The cab took us away from the main flow of traffic, moving away from the Strip and the glittering behemoths on either side of the street. We drove for several more silent minutes, going deeper into the fringe neighborhoods, until the taxi pulled up to a curb seemingly in the middle of nowhere and lurched to a stop. A tall chain-link fence ran the length of the sidewalk, and beyond the metal barrier, a flat expanse of nothing stretched away into the darkness.

Riley shoved a bill into the driver’s palm and exited the cab without speaking. Garret and I followed, and the taxi sped off. Leaving us on a deserted sidewalk many blocks from the lights and crowds of the Strip.

“What is this place?” I asked, peering through the fence. There were no lights, no roads or even pavement. The ground was dusty and flat, an odd field of dirt surrounded by concrete. Though in the distance, I could see the uneven, skeletal outline of some huge structure hiding in the shadows.

“It’s a hotel,” Riley said brusquely, shoving his wallet into his back pocket again. “Started but never finished due to the recession, most likely. It’s abandoned now.”

“Why are we here?” Garret added, observing the area with a wary, practiced eye. The paranoia had returned; he was a soldier once more, and every shadow could hide a possible threat.

Riley gave him a cold look, as if debating whether to explain or not, then shrugged. “I got word of a couple runaways tonight,” he said, making my stomach leap to my throat. “Possibly mine. They’re supposed to be here, somewhere, hiding from Talon. I figured with all the St. George activity in the city, I’d better get to them first. Before the Order shows up and blows them to pieces.”

Garret frowned. “You didn’t think it important to tell us before we left the hotel?”

“I don’t owe you any explanations, St. George,” Riley said. “You’re not here because I need you to be. We’re going in, grabbing a couple hatchlings and getting out as fast as we can. If that flies in the face of your dragonslayer convictions, feel free to take the next cab back to the hotel. No one here is stopping you.”

I bristled at Riley’s assholey-ness, but Garret’s voice was calm when he answered. “This could be a drug den,” he said. “Or a gang hideout. At the very least, there will be homeless people and squatters wandering around. If we’re going to extract two dragons without opposition, one or more of us should be armed.”

Riley snorted. “Against a bunch of humans? What are they going to do, babble me to death?”

“They could have weapons.”