I gagged the human with the roll of duct tape in my belt, then heaved the unconscious body over my shoulder. He hung like a sack of potatoes—a heavy, well-muscled sack of potatoes. “Do it,” I grunted, staggering toward a Dumpster we’d crouched behind a moment ago. “Just give us fifteen seconds. Ember, get the cover, will you?”

She scurried to the Dumpster and pushed up the lid, releasing the stench of old milk, rotting things and decay. I probably shouldn’t have felt so spitefully pleased as I dropped the body between reeking sacks of garbage and closed the top, but I did.

At the bottom of the steps, we hung back in the shadows, watching the door and the camera up top. “Gimme a moment,” Wes muttered as I drummed my fingers against my knee, feeling highly exposed. Another soldier could come waltzing around the corner anytime. We might’ve gotten lucky once; twice would be pushing it. “All right,” Wes finally said. “In ten seconds, the camera will go off and the door will unlock. Both will happen almost simultaneously, so you’ll have to get up there fast. Ready?”

“Yeah,” I muttered, feeling Ember tense beside me.

“Then…go! Now!”

I burst forward and raced up the steps, not daring to look at the camera peering down at me with its soulless black eye. My fingers closed on the handle just as there was a soft beep, and the light above the key-card slit turned green. Wrenching open the door, I motioned Ember inside, then ducked over the threshold myself. The door closed, shutting behind us with a soft click that seemed to echo down the long, brightly lit corridor ahead.

We were inside St. George HQ.

Now the real fun began.

Ember

Ember

I should probably be terrified.

I was pretty nervous. I was inside the St. George complex, surrounded by a whole army of dragonslayers who’d kill me without a second thought if they knew I was here. We still had to find Garret and somehow sneak him out without being discovered. And that close call with the soldier…my nerves were still singing, my hands shaking with adrenaline. I hadn’t even thought. I’d just seen him and…boom, he was on the ground. Would I do that again? Could I do that again, if I had to?

Was this what my trainer meant when she said I’d be an amazing Viper?

I pushed those thoughts away. Focus, Ember. Find Garret. That’s why we’re here.

“Where to now?” I whispered to Riley.

He huddled against the wall, speaking softly into his wire. “Wes, we’re in.” A few seconds passed with Riley listening to whatever the human was saying. Finally, he nodded. “Right,” he muttered. “Heading there now.”

“Did he find Garret?” I asked.