“Yeah, but I wasn’t exactly in the middle of an armed Talon facility,” I answered. “They know who we are, and they’re not taking any chances. Maybe if I could somehow get to a computer and contact Wes...but I wouldn’t expect him to storm this place to rescue us. And I sure as hell wouldn’t want any of the hatchlings to try it. Best I could do is warn him about Talon’s new clone minions and tell him to keep the underground as safe as he can.” I sighed, shaking my head. “There’s also another reason for Talon to keep us alive. One that’s probably not going to be pleasant for either of us.”

“They want information,” St. George muttered.

I nodded. “Yeah. And you can guess how they’re going to try to extract it. From both of us.”

“I’ve been trained to withstand torture,” the soldier said in a calm voice. He glanced at me again, his expression grim. “I won’t betray your network.”

“Appreciate it, St. George,” I said, more grateful than I’d realized. “But I don’t think we’re going to have much of a choice, in the end. Not if we’re stuck here for a while. Talon always gets what they want, eventually.”

The creak of the door interrupted us. St. George stood quickly, but I stayed where I was, watching as the heavy iron barrier groaned and swung back, revealing four emotionless, identical humans with large guns. I smirked at them from against the wall.

“Hey, guys. I’d get up, but, uh...my head kinda hurts. You understand, right?”

The clones didn’t answer. As one, they stepped aside, parting like elevator doors, and a smaller figure walked through the gap to stand in the frame. St. George tensed, and I stiffened as two bright, crystal-blue eyes met mine across the room.

“Hello, Cobalt,” Mist said, smiling. “Ready for round two?”

Chapter 18: EMBER

EMBER

I paced the floor of my room, unable to sit still. It was a fairly standard bedroom, with a twin bed in the corner, a desk and a bookshelf, a separate bathroom, even a television on the wall. Nicely furnished, for a prison cell. There were no windows, of course, and I knew the heavy metal door would be locked, even without turning the handle. And the large, two-way mirror on the wall wasn’t fooling anyone. At least the cuffs were gone, and it had been a few hours, so the Dractylpromazine might’ve worn off.