Path of the Flame (The Dragon Thief Book 1)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “The job,” Bingham said, grabbing a sheet of paper, bringing it over to the table, and setting it in the middle. He set a lantern next to it and took a seat himself.

  “That’s the palace,” Olivia said.

  “See?” Eastley said. “And Ty thought she was going to be some sort of a hindrance to the job.”

  “This is the job,” Bingham said, tapping the page. “The palace. We’re going to create a diversion, sneak inside, then we are going to grab a collection of valuables that we would use to get out of Zarinth.”

  Olivia stared at Bingham. “‘A collection of valuables’? That’s vague enough to mean anything.”

  “I know for a fact that the king keeps a horde of gold and jewels in the palace to bribe the Lothinal. We’re going after that, and failing that, we are going to find a collection of relics that we might be able to use. I am certain there are dragon pearls in the palace,” Bingham replied.

  “None of that’s going to be easy to carry out,” she said. “The pearls, especially, are heavy. The jewels are probably heavy as well.”

  Bingham watched her, frowning. “Which is why we are going after the gold first. Everything else is secondary.”

  “You mean it’s not going to happen.”

  “It’s going to happen,” Bingham said. “This is the job. We do this and we get enough to get all of us out of the city, along with anybody else you want to come with you.” He made a point of holding his gaze on Olivia. “That’s the job.”

  Eastley rubbed his hands together, leaning forward. “How much are we talking?”

  “What?” Bingham asked.

  Eastley shrugged. “I mean, if we’re going to take a score like this, how much are we talking about? I’m happy to grab whatever wealth is there, stick it to the king, as it were, but I’m not willing to risk my neck unless there’s enough of a prize.”

  Ty snorted, tapping the page. “You see where we’re going,” Ty said. “There’s going to be a prize.”

  “I’m just saying, getting in is going to be hard enough, but then we have to get to some vault? By the Flame, I have no idea where we need to go.”

  “It’s a good thing I do,” Bingham said.

  He pulled out another sheet of paper, setting it on the table. He had doors and stairs marked on it, and there were several different levels depicted. They would have to go down three levels to reach a vault, but if it was accurate, it was a relatively straight shot from the initial doorway.

  “This is the target,” Eastley said. “We get in and go down, then bring it out. I’ve been watching the sequence of patrols throughout the day, so I know how often soldiers make their way along the palace grounds. The street side is little less predictable, especially now, but I think we can slip in behind one, or just wait for the right time to get in there.”

  “Who does what?” Ty asked.

  He already assumed he was going to be one of those getting down into the vault. He was quick, and he had been trained well enough that he could pick most locks and sneak past almost anybody. Plus, he wasn’t about to trust this job to anyone else, really. If Bingham intended Olivia to be the other one heading down…

  Ty wasn’t sure if he was willing to do it. Even for the amount of coin they were looking at.

  “I told you. We need a diversion.” Bingham looked over to Olivia. “That’s where you come in. I need you to do your best to draw any strays away. Once you’re done, then you get over the wall, where you’re going to be our lookout.”

  “I’d be more comfortable if—”

  Bingham cut Ty off. “It isn’t about what you’re comfortable with. It’s about who’s best for the job. I’ve been working with all of you for the last few years, and I know who is most capable for different parts of this job. You and Eastley are going to get inside and get down to the vault, where you will pick the lock, and Eastley will bring anything you can’t carry out.”

  Eastley punched Ty on the shoulder. “You know what he’s saying, don’t you? He’s saying you’re not strong enough.”

  “And he’s saying you’re not skilled enough,” Ty retorted.

  “Will the both of you stop?” Bingham snapped. “Now isn’t the time to make jokes.”

  “I don’t know,” Eastley said. “If we’re facing captivity, death by fire, or a riot in the streets, I think now is a pretty good time to be making jokes.”

  “He’s got a point,” Ty said.

  Bingham glowered at them. “We need focus. All of you need to be focused. If you can’t do that, then I can find somebody else to pull the job.”

  “What about you?” Ty asked, looking over to Bingham. “Olivia is the distraction.” She certainly was to him, even though he tried to put her out of his mind. He still found himself looking toward her, but she made no attempt to look in his direction. “Eastley and I are getting into the palace. We’re the ones going directly into danger. What about you?”

  Bingham tapped the paper. “I’m the money.”

  “The money?” Olivia asked, frowning deeply.

  “Do you think this information was cheap?”

  “You said you’d been planning this job for a while,” Ty said.

  “I have been. And I’ve considered, for several years, what it was going to take to get inside, thinking I would never really need to do it. But in order to get updated information about patrols…” he trailed off, pulling out another sheet of paper and tapping that one now. Ty noticed there were a sequence of times written out on it that were linked to the bells in the city, along with the number of patrols. “I had to spend more than I intended. If the information is good—and given what I paid for it, it had damn well better be—this is going to be as straightforward as any job you’ve ever pulled. It’s just a matter of slipping in.”

  Ty looked over to Eastley. If it were just Ty pulling the job, it might be relatively straightforward. Not like this was a job he would necessarily pull on his own, but there was something to be said about trusting those he was with. Eastley had his own talents. There was no doubting that. They had gone after the same job more than once, so Ty knew that Eastley could do this. It was just that Eastley tended to go off on his own. He worried about that, especially when it came to something like this. He would need to trust him.

  “What about after the job?” Olivia asked.

  “What about it?” Bingham asked.

  “The entire reason we are doing this is to get out,” Olivia said. As if to punctuate her comment, Ishantil trembled again.

  “Well, I have that arranged, but it’s costly. The only way we can swing it is if we pull this job off. And then we can get anybody we want out,” Bingham said.

  “You don’t know who I want to bring out,” Eastley said.

  “Other than yourself?” Ty asked.

  “Well, there are the two women I have been spending time with.”

  “I think you’ve been paying for them too,” Olivia snapped.

  Eastley shot her a look. “I can see why she gets on your nerves. She’s a little too sour for my taste,” he said. “How was she for you?” Eastley grinned at Ty.

  Ty looked away. Not sour, he thought, but he wasn’t about to go thinking like that again.

  “Enough,” Bingham snapped. “Study the map. Study the patrols. And we’re going to get going in about two hours.”

  It wasn’t a long time to prepare. Not for a job like this. The only advantage they had was that the city was in a bit of disarray, and it couldn’t be that only its citizens were upset. That should buy them a little time, and perhaps some freedom to move more easily.

  Bingham got to his feet, tapping the pages again. “I have to make a few preparations of my own, then we are going to get moving. The three of you work together. And no arguing.”

  Chapter Nine

  The blanket of night surrounded him, but even so, Ty approached the palace carefully. He was dressed all in black, clothing that Bingham had acquired specifically for this job. Many of Ty’s jobs were wit
hin the city, though he had taken plenty of opportunities to pull jobs outside of the city, farther up the mountain and in the jungle, where he could slip in and out without anyone noticing.

  The bright glow of Ishantil drew his eye. It was brighter than it had been, and there were still the occasional surges of even more intense brightness. Small eruptions, he suspected. They were in sync with the trembling that came, making him think that the volcano would erupt again at any moment, but he hoped they still had time. The priests believed they had a week—at least, according to Bingham. Maybe a little less now, but it should still be enough time to pull this job, get the transport, and get out with more than they’d ever had while living in Zarinth.

  Olivia stood across the street, surveying.

  Ty pushed down his thoughts of her again. A dark cloak hung around her shoulders, its hood covering her red hair and leaving only her pale skin visible. That pale skin had drawn him to her from the very first time he’d seen her.

  Bingham had warned him. She was in training, and skilled. Bingham had told him that she was going to be talented someday, but Ty had not expected her to be as talented as she already was.

  He tore his gaze away, glancing up at Ishantil again before turning his focus to the palace. Ty just had to wait.

  He bided his time—he didn’t have much choice otherwise—and as he lingered there, waiting, he knew he would have to act quickly when they drew off the soldiers.

  Olivia would go first. She would serve as the distraction. It was an assignment that she was perfectly equipped for. Her low-cut dress beneath the cloak would doom most of the heavy lifting with that job, but a bit of acting would carry her even further. While she dragged away the soldiers, he and Eastley would sneak inside.

  That was if it worked.

  If Olivia were captured, it would be unlikely that she would even be held for very long. Maybe they would ask a few questions, but he had seen how she was able to use her charms to get out of most trouble.

  She crossed the street, joining him in the shadows as he looked up at the palace. “Are you going to be able to do this?” she asked.

  “Which part? Getting in, or getting back out?” Ty responded.

  “The entire job. I need to know if you think that you and Eastley can do this. Eastley is going to follow your lead. He’s skilled enough, but this isn’t the kind of job I would favor him for.”

  “It’s not, is it?” Ty asked.

  She glanced over to him. “That’s a compliment, Ty.”

  “It’s hard to know with you,” he said.

  She regarded him for a moment, and he could see her blue eyes looking at him from beneath the cloak, seeming to reflect the light of Ishantil in the distance. “Would you get over it already?”

  He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “I am over it.”

  “You’re not. You’re pouting like I beat you. It was a job. Business. Isn’t that what Bingham taught you?”

  He snorted. “Just a job, is it? I guess Bingham never taught me to hurt people I’m working with.”

  “You knew the terms,” she said, her voice soft. “It was just a business transaction.”

  He bit back his response. A transaction? That was all he had been to her?

  A shadowy form made its way along the street, looking far too obvious. When he neared, Ty tried to get Eastley to pay attention to them, hoping he might try to sink into the shadows, but he was not paying any attention to his surroundings.

  “Like I said, not the kind of job I favor him for,” Olivia said.

  Eastley soon joined them. “Everything is pretty clear,” he said. “I see no caravans, so we don’t have to worry about guards moving through here. The patrols are basically what Bingham promised.” There was a note in his voice that suggested he hadn’t expected that. “And I can’t see anything on the other side of the wall, but I think he’s right about that as well. With the eruptions, everything is a little bit on edge.”

  “He usually is right,” Olivia said. She glanced from Eastley to Ty. “Are the two of you ready?”

  Ty wasn’t exactly sure if he could be ready. At this point, it was a matter of risking himself on a job more complicated than any other one he had attempted.

  But even that wasn’t entirely true. He had pulled off dangerous jobs before. He wasn’t sure why this one felt so much more dangerous. Maybe it was because of the patrols. Maybe it was because there was the possibility of being tracked by the Dragon Touched if they had to go after dragon relics because they couldn’t find gold and jewels. He had already lost one prize. Would he lose another?

  “I’m ready,” Eastley said, his voice a little too loud. He raised his brows. “Let’s see what you got.”

  “You will never see what I’ve got,” Olivia said.

  She started off, raising her voice as she marched along the street, yelling at some unseen person.

  “Do you think I’ll ever see it?” Eastley asked.

  “It’s a business transaction,” Ty said, turning his attention to Olivia, watching her as she began to work.

  “You get back here, Torrance.” She was shouting and staggering a little bit now. She glanced toward him and Eastley, bordering on glaring. “You can’t go off with her!”

  She suddenly stopped in front of the palace and turned to the two soldiers standing guard. Ty and Bingham had spent the last day scouting the soldiers, watching their patrols, and had gotten to the point where they could identify their patterns. There was a regularity to them, though Ty had known about most of that before. He had scouted the palace several times over the years, but the risk was always far greater than the reward, so he had never dared break in, despite the fact that there would be countless dragon relics within that he could acquire.

  “Did you see her? Did you see Torrance with her?” Olivia shouted.

  Ty could almost imagine the soldiers’ reaction. She had been splashed with wine, so she should smell of it, giving off the appearance of intoxication. She played the part well.

  She played any part that she wanted to well. Maybe that was his issue. He had wanted something real. He had thought there was that chance for them. And she had taken advantage of him. His kindness. His loneliness.

  “Keep moving,” one of the soldiers said, his voice low and harsh.

  “I’m looking for my Torrance! If you’ve seen him come by here with that whore—”

  One of the soldiers grabbed her and shoved her along the road.

  She staggered and fell, then got up, wailing.

  The other soldier looked at his partner, and the two of them went to Olivia, helping her to her feet. They guided her along the street and she staggered again, looking as if she might fall, before catching herself and hurrying on.

  It irritated him how good of an actress she was. Bingham might be right. She might be the best of all of them. Ty had learned how to pick locks, scale walls, and sneak into places that were meant to be off-limits. He had become skilled—practically as skilled as he imagined the Dragon Thief to be.

  Still, there were places Olivia could get to that he simply couldn’t. She didn’t even have to sneak. She could just walk up and look a certain way, sound a certain way, be a certain way.

  He looked over to Eastley. He found him watching Olivia, shaking his head. “Damn,” he said. “I wish I could pull that off. You know if I went out there, half-dressed and smelling of booze, they would haul me off to jail.”

  “I think it’s the half-dressed part that would draw their attention,” Ty said.

  “Hey. I bet I look a whole lot better half-dressed than you do.”

  Ty tapped him on the arm, slipping forward. This was their opening.

  “I’m sure you do. But you still aren’t as quick as me.”

  They reached the far side of the street, making their way along the wall. From here, the next step was going to be more difficult. He had no idea what they would find when they scaled the wall, whether Bingham’s assessment of the patrols was accurat
e or not, but Olivia had put the plan into motion, so Ty couldn’t be the reason it failed.

  This was how he was going to get out of the city.

  And it wasn’t even just getting out of the city that he cared about. It was getting the coin he needed, a way for him to buy information about his parents. It was an opportunity to start over.

  Surprisingly, he found that more appealing than he had expected he would. He had been content in Zarinth though. It had been his home for his entire life, whether in the jungle or in the city itself. But now with Ishantil threatening to destroy the city, he thought it a fitting time to leave.

  Why not have an opportunity to start fresh?

  They found an opening on the wall and he started climbing, when Eastley gave a quick whistle. He looked over.

  Eastley had blocked him, and if he hadn’t, the pair of soldiers making their way toward them would likely have noticed Ty climbing and come running.

  “The patrols are off cycle,” Eastley whispered.

  “Or Olivia didn’t draw them away long enough,” Ty said.

  All of this depended upon having the right opening and managing to get up and over the wall.

  If they couldn’t even do this…

  They could regroup. They had barely started.

  “Is that a Dragon Touched?” Eastley asked.

  There was a man behind the soldiers. He seemed to have a soft orange glow to him.

  Eastley was right. It was a Dragon Touched.

  And Ty had a dragon-bone dagger on him. The paint supposedly protected it, but he’d never wanted to test it. He didn’t really think it was still active—if it were, any of the Dragon Touched could have detected him long before—but what if they had some way of tracking inactive dragon remnants?

  “Move,” Ty said. “Keep moving along the wall. We’ll find another opening.”

  “If we go too far, we get into another patrol. And we get too far away from where Olivia was drawing them off.”