Talon (Talon 1)

Two minutes!”

Anger blazed, and my fraying temper finally snapped. With a snarl, I turned and lashed out at a pile of crates, ripping a huge chunk of wood from the boxes with my claws.

All right, enough was enough! Why should I be the hunted? I was a freaking dragon. The apex predator, according to Talon. If survival meant not getting shot at all costs, maybe I should be the one doing the hunting.

I crouched, then leaped atop one of the crate piles, landing as quietly as I could. The labyrinth of crates spread out before me, looking much different from up top. All right, you bastards, I thought, lowering myself into a stalking position, my belly scales nearly brushing the crates . We’re changing the rules a bit. This time, I’m coming for you.

I prowled along the top of the maze, keeping my body low and straight and my wings pressed to my back, all senses attuned for the sights, sounds, and smell of my prey. Slithering over the narrow aisles, my steps light so my talons wouldn’t clack and give me away, I felt a savage, growing excitement. This felt natural, easy. The fear I’d had before disappeared, and everything seemed sharper, clearer now that I was on the hunt. I could sense my enemies, lurking in the shadows and darkness, waiting for me. But now, they were the ones in danger.

I caught a whiff of human ahead of me and froze, one claw suspended above the crates. Holding myself perfectly still, I watched a soldier creep along the top of the maze without seeing me, then drop silently into the narrow aisle below.

Crouching even lower, my chin just a few inches from the wood, I stalked noiselessly to the place the soldier had dropped out of sight and peered over the edge. He stood almost directly below, his gaze and the muzzle of his gun pointed at the end of the corridor, where another two soldiers waited, I saw. None of them had noticed me.

Hello, boys. I grinned, and felt my back haunches wriggle as I tensed to pounce. Paybacks’ a bitch.

“Death from above!” I howled, leaping toward my opponents with talons and wings spread. The soldier jerked and looked up, just as I landed on him with a snarl, driving him to the cement. His helmeted head struck the back of a pallet and he lay there, dazed.

The other two soldiers instantly whipped around and raised their guns. I roared, baring my fangs, and went for them, barely avoiding a paintball to the face as I lunged. Bounding toward the first soldier, I leaped sideways, catapulted off the wall to avoid the spray of bullets, and drove my horned head into his chest, flinging him back several feet. He crashed into a stack of crates, which collapsed on top of him, and struggled to rise. The last soldier swiftly backed away as I spun on him, growling, and tensed to pounce.

“Stop!”

The command rang in my ear, but also directly in front of me, and I stumbled to a halt a lunge away from the last opponent. Shouldering the gun, the last soldier reached up and pulled off his helmet and mask, revealing Scary Talon Lady’s face in the dim light. I blinked in surprise and quickly stepped back.

“Finally.” My trainer raked a hand through her hair, long golden strands falling down her back. Her acidic eyes regarded me over the hall. “About time, hatchling. I was wondering if the purpose for this exercise would ever penetrate that thick skull of yours. I was certain we’d be here until midnight, chasing you around the building, before you finally figured it out.”

Confused, I shook my head. “You…you wanted me to attack,” I guessed. “To go on the offensive. That was the whole point, wasn’t it?” My trainer raised a mocking eyebrow, and I scowled. “You weren’t going to let me quit until I started fighting back, no matter how long I survived down here.”

She lowered the gun and nodded. “Exactly. Dragons are never prey, hatchling. Dragons are hunters. Even to the soldiers of St. George, we are deadly, intelligent, highly adaptable killers. We are not to be taken lightly. If you are ever trapped in a building with a soldier of St. George, his life should be in just as much danger, do you understand? Because you’ll be hunting him, as well. And one more thing…”

Faster than thought, she raised the gun and fired it, point blank, at my chest. The paint bullet exploded in a spray of crimson, making me flinch even though it didn’t hurt. My instructor smiled coldly.

“Neve r hesitate to go in for the kill.”

Garret

Fifteen twenty-two, and still no Ember.

I resisted the urge to check my watch again and leaned back in the hard booth seat, staring out at the parking lot. The orange smoothie I’d gotten in an effort to look normal sat melting on the edge of the table, condensation pooling around the Styrofoam. Around me, the small fast-food restaurant was fairly packed; people sat at tables or in booths, talking and laughing, while I sat quietly by myself and waited for a girl who might be a dragon.

An ancient white Volkswagen with several surfboards strapped to the roof wheeled into the parking spot next to my jeep, and Ember hopped out almost before the car stopped moving. All my senses went alert as the girl, dressed in shorts and a loose top with a bikini underneath, scurried up the walk and ducked through the glass doors.

She spotted me almost instantly and hurried over, smiling. “Garret! Hey, sorry I’m late. I…uh…lost track of time. Thanks for waiting, were you here long?”

Since fourteen hundred. “No,” I said, but movement outside caught my attention. Two more people were emerging from the car, now—

Lexi Thompson, whom I’d met the other day with Ember, and a taller boy with blond hair pulled into a ponytail.

Ember followed my gaze. “Oh, yeah. Lexi and Calvin will be joining us. They were the ones who taught me to surf, after all, and Calvin knows all the best spots on the beach. Hope you don’t mind.”

She gave me an apologetic smile and leaned in, resting her palm on the corner of the table. My stomach jumped as her face hovered close to mine. “Actually, they kinda invited themselves,” she whispered. “I made the mistake of telling Lexi, and when she heard I was going to teach you, she had to come. And then Calvin didn’t want us hanging out with some strange guy after yesterday, so…yeah. Sorry.”

Well, this was…unexpected. But surmountable. There was no reason the others shouldn’t come; my objective was to fit in with the whole group, after all. And if Lexi was Ember’s friend, she likely knew a lot about her, secret things perhaps. If I could get her to open up and share what she knew, that would bring me one step closer to my objective.

So why did I feel like they were intruders?

“That’s fine,” I said, shrugging. “Not a problem.”