Inferno. Julie Kagawa
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Because I doubt you would survive what is to come.”
“Then...you weren’t really going to kill him?” I asked, relieved that my voice was working and not frozen in terror at the back of my throat.
“Oh, I definitely would have killed him,” Ouroboros said. “Had you not moved to defend the soldier, he would be nothing but a dissolving lump in my stomach right now.” He paused, running a tongue along his teeth. “Mmm, it has been a long time since I’ve eaten a mortal,” he mused in a longing voice. “Perhaps I should start demanding sacrifices again.”
I shuddered, and beside me, Cobalt curled a lip. Ouroboros didn’t seem to notice. “You want to strike a blow against Talon,” he continued. “But guts and determination alone do not win wars. If you are going to fight the organization, you’ll need soldiers, allies to assist in the struggle. I can help with both.”
“How?” Cobalt asked. “Will you be joining us?”
My heart beat faster at the thought. If we had a Wyrm like this on our side, the second-oldest dragon in the world, we might have a chance of bringing Talon down for good.
But Ouroboros snorted. “It has been over three hundred years since I have spoken to any of my kind, and in that three hundred years, Talon and the Elder Wyrm have finally forgotten that I exist. Or, at the very least, they have concluded that I am dead. If I returned with you, I would be letting all of Talon know that I am very much alive, and the Elder Wyrm will not stand for that sort of competition.”
“But...you’re a Wyrm,” I protested. “You could help us win this war. Countless dragons are being used and destroyed by Talon. How can you sit back and do nothing?”
“Nothing?” The Wyrm’s voice held the hint of a growl, warning me to watch myself in the lair of a god. “I am doing something, hatchling,” he went on. “I have called you here. Because an opportunity has arisen, and I see a chance to strike at the Elder Wyrm and Talon. But the future is hazy, and Talon is on the move. It is not yet time for me to reveal myself. Especially as I am unsure that you will survive this war, or indeed the next encounter.
“I called you here,” Ouroboros continued, “because I have information that may be helpful to your cause. I think you, in particular, will find this very interesting, ex-Agent Cobalt. As you stated earlier, a war is coming. You cannot take on an organization as large as Talon with a ragtag group of hatchlings and rogues. You’re going to need allies willing to fight the organization, and you have very few at the moment.”
You could still help us, I thought stubbornly, though I knew better than to say it out loud. Best not to annoy the giant Wyrm that could flick you over the wall like a bug. Still, it was infuriating. We’d come all this way, leaving behind friends and those still in danger from Talon, to meet with the world’s most legendary rogue. Only to have him say he couldn’t be bothered to fight Talon with us.
I felt my spines bristle. Cobalt gave me a warning look, as if he knew what I was thinking, and turned to face the Wyrm again.
“I take it you happen to know where we can find a few,” he said.
Ouroboros chuckled. “Oh, you could say that. The dragons there are quite unhappy with the organization, and some of them have been there for a very long time. They would be more than eager to join the fight against Talon, I would think. If you can get to them.”
I looked at Cobalt, saw him frown slightly as he pondered what the Wyrm was saying, then draw in a slow breath as he figured it out.
“The facilities,” he breathed, staring at Ouroboros. “You know where Talon is keeping the breeder dragons.”
My stomach twisted. There was so much hope and longing in Cobalt’s voice, even after all this time. After years of searching, countless traps, false leads, betrayals, failures and disappointments, he still held out hope that, one day, he would find the place Talon kept their breeder females and rescue them all. It was one of his life goals, probably the biggest one, the white rabbit he kept chasing no matter how many dark holes it led him down. Maybe this time, Ouroboros would give Riley what he desperately wanted. But I couldn’t help but be skeptical. The last time we’d followed a lead to where the facilities were supposedly located, it had been a clever trap that had nearly killed us all.
“Yes,” Ouroboros said. “I do.”
“Where are they?”
Ouroboros tilted his head slightly. I suspected that if he’d been in human form he would’ve arched an eyebrow. What would he look like in human form—if he even had a human form? Maybe he’d been out here so long, away from everyone except the natives who worshiped him, that he hadn’t Shifted in the three hundred years he’d been out of Talon.
Realizing that the self-proclaimed god of the jungle probably wouldn’t appreciate having answers demanded of him by some cocky Juvenile dragon, I hurried on. “I mean, I’ve searched for those facilities for years, but everything I’ve found has been a dead end or a trap. Talon has hidden them so well that if I wasn’t part of the Basilisk branch myself, I would’ve thought they didn’t exist.”
“Oh, they exist,” Ouroboros said. “And the reason you haven’t been able to find them is because you weren’t looking in the right places. That, and the location is very difficult to get to. The facilities are located on a privately owned, unnamed island.”
“An island,” I breathed. Of course, why hadn’t I thought of that before? A privately owned island was isolated, hard to reach and cut off from the rest of the world: the perfect place to hide a large number of captive female dragons.
“Yes.” Ouroboros nodded. “Talon owns the island, of course, so no one is allowed to set foot on it. Not that anyone would attempt it. Because here is the interesting part. The island is located a few hundred miles east of the Caribbean, in the area known to humans as the Bermuda Triangle.”
“The...Bermuda Triangle?” I choked out.
“Indeed. That is where you’ll find Talon’s breeding facilities, ex-Agent Cobalt. Though getting to it is going to be a challenge. It won’t be like breaking into a single office building. You must circumvent the security of an entire island. And if you somehow manage to get to the breeders, how will you get them out again? How will you even get them off the island?” Ouroboros folded his claws in front of him, regarding me with appraising red eyes. “If you can accomplish this, young Basilisk, you will have pulled off what dozens of rogues around the world could only dream of.” One corner of that narrow maw pulled into a smirk. “As such, I myself have very little hope that any of you will survive. But I will wait, and see what happens. Perhaps you will surprise me.”
He chuckled and rose to his feet, engulfing everything in his shadow. “Well,” he stated, “I believe our business is at an end. It has been entertaining, if nothing else.” He paused, and the subtle warning that crept into his voice made my stomach writhe in fear. “Of course, it goes without saying that you will not mention my name, or my location, to anyone. What transpired here does not leave this jungle.” His red eyes narrowed, glittering coldly, and I resisted the urge to shrink into the temple floor as the Wyrm loomed over us like a Titan. A massive, unstoppable force of nature. “I am placing a great deal of trust that you will keep this meeting strictly confidential,” he rumbled, making tremors ripple through the ground. “But if word that I am alive does happen to reach the organization, do not believe that I won’t find you. And if that happens, you and everyone who has ever known you will be consumed, until there is no one left who remembers your name.
“Ember Hill.” Ouroboros glanced at the red hatchling, who met his gaze calmly despite the subtle trembling in her wings. “Daughter of the Elder Wyrm. I am pleased that we could meet face-to-face. But know this—I see much of her in you, and that can be both a blessing and a curse. Choose your path wisely—it would be a shame to kill you before you reach your full potential.”