She laughed, a soft, grating sort of sound. “He’s not the most skilled. You were the one to break into the vault. You were the one to find the egg. And you were the one to nearly escape with it.” She breathed deeply and sniffed again. “You will find the egg. Of course, if you are captured, or if you draw attention to yourself, I will disavow any knowledge of this agreement.”
“How can I find it in that time?”
“That is up to you.”
She leaned away. He felt the pressure easing, the intensity fading from her.
He knew what he had to do. He knew he was going to take this job. How could he not? Eastley’s life depended on him. If he did it fast enough, they might still have time to escape.
“Can you get us out of the city?” Ty asked.
“I can keep you alive.”
“If I do this, it has to be about more than just my friend’s life.” He was taking a gamble here—he knew he was—but he felt as if he might not have any other opportunity to make his request. Besides, if he failed, he was certain they were all going to die. He wouldn’t be able to get out of the city, Eastley would be trapped in prison, and Ishantil would erupt. “I need you to find something for me,” Ty said.
“This is not a bargain,” she replied.
“But you are one of the Tecal. One of the secret keepers. I’m just looking for a specific secret.”
“I will do nothing that harms the kingdom,” she said, though she paused.
“I don’t intend to harm the kingdom in any way. I just want information about my parents. They disappeared several years ago, and I haven’t been able to find any information about them. That’s all.”
There was a moment of silence; a prolonged hesitation.
In that pause, his heart hammered. He could feel the pressure coming off of her again, and it seemed as if the darkness intensified. He would’ve agreed to this only for Eastley, but the possibility that he might be able to find something out about his parents was even more of a reason.
“I can make no guarantees,” she said softly. “But if you find the egg before Roson James does, I give you my word that I will offer whatever assistance I can in your quest.”
His mouth was dry.
He didn’t have answers, just the promise of them, but for the first time in years, Ty felt as if he was closer to learning about what had happened to his parents. Something more than just the rumors that Maggie was able to get for him. Something more than just snippets of information. This was one of the Tecal. One of the king’s secret keepers. If anyone could find information about his parents, it would have to be her.
“I don’t even know your name,” Ty said.
“You don’t need it.”
“If I am to rely upon your word, I need your name.”
There was a moment’s pause, a heavy hesitation that hung in the air, as if the darkness were trying to swallow everything she might say. “I am Gayal Holt.”
He hadn’t known any of the Tecal by name, but knowing hers made him feel like he was in a better position. Perhaps it was a mistake. And there was no telling whether she told him the truth. It was possible she had lied about her name, but he didn’t have the feeling that she did.
At this point, did it even matter?
He needed to get out of the cell. He needed to do whatever she wanted so that he could help Eastley get out. “I will do it. Promise me that you will keep Eastley alive.”
“I promise.” She took a step toward him, and the heat and energy radiating off of her was palpable. “Tell me, though, do you care more about your friend, or about finding your parents?”
He hated to answer that. She was one of the Tecal. He worried about what she might say to Eastley, how she might use this information, but he also worried that if he didn’t tell her the truth, she wasn’t going to uphold her end of the bargain. “My parents,” he said softly.
She sniffed, and for a moment, everything went dark around him again.
“You have three days. After that, I can’t promise what Ishantil will do. Find the egg.”
Chapter Thirteen
Light came from the far end of the prison, drifting toward him.
Ty had thought that Gayal would have released him immediately after making the agreement, but she had disappeared, and he had sat in silence, the stench of his own urine pooling in the back of the cell, mixed with some other undercurrent of foulness that the prison had been filled with ever since he had been placed into it.
He couldn’t trust Gayal any more than he could trust Roson. They both served the king in their own unique way. The Dragon Touched were his military arm, the force of violence that he used to ensure his rule remained upheld, whereas the Tecal were his secret keepers. Spies.
In that regard, he probably feared Gayal more than he feared Roson, but he also thought that if he were able to get some answers about what happened to his parents, then anything he did in service to her, and the king, would be worth it. That was all he wanted. Answers.
Light continued to make its way toward him. Then there came a grinding sound.
The only other time he’d heard that grinding was when he’d been placed into the cell in the first place. Could Gayal have upheld her end of the bargain?
Ty was forced to wait. He didn’t think he’d been captured for all that long—a day or two at most, but the passage of time was odd here in the cell. He had no idea how long he really had to find the answers he wanted. Gayal promised him three days, but that was assuming Ishantil wouldn’t erupt during that time. If it did…
He didn’t want to think about that.
Two guards dressed in leathers approached Ty, and one of them held a softly glowing dragon light—probably Dragon Touched, which surprised him. Did Gayal work with the Dragon Touched as well? He didn’t think so. The Tecal seemed like she was working against Roson James, as if she needed to find the egg before he did in order to gain the king’s favor.
“Get up,” one of the men said.
Ty shuffled forward, saying nothing.
They guided him through the hall, which gave him an opportunity to at least look around. It was narrow, lined with cells, but he didn’t see Eastley as he passed through the prison—or any other prisoners, for that matter.
Where was Eastley being kept?
Ty reasoned he was likely with Roson James.
But, somehow, Gayal had promised to keep him safe.
Ty had to figure out a way to find the egg and get it to her so Eastley would be freed. He couldn’t leave him behind. He had taken this job, no differently than Ty, and it was bad luck that they had been captured.
The guards marched Ty up a narrow staircase. The only light in it was from the dragon light. Maybe it wasn’t a Dragon Touched, but simply someone carrying the dragon light.
At the top of the stairs, they led him out a nondescript door, into the gardens surrounding the palace, and looked around toward the gate. They never said a word. Ty didn’t push, either, for fear of what they might do or say. It was better and easier for him to remain silent—safer, even.
At the gate, he looked behind him. He could’ve sworn he saw Gayal at the entrance to the palace. Ty didn’t have an opportunity to question her, though perhaps he didn’t need to. He knew what he needed to do.
The palace was dim, darkened, though there were a few lights illuminating the windows. Still, it was Ishantil glowing in the darkness behind it that caught his attention—the occasional surge of energy that burst upward, warning him that though he might have been imprisoned for several days, danger still loomed.
One of the guards ushered Ty onto the street and stepped back and closed the gate behind him, leaving Ty standing there.
He lingered for just a moment. He was hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. Even though he hadn’t had anything to do in the cell, sleeping had been almost impossible. He certainly couldn’t have rested well, not there.
And now he didn’t know if he could rest at all. Now he felt as if he needed to get moving as quic
kly as possible.
He had three days.
At least, that was what Gayal claimed.
Three days to find the egg. Three days to save Eastley.
Three days to get out of the city.
After that, she couldn’t promise him what Ishantil would do.
But she had seemed worried.
The streets were emptier than they had been when he had gone into prison. There was a different energy here, as well—one that seemed both more, and less, chaotic, if such a thing were possible. There were still caravans of wagons, many of them half-filled, making their way through the city, but he realized there were other caravans that were empty, moving closer toward the center of the city. They were guarded by soldiers along with Dragon Touched.
It was an evacuation.
Ty was certain that the wagon owners weren’t doing it out of some altruistic desire. There was money to be made. Maybe the king had sent them to help the wealthy of Zarinth.
Some of the people he saw were dressed in the trappings of those who celebrated the Flame, the simple robes and the stylized flame worked into silver that marked those who closely adhered to the priests’ teachings. Others had what seemed to be all their belongings stacked on carts or to their backs, trudging through the streets.
He made his way along the street and soon found himself near the temple.
“Tydornen,” a familiar voice said.
He turned to see Albion standing near the temple. He had on his dark maroon robe, and he lowered the hood of his cloak as Ty approached him.
“What were you doing in the palace?” Albion asked, looking past him and toward it. His cheek had yellowed slightly, as if he’d fallen on his face recently.
“You know me. I have friends there.”
Ty’s brother turned his attention to him and shook his head. “Tydornen, do not play glib with me.”
“Who’s playing?” Ty asked. “I do have friends there.”
“Why won’t you just share with me what you were doing?”
“Because it doesn’t matter.”
“It does.” Albion frowned, turning his attention back to Ty. “There were rumors the Dragon Thief had been caught. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Ty shrugged. “Can’t say I do. Why are you asking?”
“Only because I know you have dabbled in dangers you should not have.”
“You make it sound like I’m doing something dangerous,” Ty said.
“Are you?” Albion asked.
Ty chuckled and shook his head. “I’m not doing anything, Albion. You know me. I wouldn’t want to sully your great name.”
“The Flame protects me,” Albion said.
“What happens when it stops?” Ty asked.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m sure the Flame will protect you if you do something foolish,” Ty said and looked around. He suspected the streets were so empty because so many soldiers remained outside the palace—more now than there were when he had first been captured. Ty smiled to himself, trying to suppress his irritation with his brother. There was no point in letting himself get too mad at Albion. It wasn’t his fault.
Ty glanced to Ishantil trembling, then looked over to Albion. “But what happens when Ishantil erupts?” he asked.
“You need not fear.”
It was easy for Albion to say that. Ty had been looking for him before Ty had been captured, thinking maybe Albion would have some way to help him get out of the city, but now he couldn’t even rely upon that.
“You should evacuate like everyone else,” Ty said.
“There is no need to evacuate,” Albion responded.
“I can see what’s happening with Ishantil as well as you can,” Ty said. “And I’ve heard what the priests and the archaeologists think. There isn’t much time.”
“The Flame provides.”
Ty sighed, resisting the urge to snap at his brother. This wasn’t the young man who had once run through the jungle with him, the boy who had helped him try to figure out how to whistle like his mother did when she called off the velum. This was the young man who had become a priest and had abandoned him.
“The Flame can provide for you as well,” Albion continued.
Ty looked over to his brother, shaking his head. “The Flame does not care about me. And neither do you.”
“That’s hurtful, Tydornen.”
What did Ty care if it was hurtful? What did it even matter?
At this point, the only thing that mattered was saving his friend, someone who had tried to help them find a way to get out. Someone who hadn’t abandoned Ty when he needed him.
“You didn’t help me. And you’ve never cared to try to find our parents. You’ve stayed behind, serving the Flame—as if it will ever provide you with any answers,” Ty stated.
It was an old argument—one they’d had several times before—so it didn’t change anything. He didn’t expect his brother to understand just how hard it had been for him when their parents had disappeared, but he wished Albion would have been more invested in trying to help him.
“I offered you safety,” Albion said softly.
At least he didn’t try to convince Ty to follow the Flame. Ty wasn’t sure he could stomach that from him again. “You offered me to join the priests in the temple.” Ty shook his head. “That’s not the same. I don’t have the same devotion to the Flame as you do.”
“You once did.”
Ty frowned. “Once?” He shook his head again. “I’ve never had any devotion to the Flame.”
“You did the first time you saw the lava lake.”
Ty just grunted. That had been a long time ago. He remembered the first time he had gone to the lava lake, and how it had felt standing in front of that place of fire and heat and power. There was no doubt in his mind at that time that there was some greater power there. Either it came from Ishantil or it came from the Flame, but as much as his brother celebrated, Ty never truly knew. Not that it mattered.
The lava lake was just that—where lava from Ishantil spilled down, pouring out of the mountain. There was no unique power to the Flame beyond what he had seen. Fire could burn, but should fire be celebrated?
Not in Ty’s mind, though his brother felt differently. Many felt differently.
“I’m sorry I don’t have the same faith in Ishantil as you do,” Ty said.
“It’s not faith in Ishantil that I have, but faith in the Flame.” Albion regarded him. “You don’t have to remain in Zarinth.”
“And what would I do, then?” Ty asked.
“I’m sure the priesthood would permit you to travel.”
“With you?”
Was his brother actually offering him an opportunity to go with him? And if so, could Ty really turn it down?
Ishantil trembled, almost as if trying to warn him against making any other response besides agreement.
“Not with me,” Albion said.
“I don’t even know where you’ve been.”
“I’ve told you I’ve traveled. The Flame has brought me many places—enough places to understand that what we see here, the challenge we experience here, is not the same danger that you believe it is. When I was in Isan, I saw the fire fields glowing, burning brightly, and I knew the Flame. When I traveled to Leth, I came to understand the heat naturally rising from the ground, another way the Flame makes itself known. And when I was in—”
“I don’t need to know every place you’ve traveled,” Ty cut in.
It wouldn’t matter to him; he only had to understand what he needed to do now.
“I’m afraid I can’t go with you.”
“You are the one who fears Ishantil.”
“I fear what Ishantil might do. I fear how it might erupt.”
Albion turned behind him, looking to the volcano. It trembled, but not with so much violence as to make Ty think it would erupt at any moment. They still had time, but his worry about just how much time they actually h
ad was increasing by the moment.
“And I understand what must be done,” Albion said.
It was disconcerting to Ty to see his brother this way, even though he knew he was a faithful servant of the Flame; he was so committed to the Flame, so committed to his own death, that he wasn’t even willing to leave.
And there wasn’t anything Ty would be able to do. Not to help his brother. He was committed to the priesthood. Committed to a path that Ty couldn’t follow.
“And I understand what I must do,” Ty said.
Albion watched him for a few moments, his dark eyes unreadable. “If you are still here when the Asharlath Ceremony takes place, I would invite you to be my guest. You may find a renewed faith.”
“I don’t even know what that ceremony is.”
“It is an offering to Ishantil, and an offering to the Flame.”
“When are you holding it?”
“It depends on the Flame,” Albion said.
“Then how am I supposed to know where and when to find it?”
Albion flicked his gaze up to Ishantil. “You will know.” With that, he turned, leaving Ty alone.
But that might be for the best. He had to find Bingham and begin to make whatever preparations they could to figure out how to save Eastley. Ty wasn’t at all sure what that was going to take.
He had to find the egg, and there was only one way he thought he could do that, but it involved pulling off a job that seemed impossible to him.
It meant finding the Dragon Thief.
After Gayal had come to him, Ty had realized that the Dragon Thief must have been the one who had gotten the egg from him, but he wasn’t exactly sure how. There wouldn’t have been an opportunity for him to have taken it while Ty was running through the palace—they hadn’t even encountered anybody. There wouldn’t have been an opportunity for the Dragon Thief to have snagged it prior to Ty’s capture.
The idea that the Dragon Thief had managed to do it seemed impossible to believe.
And now…
He had no idea.
Which was why he needed Bingham.
He stepped off to the side of the road, avoiding a caravan of wagons. This one was almost full, and the people on it were clearly wealthy, as they were dressed from head to toe in expensive silks, and the women were adorned with gold and silver jewelry. It was thoroughly guarded by a dozen soldiers, along with men at the front and rear of the caravan that Ty strongly suspected were Dragon Touched. There would be no way to get past it.
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