Mist motioned briskly to Riley and inserted a key into the cuffs at his wrists. “I have your phone, Cobalt,” she said as the shackles were removed. “When we get to where we’re going, I need you to contact your hacker friend and explain the situation. I hope he’s as good as everyone seems to believe. From here on out, we have to move as fast as we can.”

“What are we looking for, anyway?” Riley asked.

Mist hesitated, then turned to me. “I’m not entirely certain,” she admitted, unlocking my restraints. “But that computer is supposed to hold the plans for...something big. Something that has to do with the vessels, and what the Elder Wyrm intends to do with them. There have been rumors circling about something called the Night of Fang and Fire, which I admit sounds cheesy but is troubling all the same. My employer would like to know exactly what this Night of Fang and Fire is.”

Riley and I shared a glance. The Night of Fang and Fire? It certainly sounded like we should be worried about it. At the same time, it made me desperate to get to Ember. To get us all out of here and find someplace safe before the world exploded in a hellstorm of dragonfire.

The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open to reveal an office-type floor, though the hallways were dark and looked deserted. The only lights came from the glow of screen savers through open office doors.

“Stay here,” Mist told the clones, who didn’t so much as blink at her. “Guard the elevator until we return.” To us, she jerked her head down the hall. “The room isn’t far. Let’s go.”

Following her lead, we hurried down the corridor, turned a corner and paused at a plain office door with narrow floor-to-ceiling windows on either side. Mist produced a key card from a cord attached to her belt and slid it into a slot reader near the handle. The door beeped once, and we slipped inside.

A large desk with a single computer sat in the center of the room, and Mist quickly shut the inner window blinds before turning to us. “Here,” she said, tossing Riley a phone. “Call your friend. I figure we have a couple minutes before night security comes by, so make it quick.”

I carefully pulled down the blinds a crack and peered into the darkened hall, watching for moving shadows or flashlight beams, while Riley spoke urgently into his phone.

“Wes.” His voice was a raspy whisper. “It’s me...No, I’m not dead, obviously...Yeah, we were caught by Talon.” He winced. “Ow. Dammit, will you calm down? We’re fine, no one is dead yet.” He frowned, and his voice became a growl. “Look, just shut up and listen, all right? I don’t have a lot of time.”