Inferno (Talon #5)(73)
The semi shuddered once and rumbled to a stop. I felt Garret take a deep breath, felt his arms tighten almost painfully for a moment, before he let me go and stood, the steely soldier’s mask falling into place. I rose, as well, and watched the others climb to their feet, their faces pale but determined.
The doors creaked open, and Riley stood there, eyes glowing yellow against the darkness. A pine-scented breeze drifted into the container, and I breathed in the fresh air as it drove away the smell of rust and fear and too many bodies packed in too small a space.
I hopped down from the truck, and my boots squelched in mud as I surveyed our surroundings. We were on a narrow dirt road in the middle of a vast forest, and with the upward cant of the ground, it felt like we were on a hill or mountainside. It was very quiet, and overhead the sky was still bright with stars.
Blinding lights announced the arrival of the other semi, and I winced, shielding my eyes until the massive truck stopped a few yards away and shut off the headlamps. As Martin dropped from the driver’s seat and walked toward us, Garret and Riley joined me at the edge of the road.
“All right,” Riley began as we gathered in a loose circle, two soldiers and two dragons—Martin and Garret, me and Riley. The rest of the hatchlings, dragonells and soldiers clustered around the trucks, waiting nervously, as the team commanders met for the last time. “We’re about five miles from the mining facility, according to Wes. This road goes to the front gates. Which means that the second entrance is around that peak, due west from the gates. If you head straight that way—” he nodded toward the forest “—you should walk right into it.”
“I have it marked on my GPS,” Garret said. “We’ll find it.”
Martin nodded and gazed up the road. “We’ll be waiting about a half mile from the front gates,” he said. “Barring complications, it should take you an hour to reach the second entrance. Radio us when you get there—that will be our signal to start the attack.”
“After that,” Riley added, “we’ll cause as much of a ruckus and buy as much time as we can for you to find the chamber with the army and blow it sky-high.”
I swallowed hard. Riley was counting on us, as were the rogues, the hatchlings, the dragonells and the rest of the Order. We couldn’t screw this up. We had to reach the vessels and destroy the army, otherwise the sacrifices of everyone here would be for nothing.
“We won’t fail,” Garret promised, echoing my sentiment. Riley gave a tired nod, as if wanting to believe him but knowing that we were probably going to lose a great deal before it was over.
“All right,” Martin said. “Then, if we all know what to do, I suppose there’s nothing left but to get this mission started. Sebastian…” He looked at Garret, an almost fatherly affection going through his eyes. “Be careful in there. Come back alive, if you can. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier answered quietly.
“Ms. Hill,” Martin said, and with a shock, I realized he was talking to me. Though his tone was a little stiff, he looked me straight in the eye as he spoke. “I don’t know if I’ll see you again, or what will happen afterward, should this mission go as planned. I do want you to know that, whatever the result, I am committed to seeing the Order change. It will take time, there will be heavy resistance, and in the end I am not certain what the Order of St. George will be, how it will continue to exist. But there will be change. There must be change. You—all of you,” he added with a brief glance at Garret and Riley, “are proof of that.”
A lump rose to my throat, and my insides curled. I didn’t know what touched me more: that he was finally saying the words I’d longed to hear the Order admit for so long, or that he was giving me his promise because he thought we weren’t coming back. Granted, he was only one man, and his position in St. George would be tenuous at best, but it was a start. “Thank you, Lieutenant,” I whispered. “I hope that I…that we all will see that happen one day.”
“I hope so, too.” Martin gave a resigned smile. “Good luck to us all,” he said, and walked back toward the truck, where Lieutenant Ward and the rest of the soldiers waited for him. As Martin approached, the second officer’s gaze flicked to mine, grim and unsmiling, but not hostile. He gave me a single nod, then turned his back on us to speak to his men.
Riley sighed. “Well,” he said, looking at me and Garret, “guess this is it. I have to get our side ready for the assault, and I hate long goodbyes, so…” A shadow of pain crossed his face before he looked at me, forcing a defiant grin. “Good luck in there, Firebrand. If anyone has a chance of making this happen, it’ll be you. I hope I’ll get to see you blow Talon’s shit to kingdom come, but if…if I don’t make it, just know that you’ve made my life infinitely more exciting. I know that we’ve had some rough spots, and I wish some things could’ve gone differently, but I’m glad we met. And I think that goes for everyone.” He glanced at the soldier watching quietly on my other side. “None of us would be here now if we hadn’t met you.”
My eyes prickled. “Stop talking like we’re never going to see each other again,” I told him. “This isn’t goodbye forever. You’re going to get through this, like you’ve always done.”