“This ain’t a public party, friends,” he said with a menace-filled smile. He was tall and lanky, his torn jeans just barely clinging to narrow hip bones. A filthy red hoodie covered his head, even in the heat, and his eyes were bulging and eager. “I think you’re a little lost. That’s too bad, ain’t it?”

Riley crossed his arms. “You mean this isn’t the Palazzo?” he said, his voice echoing through the bare beams overhead. “Well, don’t I feel silly. Especially since I blew all my cash on the penny slots.” His voice changed, becoming slightly more ominous. “I don’t suppose we can skip the pleasantries and get to the part where we walk through unmolested?”

The human snapped his fingers, and a trio of equally thin, ragged guys uncurled from the floor and shuffled forward to flank him. A knife suddenly gleamed between long dirty fingers as he raised his arm, and I went rigid. “Gimme your wallet,” the junkie demanded. Garret tensed and stepped in front of me, his body like a taut wire. “And your phone. And whatever cash you have. Put it on the ground, and step away. Them, too,” he added, jerking his head at me and Garret. “Jewelry, purses, whatever. Leave everything you have on the floor, and you can walk out still breathing.”

Riley sighed. Raising his hands like he was thinking it over, he took a half step back, standing next to Garret. “How many?” he murmured in a voice almost too soft to hear. I frowned in confusion, but apparently, the query wasn’t directed at me.

“Three here, another two on the wall behind us,” Garret replied in an equally quiet voice.

“Armed?”

“No.”

“Good. I’ll let you take care of them. Firebrand, watch your back.”

“Hey.” The junkie leader stepped forward, raising the knife. “Didn’t you hear me? Gimme your stuff, man, or I’ll start cutting off body parts.”

“I told you, I don’t have anything,” Riley insisted, lifting his arms in a placating gesture. “We came for the weekend and are now completely broke. I’m sure you hear that a lot here.”

“Phones, then.” The human turned and brandished the knife at Garret. “Gimme your phones.”

“Sorry.” Garret gave a helpless shrug. “Dropped it in the pool.”

The junkie’s gaze shifted to me, and I smirked at him. “Left mine in the cab.”

“Rotten luck, huh?” Riley added.

“Man, do not fuck with me!” The junkie stepped forward, jabbing the blade at Riley’s face. “Do you want me to gut you like a pig? Is that—”

Garret’s hand shot out, grabbed the hand with the knife and wrenched it sideways, making the junkie yelp with shock and pain. His cry was cut short as the soldier moved in with a savage elbow to his temple, dropping him like a sack of stones. Before the others even registered what was happening, Riley lunged and drove a fist into one’s jaw, snapping his head to the side. The junkie reeled away, toppled over the sofa to the shrieks of the two girls and lay still.

Something moved in the corner of my eye. I spun, dodged the arm grabbing for me and kicked the human’s knee out as he passed, making the junkie crash to the floor. Garret blocked a fist from the second one and responded with a nasty right hook that rocked his opponent sideways. A third charged in, swinging a length of rebar, and my heart leaped to my throat. Garret ducked under the first swing and got out of the way, as Riley whirled around and smashed a fist into the human’s jaw. He reeled back into Garret, who grabbed his wrist, twisted the rebar from his hand and swept his feet out from under him. As the human hit the ground on his back, Garret tossed the rebar to Riley, who turned and whacked a junkie across the temple, sending him crashing into a pillar.

As I grinned, watching the unconscious display of teamwork, something grabbed me from behind and pinned my arms to my sides. Another junkie, reeking of smoke and body odor, tried to lift me off my feet and drag me away. I snarled and jerked my head back, cracking my skull into his nose. He yelped and released me, but threw a hard backhand at my face as I spun to face him. I dodged, but it clipped my cheek all the same. Pain flared across my eyes, and the dragon surged up with a roar of outrage. As the human groped for me again, I brought my foot up and kicked him between the legs as hard as I could.

His eyes bulged, and he staggered, mouth gaping. I kicked him once more for good measure, then shoved him back. He collapsed in a groaning heap on the floor, knees drawn to his chest, and didn’t get up.

I curled a lip at him, then turned to find Riley and Garret. They stood back-to-back, surrounded by cringing, writhing junkies, while the rest of the den looked on from a safe distance away. Riley held the length of pipe casually at his side as he gazed around the room, grinning. Garret hovered behind him in a ready stance, protecting his flank, scanning the area for threats.

“Anyone else?” he asked calmly.

No one came forward. The junkies on the floor crawled to their feet and staggered away, and the remaining humans suddenly seemed very interested in other things. Riley snorted, tossed the rebar away with a clank and looked around for me.

“Hey, Firebrand,” he said as I walked up. “Sorry I couldn’t get over to help. You okay?”

I shrugged. “Don’t worry about me. Feel sorry for the guy who tried to slap me.”

Garret, stepping out from behind Riley, gave me a faint smile. “I notice you managed to kick him in your favorite spot,” he observed.

“Twice.”

Riley winced, then looked at Garret. The other boy regarded him coolly, and Riley smirked. “See, St. George? We don’t need guns. You’re actually fairly competent at disabling people without them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Garret said drily, “the next time we face a dozen soldiers with assault rifles.”

Riley shook his head. “Hopefully not tonight,” he muttered, and turned away, observing the room once more. “So now the question is, how do we find two scared runaways in this mess?”

Soft footsteps interrupted us. I glanced over to see a skinny, zombielike figure shambling toward us from the shadows.

Riley

The human edged into the light, shoulders hunched, watching us like a stray dog who wasn’t certain if you would toss it food or kick it. A woman, I saw as she got close. As humans went, she might have been pretty once, maybe even gorgeous. But her blond hair was lank and stringy now, her skin pale and wasted, glassy blue eyes sunk into her face. She looked like a bony marionette as she eased forward and stopped just out of reach, the hollow expression and thousand-yard stare making my dragon stir restlessly.