When Ty was ready, he turned to Bingham. “Let’s get this going.”
He wasn’t in the mood to go with Bingham. And truth be told, if Ty had his choice, he wouldn’t link his fate to Bingham. Even though the old man knew his mother, there had always been a tension between them. Ty would much rather have gone with Maggie, but he’d waited too long. That was his own fault.
He followed Bingham out of the home and locked the door behind him. A few gray clouds hovered in the east, dark smears that looked as if they wanted to promise rain, though perhaps they would avoid it. Bingham set off down the street, his limp a little more pronounced today than usual.
A line of soldiers made their way through the city, marching on either side of a merchant caravan laden with people heading out. Ty could tell the people had money from the way they were dressed.
“It’s been like that all night,” Bingham said.
“You’ve been up all night?”
“After that last eruption…”
“It was brief,” Ty said.
Bingham looked over. “Any eruption is not brief. We haven’t seen anything other than smoke for over a century. If it is unsettled, and if the priests can’t calm it, we need to be out of the city.”
Ty was tired, and he shook his head, looking over to Bingham. “I’m not so sure that the priests are going to be able to do much to calm the eruption.”
“You have to have faith,” Bingham said.
“Well, I don’t,” Ty muttered.
Another caravan moved past, accompanied by more soldiers.
A group of three young men, all of them carrying a single sack thrown over their shoulders, tried to rush toward the caravan, and the soldiers had to force them back.
“Not much to do other than keep them off,” Bingham said. “Which is why we need money. They are able to charge…” He shook his head. “More than I can afford.”
Ty looked over again. That was a strange admission. Especially from Bingham.
This was a man with contacts. A man who had funds. A man who could do anything he wanted within the underworld of the city. If he wasn’t able to afford the cost to get out of the city, how could anybody without old money?
Ty now understood why Maggie had gone.
He followed Bingham, moving past the caravans, staying away from the soldiers, and avoiding the dense crowds. After a while, Ty realized where he was guiding them.
Toward the palace.
“What are you doing?” he asked, looking over to Bingham.
“What do you think I’m doing? We need the right kind of funding, and we’re in a bit of a time crunch to get it, unless you haven’t been paying attention.”
He waved his hand behind him, and Ty found another caravan making its way along the street, this one with a Dragon Touched patrolling alongside it. That should scare more people away, but that level of security would be costly.
“Besides, this is the ideal time to take this job. I have planned through it a few times. The job has never been worth it before, but we know the king keeps valuables here.”
“Does he?” Ty asked, glancing over to him. “Even with Ishantil threatening to erupt?”
“Nothing has moved from here. Yet. I’ve been watching.”
“Are you sure he has anything here?”
“How do you think the ghost king keeps the Lothinal at bay?” Bingham snorted. “Bribes, Ty. It’s all about money, especially out here. It’s not only about power. He has bribed the Lothinal. He doesn’t care about all of the artifacts he claims out here. Oh, maybe he cares about some of them, and has been digging thinking he might find something of use for his archaeologists, but that’s not his only reason.”
“What do you think he has?”
“I don’t know, but that’s even more reason for us to get going with this job. He will probably start moving some of the valuables soon.”
“So you think this is a job we can take while Ishantil is threatening to erupt and while chaos is happening all around us,” Ty said, looking behind him and noticing the line of people following one of the caravans. If the people coordinated and surged toward the wagons, they would probably overwhelm them, regardless of the guarding soldiers and even the Dragon Touched.
“I told you. We have a week, probably less, which means the king will start moving things soon. I figure if we pull this shortly, we can get the funds we need, then we can buy our way out.”
“There’s more to it. I’m not pulling a job like this without knowing everything I can about it. I could just go through the jungle. There aren’t too many people willing to do that,” Ty said. It would be harder. The valley was the easiest way to get out of Zarinth and back into the kingdom, and certainly the safest. The rocky slope leading up into the mountains was filled with dense jungle, and was notoriously dangerous to travel. Not only because of the landscape, but because there were smugglers, velum, and other prowling creatures.
“Can’t,” Bingham said. “The stories I hear say that the king has Dragon Touched stationed there. We have to take the official way out.”
“Why would the king have Dragon Touched stationed in the jungle?” Ty asked.
“How can I know? I’m not the ghost king. But this is the way we have to do it.”
“This is the way you want to do it. You still haven’t told me what other reason you have.”
“I don’t have enough to get all of my belongings out of here. I need to score big enough to move everything.” Bingham looked up at him, holding his gaze for a moment. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Well, I wanted some honesty out of you, so I suppose it is.”
“That is as honest as you are going to get, Ty. Are you going to do it or not?”
“What do you think is here?” Ty asked again.
“We know there are different relics. Probably dragon pearls. Then there are the jewels and coin he keeps to pay his bribes. That’s what we’re after. Relics are fine, but they will be harder to move. Dragon pearls might be useful, especially if we want to get the Dragon Touched involved. But anyone will take a bribe with jewels and coins.”
“How much are we talking about?”
Bingham looked over, his eyes hard, an edge of anger and irritation within them that Ty wouldn’t dare question, then it faded. “Enough for you to find the answers you want once you leave.”
Leave it to Bingham to say just the right thing to force Ty’s hand.
He would be more inclined to go to Albion for help, to see how he might be able to get Ty out of the kingdom, but this gave him a different hope—one that left him thinking he might be able to not only escape from Zarinth, but he might have enough money to start fresh, then find out what happened to his parents.
He didn’t have to be in Zarinth to do that. He just had to be someplace where information had spread about them, especially about his mother and her quest for dragon relics.
And if Bingham went with him…
As much as Bingham sometimes annoyed him, he also offered connections that Ty didn’t otherwise have.
Ty looked over to Bingham, frowning. “If we do this, no secrets.”
“No secrets,” he agreed. “And we’re going to need the right kind of team.”
“Do you trust anyone well enough for this?” Ty asked him. He was more than curious how Bingham might answer.
“Do you?”
Ty shrugged. “Eastley could be useful.” He was skilled enough, and Ty thought he knew Eastley’s motivations well enough that he could have him join them. Keep him focused on the task, and he could help. If he got sidetracked… that could be dangerous.
“He could help,” Bingham agreed. “And there’s someone else I was thinking we might be able to use, someone who would be motivated for this kind of a job.”
Ty looked over, frowning again. “Who?”
“Olivia.”
“No,” Ty said hurriedly. “We’re not bringing her in.”
“If we want it to go well, w
e need to be open to using anybody with the right potential. And I know the two of you have history, but you’re going to have to move past that. We are going to need to work together to pull this off. Do you think you can do that?”
Ty squeezed his eyes together tightly. “Fine. But we do this soon.”
Ishantil thundered again, causing them both to look up as fire spurted into the sky. It would be lovely if it wasn’t so terrifying.
“You’re right. We do this tonight. I’m not waiting any longer than necessary,” Bingham stated.
Chapter Eight
Ty found himself looking up into the mountain, watching Ishantil as he made his way back to Bingham’s shop later in the day. Ever since the eruption the night before, the trembling had settled down. It was almost enough to make him think they were safe—almost—but he knew better than to think that Ishantil was done with whatever it was going to do. The occasional flare of light in the distance told him that the volcano had not completely settled.
All around him, he saw merchants guarded by soldiers, along with the occasional Dragon Touched and other mercenaries making their way through the city. There was a strange energy in the city, an element of chaos, and it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
They needed to get this over with. Finish the job, find a way to get moving, then get out of here. He had tried finding Albion again. He hadn’t been in the temple, but he didn’t think he had left yet—which meant he didn’t fear staying.
What were the priests planning?
Ty stared over at the Temple now. The steady orange glow of the Flame burning atop it was visible day and night. It was often dim, like it was today, but the peak of the temple blazed more brightly and with more energy during some of the festivals, as if the priests were trying to encourage the Flame to grant them greater favor; however, with Ishantil now active, the Flame seemed muted in comparison.
Bingham’s street was quiet, almost eerily so. Either people had managed to escape—and he doubted that, given that most of the people on Bingham’s street were relatively poor—or they were trying to make different preparations. Ty suspected the latter.
As he approached the shop, he caught sight of a group of soldiers making their way toward him. He continued onward. There was no point in revealing that he was heading to Bingham’s shop—not with what they were planning. Instead, he reached the end of the street and turned. He caught sight of a flutter of movement in the distance, and turned to look, but saw nothing other than shadows.
His imagination.
He was far more spooked than he wanted to acknowledge. With the activity in the city, and everything that had been going on, he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
He reached the alley behind Bingham’s shop and hurried up to the door. It was a simple wooden door along a row of other simple wooden doors. Several of them were false doors, leading nowhere, but this one had a single scratch along the doorframe that identified it to him. It was almost as if a claw had scratched at it. He tapped out the signal, then waited.
Shadows moved at the end of the alley again, and Ty hurriedly tapped another knock.
“Come on, Bingham,” he muttered.
They hadn’t done anything yet, but with the kind of job they had talked about pulling, Ty was on edge. He had made a career of stealing, though he had mostly taken minor relics from the servants of the king. This was going to be a very different plan. If they pulled this job off, it meant getting into the palace, risking themselves, and running up against soldiers, Dragon Touched, or even the Darasheen, the king’s emissary in the city.
Finally, the door opened, and Ty hurried inside, ignoring Bingham’s irritated look. “You have soldiers patrolling your street,” Ty said, pushing the door closed behind him.
“Of course I do,” Bingham sneered. “You’ve seen the city. There are soldiers patrolling everywhere. I think the damn ghost king sent them here to help evacuate those with money. The rest get to burn.”
Ty looked around the back room of the shop. It was just him and Bingham so far. “I wasn’t expecting to find them out here.”
“You don’t have to be so jumpy,” Bingham told him. “We haven’t done anything, and chances are good they are going to see us when we do.”
“If your plan works.”
Bingham arched a brow at him, as if to tell him that his plans always work, but Ty knew better—and so did Bingham. He might be skilled in many things, but there were times when Bingham’s plans fell apart, times when what he intended didn’t work quite as well as he believed they would.
Another knock came at the door, and Ty glanced over, waiting. Bingham pulled it open slightly and looked outside before stepping out of the way so Eastley could enter.
His cloak, shirt, and pants were all black—the same dark dress that Ty wore. Eastley grinned at him. “I didn’t know we were going to be dressed the same. I would’ve worn something different to this party.”
Ty shook his head. “You owe me a sculpture.”
“Did you get a prize?”
“A collection of dragon bones.”
Eastley shrugged. “Let’s see it.”
Bingham frowned at them, shaking his head. “You two were competing on who could gather the most?”
“We have to see who the real Dragon Thief is, don’t we?” Eastley asked. “And he beats me at darts every time. Bastard is too accurate.”
“Neither of you are the Dragon Thief,” Bingham said. “The real Dragon Thief couldn’t be bothered to come all the way out to Zarinth. Nothing here for him.”
“Oh, don’t say that,” Eastley said, clapping Bingham on the shoulder and seeming to ignore the glare the older man shot in his direction. “I think we can have a pretty good run at being the Dragon Thief.”
“You can make a run at it, but we don’t have the prize in the city,” Ty said.
“Then what am I going after?” Eastley asked.
Bingham snorted and turned back to the door, one hand resting on it while waiting.
“Are you sure we’re going to do this?” Eastley asked, striding over to Ty. “I get that the old man thinks the city is falling apart, but this is a little ridiculous.”
“I saw it erupt,” Ty said.
Eastley chuckled. “I think quite a few people saw it erupt.”
“I saw what it did,” Ty said. He explained heading up the mountainside and going to see where the expedition had been, but was cut off by Eastley shaking his head.
“You went all the way up there alone? What if there had been Dragon Touched up there?”
“Climbing Ishantil is not against the king’s law,” Ty replied.
“Maybe not, but it’s a sure way of drawing his attention.”
“Well, the only thing I drew attention from was the velum.”
“Don’t talk about them,” Eastley said. “I can’t even imagine those nasty little things.”
“Little?” They were almost man-sized, and certainly dangerous enough.
“Well, big? I don’t really know,” Eastley said, shaking his head again. “Can’t say that I have much experience with them. I tried to avoid going into the mountain, mostly because some of us know where we belong.”
“Quiet,” Bingham hissed.
“What is it?” Ty asked.
Bingham shook his head, then pressed his ear up against the door. Ty fell quiet and Eastley grinned, as if he was thinking of saying something. Ty raised a finger to his lips, preemptively hushing him.
Ty didn’t even need to be close to the door to hear the sounds of boots along the cobblestones. They marched steadily, a drumming of sound distinct from the trembling he heard and felt from Ishantil. When it passed, Bingham leaned back.
“Damn,” he muttered. “They have been watching.”
“What have you done to draw their attention?” Ty asked.
“I haven’t done anything.”
Ty frowned at Bingham. “Why are they patrolling here?”
“I might’ve helped make some arrangements to get people out of the city,” Bingham said. “And I don’t think it’s making the soldiers all that happy. Not that I’m making any arrangements that will disrupt what they’re doing, or the coin they can earn, but I think it draws their attention, and they don’t care for it.”
“Is that what you’ve been keeping from us?” Ty asked.
There had to be more to this, but he didn’t know what it was. Bingham was not sharing everything with him. He never did though.
“You don’t have to—”
Bingham was cut off as another tap came at the door.
He paused for a moment, head tipped to the side, listening. He waited, then pulled the door open hesitantly before stepping off to the side and letting a petite redhead enter. Olivia was one of the newer thieves Bingham tended to work with, and she was reasonably skilled. Most who worked with Bingham ended up skilled.
She locked eyes with Ty before glancing to Eastley and nodding, then stepped fully into the shop. “You care to tell me what this is about?”
“You didn’t even tell her?” Ty asked. “You can’t just bring somebody like her in without—”
“What do you mean somebody like me?” Olivia asked, turning her irritation on him. Her voice was deceptively soft, as Ty could detect an edge to it. Everything about Olivia was deceptive, really.
Ty ignored her question, looking to Eastley. “We can’t pull a job like this if people aren’t in on it.”
“Take a seat,” Bingham said, motioning to a row of chairs.
“I’m not sitting,” Olivia said.
“Sit,” Bingham said. “You’re going to want to hear about this job.”
She frowned at Bingham and took a seat at the table, on one of the end chairs, making a point to avoid looking at Ty.
He avoided her as well, but every so often, he flicked his gaze over to her. Was she looking at him? Did she even care to look at him? He had to push those thoughts out of his mind. They were a distraction.
Maybe that should’ve been the reason he gave Bingham when Ty told him not to pull her in on this job. Any distraction would make it less likely to succeed. And Olivia was nothing if not a distraction, at least to him.
Path of the Flame (The Dragon Thief Book 1) Page 8