foundations of decay; k. brekker

2. ties that bind.

Nastya stared at the grimy mirror in her apartment's bathroom, hands gripping the sink like it was her only tether to reality.

She couldn't go back. She couldn't risk it.

But a job was a job, her past be damned.

It's still your past, Bladesinger, whispered the shadows. You can't be a ghost story forever, the Apparat has made sure of that.

Ghost story or not, there was money to be made.

It was with that mentality that she weaved through the Ketterdam crowds, violin in case and toolbox in hand. She pushed past tourists in overpriced Komedie Brute costumes, past sailors ready for some fun, past common thugs who knew better than to try and jump the Engineer. She was scowling by the time she reached the Crow Club, the streets of the Barrel always too crowded.

The club was closed, but a quick nod to the bouncer allowed her in. She spotted Jesper first.

He was sitting in a booth near the bar, Inej across from him. Kaz sat brooding at a table next to them. She just quietly sat at the bar, taking out her violin and examining the broken strings with a grimace.

"Here's what I don't get." began Jesper.

"We're gonna be here all night." quipped Inej, methodically drilling the point of one of her knives into the table's wood.

"Rude. Why haven't they tried going under it? Just dig a tunnel."

"Tried it. More than a century ago." began Kaz, eyes trained on Nastya. "Something... heard them digging."

"It was made hundreds of years ago by that crazy Grisha..."

"The Black Heretic."

"The one who controls shadow. They've got one in their army now. Apparently, they found another a few years ago."

"General Kirigan. And the other one's dead."

"Your point?"

"If one of his kind made it, can't he unmake it?" asked Jesper, and Nastya rolled her eyes.

"Have you ever tried to put out a fire by adding more fire?" challenged Inej.

"Then what's the opposite?"

"A Sun Summoner." Inej's tone had taken that dreamy quality that only came when she talked about the Saints.

"Right, then, one of those."

"Doesn't exist." rasped Kaz.

"Doesn't exist yet."

Nastya set down her pliers, turning around on her barstool. "Any way of getting across the Fold is either too risky or a ghost story. The other Shadow Summoner probably wasn't real."

Inej shook her head, eyes lighting up. "The Bladesinger Santka was real. We've had this debate before, Nastya."

Nastya grimaced, cutting the new violin string. She shook her head. Moments like this made her wish she changed her name.

"The Bladesinger is just a ghost story, Inej. It's not like that can help with the job." She turned away, attention on her violin. "Regardless, this whole job seems sketchier than normal."

"Dreesen comes into town, doesn't waste a minute. Sends out for a crew to steal something but doesn't specify what. Is it heavy, large, worth more than a million on the black market?" mused Kaz, brow furrowed.

"Maybe he doesn't know?" offered Jesper. Nastya just shook her head.

"Payment's too large for that."

"We can let this one go, Kaz." offered Inej, brow furrowed.