“Dammit,” Ember growled, and started forward, as well. “Come on, Garret, before she gets herself killed.”

I gave a silent curse and hurried after her, ducking through the opening into the enormous shipping room. The shadows of the warehouse closed around us, smelling of dust, wood and iron, and the maze of crates and shipping containers loomed overhead. Faith was nowhere to be seen.

Grimly, I raised my weapon and motioned Ember behind me. Hugging the walls, we edged around the stacks of crates, searching for the girl while staying on high alert. Light footsteps pattered across the floor, fading into the darkness, but it was impossible to tell which direction they were coming from.

“Dammit, where did she go?” Ember muttered.

A scream cut through the darkness, turning my blood cold. It was followed by a crash and the sound of a scuffle somewhere in the maze. Ember snarled something in Draconic and rushed past me, her eyes flaring green in the darkness. Gripping my weapon, I followed. The aisles of freight abruptly ended in a large open area, cement floor bare but for a few stacked pallets and a forklift.

“Faith!” Ember hissed, creeping forward with the gun raised. “Where are…”

A figure melted out of the shadows, dragging something into the light, and my stomach dropped. Faith met my gaze, her eyes huge with fear, as a man in a black suit yanked her forward, one arm around her neck, the other pressing a gun to her temple.

The lights came on, driving away the shadows, and a half dozen armed men stepped into view, muzzles of their M-16s pointed right at us.

Riley

Riley

“Comfortable, Cobalt?”

Ava lowered the phone and turned, smiling at me across the table. Without waiting for an answer, she reached over and flipped on the spotlight, beaming it right in my face. I squinted but refused to turn my head. “Anything you want to say before we get started?”

“I’m good, thanks.” I tried to shrug, which was harder than it looked, being tied to a chair with my arms behind the metal back. The plastic cuffs dug into my wrists as I turned, pretending to look around the room. “Though the service in this place sucks. I ordered a glass of ‘Screw you, Talon bitch’ an hour ago.”

Ava smiled.

“Vulgar bravado will not save you, I’m afraid.” The girl walked around the table, regarding me like she might a particularly tricky math problem. Plucking a needle and syringe from the table, she held it up and turned back to me. “I assume you already know what I stuck you with.”