouldn’t understand the significance even if I told you,” he said in a cold voice that was nothing like the Dante I’d known. “That said, I’m the one who holds your life in his hands. Keep talking to me like that, and I’ll have every one of you executed right here. Take them,” he told the vessels, and several closed in. Swiftly, we were disarmed, handcuffed and herded out of the elevator. A few stripped us of our packs, making my heart sink even lower. One vessel handed my bag to Dante, who unzipped the top and peered inside. His brows arched and he chuckled, shaking his head.

  “Well, you certainly came prepared. I guess the Order doesn’t do anything halfheartedly.” Closing the pack, he carefully handed it back to a vessel, who swung it over his shoulders. “But I’m afraid you’re not going to be blowing anything up tonight. Tomorrow, the Awakening begins, and there will be no one left to stop it. The Order, Cobalt’s rogue underground—in the next hour, all of Talon’s enemies will be no more.”

  “So why the elaborate ruse?” I asked. “Why didn’t you just kill us when you had the chance?”

  “Because I want you to see our victory.” Dante turned cold green eyes on me. “Because I want you to watch as I destroy Cobalt and the rebellion. I want you to fully understand that there will be no one left to challenge Talon, and the only way you will survive is by joining us.”

  “You don’t understand, do you?” My voice came out shaky, remembering the lab, the scientists and the Elder Wyrm gazing down at me with alien green eyes. “I can’t go back, Dante. You don’t know what the Elder Wyrm wants, what she’ll really do to me.”

  Dante gave a small, sad smile. “Yes,” he said quietly. “I do.”

  Stunned, I could only gape at him for a moment. “I know that you’re her vessel,” Dante went on, “and that she’ll be using you to live forever. I’ve known for a while now.”

  “And...you’re okay with that?” I finally stammered. Not truly believing it. Dante was my enemy, the heir of Talon, and was responsible for countless deaths and suffering on our side. But even through all that, I couldn’t accept that my brother would willingly stand by and watch the Elder Wyrm kill me to extend her own life.

  “We all have sacrifices to make, Ember.” Dante’s voice was flat, unemotional, and sent an icy lance through my stomach. “I’ve accepted mine. It’s time that you did the same.”

  “Dante...” I stared at him, too horrified to say anything. Dante gazed back, utterly impassive, and a sick feeling spread through my body. This was the heir of Talon, the Elder Wyrm’s second in command and, next to the leader of Talon herself, our greatest enemy within the organization. My brother, the twin I’d known and loved, the sibling who’d looked after us both all the years we were growing up, was truly dead.

  “Let’s go.” Dante turned, and the vessels surrounded us, silent and threatening as they closed in. “The Elder Wyrm is waiting.”

  Riley

  Things weren’t going well for us.

  Too many. There were too many of them. Around me, the air was filled with darting, swooping dragons, but many of them were th
e metallic gray, silver-eyed clones who never gave up and never seemed to get tired. My own dragons were putting up an incredible fight; after the initial shock, the hatchlings and dragonells, instead of meeting their enemies head-on, began using teamwork and group tactics against the single-minded, predatory clones. They even began using St. George to their advantage, luring a vessel into chasing them, only to fly close to a group of soldiers, who would immediately gun the enemy dragon down. The Order had retreated behind crates and vehicles and whatever obstacles they could, taking cover against enemy dragonfire. They were doing a good job of picking clones out of the sky, but they, too, had been pushed to the defensive. It was only a matter of time before raw numbers overwhelmed us.

  But we had to keep fighting.

  I gave my tired, aching wings a flap and dove toward a pair of vessels pursuing a hatchling, slamming into one from above and sending it crashing to the ground. The other turned on me, whipping around like a damned snake, and lunged. Its jaws closed on a wing joint, and I snarled, ripping and snapping at it as we plummeted from the air. At the last second, the dragon’s jaws loosened and I shoved it away, but barely had time to open my own wings to slow the fall before we both crashed into the ground. The impact snapped my jaws together and drove the breath from my lungs, forcing me to lay there for a moment, dazed and gasping.

  “Riley!” a voice snapped in my ear, small and artificial sounding. After a confused moment, I realized it was Martin, speaking to my through the earbud. “Get up, dragon!” the lieutenant barked, making me frown. “You have hostiles closing on your six, and none of the men are close enough to help. If you can hear me, respond!”

  Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself upright, and found myself surrounded by clones. Four of the bastards had closed in and were tensing to pounce.

  My chest ached, my wings shook with exhaustion and I could feel the sting from a dozen or so gashes all over my body, but I planted my talons and snarled a challenge. Come on then, you bastards. If I die here, at least I’ll take all of you with me.

  “My God.” Martin’s voice was a breath in my ear. He sounded stunned, but I didn’t dare take my attention off the circle of dragons closing in on me. “I don’t believe it.”

  The first vessel lunged with a howl, jaws gaping...and was abruptly snatched out of the air as a forty-foot scaly body passed overhead, casting me in its shadow. Eyes wide, I looked up as an enormous Eastern dragon curled effortlessly into the sky, the twitching carcass of a vessel in its massive jaws. Tossing the body aside, Jade coiled around and flew back with a roar, smashing aside two vessels that leaped at her and catching a third in her jaws as she streaked past.

  My pulse spiked, and a tiny ray of hope pierced the darkness of my mood. “About time you got here!” I called as the Eastern dragon circled around again to hover several feet overhead. “I swear you disappear just so you can come back at the most dramatic moments, don’t you?”

  I didn’t know it was possible for a dragon to raise an eyebrow, but somehow the Eastern dragon managed it. “And you have the strangest way of showing appreciation,” she replied in that cool, slightly lofty voice. “Especially since—what is the Western term for it?—the cavalry has arrived.”

  With a roar and a blast of wind, two more long, snakelike bodies soared overhead, manes and whiskers trailing behind them, to join the battle in the sky. One of them, a dragon with gleaming red scales and a golden underbelly, was slightly smaller than Jade. But the other, a turquoise-blue male with onyx horns and ridiculously long whiskers, was enormous, probably sixty feet from nose to tail tip. They sailed past us, momentarily blocking out the sun, and continued toward the fighting.

  I gaped at the two behemoths, then glanced back at Jade, who gave a faint smile. “I made a promise, did I not?” she said. “I said I would return with help, if I could. Granted, only two of my kin decided to make the journey overseas, but three shen-lung are certainly better than none. Certainly, we are more than a match for these abominations. Now...” She raised her head, eyes glittering as she stared at the vessels, who had certainly noticed the appearance of three huge Eastern dragons and were whirling around to attack. “Let us see if we cannot turn the tide against Talon. I assume Ember and the others are already inside the laboratory?”

  “Yeah,” I said, and opened my wings, ready to launch myself into battle once more. “Hopefully by now they’ve made it to the main chamber and are setting up the explosives. We just gotta keep Talon off their backs till then.”

  Ember

  I followed Dante and his vessels down the long, dimly lit corridor, despair and resignation making me feel hollow inside. We had failed. We had given this our all, and had come up short. Talon had been one step ahead of us at all times, and now, everyone I knew was going to die. Riley, the hatchlings, the dragonells and the Order; they were still out there fighting Talon, not knowing that we had been caught. They would keep fighting until Talon killed them all, down to the last hatchling, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.

  Something touched the back of my arm, soft and hesitant. I glanced over and saw Garret’s bleak, tortured expression as he gazed straight ahead.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, not meeting my eyes. “I couldn’t get us there. I should’ve seen this coming, found another way.”

  “No.” Raising both my cuffed hands, I clutched his sleeve, clinging to him like he was a lifeline, keeping me from drowning. “This isn’t your fault, Garret. We all knew the risks going in. But...” I stole a glance at Dante, walking several yards in front of us, and lowered my voice to be certain only Garret could hear. “Don’t hate me for this,” I whispered, forcing my voice not to tremble, “but I need you to promise me something, Garret.”

  He gave me a puzzled look, and I swallowed hard. “The Elder Wyrm,” I went on shakily. “I can’t be a vessel for her. If she wins, and takes over my body, she’ll live for another thousand years. If...if there’s a chance, if you see an opening, I... I want you to—”

  Garret’s voice was strangled. “You can’t ask me to do that.”

  “Please, Garret.” My vision blurred, and I blinked hard, forcing the tears back. “I don’t know if I can do it myself. But I can’t let her extend her life. If I’m going to die, anyway... I’d rather it be you. There might not be an opening, but if there is...please end it. Before it’s too late for everyone. Promise me.”

  His eyes closed, an anguished look crossing his face. “All right,” he whispered. “If there’s a chance, I’ll do it. But you have to promise something in return. The Elder Wyrm—if you see an opening to take her out, do it. Don’t worry about me or the rest of us. Like you said, we’re going to die, anyway. But if there’s the slightest chance of getting to the Elder Wyrm...”

  A lump rose to my throat, and I nodded shakily. “I’ll give it my all.”

  Dante led us down several more hallways, then through a pair of double doors that opened into a large chamber. It was dark, the only light coming from several huge screens that hung on the far wall. There was no sound, but the screens flickered and pulsed, each showing an image of the chaos outside. Dragons zipped through the air, men scurried over the ground and gouts of flame lit up the room. The enormous body of a strange Adult Eastern dragon coiled through the air, being pursued by a half dozen vessels, and my heart leaped. It looked like Jade had come, after all, and had brought reinforcements. Though it wouldn’t matter now; we hadn’t been able to complete the mission that everyone was dying for. Desperately, I looked for a dark blue dragon among the frenzied swarms, but if Riley was still alive out there, I couldn’t see him.

  Beneath the flickering screens, an enormous desk sat on a raised dais, two stone-faced vessels standing guard at the bottom of the steps. The tall leather chair behind the desk was turned away from us. I felt the enormous power radiating from that seat, and knew who sat there even though I couldn’t see her.

  Dante led
us across the room and came to a stop at the edge of the steps. For a moment, there was silence. The presence in the chair didn’t speak, continuing to watch the atrocities play out on-screen. Then her voice drifted up, quiet and calm, but seeming to vibrate the room with power.

  “Why did you bring them here?”

  My insides recoiled, cringing back in both revulsion and terror, as the familiar voice of the Elder Wyrm rang through my head.

  “I ordered that only my daughter be taken alive, Dante,” the Elder Wyrm went on, still not turning to look at us. “The rogue Basilisk and the soldiers of St. George are of no interest to me. Why did you not kill them?”

  “Forgive me, ma’am,” Dante said in a solemn yet unruffled voice, his gaze on the back of the chair. “I thought you might want to look upon the faces of your enemies and destroy them yourself. To let them know the true power of Talon, and why no one can stand against us.”

  “Do not presume to know what I would want, Dante.” Without a squeak, the chair swiveled, revealing the woman behind the desk, and the piercing intensity of the Elder Wyrm’s gaze hit us full-on. Tristan whispered a curse, and Mist’s breath escaped her as she sank to her knees, as the massive presence of the Elder Wyrm filled the chamber from floor to ceiling. Only the vessels seemed unaffected, their guns steady and unmoving, their expressions blank even in the presence of the oldest dragon in the world. Dante bowed, his gaze on the tile, as the leader of Talon rose and walked around the desk, observing us like she would a dirty spot on the floor.

  “Daughter.” Her gaze found mine, ancient and terrifying, and I had to force myself to keep breathing. “Here you are again, defying me. Only now, you commit the greatest atrocity of all and stand with the Order of St. George.” She shook her head almost sadly. “Disappointing. But I will deal with you momentarily.”