Within the Dragon's Jaw (The Dragon Thief Book 2) Read online

  She flicked her gaze back and forth before turning to him. “We’re here. Need to finish this. Besides, already drawn away most of it. Unless you don’t think you can work fast enough…”

  “I can work quickly.”

  She started to smirk, and he ignored the implied taunt.

  He rolled down, landing in the yard, and froze. When Olivia joined him, they lingered in the back of the garden for a moment until Ty was certain they hadn’t been seen, then they wove through the garden. Moving past some of the towering shrubs that cast long shadows along the garden, they reached the back of the house. They had managed to avoid attention so far, but he wondered how long they would. It was possible they might draw more attention the moment they entered the house. If they did, he would run. He had an obligation to make sure that Olivia didn’t get caught up in this, especially as this was all for him.

  He tested one of the windows, finding it unlocked and motioning for Olivia follow.

  When they climbed through, the interior of the house was darkened. The air had a strange, almost sour stench to it. What Ty wouldn’t give for some sort of lantern he could use, but lighting anything here would only alert the homeowner to their presence, and he knew better than to draw any notice. The house guards outside would know they were there, too.

  “Where now?” Olivia leaned into Ty’s ear. Her voice was soft and her breath hot.

  “Main hall,” Ty whispered.

  They stepped out of the darkened room, and Ty looked around to make sure there was no other movement. Nothing moved around them.

  He hurried forward. If Bingham was right, and he usually was when it came to this sort of thing, they wouldn’t have to go very far to find what they were looking for.

  “Is that it?” Olivia asked, pointing.

  The candlelight that Ty had seen from outside illuminated a small statue near the doorway of the entrance to the house. Ty approached carefully, looking along the hall, sweeping his gaze around before crouching down in front of the sculpture. That was exactly what it was.

  It was shaped like a dragon made out of obsidian. The detail was impressive, and he wondered at the sculptor. A true relic.

  “Let’s get it and start moving,” Ty said.

  He tried to lift the sculpture, but it was incredibly heavy.

  He motioned for Olivia to join him, and between the two of them they pried it off the ground, but it was going to be nearly impossible to get it out of the house. The sculpture was probably only knee height and shouldn’t have been that heavy.

  “What should we—”

  Ty leaped forward, clamping a hand over Olivia’s mouth as movement in the darkness of the house caught his attention. Flush against the wall, he gazed down at the sculpture. They needed to get it out of the house, but they were not going to be strong enough to drag it easily.

  Bingham wouldn’t have known that it was this heavy, otherwise he would’ve sent more on this job. They had to get this sculpture out of here somehow.

  The shadowy movement disappeared, and he crouched down next to the sculpture. As he did, he realized that the glowing light in front of the statue wasn’t a candle at all. It was shaped like a candle, but the end of it didn’t flicker like a flame would.

  Dragon magic.

  He lifted the candle, holding it up. He touched it briefly, finding that it was warm but not hot to the touch.

  “Take this,” he whispered to Olivia.

  “What is it?”

  Ty shrugged. “Some sort of dragon magic, though I don’t really know. Just take it. Bingham will know what to do with it.”

  They could sell it to someone. There were plenty of collectors within the city, those who were reputable and those who didn’t necessarily care about where they acquired their relics.

  He reached for the statue again, preparing to drag it, but it came up easily this time.

  He almost fell backward.

  “What did you do?” Olivia whispered.

  He suppressed a chortle of laughter. “It seems the dragon magic holds the statue in place.”

  Not only that, but it cast illumination upon it, giving it a gentle glow.

  “Come on. Now that we have this…”

  Footsteps thundered along the floorboards upstairs.

  They didn’t have much time before somebody came down.

  He glanced the way they had come. No, too many guards. The footsteps pounded above him. They’re too close. He looked desperately at the front door. Only choice.

  It was too much like the last job they had taken together. That one had been her mistake, her greed, that had nearly gotten them caught. This time their perils were a believed dragon relic and the need to move quickly.

  “I think we have to take the front door,” he grumbled.

  “And the guards?”

  “We avoid them. If we can’t, then you might need to work your little magic. See if you can’t con them the way that you like to con everyone you come around.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to snap at him, though she looked as if she wanted to. He pulled the door open, clutching the sculpture, and hesitated. There was no sign of any movement, the night quiet, the shadows around the house motionless, which should’ve reassured him but actually left him nervous.

  As soon as he stepped through the door, a figure in the shadows drew his eye.

  Then there came the sound of footsteps thundering from inside the house.

  That made the decision for them.

  Ty pulled on Olivia. “Run.”

  “If you get me caught…”

  This time, he couldn’t blame Olivia. She had helped, despite how much he might begrudge admitting that. So he ran, moving as quickly as he could along with Olivia, half expecting to be caught at any moment, though the sound of the pursuit faded as they ran. At one point, Olivia looked over and started laughing.

  Despite everything else, he laughed with her, and some of the tension faded.

  They had a dragon relic.

  Now he had to use it to get to Albion.

  Chapter Two

  Ty panted as he skidded to a stop in front of Bingham’s. It was dark, but darkness didn’t always make a difference when it came to his store. The windows had a dirty film over them, an intentional way of concealing activity inside the building, but a faint light glowed in the back, letting him know that somebody was there.

  Still, he slipped around the street until he reached the alley and headed along it until he got to the rear entrance of Bingham’s shop. It was safer that way. He knocked two times, paused, then knocked three times.

  He didn’t have to wait long before Bingham pulled open the door, poking his head out briefly and then motioning for him to come inside.

  “Just you?”

  “We split up as we left.”

  “What happened?”

  Ty moved through Bingham’s shop. There were rows of dragon relics, or at least seemed to be, even though he knew that they were not. For the most part, Bingham kept nothing other than forgeries here. When there was the occasional dragon relic here, it blended in more easily, hiding from anybody who might find it. That didn’t necessarily keep any Dragon Touched from uncovering the truth of the relics, but it did make it more complicated.

  There were also some dragon remnants here, which were easier for the Dragon Touched to find but also easier for Bingham to explain. He had wondered when he had first learned that Bingham kept dragon remnants in his shop until he made the connection that the dragon bone remnants would detract from any relic that he had.

  “The usual,” he finally answered, setting the sculpture down.

  Bingham glowered at him. “I taught you better than that.”

  “You only think that you did,” Ty said.

  “Do you care to tell me what happened?”

  “The job is done. We had little trouble. There were far more guards in the house than anticipated.”

  “It’s been like that all around the city,” Bingham mutter
ed, shaking his head. “You should have anticipated it.”

  Was Bingham actually blaming him?

  It was Bingham’s information, and if anyone was to blame for something happening, it would be Bingham, not him. But leave it to Bingham to make it seem like it was his fault.

  “Fine. It’s my fault. You provided perfect information. Still, the job is done.”

  “And what about Olivia?” Bingham asked.

  Ty snorted. It shouldn’t have irritated him, but it still did. There was a part of him that was bothered by the fact that it seemed like Bingham was more concerned about her. Thieves like Ty were easy to find, he suspected. Thieves like Olivia…

  She had natural abilities that he simply couldn’t dream of.

  “That is what you were after, isn’t it?” Ty asked, motioning to the sculpture.

  Bingham turned his attention from Ty and knelt down in front of the sculpture. “It is a true relic, isn’t it?”

  “Did you doubt me?”

  “I stopped doubting you a long time ago,” Bingham said softly.

  “Will it be enough?”

  “I don’t know,” Bingham admitted. “It’s possible that it won’t be. It depends upon how much the king values the Dragon Thief.” He looked over to Ty, and there was a hint of emotion in his eyes. That was unusual. “You might have to see if that Tecal will help. Especially if she and James are at odds.”

  He had considered that is a possibility, though it seemed to Ty that Gayal Holt had been far more interested in ensuring the safety of Ishantil, at least after they had succeeded. Prior to that…

  Prior to that, she had been after the dragon egg. That was all that it seemed like she was after. Maybe she had been playing him the whole time, which he wouldn’t have necessarily put past her.

  “I might,” Ty said. He nodded to the sculpture. “They had an interesting security measure. They had some dragon magic holding it in place. We couldn’t move it. Only after we removed the influence were we able to lift the sculpture.”

  Bingham ran his hand along the surface of the sculpture. “Interesting,” he said. “I would not have expected them to have placed any sort of protection along it.”

  “The fact we were able to remove it should draw more attention to us,” Ty said.

  Bingham nodded. “I would agree with that. Are you sure that’s the kind of heat you want?”

  “I’m not after heat,” Ty said. He was after a way of reaching his brother. That was what this was about now. Dragon relics, the dragon pearls that he had taken from the temple, and perhaps a personal plea. That was his plan.

  Ty knew that it would be unlikely to be effective. Especially since Roson James had brought his brother away from Zarinth and to the capital, and that it seemed like Roson James and Holt had some animosity towards each other, as if they were battling for the king’s favor. Ty had the feeling that Holt played a different game than James, though. He wasn’t sure what it was. Not yet. With enough of an offering, a dragon relic or two, along with the dragon pearls, and perhaps even some dragon remnants, Ty had to hope that it would be enough.

  His brother, the Dragon Thief, had been captured, and now it was up to Ty to figure out what it would take to get him back. He didn’t know what that would involve, only that he had done what he claimed to have done on behalf of their missing parents.

  He needed to get more information, and this was the only way he knew how. It wasn’t nearly as extensive as what the Dragon Thief had done, especially as he had operated all throughout the kingdom. But if he could use him for smaller jobs—smaller compared to what the Dragon Thief had done, but still larger than his usual jobs—he had to think that he could gain the attention of those his brother had been working for. And it was possible Roson James—and Gayal—were still out there and watching for him.

  A knock came at the door behind them, and Bingham frowned before heading over to it. He waited for a moment, listening. The knock wasn’t the designated signal, which worried Ty.

  It didn’t repeat.

  He grabbed the sculpture and slipped it behind the counter, then hurried to the door. “What if it isn’t—”

  The knock came again, this time in the correct pattern. Bingham pulled open the door. Olivia was there, twisting a hand through her red hair.

  Bingham grabbed her wrist, pulling her inside. “What took you so long?” he snapped.

  “I was followed,” she said. “I lost them, so you don’t have to worry about me dragging them back here.”

  Ty looked over to Bingham before shaking his head. He slipped out of the shop and hurriedly made his way along the street. He saw no sign of patrol, though in the distance there were several soldiers lingering on one corner. There were always soldiers hovering on the corners these days, ever since Ishantil had erupted and half of the city had evacuated. He kept waiting for the presence to die down, but so far it had not.

  At least there were no sign of Dragon Touched. He looped around, watching the street before coming back to Bingham’s shop.

  When he stepped inside, Olivia glared at him. “Are you satisfied?”

  “I had to make sure,” Ty said.

  “I don’t know why you think you have to be the one to make sure I did it right. Maybe I should be double-checking your work. You aren’t the Dragon Thief, you know.”

  He bit back the comment that he wanted to make and turned to the sculpture, but the irritation was unfounded. She wasn’t wrong. He wasn’t the Dragon Thief. That was his brother. Somehow.

  Olivia joined him at the statue. He glanced over to her, but she didn’t look in his direction. He could smell her slight floral fragrance, a hint of rose, maybe lilac, and it smelled delightful.

  Those were thoughts he needed to push out of his mind.

  “Did you tell him about this?” Olivia pulled the strange candle out of her pocket and handed it to Ty.

  “That’s the dragon magic?” Bingham asked.

  “They used this to hold the sculpture in place,” he said, taking the candle from Olivia and testing it. He placed it in front of the sculpture and then tried to lift it. As it had within the merchant house, the sudden placement of the dragon magic candle made it so that he couldn’t lift it again. He could drag it from side to side, but actually lifting it off the ground was incredibly difficult. “It seems like it adds a hundred pounds to the sculpture,” Ty said.

  Bingham tried lifting it, grunting with the effort. “Interesting. I’ve seen different uses of dragon magic, but this is new.”

  “Maybe they were more concerned about the Dragon Thief than you realize.”

  “The Dragon Thief has not been active in Zarinth,” Ty said. Albion, he should’ve said. His brother had not been active in Zarinth.

  “That you know of,” Olivia said. When Bingham glanced in her direction, she shrugged, shifting her scarf and pulling it around her shoulders. “We don’t know if the Dragon Thief has been active here in the city. The only reason you learned was because you decided to break into the palace. Had you not, would you even have known?”

  It pained him to admit that he wouldn’t. His brother could have come and gone, and he would’ve had no idea.

  It was impressive to think about, but even more impressive was the idea that his brother had that level of skill. Would Ty ever reach that level?

  Do I want to?

  The only reason he had started stealing in the first place was to be able to afford some way to reach his parents, to afford a way of contacting them. He didn’t necessarily want to be a thief, even though he had grown skilled at it.

  Bingham didn’t look convinced. “Something’s not quite right,” he said.

  Ty studied the candle for a moment. “Well, if it is dragon magic, we should probably get rid of it.”

  “Get rid of it?” Olivia asked. “I had to lose my tail.”

  “Right, but this is exactly the kind of thing the Dragon Touched can follow. They use dragon magic and can detect others using it,” Ty said.
It was how he had gotten captured after he had broken into the palace. It was possible they could follow the sculpture, but they could definitely follow the security light.

  “Where are you going to bring it?”

  Bingham frowned. “I might have a place, but I’m not sure it’s going to be any safer.” He glanced over at Ty. “It might just be better to leave it behind.”

  “Unless this has some special connection to the sculpture,” he said.

  Bingham studied the sculpture. “You know what? I haven’t considered that. You might be right. I might have to bring the sculpture along with this.”

  “And strangely enough, you can carry both of them together, but it’s only when this is set in front of it that it makes it difficult to lift,” Ty said.

  “It’s dragon magic,” Olivia said. “There are lots of strange things when it comes to that.”

  “This is going to be a challenge to keep from the Dragon Touched in the city,” Bingham said. “We have far too many now. Between them, the soldiers, and the Tecal…”

  “The Tecal left,” he said.

  “That doesn’t mean another won’t return. If they know there is something of value here, would they come back?”

  “She was after…” Ty frowned. He had no idea what she was really after. He would’ve said the Dragon Thief, but he was no longer sure that was what she had been chasing. Maybe it happened because of the egg after all, or perhaps it was some means of forcing Roson James to show his hand. He had been used, he was certain of that, but had no idea how. Regardless of what had happened, Ishantil had not erupted. His brother, Ty had to acknowledge, had a hand in preventing it from erupting. “It doesn’t matter. But you can’t leave it here,” Ty said, looking at the sculpture. “We can’t have one of the Dragon Touched getting to it before I have a chance to use it.”

  “I realize that,” Bingham said. “I’m not exactly sure what I need to do, though I might be able to find a place to bring it.”

  “Might? What happened with you having a place?” Ty asked.

  “Would you stop?” he snapped.

  That was part of the deal, or at least Ty had thought so. Bingham had a place for him to leave the relic so that it would be sniffed out by one of the Dragon Touched. And if he suddenly didn’t, then what were they going to do with it? How would they keep it safe?