“What about that building?” Faith said, pointing to a large rectangular structure beyond the maze of tracks and containers. From this angle, it looked like the freight warehouse. “Do you think they could’ve gone in there, to hide at least?”

I shook my head. “That would be one of the first places the Order would search. If they are in there, they’re either trapped, or…” I didn’t voice what I was thinking, but Ember went rigid at my back, drawing in a short breath. She knew what I was going to say.

“We have to check it out,” Ember said, her voice tight with anger and fear. Not fear for herself; I recognized that steely look on her face, and knew nothing would frighten her away now. It was for Ava and Riley, and what would happen if we didn’t find them. Or worse, if we did. I remembered the aftermath of a successful raid; the smoldering ruins, the charred, blackened husks that were once people, the lifeless dragons lying in pools of blood. My stomach turned. I didn’t want Ember to see that, to really see what St. George did to her kind. What I used to do.

“Let’s go,” Ember told me, rising swiftly. “If St. George is here, we have to help them. They could still be alive. And if they’re not, if the Order killed him…” Her eyes flashed, and I caught a split-second glimpse of an angry red dragon below her skin. Her lip curled, and the air around her shimmered with heat. “If St. George wants to fight a dragon, I’ll give them one.”

“Ember, wait.” I caught her arm, felt the faint outline of scales rising to the surface before they vanished. She turned on me, and I met the furious glare of the dragon. “Stay calm,” I murmured. “Don’t go charging off by yourself, not with St. George. This is not a good place to fight the Order.” I nodded toward the warehouse. “There’ll be a lot of narrow aisles and tight quarters, places where it’s easy to become cornered or trapped or lost, and St. George is trained to take full advantage of that confusion. If we’re separated, they’ll pick us off one by one. We can’t help Riley if we become hunted ourselves.” She stubbornly set her jaw, and I raised my other hand, pressing it to her cheek. “Do you trust me?” I asked.

“Yes,” she whispered. No hesitation. Not even a heartbeat of silence. It made my heart turn over, that blind faith in a former dragonslayer, but I shoved it down. We had to stay focused.

“I promise,” I began, even as a part of me cringed inside. I never made promises to anyone; it was impossible to know if you could keep them. But the way Ember was looking at me, I wanted to give her some kind of assurance. “We’ll get Riley out,” I continued. “And Ava. I’ll do everything I can to keep them safe, but I also know what can happen if we’re not careful. The Order has us at a disadvantage. This is their ideal location for a strike, and if they surprise us we don’t stand a chance.”

“You seem to have forgotten that I’ve done this before.”

“I know.” I almost smiled at her indignant look. As if I could forget what she really was, what she had done. “But this is still the Order, and they’ll still do their best to kill us. I can’t help Riley and be worried about you and Faith at the same time.”

Ember was stiff for a moment, then nodded. “All right,” she said quietly. “I trust you, Garret. What do you need me to do?”

“Just follow my lead,” I replied. “We stay together at all times. And don’t Shift unless it’s a matter of life and death. Faith?” I glanced over my shoulder at the other girl. “Are you all right? Can you do this?”

“I’m…good,” Faith whispered, though a tremor went through her voice at the end. She took a deep breath and straightened grimly. “I’m okay. Lead on. We’re right behind you.”

We crept silently across the deserted train yard, weaving between cars and hugging the shadows, always on guard for the Order. I kept my eyes trained for movement, footprints in the dust, spent bullet casings or drops of blood. Nothing.

“Are you sure Ava said they were here?” I asked, glancing at Ember as we crouched behind a row of shipping containers a few yards from the warehouse. She nodded vigorously.

“I’m sure. Old rail yard a few blocks from the abandoned hotel.” Ember scanned the open space between the tracks and the warehouse, frowning. “She said Riley was hurt and they had to hide because the Order was coming.”

Unease gnawed at me. It didn’t make sense. If I wasn’t sure that this was the only rail yard this side of the city, I would think we were in the wrong place. Still, we couldn’t go back, not until we were certain. If Ava and Riley were here, we had to find them.

There was no movement or sound as we approached the warehouse and sidled along the outer wall, looking for a way in. Several windowpanes were out, the glass shattered and broken, but they were filthy and covered in grime and cobwebs. Nothing had gone through them in a while. Beyond the filmy glass, the interior of the warehouse was dark, with aisles of freight stacked nearly to the ceiling. Again, my soldier’s instincts recoiled. Another maze of narrow halls and tight quarters; I was liking this situation less and less. The large metal doors, where freight was presumably taken and dropped off, were closed and locked tight, and nothing short of a blowtorch or a pack of C-4 was going to force them open. My hope that Ava and Riley were here was fading fast, when Faith gave a sudden gasp and surged forward.

“Ava!” she cried, making me jerk up. “Wait!”