The Shadow Crow (A Shadow and Bone: Season 2 Fanfiction)

Chapter 3: A Vested Interest

Pekka stood in the game room of one of his clubs, throwing darts, when the stadwatch entered. 

'He got away,' the head of the stadwatch spoke. Pekka Rollins stopped with the darts and turned to face the man. 

'He wound up being a bit more trouble for you,' Pekka replied. 

'Can't hide for long. I've got 60 men on the watch, patrolling for him.' 

'Good. You already did the thing I was going to ask you. I just want to make sure that you understand that this Barrel rat and his crew are a priority for me. And the Shadow Summoner with them.' 

'Of course.' Pekka walked past him to a cabinet. 

'And I get it, you know, you put a plan in place, you expect it to go a certain way.' He opened the cabinet, pulling out a gun. 'So I'm glad that we're in lockstep on this one, because we both have a vested interest in putting him down. You maybe a little more so than me.' He came to him with the gun, showing it to him. 'You recognise her?' 

'That's a stadwatch service weapon,' the man replied. Pekka walked away from him, still holding the gun. 

'It is,' Pekka said in confirmation. 'Think of the drums beating in the night when every man hears that Kaz Brekker killed one of you with your own gun.' 

'But he hasn't,' the officer said. 'He -' Pekka turned and shot the man, who gasped, then collapsed on the floor. Pekka shot him again, turning to all of the men in the room. 

'Drag his body out into the alley. Tell your men it was Brekker. I pay you a king's wages to do your jobs.'

'What do you need us to do, boss?' one man asked, walking up to Pekka. 

'Get the Dime Lions on the hunt for Brekker and his crew. Especially the Shadow Summoner who's with them.' 

'Right away.' The two men left, while several of the stadwatch dragged the man's body out of the room, trailing thick, dark blood over the floor. Pekka resumed throwing darts at the board on the wall. 

Later... 

The young man entered the building, slinging off his pack. 

'Wylan,' a voice said. The young man spun around. 

'You're alive,' he gasped. 

'Thanks in part to you.' 

'Stadwatch are after you.' 

'How much phosphorus did you pack into that flash bomb?' Kaz asked. 'The escape option against the Darkling?'

'Did you need it? Was it enough?' 

'Nearly. I need you to make a new package for me.' Wylan halted, looking at Kaz. 

'You said that was a one-time thing, not a real step into your world,' Wylan replied hesitantly. 'I was strapped at the time.'

'And now?' Kaz looked him up and down. 'When was the last time you ate?' He fiddled with one of the bottles on the table. 

'Don't... don't touch that specific bottle,' Wylan blurted out. 'You'll be itching for days.' Almost as if on autopilot, Wylan scratched his hand. 

On the fringes of Kribirsk... 

'The Grisha betrayed us!' one of the First Army sergeants exclaimed. 'Their General and their Sun Summoner caused that!' He gestured to the Fold, brimming and seething before them, the volcra inside swirling inside the patches of lightning and thunder with inhuman screeches. Around soldiers of the First Army were several Grisha in cages, their hands locked up high above them, so they were unable to move in attempts to break out of the cages. 'We fought for you! We sacrificed our front lines for you!' The men cheered in unison. 'And now the Fold is coming for us all. Because of you!' The men cheered again. 'They say the Grisha are Ravkan. Loyal to the King. The same King the Grisha poisoned! Can you imagine?' In one of the cages, Tailor Genya Safin stood locked up. She met the eyes of the sergeant standing guard near her cage. 

'I am a Healer,' she said. 'I can help your soldiers. If you leave us here, you will kill all of us.' The sergeant came up to her cage, and simply laughed in her face. 

'It's not us you should be worrying about now,' he hissed. 'It's the things inside the Fold.' Suddenly there was a crack like thunder, but not quite. Someone cried out, and they all turned to see a soldier collapsing, his body headless. 'How? The volcra can't leave the Fold.' Genya looked on in horror as the sergeant stepped up to the fringes of the Fold. The head that had previously belonged to the soldier was tossed out of the smoky fringes, rolling to a stop at the feet of the sergeant. He looked up in shock, seeing the smoky fringes of the Fold materialise into a faceless monster. Panicking, he pulled out his gun and shot at it, screaming, 'Kirigan is dead! Fall back!' The soldiers tucked tail and ran for their lives, the bullets not working on the shadow monster. The monster made quick work of a few, the rest fleeing. 

When the carnage had ceased and the screaming stopped, a tall, dark figure in a black, floor-length hood stood in the wake. Lifting his hands, the person pulled off the hood, and there stood General Kirigan, in all his twisted, former glory, save for the three deep gouges across his face left by his last confrontation with the volcra. 

'I have returned!' he exclaimed. 'And I've made some new friends.' Two shadow monsters materialised around him, standing at attention as the Grisha looked on from their cages in equal parts shock and horror. With a single look, the creatures vanished into thin air. 'So... this again?' Aleksander asked, walking among the cages. 'Locking us up in cages? I shall have to overthrow the King now.' He lifted his hand, and a tendril of his shadowy powers burst open a door to one of the cages, then burst free the chains of one of the Grisha. She ran out of the cell and began to release her fellow Grisha. Aleksander came down the line of cages, finally facing Genya Safin. 'Genya,' he breathed. 'Am I glad to see you.'

'You survived,' she said softly. 

'Of course, I did.' He unlocked her cage, then stepped inside. 'When have I ever not?' He reached up, breaking her chains. 'But I am famished.' He stepped out of Genya's cage. 'Think I'll head into town,' he called out. 'Dispose of the First Army there and cook up some dinner. If anyone...' and at this he turned to Genya, extending his hand, 'cares to join me.' She stood for a moment, frozen to the spot, tears brimming in her eyes. Then, against her better judgement at having witnessed Kirigan's power, she stepped out of her cell. 'Follow,' he said, and he and the Grisha walked away from the fringes of the Fold.