hoax | kaz brekker

thirteen. your fire

(malakai is partially non-verbal, so when dialogue is in italics it means that she or another character is using sign language.)

"my barren land. i am ash from your fire."
hoax by taylor swift

"We are in the literal bottom of the Barrel." Jesper complained to the raven haired boy next to him.

Malakai laughed to herself at the slight exaggeration. They found themselves in the Warehouse District where the smog was so thick they didn't really have to worry about being seen. The scent of chemicals burning and filthy mud burned her nose despite the fact that she was wearing a face covering. She took her time walking across the wide factory roofs.

"Stadwatch don't patrol down here. We're safer." Kaz's cane tapping against the ground echoed off the brick walls. "Inej, what did you find?"

Out of nowhere, she appeared beside them and fell into lock step. Jesper flinched and shot his hands out in defence. That boy was surprisingly never ready, considering he was a sharpshooter. "We're accused of murdering Tante Heleen."

Malakai fell into lock step too on the gunslinger's other side. "What?"

Jesper flinched again, spinning around to look at the bright eyed girl. He muttered to himself. "How the hell do you guys do that..." Before the group came to a stop, huddling into a circle. "We didn't do that, though. Wait, did you do that?"

Inej threw him a look of offence and disbelief.

"It was Pekka Rollins, wasn't it? He framed us for murder."

"He wanted to punish us," Inej nodded at her. "for taking the job after he warned us off. And because... because you killed a Dime Lion."

Jesper held his finger up to the blonde girl. "Which you had every right to do, by the way."

She smiled back at him gratefully. Growing up being taken advantage of taught her that everything was her fault. That everything that happens to her is brought on by her own choices.

"Malakai has a bounty on her head now. A million kruge, Kaz."

The Bastard of the Barrel's unwavering demeanour changed at this. Looking over at the girl who looked equally as terrified as he felt. His promise of ensuring nothing would happen to her slowly became more and more impossible to keep. But impossible wasn't a word he believed in.

"Ooo, look at that, Malakai, you're worth the same as the Sun Summoner!" The gunslinger was met by deadpan looks from the crew, his smile dropping. "Sorry. Wrong time. But why take it out on Tante Heleen?" He continued.

"She held the deed to the Crow Club. We cut a deal so Inej could help us with the Sun Summoner, so Rollins killed her."

"So... he owns the club now? Everyone who works there now works for Pekka Rollins?"

"There's more." Inej lifted her sleeve, Malakai squinted at her peacock feather tattoo.

"The Menagerie."