Rogue (11 page)

Riley

Ember exhaled, sending tendrils of smoke curling around me, and turned away, padding toward the dresser in the corner. I watched her a moment, the sweep of her neck and wings, the way the narrow bars of sunlight glinted off her crimson scales. The urge to Shift was almost painful, burning my lungs and making the air taste like ash. I turned away before it got too tempting and jerked my head at the soldier, motioning him out of the room.

We walked into the hall and shut the door behind us. “All right,” I said, keeping my voice low, so Ember wouldn’t catch it. “You’ve seen her. She’s going to be fine now. Why are you still here, St. George?”

The soldier kept his gaze on the closed door, his voice low and flat. “I have nowhere else to go.”

“Well, that’s not my problem, is it?” I brushed past him into the kitchen, knowing Ember would be out soon and on the hunt for food. Except for a box of leftover pizza, there wasn’t much to be had, and I’d sent Wes out for supplies a couple hours ago. Hopefully he’d be back soon. This wasn’t the nicest neighborhood, miles from the glitz and glamour of the Strip, the stretch of giant casinos Vegas was famous for. If you looked out the back window, you’d see a bunch of small, ugly houses and beyond them, the flat, dusty expanse of the Mojave Desert, stretching away to the distant mountains. Crime and poverty ran rampant here, but that suited me just fine. No one asked questions, no one came poking around, and no one wondered why a white van was suddenly parked in the driveway of a previously vacant abandoned house.

The soldier followed me into the kitchen, sweeping his gaze around the room, like he always did. “They’ll be hunting you,” he stated, making me shrug.

“Nothing new there.”

“You’re going to have to move soon. It’s dangerous to stay here, especially with St. George looking for us.”

Irritation flared, and the anger that I’d repressed during the whole ordeal surged up with a vengeance. In the three days we’d been here, we had tolerated each other’s presence in the most mature way possible: pretending the other didn’t exist. St. George didn’t talk to me, I didn’t talk to him, and things were good. Sort of an unspoken truce between us while we waited for Ember to revive.

Now, though, all bets were off. I narrowed my eyes, wondering what would happen if I Shifted forms and bit the soldier in half. Ember might’ve forgotten that he was part of the Order. She might have forgiven him for hunting down and slaughtering our kind without remorse, but
I
wasn’t okay with it. In fact, the only reason I hadn’t shoved him out of the van and left him in the middle of the desert to fend for himself was the girl who’d convinced me to rescue the murdering bastard in the first place. She was also the reason I hadn’t chased him out of the house with fire and told him not to come back. Right now that was a pretty tempting option.

“Don’t tell me how to do my job, St. George,” I said in a low, dangerous voice. “I’ve been at this a lot longer than you. I’ve been outsmarting your kind since before you could wrap your itchy little fingers around a trigger. I don’t need some murdering dragon killer telling me to be careful of the Order.”

“You’ve never broken into a St. George chapterhouse,” the human countered, as if he knew anything about me and what I used to do. “I know the Order. They’re not going to let that stand. Once word of this reaches London—and it probably already has—they’re going to throw everything they can at us, and they won’t stop until we’re all dead.”

“Oh, is that why you’re still here?” I challenged, crossing my arms. “You want the dragons to protect you, now that you’re the hunted one?”

“No.” St. George glared at me, a flicker of anger crossing his face. “I don’t care what happens to me,” he said, sounding so earnest I almost believed him. “But I want Ember to be safe. I owe her my life, and I can’t leave knowing the Order is hunting her right now.”

“They were
always
hunting her, St. George,” I snapped. “Every single day. The hunt never stops. The war never ends. Or did that fact slip your mind? The only thing that’s changed is now the Order has a wasp up their ass because their pride has been stomped on, and they’ll be desperate to save face. Never mind that they’ve been kicking down our doors and blowing us to pieces for years. But don’t worry about Ember.” I smirked, as his face darkened. “The Order won’t ever get that close. I’ll take care of her.”

“Also,” came a new voice from the doorway, “she’s quite capable of taking care of herself.”

Guiltily, we turned. Ember stood at the edge of the tile, arms crossed, looking peeved with us both. Her red hair stuck out at every angle, and she was definitely thinner than normal, making my gut squeeze tight. But her green eyes were as bright as ever, and the fire lurking below the surface hadn’t dimmed. I could see the dragon peering out at me, the echo of wings hovering behind her. She shot us—well,
me
—an exasperated glare, before marching to the refrigerator door and yanking it open.

“Ember,” St. George began as she emerged with a flat white box. “I—”

“Garret,” Ember interrupted. Her voice was a warning as she turned around. “Not to sound rude, but I am a dragon who hasn’t eaten for the past three days. Unless you’re about to reveal a stash of doughnuts hidden somewhere in this room, I would steer clear right now.”

He blinked, and I snickered at his shocked expression as Ember moved past us, heading toward the counter. “Number one rule when dealing with dragons, St. George,” I said, as the girl hopped onto a stool and opened up the box. “Don’t get between a hungry hatchling and its food. You might lose a finger.”

Ember glared at me, looking like she might growl something in return, but then decided food was more important and devoured half a slice in one bite. I went to the fridge for a soda, and St. George settled quietly against the wall, as the starving dragon went through an entire pepperoni pizza by herself. Two minutes later, Ember trashed the box, dusted off her hands and finally turned to look at us.

“So.” She drummed her fingers on her arm, looking back and forth at each of us. “What now?”

Good question.
“I guess that depends, Firebrand.”

“On what?”

“You.” She frowned at me, confused. Crushing the empty can, I put it in the sink and went to the fridge for another. “Let me ask you something,” I said as I closed the door. “What did
you
think was going to happen, Firebrand? After you left Talon? After you went rogue?”

She cocked her head. “I…don’t know,” she stammered. “Isn’t that where you come in? I thought you had this whole rogue thing worked out.”

“Normally, I do. But my plans don’t usually involve sneaking into highly guarded St. George compounds to rescue the enemy.” I didn’t look at the soldier as I said this, and St. George didn’t give any indication that he cared. “This whole situation is a bit abnormal for me, Firebrand. Frankly, I didn’t expect to have you around this long.”

Anger flashed across her face and she raised her chin. “Well, if I knew you were just going to get rid of me, I would’ve saved you the trouble.”

“Don’t be thick. That’s not what I meant.” I shook my head, giving her an exasperated look. She glared back, and I sighed. “What did you think I was going to do after taking you away from Crescent Beach?” I demanded. “Toss you out on the streets and say, ‘Good luck, have a nice life’? Give me some credit. I’m a little more organized than that.”

She frowned. “Then…what
was
going to happen to me?”

I started to answer, then paused. I didn’t like talking about my network so openly, especially with the human still in the room with us. Not that I was afraid he could go running back to the Order, but I trusted him about as far as I could throw him. Hunted or not, he had dragon blood on his hands, and that would never change.

As if reading my thoughts, the soldier raised his head and met my glare. “You can tell her,” he said in a low voice. “It’s not like I can take your secrets back to the Order.”

I smirked. “If I thought you could, you’d already be a pile of bones in the desert, St. George,” I stated. “That’s not what concerns me.”

“Riley!” Ember scowled. “You don’t have to be a jerk. He’s not with the Order anymore.”

“Firebrand. You don’t get it.” I turned on her, narrowing my eyes. “It’s not about me. This isn’t just my life I’m risking, it’s
all
the dragons I’ve freed from Talon. They look to me to keep them safe, keep them off Talon’s radar and away from the Vipers. Not only do I have to worry about the organization, I have to worry about St. George, too, because the bastards don’t know there’s a difference between rogue dragons and Talon, and they wouldn’t care if they did.”

I shot another piercing glare at the soldier, who didn’t reply. Though by the look on his face, he knew I was right.

“So, yes, Firebrand, I’m a little paranoid that there’s an ex-soldier of St. George in the same room as us,” I finished. “I believe the
last
time there was a soldier of St. George in the room with us, we were being shot at.” I put a fist to my chest, glaring at her. “This is
my
network, my underground. I’ve spent too many years getting dragons out of Talon to put their lives in danger now.”

Ember stared at me, surprise and amazement reflected in her eyes. “How many dragons are we talking about?” she asked. “How many rogues do you have?”

I sighed again, feeling my shoulders slump in defeat. Too late to hold back now. “Over twenty this year,” I admitted, and her mouth fell open. “And that’s just counting dragons, not the humans working for me. The hatchlings I steal from the organization are all green and starry-eyed, so they have to have a human agent looking after them until they’re ready to set out on their own.”

“I had no idea.”

I smirked. “When I said I’d take care of you, Firebrand, I wasn’t joking. I already have a place set up and waiting. A quiet little town near the mountains. You’ll be living with your ‘grandfather’ on a couple private acres of forest that butts up against a national park. No beaches, sadly, but it’s green and peaceful and isolated enough that Talon or the Order will never find you. You’ll be safe there, I promise.”

“And what will you do?”

“What I’ve always been doing. Fighting Talon. Getting hatchlings away from the organization. Helping them disappear.” I shrugged, feeling suddenly tired. “Maybe if I do this long enough, there’ll be enough free dragons someday to take a stand against Talon,” I muttered. “That’s my pipe dream, anyway.” Impossible, unattainable, but I had to hope for something.

“I’ll help you.”

Ember’s response was immediate. No hesitation or fear, just eager determination. I straightened quickly, alarm and exhilaration rising up at the same time. Part of me had known this would happen; after Crescent Beach, how could my brash, stubborn hatchling want to do anything else? But at the same time, I knew I couldn’t subject her to this life. It was dangerous, terrifying, bloody and occasionally it was just soul crushing. I’d seen so many die, had been responsible for countless deaths myself. There had been nights when I wasn’t sure I’d survive till dawn, when I’d wondered if the next hour would be my last. I’d seen the worst of Talon, St. George and the whole damn world, and it had turned me into a hard, cynical bastard. I couldn’t do that to her.

And of course, there was that
other
reason. The one pounding through my veins, even now. The one snarling at me to say yes, to take her with me so we could be alone, no humans or dragons or soldiers of St. George to interfere. The reason I was an exhausted, cranky mess, because I couldn’t sleep while she lay there, still as death. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t eat or plan or do anything. If St. George had kicked in the door, I would’ve burned the whole place to the ground before I left her behind.

I couldn’t keep going like this. It was dangerous; for me, for Ember, for everyone in my underground. She was a distraction, a fiery, tempting, intriguing distraction, and I had too many people counting on me to keep them safe. I had to get away from her, for both our sakes.

Though, convincing
her
of that was going to be a challenge.

“I’m not going to your safe house, Riley.” Ember’s voice was final, as if she knew what I was thinking. Her eyes flashed, and she crossed her arms, staring me down. “Don’t think you can get rid of me now. I’m not going to hide away and do nothing while you’re running around dodging Vipers and dragonslayers and who knows what else. I’m not blind anymore. I’ve seen what Talon does, how they’re willing to kill anyone who doesn’t conform to their standards. I’m going to help you and all the dragons who want to be free. I want to get as many of us away from Talon as we can.”

“Firebrand,” I began, and she set her jaw, ready for a fight. “I know you’re angry with Talon,” I went on, “and you want to strike back at them somehow, but think about what you’re doing. This is a dangerous life. We’re constantly on the run, from the organization, and St. George, and the Vipers. Hell, you just woke up because you were
shot
three days ago. That’s the kind of situation you’ll be facing again if you come with me.”

“I know.”

“You’ll never have a normal life,” I insisted. “I can’t suddenly decide I don’t want to do this anymore. There are too many who are counting on me, too many I promised I’d keep safe. I’ll probably be doing this for the rest of my life, or until something—either a Viper or a St. George bullet—kills me.”

“That’s why you need someone watching your back.”

My temper flared. “Dammit, Ember—”

The door banged open, crashing against the wall. I jumped and spun around as Wes lunged into the room, turned and slammed the door behind him. His eyes were wild in his pale face.

“St. George!” he gasped, making us all jerk up. “They’re here! I think they’re right behind me!”

Ember

They’re here.

Fear crawled up my spine. St. George had come. Again. It didn’t seem to matter where we went, what we did; they were always one step behind, seconds from kicking in the door and spraying us with lead. And now that I had so blatantly waltzed into their territory and given the figurative finger to them all, they would be eager for retribution. It was no longer a job, I suspected, no longer a routine slaying of faceless enemies. Now, it was personal.

“What do you mean, they’re right behind you?” Riley snapped, stalking toward Wes, who had already locked the door and was peering through the eyehole. “St. George doesn’t know who you are, they’ve never seen you before. How would they know you’re even a target?”

“I have no idea, mate, but
someone
was staring at me in the parking lot,” Wes snapped, spinning around. “And when I was driving back, I noticed I’d picked up a tail. That’s why it took me so bloody long to get here. I was trying to lose the bastards, but they could still be out there.”

Riley walked to the edge of the windows and peered through the glass, keeping his back to the wall. “I don’t see anyone,” he muttered. “Maybe you lost them.”

“They’re out there.” Garret’s quiet voice cut through the tension. We all glanced at him, standing against the wall with his arms crossed. His stance was weirdly calm. “If this really is St. George, the surveyors Wes saw will be narrowing the houses down right now. The assault team is probably on its way. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Then we need to leave.” Riley strode out of the kitchen. “Right now. While there’s still daylight. Wes, get everything together.”

“Where are we going?” I asked as Wes hurried out of the room, muttering curses. Riley turned to look at me, frowning slightly.

“Into the city,” he said. “Downtown, where there’s lots of people. The Order won’t try to murder us in a crowd. At least, I hope they won’t resort to that.” He stabbed a glare in Garret’s direction before turning back. “Hiding in plain sight has always been a good tactic for us. We disappear into the crowds, and neither Talon nor the Order can come after us without arousing suspicion. Besides, there’s someone there I have to see. We just needed you to wake up before we left.”

I felt a brief stab of guilt. “You were all waiting on me?”

One corner of his mouth twisted up. “Kinda hard to hide a dragon in a hotel room, Firebrand. The fire marshal would blow a gasket.” He brushed my arm, a brief, light touch that sent curls of heat through my insides. “Hurry and get packed so we can get out of here. I
really
don’t feel like seeing St. George again.”

We gathered everything, which took only a few minutes. I didn’t have anything except my backpack with some clothes and a couple small personal things. Wes had his laptop, and Garret had the gun he’d taken from the Order and the borrowed clothes on his back. Everything else fit into a single duffel bag, which Riley swung over his shoulder. The rogue traveled light and efficient, ready to pack up and move at a word. Everything was disposable; clothes, vehicles, places to stay. In fact, the only thing I knew he kept with him at all times was that dusty leather jacket.

“All right,” he muttered, staring through the peephole in the front door as we crowded behind him. At my side, Garret pressed close, making my heart skip. I could feel his presence, burning across my skin, even as I tried to focus. “I don’t see anything out there,” Riley went on, his gaze scanning one end of the street to the other. “Looks like we’re still in the clear.”

“Don’t be fooled,” Garret murmured. “If St. George is out there, watching us, you won’t be able to see them.”

Riley snorted without turning around. “Well we certainly can’t sit here until they kick down the door,” he growled, and turned the knob. Bloodred sunlight spilled through the crack as he pulled the door open, and dying sun shone directly into my eyes, making me squint. For a moment, he didn’t move from the frame, casting one final look around the empty street. Shielding my eyes, I peered past his shoulder, searching for anything out of place. The yards and streets were empty; no suspiciously parked cars, no “electricians” or “painters” pretending to be working nearby. Everything seemed perfectly normal. The van sat inconspicuously at the edge of the driveway, but it seemed an impossible distance away.

“Okay,” Riley went on, pulling the door back and stepping into the open. “All clear. So far, so—”

A muffled crack rang out from nowhere, making my heart jump to my throat. A sharp hiss followed the gunshot, and the van jerked, then sagged to one side, its back tires deflated in an instant.

“Shit!” Riley lunged back inside and slammed the door, as the rest of us backed hastily away. “Dammit, they’re already here.” Another crack rang out, and the front window shattered with a ringing cacophony, sending glass raining to the ground. I yelped, covering my face as splinters flew everywhere, and Garret grabbed my wrist, dragging me away from the glass.

“Stay back from the windows,” he ordered, pushing me against the wall beside the window frame. I grunted at the impact and scowled at him, but he wasn’t looking at me. His gaze, narrowed and grim, was on the rows of houses beyond the broken glass. “Snipers,” he breathed, as Riley pressed himself to the other side of the frame, his lips curled in a silent snarl. “They’ve found us.”

“Brilliant,” Wes spat from behind the couch. “Snipers, that’s bloody fabulous. I am
so
glad we risked life and limb to rescue you, St. George.” He glared daggers at Garret, as if wishing the next bullet would make the soldier’s head explode. “I don’t suppose giving you back will make them leave us alone?”

“Over my dead body,” I snarled at Wes, my stomach clenching violently at the thought. “Try it, and I’ll throw
you
through that window.”

“It wouldn’t matter, anyway,” Garret replied in a serious voice, as if Wes’s suggestion was actually legitimate. He looked down at me, his expression pained. “I would surrender to them,” he said, “if I thought the Order would spare you. But they’re here for all of us, and they won’t bargain with dragons. I’m sorry, Ember.”

I glared back at him. “I wouldn’t let you go, anyway. So you can stop being so damned fatalistic. No one is giving anyone up. We’re getting out of here together, or not at all.”

He blinked, a raw, almost vulnerable look passing through his eyes, and we stared at each other a moment. Outside, it was eerily silent. The sunlight slanting through the broken window caught on shards of glass and glittered red, like drops of blood.

Riley’s low, frustrated growl broke the silence. “Dammit, where are they?” he muttered, peeking cautiously around the frame, careful to keep his head back. “Why don’t they just charge in and shoot us already?”

“This isn’t the full strike force.” Garret stared out the window, his expression grave. “Not yet. When the survey team followed Wes back, they had to alert headquarters to let them know they found the targets. They have the sniper guarding the house just to pin us down, make sure we don’t leave until the assault team arrives.”

Wes swore again, peering around the sofa. “Right, then, if that’s the case, I vote we not stand here and let them pick us off. And since the van is now shot to hell, who’s up for sneaking out the back door?”

“No.” Garret shook his head. “That would be a bad idea. The sniper will be positioned in a spot where he has a full view of the neighborhood. If we try to leave, he’ll just as easily pick us off from where he is now. It’s not worth the risk.”

Riley snorted. “You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you, St. George?”

Garret’s voice was flat. “It’s what I would do.”

“Oh, that’s right. You’ve done this before, haven’t you? Shot kids in the back while they were running away?”

“Guys,” I said in exasperation, glaring at Riley. “This isn’t helping. Focus, please. Garret…” I glanced at the soldier, touching his arm. “You know St. George. You know how they think. What can we do?”

Garret nodded, looking thoughtful. “We’ll need to neutralize the threat first,” he replied, slipping into soldier mode, logical and calculating. “Find out where the shooter is, sneak around and take him out before the rest of the team arrives.”

“Oh, is that all?” Riley frowned, gesturing to the broken window. “And how are we supposed to find where this shooter is without taking a hole to the head? I don’t feel like playing whack-a-mole with a trained sniper right now.”

Garret edged close to the window, keeping his back pressed to the wall. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if preparing himself. Then, before I could stop him, he straightened and peered through the frame, leaving his whole head exposed. Almost immediately, a shot rang out, slamming into the sill and tearing away chunks of wood in an explosion of splinters as he ducked back. I flinched, pressing close to Garret with my heart thudding against my ribs, but he wasn’t even breathing hard.

“Jeez, Garret!” My voice sounded shaky, unlike the soldier beside me. He straightened, looking perfectly calm, like getting shot at by snipers was routine. I scowled and smacked his arm. “Are you crazy?” I demanded. “You want to get your head exploded? Don’t do that again. We’ll find the shooter another way.”

“One block down,” he murmured, making me frown with confusion. His eyes were closed, brow furrowed, as if recalling an image from memory. “Across the street on the corner. There’s a two-story house with an attic window. Foreclosed, I think. The shots are coming from that direction.”

I stared at him in amazement. “You got all that just now?”

“Partly.” He peered out the window, keeping his back against the wall and his head inside this time. “But I observed the area when we first arrived, made note of all the places we might be attacked, where someone could set up an ambush. The house on the corner would be Tristan’s ideal…” He stopped, his jaw tightening. “It makes the most tactical sense,” he finished stiffly.

“Okay,” I said. I wished I could peek out the window, see the house for myself, but I also didn’t want to risk a bullet between the eyes. I didn’t know if I’d be fast enough, especially now that the shooter knew where we were, and maybe had his crosshairs trained right at me. “So we know where the sniper is. What now?”

Garret drew away from the window, face grim. “Wait here,” he said. “Stay inside, I’ll try to get close enough to take him out.”

“What? You’re not doing this alone.” He ignored me as he sidled past, keeping close to the walls, and I grabbed the back of his shirt. “What if there’s more than one?” I insisted as he turned in my grasp, his face stony. “What if he has a partner and you get hurt, or shot? There’ll be no one around to help. You need someone watching your back, at least.”

“Firebrand,” Riley warned in a no-way-in-hell voice, and I turned to glare at him, too.

“What?” I demanded, still keeping a tight hold of Garret’s shirt. “I can do this. I’ve been
trained
to do this. Lilith taught me herself, or did you forget that I was supposed to be a Talon assassin?” He took a breath to argue, and I raised my chin. “I seem to remember sneaking into a heavily armed St. George base a few nights ago and doing just fine.”

“Until you got shot!” Riley made as if to stalk forward, then jerked back, away from the window. His eyes glowed angrily as they met mine. “This isn’t a normal bullet, Firebrand,” he said. “This isn’t something you can recover from. You get hit in the head with a sniper round, you don’t have a head anymore.”

“I won’t get shot.”

“You can’t know that!”

“Ember.” A strong hand closed over mine, gently prying me loose. I turned back to meet Garret’s steely eyes, gazing down at me. His face was expressionless, and for a moment, I didn’t know if he would tell me to stay behind or not. Which was too bad, because I was coming with him whether he liked it or not. But then he gave a small sigh and released my hand, his gaze flicking out the window.

“We’ll have to move fast,” he said, scanning the street like he was planning the best route to the sniper perch. “Stay low, keep your head down and don’t stop moving. A moving target is much harder to hit. We’ll have to circle around, and we’ll stay in cover as much as we can, but don’t panic if you’re shot at. And don’t freeze, no matter what. The sniper will likely have a partner guarding his back, too, so we’ll probably have to deal with more than one. Do you have a weapon?”

I shook my head, ignoring the fear spreading through my insides, making my stomach curl. “I won’t need one.”

Behind me, Riley made an impatient sound and reached for something at his back. “Dammit, Ember,” he growled. “Yes, you will. Here.” He tossed the pistol at me, and my heart lurched as I caught it. “Just don’t get yourself killed, all right?”

His eyes stabbed at me, and I couldn’t tell if he was furious, worried, or absolutely terrified, before they shifted to Garret. “We’re running out of time,” he said, his voice clipped and matter-of-fact. “What do you need on our end, St. George?”

“We’ll never make it to the house if the sniper sees us coming,” Garret replied calmly. “Can you cause a distraction? Something that will take the shooter’s focus off the surrounding area for a few seconds?”

“Yeah.” Riley nodded, and raked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I can do that. Wes…” He glanced at the human, still huddled behind the couch. “Get ready to move. You’re in charge of finding us another car, now that the van’s been shot to hell.” There was a muffled curse behind the sofa, and Riley turned back to us. “Get going. I’ll make sure their attention is elsewhere.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

“Oh, you’ll know it when you see it.”

“Right.” I took a breath and glanced at the soldier beside me. “Okay,” I whispered, resolved for what I had to do. “Ready if you are.”

“Ember.”

Riley’s voice was almost strangled. I looked back to find those piercing gold eyes on me, his expression tormented. “Don’t get hurt, Firebrand,” he said in a low voice, meant only for the two of us. “I don’t think I could take it this time. Come back alive, okay?”

A lump caught in my throat, and I nodded.