Inferno (Talon #5)(41)
“Unfortunately,” Mist remarked, sounding worried, “it’s going to make getting the breeders out challenging. At the very least, it’s going to slow us down.”
Dammit. I didn’t think about that. Let’s hope we don’t have to flee a bunch of guards on our way out.
“Contact Sebastian,” Martin ordered, glancing at me. “His team should know about this.”
I bristled. Contact him yourself, Lieutenant, the immature, defiant part of me thought. I’m not one of your damn soldiers. But this was not the time to play “you’re not the boss of me.” With a sigh, I turned the mic to the soldier’s private channel. “Hey. St. George.”
“Riley?” came Sebastian’s voice immediately. “What’s your status? Everything all right?”
“We’re fine. On target so far, but…ah, we’ve run into some potential problems.” Briefly, I told him about the minefield and our brush with death. “So if you come to a large open area, proceed with caution,” I advised. “One wrong step, and someone is going to have a really bad day.”
“Understood.” Per normal, the soldier’s voice was obnoxiously calm, as if I’d told him we’d just passed a troupe of monkeys, not woven our way through a lethal minefield. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll let the rest of the squad know. Where are you?”
“Close. By my estimate, we’re about a half mile from the fence line.”
“Let us know when you’re in position.”
“I will. Riley out.”
I lowered my arm and looked at Mist, waiting quietly in the shadows. “All right,” I said, forcing a grin. “Into the jungle of death we go. You know, if this was a movie, we’d all be dropping like flies any second now.”
Mist blinked, twitching her tail. Clearly, she didn’t appreciate the movie reference. “If this was a movie,” she replied, “you’d be the funny smart-ass who gets tragically killed.”
“Ouch. I always thought I was the ruggedly handsome hero.”
She rolled her eyes and slipped into the trees again. The rest of us followed, long shadows closing around us, and we continued into the jungle.
GARRET
“That was Riley,” I told a frowning Lieutenant Ward as I cut contact with the rogue. “His team just ran into a minefield on their way to the compound. No incidents, but we should proceed with caution ourselves, in case there are more.”
He grunted, giving a brief nod before turning to relay the information to the rest of the squad. His voice was clipped and matter-of-fact as he told everyone to keep their eyes open for mines and other hazards and to watch where they put their feet. No mention was made of Riley and the other team, and I didn’t expect there to be. Ward didn’t want to be here; the idea of rescuing dragons was abhorrent to him. He’d come along only to make sure his own soldiers made it out alive and to lead the assault on a Talon facility himself. Our job tonight was to create a big enough distraction for Riley and the others to sneak away with the breeders in tow, but Ward saw it as a chance to kill Talon servants.
Probably better that way. At least here, on the front lines, Ward was good at what he was required to do. I doubted he would have been so eager if he were on the other team.
Beside me, Ember moved silently through the grass, in human form for now, the slick material of the Viper suit making her a featureless shadow. As the only dragon in the group, she was remarkably calm, surrounded by the soldiers of the Eastern Chapterhouse, all of whom watched her with combinations of suspicion and dislike. Peter Matthews, especially, kept giving her sidelong looks, his lips twisted in a sneer. I stifled the simmering heat and anger burning in my chest, but kept a close eye on him. Should he decide to act on his thoughts and go after the lone dragon in our party, he would have to get past me first.
Fortunately, the impending mission was taking priority over the dragon walking among us, and except for the dirty looks, the soldiers ignored Ember. We moved silently through the undergrowth, heading due north toward our target, until the trees thinned out and the outline of a wall could be seen at the top of a rise.
Ward halted, holding up a hand, and the squad came to a full stop. At his signal to take cover, they melted into the brush and behind trees. I huddled in the ferns, Ember beside me, and peered at the gates a few hundred yards away. Even from this distance, it looked like the entrance to a prison, a pair of watchtowers flanking the iron doors and spotlights raking the ground. We had our target; now we just had to wait until Riley’s team gave the signal that they were in.
“So far, so good,” Ember whispered, huddled close to me in the ferns. “Nothing has blown up or exploded in our faces, and no one has tried to shoot us in the back. I hope Riley and the others are okay.”
“They’re trained for this,” I murmured back. “Riley knows what he’s doing, and Martin will keep the others in line. We just have to back them up when the time comes.”
“I know. And I trust them.” She nodded, then took a deep breath. “We have to succeed here, Garret,” she whispered, staring at the wall with narrowed green eyes. “This is Riley’s White Whale. He’s been searching for the facilities for so long we can’t let him lose this now. And for the first time, dragons and the Order are truly working together, not for survival, but for something that will change everything.” She clenched a fist on her leg. “This mission is so important. We absolutely cannot fail.”